Chapter 009

009  

Auntie Gu sighed as she watched her son’s retreating figure. “All these kids were born in the same year. Zhiqiang went to university and came back as a technician, Hongyun married into a good family, Gangzi and Xiao Zhao took over their parents’ jobs at the meatpacking plant and fertilizer factory. But your Brother Anzi—if I hadn’t swallowed my pride and begged for help, he’d still be drifting around now.”  

Gu Ansheng was tall and strong, full of energy. He could have taken over Gu’s Father’s job and become a steelworker, but he stubbornly refused. Not only did he secretly sell the job assignment, but he also insisted on enlisting in the army to guard the border, scaring Auntie Gu half to death. No matter how much he argued, she wouldn’t agree.  

She only had this one son left. The sacrifice of her eldest had already forced her, a white-haired mother, to bury her black-haired child. She couldn’t endure such a blow a second time.  

What’s more, the Gu family still harbored deep resentment over Gu Quan’s sacrifice.  

At first, the news that came back was that Gu Quan’s squad had gone missing during a mission. The Gu family clung to hope, thinking disappearance wasn’t the worst outcome—maybe he’d return someday.  

But just as Auntie Gu was praying to the gods, another message arrived: Gu Quan’s body had been found, confirmed dead.  

Before they could even recover from their grief, it was reported that some letters had been discovered among Gu Quan’s personal belongings, and certain “items” had been found in the military barracks. Soldiers even came to search the Gu home—dozens of uniformed men who said nothing, but rumors spread outside that Gu Quan was a traitor, a spy, whose betrayal had led to the annihilation of the entire squad…  

This accusation was even harder for the Gu family to bear than the news of his death.  

At the time, the elderly couple had been busy pleading with anyone who might help, hoping for a reinvestigation to clear their son’s name. No one noticed Gu An silently changing.  

By the time they realized, he had already become the most notorious street hooligan in the entire eastern district.  

“You remember, don’t you, Yin? He wasn’t like this before.”  

Qingyin nodded. Gu An had once been the epitome of the “model child” others praised. It was only after his brother’s death that his personality suddenly changed.  

Back then, Old Mr. Qing had also helped run around for a while, but unfortunately, no evidence to prove Gu Quan’s innocence was found, and the matter was left unresolved.  

This incident hadn’t appeared in the original novel. Qingyin wasn’t sure if it was part of the real world or the author’s hidden setting, so she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she asked Auntie Gu about her recent plans.  

“What plans could I have? I’m just waiting for you to agree to marry your Brother Anzi. Then I’ll focus on raising your kids at home and stop going into the wild.” Spending all day dealing with venomous snakes and wild beasts in the deep mountains was exhausting.  

“Let’s not talk about marriage for now. Auntie Gu, could you promise me one thing?” Qingyin’s expression was serious, without a trace of a young girl’s shyness.  

“Not just one—a hundred promises would be fine.”  

“Don’t go into the woods recently. Please, don’t go.”  

Auntie Gu looked puzzled. “I was just thinking of heading in this spring to gather some things—wood ear mushrooms, wild greens, all your favorites. I’ll make dumplings for you. Once the hot weather and rainy season come, it’ll be too hard to go in.”  

Qingyin sighed inwardly. Just as she’d thought.  

In the original novel, it was during this very spring that Auntie Gu had been bitten by a venomous snake while in the mountains. To save her life, her left hand had to be amputated.

She didn’t mind it herself—after years of dealing with venomous snakes and wild beasts, she was mentally prepared. But Gu An, distracted by the news, made a grave mistake at work, leading to his dismissal and the loss of a hard-earned job opportunity, leaving him adrift in society.  

Later, Auntie Gu had to both counsel him and deliver supplies to Qingyin in the countryside, which led to her accident while traveling.  

Gu An was already a temporary worker, and with the dismissal now on his record, getting reassigned to any unit became nearly impossible. Qingyin intended to repay the kindness the Gu mother and son had shown the original owner of this body. Once she established herself, she planned to secure a good position for Gu An and put Auntie Gu’s mind at ease.  

So, at the very least, Gu An’s record couldn’t have any blemishes.  

Worried Auntie Gu might not believe her, Qingyin’s eyes sparkled with an idea. “I learned a bit about the Five Phases and Six Energies from my father. According to his calculations, something bad will happen in the woods this year—something involving venomous snakes.”  

She rambled on about celestial and terrestrial influences, but Auntie Gu couldn’t make sense of it. Still, she trusted the old man’s wisdom and believed his predictions before his passing couldn’t be wrong. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. I won’t go in the spring—we’ll wait till summer.”  

“You can’t go in summer either.”  

“What about autumn? In autumn, I’ll go gather some hazelnuts and cook you sweet, soft hazelnut rice. How’s that?”  

Qingyin laughed. “Fine, but I’ll go with you, Auntie Gu. You can’t sneak off alone without me.”  

Auntie Gu’s heart melted like honey. With only two sons of her own, she adored families with daughters—especially a delicate, doll-like girl like little Qingyin. She’d have gladly taken her home to raise if she could.  

***  

Unlike Qingyin and Auntie Gu, who stayed home stuffing themselves with sweet peanut cakes, Lin Suifen was stewing in anger.  

Out of nowhere, Sister-in-law Liu had torn into her, leaving her the subject of gossip. Then the fierce Auntie Gu had berated her to her face. Finally rid of those troublemakers, she tried turning the doorknob to Qingyin’s room—only to find it locked. She went back for the spare key, but the lock wouldn’t even take it… Qingyin had changed the locks!  

Lin Suifen stomped in frustration.  

To make matters worse, Qing Huihui, oblivious to the mood, waltzed in to plead for Liu Hongxing’s job.  

“Mom, can’t you think of something for Sister Hongxing? If she doesn’t get assigned a job soon, she’ll have to go to the countryside.”  

Lin Suifen gritted her teeth. “Your mother isn’t an official and doesn’t even have a job herself—where am I supposed to pull strings for her? What nonsense has Liu Zhiqiang been feeding you now?”  

Qing Huihui flushed. “Mom, stop talking about Brother Zhiqiang like that. He treats me really well. He’s a college-educated technician now, with a high salary.”  

“High? Higher than your father’s used to be? You’ve got no ambition at all.”  

“He’s still young! There’s plenty of time for promotions. Besides, I don’t care about money—I just care that he treats me right.”  

“If he treated you right, would he string you along for years without commitment? With how poor his family is, even if they worshipped you like a goddess, you’d still go hungry.”  

Qing Huihui huffed angrily and stormed off, leaving Lin Suifen fuming behind her.  

She couldn’t stand the Liu family—so poor they could barely afford pants. Her daughter had grown up wanting for nothing, neither money nor love. How she’d fallen for someone like that was beyond Lin Suifen’s understanding.

If they were a good family, why didn’t Old Mr. Qing betroth Qingyin to them back then?

Indeed, when the Liu family heard that Old Mr. Qing wanted to arrange a Childhood Sweetheart Marriage for his precious daughter, they had also been hopeful. Unfortunately, the old man didn’t take a liking to them, saying, “Just the fact that they have three older sisters and one younger brother means they’re not a good match.” At the time, Lin Suifen thought the old man was being too hasty—families with multiple sisters and one brother were common, and it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But after all these years in the compound, she had seen enough to finally understand that Old Mr. Qing had long seen through the true nature of the Liu family.

If even that brat Qingyin didn’t think much of them, why would her own daughter ever consider them?!

But then again, hadn’t Old Mr. Qing, after all his meticulous vetting, also misjudged someone? That street hooligan Gu An—no job, no education, and rumored to have dirty hands—might end up in labor reform any day. Qingyin marrying him? Her “good days” were still ahead!

Just as she was stewing in anger, a five- or six-year-old child came running through the gate, shouting excitedly, “Auntie Lin, Auntie Lin, someone’s looking for your family!”

“Oh, child, don’t call me ‘Auntie.’ You should call me ‘Aunt Lin,’” Lin Suifen said with a gentle smile. Was she really that old?

“The person’s wearing a Liberation Army uncle’s uniform, with stars on his shoulders!”

Lin Suifen suddenly perked up. “Did they say who they’re looking for?”

“They’re looking for Dr. Qing’s family—isn’t that your family, Auntie Lin?”

Ignoring the “Auntie Lin,” Lin Suifen quickly straightened her clothes and hurried to the gate.

Sure enough, a military jeep was parked there—brand new and gleaming. An elderly man stepped out, his face glowing, his shoulders indeed adorned with many stars.

As a woman, she didn’t understand military ranks, but her instincts told her this man was no ordinary figure. Her attitude became exceedingly humble. “Hello, what can I do for you?”

The old man glanced at her, then thought about what his son had said—“a young girl”—and turned to his guard and driver.

The driver asked, “Are you Dr. Qing’s…”

“I’m his family. What brings you here, Old Commander?” Everyone assumed this “Dr. Qing” referred to the late Qingyang. Sensing potential benefits, she didn’t mention Qingyang’s passing. Normally, she wouldn’t even have a chance to interact with such people, but now that they were here, she had to seize the opportunity.

Commander Qu chuckled. “Just call me Uncle Qu. I came today specifically to thank Dr. Qing. Thanks to her quick action the other day, my granddaughter was saved. On her advice, Da Ya was diagnosed with epilepsy at the hospital, but fortunately, it was caught early, and the medication has been effective. Even the little one’s cough cleared up after a few bowls of yam and hyacinth bean porridge.”

As he spoke, the driver began unloading a pile of items from the car—not the kind wrapped in mesh bags from the market, but shiny, red cardboard boxes that clearly held high-end goods.

Lin Suifen’s eyes widened, barely registering the details of the illness and treatment Commander Qu mentioned. She thought to herself, Qingyang had been utterly unremarkable in life, always mediocre in everything. Who would’ve guessed that before dying, he’d managed to cure a wealthy family’s child? And now, this wealthy family, being proper and grateful, had come to deliver gifts. This was a parting gift from the dead man himself!

“What a shame we didn’t get to meet your daughter today. Otherwise, we could’ve had a nice chat,” Commander Qu said, assuming Qingyin was her daughter.

Lin Suifen’s heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by “meeting the daughter”? Could it be… had that dead man told this old fellow about their unmarried daughter at home?

She was always quick to assess situations. Seeing how things stood now, a small flame of hope suddenly ignited in her heart. “She’s at work now, but I’ll definitely bring her to visit you personally this weekend.”

Commander Qu chuckled and left his home address and phone number, telling them to call before visiting, then took his leave.

Lin Suifen followed the car all the way to the alley entrance, waving repeatedly until it disappeared, then hurried back to the courtyard gate. Seeing everyone crowding around the pile of high-end gifts, she secretly rejoiced but pretended to complain, “That Old Qing—cured someone’s illness without saying a word, quietly doing good deeds. Now the patient’s grandfather has come to our home with gifts of thanks. I kept refusing, but he insisted, even inviting us to visit sometime.”

“Cut the nonsense. They brought gifts, sure, but we all heard you begging to visit their home. Do you think we’re deaf?” Sister-in-law Liu never missed a chance to rain on her parade.

Lin Suifen choked back a retort. “But only families like ours could form such virtuous connections.”

“My Old Qing spent his whole life being kind and making virtuous connections. Never thanked while alive, only after death… sigh. Some people’s hearts are just black, can’t stand to see others do well.”

When it came to playing the victim or pretending to be cultured, Sister-in-law Liu was no match for her. Soon, everyone’s attention turned to thanking the Qing family for years of free medical treatment.

Though Qingyang’s skills were far inferior to the old man’s, he could easily handle common colds and coughs. Every household had stories of his kindness.

For a while, the courtyard buzzed with excitement, as lively as if preparing for New Year’s.

Qingyin, unaware of all this, had just left Auntie Gu’s house when she spotted a key-cutting stall. Her eyes lit up. “Uncle Liu?”

The one-armed old man acknowledged her with a faint nod. “Thank you, girl.”

“I should be thanking you—you picked the best lock for me.” Lin Suifen had been hopping mad about it.

For once, the one-armed old man cracked a smile. “Let me know if you need anything.” Then he pushed his cart away without looking back.

Only then did Qingyin realize—he was effortlessly pushing that cart weighing at least 150 pounds with just one arm! It looked as easy as her carrying two pounds of rice!

Uncle Liu was truly an extraordinary man.