Chapter 19: Outsmarting Human Traffickers

“Doctor, I intend to use this for a medicinal bath, thinking the combined effect of acupuncture and the bath would be better.”

Yan Xiaoyue still voiced her thoughts, but she knew the old Chinese doctor was definitely worried about her using the medicine haphazardly.

After all, the amount of medicine in this prescription was truly substantial.

“Alright, but don’t use it carelessly.”

The old Chinese doctor looked at her suspiciously several times, questioning her further. Upon hearing that she was a military wife and her husband was recuperating at home due to an injury, the old doctor delved even deeper into questioning her knowledge of medicine.

After a period of intense questioning, finding that she could answer all his questions, he finally decided to dispense the medicine for her.

Yan Xiaoyue took the medicine packet and bowed deeply. “Sir, your presence is a blessing to China.”

In a country dominated by Western medicine, there are now fewer people pursuing speed. Western medicine is good for its speed, but its side effects are significantly greater than those of traditional Chinese medicine.

It always treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

In fact, there’s a saying online: wherever there’s a disease, cut it out.

The approach of traditional Chinese medicine is too lengthy. People in later generations are always in a rush, never paying attention to the scenery around them. How could they afford to spend a year, two years, or even three years recovering from an illness?

She raised her head, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

As the old Chinese doctor turned and brushed his sleeve, the elderly man unexpectedly began to cry.

“Come back if you need anything. This clinic probably won’t last much longer.”

The old Chinese doctor’s voice came from behind. Yan Xiaoyue waved her hand and shouted, “Got it, got it.”

Without turning back, she knew that in the future, traditional Chinese medicine clinics would become increasingly scarce.

However, later on, there was a revival of traditional Chinese culture.

Yan Xiaoyue sighed. What could she change? Just another person willing to learn about intangible cultural heritage on short videos.

She used her limited knowledge to learn these things.

Reaching the building ahead, she found a restroom, put the herbs into her spatial storage, changed into an old woman’s outfit, adopting a popular online style.

She wore a thick hat; it was impossible to recognize her without careful observation.

“Ahem…” Yan Xiaoyue cleared her throat and went to the gynecology department, where she saw Qi Lan again. Covered in blood, Qi Lan was lying on an emergency bed, being pushed by a doctor.

Yan Xiaoyue was startled and quickly stepped aside, leaning against the wall.

“Little girl, what happened?”

Yan Xiaoyue sat down, watching several young girls at the entrance of the gynecology department lining up.

“Grandma, what’s wrong with you?” a young girl curiously asked.

“I’ve had too many children, and I’m old. My uterus has prolapsed.” Yan Xiaoyue had a garment stuffed in her crotch area, making it look bulky.

“Grandma, doesn’t it hurt?”

The young girl looked distressed.

“It hurts, but I can bear it. But what about that young woman? She’s covered in blood.”

Yan Xiaoyue wanted to know about Qi Lan, not her. This young girl kept avoiding mentioning Qi Lan, making her anxious.

“That young… not young, that older sister… she was pregnant and came for an abortion. I don’t know what happened, but she ran off right after the surgery. The doctor told her to rest, but she fainted on the street and was sent back here.”

A middle-aged woman nearby described Qi Lan’s situation. It was more complicated than she had imagined.

As far as she knew, the eldest of the Jin family was a coal miner, and he had gone to central China to mine coal. How long ago was that? Qi Lan was pregnant.

This… Boss Jin was cuckolded.

Yan Xiaoyue watched as several people gathered together to discuss the incident. She took the opportunity to go to the restroom and change back into her own clothes.

She wondered if she could bring Jin Chao to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow.

“Where did you take my child?”

As soon as Yan Xiaoyue went out, she was stopped by a stranger.

“What child? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yan Xiaoyue pushed her bicycle, only to be grabbed.

She secured her bicycle and looked at the man. “Let go.”

“I won’t. You took my child. Give him back to me.”

Yan Xiaoyue stepped forward and punched the man, then cried out, “Help! Someone’s stealing my bike! Call the police!”

In this era, you’re not afraid of scoundrels, only of being more scoundrelly than them.

Since you’re playing tricks, don’t force me to play along.

“Shameless! I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. You stole my child, and I’m just asking you where you took him, and you hit me?”

The man’s face flushed red, looking like a victim.

“You all judge for yourselves. I’m a patient who just got a lot of medicine. Where would I have his child?”

Yan Xiaoyue really disliked being surrounded by onlookers, but the current situation was extremely unfavorable to her, and she felt increasingly pressured.

She revealed the herbs wrapped in a sheet. “I don’t have much time left to live. Why would I steal your child? If you insist on believing this, let’s go to the police station.”

She wasn’t afraid. After all, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Good!”

The people around began to clap. The hospital was not far from the police station, and someone actually brought the police over.

Yan Xiaoyue saw a familiar face and twitched the corner of her mouth.

“Sister-in-law, what a coincidence.”

Gu Xingshan emerged from behind Zhang Haiyang, greeted her, and then bounced out completely.

She nodded and said to the man, “This morning, I did find a child in my vegetable garden. If you had spoken to me properly, I wouldn’t have made a fuss. I’ve sent the child to the police station. If you want him, just go to the police station.”

Yan Xiaoyue’s words caused the people around to clap. She was strong, but she wouldn’t let people bully her without fighting back.

“That’s right. Your child is at the police station. Why don’t we go to the police station to identify him? If it’s your child, you can take him away.”

Zhang Haiyang smiled gently, like a confused police officer, his emotions unreadable.

The man, with a full beard, now had some of it falling out.

Yan Xiaoyue stepped forward and, taking advantage of the man’s inattention, yanked off his beard.

Zhang Haiyang quickly rushed forward and subdued the man. Gu Xingshan also began to observe the surrounding people. Only after someone left the crowd did Gu Xingshan act, quickly apprehending the person.

“What are you doing? I want to go home! Why are you arresting me? Is there no justice? The police are arresting people!”

The man shouted loudly.

Zhang Haiyang then signaled for two people behind him to take the two away. He stood in the center of the crowd. “Comrades, recently, some people have been using women’s compassion to abandon children in fields or on roadsides. While looking for the children, they sell the people who find the children to remote mountain villages.”

“I hope that all women will not go out alone and have someone accompany them.”

Zhang Haiyang’s words shocked the people around, who began to look around.

“Police officer, I came out alone.”

At this time, a young girl spoke up.

Yan Xiaoyue saw people raising their hands and couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

“Everyone, don’t raise your hands. We don’t know if there are still criminals around. If you say you came alone, you might be targeted. Now, everyone can go to the police station together for questioning.”

Yan Xiaoyue stepped forward. In her previous life, one of her college roommates was sold to a remote mountain village. When they found her, she was mentally incapacitated.

They said that the family kept her chained up like a dog, even when she was pregnant, giving birth to five girls. The man wanted more children, and her roommate went insane.

Closing her eyes, she seemed to see her roommate’s desperate eyes again.