Chapter 20: Seen Through

Zhou Shitou, whose leg had recovered quite a bit, said, “That’s her skill. Doctor Jiang cured my leg, we don’t have anything to repay her, we can’t cause her any more trouble, don’t go around spreading rumors.”

“Look at what you said, I’m not that kind of ungrateful person, am I?”

Jiang Nian’s cooking skills weren’t that good, she could barely keep herself from starving. The chicken soup smelled fragrant, but it actually had a fishy taste, and she was full after eating just two legs.

Life was really tough. She had to see so many patients every day, even if it was to hone her medical skills, but she also had to deal with so many herbs, and she couldn’t even eat properly. It was unbearable.

A night passed, and the sky was already bright.

Fortunately, she had already said it yesterday, so today there were only two patients waiting, and they didn’t come very early.

After sending them away, she went to the kitchen.

She had stayed up too late last night, and she hadn’t washed the dishes or scrubbed the pot after eating. It was still a mess.

But she remembered that she had closed the pot lid tightly, but now it was clearly open a crack.

She frowned and opened the pot lid. A large black rat had drowned in the chicken soup and was completely lifeless!

Damn it!

People were all skinny and starved, but the rat was so fat. Unbelievable!

On the path in the field, Niu Aixiang deliberately waited for Li Rui to get off work and catch up with him.

But Li Rui avoided her as soon as he saw her, not giving her a chance to explain.

Niu Aixiang could only watch her receding figure in a daze. When she turned around and saw Zhao He-ping waiting for her not far away, she felt even more wronged.

“Zhao He-ping, how could you do such a thing? We four came here together by train, and we agreed to help each other. Li Rui was kind enough to tell me his plan. I like you, so I trust you, and I never thought you were the kind of person who would steal other people’s labor. But you did this, how can I face Li Rui in the future?”

Niu Aixiang wanted to ask him yesterday, but Zhao He-ping had avoided her for a whole day, giving her no chance.

The other two old intellectuals had been won over by Zhao He-ping. They had experienced too many setbacks and no longer cared about who was right or wrong. They just wanted their lives to improve.

And now, Zhao He-ping was the one who could lead them.

Seeing the two of them arguing, it was not good to help either of them, so it was better to slip away quietly.

A flash of impatience crossed Zhao He-ping’s face, but thinking that he still needed Niu Aixiang’s help for now, this was not the time to fall out with her, so he could only patiently coax her.

“Aixiang, I’m very sorry about this, but I can’t help it. I’m also very distressed. I’ve been pushed to the brink. I can be obedient and live here like a dog, but my parents, I don’t know where they are suffering. I have to find a way to go back to the city, find a way to succeed. Can you understand? Only then can I gain the power to speak, only then can I go and rescue my parents. Aixiang, I know I’m doing wrong, I know my actions are disgusting, but I beg you, please don’t hate me, okay? You’re the only one I have. If even you leave me, I don’t know what meaning my life has!” Zhao He-ping gave himself a slap, a real one, turning his cheek red.

Niu Aixiang grabbed his wrist with concern, “He-ping, don’t do that. I can give up my life in Haicheng and come here with you, I’m not afraid of hardship or suffering, and I never thought that one day I would leave you. I know it’s hard for you, you’re also very distressed, but this was Li Rui’s idea. I just feel very sorry for him, after all, he trusted me so unconditionally, and the first thing he did when he came up with this idea was to ask me to cooperate with him, but I messed things up.”

Zhao He-ping curled his lips, the contempt in his eyes was undisguised.

So what?

It’s all your fault.

Niu Aixiang, what do you mean you gave up your life in Haicheng for me? Zhao He-ping, I’m where I am today because of you. What are you pretending for?

Li Rui is pitiful, but he can only blame himself for being blind and making friends with someone as vicious as you.

Everything today is your own doing.

One day, Zhao He-ping, I will make you, and your entire Niu family, pay for our suffering today.

He hugged Niu Aixiang half-heartedly, “It’s my fault for doing this to Li Rui, but I had no choice. Aixiang, understand my pain, understand my desire to save my family. When I have the chance, I will definitely make it up to Li Rui, I swear!”

Niu Aixiang still felt uncomfortable, but she had been with Zhao He-ping for so many years. If she could really let go so easily, she wouldn’t have come to the countryside with Zhao He-ping even if it meant breaking with her family.

She came to Jiang Nian’s hut and saw Jiang Nian sitting at the door from afar, her chin resting weakly on her palm, looking listless.

“Jiang Nian, are you unhappy too?” She sighed, making herself at home and taking a stool from the room to sit next to Jiang Nian.

The courtyard was full of dried herbs, some hanging on ropes, some drying on the ground, and some drying on mats. They were all common plants, she didn’t necessarily know them all, but she had seen most of them.

She thought that out of the four of them, Jiang Nian should be the most carefree.

But looking at her expression, she couldn’t find any trace of happiness.

“It’s not that I’m unhappy or happy.” After all, that black rat was still lying in her pot, making her have to cook breakfast in her space. She was exhausted from head to toe, and she was too tired to deal with the mess outside. “You came to find me because of Li Rui?”

“You know?”

“Li Rui came yesterday, he was crying quite pitifully.”

Jiang Nian believed that this matter was definitely not a conspiracy between Niu Aixiang and Zhao He-ping. She and Li Rui were both too naive, they were obviously well protected by their families and had not experienced any major storms.

Zhao He-ping was different. He looked a little gloomy, obviously having suffered a major blow, his mind was sensitive and suspicious, he was definitely not a good person.

Jiang Nian had a good eye for people.

Niu Aixiang heard this and felt even more uncomfortable, “It’s my fault for doing this to him, but I really didn’t mean to. Now I can’t do anything about it. You don’t know, He-ping is also very pitiful. He was fine, he was an only child, but everything was gone overnight. He was forced to come here, his father and mother don’t know where they went. He’s worried and distressed, so he desperately wants a way out. Jiang Nian, you don’t know what He-ping has been through. I watched him go through it all. I really… I really can’t bear to blame him. I don’t know what to do. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t told He-ping about it, it wouldn’t have turned out like this…”

Niu Aixiang cried harder and harder, but inadvertently, when she saw Jiang Nian’s eyes, she felt a sense of guilt, making her unable to look directly at her.

It was as if she was being seen through.