Chapter 006

006

Qingyin was pondering what to eat when suddenly a figure rushed over and grabbed her. “Young comrade, do you remember me? Liu Laotou. Please help examine my eldest granddaughter.”

Qingyin quickly realized what was happening and ran even faster than Uncle Liu.

Sure enough, the girl who had been lively and energetic just fifteen minutes ago was now convulsing like a centipede, with white foam continuously frothing from her mouth… She’d seen many such cases while accompanying her grandfather. In rural areas with poor medical facilities, patients who couldn’t reach hospitals in time were often brought to their home—some mid-seizure, others post-seizure but likely to relapse soon.

“Don’t hold her like that. Tilt her head sideways—yes, let the drool flow out. Be careful she doesn’t choke.” Aspiration pneumonia would be an unnecessary complication.

Qu Jianjun immediately complied, laying his daughter flat on the ground with her head tilted.

Kneeling down, Qingyin checked the girl’s radial pulse—definitely an epileptic seizure.

She had warned the one-armed uncle before that the elder granddaughter’s condition was more severe than the younger’s, but hadn’t been able to finish before being dismissed.

Without dwelling on it, Qingyin scanned the crowd and plucked a sewing needle from an elderly woman’s headscarf. Without hesitation, she inserted it into the girl’s Hegu acupoint, silently reciting her grandfather’s therapeutic mantra to induce qi flow as quickly as possible.

The onlookers were stunned when, within half a minute of the needle insertion, the girl’s convulsions miraculously stopped—no more eye-rolling or foaming at the mouth.

Though astonished, everyone remained silent, afraid to disrupt the treatment.

About two minutes later, the girl regained consciousness, as always unaware of what had happened, her last memory being the sight of a chicken being slaughtered.

Uncle Liu patted her gently, not mentioning how this episode had nearly been fatal. Qu Jianjun looked as exhausted as if he’d fought a battle, his muscles aching from tension.

“Thank you, comrade.” He stood and bowed deeply to Qingyin.

Though young in this life, Qingyin had witnessed countless critical situations and remained composed. “No need. But this appears to be her first epileptic episode—you should take her for proper hospital treatment to prevent worsening.” Early intervention promised better outcomes.

“We’ll take her for examination later. Did you… recognize her epilepsy earlier?”

Qingyin nodded. “Moreover, if I’m not mistaken, her mother experienced severe fright during pregnancy?”

Qu Jianjun started—this was known only to immediate family.

“Yes, how could you tell?”

Qingyin had discerned it through observation. Years of medical apprenticeship had taught her to recognize the subtle markers of congenital epilepsy that most doctors missed—knowledge refined through her grandfather’s unique diagnostic methods.

“Remarkable medical insight for someone so young!”

“Truly! Diagnosing brain conditions just by looking—she’s practically miraculous!”

“I feel like she looks familiar. Isn’t she from the Qing family at No. 16 Xinghua Alley…”

“That’s right, Old Doctor Qing!”

Now everyone understood—this was Old Doctor Qing’s daughter born in his later years. People used to lament that the Qing family’s medical skills had no heir, but now they could see the tradition hadn’t been lost—it just passed to a daughter rather than a son.

Qingyin didn’t elaborate further, just glanced at the little girl again. “Your second daughter’s condition doesn’t require medicine. Just feed her more yam and hyacinth beans regularly, and avoid too many sweets or greasy tonics.”

Previous doctors likely couldn’t cure it because they assumed coughing must stem from lung issues. But as ancient texts say, “All internal organs can cause coughing.” Her condition actually originated in the spleen and stomach. Once those improve, the cough will naturally disappear. Focusing only on treating the lungs would be misdirected effort.

Qu Jianjun only half-understood. “Alright, alright, I’ll remember. When we get home, I’ll have someone make yam and hyacinth bean porridge, will that do?”

“That’ll work.” At the mention of porridge, Qingyin’s stomach growled audibly. “I should go now. If anything comes up, you can find me at No. 16 Xinghua Alley. My name is Qingyin.”

Watching her straight-backed figure despite her youth, everyone recognized traces of Old Mr. Qing’s bearing. No one doubted her medical skills.

After all, in this part of Dongcheng District, Old Doctor Qing’s reputation was legendary among the common folk—everyone knew his name and had benefited from his care.

Qu Jianjun carried the child into the car. Uncle Liu hesitated before awkwardly climbing into the back seat. “About that yam and hyacinth bean porridge… their grandma knows how to make it.” No need to return to the Qu household.

Studying his father-in-law’s expression in the rearview mirror, Qu Jianjun sighed. “Dad, I understand your anger toward me. But Da Ya and Er Ya are my own flesh and blood—I’d never harm them. Why can’t you believe that?”

“I trusted your promises before, letting Xiaofang follow you. She suffered so much bearing those children, then died without even seeing them… Don’t give me that ‘wouldn’t harm them’ talk. A stepmother means a stepfather—how many years will you stay faithful to my daughter? Even if you could, would your Qu family allow it?”

Qu Jianjun sighed. The conversation always circled back to this fundamental issue—his father-in-law’s distrust of the Qu family.

And the Qu family had indeed mistreated his late wife. The fright she suffered while pregnant with Da Ya proved that, and now Da Ya’s epilepsy was a congenital condition… All because he’d failed to protect his wife and daughters.

After his wife’s death, his one-armed father-in-law had stormed into the Qu residence, smashed everything to pieces, then taken both granddaughters away—changing their names and severing ties with the Qu family completely. Even during holidays when the elder Qus came calling for the children, Uncle Liu refused to let them visit.

The Qu household was where his daughter had been destroyed. Though ordinary people, he and his wife could at least keep the girls fed.

Over the years, Qu Jianjun visited frequently. The old couple refused his money, though they reluctantly kept the clothes, toys, and school supplies when the children grew too attached to part with them.

Today, only the children’s excitement had persuaded Uncle Liu to join this restaurant outing. Their grandmother had flatly refused to come.

Turning into the alley where the Liu family lived, Qu Jianjun let the girls go inside to rest, promising to pick them up tomorrow morning for hospital checkups. He needed to make arrangements at the hospital first… and there was another matter to attend to.

Driving the car, they soon arrived at the entrance of a courtyard in Xinghua Alley. After honking the horn with one long and one short beep, a tall, lean young man quickly emerged. Though he appeared somewhat roguish on the surface, his eyes were alertly scanning the surroundings.  

Qu Jianjun rolled down the car window. “Anzi, get in.”  

“Brother Jianjun.” The young man glanced around, ensuring no one was paying attention before nimbly hopping into the car. He pulled out a palm-sized packet from his coat. “Found it. It’s in the residential area of the city’s No. 3 Fertilizer Plant. This is what they’re using.”  

Qu Jianjun took it and sniffed, immediately wrinkling his nose.  

“Right. You told me before to keep an eye on those black-market dealers. I didn’t pay much attention at first, but a few days ago, a buddy mentioned that the fertilizer plant had some stuff stolen—a batch of nitrophosphate fertilizer. I’ve heard… that this stuff can be used to produce ammonium nitrate, which in some places is an ingredient for improvised explosives.”  

“So that’s it.” The long-standing puzzle finally had an answer, and Qu Jianjun let out a rare sigh of relief. “The higher-ups have been investigating where they got their supplies. Turns out they’re making it themselves. For now, don’t alert them.”  

“Got it. I’ll have someone keep a distant watch. That buddy of mine grew up in the fertilizer plant’s residential area—knows the place inside out. He’s ordinary-looking, so he won’t raise suspicion easily.”  

Still uneasy, Qu Jianjun gave a few more instructions. After all, everyone knew the destructive power of that stuff. If pushed to desperation, who knew how much they had or whether they’d blow the whole of Shucheng sky-high.  

“By the way, I think I heard your brother mention before that you had a Childhood Sweetheart Marriage Arrangement—that you’d marry once the other person turned eighteen. Is it coming up soon?”  

Gu An’s lips twitched. “That was just the old folks talking nonsense after drinking too much. Doesn’t count.”  

“You’re not getting any younger, and the betrothal papers were signed. How can it not count? If it seems suitable, just go ahead and marry. It’ll put your mother’s mind at ease too.”  

Gu An lowered his head and stayed silent. He had no interest in that brat Xiao Qingyin—how could he explain that? He’d tried before, but his mother would just say he couldn’t be ungrateful. After all, Old Mr. Qing had saved their whole family’s lives back then, and they couldn’t disregard his wishes. She’d even insisted feelings could grow over time—she and Old Gu hadn’t had any affection before marriage, hadn’t even met before the wedding, and yet they’d lived just fine all these years.  

In the end, it always came back to him being the ungrateful one, with the threat of a feather duster looming over his head.  

“Brother Jianjun, what’s it like marrying someone you don’t love?”  

Qu Jianjun narrowed his eyes and sighed. He was still holding out, but his parents hadn’t gotten serious yet—though they probably would soon. Probably just mutual respect, lifeless and dull.  

“You and your wife married for love. You must’ve been really happy back then, right?”  

Qu Jianjun’s eyes reddened slightly as he nodded.  

Unable to resist, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tossed one over.  

Gu An didn’t seem to be looking, but his hand shot out lightning-fast to catch it, swiftly bringing it to his lips.  

The two men sat in silence as the car quickly filled with smoke.  

Only after finishing the entire pack did Qu Jianjun clear his throat lightly. “So… do you have someone you like? If you do, fight for it properly. Handle the Childhood Sweetheart Marriage Arrangement with care too—don’t hurt either woman involved.”

Gu An immediately coughed violently as if his tail had been stepped on. “N-no, nothing like that. I haven’t… but anyway, I feel like I don’t like little sisters like her.”

“What, do you prefer older sisters then?”

Gu An’s face turned red as he averted his gaze.

Qu Jianjun caught sight of his slightly reddened ears from the corner of his eye and felt completely unsettled. “Wait, Anzi, do you really like… older women?” This kid usually told him everything straight, but today’s hesitant behavior was downright bizarre.

“They don’t have to be too much older, and that’s not exactly what I mean. Age isn’t important anyway—it’s about having a mature mindset and being intelligent.”

Qu Jianjun didn’t know that such women would later be called “ojousama” in future generations. All he felt was shock—the Anzi he’d watched grow up didn’t like young girls but preferred older women. Well, to each their own, he supposed.