But inside, Mei Suqin was cursing even more fiercely:
[Pig, stupid pig! Of course it’s not worth much if you sell it now, but it would be a different story once we get in with the district chief and he introduces it to the Chinese medicine factory to open a new production line! The ‘Qingfeng Powder’ formula alone sold for twenty thousand, with annual dividends and an award on top of that! The key thing is, Zhenghua could have become a section chief at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative because of it! Now it’s all ruined! What idiots! How could there be idiots like you!]
“Idiot.” Bei Qinghuan’s mood instantly brightened.
Oh, mama, a single formula could actually sell for twenty thousand yuan!
And it could even get a factory to open a new production line and earn dividends?
Bei Qinghuan had never even considered such a thing before.
Idiot, so be it. She didn’t care what she was called anymore!
Now that she knew how that formula was meant to be used, she would make good use of it.
As for Mei Suqin, perhaps cursing inwardly wasn’t satisfying enough. After a moment of sullenness, she couldn’t hold her tongue:
“Your mother is truly stupid. She didn’t even ask us… What I mean is, since she had the prescription, she could have offered to sell it to us. Then wouldn’t we have been able to give her money to help out?”
Bei Qinghuan replied softly, “How could we have imposed like that? But there’s no point in talking about this now. The formula is long gone.”
She watched as Mei Suqin clenched her hands into fists, took a deep breath, and asked cautiously:
“Um, Huanhuan, I heard your maternal grandfather was quite formidable back in the day. Besides prescriptions, did he, uh, collect any fine medicines at home? Your mother wouldn’t have sold things like that, right?”
But her inner voice said, [Don’t you dare tell me those medicines were sold too. If even the medicines are gone, then why would I want a fool like you marrying into my family? I might as well have Tao Su!]
Originally, Bei Qinghuan had indeed planned to casually say, “The medicines were sold too,” but now, she didn’t want to say it so quickly.
She hadn’t heard enough of the inner voice yet.
And just like that, as she waited, she heard a new name.
Tao Su.
That should be a woman’s name.
She didn’t know if it was a real name or a nickname.
In any case, this was a woman who was likely connected to Qin Zhenghua.
Otherwise, why would Mei Suqin compare this Tao Su to her, Bei Qinghuan, at a time like this?
The corners of Bei Qinghuan’s mouth curved up slightly as she did her best to remain polite.
“Auntie Mei, let’s not talk about those old matters. I came to talk to you about the betrothal gift. My mother said that if you’re reluctant to part with the five hundred yuan, that’s fine. Just helping me secure a job would be enough.”
Mei Suqin was in no mood to talk about a job right now, so she started cursing inwardly again:
[A job, my ass! If I let you go out to work, I won’t be able to control you anymore! Who will do the housework? Who will raise the children? Besides, in your last life, you offended someone with that Acupuncture Treatment Room you opened, and we had to clean up your mess. What a disgrace!]
Bei Qinghuan: “…”
Finally, she’d gotten to the main point.
So, in her past life, she really had opened a treatment room.
It was just that she had offended someone, which was why she couldn’t keep it open.
Tsk, how could I have offended someone?
Who did I offend?
Bei Qinghuan was extremely curious about this.
Unfortunately, Mei Suqin didn’t elaborate, merely frowning as her mind repeatedly mulled over those old medicines:
[That damn girl, are those medicines still there or not?]
[Why won’t this pauper just say… How should I ask so she won’t get suspicious… Are they still there or not? I’ll need them soon.]
[Let me think, what date will I need them? Tsk, I think it’s the end of this month. The district chief will be eternally grateful to us then.]
[I absolutely cannot lose this opportunity. How can I get her to take them out? The medicine must still be there, right? There was so much, how could it be gone? If I say I need to take it, will they give it to me? A hundred yuan a piece! The money alone is enough to make one’s eyes burn. My medicine, is it there or not…]
But Bei Qinghuan was different from Mei Suqin. Opening an Acupuncture Treatment Room was Bei Qinghuan’s current ideal.
So at this moment, Bei Qinghuan was seriously thinking about her treatment room, but Mei Suqin’s inner voice kept going on about the medicine.
So annoying!
Bei Qinghuan’s head spun from the clamor of the inner voice, and for a moment, she forgot to distinguish between the inner voice and spoken words.
She blurted out:
“They’re gone. Long gone. My mom traded those medicines for an old ginseng root to eat, which is why her health has improved so much recently. You were just saying about the treatm—”
“Spendthrift! How could there be spendthrifts like you!”
Before Bei Qinghuan could finish, Mei Suqin slammed the table and shot to her feet, her right hand whipping through the air toward Bei Qinghuan’s face.
Bei Qinghuan dodged instinctively.
But Mei Suqin’s nails were long and still managed to scratch Bei Qinghuan’s face.
It felt like a layer of skin had been scraped off.
A fiery pain flared up.
After five years of farm work in the countryside, Bei Qinghuan was no pushover.
She looked at Mei Suqin’s bloodshot eyes and said coldly:
“What are you doing? I haven’t even married into your family, and you’re already treating me like this? Then let’s break off the engagement! And you call yourself the factory director’s family? The betrothal gift is a joke, you won’t lift a finger to help with a job, you meddle in my family’s affairs, you curse me at the drop of a hat, and you raise your hand to hit me. What kind of family are you? Let’s break off the engagement!”
Bei Qinghuan stood up and turned to leave.
Although she hadn’t controlled the pace well and there were still many things she hadn’t found out, she wanted nothing more to do with this kind of family.
If she couldn’t hear the inner voice anymore, so be it. As long as she drew a clear line with this family, they could forget about ever scheming against her again!
Mei Suqin looked at her own hand.
Tsk, you wretched hand, why are you so impatient?
How could she have known that the girl would speak of the very thing she was just thinking about in her head!
In their last life, it was only because of that specially handled incident that this damn girl had been brought to heel. She had forgotten that this girl had quite a temper to begin with.
Sigh, getting the medicine was still the most important thing!
Mei Suqin threw all caution to the wind, chased after her, and yelled, “Qinghuan! You stop right there! I’m your mother-in-law! What’s wrong with an elder saying a few words to you!”
This was something she had often said in their last life.
But the Bei Qinghuan of this life showed no mercy. “We’re about to break off the engagement, what kind of mother-in-law are you? Even a mother-in-law can’t hit people! Break off the engagement!”
Mei Suqin was so angry she could have fallen over backward, but she still had to coax her.
“Bei Qinghuan, stop! Who gave you permission to break off the engagement! It’s not your place to say that! Alright, let’s talk properly. Breaking off an engagement isn’t that simple. The marriage agreement has to be produced, and the things our family gave you must be returned. Your family is so poor, can you afford to return them…”
Bei Qinghuan, who had already reached the courtyard, was reminded.
She stopped, turned around, and threw the contents of her shoulder bag at her.
“Here, take it back! This is the marriage agreement; this is the woolen fabric you gave over ten years ago; and this is the silver bracelet from the arranged betrothal. Take it all back!”
The marriage agreement was light and fluttered to the ground before it could reach Mei Suqin.
The coarse woolen fabric, however, was heavy and struck Mei Suqin squarely.
This old fabric had grown heavy with the years, like a brick, and the impact made Mei Suqin’s head spin.
So when she saw a small, round object flying toward her, she hastily put up a hand to block it.
With a thwack, the object was deflected and flew off sideways, landing somewhere out of sight.
Outside the courtyard, Jing Xiao, who was jogging back, had just opened the gate when he caught a glimpse of something flying toward him out of the corner of his eye.
He dodged nimbly, and a small, round object fell at his feet.
This time, it didn’t roll. It lay flat.
Jing Xiao picked it up and took a look.
Well now, what a coincidence. It was the very token of love the girl had mentioned earlier.
Lingering like a restless spirit, just who was it trying to pledge itself to?