Since Bei Qinghuan had pegged him as an orderly, she didn’t stand on ceremony at all.
Quite familiarly, she jerked her chin toward the medical office. “Hey, did Dr. Ye just introduce an Old Chinese Medicine Doctor to your Representative Jing?”
Jing Xiao narrowed his eyes. “How did you know?”
Bei Qinghuan instructed with a straight face:
“Because that Old Chinese Medicine Doctor… I know him too! He’s great, really, really great! For someone in your Representative Jing’s condition, a few acupuncture sessions will definitely be effective. Or he might even make you a Chinese Medicine Hot Compress Pack. Whether it’s a rainy day or winter, a needle session and a compress session, and the pain will basically be gone. He doesn’t treat just anyone, and a full course of treatment only costs… this much!”
Bei Qinghuan hesitantly held up five fingers, then thought for a moment and put one down. “Four yuan! No charge if it’s not effective. You should tell your Representative Jing. Go get it treated!”
An irrepressible smile touched Jing Xiao’s eyes.
This girl was truly interesting.
Her description was so detailed that she had indeed hit the nail on the head, but she had also exposed herself.
Jing Xiao lifted his chin and crossed his arms. “This Old Chinese Medicine Doctor… wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?”
“No, it’s not… He’s a really amazing… Old Chinese Medicine Doctor…”
Bei Qinghuan’s raised fingers slowly curled into a fist as her voice grew smaller and smaller.
How did this man guess so quickly?
If it was her, then charging four yuan was indeed too high.
Even in the countryside, many people didn’t believe she had any real skills at first. They only let her treat them when they were out of options. If Representative Jing knew it was her, he definitely wouldn’t believe it.
Sigh, this was a bit awkward.
Jing Xiao knew from her expression that he had guessed correctly.
And he had to admit, her bragging was quite unique.
In their two encounters, she hadn’t been the least bit modest. Yesterday, she was boasting about her cooking; today, she was boasting about her medical skills.
How had he never known there was such a character of a girl in this factory district before?
However, in her eyes, Jing Xiao didn’t see the kind of blatant adoration that other girls directed at him.
He didn’t find it repulsive.
Jing Xiao struggled to maintain a stern face and said disdainfully, “Not necessary. We don’t believe in old Chinese medicine doctors.”
“You… Only the ignorant don’t believe. Hmph!”
Bei Qinghuan felt the other party was impervious to persuasion; the negotiation had failed.
She turned back to continue washing her bottles.
But Jing Xiao didn’t leave. He dropped a line from behind her, “However, if it were a Young Chinese Medicine Practitioner, we could let them practice on us. We should support the youth, after all.”
Bei Qinghuan: “…”
If she admitted right now that she was that youth, would she get his support?
Bei Qinghuan hesitated and hesitated. Just as she was about to say that if it was her, three yuan would be fine, just to support her…
But before she could show weakness, Jing Xiao let out a derisive laugh. “A pity. The average Young Chinese Medicine Practitioner is ignorant, timid, and only has eyes for money. That won’t do either.”
Then he strode away on his long legs.
Bei Qinghuan: “…!”
She was above average, alright!
She didn’t care if he called her ignorant and timid, but why say she only had eyes for money?
She clearly wanted to treat illnesses and make some money on the side, alright!
This man was so annoying.
He spoke as if he could call the shots, but wouldn’t the final decision still rest with Representative Jing!
It seemed that even a wealthy client like this wouldn’t be easy to persuade.
Her plan to open an Acupuncture Treatment Room still needed careful planning.
Bei Qinghuan resignedly took her bottles and left.
After all, her own affairs were more pressing at the moment.
She hurried home and began to rummage through chests and cupboards, searching for something.
Finally, she found a piece of slightly musty woolen fabric, a child’s silver bracelet, and lastly, a marriage certificate.
Only after placing the items on the table did Bei Qinghuan seem to relax and begin making lunch.
Ten minutes after the factory’s lunch bell rang, Yan Guifang returned home, her face wreathed in smiles.
Before work today, she had directly stuffed the items into “Representative Jing’s” hands and left. Just now on the road, she had run into “Representative Jing’s orderly,” who praised her family’s side dishes. Oh, that young man’s smile was so handsome. “Representative Jing” was a good person, and by extension, his orderly was too…
But the moment she saw the items on the dining table, Yan Guifang’s smile vanished. “Huanhuan, why did you take these old things out?”
Bei Qinghuan said, “To break off the engagement. All these things must be returned to the Qin family. And the holiday gifts they’ve sent over the years, help me recall what they were. We’ll calculate their value and return the money to them.”
Yan Guifang was still stunned for a moment. “You… Why the sudden decision to break off the engagement? Didn’t you say to wait a few days?”
After all, just yesterday she was asking how much dowry to give.
Of course, it wasn’t sudden for Bei Qinghuan.
Ye Xiaoyun had said Mei Suqin’s health was fine, just that she suffered from frequent oral ulcers.
Heh!
That was not good at all.
This kind of long-term heat-toxin was very depleting to the yin-blood.
The damp-heat toxin had accumulated in the body, eventually rising to the mouth and tongue, and had begun to scorch the mucosal meridians.
Moreover, while Mei Suqin’s face had looked rosy at first glance yesterday, upon closer inspection, there were many red patches on her face.
In Chinese medicine, this disease was called Yin-Yang Toxin; in Western medicine, it was called Lupus Erythematosus.
And Lupus Erythematosus would eventually develop into Kidney Failure.
It was incurable.
Unless there was an organ transplant.
Therefore, what she had heard from Mei Suqin’s mind was confirmed again today—it was real!
Bei Qinghuan had thought a lot based on this information.
The two families had been engaged for so many years. If the Qin family had always looked after hers, Bei Qinghuan would absolutely not do something like breaking off the engagement just because she found out about Mei Suqin’s illness.
After all, she was marrying Qin Zhenghua, not Mei Suqin.
She wouldn’t even care too much that the Qin family looked down on her now.
The ups and downs she had experienced had long since taught her that when one is at a low point, one has no choice but to bow their head.
However, those two sentences from Mei Suqin’s mind made Bei Qinghuan instantly understand that the Qin family was not only after her money, but also her kidney.
If she still married into that family, would she be a fool?
She didn’t even want to wait three days. She had to draw a clear line with this family immediately!
The only problem was, Bei Qinghuan didn’t know how to tell her mother that she had seen through the Qin family’s plot because she could hear their thoughts.
Fortunately, her mother wasn’t the rigid type and could be reasoned with.
Bei Qinghuan pressed her mother’s shoulders, making her sit down at the table, and explained earnestly:
“Mom, it’s not a sudden thought. During all those years I was sent to the countryside, Qin Zhenghua only wrote to me in the first and second year. After that, there was no news at all. I’ve been back for almost two months now, and he hasn’t come to see me once. Do you think that’s normal?
“Besides, you saw Mei Suqin’s attitude. It was so hypocritical. They haven’t mentioned finding a job for me, so if I really marry him, am I supposed to be a maid for their family? I’d rather stay home and assemble paper boxes, right?
“I said three days yesterday to be cautious, but I thought about it all night and realized I can’t stand it. It’s better to just break it off.”