Gu Liancheng was decisive in shopping, quickly filling half the truck. Half of it was charcoal. He said, “Winter is cold, lots of kids at home—these are what we rely on to get through it.”
Jiang Zhen focused more on food, buying plenty. Previously, purchases were rationed according to the household registration, but with the new year approaching, private vendors at the market had plenty, albeit more expensive, items.
After shopping, they had an extra meal that evening—hotpot with big bones—and invited Gu Liancheng’s elder sister and her husband. Gu Jiaoxia noticed immediately: Jiang Zhen wasn’t as cheerful as usual. She asked Gu Liancheng, “Did you two quarrel while shopping today?”
Gu Liancheng hurriedly replied, “No, no. Sister, can’t you think positively? She’s going to work tomorrow, just some resistance—she’ll adjust in a few days.”
Gu Jiaoxia smiled, teasing: “Don’t you give her thirty a month anyway? She could skip work if she wanted.”
That might have been fine under normal circumstances, but Jiang Zhen needed to gather evidence against Du Qiuyi—she had no choice but to go to the hospital.
…
It was Jiang Zhen’s first day at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. In the morning, she witnessed a condensed panorama of human life at the hospital. Coming from a post-apocalyptic world, she was already desensitized.
She searched all morning for Du Qiuyi but didn’t see her. Asking around, she learned Du Qiuyi worked in Anesthesiology and rarely came to Obstetrics.
An Qihui, the head nurse, guarded Jiang Zhen carefully. Yan Jiawen had no opportunity to speak with Jiang Zhen that morning. At noon, An Qihui’s younger sister, An Xiuqing, arrived, giving Yan Jiawen a chance to speak to Jiang Zhen briefly.
“Jiang Zhen, have you thought of a way to help me get a divorce?”
Jiang Zhen: “She hasn’t done anything wrong. Asking for a divorce would make you look bad. Hard to find a reason.”
Yan Jiawen panicked: “Does her domestic abuse count?”
Jiang Zhen: …“What kind of abuse?”
Now, survival was paramount. Yan Jiawen, ashamed, gritted his teeth: “We’ve never had children. She wants them, forces intimacy every night. She got medication from her aunt; now the side effects hit me—dizzy, almost dying every time. Help me!”
Jiang Zhen: …“Can’t you just refuse?”
Yan Jiawen: “I’m an in-law here. She’s domineering, can slip medicine into food or water. If I resist, she verbally abuses me. I can’t take it anymore—if this continues, I’ll end up in a psychiatric ward.”
Jiang Zhen had no immediate solution: “Well, if you want to go to the psychiatric ward, I could actually help you.”
She truly had a drug that could induce temporary insanity with no lasting side effects.
Yan Jiawen thought she was joking. Someone arrived, so he left hastily after asking Jiang Zhen to think of a solution.
…
When Gu Jiaoxia arrived, she saw Yan running off and grew suspicious. Playing it cool, she asked, “That was Dr. Yan just now, right?”
Jiang Zhen shushed her: “Sister, don’t tell anyone. An Qihui is watching closely. If she finds out, Yan won’t have a good time at home.”
Seeing Jiang Zhen’s openness, Gu Jiaoxia felt reassured and said, “His dark circles are bad. He should have a checkup.”
Jiang Zhen declined eating at the hospital, preferring to check on the kids at home.
When she arrived, the four children had already eaten. She smiled, asking: “What did you have for lunch?”
“Egg fried rice,” Gu Pan replied enthusiastically.
Jiang Zhen, worried they’d be bored, said, “I underestimated work in the system. Balancing work and the four of you is impossible. Once my big task is done, I’ll switch to a job where I can play with you more.”
Jiang Zhao said, “Mom, in spring we’ll be at school. I can watch the younger ones.”
Jiang Zhen smiled: “I don’t really like strict jobs, and I’m about to offend someone anyway—let’s see how things go.”
…
After a few days at the hospital, Jiang Zhen still hadn’t found Du Qiuyi’s flaw. She wrote a vague note: “I know it was you”, hoping to provoke a mistake. She slipped it into Du Qiuyi’s lab coat pocket.
Du Qiuyi might not see it. Instead, her fiancé, Li Chongling, called Jiang Zhen to meet. He confronted her holding the note:
“Comrade Jiang Zhen, did you write this note?”
Jiang Zhen, of course, denied it: “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Li Chongling smiled wryly: “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re not the original Jiang Zhen—you’re her sister. I won’t ask where you went or how you returned. Trust me, I’m also gathering evidence against Du Qiuyi. Physical proof of her crimes is found, but over the last six months, she’s swapped over five pairs—or more—of children. I haven’t identified exactly which families, so I haven’t acted rashly.”
Jiang Zhen: …With such honesty, she could also be frank: “Don’t worry about which children. Once she’s sentenced to death, I can figure out the swaps.”
Li Chongling was skeptical: “Jiang Zhen, this involves over ten families. It’s Du Qiuyi’s biggest leverage. She won’t tell easily; we can’t be careless.”
Jiang Zhen considered: “I really have a method. Gu Liancheng knows my ability—he can understand my identity, but you shouldn’t ask further. Trust me, and we can handle Du Qiuyi. And don’t tell Gu Liancheng about this conversation.”
…
Jiang Zhen received the call while skipping work. Returning to the hospital, Gu Jiaoxia anxiously awaited her in the department:
“Something happened! Come with me!”
“What’s so urgent?” Jiang Zhen ran after her.
“Gu Pan and the other four children were forcibly taken to the hospital by An Xiuqing, accompanied by the police, demanding an explanation.”
Jiang Zhen, puzzled: “What conflict could An Xiuqing have with the kids?”
Gu Jiaoxia stomped: “At noon, He Shuli’s sister carried a basket of bamboo shoots to thank Dr. Qi for buying charcoal. An Xiuqing beat her, claiming He Shulan accused her of abusing her grandmother. He Shulan said she saw An Xiuqing putting something into Ji Fengmei’s medicine. Even when beaten, she wouldn’t lie.”
“Then what does it have to do with the four kids?”
“Gu Pan couldn’t bear to see poor Shulan wronged. Since she was at home hearing An Xiuqing abuse her immobilized grandmother, wanting to believe He Shulan, all the kids got dragged to the hospital by An Xiuqing and the police demanding answers.”
…
Jiang Zhen saw He Shulan, beaten badly—only fourteen years old.
The children ran to Jiang Zhen’s side:
“Auntie, Aunt An is terrifying! She hit my sister like a madwoman!”
“Mom, I’m scared,” Jiang Tang clung tightly.
The police explained: “We contacted your spouse and obtained permission before bringing the children here.”
Jiang Zhen nodded, gathering the children behind her:
“We adults often turn a blind eye due to relationships, obligations, and caution. Now I can only speak truthfully. Many times, I both saw and heard An Xiuqing hitting and scolding Ji Fengmei.”
An Xiuqing, hearing that Jiang Zhen had witnessed it, relaxed and cried to Dr. Qi:
“Dr. Qi, I really didn’t do it! Even if I did, how could Jiang Zhen see it?”
Du Qiuyi wanted to calm matters first, then slowly handle Jiang Zhen:
“Little Jiang, we are colleagues. Don’t ruin harmony. We won’t count what you said about the children. Let it go.”
Jiang Zhen looked at He Shulan, only fourteen, previously holding her sister’s corpse and seeing her memories, afraid to face the surgical table. She revealed her deepest secret to Du Qiuyi, this newfound “friend”:
“My sister was swapped at birth. I want to help her find her biological family. She won’t have a good outcome in my household. I want Shulan to have a slightly better life.”
She smiled. Helping this was not hard.
Turning to Dr. Qi, who was conflicted and unsure whom to trust:
“Dr. Qi, you can’t tell truth from lies from He Shulan and An Xiuqing. But the person involved—your mother—knows best.”
“Dr. Qi, your mother has been admitted to the hospital. Aren’t you filial? Stay with her 24/7, don’t leave, don’t let anyone tamper with her, and once she recovers enough to speak, ask her if An Xiuqing abused her. Isn’t the truth then clear?”
Yes. If medication delayed her recovery, with hospital care, she would improve.
Gu Jiaoxia, wary of sabotage, agreed to temporarily set aside her grievance with Ji Fengmei:
“Dr. Qi, we’ll take turns caring for her. Once your mother can speak, ask her—that’s enough.”