“The Liberation North Road stop is here!” the conductor shouted to everyone. “Those getting off, come forward!”
Li Yingtang stood up and squeezed her way through the crowd. After getting off, she saw a newspaper kiosk and walked over.
“Excuse me, do you sell city maps?”
“Yes. Two mao per copy.”
“So expensive? Can it be cheaper?” she bargained.
“No discount. Buy it or don’t.”
Li Yingtang: “…”
A conductor and a newspaper seller—both equally tough. Who spoiled them like this?
“I’ll take one.” She slapped down the money.
The vendor glanced at her sideways and handed her a map.
She unfolded it and looked.
The name matched roughly what she knew of Yanjing, especially the old city area—the landmarks were almost identical.
So either she had experienced time reversal…
Or she was in a parallel world.
Did that mean she might be able to find her family, still young and in their prime?
At the thought, her hands trembled.
She followed the map and eventually located the old residence.
But when she saw the unfamiliar courtyard, it felt like a bucket of cold water poured over her.
After a long silence, she sighed deeply.
“Better go to the hospital where A Xian worked.”
She adjusted her mood and set off again, arriving an hour later at Yanjing Second Hospital.
Within a 500-meter radius, there was not a single residential house—only a large crematorium.
Good heavens.
The first time she lied, he already knew.
The second time, he exposed her.
Fortunately, he didn’t keep pressing, or she would have been exposed for sure.
She steadied herself and entered the hospital, searching the photo wall.
She found a doctor named Gao Qing, who had worked in the same period as Qin Xian.
She registered for his department and waited until her number was called.
Inside, she removed her hat and scarf, revealing her delicate, bright face.
Gao Qing glanced at her twice. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sick. I want to ask you about someone—Qin Xian. Qin as in Qin Shi Huang, and Xian as in the character with rain radical under ‘san’ (snow-like drizzle). Do you know him?”
Gao Qing paused. “What are you to him?”
Li Yingtang immediately thought: she had found the right person.
“I am…” she almost said “his wife,” but stopped. If someone reported it and his father asked, wouldn’t she be exposed?
She quickly changed it. “His assistant. I came into the city today to run errands. He asked me to pick something up from his home, but I lost the address. Since he used to work here, I thought his colleagues would know where he lives.”
Gao Qing’s eyes flickered. “I don’t know where he lives either. How is he doing in the countryside?”
“He’s doing well.”
Gao Qing studied her. “You don’t look like someone in medicine. You’re his blind date, aren’t you? Here to ask about his character?”
Li Yingtang’s eyes flashed. She nodded decisively. “You’re right. What kind of person is he?”
“Don’t be fooled by his good looks. He’s extremely irresponsible, arrogant, and overly ambitious. Otherwise, with his qualifications, how could he have been sent to the countryside and ruined his life?”
From his tone, she could clearly sense deep hostility toward Qin Xian.
What sounded like “facts” was actually belittling.
Her fists tightened slightly. She smiled sweetly, like a blooming summer flower.
“Then I guess I don’t have a boyfriend anymore. Could you introduce someone to me? Someone like you would do.”
She even threw him a flirtatious glance.
Gao Qing was stunned, his heart shaken. “I… I would work?”
Li Yingtang’s smile vanished instantly.
“Work your ass! Go find a mirror at home—or piss and look down at your reflection and see if you deserve it!”
She turned and left, leaving behind only a trace of fragrance.
……
After leaving the hospital, she unfolded the map again.
After half a day, she finally found a small house with a rusted lock.
Through the crack in the door, she looked inside the courtyard.
Dead leaves swirled in the wind, and the main hall door creaked like it might collapse at any moment.
It was extremely run-down.
She asked a nearby neighbor about the owner, pretending to be a renter.
The old woman said, “A young man lived here two years ago, then he disappeared. No one knows where he went.”
“No family?”
“He said he was an orphan.”
Li Yingtang: “So the house is just left empty?”
The woman glanced around and lowered her voice. “It’s a haunted house. Rumor says a woman died there in childbirth. Very unlucky. Look at this area—hospital, crematorium—who would dare come near it?”
Li Yingtang was very satisfied.
This place was perfect for registering her household!
She could settle here first, establish herself, and later transfer out when stable.
If she ever found the owner, she would compensate them generously.
She memorized the address and thanked the woman before leaving.
She ate a bowl of noodles at a small shop nearby, then bought a flashlight and headed toward Jiyuan.
On the map, it was marked as an old goods market—what she understood as a place for “treasure hunting.”
Her grandfather had once dealt in antiques and often talked about his youth.
In his stories, the 1980s were full of opportunities.
If you seized just one, you could turn your life around and rise above others.
And she only needed a small opportunity to live comfortably for a long time.
When she arrived, she saw a few acres of open land surrounded by brick walls. Vendors set up simple stalls.
Crowds moved continuously as she walked through them, browsing one stall after another.
Antiques of all kinds dazzled the eyes—porcelain, paintings, lacquerware, embroidery, bronze items, Buddha statues, gilded objects.
All beautiful—but she couldn’t identify them.
Only jade was something she understood a little.
So she focused on it, shining her flashlight to examine pieces.
“Hey! Little girl, are you buying or not? Stop shining that broken light if you’re not!”
Li Yingtang pulled down her scarf and snapped back, “You fat old man, how am I supposed to judge authenticity if I don’t look?”
The vendor rolled up his sleeves, about to hit her—but after seeing her face, he gritted his teeth.
“If you weren’t pretty, I’d slap you for real.”
She leaned forward. “Come on, hit my face. Your auntie here has punched bullies and kicked war gods before!”
The vendor: “…”
After a while, seeing no reaction, she huffed proudly and moved on.
At the next stall, she continued shining her light.
After browsing half the market, she finally found something she liked—a jade pendant.
The texture was smooth and warm, quite fine.
Under the light, the structure was good, though with some black spots—normal for jade.
But she didn’t choose it. Instead, she picked a white jade bracelet beside it and examined it thoroughly under the light.
“Girl, are you buying or not? You’ve been fiddling forever.”
“I am. How much?”
“Ten yuan.”
“Cheaper?”
“Nine yuan. No lower.”
She clutched the bracelet reluctantly. “Still too expensive. How about three yuan? That’s all I have.”
Seeing how pretty she was, the vendor relented. “Fine. Three yuan it is.”
Li Yingtang immediately narrowed her eyes. “You answered too quickly. Now I don’t dare buy it. Is it fake? One yuan.”
“Hey! Go to a proper market with three yuan—you can’t even buy a pendant for that. One yuan? What can you buy with that? Are you here to cause trouble? Don’t waste my time if you’re not buying!”