“Doctor Qin, I burned my hand. Could you please take a look and see if it’s serious?”
Another patient arrived at the clinic.
Li Yingtang stepped under the eaves and continued knitting her scarf.
The warm sunlight made her feel pleasantly lazy.
After sitting for a while, she stood up and stretched. Seeing Aunt Liu and her daughters-in-law passing by, she casually asked, “Where’s everyone headed?”
Aunt Liu replied, “Dashun and Yulan are getting married today. The whole village’s invited to the wedding feast. Little Qin must have been invited too. Want to come with us?”
Li Yingtang put down her knitting and went into the clinic to ask.
Before she could speak, Qin Xian took out two one-yuan bills.
“I heard. This is the gift money. Go ahead first. If I have time, I’ll come later. Don’t eat too many cold dishes.”
“Got it.”
Li Yingtang took the money and went with Aunt Liu and the others to the groom’s house.
In the short five-minute walk, she learned the juiciest gossip in the village.
One father had driven his own daughter out of the house just to recruit a live-in son-in-law.
One younger brother had secretly been having an affair with his sister-in-law.
Another butcher’s wife’s niece had gotten involved with the butcher himself.
Only after they arrived did everyone turn their attention to the groom welcoming guests at the entrance.
He looked about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with regular features, an average build, dressed in his everyday clothes with a fake red flower pinned to his chest.
“Dashun looks handsome today! When are you going to pick up the bride?”
“Right about now.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone handed over their gift money and went inside.
The room was simple—mud-brick walls and old wooden windows.
A young woman in red sat on the edge of the wooden bed. She looked eighteen or nineteen, pretty and delicate, with the same fake flower pinned to her chest. Her head remained lowered as she quietly wiped away tears.
Li Yingtang thought to herself, Is that the bride? Weren’t they saying she hadn’t arrived yet?
“Yulan, why are you crying? The groom’s family has such good conditions. They even gave a generous bride price. You’ll enjoy life after you marry.”
“The couple is still young. In the future, they’ll earn money for you and help raise your children.”
“Stop trying to comfort her!” Yulan’s mother snapped with her hands on her hips. “This stupid girl has no idea how lucky she is! When the groom gets here, if you dare cause trouble, I’ll have your father beat you to death!”
Li Yingtang finally understood.
It was an exchange marriage.
She had seen it in television dramas.
To save money, two families married their daughters to each other’s sons.
How could parents and brothers be so selfish?
They benefited by sacrificing their own daughter and sister.
How could they sleep with a clear conscience?
Yulan said nothing, silently crying.
Li Yingtang sympathized with her, but there was little she could do. She simply handed the girl her handkerchief.
Yulan’s mother immediately acted as if she had found a savior.
“Little Qin’s wife, you’re a city girl. You’ve seen more of the world. Please talk some sense into this stubborn girl.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Li Yingtang replied bluntly. “My family doesn’t believe in trading daughters for daughters-in-law.”
Yulan’s mother’s face alternated between red and pale.
She wanted to scold Li Yingtang but didn’t dare offend Qin Xian, so she swallowed her anger.
Just as Li Yingtang was about to comfort Yulan, Aunt Liu called out.
“Little Qin’s wife, hurry over here!”
Thinking something had happened, she hurried over, only to discover Aunt Liu was saving her a seat.
As soon as she sat down, the dishes were served.
There were eight plates of cold appetizers.
They looked plentiful, but every single one was vegetarian.
Cold cilantro salad, cold spinach, shredded kelp, cold tofu…
There were ten larger dishes afterward, but most of those were vegetarian as well.
Even so, Li Yingtang couldn’t compete with everyone else for the food.
After missing several times with her chopsticks, she simply put them down.
Aunt Liu managed to grab her a piece of vegetarian chicken.
“Little Qin’s wife, eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“In that case, I’ll eat it.”
Aunt Liu immediately picked the piece back into her own bowl.
Li Yingtang: “…”
At the clinic, Qin Xian sent off his last patient. Rolling down his sleeves, he checked the time.
It was just lunchtime.
He locked the clinic and set out to find Li Yingtang.
He had just pulled the key from the lock when a cheerful male voice called from behind.
“Qin Xian, where are you off to?”
Turning around, Qin Xian smiled faintly.
“It’s you. What brings you here?”
The visitor’s surname was Xi, given name Yue. He worked in the Criminal Investigation Division of the West District. They had been deskmates in high school and had stayed in touch even after attending different universities.
“I wouldn’t come unless I had business,” Xi Yue said. “Our team’s handling a major case. We’re short on forensic examiners, so I came to ask you for help.”
Qin Xian declined politely.
“I’m busy here too. There are plenty of talented people in the city. You don’t need me.”
“I don’t trust anyone else.”
Xi Yue waved an officially stamped application letter.
“You’ll only be gone a couple of days. See? I already got the paperwork approved.”
Qin Xian glanced at the official seal.
“I actually have something I’d like to ask you as well.”
“As long as it’s within my abilities, I’d go through fire and water for—”
Xi Yue suddenly stopped speaking.
His eyes landed on the white nightdress hanging beneath the eaves to dry.
“You got married?”
Qin Xian paused briefly before nodding.
“Yes.”
“Where is she? What does she look like?”
He looked around curiously.
“She’s at the wedding feast in the village ahead. Want to see?”
Qin Xian’s straightforward answer made Xi Yue unexpectedly embarrassed.
“What are you talking about? Am I crazy? Why would I want to look at your wife? Business first.”
After the wedding feast ended, Li Yingtang returned home.
The front gate was locked.
Where had he gone?
One of the windows was open.
She lifted the curtain and found a key inside, unlocked the door, and entered.
A note had been left on the table.
I had to leave on business. I may be away for two or three days. Take good care of yourself.
Li Yingtang: “…”
He left?
Who was going to cook for her now?
If he could leave, then so could she.
She immediately collected the clothes drying in the courtyard, packed a couple of changes of clothing, locked the doors and windows, and left.
By afternoon she had reached the township, boarded a bus to the city, and checked into the same guesthouse as before.
The next morning, she appeared at the secondhand market.
She wandered from stall to stall.
Everything she liked was overpriced, and the sellers refused to bargain.
She decided to look elsewhere for another opportunity.
As she walked toward the exit, a thin middle-aged man stopped her.
After looking around cautiously, he pulled her aside and lowered his voice.
“Miss, would you like to look at what I’m selling? It’s cheap and good quality.”
Li Yingtang replied calmly, “I only look at jade.”
“It is jade. I noticed you the moment you came in.”
She became wary.
“Why were you watching me? I’m not an easy person to fool.”
“I know, I know. Just take a look.”
The man hurriedly took a wooden box from inside his coat.
Opening it carefully, he revealed a yellow-white jade Pixiu.
Li Yingtang reached out, but withdrew her hand before touching it.
There was an old saying:
Jade should never be passed directly from hand to hand; gold should never leave your sight.
If she took it while he deliberately let go, she’d be the one in trouble.
“Please set it on the ground first. Pick it up once and put it back down.”
“Sure.”
The man quickly did as instructed.
Only then did Li Yingtang dare pick it up.
She examined it from every angle, feeling and inspecting it carefully.
It was genuine.
Not only genuine—it was an exceptionally fine piece.
“How much do you want for it?”
“Thirty yuan.”
“A little cheaper.”
“That’s already my lowest price. If I weren’t desperate for money, I’d never sell it.”
The moment she heard that, she decided to cut the price by one-third.
“Twenty yuan. If you’re willing, I’ll buy it.”
The item almost certainly had a questionable origin.
Otherwise, why wouldn’t he sell it through a legitimate shop?
Dealers recognized valuable pieces immediately and would use every excuse to lower the price.
Unable to bear selling it too cheaply to them, he had instead chosen her, thinking she would be the easiest target.
The man gritted his teeth.
“Fine. Twenty it is.”
Li Yingtang paid and took the jade.
This time, instead of returning to the previous shop, she went to a small, inconspicuous antique store.
She had learned about this place while having her smoky-purple jade pendant polished by a craftsman.
The shop specialized in buying treasures with questionable origins.
She smiled at the shopkeeper.
“Boss, would you be so kind as to take a look at this treasure of mine and tell me how many steamed buns it’s worth?”