Tan Zheng raised an eyebrow. He had heard that Yao Yingying had come to the hospital to visit, and he had already guessed she would refuse to leave.
Before coming over, Tan Zheng had notified Xiao Liu, the Yao family’s orderly.
“Yao Yingying, Xiao Liu is waiting downstairs. You should go now. Don’t keep him waiting.”
After speaking, Tan Zheng pulled over a chair and sat beside Tan Xiwen’s hospital bed, no longer sparing Yao Yingying another glance.
“Brother Tan Zheng, you…”
Yao Yingying stood up, looking aggrieved.
It was such a simple thing—just taking her home—but Tan Zheng would not even do that for her.
After all these years, he had always been this cold toward her.
Fortunately, he treated every other woman the same way.
That thought made her feel a little better. Picking up her small handbag, she headed toward the door.
At that moment, Qin Man returned, carrying the thermos flask and aluminum lunch box in her hands.
As soon as she reached the doorway, she saw Yao Yingying glaring at her with obvious displeasure.
“Why are you back again? You wouldn’t take my money, and now you’re still hanging around?”
In front of Tan Zheng, Yao Yingying spoke with barely concealed sarcasm.
Qin Man frowned, about to respond, when Tan Xiwen spoke first.
“Yingying, don’t be so rude.”
Yao Yingying pouted but said nothing.
Tan Zheng immediately caught the key word.
“What money?” he asked, standing up with a stern expression.
“Well…”
The sharpness in Tan Zheng’s eyes was like a blade. His expression was so severe that Yao Yingying instinctively shrank back.
She admired him—but she was also afraid of him.
Qin Man placed the items on the cabinet and said calmly, “Your fiancée offered me fifty yuan, saying it was a buyout, and that I wasn’t allowed to ask for anything more.”
Since Tan Zheng was present, Qin Man decided to make everything clear.
She had saved Tan Xiwen because it was the right thing to do, not because of the Tan family’s status.
Yes, she had accepted the recommendation letter they offered, but that didn’t give anyone the right to insult her dignity.
Talking about her trying to marry above her station?
She was the prize herself.
After setting everything down, Qin Man nodded to Tan Zheng.
“Still, thank you for your help. Once I get the money from Zhou Huaimin, I’ll pay you back. As for the industrial coupons, I’ll keep those.”
Without another word, Qin Man turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Silence filled the hospital room.
Finally recovering from the shock, Tan Xiwen looked at Yao Yingying with deep disappointment.
“Yingying, you’ve gone too far.”
Children who grew up in the military compound naturally had a little pride. That wasn’t a problem.
But believing you were superior to everyone else and trampling others into the dirt—that was another matter entirely.
Yao Yingying was more than ten years younger than Tan Xiwen, and Tan Xiwen had always been tolerant of her.
But today was different.
Yao Yingying had crossed her bottom line.
Struggling to sit up, Tan Xiwen turned to Tan Zheng.
“Little Brother, you must explain everything to Doctor Qin. This wasn’t the Tan family’s intention. Yao Yingying doesn’t represent our family.”
The night before, Tan Xiwen had truly believed she was dying.
She had convulsed repeatedly, her abdomen wracked with unbearable pain. All she could think about was saving her baby. She hadn’t even had time to leave any final words.
While unconscious, she had felt her abdomen being cut open, yet strangely she hadn’t felt any pain.
A gentle voice had stayed by her side the entire time, comforting and reassuring her.
Gradually, she stopped panicking.
Thinking of herself as a mother, she found the strength to hold on.
“Doctor Qin stayed up the whole night. She came to check on me several times, pressing on my abdomen and monitoring my condition.”
Qin Man had saved not only her life, but also her child and her entire family.
Once she recovered enough strength, Tan Xiwen intended to kneel and thank her properly.
Qin Man was her benefactor.
She had never expected that while she was unconscious, Yao Yingying would not only give Qin Man a hard time but also humiliate her with those insulting remarks.
Tan Xiwen opened her mouth to continue, but before she could speak, Tan Zheng opened the door and said coldly,
“Get out.”
“Xiwen… Brother Tan Zheng, I…”
Biting her lip, Yao Yingying’s eyes filled with tears.
She sniffled and covered her face as she hurried toward the door.
Just as she paused at the doorway, Tan Zheng’s cold, hoarse voice sounded behind her.
“I’ve never been engaged. I have no plans to get engaged anytime soon—perhaps not even in this lifetime. So stop spreading rumors outside. Otherwise, I’ll have to visit the Yao family personally and ask Commander Yao exactly what’s going on.”
Yao Yingying froze.
“Tan Zheng, you don’t have a heart!” she cried.
After all these years, even a blind person could have seen how she felt about him.
Was she really inferior to some barefoot village doctor?
She felt as though she had been stripped naked and thrown into the middle of the street, overwhelmed with humiliation.
She admitted she had acted out of vanity for a moment.
She had never imagined Tan Zheng would leave her no room for dignity.
He looked down on her?
No matter what it took, Yao Yingying swore she would make him stay by her side.
The little incident quickly slipped from Qin Man’s mind.
Early the next morning, after buying a train ticket back to her village, she became even busier.
This trip home, she wanted to bring some gifts for the villagers.
When her parents had passed away, the entire village had contributed money and labor to help with the funeral.
Qin Man currently had two hundred yuan and twenty industrial coupons.
Large items weren’t practical—they were difficult to buy and impossible to divide fairly.
Instead, she purchased towels, laundry soap, scented soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes, filling an entire large bag.
Later, Qin Man visited the state-owned restaurant again to ask Jin Feng about housing.
The moment Jin Feng saw her, she hurried over and grabbed Qin Man’s hand.
“Xiao Man! Today’s special is donkey meat dumplings! My treat!”
There was an old saying:
“Dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth.”
Donkey meat dumplings were considered one of the finest delicacies.
Unfortunately, supplies in the provincial capital were scarce, and people had to rush to get them.
“You don’t have to treat me. I’ve got money and meat ration coupons.”
Qin Man smiled, waving her little purse.
Jin Feng pointed at her face.
“Take a look. Doesn’t my skin look softer than before?”
In reality, they had only met two days earlier.
Jin Feng lived far from work and rode on the back of her father’s bicycle before dawn every day. The freezing wind had left her skin rough and dry.
She used to rub lard on her face.
But ever since Qin Man had given her a jar of cold cream, she’d only used it twice and had already noticed the difference.
Her skin was no longer dry, and it worked even better than lard.
“Xiao Man, where did you get such wonderful stuff? I want to buy some!”
It wasn’t just Jin Feng.
Several waitresses at the restaurant wanted some too.
Even one of the chefs in the kitchen wanted to buy some for his wife.
“Well…”
Qin Man had plenty stored in her space.
But as far as she knew, private trading was prohibited in this era and could be prosecuted as illegal profiteering.
Giving gifts occasionally was one thing, but she couldn’t keep handing them out forever. That would only invite trouble.
So she answered honestly.
“I actually made the cold cream myself. I also make eyebrow pencils, mascara, face powder, perfume…”
“That’s wonderful!”
Jin Feng motioned for one of the waitresses to bring over the dumplings, then leaned close and whispered,
“Illegal profiteering only counts if they catch you in the act. Even if someone reports you, without evidence, nothing can be done.”
Harbin was still relatively conservative.
In Shanghai, there were already products being sold without ration coupons.
“My brother-in-law works for the transportation team and regularly travels to Shanghai. They have secondhand stores there with all kinds of discounted merchandise.”
They called them discounted goods, but most of the items were actually excellent quality.
Some only had minor imperfections and didn’t require ration coupons.
Jin Feng held Qin Man’s hand.
“You could sell everything directly to me—or we could become partners. What do you think?”
A steaming bowl of donkey meat dumplings was soon placed before them.
Someone from the kitchen also brought over a bowl of egg drop soup.
After taking a bite of the dumpling, Qin Man thought it over before replying,
“Making these products requires quite a lot of ingredients. Give me some time to think it through carefully, and then I’ll give you my answer.”