Chen Fengying’s heart sank.
She hurriedly wiped away fake tears with her handkerchief and cried out, “Daughter, what are you doing?”
Qin Man didn’t even spare her a glance. Instead, she fixed her eyes on Tan Zheng.
“You knocked me unconscious. My brain could have been seriously injured. I might even suffer permanent aftereffects.”
Tan Zheng remained silent.
Song Qingsong couldn’t take it anymore. He had never met anyone so shameless.
“Comrade Qin Man, you’ve already been examined. You only have a mild concussion.”
He emphasized, “You don’t need any treatment. Bed rest is enough for you to recover.”
“Doesn’t resting require proper nutrition?”
Qin Man rolled up her sleeve, revealing a fair arm covered in purple bruises.
“If the car had been just a few inches closer, the wheel would’ve crushed my arm!”
Tan Zheng’s gaze swept over her arm.
Those bruises hadn’t been caused by the car. They looked more like fingerprints left from someone grabbing her hard.
Leaning casually against the wall, he asked coolly,
“Comrade Qin Man, what exactly are you asking for?”
Qin Man calculated for a moment.
“Two hundred yuan, plus twenty industrial coupons.”
The moment the words left her mouth, the old woman knitting in the next bed jerked in surprise. Her ball of yarn rolled across the floor and stopped beside Tan Zheng’s polished leather shoes.
Tan Zheng bent down, picked it up, and handed it back to her.
Tan Zheng said nothing, but Song Qingsong became even more agitated.
“Comrade Qin Man, if you’re trying to extort someone, at least pick the right target!”
“Doctor Song, I’m making a perfectly reasonable request.”
Qin Man corrected him while noticing the old woman from the neighboring bed quietly slipping out of the room.
She refused to budge from her demand of two hundred yuan and twenty industrial coupons—not a single yuan less.
Cold sweat poured down Chen Fengying’s forehead.
“Comrade Tan, we don’t want any money! We really don’t!”
Realizing what Qin Man was trying to do, Chen Fengying wanted nothing more than to calm the situation before it spiraled out of control.
The reason she’d successfully trafficked women even during the government’s anti-crime crackdowns was because she knew how to read people.
She couldn’t afford to offend someone from a military compound.
Putting on a stern face, she scolded,
“Daughter, you’re committing extortion!”
“Mom, what are you talking about?”
Qin Man twisted her arm slightly before suddenly smiling.
“Wasn’t it you who taught me this? You said you’d play the good cop while we worked together to squeeze some money out of him.”
Anyone could make things up.
In those days, even a regular city worker only earned a little over thirty yuan a month.
Industrial coupons were issued according to salary. Saving even two coupons a month was considered pretty good.
“Mom, my eldest brother needs to get married. Our family has to buy something expensive. Twenty industrial coupons are enough to exchange for a sewing machine.”
From the original owner’s memories, Qin Man understood the situation fairly well.
In the countryside, food wasn’t scarce, and meat was available occasionally, but industrial coupons were nearly impossible to obtain.
Chen Fengying’s eyes widened in shock.
“W-What are you saying?”
That damn girl was framing her instead!
Song Qingsong believed it.
Earlier, he’d thought the woman looked like an honest country mother and had wondered how she could have raised such a daughter.
Now he thought he understood.
Like mother, like daughter.
He had been completely manipulated.
Just as the standoff continued, loud voices came from outside the room.
The old woman from the neighboring bed pushed the door open.
“Officers! It’s her!”
She pointed directly at Qin Man.
“I heard everything! She demanded two hundred yuan and even asked for industrial coupons!”
Two police officers in uniform entered the room.
The two exchanged glances, their brows tightly furrowed.
“So what if I asked for money?”
Qin Man showed no fear whatsoever.
The bigger the commotion became, the better.
The moment Chen Fengying saw the police, her legs nearly gave out beneath her.
After weighing her options, she made her decision instantly.
Grabbing her small bag from the bed, she suddenly bolted toward the door.
“Quick! Stop her!”
Qin Man had been watching Chen Fengying from the corner of her eye the whole time.
Seeing her attempt to flee, she sprang to her feet and lunged after her.
Unfortunately, the original Qin Man’s body hadn’t fully recovered from being hit by the car.
She stumbled awkwardly.
Instead of catching Chen Fengying, she crashed straight into Tan Zheng’s arms.
It looked exactly like she had thrown herself into his embrace.
Qin Man: “…”
She could actually explain this.
“Female hooligan!”
Song Qingsong rushed forward to pull her away.
Qin Man shouted decisively,
“Officers! She’s a human trafficker! She has a lame accomplice too!”
In the original novel, Chen Fengying and Zhao the Lame had posed as husband and wife while trafficking women and children. Their crimes were countless.
Everything had happened so suddenly that the two police officers froze.
No one believed Qin Man.
She turned toward Tan Zheng.
“Trust me!”
Demanding compensation had only been a desperate way to attract the police.
She’d had no other choice.
“Qingsong, close the hospital gates immediately. Don’t let her accomplice escape.”
Remembering the bruises on Qin Man’s arm, Tan Zheng gave a slight nod.
By then, the two officers had already snapped into action.
They split up and surrounded Chen Fengying.
Chen Fengying suddenly pulled a dagger from her pocket and wounded one of the officers.
Tan Zheng stepped in.
With one smooth motion, he forced Chen Fengying face-down by pinning the back of her neck with his knee, took the handcuffs from the injured officer, and cuffed her.
Half an hour later, Qin Man arrived at the police station.
Chen Fengying and Zhao the Lame had both been captured and were squatting on the floor with their heads lowered.
News that human traffickers were operating in the provincial capital had reached the police chief.
Seeing a familiar face, Chief Liu asked,
“Tan Zheng, what’s going on here?”
Thinking he had misunderstood, Qin Man quickly explained,
“Comrade Tan Zheng acted bravely and helped me capture the traffickers.”
She briefly recounted everything that had happened.
However, she deliberately left out the fact that Zhou Huaimin’s relatives had stood by and watched.
There was no evidence anyway.
The concise explanation left every police officer in the room wiping cold sweat from their foreheads.
Song Qingsong stared in disbelief.
“That simple, honest-looking auntie was actually a human trafficker?”
He had almost become an accomplice himself.
The previous night, when Qin Man tried to escape, it had been Song Qingsong who called the doctors and nurses to bring her back.
Now, he regretted it deeply and was overwhelmed with shame.
After leaving the police station, Qin Man heard footsteps behind her.
“Comrade Qin Man, please wait!”
She turned around.
“Doctor Song, is there something you need?”
Now that the traffickers had been dealt with, she needed to return to the hospital to pack her belongings.
The police had already returned the money, coupons, and introduction letter that Chen Fengying had stolen.
Her next step was to find Zhou Huaimin and ruin the engagement.
In the novel, the original Qin Man’s miserable life had begun because of a single selfish decision made by Zhou Huaimin.
A man who repaid kindness with betrayal wasn’t worthy of being the male lead.
“Comrade Qin Man, I’d like to sincerely apologize.”
Song Qingsong’s face was bright red with embarrassment.
“If you hadn’t been clever enough to save yourself, the traffickers would’ve sold you into the remote mountains.”
“Doctor Song, the traffickers were simply very good at pretending. It’s not your fault. You were deceived too.”
Tan Zheng had already paid for a full week’s hospitalization.
Taking the opportunity, Qin Man asked,
“I’d like to stay in the hospital for another two days. Would that be all right?”
“Of course!”
Song Qingsong agreed without hesitation.
“The police still need to investigate further and may need to question you again. It’ll be easier to find you if you stay in the hospital.”
Qin Man nodded, her mind heavy with worry.
Once she dealt with that scumbag, she had no idea where she would go.
Return to the countryside and farm for a living?
She simply wasn’t capable of heavy fieldwork.
But without an urban household registration, she couldn’t stay in the city either.
“Comrade Qin Man, this is for you.”
Tan Zheng, as always, spoke very little.
He took out a thick stack of ten-yuan notes and handed them to her.
“As for the remaining industrial coupons, I don’t have enough at the moment. I’ll need some time to gather them.”