After Old Mr. Qi finished speaking, Old Madame Qi had already pressed her fingerprints on the four Severance of Kinship Deeds. She handed two to the Village Chief—one to keep in the clan records and one to file with the county office.
She tossed one of the deeds to Mrs. Han and said, "Mrs. Han, we've severed ties with you. Why should we give you silver? Besides, don't you have silver of your own? Your son coughed up blood—he won't survive. Leave quickly and don't dirty my house."
Mrs. Han's mind went blank at that moment. Staring at the Severance of Kinship Deed lying on the ground and thinking of her son who had vomited blood, she habitually began to cry, saying, "Father, I beg you, for the sake of Xiao'er being your grandson, please send for a doctor for him!"
Old Mr. Qi let out a sigh and said, "Mrs. Han, Xiao'er is beyond saving! You'd better save your silver and order a coffin for him instead!"
Yan Shu watched Old Mr. Qi with cold eyes. She had originally thought the old man was decent, but who knew he was nothing but a sanctimonious hypocrite!
The moment he heard Mrs. Han ask for silver, displeasure filled his eyes. When Old Madame Qi grabbed his hand to press his fingerprint, he only paid lip service without struggling at all.
And now, telling Mrs. Han to save her silver—he wasn't willing to part with a single coin of his own from start to finish.
He said all the nice words while letting Old Madame Qi do all the dirty work!
Just looking at such a man made her want to vomit!
She picked up the Severance of Kinship Deed from the ground, glanced at it, then tucked it into her bosom. Helping Mrs. Han up, she said, "Mother, have you forgotten? We have silver now." With that, she handed the wooden box of silver to Mrs. Han.
Earlier, when she had performed the Acupoint Detoxification, she hadn't gathered the toxins in his hands but instead had Qi Zhixiao turn to the side to expel them. She simply hadn't had time to clean up before coming out, which was why Mrs. Han had seen the man vomit blood.
She could actually cure this man's poison, but Liu Family Village wasn't too far from here, and everyone knew the original owner didn't know medicine. If she exposed her skills, the villagers might burn her as a monster!
So it was better to just take the money and do the job!
Only then did Mrs. Han remember—her daughter-in-law was extraordinary! She had gotten her mother-in-law to give them ten taels of silver.
Ten taels!
She had never seen so much silver in her life!
With tears in her eyes, she gratefully squeezed Yan Shu's hand, then ran to Qi Zhishan with the wooden box and shoved it into his hands, saying, "Shan'er, hurry to the county and fetch a doctor to see your brother."
Her eldest son had gone to military service at fourteen and had been away for four years. He'd been sent back due to injury and had been unconscious ever since. If her eldest son died, she wouldn't have the face to meet her husband in the underworld.
Qi Zhishan glanced at Yan Shu, took the wooden box, and nodded. "Mother, don't cry. I'll go fetch a doctor right away."
Yan Shu added, "Second Brother, when you fetch the doctor, find one who knows acupuncture and have him bring silver needles." Seeing Qi Zhishan nod, she continued, "Grandpa Village Chief, my second brother is so young—could you have two grown men accompany him?"
With so many villagers watching Qi Zhishan leave with ten taels of silver—such a sum was a fortune to the villagers—if someone were tempted by greed, they might rob him, and if it turned into a deadly incident, it wouldn't be worth the loss.
The Village Chief glanced at Qi Zhishan's wooden box, naturally understanding the reasoning, and said, "Alright, I'll have your Uncle Dagen and Uncle Ergen take Zhishan to the county on the ox cart."
Yan Shu gave a slight bow and said, "Thank you, Grandpa Village Chief. And our house—I'll leave that in your care as well."
The Village Chief gave Yan Shu a long, appraising look. This young woman handled matters with poise and left no loose ends. Old Madame Qi had actually done a good thing by finding Qi Zhixiao a fine wife—though whether Qi Zhixiao had the fortune to enjoy it remained to be seen!
If Qi Zhixiao could wake up, Yan Shu would have landed in a nest of blessings, certainly better off than in the Liu family. If not… alas!
The Village Chief sighed inwardly, then said, "Don't worry. I'll have them send Zhishan off first, then find people to repair your house."
Yan Shu thanked him and saw the Village Chief off. The onlookers, seeing that Old Madame Qi's family had simply let Yan Shu go into the room, lamented the lack of drama while secretly praising Old Madame Qi for having married Qi Zhixiao to a formidable wife—one who had made Old Madame Qi lose the chicken while trying to steal the bait.
After organizing their belongings, Mrs. Han said, "Shu'er, go rest inside. I'll make the meal."
Yan Shu nodded and said, "Mother, first go borrow some flour from the neighbors and make the meal. I'm hungry!"
People need food like iron needs steel—even absorbing fluorescent light left one famished.
Mrs. Han nodded, took a basin, and went out with Qi Zhiqing.
Yan Shu leaned against the edge of the kang to rest, which gave her a clear view of her nominal husband.
She couldn't help but find it amusing. In her past life, her grandfather had arranged countless blind dates for her, openly and covertly, and she hadn't liked a single one. Now, without even being given a chance to choose, she'd become a married woman.
But looking at him more carefully—this was something else!
She'd really stumbled onto a stroke of luck, getting a handsome young husband for free!
The blood on the man's mouth had already been wiped clean. His eyes were closed, long lashes casting a faint shadow, nose high and straight, thin lips pressed together with determination, brows sweeping toward his temples, and a sharply defined face—utterly masculine.
At first glance, he wasn't particularly striking, especially with the scar on his right cheek running from his temple to the corner of his mouth—it was fierce and hard to look at. But the half of his face she was staring at grew more handsome the longer she looked.
He lay on the kang, the patched sheet covering him only up to his chest. She estimated he was at least 1.9 meters tall!
With that height and that face, as long as his eyes weren't crooked and the scar on his right side healed, this man would be absolutely stunning!
Moreover, despite the patched sheet that looked shabby, perhaps because he'd been on the battlefield or held some rank as a young officer, he exuded an air of nobility and killing intent!
She truly couldn't understand what the original owner had been thinking—rejecting such a quality man and even killing herself over it!
She'd harmed herself and dragged her into this misfortune as well.
If Grandpa learned of her death, the elder burying the younger would surely break his heart!
At least her older brother and sister-in-law were by his side.
She didn't know if she could ever return, but she still hoped Grandpa and her brother would be well.
She took the man's pulse—the poison had lessened, and his life was temporarily out of danger. All that remained was to wait for Qi Zhishan to bring back a doctor and then buy a set of silver needles.
Once she saved this man and then proposed a divorce, she could practice medicine while traveling the world, hoping to find a way back.
Yan Shu heard movement outside the door and went out to see that Mrs. Han had returned, carrying a basin with half a basin of mixed flour. Spotting a fine sieve in the room, she said, "Mother, give me the flour. Go fetch some water, will you?"
It wasn't that she was ordering Mrs. Han around—it was that she didn't know anyone in this village, not even where the well was.
Mrs. Han nodded, picked up the wooden bucket and carrying pole, and left.
Yan Shu went inside, poured the flour into another basin, and used the fine sieve to sift out the bran.
Half the basin was bran. Thinking about how the original owner used to cook, she couldn't help but sigh at how hard life was for these ancients!
She'd tried a bran bun once—it scraped her throat terribly and had a strange smell, so she absolutely refused to eat mixed flour and harm herself.
She set the fine sieve down just as Mrs. Han returned, followed by the Qi girl and Qi Zhiqing carrying firewood on their backs.
Qi Zhiqing asked, "Sister-in-law, we have water, but there's no stove. How do we cook?"
Yan Shu walked out and said, "Mother, you and Qing'er go find some large stones. Prop the cauldron up on the stones, and that'll work."
Qi Zhiqing laughed. "Sister-in-law's idea is a good one."
Mrs. Han's mouth hurt so she didn't speak, but her eyes, brimming with a smile, looked at Yan Shu with nothing but admiration and trust.
Qing'er and the neighbors had all persuaded her, and she too felt that with Shu'er around, life would only get better from here on.