“Get him to the hospital right away,” suggested Wang.
Several large wolfhounds that had followed along barked loudly.
“Wait a moment let me stop the bleeding for Captain Zhou first,” Shen Zhiyi said, stopping them in their tracks.
She borrowed a flashlight and rummaged through the contents of her case Ruyi. Sure enough, she found items meant to stop bleeding, along with gauze, medical tape, and antiseptic solution.
What Ruyi had given her was a special antiseptic spray. It didn’t cause any stinging or pain when applied, yet it was extremely effective at preventing infection and stopping bleeding. Each small bottle held only twenty milliliters but sold for dozens of yuan.
“Miss, are you studying medicine?” Wang asked curiously, having never met Shen Zhiyi before. He was especially struck by how well-stocked and complete the supplies in her carrying case were.
“Wang, this is Miss Shen. She’s the head chef at Fumanlou Restaurant, and Mr. Wei speaks very highly of her,” someone who knew her explained.
“It’s not exactly some grand or remarkable profession. When you get right down to it, I just cook meals,” Shen Zhiyi replied calmly and plainly.
She took out the supplies and sprayed the liquid onto Zhou Muchuan’s wounds. The effect was almost miraculous immediately, the bleeding that had refused to stop slowed and ceased completely.
“What is this stuff? It works far better than rubbing alcohol,” Zhou Muchuan asked.
He had already braced himself for the sharp, searing pain that came with cleaning wounds using alcohol, but to his surprise, after she had finished spraying and cleaning the injury and covered it with clean gauze, the agony he had expected never came.
“Of course it’s better than alcohol. Alcohol kills germs, but it hurts terribly, doesn’t it?”
Zhou Muchuan nodded, though as a grown man, he felt he ought not to act overly delicate or sensitive. A little pain was nothing he could just clench his jaw and endure it.
“All done. You can go to the hospital now. I’ll give you this bottle of antiseptic spray. Use it twice a day, and when it runs out, just come find me and I’ll give you more.”
“Come find you for more? Where do you get it from? Just tell me where to buy it myself. This medicine doesn’t look cheap how much does it cost? I’ll pay you back right away.”
“There’s no need for that. You risked your life to protect me just now. Consider this medicine my way of saying thank you and repaying you for saving my life.”
“Miss, the traditional saying goes that if someone saves your life, the only way to truly repay them is to marry them,” Wang chimed in, thinking of all the single men working at the station. If he could help even one of them find a partner, it would be a good thing.
“Officer Wang, believe me, I’d be happy to. But Officer Zhou is young, capable, and has a bright future ahead of him. I’m just a cook I’m not worthy of him. Besides, didn’t Officer Zhou just complain that I don’t act like a proper woman? Isn’t that right, Officer Zhou?”
She drew out the last words playfully, and Zhou Muchuan, caught off guard by her teasing, felt his face flush bright red.
By this time, the jeep that had gone after Four Eyes and the rest of the gang returned, having captured those who had tried to escape. Now that the situation was under control, Zhou Muchuan no longer felt the need to rush straight to the hospital. After giving out new orders and arranging follow-up tasks, he got back on his motorcycle and escorted Shen Zhiyi all the way home.
It was clear this night would not come to a simple or quiet end.
When Shen Zhiyi arrived home, her mother had been lying in bed, restless and unable to fall asleep, troubled by a disturbing nightmare. She had a constant, uneasy feeling that something bad had happened perhaps it was the special bond shared between mother and daughter that made her sense that something was wrong.
Zhou Muchuan rode the motorcycle into the courtyard just as Mrs. Shen was in the kitchen, drinking a cup of water.
Hearing the sound of the engine, she asked with a note of confusion, “Who’s there? Is that you, Zhiyi?”
“It’s me, Mom. Why are you still awake at this late hour?” Shen Zhiyi jumped off the motorcycle and hurried over to her mother.
Mrs. Shen held up her flashlight and wrapped one arm around her daughter.
“You know how late it is, don’t you? What made you travel all this way home at night? Have you lost your mind? It’s so dangerous out there on the roads after dark!”
“I’m perfectly fine. Officer Zhou brought me here I didn’t come all by myself.”
At that moment, Shen Zhiyi finally understood what Zhou Muchuan had meant earlier when he had said this would be no pleasant surprise, but rather a terrible shock. She realized now how reckless and impulsive she had been, acting only according to her own wishes without thinking of the consequences.
“Officer Zhou escorted you? Well, that makes me feel much better. Thank you so much, Officer Zhou.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Auntie, Zhiyi, I’ll be on my way now. There’s still work waiting for me back at the station.”
“All right. But Officer Zhou, please remember to go to the hospital and have your injuries checked properly.”
“I will.”
Once they had seen Zhou Muchuan off, Mrs. Shen held her daughter’s hand and asked anxiously, “What happened to Officer Zhou? Is he hurt?”
“Yes, it seems he got cut with a dagger two days ago while he was catching a thief,” Shen Zhiyi replied. Zhou Muchuan had told her this detail while they were traveling, but she chose not to mention the robbery attempt they had faced that very night. She didn’t want to cause her mother unnecessary worry, especially since she herself had come through the whole ordeal unharmed and unafraid.
“Ah, the life of a police officer is a noble one in so many ways, but it comes with so many risks to personal safety. They deal with criminals and dangerous people every single day, so the chances of getting hurt are far too high.”
“You’re absolutely right. We only get to live our happy, peaceful lives because people like them are working hard and bearing all the burdens and dangers for us.”
Mrs. Shen, who had never had much formal education, looked confused she didn’t quite understand what her daughter meant.
“You were very lucky this time that Officer Zhou had the time to bring you home safely. But don’t you ever do this again. No matter what the reason is, you can always wait and travel back during the daytime. There’s really no rush.”
“I understand now, Mom. I just wanted to come home and give you a nice surprise.”
But as things had turned out, that surprise had very nearly turned into something terrifying.
“I’ll go get some water ready so you can wash up and get comfortable.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
After they had both freshened up, mother and daughter went into the same bedroom. Since Shen Zhiyi had come home unexpectedly, her mother hadn’t had time to change the bed linens in her room, but Shen Zhiyi didn’t mind at all and was happy to share the bed with her mother.
Before joining her mother, however, Shen Zhiyi first carried her case Ruyi into her own room, lit incense, and placed it there as if offering respect to something precious and sacred.
When she returned to her mother’s room, she noticed immediately that the burlap sack she had left there was gone.
Her mother was in the middle of putting a clean pillowcase onto a pillow. Shen Zhiyi asked, looking puzzled, “Mom, did you see the big sack I left here earlier?”
“Of course I did. Isn’t that the cardboard and scrap paper you brought back for us to use as kindling for the fire? I looked through it it’s thin and light, perfect for getting a fire started easily. I put it in the kitchen where we keep fuel and supplies.”
“……”
Oh, her wonderful, well-meaning mother! How could she possibly think that a sack full of money was nothing but scrap paper for lighting fires? If the God of Wealth knew about this, he would surely burst out laughing.
Shen Zhiyi didn’t say another word. She turned around and hurried straight to the kitchen, grabbed the sack, and carried it right back to the bedroom.
“What are you doing? That thing is dusty and dirty take it back to the kitchen where it belongs!”
“Mom, this isn’t scrap paper or cardboard at all.” Shen Zhiyi brought the sack over, opened it up, and pulled out the layer of paper on top, revealing what lay underneath.
There were several thick bundles of banknotes, the largest denomination in circulation. There was so much money, and notes of other values were piled up as well, that Mrs. Shen didn’t even dare to look too closely. She quickly pulled the opening of the sack closed again and asked, “Zhiyi… where on earth did you get all this money from?”
“Some of it I earned through work, and… some of it I found,” Shen Zhiyi replied carefully. She didn’t dare tell her mother that all this wealth had appeared out of nowhere, brought to her by the precious case Ruyi in her room she was afraid such a revelation would simply be too shocking and might make her mother faint from fright.
Since Shen Zhiyi worked at Fumanlou, a restaurant frequented by wealthy and well-off customers, her explanation that she had found the money was one her mother found easy to believe.
But how much money was there really in all those bundles? And if her daughter had truly found it, wasn’t she afraid that the owner would eventually come looking for it and cause trouble?
“Mom, all this money is for you,” Shen Zhiyi said generously.
“For me? Oh no, I couldn’t possibly take it. But I can keep it safe and save it for you, if you’d like.”
“All right then you keep it and save it.” Shen Zhiyi nodded happily.
As long as her mother was willing to accept it, that was all that mattered.