Zhao Shubo burst into the hospital, Sister Xu lying limp in his arms. “Doctor, my sister suddenly fainted! What happened?” he gasped, his voice trembling with fear. How could someone simply collapse like that? It had to be a serious illness. Zhao’s mother, equally pale, stared at her daughter, her heart a cold knot of dread.
“Family members, pay here,” a doctor instructed, as Sister-in-law Xu was whisked into the examination room. Other medical staff began calling for money. Zhao’s mother, frantic, realized she had brought no cash. Zhao Shubo, having rushed out without even a coat, shivered uncontrollably. Xu Ying, without a moment’s hesitation, hurried to pay the fees.
After a tense half-hour, the doctor emerged, pushing Sister-in-law Xu’s gurney. “The patient is fine,” he announced, “but she suffered a head trauma before and has some blood stasis. Perhaps she was stimulated, causing a headache and fainting.”
Zhao’s mother’s face darkened instantly. She glared at Xu Ying, her gaze devoid of warmth. What torment had her daughter endured? A head injury? Had her mother-in-law beaten her? Xu Ying, too, felt a jolt of confusion, as if a crucial detail had slipped her mind.
Sister Xu was moved to a ward, and Xu Ying followed Mother Zhao inside. Once there, Mother Zhao’s voice was laced with anguish. “Daughter, tell me the truth, do you get beaten often at your husband’s house?”
Xu Ying’s expression shifted as soon as the words left her lips. Sister Xu quickly shook her head. “Mom, what are you talking about? How could I be beaten?”
“Then what about the injury on your head?” Mother Zhao pressed.
Sister Xu spoke slowly, her voice tinged with a distant memory. “This injury was caused by a fall when my husband’s cousin got married.”
“When Brother Shengshun got married? Did you fall too?” Xu Ying asked, truly shocked. On that day, she had been consumed with pursuing Dong Wenzhong, barely registering the wedding festivities. What had truly transpired? How had both her cousin and her sister-in-law been injured?
Sister-in-law Xu nodded. She had drunk some wine while holding it back for the bride that day. Not a good drinker, she had felt dizzy after just a few sips. She didn’t remember clearly what happened next, but she thought she had seen someone today, a familiar face, as if from another time. But the mere thought brought on a searing headache.
Xu Ying still had pressing matters. Seeing that Sister-in-law Xu was stable, she pushed the unsettling thoughts aside. She stood up. “I’m going to find Xioa Zhang first. I’ll come back to see you when I’m done.”
Sister Xu nodded, urging her to go quickly so as not to delay her work. Leaving the hospital, Xu Ying hurried to the train station. She found Zhang Caiyan waiting impatiently. “Where have you been?Shouldn’t it take half an hour ? We’ve been waiting for an hour and a half! I thought you ran away!”
Xu Ying offered an apologetic smile. “Where could I run? The mission isn’t completed yet. Something happened to my sister-in-law just now, and she went to the hospital. Let’s set off now. Is there a car?”
Breeding farms, typically located in rural areas due to more suitable land and resources, required a bus trip. The three of them boarded the bus, following the map. They had called ahead, and someone was already waiting at the village entrance to pick them up.
As Xu Ying and the other two stepped off the bus, an older man approached, a cordial smile on his face. He might not have understood why a restaurant needed so much duck, but their farm was in a bind, and now that they had customers, they had to be on their best behavior. “Hello, are you the purchasing director of a state-owned hotel in Changxian County?” he asked, extending a hand, his demeanor exceptionally polite.
Xu Ying instantly detected a subtle shift in the air. She whispered a few words to Zhang Caiban, then feigned an urgent need for the toilet. “Zhang Caiban, you guys watch first, I’m going to the toilet.”
The man immediately offered to have someone escort her, but Xu Ying smiled and shook her head. “It’s okay. You go ahead and get busy. I’ll just ask someone.”
Zhang Caiban, unaware of her true intentions, frowned. Hadn’t she insisted on personally inspecting the duck meat this time? Now, just as they were about to discuss business, she was disappearing. The girl was too young, too playful. Sigh. He decided to go ahead and make his own assessment, then let Xu Ying make the final selection. After years in purchasing, he trusted his own judgment on fresh meat.
Xu Ying clutched her stomach, feigning discomfort as she scurried away. The moment she was out of sight, she straightened up, a confident swagger in her step, not an ounce of discomfort visible.
While braised duck products were not yet on the market, salted duck was a known delicacy. It was precisely because salted duck had been showcased at trade fairs and received international acclaim, earning foreign exchange for the country, that duck farms had begun to receive national attention and were established. Moreover, the demand for duck down in down jackets had further spurred the expansion of these farms.
“Big sister, you’re busy,” Xu Ying said, approaching an older woman working in the yard. A little girl beside her was crying, and the woman looked at her with clear disgust. Xu Ying called out, grabbed a handful of milk candies from her pocket, and waved them at the smaller child, a little girl. “Little sister, come here, let me give you some candies.”
The little girl, who had been fussing just moments before, instantly stopped crying, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, making her appear utterly endearing. She gazed at Xu Ying with curiosity. But the little boy who had made her cry rushed over immediately. Xu Ying swiftly put away the candies. Seeing them vanish, the little boy burst into a theatrical wail.
Xu Ying frowned. She detested children who cried to get their way. “Your family spoils you, comforting you whenever you cry,” she thought. “I have nothing to do with you, and I won’t cater to your tantrums.”
“Give me candy, or I’ll let my grandma beat you!” the little boy threatened, his young mind already grasping the power of intimidation.
Xu Ying feigned a panicked pat on her chest. “Hey, I’m so scared!”
Seeing her reaction, the little boy, supremely satisfied, extended his hand. “Then give me candy quickly.”
“I won’t give it to you. If you can, let your grandma beat me,” Xu Ying challenged, then walked into the yard and gave the candy to the little girl. The little girl initially hesitated, but Xu Ying’s sweet smile captivated her. The next moment, a piece of candy was in her mouth.
“So sweet, thank you beautiful sister,” the little girl chirped.
Xu Ying’s heart swelled at the compliment. She beamed.
When the little boy saw Xu Ying giving all the candies to the little girl, he flattened his mouth, then opened it wide, letting out a wail of aggrieved tears. “I want to find my grandmother and beat you to death!” he shrieked, before running off.
A sorrowful expression crossed the Older woman’s face in the yard . “Girl, are you here to visit relatives or for something else? That little boy’s grandma is not to be trifled with. If you have nothing else to do, hide away quickly, otherwise she will definitely find trouble with you.”
Xu Ying was unfazed. She looked at the woman, her curiosity piqued. “Sister-in-law, I think your breeding farm is quite new. Was it just built?”
At the mention of the breeding farm, the woman’s face clouded with sadness. “It’s a new one. When it was first built, the factory director said it was great, the salary is dozens of yuan a month. Nowwe are in arrears with wages for several months.” The woman, eager to unburden herself, poured out her woes.