Chapter 9: Covering the Mouth

“Right here, Gangzi’s mom, what are you looking at? Lirong, this is Gangzi, the one I told you about. His surname is Qian, and his family is quite well-off—they’ve got a cattle shed, a pigsty, and a sheep pen. He’s a capable man, too; he travels north and south during the harvest season to reap wheat for others, earning thousands a year.” Aunt Liu smiled and pushed her niece forward.

Upon hearing such praise, Mother Qian immediately put on airs. She scanned the girl from head to toe, feeling slightly disappointed. She was dark-skinned and rough-looking, a far cry from the girls who only showed their eyes, with skin as fair as frost or snow. “The height is decent. Is she literate?”

“With five or six sisters at home, where would we find the spare money for schooling? My niece is a dab hand at work; she handles both the house and the fields with ease. Everyone in the surrounding villages praises how diligent she is.” Aunt Liu touted her vigorously.

“My family doesn’t have much work, she doesn’t need to do any. Gangzi needs someone to keep accounts when he goes out to harvest wheat.” Mother Qian’s meaning was clear: she wasn’t interested.

“My niece is smart; she’ll learn as soon as she follows your Gangzi around.” Aunt Liu suggested, “Let the two young people talk alone and get to know each other.”

Mother Qian, hindered by the crowd, couldn’t refuse outright. “Gangzi, take the girl for a walk on the main road.”

Aunt Liu also urged, “Lirong, go along and have a chat.”

Once the two young people left, Aunt Liu impatiently asked Mother Qian about the wedding date.

“Today is just a first look. I still have to ask Gangzi and his father for their opinions after we go back.” Mother Qian changed the subject. “What is this girl’s name? Does she have a partner? How did you grow up so fair? You’ve never done any work, have you?”

Aunt Liu replied, “She’s the wife of the little Qin from the health station. Why would a city girl need to do any work? Even coming here, her husband cooks for her; the whole village is talking about it.”

Li Yingtang: “...” This can be used as gossip too?

Are they that bored? Are they sick?

“Oh, Dr. Qin’s wife.” Mother Qian sighed with regret, then suddenly had an idea. “Dr. Qin’s wife, do you have any unmarried girls around you? Help us introduce one.”

Aunt Liu was displeased. “Gangzi’s mom, what do you mean by that?”

Mother Qian said as if it were only natural, “When matchmaking, you have to be picky and choose a good one.”

Aunt Liu’s expression shifted.

Li Yingtang felt awkward and wanted to crawl into a hole. Why drag her into this out of the blue? Judging by Aunt Liu’s attitude, she was very satisfied with the man. Even when Mother Qian bluntly stated that Lirong was illiterate and couldn’t help the man, she still tried her best to push them together. She didn’t want to be blamed if the matchmaking failed later. “Aunt Liu, I just remembered I have something to do, I’m leaving first.”

She ran off.

Back at the health station.

As soon as she entered, she saw Cheng Fang sitting awkwardly on a low stool, head bowed, staring blankly at the surface of her floral cotton shoes.

On the hospital bed, an old man was receiving an IV, with a young man sitting beside him to keep him company.

Qin Xian was not in the room.

Where did he go?

He’s so carefree; isn’t he afraid someone will steal the medicine money?

“A-Xian.”

Cheng Fang looked as if she were facing a formidable enemy. She hadn’t seen this woman when she arrived today and thought she had returned to the city. To think she was still here. “Dr. Qin went out. Whose house were you snooping around?”

“Snooping?” Li Yingtang repeated before understanding the meaning. “Oh, I was at Aunt Liu’s house watching her niece go on a blind date.”

“What does the man look like?”

Li Yingtang sat down at Qin Xian’s desk. “Not great, a hundred streets worse than my husband.”

As the words fell, the grandfather and grandson on the hospital bed looked at her in unison.

Qin Xian, who was pushing the door open outside, also stumbled slightly.

Husband?

How could she say that out loud?

Isn’t she shy?

“A-Xian, you’re back.” Li Yingtang gave up her seat.

Cheng Fang said, “Dr. Qin, I don’t know what’s wrong today, my whole body aches.”

Hearing this, Qin Xian reached for the thermometer.

Li Yingtang, very sharp-eyed, snatched the thermometer before him and handed it to Cheng Fang. “Here, body aches might mean a fever. We don’t have fever-reducing medicine prepared at home. You should eat a meal first and see; maybe you’ll be fine. Running all this way in the cold makes it easy for an illness to worsen. Right, A-Xian?”

Cheng Fang trembled with rage. Did anyone ask you? You’re so full of yourself!

The corners of Qin Xian’s lips lifted imperceptibly. “Right. Did the blind date end so quickly?”

Li Yingtang tilted her chin at Cheng Fang triumphantly. Hearing Qin Xian ask her, she immediately replied, “No, I just didn’t want to stay there.” She moved her stool to sit next to Qin Xian, admiring his long legs.

Without thinking, she reached out and touched them.

Good heavens!

They’re so long and straight even in cotton pants; how stunning would they be without them?

She started looking forward to next summer!

She’d have to earn money to buy him more pairs of big shorts.

Hehehe!

Qin Xian’s body stiffened, a fire igniting in his heart, burning his earlobes until they were hot. He lowered his gaze to the woman’s soft, delicate hand.

He glanced calmly at the others in the infirmary; fortunately, the table blocked them, and no one noticed her bold behavior.

He lowered his left arm to catch her hand and whispered a reprimand: “Behave yourself.”

Li Yingtang took the opportunity to interlace her fingers with his, holding on tightly, and lowered her voice to match his: “It’s cold, what’s wrong with letting me warm up? Let me tell you some gossip: Aunt Liu’s niece’s blind date is short and fat, with no spirit or charisma. Even then, his mom still looked down on the niece for being illiterate and wanted me to help introduce someone else. I’m not helping her.”

Qin Xian glanced at their clasped hands, his eyes darkening. “Weren’t you there to stir up trouble?”

Li Yingtang: “I was just talking. I’m not that bad. The bad one is Aunt Liu. She brought me a scarf earlier, and I thought she was such a nice person. It was obvious the other side didn’t like her niece, but not only was she not angry, she kept pushing them together. I really don’t know what she’s after; I’m speechless. She didn’t even look at what that man looks like—plain, skin not smooth, and bad teeth. How could her niece bring herself to kiss him after marrying him... Mmph.”

Qin Xian used his free hand to cover her mouth and nose.

He really couldn’t let her keep talking.

“It’s time to make lunch. I’m busy today, you cook. There’s dried noodles in the cupboard; just boil some water and cook them.”

Li Yingtang: “What time is it? I’m not hungry.”

“I am.”

“Fine, I can suffer, but I can’t let you suffer.”

One sentence made the corners of Qin Xian’s lips curl upward.

Li Yingtang got up and went out. Cheng Fang’s gaze drifted between the two, feeling unbearable heartache. “Dr. Qin, can I have my thermometer back now?”

Qin Xian wiped away his smile and replied coldly, “Yes.”

Cheng Fang handed over the thermometer. Qin Xian checked it, asked a few questions, and gave a diagnosis: “A fever caused by a cold. Take some medicine and you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you, Dr. Qin.”

Qin Xian focused on dispensing the medicine and informed her of the dosage.

Cheng Fang took the medicine, having no reason to stay. She stepped out of the infirmary reluctantly, stopped by the kitchen, hesitated for a second, and then stepped forward to lift the curtain.

The woman was sitting in front of the stove, striking a match to light corn husks, her movements incredibly clumsy.

Nothing like herself, who was good at everything.

A woman like her is the only one worthy of Dr. Qin!

She had to come up with a plan to make this woman unable to stay in the village.

Got it!

Cheng Fang: “Do you like fish? Someone is drilling holes in the ice at the reservoir to fish. I remember Dr. Qin often went to the reservoir to fish in the summer. There are ready-made tools at home; you could go over and ask them to help drill a hole so you can fish.”

As long as this woman went over there, she would have a way to make her fall into the ice hole.

Li Yingtang had a poor impression of Cheng Fang, but a very good impression of fish. “Is that so? I’ll go take a look later.”

Cheng Fang got the answer she wanted and didn’t pester her further.

………

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(End of chapter)