Cheng You, having finished teasing Cheng Tao, skipped back with a song on her lips, feeling quite pleased.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one for Cheng Tao. Forced to return to the old Zhao family home, Wang Hongxia refused to let her in. After a long period of pleading at the door, and with Zhao Yunlin's intervention, she was grudgingly allowed inside.
However, Cheng You knew nothing of this; it had nothing to do with her.
Yet, Qi Chengyan saw through her mischievous demeanor at a glance. She was like a little fox. He didn't lecture her as he used to, knowing she wouldn't listen. As long as it wasn't something that crossed a line, there was no need to bind her with rules and regulations.
He took a box from his pocket and handed it to her. Cheng You looked up. "A gift?"
"My sister sent it." Qi Yang, worried Cheng You might refuse, had given it to him to pass on.
Cheng You happily took it and opened it to find a watch. It was a different style from the one Qi Chengyan had given her before, but it also looked quite expensive. Cheng You fell in love with it at first sight and held out her wrist. "Help me put it on."
Qi Chengyan raised an eyebrow. "You're not wearing mine." Ever since Cheng You had returned his watch last time, she hadn't worn it, saying it carried bad memories and she disliked it.
"If you give me a new one next time, I'll wear the one you gave me." For now, she'd wear the one from her sister!
Qi Chengyan smiled indulgently and fastened the watch onto her wrist. It fit perfectly, clearly chosen with care. "It looks good, right?"
Qi Chengyan, with a slight curl of his lips, replied, "It looks good." Cheng You didn't expect him to be overly sweet with his words; it was good enough that he could praise her.
"Sister sent me such a precious gift, what should I give her in return?"
"How about a hair regrowth pill?" Qi Chengyan suggested.
"Hair regrowth pill?" Cheng You's eyes widened, as if asking if he was joking. Qi Yang was only four years older than Qi Chengyan, not yet thirty.
Qi Chengyan chuckled. "Sister spends all her time in the lab, day and night." Due to her irregular schedule and often forgetting to eat, she had a lot of minor ailments. Hair loss, in particular, was something she cared about most. No girl disliked being beautiful, even Qi Yang, the experiment fanatic.
Cheng You frowned. "Oh no, I sold all the remaining hair regrowth pills to Uncle Hai last time." She didn't have any Polygonum multiflorum on hand either. "No, I'll go to the mountain to see." Cheng You was impatient. Once she had an idea, she acted on it. She quickly grabbed her basket.
Qi Chengyan said helplessly, "No need to rush."
"You don't understand, hair regrowth pills require a course of treatment. Taking them sooner helps with conditioning." She regretted being so eager for money and selling all the pills.
Since she insisted on going to the mountain, Qi Chengyan followed. Just as they reached the entrance, they ran into Widow Lin. She cast a flirtatious glance at Qi Chengyan. "Young educated youth Qi is here too. You helped my nephew last time, and I haven't treated you to a meal at my place yet."
Qi Chengyan remained unmoved and politely refused. "No need."
"Oh, you must! Young educated youth Qi, is there anything you particularly like to eat? I'll go buy it, and then I'll invite you over." Widow Lin's gaze lingered greedily on him, from his face down to his firm chest muscles and bulging arm muscles. Few men in Wujing Village could compare to his physique. Widow Lin was no inexperienced maiden; she had been married twice, though both unions were brief. Yet, neither of those farmer men compared to the man before her.
Cheng You noticed her expression, as if she were about to pounce on Qi Chengyan. She frowned displeasuredly and stood in front of Qi Chengyan, blocking Widow Lin's view. "Aunt Lin, I quite like braised pig trotters. Why don't you invite me too?"
Widow Lin's expression soured. "I'm not much older than you, you should call me 'sister'." She had married early, and was only twenty-five or twenty-six this year. She had said she wouldn't remarry out of despair after losing two husbands. If the man were Qi Chengyan, she wouldn't mind.
Cheng You snorted. "Calling you 'aunt' is more respectful." She then patted Qi Chengyan's arm and said sternly, "Hear that? Call her 'aunt'." Qi Chengyan smiled helplessly. "Alright, Aunt Lin."
Widow Lin: "..." She was only a year or two older than him!
"Young educated youth Qi, you think young girls are good now, but you haven't tasted the benefits of an older woman. If you ask me..." She let out a charming laugh and reached out to touch his arm, but Qi Chengyan dodged. Qi Chengyan glanced at her coldly and uttered two words: "Have some self-respect."
Widow Lin's face stiffened, feeling extremely awkward. She had never encountered such an unyielding man before. He was so rigid. She didn't expect a long-term relationship with him anyway, a fleeting encounter would suffice. Widow Lin let out a cold laugh, turned, and whispered a few words to Pan Yu before leaving. Pan Yu looked at Qi Chengyan. Her cousin wasn't good enough for him. Then she looked at Cheng You beside him and quietly lowered her head.
After the New Year, Cheng You busied herself with producing a batch of hemostatic powder, planning to wait for the health center staff to collect it. To her surprise, they never arrived. Cheng You decided to set it aside for now and wait until other medicines were ready before handing them over together. But the wait stretched all the way to early March.
Zhou Yunru said to Cheng You, "Cheng Tao has also been tinkering with making medicine at home recently, claiming it can make money. I don't know where she gets her confidence." She had moved back to the old Zhao family home but no longer feared falling out with Wang Hongxia. Everything was handled according to the division of the household. Although they lived together, even their cooking stoves were separated. Wang Hongxia had tried to order her around several times, but Cheng Tao had shouted back. Even Zhao Jianguo's work points and the money she earned were kept in her own hands. Occasionally, she could cause trouble for Wang Hongxia and Cheng Tao, which was enough for Zhou Yunru to achieve her goal.
"Could she have actually found a buyer?" Cheng You asked, a little puzzled.
Zhou Yunru scoffed. "Who knows."
In the evening, Cheng You returned home with Zhou Yunru, intending to investigate. Unexpectedly, they ran into people from the health center. Director Zhang Fuhai was not there; it was the two people who usually followed him. Cheng You hadn't interacted much with them, but she knew they were from the health center's pharmacy. "Are you here to collect medicine?" Cheng You asked. They exchanged glances, looking somewhat guilty, but said nothing.
Soon, Cheng Tao emerged from outside. "They are indeed here to collect medicine, because the health center has decided to cooperate with me."
"You?" It wasn't that Cheng You looked down on Cheng Tao. If Cheng Tao hadn't had some incredible, unimaginable lucky encounter, Cheng You knew very well that the medicine she made would just be ordinary medicine, nothing special. Cheng You looked at the two people from the health center and asked, "Did Director Zhang send you here?"
"No, Director Zhang is on a business trip."