Chapter 139: Don't You Dare Ruin My Reputation

A day later, Lin Jingyue had the medicine ready and took it to Sun Lanlan’s house.

"Yo, Mother Flower Number Two, morning..." Upon reaching the doorway, she saw Qian Guihua walking out of the courtyard and waved to greet her.

"Pah! You’re the Mother Flower Number Two! Your whole family is Mother Flower Number Two!" Qian Guihua glared at Lin Jingyue fiercely before storming off.

Lin Jingyue was left speechless.

She entered the room and saw Sun Lanlan, who looked rather pale, lying on the kang. "I knew it, she was definitely just venting her anger."

Seeing her, Sun Lanlan’s expression softened slightly. "Sit down quickly."

Once Lin Jingyue was seated, she added, "It’s not like you didn't provoke her. My mother must have grown some guts to dare get into a shouting match with you."

Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes. "Where is your old Cai?"

"He went to the city; we ran out of rice."

"...So you haven't had lunch yet?" Lin Jingyue asked, surprised.

"Yeah. He asked my mother to come and look after me, and well, you saw how that turned out." Sun Lanlan shrugged. Her face remained calm, but there was a hint of loneliness in her eyes.

Lin Jingyue was at a loss for words. So Qian Guihua hadn't even cooked a meal for Sun Lanlan before leaving?

"Maybe it's because she asked me for money and I didn't give it to her?" Sun Lanlan said after a moment of silence.

She felt pained inside. She was in this condition, and the Cai family was already struggling, yet not only did her mother refuse to help, she twisted the knife in her heart by asking for money for her brothers' upcoming weddings, claiming the family couldn't afford it.

The family had no money?

Sun Lanlan curled her lip. She wasn't a fool. Not only was her father the branch secretary, but her eldest brother had also been sending home a significant amount of money over the past two years. There was no way they couldn't afford to pay for a wedding.

"At the end of the day, women have no status in the family," Sun Lanlan sighed. "I definitely won't have a daughter in the future!"

Lin Jingyue also found Qian Guihua’s behavior bizarre. Sun Lanlan was in such a state, and she was still asking for money? Would asking for a pair of slaps have worked better? Hearing Sun Lanlan's comment, her mouth twitched. "Are you also biased toward boys?"

"Of course not!" Her father was actually decent to her; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to get an education. It was just her mother...

"Well, there you go. Every child is a blessing; you just need to treat them all the same." Why distinguish between genders?

"You're right."

The two looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.

Lin Jingyue said huffily, "It’s not easy for me to provide counseling, you know. I expect a consultation fee." She held out her hand.

This time, it was Sun Lanlan’s turn to be speechless. "You really are obsessed with money."

"Here, this is your medicine. One dose every seven days, enough for half a month. Once you finish it, I’ll check your pulse again and decide on the next prescription." Lin Jingyue placed the medicine on the kang.

Sun Lanlan’s face lit up. "Whether it works or not, thank you." Thank you for giving her hope.

Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes. "Please, can you not ruin my reputation?"

"Pfft, hahaha! Alright, I’ll take good care of myself and strive to give birth to a big, healthy boy soon to boost your reputation."

"For sure, you'll have that big boy," Cai Jinzhou said as he walked through the door, scratching his head with a smile.

Lin Jingyue and Sun Lanlan looked at each other...

"Old Cai, give Jingyue the consultation fee first," Sun Lanlan said to him with a smile. "I put it in the kang cabinet, right by your left hand. Go ahead and take it."

Sun Lanlan nodded, took the key to unlock the drawer on her left, and handed Lin Jingyue something wrapped in a handkerchief. It made a crisp, metallic sound when placed on the kang table.

Lin Jingyue raised an eyebrow.

"Take a look, do you like it?" Sun Lanlan pushed the bundle toward her.

Lin Jingyue opened the handkerchief and was surprised by what she saw. "Are you sure you want to give this to me?"

There was a small gold bar, about thirty grams, which would be worth seven or eight hundred yuan at current gold prices. The other item, a string of beads, was even more valuable. They were deep green, translucent, and flawless. Holding them felt cool and refreshing to the touch. Even to someone who didn't know much about jewelry, it was clear these were extremely valuable. While these jade beads weren't worth much now, in the future... they would be worth over five hundred thousand.

"Yes, we discussed it. This is your consultation fee for now. If one day I really am blessed enough to become a mother, I will give you an even more generous gift," Sun Lanlan said, exchanging a look with Cai Jinzhou.

Lin Jingyue raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? 'If'? You will definitely have that day."

"...I’ll take your word for it—no, I’ll take your 'miracle hands' for it," Sun Lanlan laughed.

"These beads aren't worth much, consider them a toy. The gold bar is worth a bit more. It’s the best we could come up with; I hope you don't mind," Cai Jinzhou added.

"We’re all friends here, I don't mind at all." She wasn't crazy, after all.

Lin Jingyue stayed for a while longer, carefully explaining the dietary restrictions while taking the medicine, before taking her leave. She felt happy with the money in her bag.

She walked with her hands in her pockets.

The next day, she went into the city. She mailed two doses of medicine to Guo Yutong in An City and sent some mountain goods to her aunt: two air-dried rabbits from her space, one pheasant, five catties of cured meat, and some dried mushrooms and wood ear fungus.

The mushrooms and wood ear were traded from Uncle Wuisheng’s family. They were truly hardworking people who had almost everything from the mountains.

Having promised Zhou Mingxue that she would eat at her house, Lin Jingyue brought the package over and waited for her at the door. She rummaged through the things she had bought and stored in her space, pulling out a catty of tea she had purchased in Shanghai.

At noon, during Zhou Mingxue’s break, she appeared. "Waiting long? Let’s go, let's head home for lunch." She linked her arm with Lin Jingyue’s.

"Not at all. Aren't you going to work this afternoon?" She was quite envious of Zhou Mingxue; her job seemed incredibly easy.

"I’m not going in the afternoons lately. I hired someone to cover for me."

"Why?"

A faint flush appeared on Zhou Mingxue’s face. "I’m getting married."

"...When?" Zhou Mingxue was a year older than her, turning twenty. In these times, it was indeed the right age to marry; other girls were usually married off by seventeen or eighteen.

"Next Wednesday. You must come, okay? And tell Jiang Xun too."

"I’ll definitely be there, but I can't promise for Jiang Xun. He’s away, and I don't know if he’ll make it back in time." Lin Jingyue didn't specify where Jiang Xun had gone.

"Is that so... well, never mind then. You just come, you can represent him," Zhou Mingxue said, waving her hand.

They chatted as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the Zhou residence.

After lunch, Lin Jingyue didn't overstay her welcome and left. She wasn't in a hurry to return, so she strolled around the city and stopped by a state-run restaurant to pack a few meals for days when she was too lazy to cook.

As for the black market, she had no intention of going back. She had pulled off a few big deals on this trip, and the money in her pockets was already a substantial amount. It was better to hit a place once and move on; there were fewer risks that way. Small-time stuff was too risky, so it wasn't worth it.

Lin Jingyue didn't return to the black market, which left Tian Yang worried sick. First, he was anxious about the goods, and second, he couldn't help but suspect that Lin Jingyue had been arrested. However, after having people make inquiries, he found out she wasn't in any detention centers.

Lin Jingyue was oblivious to all of this, living her life in leisure.