Chapter 42 - 43: Signing the Contract

Chapter 42: Chapter 43: Signing the Contract

Clearly, this stepmother was a pro. She silenced Qin Susu with a single sentence.

"Your father isn’t here right now, so I’m in charge!" The stepmother, quite pleased with herself, turned to Li Yang and said impatiently, "Now, please get out immediately!"

Han Qiuyue tugged at Li Yang from behind, not knowing what to say.

"Director Jin is here!" someone behind them announced just then.

"Director Jin, hurry! There’s someone practicing medicine without a license here!" the stepmother immediately said to Director Jin. "You can’t let someone like him act so recklessly..."

"Master!" To everyone’s surprise, the moment Director Jin saw Li Yang, he strode forward, overjoyed. "Madam Qin, this is the Divine Doctor I told you about! With him on the case, the elderly woman will be perfectly fine."

Huh?

The stepmother looked utterly embarrassed.

"Director Jin, the Divine Doctor you mentioned is him? But he’s so young!"

The stepmother was still skeptical. "And he’s so..."

"A farmer, is that it?" Li Yang despised snobs who judged a book by its cover. "Director Jin, the only reason I agreed to help is for Qin Susu’s sake. If it were up to them... I wouldn’t have bothered coming."

The stepmother bristled with anger.

"Talk is cheap. Save her first, if you’re so capable!" Qin Song said defiantly.

Li Yang glanced at him. The kid looked about seventeen or eighteen. ’So arrogant. Isn’t he afraid of getting beaten to death someday?’

"Alright, I’ll take over," Li Yang said to Director Jin. "Everyone not involved, get out now!"

"Everybody out!" Director Jin herded the others from the room.

"You have to wake her up!" Qin Susu pleaded.

Li Yang nodded. "Don’t worry. Now that I’m on the case, your grandmother will be perfectly fine."

In an instant, only Li Yang and Director Jin remained in the room.

Li Yang quickly produced a set of silver needles and began to place them carefully.

After about ten minutes of acupuncture, he began to massage the elderly woman.

He massaged along her blood vessels and meridians, and within a few minutes, she had already woken up.

"She’s awake!" Director Jin exclaimed, finding it incredible.

"She’s fine now," Li Yang said. "I’ll write her a prescription. After a month on this medicine, she’ll be mostly recovered."

"Divine Doctor Li, you’re incredible!" Director Jin praised repeatedly.

When they opened the door, the crowd waiting outside immediately swarmed in.

"How is she?" the stepmother asked, pushing forward anxiously. "How is my mother-in-law?"

"She’s fine," Li Yang said curtly.

"Susu, I’m alright!" the grandmother said, walking out from the room.

"Grandma!" Seeing her grandmother, Qin Susu was the most emotional of all. She rushed over and threw her arms around her, looking her all over. "Grandma, you’re really okay! You’re amazing, you beast!"

Li Yang winced, but just then, he caught a flicker of disappointment on the stepmother’s face.

Li Yang froze. ’As expected,’ he thought. ’When you’re not blood-related, you’re just not that close.’

"Alright, I’ll write a prescription for your grandmother. Once she takes the medicine, she’ll be fine," Li Yang said curtly.

"I’m sorry..." Qin Susu said, a rare moment of her yielding to Li Yang. "I won’t call you a beast anymore."

Li Yang couldn’t be bothered to respond. He quickly scribbled down a prescription. "Get this filled yourself. I don’t care how."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Qin Susu said happily. "Hey, don’t leave yet. Let me treat you to dinner."

"Forget dinner. You should focus on taking care of your grandmother," Li Yang said, shaking his head. "Alright, I’m leaving. I have a lot to do back in my village."

"I’ll walk you out!" Han Qiuyue said, seeing Li Yang out.

"Thank you so much," Han Qiuyue said once they were outside. "You’ve probably noticed that the family doesn’t get along. The grandmother dotes on her eldest granddaughter, Susu, but isn’t nearly as fond of her grandson. But Susu’s father, because of the stepmother, naturally cares more for the stepmother’s two children. If the grandmother were to pass away... there would probably be no one left in this family for Susu to care about. So, thank you."

"Don’t mention it," Li Yang said with a smile. "I’m heading back now. Just find me if you need anything else. By the way, Sister Han, can I ask you something? In the future, could you have your people come pick up the vegetables? Running back and forth like this every day wastes a lot of my time."

"Deal," Han Qiuyue agreed with a nod. "From now on, I’ll send people to pick them up. You just need to have the vegetables ready."

"Perfect!" Li Yang smiled and drove home.

As soon as he parked his car, he went to find the village chief.

The village chief’s name was Li Shunsheng, and he’d held the position for more years than anyone could remember.

When he heard that Li Yang wanted to lease all the fields behind his house, Li Shunsheng was surprised. "Xiaoyang, rumor has it you’re cooperating with a hotel in the city. Are you sure you’ll be able to sell everything?"

"Of course I can!" Li Yang said, handing Li Shunsheng a pack of cigarettes. "You know me. Would I ever do something I wasn’t sure about?"

Li Shunsheng nodded. "Alright then, I get it. This is easy enough to handle. That plot of land is collective village property, and it’s a good-sized piece of land. How about this: three thousand yuan a year for rent. We’ll sign a ten-year lease to start. Sound good?"

"That works," Li Yang agreed with a nod. "Uncle Shunsheng, let’s sign the contract now. As soon as it’s signed, I can get to work."

"Alright!"