Chapter 139: Hurting Each Other, Happily

Of course, no matter how infuriating Su Qinghu could be, she still had to go back and report in. She had no desire to let her colleagues handling the follow-up work show her what it truly meant to struggle through a storm in life.

She handed Da Dan some money, gave the two brothers a few reminders, told Cai Huayang to take the old squad leader and the kids out for a meal and make sure they got home safely, then waved goodbye and left.

Cai Huayang watched Su Qinghu’s disappearing figure, as swift as the wind. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end just closed it and turned to look at Da Dan.

Da Dan met Cai Huayang’s gaze, his little face serious. “She gave us money, so we can only spend her money.”

“...” Cai Huayang was momentarily speechless. “I’ll pay, and you can keep the money she gave you. If you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, she won’t know.”

Er Dan grinned. “There’s no way she wouldn’t know.”

“What, does she have interrogation methods?” Cai Huayang rubbed his chin, thinking of Chen Lie, and suddenly felt it wasn’t impossible.

Er Dan looked up, giggling, and just when Cai Huayang thought he’d nod, he said earnestly, “Because I’ll tell my mom.”

Cai Huayang: “...”

In the end, it was Da Dan who paid for the meal. When it came time to settle the bill, the cashier auntie stared at Cai Huayang so intently it was as if she’d bore a hole through him. After dropping everyone off at home, Cai Huayang immediately sat down and began furiously writing a letter to Chen Lie.

Meanwhile, Chen Lie, who had just returned from a business trip, looked at the small package he’d just opened, pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed deeply, and quietly put it away.

Er Dan had mailed off her drawing, and she had sent away the little treasure Er Dan had been keeping...

Looking at the little note, with its flamboyant handwriting declaring, “Return the favor in kind,” Chen Lie’s mouth twitched. So, they’re actually having fun with this, huh?

Maybe others weren’t happy, but Su Qinghu certainly was.

As soon as she arrived at work on Saturday, Yuan Hang told her he’d gotten her a rebuilt car to borrow for Sunday, and reminded her to bring him and Sister Li along next time she went out. Su Qinghu happily agreed. The car was registered, inspected, and in great shape—ready to drive.

Yuan Hang didn’t rely on his family; even just with his own connections, he could get a perfectly clean car. The car’s clean, so there’s no way she’d get in trouble.

After work, Su Qinghu hopped into the driver’s seat, skillfully drove Yuan Hang and Sister Li home, and then, leaving them both with “Are you sure you’re not a veteran driver?” expressions, sped off in a cloud of dust.

Driving home after work—now that was a long-lost pleasure. Su Qinghu sat in the car for a while, marveling at how she’d made it home in a third of her usual commute time, reluctant to get out.

As soon as she stepped out, she was greeted by a chorus of gasps.

Su Qinghu blinked, looked over, and met several pairs of incredulous eyes.

She recognized them, but wasn’t close.

She mentally labeled these people as “not close,” locked the car, and went inside.

As soon as the door closed behind her, whispers broke out—some envious, some sour, some calculating.

Su Qinghu’s happiness lasted until she picked up Da Dan and Er Dan, then her mother-in-law Mrs. Meng and supervisor Xiao Huang, and drove all the way to their destination—where it abruptly ended.

Where were the locust flowers?

She’d been looking forward to them all week—where were they?

Slowing down, Su Qinghu pulled over and stared at the tall locust trees, baffled.

Mrs. Meng asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Where are the locust flowers?” Su Qinghu frowned. “Wasn’t it cold this year? Didn’t it even snow here in early April?”

Mrs. Meng couldn’t help but laugh and explained, “But as soon as it warms up, they grow fast. Black locusts bloom a bit earlier, Chinese scholar trees bloom a bit later...”

Listening to her mother-in-law’s explanation, Su Qinghu gradually wilted. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Xiao Huang stifling a laugh, and felt even worse.

So they all knew the difference between black locust and scholar trees?

“Mom, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Su Qinghu groaned. “We came all this way for nothing...”

Mrs. Meng smiled, “Seeing it with your own eyes makes it more memorable. Besides, it’s nice to get out—I haven’t been out for a long time.”

Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Meng smiled, “Maybe we can look for mulberries.”

“Huh?” Su Qinghu perked up. “There are mulberries around here?”

Mrs. Meng replied, “I’m not sure, but we can look. Who knows, maybe we’ll find some.”

Hearing his grandma find something new for his mom to hunt for, Er Dan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally shedding his quail-like demeanor from the car ride.

Earlier, he’d said he saw someone carrying locust flowers, but hadn’t told her they weren’t the kind you could steam or make pancakes with...

“I can climb trees!” Er Dan volunteered. “If we find a mulberry tree, I’ll pick them for everyone!”

Su Qinghu snorted and brought up old business, “I remember you told me you saw someone carrying a branch of locust flowers?”

“I did.” Er Dan blinked. “It really was locust flowers.”

He hadn’t lied—he just hadn’t specified which kind.

She brought up old business, he played dumb!

Whoever’s thicker-skinned wins.

Su Qinghu’s gaze shifted from Er Dan to Da Dan, swept over his lighter-colored eyes, paused, then looked away, letting them off the hook.

While they were talking, Xiao Huang had already slid down from a tall tree and pointed ahead. “There’s a pond over there, and not far past it is a village. We can check it out.”

Everyone piled back in the car. Except for Su Qinghu, the driver, everyone craned their necks to look out the windows, hoping to spot a mulberry tree.

They didn’t find any mulberry trees along the way, but they did spot some wild honeysuckle vines.

At a crossroads, just as Su Qinghu was about to turn, Mrs. Meng stopped her and told her to go the other way.

Su Qinghu didn’t ask why, just turned the wheel as instructed and checked the rearview mirror. “What’s up?”

“I think something’s going on up ahead,” Mrs. Meng frowned. “The way that person’s walking looks a lot like someone I know.”

Su Qinghu squinted at the road ahead, full of admiration. Her mother-in-law’s eyesight was impressive!

“They were waving at us just now,” Mrs. Meng said, already reaching for the door handle. “Xiao Huang, put Er Dan on your lap.”

Xiao Huang quickly complied, scooping Er Dan onto his lap.

Er Dan, now on Xiao Huang’s lap, looked around in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Da Dan, scoot over,” Mrs. Meng said. Seeing her daughter-in-law speed up, she felt reassured. Da Dan was already pressed against the car door, so she let it go.

As they got closer, Su Qinghu could see more clearly. She frowned, kept driving, and said to Xiao Huang, “See that little medicine kit? Take out the masks and have everyone put one on.”

Tuberculosis and hepatitis were common in those days. If her mother-in-law wanted her to help someone, Su Qinghu had to make sure her family was safe first.

Xiao Huang and Mrs. Meng were both taken aback—they hadn’t expected Su Qinghu to be so well-prepared for a countryside outing—but they quickly did as she said."

"**Chapter 140: A Flurry of Moves, Fierce as a Tiger**

Su Qinghu drove with utter confidence, stopping the car less than half a meter from the pedestrians.

She didn’t get out. Gripping the steering wheel, she watched as her mother-in-law opened the car door, then performed a series of swift, decisive actions—shooing away unrelated bystanders, ushering two women (one carrying a medical kit, the other holding a child) into the car, and finally getting into the front passenger seat herself. She told Xiao Huang to get out and follow a young man on a bicycle, then sat down with Erdan on her lap.

Xiao Huang watched as Su Qinghu sped off cleanly, then turned to look at the young man on the bike.

The young man patted the back seat of his bicycle. “Hop on. At the very least, we shouldn’t fall too far behind.”

Xiao Huang: …What are you talking about? Even when there’s nothing urgent, Su Qinghu drives like she’s flying. Now that it’s an emergency, you think she won’t treat the car like an airplane?

Still, he kept his mouth shut, letting the young man experience firsthand the shock of a female driver going full throttle.

On a stretch of road where most drivers with less than a few years’ experience wouldn’t dare make a U-turn, Su Qinghu spun the car around with practiced ease, then tore off in the direction they’d come, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

The young man, now covered head to toe in dust kicked up by the car: “…”

He finally understood why Xiao Huang had looked like he wanted to say something but held back…

====

Su Qinghu drove like the wind. Dadan and Erdan, sitting by the window, scrambled to close it, only then able to fully open their eyes.

Mrs. Meng adapted quickly, unfazed by the speed. After making sure her two grandsons were fine, she turned to the woman sitting behind Su Qinghu. “Dr. Su, what are you doing here?”

“Free clinic,” Dr. Su replied without looking up, busy applying physical cooling measures to the flushed, sallow-faced child as she answered Mrs. Meng.

Her response was so curt that even Su Qinghu could hear the suppressed anger in her tone.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Su Qinghu took a look at Dr. Su. There was something oddly familiar about her, but after thinking it over, she was sure they’d never met.

Maybe Dr. Su just had one of those familiar faces? After all, people with similar features often look alike.

Su Qinghu looked away.

She didn’t seem very old—maybe even younger than her own mother-in-law, Mrs. Meng. And anyone who could be Mrs. Meng’s doctor was certainly no ordinary person…

The atmosphere was a bit tense at the moment, but Su Qinghu couldn’t help thinking—she must have some great beauty secrets, right?

Once they got to the hospital, she was definitely going to cozy up to Dr. Su! Once they were on good terms, wouldn’t she be able to get all the beauty tips she wanted?

The woman holding the child was quietly sobbing. In Su Qinghu’s eyes, she didn’t look much better off than the child. After a moment’s thought, Su Qinghu called out to her mother-in-law, “Mom, there’s a little box of fruit candy next to the small medicine kit. Give her one.”

Mrs. Meng knew “her” referred to the woman holding the child. She was about to reach for the candy when Erdan, sitting on her lap, beat her to it. “I’ll do it. It’s easier for me to turn around.”

“Dr. Su, is it okay for her to have one?” Su Qinghu kept her eyes on the road. “She doesn’t have diabetes, does she?”

Dr. Su finally looked up at Su Qinghu, but all she saw was a delicate, jade-like ear and a loose braid of glossy black hair.

“It’s fine,” she said.

But as soon as she said so, the woman holding the child sobbed, “Doc… doctor, I can’t eat…”

Before Dr. Su could get annoyed, Mrs. Meng spoke up. “Look at your face. If you don’t eat something and faint, who’s going to take care of your child?”

The woman hesitated, then took the fruit candy Erdan had peeled for her and popped it in her mouth. Whatever she thought of next made her start crying again.

Dr. Su was getting a headache from all the crying, but she couldn’t tell her to stop—what if she bottled it up and made herself sick? Taking a deep breath, she turned to Mrs. Meng. “Xiao Meng, give me one too.”

She and her apprentice had arrived at the neighboring village last night. They’d started the free clinic at 7 a.m. and worked straight through until 11:30. Just as they were about to eat, someone dragged them to this village. She’d seen all kinds of cases worsened by ignorance, but it still made her liver ache with anger every time.

This woman had nearly driven her mad!

Before Mrs. Meng could respond, Erdan had already peeled another candy and handed it over. Dr. Su thanked him, then popped the candy in her mouth and started pressing acupoints on herself.

Su Qinghu watched with interest. Was Dr. Su soothing her own liver qi?

“Mom, I want a candy too,” Erdan said, figuring he’d earned it by helping out.

Su Qinghu, hands on the wheel, didn’t even look back. “Give one to your brother, too.”

If the doctor wasn’t worried and hadn’t taken any extra precautions, it probably meant the child didn’t have a contagious disease.

Su Qinghu felt relieved.

But seeing Dadan squeezed up against the door, she frowned a little.

In this era, hardly anyone was overweight. There were two adults and a child in the back seat. Dr. Su was neither fat nor thin, so she didn’t take up much space. The woman holding the child was also skinny, so she shouldn’t have taken up much room either. Yet she was still crowding Dadan, making extra space for her own child.

Su Qinghu sped up a bit more. When she reached an intersection with a traffic cop, she slowed down and stuck her head out the window.

Before she could say anything, the woman in the back seat complained, “Why aren’t you driving? Don’t waste time—my son needs to see a doctor!”

Su Qinghu paused, tempted to turn around and see the woman’s expression, but held back. She called out to the traffic cop, quickly explained the situation and their destination, and asked him to clear the way.

The officer didn’t hesitate—he hopped on his motorcycle and led the way, siren blaring. With a public servant clearing the road, Su Qinghu drove even faster, like a tiger with wings.

She pulled right up to the hospital entrance, opened the car door, and told the woman to hand the child to the traffic cop. The woman looked like she wanted to refuse, but Su Qinghu’s stern expression made her swallow her words and hand the child over.

The officer rushed the child to the ER, Dr. Su followed close behind, and Mrs. Meng grabbed her bag and hurried after them.

Su Qinghu opened the door on Dadan’s side, squeezed his arm where he’d been pressed against the door, and asked with a smile, “Is it numb?”

Dadan’s face darkened—she knew his arm was numb and still squeezed it?!

“So it really is numb,” Su Qinghu said, withdrawing her hand but still smiling. “Any cramps?”

Dadan was about to say no, but his expression suddenly changed.

Now she wasn’t just mischievous—was she jinxing him too?

Su Qinghu could tell just by looking at him. Shaking her head with a smile, she took off his shoes, put a handkerchief under his foot, and started massaging and stretching his toes. “Good thing your feet don’t stink, or I wouldn’t help you.”

“And another thing—about the milk I ordered this morning, don’t let me catch you sneaking your share to Erdan again…”"