CHAPTER 78: CHAPTER 78: SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A SURE HIT

Yi Chichi spoke meaningfully, "You make it sound like you’re not rooted in the countryside."

Old Chen was rendered speechless by her words.

This kid is quite sharp.

"I came looking for you folks once!"

Yi Chichi raised her eyes in surprise, "When?"

Old Chen thought for a moment, "When you were about four or five years old, your mom suddenly lost contact with us. I was worried, so when I had some business in Nan City, I thought I’d come by and take a look."

Raising his gaze to look at her, Old Chen continued, "But I didn’t find anyone. The neighbors said you had moved."

"I also went to find Old Chen and the others, only to discover that some had moved away and others were transferred."

At this point, he asked Yi Chichi, "Why did you suddenly move like that?"

This question was one Yi Chichi couldn’t answer. A child’s memory before the age of three can’t be counted on, and some remember even later, not until they’re five or six.

Which type the original person was, she’s not sure, but the memories from before the age of three are indeed quite vague for her.

"I don’t know. I was too young then, with incomplete memories."

She checked the time, methodically put the remaining medicinal ingredients into the clay pot, added a couple of logs, and then began consciously gathering information.

However, Old Chen was wise with age and didn’t take long to discern her true intentions.

He then found an excuse to send Qin Jiu away before quietly revealing the matters of the Qin Family.

The family wasn’t utterly destroyed, but it wasn’t in a good state either.

The great aunt had always been in poor health and passed away in a fit of anger.

The Qin Family wasn’t prosperous, just like the original’s maternal family, with only one child remaining in each.

The Zishu Family preserved the original’s mother, Zi Shuyu, while the Qin Family preserved the third child, Qin Yu’an, her third uncle.

The third uncle was born during a tough time, frequently sick and weak, married, and had a child before dying young.

The aunt, still young, was persuaded by the elders not to be tied down and remarried, moving south with her second husband for work, maintaining contact for the first few years before eventually losing it.

Decades have passed without any news.

The elders took it well, raising their grandson Qin Chuanbai to adulthood.

Qin Chuanbai was outstanding but carried too much of an air of a scholar. With the elders having suffered the loss of too many younger people, he was somewhat spoiled, raised rich and pampered, unable to endure hardship.

His wife shared a similar temperament.

However, this wasn’t the main point. The main point was that the couple had both studied overseas, specializing in rather unusual fields.

Not long after Qin Jiu was born, Qin Chuanbai and his wife took on a task, after which they disappeared without a trace.

Yi Chichi sighed, resting her cheek in her hand. Indeed, in the tide of the era, no one can escape, only be swept along like a drifting boat.

"Have you gone with the flow to distance yourself from trouble, or...?"

She didn’t finish the remaining words, but Old Chen understood.

He sighed, "Both!"

Yi Chichi watched as his expression turned angry, realizing there was a story behind this.

Sure enough, Old Chen’s next words confirmed her suspicion.

"I once adopted a child, and this child turned against us, reporting us."

Pointing outside, he said, "Old Song and the others were in similar situations, betrayed by people they knew."

"You might as well call it betrayal outright."

Why beat around the bush and say ’stabbed in the back,’ so refined.

The meanings are different as well.

Yi Chichi disagreed, criticizing, causing Old Chen’s mouth to twitch, "So that’s all you’ve taken away from this?"

"I believe in this saying..."

She spoke meaningfully, and Old Chen listened intently, "What saying?"

"If you can take revenge on the spot, do it on the spot. If you absolutely can’t, then bide your time and strike when you have the chance!"

Old Chen immediately understood her meaning: for them to lie low quietly, given the current situation, seeking revenge isn’t feasible.

He fixed his gaze on Yi Chichi for a while, managing to say, "So, you couldn’t take revenge on the spot and had to hide like a turtle for more than a decade before delivering a decisive blow to Yi Yong and the others?!"

When it comes to cutting to the heart, that’s Old Chen for you.

Yi Chichi wanted to complain that it was the original person’s doing, and she wasn’t even around when the original person was hiding.

But she couldn’t say that, so she could only pretend to be indignant and retorted, "Are you still my granduncle or not?"

Old Chen was taken aback, a faintly pleased smile appearing on his face.

"I thought you wouldn’t acknowledge us."

After all, he and Qin Jiu now carried the stigma of bad elements, which could be a problem for her.

"When I came to pick you up, I recognized you."

After all, the original person had seen photos of Old Chen and the others and cherished them for years. If Yi Jing hadn’t found them and complained, leading Yi Yong to tear them, those photos might have been worn smooth by the original person’s constant handling.

To the original person, who had rarely experienced any family warmth, Old Chen and his distant relatives in the north held significant weight in her heart.

And it had a bit of an influence on her, too.

However, she intended to let things be, and now they had naturally reached this point. She saw no reason to hide and instead spoke the truth.

"I didn’t know if you’d still remember me."

"We remember."

Yi Chichi believed these words. If they hadn’t remembered, Qin Jiu wouldn’t have known her name, nor asked about her grandmother’s name.

From this, it was evident that the granduncle often mentioned her in his presence.

"But..."

Yi Chichi looked up, and Old Chen gently advised, "In the future, keep some distance from me and Xiao Jiu, to avoid causing yourself trouble."

"I understand!"

What she understood, she didn’t say, and Old Chen didn’t ask.

But the conversation could end here.

Yi Chichi removed a piece of firewood to lower the flame and indicated the wooden basin, "Granduncle, could you fetch some water and ask Mr. Song to wait for me inside?"

The medicine needs to be taken, and the acupuncture needs to be done.

None of it can be missed; joint effusion isn’t a problem that can be solved with a single session of acupuncture.

Old Chen responded, getting up to fetch the water, then called Song Yanshan over for his acupuncture session.

Yi Chichi also raised her voice, "Uncle, come and help me check the flame!"

"Coming!"

The team leader lifted the curtain and walked in, just in time to see Yi Chichi pouring out the medicinal juice and filtering out the dregs, puzzled, "Haven’t you already brewed it?"

"Not yet, I adjusted the formula a bit, and need to add some foul-smelling herbs."

Skillfully, she poured the filtered medication back in, showing him the ingredients, "Simmer on low heat for fifteen minutes, then add the herbs, add more wood and boil on high heat, then simmer for another 5-10 minutes, okay?"

"I don’t have a watch; I can’t time it properly."

Without a word, Yi Chichi removed the watch from her wrist and handed it over, "Use this for now."

The team leader... this girl is really bold.

He laughed helplessly, "You dare hand over such a valuable item to me?"

"I trust in your character, Uncle Team Leader."

This watch is genuinely a women’s watch, a Titoni, one of the first imported watch brands in China.

Obtained through unofficial channels, Zhang Lanxiang didn’t dare wear it, only taking it out to admire at home, keeping it locked away all this time.

Originally meant for Yi Jing, it ended up falling to her instead.

"Thank you for your trust!" the team leader said with a hearty laugh, but his words left Yi Chichi feeling a bit off.