After parting with Xue Xiaochan, Qin Feng took a taxi to the medicinal herb market and bought some herbs. He also made a special trip to the towns in the suburbs to get a free-range hen, a genuine old hen.
Wang Guixiang's chronic illnesses were mostly a result of poverty.
She saved money by buying the cheapest vegetables when the market was about to close in the afternoon, even picking up free vegetable leaves.
As for meat, it was only when the supermarket had significant discounts that she would buy some. All in all, she didn't eat meat more than three times a month.
Poor diet over a long time naturally led to a lack of various nutrients in her body.
Therefore, Qin Feng planned to start by nourishing Wang Guixiang with food.
When he returned home, the house was empty, and Wang Guixiang was not there.
On the dining table, which had a broken leg, there was a bowl of rice and some twice-cooked pork stir-fried with Chinese cabbage.
The Chinese cabbage in the plate was all eaten, but the meat was almost untouched.
Wang Guixiang always did this; even if Qin Feng was not at home, she couldn't bear to eat the meat and saved it all for him.
In the past, Qin Feng took Wang Guixiang's behavior for granted.
In his subconscious, a mother should be like this, should give to her child without limits.
She should give all the tasty and nice things to her child and not take a bite for herself to be qualified as a good mother.
At that moment, looking at the remaining meat on the table, the corners of Qin Feng's eyes suddenly became wet.
Although he now had one million in hand, the housing prices in Zhonghai had already skyrocketed.
With one million, he could only afford a down payment for a small two-bedroom apartment in the suburbs and wouldn't even have enough for renovations.
Qin Feng silently swore to himself that he must get the twenty million promised by Xue Xiaochan as soon as possible to buy a big villa and move his mother in.
Then, she wouldn't have to pick up trash anymore.
She could spend her days tending to flowers, watching TV dramas, just like those old ladies with high pensions, carefree.
They could go hiking, dance in the square, and travel without a worry—how wonderful would that be!
But the big villa was still a shadow of a dream, and even if they bought it, the renovations would take at least half a year!
So, the most urgent task was to refurbish the old house.
The furniture in the old house was all collected from the garbage, not a single piece without missing arms or legs.
As for appliances, besides lighting, there was just an old rice cooker and a rusty water boiler that worked normally.
There was also a television picked from the garbage, which could be turned on, but on opening, the screen was full of static.
After putting the chicken soup on the stove, Qin Feng went out and did a major shopping spree.
In half a day, the whole house was transformed.
At that time, Wang Guixiang came back.
Seeing Qin Feng, she was startled.
"Why are you back?" she asked.
"I'm on a break today! Why wouldn't I come back?" he replied.
Qin Feng hurried to serve a bowl of chicken soup for Wang Guixiang.
"Mom, please have some chicken soup! I got this old hen from the town and made a medicinal stew. Most of your health issues come from malnutrition. Starting today, I will make sure to nourish you properly and get you back in good health," he assured her.
Looking at the new furniture and appliances in the house, Wang Guixiang felt a wave of panic and dared not drink the chicken soup her son had served her.
"Did you buy these?" she asked Qin Feng.
"Yes!" he answered.
"How much did you spend?"
"A few tens of thousands!"
"Tens of thousands of yuan? Where did you get that money?"
"I cured a patient, and his family, to thank me, gave me a million."
Upon hearing the number one million, Wang Guixiang nearly fainted. Qin Feng really had embezzled one million in public funds, and that could mean a ten-year sentence!
Unable to make up her mind, Wang Guixiang hastily put down her bowl and said, "I'm not going to work today, you just stay at home and rest well, don't run around. The other day, I borrowed fifty yuan from Mrs. Li next door, I'm going to return it to her first."
"No hurry for this moment, drink the chicken soup before you go."
Unable to argue with Qin Feng, Wang Guixiang had no choice but to finish the chicken soup in her bowl.
Under Qin Feng's supervision, she even ate a big chicken leg before she finally got away.
Running out from home, Wang Guixiang found a secluded and deserted corner to dial Wu Qianqian's number.
After calling several times, Wu Qianqian directly hung up, not answering at all.
In the end, Wang Guixiang could only send a text message.
"Qin Feng has come back."
As soon as the message was sent, Wu Qianqian immediately returned the call.
"Mrs. Wang, I was in a meeting just now. You said Qin Feng has come back, what's going on?"
"You said he embezzled one million in public funds. I was half in doubt before. But today, he actually, uncharacteristically, made chicken soup for me to drink? And bought tens of thousands of yuan worth of things for the house!
I asked him where the money came from, and he said it was from treating a patient, whose family gave it to him, the amount just happens to be one million."
Wu Qianqian was stunned.
Qin Feng was actually not dead?
Even if the vase didn't kill him, falling from a thirty-meter-high rooftop, he didn't die?
Regaining her senses, Wu Qianqian believed what Mrs. Wang had said, Qin Feng was still alive.
Because she thought of a possibility, last night when Qin Feng was thrown off the rooftop, he landed on the grass. It had rained in the afternoon, the grass was soft, he was lucky, so he didn't die!
Having analyzed the situation, Wu Qianqian hurriedly said into the phone.
"Mrs. Wang, don't panic, just stabilize him, you must keep him at home, don't let him leave. I'm coming right over now, have a good talk with him, and get him to return the stolen money. Only then can he avoid going to jail."
"Okay! I'll do as you say, Mrs. Wang!"
...
A quarter of an hour later, Wu Qianqian, accompanied by a group of people dressed in Patrol Team uniforms, burst into the courtyard.
"Qin Feng, the Patrol Team is here. Before they formally arrest you, you still have the chance to turn yourself in, hurry up and do it! Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist," Wu Qianqian said.
Seeing the Patrol Team, Wang Guixiang immediately panicked.
"Qianqian, didn't you say on the phone that as long as Qin Feng returns the stolen money, he wouldn't have to go to jail?"
"As long as he honestly admits his guilt, I will definitely hire the best lawyer, and I can at least get him out on bail pending trial. He won't have to sit in jail then.
If he resists the law, that's an additional crime, and even ten years in prison wouldn't be enough. Mrs. Wang, you'd better persuade him to surrender!"
"Are you really from the Patrol? What crime did I commit?" Qin Feng asked.
"What crime? You embezzled twenty million from the hospital's funds, that's enough for a ten-year sentence."
With that said by Wu Qianqian, Qin Feng immediately understood.
It turned out this despicable woman and Sun Zhihao had also embezzled hospital funds, amounting to as much as twenty million.
"Qianqian, didn't you say it was a million before? How did it become twenty million?" Wang Guixiang became more and more anxious.
Qin Feng patted Wang Guixiang's shoulder for comfort and said, "Mom, don't worry, this is a misunderstanding. No matter what happens, no matter what anyone says to you, you have to believe me.
I'm your son, the only one who would never lie to you. I'm just an intern, how could I embezzle twenty million in public funds? So there must be some misunderstanding, and I'll go clear it up."
Qin Feng followed the Patrol officers and was led onto a black business car.