After dinner, Chu Yang left home and went to their family clinic.
Chu Yang saw the small clinic was shabby and outdated, with items haphazardly arranged and dust accumulating on the ground. He picked up the broom in the corner and cleaned every corner of the small clinic, until it looked completely renewed, with everything neatly in order.
Having cleaned the small clinic, Chu Yang was about to head home when he suddenly heard Xu Qianqian's heart-wrenching cries for help.
Chu Yang's expression changed instantly, and he hurried out to see what was happening.
Xu Qianqian's home was right next to Chu Yang's clinic, separated by just one wall.
Chu Yang ran outside and saw a white van parked at Xu Qianqian's door, with five men holding wooden sticks blocking the entrance. One of the men had a scar on his eye corner, a ferocious expression, and lecherous eyes. He was pulling Xu Qianqian towards the van with both hands.
Clutching the door frame tightly with both hands, Xu Qianqian's eyes were swollen from crying as she begged, "Please... please let us go... we're already so pitiful..."
"My daughter still needs me to take care of her, I can't go with you."
"If I go with you, my daughter will starve to death."
The man with the scar on his eye corner grew impatient and kicked Xu Qianqian, shouting loudly at her, "You shameless wretch, Brother Cai taking a liking to you is the fortune of eight lifetimes for you. I warn you, take a hint or, humph."
The scar-faced man snorted coldly, his eyes showing a ruthless gleam.
Xu Qianqian lay on the ground, crying and pleading, "I won't go... I'd rather die than work as a hostess in that kind of place..."
"Tsk, ungrateful wretch, if you can't appreciate what's good for you, don't blame me for being ruthless. Bring me her daughter," the scar-faced man ordered with a wave of his hand, and a wailing baby was carried out.
The man with the scar took the baby, looked at the crying infant and said with a smirk, "Hey, Qianqian, your daughter sure is pretty. Such a nice child; you certainly wouldn't want to see her die before your eyes, would you?"
In a panic, Xu Qianqian lunged at the scar-faced man, "Bastard, let go of my daughter, let go! If you dare hurt her, I'll haunt you even as a ghost."
With a kick, the scar-faced man knocked Xu Qianqian to the ground, his gaze cold and merciless, as he lifted the baby high, "Aren't you worried about your daughter not having anyone to take care of her, starving to death? I'll just smash her to death now, and you can give up hope once and for all."
Xu Qianqian desperately threw herself forward, "No... no, please... I'm begging you... don't do it..."
The man with the scar cruelly smiled and lifted the infant high, violently throwing her towards the ground.
"Ah..." Xu Qianqian let out a cry of despair.
Whoosh.
A shadow flashed by.
The baby did not hit the ground but was caught by Chu Yang.
Holding the wailing infant, Chu Yang glared coldly at the scar-faced man and berated him, "Are you even human? How can you not spare such a small child?"
"My child, my child." Xu Qianqian scrambled over to Chu Yang, clinging fiercely to her daughter.
Chu Yang patted Sister-in-law Qianqian on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Sister-in-law Qianqian, with me here, they wouldn't dare do anything to you and your daughter."
Xu Qianqian looked at Chu Yang with gratitude, feeling a sense of security from him unlike anything she had ever experienced before. This feeling stirred within her an inexplicable affection for Chu Yang.
Chu Yang glanced at Xu Qianqian. Perhaps due to the recent tugging, her blouse had been torn in several places, especially around the collar, which was nearly ripped apart, revealing a glimpse of snowy whiteness and a deep chasm.
Chu Yang took off his jacket and draped it over Xu Qianqian, "Sister-in-law Qianqian, hide behind me. I'd like to see who dares to touch you."
Xu Qianqian moved behind Chu Yang, looking at the scarred man with frightened eyes.
"Are you guys with Wang Chengcai?" Chu Yang asked in a deep voice.
The man with the scar on his face wore a smug expression, "That's right, my big brother is Wang Chengcai. I'm warning you, if you know what's good for you, hand over Xu Qianqian to me, or you'll suffer the consequences."
Chu Yang asked coldly, "What has Xu Qianqian done? Why do you want to take her away?"
"Heh, this bitch borrowed high-interest loans from Brother Cai."
"With no money to repay the loan, Brother Cai asked her to sleep with him a few times, then work as a hostess in his nightclub, doing the flesh trade to repay her debt," said the man with the corner-eye scar.
"Sister-in-law Qianqian, is that right?" Chu Yang asked.
Xu Qianqian, still in shock, first nodded, then shook her head vigorously, "I did borrow one hundred thousand yuan at high interest from Wang Chengcai. But it was for my daughter's medical treatment; I had no other choice."
"It was agreed that I would pay back one hundred thousand yuan within three years. But only three days have passed, and they are already pressing me for repayment. Where am I supposed to find the money?"
Chu Yang frowned slightly, "Sister-in-law Qianqian, did you spend the one hundred thousand yuan in just three days?"
"Chu Yang, things have come to this point, and I won't hide it from you any longer. My daughter has a rare illness that can only be cured with Wild Mountain Ginseng as a medicinal primer. But Wild Mountain Ginseng is very rare. I searched every pharmacy and herb shop in the county and couldn't find it."
"Later, a man named Ge Dazhi came to me, claiming he had a root of Wild Mountain Ginseng passed down from his ancestors for one hundred thousand yuan. I didn't have that much money. One evening, Wang Chengcai found me and told me he could lend me one hundred thousand yuan."
"For my daughter's treatment, I couldn't care about the consequences, so I took the high-interest loan of one hundred thousand yuan from Wang Chengcai. After getting the money, I immediately bought the Wild Mountain Ginseng from Ge Dazhi, only to discover that it was fake. When I went back to look for Ge Dazhi, he had already run away."
"Only then did I realize I'd been tricked by Ge Dazhi." Xu Qianqian was extremely frustrated in her heart. If only she had been more careful, she might not have been deceived.
Chu Yang's brow furrowed; this matter wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Ge Dazhi and Wang Chengcai showed up on the same day.
Xu Qianqian needed the Mountain King Ginseng to save her daughter's life, and Ge Dazhi appeared with it.
Xu Qianqian needed one hundred thousand yuan to buy the Mountain King Ginseng from Ge Dazhi's hands, and there was Wang Chengcai with the money.
It was as if a trap had been set specifically for Xu Qianqian.
Chu Yang pondered inwardly, "The Wild Mountain Ginseng is incredibly precious; it's been over a decade since anyone in the village found any - it's practically extinct."
"However, Sister-in-law's daughter absolutely needs the Mountain King Ginseng as a medicinal primer to save her life. I cannot stand by and let her die. It seems I must find a way to search the mountains for the Mountain King Ginseng."
These thoughts flashed through Chu Yang's mind, but the most pressing issue was the matter at hand. He would not allow these people to take Xu Qianqian away.