A middle-aged man walked up with a smile, presenting a business card with golden edges to Ling Feng.
"Mr. Ling, this is my business card!"
Ling Feng took it and was taken aback.
"Tiansheng Jewelry, is that you?"
Looking again, he realized this man was a jeweler. The name "Tiansheng" was well-chosen; it felt like he was born for the jewelry business.
"May I ask why Mr. Yu is looking for me?"
Now that he understood the man's identity, Ling Feng felt even more curious.
"I saw you unveil five pieces of jade, three of which are high-quality, and one is exceptional! I believe you have quite the expertise in jade."
Yu Tiansheng spoke in circles but didn't get to the point. Ling Feng wasn't used to such vague politeness.
"Just tell me what you need. I'm busy."
Yu Tiansheng smiled and decided to skip the niceties.
"Well, Mr. Ling, here's the thing…"
There's going to be a raw stone convention in Jiang City this weekend, and he wanted to invite Ling Feng to join him.
Ling Feng realized this guy thought he was a pro after what had just happened.
"I'll think about it," he replied, accepting the business card to indicate he'd contact him later if he decided to go.
"I'll be waiting for your good news, Mr. Ling!"
Yu Tiansheng said one last polite phrase before leaving.
After finishing his shopping at the market, Ling Feng headed home, placing the raw stones somewhere discreet to avoid Zheng Miaoyi's notice. He planned to surprise her with some exquisite jewelry later.
Around noon, while Ling Feng was cooking, someone knocked on the door. His mother-in-law, Ge Yiyue, who was watching TV in the living room, went to answer.
"Who are you looking for?"
Two young police officers stood outside.
"Hello, ma'am. Is Ling Feng home?"
Ge Yiyue's heart dropped at the question.
She invited the officers into the living room and hurriedly called for Ling Feng.
"Ling Feng, you better come clean. Have you gotten into some trouble?"
Ge Yiyue stared intently at him, as if trying to see into his thoughts.
"Mom, what are you talking about? What trouble could I possibly cause?"
Ling Feng chuckled.
"Are you really not in any trouble?"
"Honestly, no!"
"If you're not in trouble, then why are the police here? You better spill the beans!"
"I really don't know. Why don't you go ask them?"
"Fine, I will! It's not like they're here for me. I'm not scared!"
Ge Yiyue stormed out of the kitchen.
"Officers, can you tell me if Ling Feng is in trouble?"
She poured a cup of water for each officer and asked.
"Auntie, you're mistaken. We're actually here to present a commendation to Ling Feng!"
Saying this, the two officers stood up and pulled out a banner from their bags.
It read "Model Citizen" in big letters.
It turned out that Ling Feng had done a lot of good deeds recently, and Director Meng specifically wanted to honor him.
Just then, Ling Feng walked out of the kitchen.
"See, Mom? I told you I wasn't in trouble!"
Ling Feng grinned.
"Hey, look at you, doing well!"
Ge Yiyue beamed at him, her face lighting up with pride.
"I need to show this to that nosy old lady Wang next door. This is something you can't buy with any amount of money!"
She snatched the banner and rushed out the door.
"Mr. Ling, what's with your mom?"
The officers looked puzzled.
"Oh, it's nothing. She's just excited!"
Ling Feng chuckled, realizing his mother-in-law was off to boast to their neighbor, Aunt Wang.
"Mr. Ling, here's something from Director Meng for you!"
The two officers handed Ling Feng an envelope before leaving.
Ling Feng opened the envelope to find the information he had asked Meng Jun to investigate about the car that had been following him.
After glancing at it, he felt a bit disappointed.
It turned out Meng Jun had only traced the car back to Beijing before being blocked from continuing the investigation.
Could it be that he was mistaken? Maybe that car wasn't following him after all?
Ling Feng felt puzzled. He didn't know anyone from Beijing and certainly hadn't made enemies there who would send someone to stalk him.
Never mind, he decided. It was probably just a misunderstanding.
He set the papers aside and went back to preparing dinner.
Meanwhile, in a lavishly decorated room, a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, exuding an air of sophistication, was furious.
"Useless bunch of fools! How could you let a kid with no connections take you down?"
"If I hadn't pulled you out, you'd still be in jail, freezing your tails off."
"Now tell me, what good are you?"
In front of him knelt a dozen men with their heads bowed low.
If Ling Feng were there, he'd recognize among them the landlord of the clinic and the owner of the gambling stone stall who had been arrested earlier.
Both were under this man's command.
"Hmm, is that Ling Feng?"
"Daring to oppose me, he'll soon know what regret feels like!"
The man spat coldly after a long tirade.
Later that evening, Ling Feng went to pick up Zheng Miaoyi from work.
He was on friendly terms with the staff at the First Hospital, especially with Zheng Miaoyi's colleagues.
One of her close coworkers saw Ling Feng and whispered,
"Dr. Ling, you should be careful."
Ling Feng paused, asking, "Why's that?"
"Miaoyi received a ton of gifts from admirers today. If you keep showing up empty-handed, you might lose her!"
The coworker chuckled and left after finishing his shift.
Ling Feng laughed. So that's what this was about.
After being married for years, he hadn't given Zheng Miaoyi anything particularly nice.
It seemed he should make good use of that raw stone to create a set of jewelry that would make everyone envious.
Once home, he found Zheng Miaoyi had skipped dinner and gone straight to her room to study medical materials.
Ling Feng felt a bit helpless. He brewed a cup of hot milk and took it to her.
"Drink some milk!"
Zheng Miaoyi didn't look up, taking a gulp of the milk without a word.
"You've got to eat, no matter how busy you are!" Ling Feng took the chance to say.
"Hey! This is all study material."
"The hospital wants me to represent them at a medical forum.
"It's a great opportunity for me to improve my skills.
"I was just told today, so I'm a bit rushed, but I have to give it my all!"
Zheng Miaoyi sighed before explaining.
Ling Feng's interest was piqued. "Can I take a look?"
When she nodded, he picked up the study material from the table.
As he read, he was taken aback.
The theories in the material surprisingly resembled those of the Divine Medicine and Martial Arts technique.
But while they shared some fundamental concepts, the depth and intricacy of the Divine Medicine and Martial Arts far surpassed this material.
Looking at the name on the document, he saw it was by Qin Jianan.