The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Inviting a Doctor

Widow Xie shook her head. "She probably wasn’t there..."

That kind of noncommittal answer wasn’t what Ji Huan wanted.

She pressed, "What do you mean, ’probably’? Aunt Xie, please try to remember."

"Think about it. Every family was busy with the autumn harvest back then, right? Even if she were to visit her family, she’d wait until after the harvest when there’s less farm work to do. It’s just like this time—didn’t she only come back after the spring planting was finished?"

"There’s always an exception. Could there have been some special circumstances that made her return to her family’s home early?"

"Well... It’s been so long. You can’t expect me to..."

"Or... did she show up after Ji Mu went missing?"

’Her younger brother’s child went missing. Normally, she would have come back for something like that, right?’

But the original owner of this body’s memories from that time were a complete blur, offering no useful information.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember something. After your brother disappeared, everyone in the village was really concerned. They helped search and ask around. Later, your father was out traveling everywhere looking for him, and your mother was too sick to get out of bed. I had to endure your grandmother’s glares to come over and check on them every day. Even that good-for-nothing Mrs. Zhu knew to come by and pretend to offer a few words of concern. The only one who never showed her face was your aunt."

Widow Xie thought for a moment, then added, "It’s not surprising, though. She never liked your mother."

To dislike her sister-in-law so much that she’d completely ignore her own nephew’s disappearance... that was just too heartless.

However, Widow Xie’s words also indirectly confirmed that Ji Xiu’e wasn’t present at the time.

Seeing Ji Huan connect Dabao’s abduction to Ji Mu’s disappearance, with all her questions revolving around Ji Xiu’e, Widow Xie sighed helplessly.

"I don’t have much contact with Ji Xiu’e, so I don’t know her well, but I can’t believe she’d do something so wicked. If you told me she dared to sell Dabao, I’d believe you. But abduct Ji Mu? I refuse to believe it. Would that even be human? She’s the boy’s own aunt!"

Just the thought sent a chill down Widow Xie’s spine.

"Like I said before, Ji Xiu’e rarely came back home after your father married your mother. It’s not like she can predict the future. How would she know to show up at that exact moment to snatch your brother away without anyone noticing? By that logic, Mrs. Zhu is a more likely suspect than Ji Xiu’e..."

Widow Xie suddenly sat bolt upright and gasped, "Heavens! It couldn’t really be Mrs. Zhu, could it?"

Mrs. Zhu had certainly been acting strangely this time.

And back when Ji Mu disappeared, not only was Mrs. Zhu present the entire time, but she also uncharacteristically went to offer a few words of comfort to Mrs. Wei?

At the time, Widow Xie had thought the sun must have risen in the west.

Looking back on it now, it all seemed incredibly fishy!

Ji Huan thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Mrs. Zhu doesn’t have the nerve."

’If she had really been the one to take Ji Mu, there’s no way she could have lived under the same roof as the victim’s family for so many years without revealing a single clue, all while continuing to take advantage of them and be as mean as ever.’

She might have had something to do with Dabao’s attempted abduction, but Ji Mu’s case was harder to say. Even if she were involved, she definitely wasn’t the mastermind.

But for now, all of this was just her personal speculation.

She had no concrete evidence to accuse either Mrs. Zhu or Ji Xiu’e.

"Oh, you. You must have been terrified by what happened, so it’s only natural your imagination is running wild... You almost had me going off on a tangent, too. But thinking about it, how could these two incidents possibly be related? For one person to do it, to target the same family’s children twice, so many years apart... No, absolutely not." Widow Xie waved her hands dismissively.

Ji Huan knew it wasn’t the right time to delve deeper into this, so she pushed her calculations aside for the moment and brushed it off with a smile.

"You’re right, Aunt Xie. Perhaps I’m just overthinking things."

"It’s been hard on you, having to go through something like this." Widow Xie patted her on the shoulder.

"Child traffickers disguised as beggars snatching kids off the street is a common occurrence. And there are plenty like this, who come out to the countryside to abduct children when the adults aren’t looking. They’ve already come here once, so people are on alert now. They definitely won’t come a second time. You really need to relax and stop scaring yourself."

Ji Huan didn’t say any more, simply nodding in agreement.

As noon approached, Widow Xie refused to stay for a meal.

As she walked her guest to the door, Ji Huan remembered something.

"Aunt Xie, tomorrow after you close up your stall, could you help me with something? Could you go to Yide Hall and ask Doctor Xin if he’s free? If he is, please ask him to come to my house..."

Widow Xie instantly grew tense. "What’s wrong? Did Dabao’s foot injury get worse?"

’And here Ji Huan was, trying to trick her into thinking it wasn’t serious. Now she’s even calling for a doctor!’

Beside her, Hu Dacheng’s face paled in fright.

Ji Huan quickly waved her hands. "It’s not Dabao. Dabao is really fine. It’s for the homeless man."

Before, the homeless man had just been lying there, silent and still, so it wasn’t obvious that anything was wrong.

It led one to assume that his crippled hand and foot were congenital defects.

And if not, he had likely been paralyzed for many years.

Otherwise, why had she never heard him cry for help or scream in pain? He hadn’t even let out a single groan.

It wasn’t until last night, when she saw his scar-covered face and watched him stand up and move with great difficulty, that Ji Huan realized he might be injured.

When Widow Xie heard the doctor was for the homeless man, she sounded her disapproval.

"He’s not a relative, not even an acquaintance. Giving him food and drink is one thing, but now you’re hiring a doctor for him? Are you and Dabao just not going to get by anymore? Any little bit of money you have will be squandered by you sooner or later."

"But he saved Dabao..."

"Even if he did save Dabao, you can show your gratitude by giving him some extra food. I’ll even find some old clothes to send over later... That should be enough. If you do too much for him, he’ll end up dumping all his problems on you!"

"How could he dump them on me? You said it yourself, he’s no relation to me. I just feel bad and want to do my best on Dabao’s behalf..."

"You have good intentions, but the other villagers won’t see it that way. They’ll just think that since you’ve already started taking care of him, you should see it through to the end. From now on, if this homeless man has so much as a headache or a sniffle, they’ll definitely come looking for you. You believe me, don’t you?"

Ji Huan just laughed. "They’re just looking for a deep pocket to pick. I’m not that foolish."

"You’re not foolish, but you can’t fend off a horde of shameless people. Isn’t Dabao enough of a burden for you? You want to take on another one? Besides, I don’t see anything seriously wrong with that homeless man. Listen to me, if you have that kind of spare money, you’d be better off raising..."

"Aunt Xie, Aunt Xie, Aunt Xie..." Seeing that the conversation was about to turn to raising pigs, Ji Huan quickly cut her off.

"Actually... actually, I’m not calling Doctor Xin just for the homeless man. He’s just incidental. It’s mainly for me..."

Widow Xie immediately stepped forward to feel her forehead, asking nervously, "Where are you not feeling well?"

Ji Huan had no choice but to go along with the misunderstanding. "It’s just... my head hurts a little..."

She didn’t want to lie, but it was just so difficult to persuade Widow Xie.

Then again, her head really did hurt a little—from just being lectured.

Afraid of worrying Widow Xie, Ji Huan quickly added, "But it doesn’t hurt right now. I’m just worried, so I think it’s better to have a doctor take a look..."

"Yes, yes, you’re right to think that way. You should have a doctor take a look, just to be safe. You can’t take minor illnesses lightly. If you’re not careful, they can turn into major ones, and then you’ll really be in trouble!"

With that, Widow Xie’s objections vanished, and she readily agreed.

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