Chapter Eighteen: Ye Bai Shao

  Zijin lay in bed for two more days before she was completely recovered and had energy again.

  As soon as she stepped out of the door and saw the sky outside, Qizhen felt that she had been locked up for too long, and suddenly had a feeling of rebirth.

  At this time, Qizhen'er finally had the time to carefully observe the house of the Qi family. The upper floor of the Qi's house had five rooms, but only one person lived there, Qi Dafu. The remaining rooms were turned into a pharmacy and two of them were converted into clinics. Initially, they also wanted to arrange Qizhen'er to live in the attic room on the upper floor, but thinking that it would be inconvenient for her to take care of things, she was arranged to live in Ye Baiji's room instead.

  The east wing is where Eldest Brother Ye Shiwen and his family live, while Second Brother Ye Shixie's family lives in the west wing because they have more people.

  Zhen'er has been living here for several days, and apart from Ye Baiju and her mother Sun Shi, as well as Dr. Ye who examined her, she occasionally sees her younger sister Ye Baixi, but none of the other members of the Ye family have appeared, not even mentioning Hu Zi, it seems he still hasn't returned.

  "Zhen'er, look, this is the east wing where we live. This side is my eldest uncle's house. They haven't returned yet. That side is my third uncle's house." Ye Baiju kindly pointed to the layout of the houses and said in a low voice, "It's good that my third uncle's family isn't home now. Later when they return, you'd better keep your distance from them. Trust me, it won't do you any harm."

  Ye Bai Zhi, this little girl has given Qi Zhen Er the feeling of being a sensible and straightforward little girl these past few days. Although her personality is quite strong-willed, she doesn't seem like someone who doesn't understand things. She can even share family secrets with her, and indeed treats her like a good younger sister. Qi Zhen Er naturally understands her kind intentions.

  Qī Zhēn ér said: "Thank you, Bái zhǐ sister, I understand now."

  At this time, Ye Baigi just happened to come back from outside and saw Ye Baiju and Qi Zhen'er pointing and laughing in the courtyard. She felt a surge of acid in her heart and said indifferently: "Hey, you're all better now, why don't you leave? Do you want to stay at our house?"

  As soon as this was said, Qi Zhen'er hadn't even opened her mouth when Ye Baiji scolded with a stern face: "Baiji, how can you talk like that? Grandfather taught us to be kind and generous to others. Is this what you learned? Apologize to Zhen'er."

  Ye Baiji didn't expect that one sentence would make her sister scold herself like this, implying that if she didn't apologize, she would tell Grandfather. Pouting, she said: "Why should I apologize? Didn't I speak the truth? And who knows where these siblings came from, relying on my family and not leaving or speaking, and still wanting people to serve them. Who do they think they are?"

  Thinking of her mother and sister revolving around the siblings, even vacating her room for this wild girl from who-knows-where to live in, Ye Baiji's heart was filled with resentment. Just looking at what the siblings were wearing, and that no one had come to look for them after so many days, it was clear they were ordinary farm children, probably wandering around outside for some unknown reason. And yet, without any benefit to themselves, they were being taken care of in such a meticulous manner, she really didn't know what they were thinking.

  "Yè Bái Jí, you've grown up and become arrogant, have you? Be careful or I'll tell Grandpa." Yè Bái Zhī didn't expect her younger sister to speak like this, it's all because she learned from Third Uncle's family, at such a young age she's already learned to be sharp-tongued and vicious.

  Ye Baiji didn't care about her sister, and fiercely glared at Qi Zhen'er, indignantly saying: "My sister Ye Bai will be back soon, you just wait, humph!" After that, she ran out again.

  Ye Baiji saw her sister's figure disappear outside the door, and her eyes dimmed slightly. She then cheered up and said to Qi Zhen'er: "Don't mind what Bai Ji said, she just has a bit of a childish temper, but no ill intentions. I think my third uncle and his family are about to return, so she must have gone to meet them."

  Qī Zhēn'er smiled and didn't say anything. Even if Yè Bái Jí didn't mention it, she wouldn't mind. What Yè Bái Jí said might not have sounded good, but it was the truth - she and Hǔ Zǐ hadn't done anything for them, yet they had been treated very well by Yè Dà Fū's family.

  "Let's go, I'll take you to the village for a walk." Perhaps wanting to lift Qizhen's mood and also not wanting to meet San Shu's family, Ye Baiji suggested.

  Zhen'er had long wanted to get a feel for the situation here, and if this village was suitable, she thought of settling down with Hu Zi. This is truly a case of sleeping and having someone bring you a pillow, with Ye Baiji taking her on a tour of the village, how could it be bad?

  The village is called Elm Village, and it's said that there are many elm trees in the village, so the village was named after them. Along the way, I saw elm trees everywhere, thinking that the people in this village should still have some superstitions.

  Yushu Village is a bit larger than Qijiazhuang, but it's different from Qijiazhuang. The villagers here all cultivate their own land, and there are also large landlords, but they are in the minority, unlike Qijiazhuang where everyone cultivates the land of the Qi family in town.

  As she walked around the village, everyone she met politely greeted Ye Bai Zhi, and a few women even joked and praised her.

  Zi Zhen'er knew that in rural areas, people with skills were respected, let alone Ye Dafu, who was not only skilled in medicine but also kind-hearted. It was understandable that the villagers had a good attitude towards their family.

  Ye Baiji was young, but her words and deeds were good. At first glance, she seemed to be a well-educated girl. Seeing the satisfied expressions of those people, Qi Zhen'er was also happy for Ye Baiji.

  Ye Baiji is already fourteen years old this year. Children in the countryside, even if they get married late, are engaged at the age of 14 or 15. These women looked like the kind who liked to gossip about other people's business. Ye Baiji left a good impression on them, and no matter what, they wouldn't say anything bad about her, even if they didn't praise her.

  "Is this the little girl who was rescued that day? Ah, she looks so much better now. Doctor Ye's medical skills are really impressive, she didn't even react that day, but was saved by Doctor Ye." A woman noticed Qi Zhen'er and said.

  Others nodded in agreement after hearing this.

  "That day, looking at his pale face, and there was a little kid who was the same, he recovered completely in just a few days, it's all thanks to Dr. Ye's skills."

  "That's right, Doctor Ye's medical skills are superb, even the wealthy merchants in the city come to ask Doctor Ye to see them when they're ill."

  "Dr. Ye charges us country folks very little for medical treatment, I heard my family head say that one trip to the pharmacy in town can bankrupt a person, Dr. Ye is indeed a good doctor, he has done many good things for us."

  In a burst of praise for Ye Dafu's merits, Qi Zhen'er smiled secretly with pursed lips. Ye Baiju's face turned red with embarrassment amidst the applause.

  After a while, some women began to ask about Qi Zhen's younger brother, and they were all evaded by Qi Zhen.

  Zijin knew that rural people liked to gossip, and if they left a bad impression, they could ruin someone's reputation by spreading rumors. She still didn't know if she could settle down here, so it was better to be cautious with her words.

  They chatted casually for a few more sentences before Ye Baiji led Qi Zhener away.

  Get away from those people, and Qizhen'er started teasing Ye Baiju: "Baiju sister, seeing them so satisfied with you, the matchmakers at your house must have almost worn out the doorstep?"

  Even if it's exciting and bold, when mentioning this topic, Ye Baiji's face still turned red, and she scolded: "You little girl, you're so young but always thinking about these things? You can't just say them out loud in the future." Ye Baiji reminded her.

  Ever since learning that Qizhen's younger brother and sister were orphaned, she really treated them as her own siblings, teaching them everything.

  Zi Zhen'er certainly knew that these words couldn't be spoken casually, wasn't this also because Ye Baiji had just been hurt by Ye Baiqi's words and wanted to cheer her up?

  The two of them chatted and laughed as they returned home, but as soon as they stepped inside the door, they heard loud arguing coming from upstairs. They exchanged a glance, both their eyes flashing with confusion.

  Qī Zhēn ér thought these were Yè Dàifū's family matters, she didn't want to get involved and it was also awkward for her here. Just as she was about to tell Yè Bái zhǐ that she would go back to her room, someone blocked her way.

  "Zhen'er, come here, my sister Bai Miao has something to ask you." Ye Baiji stood at the west wing door, her tone full of schadenfreude as she called out, waving her pale hand.

  Qī Zhēnér discovered that she was wearing a silver bangle on her hand, which wasn't there when they left the house just now. It seemed to be given by Yè Bái Zhuāng.

  But Ye Baiji's words made Qi Zhen'er frown slightly.

  Ye Bai pulled her and said: "Don't mind them, just came back and didn't know how to calm down for a while, only thinking of bothering people."

  This remark happened to be in line with her own wishes, so Qizhen ignored Ye Baigui and turned around to leave.

  "White Orchid, why hasn't anyone arrived yet?" As the voice came, another little girl stood at the door of the west wing. The little girl was about the same age as Ye Baiji, wearing a silk flower on her head and holding a handkerchief in her hand, looking quite pretty. But with a downward glance at the corner of her eye, she seemed to be someone who wasn't easy to get along with. This should be the eldest daughter of the third house, Ye Baizhen, who was the same age as Ye Baiji.

  When he saw Qi Zhen'er, the man smiled and looked her up and down.

  Zi Zhen'er disliked her gaze very much, as if she was a commodity waiting to be sold, looking at how much money she could fetch.

  "Are you the little girl who was saved by my grandfather and has been living in our house for a long time?" Ye Baihe's words were quite complicated, adding many adjectives before Qizhen'er's name, as if afraid that Qizhen'er didn't know her own identity.

  Qī Zhēnér glanced at her without saying a word. She remembered that Yè Bái Jí had said that the Ye family didn't go to town until the second day after she was rescued, but now her attitude seemed as if she didn't know what she looked like.

  Either she never really cared about the rescued siblings or she wanted to highlight her identity as a benefactor.

  If it weren't for Ye Baiji and Ye Baizhou's bad attitude, Qi Zhen'er would not have made things difficult for them in front of Ye Dafu.

  Yè Bái Jì saw her like this, Yè Bái Sháo's face already looked unpleasant, and she scolded: "I'm asking you a question, White Peony sister, are you mute?"

  "Baizhi sister, I'm feeling a bit unwell, I'll head back to my room first." Qizhen still lived in Dr. Ye's house and didn't want to cause any trouble, so she decided to avoid them for now.

  Ye Baiji nodded and sighed inwardly.

  Ye Baihe and Ye Baishi saw Qi Zhen'er like this, they were so angry that they lost face in front of everyone, and they were very resentful in their hearts.

  Ye Baiji couldn't hold back her anger and panted heavily as she wanted to go forward and pull Qi Zhen'er.

  Ye Baiji reacted quickly, pulling her away with one hand. Without scolding her, he sternly faced Ye Baizhou and said: "Baizhou, as soon as you return, Baizi starts causing trouble again, be careful or Grandfather will discipline you!"

  Ye Baiji's words implicitly referred to Ye Baizhi stirring up trouble, which Ye Baizhi naturally did not admit. That was someone from your second wife's family, and Ye Baizi was still your own sister; why blame her when something happened?

  Ye Baihe was about to explain when a louder quarrelsome voice came from upstairs, causing the little girls in the courtyard to look up.