The next day, Qin Xi and Han Shi walked towards Liu Dequan’s house with a bag of oranges. The villagers who passed by greeted them. She replied with a smile and stopped to chat with them.
Qin Xi was quite good-looking. She had delicate eyebrows and curved eyes. She also had two dimples and was very likable.
However, she was now emaciated. Her skin was sallow, her eyes were sunken. Although she still looked malnourished, at least she was neat and pretty.
When they arrived at Liu Dequan’s house, he was sitting in the courtyard, deep in thought. He didn’t even notice them when they walked up to him.
Han Shi went up to him and suddenly patted Liu Dequan on the shoulder. Liu Dequan was so shocked that he fell to the ground.
Qin Xi quickly helped him up and said apologetically, “Grandpa Liu, are you alright?”
“Why are you here?” Doctor Liu stood up and patted the dust off his body.
“Of course I’m here to thank Grandpa Liu for your help yesterday!” Qin Xi waved the bag in her hand and smiled.
“I didn’t help much yesterday.” Doctor Liu waved his hand in embarrassment and brought the two of them into the house. He shouted at his wife, who was still cooking, “The kids from the Han family are here. Cook some more.”
Qin Xi quickly rejected, “Grandpa Liu, don’t bother. We came after eating. Don’t make Grandma Liu busy.”
In the kitchen, an old lady in her late sixties walked out with an apron on. When she saw the guests, she greeted them enthusiastically and went back into the kitchen.
Qin Xi was the first to speak. “Grandpa Liu, is there something on your mind? You looked distracted just now.”
Liu Dequan glanced at her and sighed dejectedly. “I’m getting old and useless. To be honest, Qin Xi, when I took your pulse yesterday, other than malnourishment, I couldn’t find any other symptoms.”
Qin Xi immediately understood that Liu Dequan had started to doubt his ability because he could not find any symptoms. This kind of self-doubt was very bad for a doctor. It would make him gradually fear or give up on treating patients.
Qin Xi confessed, “Grandpa Liu, I’m here today to confess two things to you. Actually, I’ve already removed the poison yesterday. The reason why I didn’t tell you the truth was that I wanted to use the opportunity to cut ties with the Qin family.”
“As you know, I’ve suffered a lot since I was young. I thought that as long as I was obedient, my parents would love me again. However, what I got in return was endless torture and disappointment…”
“I was stupid. I always wanted to seek validation from them, but in the end, they abandoned me, so I…”
“Hey, Qin Xi, good girl, no more talking about that. It’s for the better that you left the Qin family. You made the right choice.”
Liu Dequan or everyone in the village for that matter knew that Qin Xi was living a life worse than a cattle. Li Guihua was afraid that Qin Xi would go out and cry for justice and ruin the Qin family’s reputation, so in the end, Qin Xi was tied up in a cattle pen and raised like an animal.
However, since it was a family matter, the villagers couldn’t say anything. The more they sympathized with her, the worse Qin Xi’s life would be.
“Grandpa Liu, there’s one more thing…”
Qin Xi licked her dry lips and said, “Actually, I know some medical skills too. May I ask Grandpa Liu if you’ve been vomiting after every meal no matter how much you eat?”
Liu Dequan was stunned and said in surprise, “How did you know?”
Qin Xi smiled and said, “Grandpa Liu, you thought it was related to stomach issues, right?”