Chapter 72: Lucky

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Lucky

"Mom, we can worry about marriage later. What’s important is the situation right now. If they hadn’t pushed me into a corner, I wouldn’t have wanted to take this step. But if I don’t do this, are you just going to stand by and watch me marry one of those scoundrels from Baiyang Village? Would I even survive?"

Zhao Lan gradually calmed down. She realized how desperate Bai Zhi must have been to resort to this. If the Bai Family really did send Bai Zhi to Baiyang Village, she and her daughter would likely never see each other again.

"Mom, I know what I’m doing. I’m still young, so a rumor like this won’t matter much right now. In a few years, I’ll just have Doctor Lu clear my name, and everything will be fine. It won’t have any lasting impact, so please don’t worry."

Zhao Lan heaved a long sigh. "It’s all my fault for being so useless. I couldn’t protect you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had to resort to something like this."

"Zhao Lan? Zhi? What brings you two here?"

Without realizing it, the mother and daughter had arrived at the entrance to the Hu’s house. Hu Changlin was standing there sweeping. Seeing them approach, he hurried forward to greet them.

Zhao Lan looked at Hu Changlin’s arm, which was in a sling, and felt a little embarrassed. After all, he had been injured because of her.

"Brother Hu, I’m so sorry to have put you through this."

Hu Changlin set down his broom and waved a hand at Zhao Lan. "It’s nothing. It doesn’t even hurt anymore. Doctor Lu said the injury isn’t serious—it should heal in seven or eight days. What about you, though? Your hand is injured again. I’m afraid yours is worse, isn’t it?"

Zhao Lan quickly waved her hand as well. "I’m fine. It’ll heal after a little rest. It’s nothing serious."

Hu Changlin led them into the courtyard. The yard, which the two Bai brothers had turned into a total mess yesterday, was now perfectly neat and tidy.

"You two haven’t eaten breakfast, have you? You should eat here. Hu Feng is boiling water; I’ll go tell him to add a couple more eggs."

Bai Zhi smiled. "That would be wonderful! Our Aunt kicked us out on empty stomachs and said we couldn’t come back until we’d gathered enough wild vegetables. We were actually planning on coming to you for a meal anyway, Uncle Hu."

Uncle Hu feigned a glare at her. "You silly girl. What’s this nonsense about asking for food? This is Uncle Hu’s home. You can come whenever you want, stay for as long as you want, anytime at all. You hear me?"

Bai Zhi nodded emphatically, her nose stinging. ’Someone with no blood ties at all is treating me so well. When I think about my parents from my past life, and then about the Bai family... maybe I’m not so unlucky after all. In fact, I’m quite fortunate. I have a mother who loves me with all her heart and a kind man like Uncle Hu looking out for me.’ She believed her life would only get better from here on out.

She helped Zhao Lan sit down at the table inside, then turned to Uncle Hu and said, "I’ll go. I can give him a hand."

Uncle Hu nodded. "Alright, you go on. I’ll get your mother a glass of water."

Bai Zhi went to the kitchen in the back. Hu Feng was placing eggs and sweet potatoes into the pot: four eggs and four sweet potatoes.

"Well now, you’re certainly on top of things." Bai Zhi sidled up to him with a grin. She glanced at the stove—the fire was roaring and didn’t need more wood, and the pot had plenty of water. "Looks like you don’t need me to lend a hand after all."

Hu Feng put the lid on the pot, then turned to look at the petite girl in front of him. His expression grew serious. "When are you going to start my treatment?"

Bai Zhi froze, not expecting him to ask about that now. She quickly collected herself and said, "We can’t rush something like this. First, we have to find the right medicinal herbs. The treatment will involve taking medicine and undergoing acupuncture. And it’s not an instant cure. The blood stasis in your brain has been there for a long time, so it won’t be easy to disperse. It will take long-term treatment and care for it to slowly start working."