RYEY – Chapter 158 Qiu Min Was Poisoned

“Qiu Min, take the afternoon off today. Come find me later at the old house.”

It was the first time Qiu Min had seen Cheng Qiao so serious, and her heart felt uneasy. She hadn’t done anything wrong recently, had she? Even Li Huan thought it strange—his wife rarely ever wore such a grave expression.

But being clever, he sent Qiu Min to find Skinny Monkey, since they still had things to do today and Skinny Monkey couldn’t be absent.

The couple went to the old house first. Cheng Qiao took out from her space some rice, flour, grain, oil, along with candies, pastries, eggs, and kitchen utensils—especially an iron pot. These were all rare goods that required industrial coupons.

Half an hour later, Skinny Monkey pedaled over on his bicycle with Qiu Min. She looked at Cheng Qiao nervously, wondering what on earth had happened.

Cheng Qiao once again took Qiu Min’s pulse—first the left hand, then the right, then back again—before examining her tongue coating. Finally, she told her seriously: “You’re pregnant.”

At hearing this, Qiu Min was so happy she didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. She had been frightened by Cheng Qiao’s stern look just moments ago, so it took her a while to react.

Because they needed to pay off debts and also get married, she and Skinny Monkey had already spent all their savings. Their plan was to earn more money first before having a child. But when Qiao got pregnant, Qiu Min also longed to be a mother.

So the two of them had been both earning money and preparing for pregnancy. One month passed, then six, but still no sign of pregnancy. Her sister-in-law back home became anxious and found her a shady old Chinese doctor, who prescribed herbal medicine. And sure enough—it seemed to work.

“Monkey, I’m pregnant! We’re having a child!”

Qiu Min grabbed Skinny Monkey’s hand and laughed joyfully. Skinny Monkey rubbed his hands in excitement too. Ever since seeing little Cheng Li, his desire to be a father had grown strong.

“Don’t be so happy just yet—you’ve been poisoned.”

Cheng Qiao had to break their joy. If she tried to treat this poison herself, she wouldn’t be able to save the baby. Only her master might be able to help.

“Po… poisoned? Cheng Qiao, what… what are you talking about?”

Only now did Qiu Min realize why Cheng Qiao looked so grim. But she had been eating and drinking normally—where could the poison have come from?

“Have you taken any herbal medicine recently?”

“Yes. My sister-in-law said it was some kind of che-something grass. She told me it could help me conceive.”

“So you thought you only got pregnant because of that medicine?”

“Wasn’t it?”

“Of course not! You’re healthy, you could have conceived anytime—why drink those shady herbs?”

Skinny Monkey’s face also changed. Suddenly he understood. With a punch, he slammed into the wall, knocking down what was already a crumbling section.

“Brother Huan, I—”

“It’s fine, the wall was broken anyway. Just tell us what happened so we can think of a solution together.”

“My sister-in-law doesn’t have a job. She’s had her eye on Qiu Min’s position for a long time. She was just waiting for her to get pregnant so she could take over.”

“Take over? But Qiu Min spent five hundred yuan to buy that job—how could she just give it away?”

Cheng Qiao had heard bits and pieces before, but since they hadn’t said more, she didn’t ask. She originally thought maybe Qiu Min had sold the job to her sister-in-law—never expected that the woman was scheming like this.

“When Qiu Min still owed money for that job, her brother and sister-in-law didn’t say a word. But after we finished paying it off and got married, they started causing trouble.”

“Ugh, why are there always so many rotten people and rotten affairs?”

Li Huan was already impatient. All he wanted was to earn more money, raise his child well, fatten up his wife, and not care about anything else. But there were always these pests crawling out, annoying him to death.

“Cheng Qiao, can this poison be cured? Will it affect the baby?”

Cheng Qiao shook her head. She hadn’t been studying medicine for that long. Being able to tell from the pulse that Qiu Min was poisoned already came from her daily diligence.

“Come back with me to Xiangyang Village today. My master should be able to treat it, but I can’t guarantee it.”

Qiu Min nodded. Skinny Monkey looked at the pile of supplies in the room. His feelings were torn—he wanted to keep earning money, but he worried for Qiu Min’s health. In the end, he gritted his teeth and left with her.

Li Huan admired Skinny Monkey’s character—calm and level-headed in a crisis, with clear priorities. Only with enough money could one give one’s wife and children a good life.

That evening, Skinny Monkey brought Qiu Min, while Li Huan brought Cheng Qiao and their son back home. Li Huan also invited Ye Jun over. Seeing Qiu Min so nervous, Ye Jun smiled and shook his head.

The old doctor hadn’t prescribed large amounts, and Qiu Min had only been taking it for a few months, so the poisoning wasn’t severe. Still, since she was pregnant, the toxins would inevitably affect the fetus somewhat.

Fortunately, it was only just over a month into pregnancy. The baby’s brain hadn’t developed yet, so the medicine would only affect the body, not the mind.

And if later Qiu Min paid attention to nutrition and kept some level of exercise, the baby’s body could still be nurtured back to health. There was no need to worry too much.

After Ye Jun’s detailed explanation, Cheng Qiao realized she had been overly anxious and that her reading of the pulse was still lacking in experience. She felt a little embarrassed.

But Ye Jun praised her—if not for her timely discovery of Qiu Min’s facial swelling, the baby would not have survived another two months.

Ye Jun prescribed detox herbs and pregnancy-protection medicine, and listed precautions, which Skinny Monkey carefully noted in a little book.

“Qiu Min, sell your job. We’ve earned enough money these past months to support you and the baby. And I can always buy another job.”

After Ye Jun finished writing the prescription, Skinny Monkey suddenly turned to Qiu Min. Ye Jun paused, then understood why this pregnant woman had been poisoned—it was because someone coveted her job.

“Li Huan, I also want to sell my job. Now that we have little Cheng Li, it’s inconvenient for me to go to work.”

Cheng Qiao suddenly spoke up. Li Huan, of course, understood her meaning, but who could they sell it to? His mind began to turn.

“Qiu Min, if you really want to sell your job, sell it to the old village head’s eldest daughter. She’s been married into the county for years but hasn’t found work.”

“Alright.”

Qiu Min agreed at once. She wanted to focus on her pregnancy, and she could secretly do a bit of business too. As for her brother and sister-in-law—she’d find a way to teach them a hard lesson.

“How much do you want for it?”

“I bought it for five hundred yuan, so I’ll sell it for five hundred.”

Li Huan nodded. A permanent job at the supply and marketing cooperative could already fetch eight hundred. But since Skinny Monkey and Qiu Min weren’t greedy at all, he decided to offer the old village head six hundred.