Yu He flew to the border airport overnight, and by the time she reached the county hospital from the airport, it was noon the next day.
Her neighbor, Qiao Qiao, was guarding the hospital bed. Old Mrs. Yu's head was wrapped in a white bandage, she wore an oxygen mask, had an IV drip, and lay on the hospital bed, unconscious.
"What happened?" Yu He asked as she entered the ward.
"Yu He, you're finally back." Qiao Qiao, seeing Yu He, excitedly stepped forward and held her hand.
"Please check on Grandma Yu quickly. She still hasn't woken up."
Yu He nodded and examined Old Mrs. Yu. There was a blood clot in her head causing the blockage.
To inflict such heavy blows on an old person, were they even human?!
"Who injured her?" she asked.
"Yesterday, some loan sharks suddenly came to your house, chasing debts. They had an IOU with Grandma Yu's fingerprint on it, demanding repayment. Grandma Yu had no money, and they knocked her unconscious."
Yu He's brows furrowed slightly. "Loan sharks?"
How could her grandmother have borrowed from loan sharks?
She sent tens of thousands of yuan for living expenses to her grandmother every month.
And the last time at the Ye family, when her grandmother brought Ye Zisu back, she had also given her grandmother a card with two million yuan in it, which was more than enough for their living expenses in the mountains.
"Yes, they're coming back in three days. They said if she doesn't prepare five million yuan, they'll chop off Grandma Yu's hands and feet!
"My brother went to the police, but the county police couldn't do anything. They said that debts must be repaid, it's only natural. But Grandma Yu has always been thrifty, how could she owe so much money to loan sharks?"
Qiao Qiao's voice choked with fear as she spoke.
"This must be that woman's doing! Ever since Grandma Yu brought her back, she hasn't had a peaceful day."
At this moment, a deep, resonant male voice came from behind.
Yu He turned around. Standing at the door was a tall, sturdy man with bronze skin, holding a white plastic bag filled with boxed lunches, his face full of anger.
He was Qiao Qiao's brother, Qiao Wei.
The brother and sister's parents had passed away early, and they had depended on each other, living in the most remote part of Qiao Family Village.
Years ago, when Old Mrs. Yu escaped with Yu He to Qiao Family Village, they were ostracized by the villagers. It was this kind-hearted brother and sister who took them in.
Later, Old Mrs. Yu settled down in Qiao Family Village by relying on her superb medical skills to save the villagers.
"Ye Zisu?" Yu He uttered the name.
"It's her. I don't know why Grandma Yu brought her back, treated her for free, and provided for her. And she, she wants imported latex mattresses, won't wear clothes that aren't branded; she refuses to drink well water or tap water, insisting on drinking mineral water from mountain springs," Qiao Wei said indignantly.
He was usually straightforward, simple-minded and strong, but his resentment towards Ye Zisu was so great, it seemed he had been angered by her quite a bit before.
Yu He nodded, understanding.
Ye Zisu had lived a life of luxury for 17 years in the Ye family. Forcing her to live in a mountain village, she naturally wouldn't be used to it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted on staying at the Ye family's before.
"Where is she now?" Yu He asked.
"I don't know. Ever since her leg got better and she could walk, she's been going out every few days. We haven't seen her for a week recently," Qiao Qiao said.
Yu He looked at Old Mrs. Yu on the hospital bed and guessed that Ye Zisu had already run away.
"This is the money I just borrowed from the villagers, along with all my savings. It's only 35,000 yuan. Take it first. I'll figure out the rest in the next couple of days."
Qiao Wei took a bundle of money wrapped in black plastic bags from his jacket pocket and handed it to Yu He.
Qiao Wei made a living by driving a second-hand truck, transporting goods for the villagers and supporting Qiao Qiao's education. The brother and sister lived frugally. For them to take out their savings, Yu He was deeply moved.
She pushed the money back. "Thank you, but no need. You don't need to worry about the money. I can handle it. I'm here now, you two should go back and rest."
The brother and sister both knew that Yu He had been taken away by wealthy people in the city last year.
But five million yuan was an astronomical sum for them. They couldn't imagine how wealthy a family had to be to casually produce five million yuan.
But Yu He was so resolute, Qiao Wei had to take the money back.
He had stayed up all night at the hospital yesterday, and spent the morning borrowing money everywhere. He was extremely sleepy and went back to rest. Qiao Qiao insisted on staying to help.
She was the same age as Yu He. When they were little, she had also studied traditional Chinese medicine with Old Mrs. Yu. Although she wasn't as talented in medicine as Yu He, she had a high aptitude for medicinal cuisine.
Yu He applied acupuncture to Old Mrs. Yu, dispelling the blood clot. She then wrote out a prescription and asked Qiao Qiao to buy the medicine from the pharmacy and use the kitchen to decoct it.
In the evening, Old Mrs. Yu woke up. After Yu He gave her the medicine, her complexion improved significantly.
Yu He, not entirely reassured, kept her in the hospital for another day of observation. Once it was confirmed there were no issues, she was discharged the next day.
In the early morning, Qiao Wei drove over to pick them up.
As soon as they arrived home, before Yu He could get out of the car, she heard Old Mrs. Yu say to Qiao Wei, "Wei Zai, take Nan Nan to the airport."
Today was the three-day deadline set by the loan sharks, and she didn't want Yu He to get involved in this matter.
The loan sharks were clearly acting on someone's orders. They didn't really want the money; they wanted her life!
Yu He understood her intentions, and her expression immediately turned grim.
Qiao Wei didn't realize it. "Ah? So urgent? Aren't we going to have lunch together before leaving?"
"Yes, it's the New Year. Let's have a meal together. I'll start cooking right away," Qiao Qiao chimed in.
She also realized Old Mrs. Yu's intentions, but she felt it would be better for Yu He to stay, because since childhood, she felt Yu He was very intelligent and would surely find a way.
"I'm not leaving!" Yu He got out of the car, walked straight into the yard, and casually retrieved the key hidden under the flowerpot by the door, opening the main gate.
The living room was in disarray, trashed by the loan sharks when they came to demand payment last time, and hadn't been tidied up yet.
Old Mrs. Yu couldn't stop her in time, so she sternly said, "If you're not leaving, what are you staying here for? This isn't a place for you to be. Go back to your Ye family!"
"Where did Ye Zisu go?" Yu He turned back, looking at Old Mrs. Yu with a cold expression.
Old Mrs. Yu pursed her lips. The two of them stood stubbornly opposite each other for a while.
"It's none of your business," Old Mrs. Yu said, righting an overturned chair and sitting down with her back to Yu He.
Yu He looked at her weathered back and suddenly felt a pang of heartache mixed with fondness.
When she was little and had angered her grandmother, her grandmother couldn't bear to scold her, so she would turn away and get angry with herself.
Yu He stepped forward and hugged her from behind.
"Whether Ye Zisu is alive or dead is indeed none of my business, but she hurt you, so I can't just ignore it!"
Old Mrs. Yu trembled, her eyes moistening slightly. "You child, you really don't listen!"
"Clang—" Suddenly, there was a noise from outside. Several men in black clothes, carrying knives, swaggered into the yard.
Seeing this, Old Mrs. Yu quickly pushed Yu He away. "Quick, hide!"
A burly man stepped into the living room. "Where are we going to hide?"