Zhao Ye's reaction spurred Su Xiaoqi to lean closer, raising her hand to stop him:
"Your throat... Right, I'm a bit busy today. Why don't you come back in a couple of days, and I'll take another look for you? Last time I went to Yizhou Prefecture, I got several medical books. They seem to have descriptions of symptoms like yours; perhaps they'll be useful."
Su Xiaoqi had only recently seen him.
She had intended to mention it when she visited the supermarket courtyard earlier, but he wasn't there, so the matter was put aside.
It wasn't too late to bring it up now.
Zhao Ye's dark eyes sparkled, and he nodded vigorously.
Then, he clasped his hands tightly, as if making a significant decision, and suddenly took something from his embrace and handed it to her.
"What is this?" Su Xiaoqi didn't reach out to take it, but instead peered at it.
Zhao Ye, unable to speak, made a gesture, indicating for her to take it.
"Is this your Winter Solstice gift for me?" Su Xiaoqi suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Zhao Ye's gift among the pile of presents.
She decided to make a bold guess.
Zhao Ye nodded solemnly and again tried to push the object into Su Xiaoqi's hand.
Their fingers brushed lightly. Su Xiaoqi didn't think much of it, but Zhao Ye's face instantly flushed red.
However, his skin was dark, so no outward abnormality was apparent.
Inside, his heart churned like a surging flame, and the impulses in his heart were uncontrollable.
How he wished he could speak.
"Oh, what is this?" Su Xiaoqi took the item Zhao Ye handed her and examined it closely.
It was a circular object, neither like iron nor wood. It was a dark piece of something, but it felt heavy in her hand.
Intricate patterns were carved upon it.
Zhao Ye took a brush and wrote three words on the Xuan paper: "Family heirloom."
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoqi felt the round piece in her hand was perhaps too precious.
She quickly tried to push it back into Zhao Ye's hand.
But Zhao Ye was determined to give it to her. Although he hadn't trained in martial arts, his body was very agile due to years of manual labor.
Su Xiaoqi tried to return it several times, but couldn't even touch a corner of his robe.
Furthermore, he heard Zhao Xiaozhu calling him from outside. He simply cupped his hands in a bow, turned, and ran off.
Su Xiaoqi felt a wave of dejection. She understood that with her stamina, she couldn't outrun Zhao Ye.
She decided it would be better to keep it for him temporarily and return it at an opportune moment.
Su Xiaoqi stroked the uneven patterns on the round object, her mind drifting into thought.
Logically, given Zhao Ye's background, he was merely an orphan raised on charity.
How could he possess something so peculiar?
And he called it a "family heirloom."
What kind of family did he have?
It wasn't that Su Xiaoqi watched too many modern TV dramas and developed fanciful notions.
It was the patterns on the round piece that were too strange.
And it looked very special and valuable.
Although Su Xiaoqi couldn't identify it, it was definitely not an ordinary item.
Outside, the carts were quickly loaded.
Zhao Xiaozhu came over to express her thanks and bid farewell.
"Sister Xiaoqi, look, we came to deliver gifts for the festival, but we only brought three back baskets. You, on the other hand, gave us ten." Zhao Xiaozhu was quite embarrassed.
She didn't want to accept, but Guo'er said it was Sister Xiaoqi's kindness.
She had no choice but to take them.
She looked around, and seeing no one, she stepped forward and whispered, "Sister Xiaoqi, do you know that lately, people have been inquiring about the method for making buckwheat tea in our courtyard?"
Hearing this, Su Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow slightly, "Do you know who?"
Zhao Xiaozhu shook her head. "I'm not really sure either. Those people are very careful. Zhao Ye told me about it when he was here.
He saw Xiao Sanzi interacting with those people a few times."
Su Xiaoqi's expression changed slightly. Xiao Sanzi...
Zhao Xiaozhu's words seemed to jog Su Xiaoqi's memory.
When she visited the supermarket courtyard earlier, she recalled seeing Xiao Sanzi rushing towards the back courtyard where buckwheat tea was being made.
But she hadn't thought much of it at the time.
In fact, she had been guarding against this very thing.
Because she knew the He family had purchased a considerable amount of buckwheat from Zhao Family Village at that time.
Selling buckwheat directly as grain during this harvest season would fetch a very low price, possibly less than five wen per liter.
Even as medicinal herbs, the price wasn't high.
Only by processing it into buckwheat tea could the price be increased.
But that was something she had learned in modern times, and the process was not simple.
It wasn't something just anyone could produce.
Therefore, Su Xiaoqi had thought that the He family would surely send someone to steal the method for making buckwheat tea.
So, she had already spoken to Zhao Liushun and Zhao Xiaozhu beforehand.
And Zhao Ye would have been informed by Zhao Liushun.
Moreover, he was more astute and clever than both uncle and nephew, making him the most suitable person to investigate this matter.
At the time, Su Xiaoqi was just trying her luck.
She hadn't expected him to actually find something out.
"Xiao Sanzi..." Su Xiaoqi repeated the name, thinking that despite her kindness to them, he had still chosen to betray her.
She couldn't say she wasn't disappointed.
But fortunately, she wasn't the original owner, and her feelings for them weren't deep; they were quite superficial.
She even had to be thankful now that she had prepared for this contingency.
By separating the tea-making process into steps.
Each person was responsible for only one step.
Even if someone were to betray her and defect to another, they could only take their own portion with them.
Unless, of course, the people responsible for the remaining dozen steps all chose to betray her.
In that case, Su Xiaoqi thought she wouldn't be disappointed, but depressed.
One person's betrayal could be attributed to a character flaw.
But if everyone chose to betray her, it would undoubtedly be her own fault.
Now, what Su Xiaoqi wanted to know most was whether the betrayers were one, two, three, four, or all of them.
"Don't spread the word about this matter for now. I'll check it out after the Winter Solstice festival," Su Xiaoqi replied after a brief period of contemplation.
Zhao Xiaozhu was not adept at handling such matters; she was merely a messenger.
Su Xiaoqi was preoccupied with worry.
When Shen Yun returned, he noticed it at a glance.
However, his attention was first drawn to the three words Zhao Ye had written on the desk.
"Family heirloom?" Shen Yun looked at Su Xiaoqi, who had been standing by the window for a long time.
Since he had entered, she had been standing there, looking outside.
From his perspective, there were only two ginkgo trees that had lost their leaves.
And a somewhat mottled white wall.
There was truly nothing remarkable to look at.
So, he decided to initiate a conversation.
Su Xiaoqi turned to look at him when she heard his voice.
Shen Yun was wearing the new clothes she had brought from Zhao Xiaozhu's place today, as it was a festival.
It was a moon-white robe with a round collar, and the cuffs and hem were embroidered with green bamboo. The white color accentuated his skin, and coupled with his well-defined features and handsome face,
He appeared both fair and refined.
Upon seeing him, Su Xiaoqi lost herself for a moment, her gaze fixed on him.