Axi covered her wound and hid behind the door of the tailor shop, gritting her teeth to prevent herself from making a sound.
Uncle Rui returned to the tailor shop, placed the clothes in his hand on the table, and tidied them up. Remembering that Aunt Lan still had some clothes, he called out, "A-Lan, bring those clothes over too." As he finished speaking, he turned his head towards the door and saw a woman crouching there. Uncle Rui was startled and exclaimed in panic, "Big Sister, how did you end up hiding here? Do you want to get us killed?"
Axi sat behind the door, feeling helpless.
Aunt Lan, who had just reached the doorway, heard Uncle Rui's words and quickly walked in. Looking at him, she said, "Husband, what's wrong? Why are you so flustered?" She then saw Uncle Rui pointing behind the door.
Aunt Lan looked behind the door and saw her cousin, Axi, sitting there. She said nervously, "Axi!"
Axi also saw her cousin, Aunt Lan, and said with a hint of grievance, "Lan Jie."
Hearing Axi's aggrieved call, Aunt Lan placed the clothes in her hand on the table, turned around, closed the door, and then looked outside through the window to check if anyone was nearby. Seeing no one, she quickly pulled the curtains closed! Uncle Rui saw Aunt Lan pulling the curtains and went to help her.
Aunt Lan and Uncle Rui sealed the room. Aunt Lan turned around, helped Axi up, and looked at her anxiously, asking, "Axi, what happened to you?"
Axi, feeling embarrassed, replied, "I was being chased!"
Uncle Rui interjected, "A-Lan, who was chasing her?"
Aunt Lan looked at Uncle Rui and said, "It's my cousin!"
Uncle Rui hurriedly said, "A-Lan, I've told you before, don't let your Danjia relatives come to our shop. Take her away!"
Aunt Lan got a little angry and said, "Husband, 369 is still out there looking for her! How can we leave? What if 369 catches her? She'll be taken to the police station!"
At that moment, they heard a knock on the door. All three of them were startled. Aunt Lan was the first to react. She whispered to Uncle Rui, "Husband, I'll take her into the room first. If anyone comes, you just say I have a headache and am lying down in the room."
Uncle Rui nodded and said, "Okay, you two go in first."
Doctor Jin outside knocked on the door. After a while, seeing no one opening it, he muttered to himself, "A-Rui, you've closed the door during the day. Have you gotten rich and don't need to do business anymore? Maybe the two of you have gone out somewhere?" Then, he reached out and knocked again. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he walked to the door and opened it.
Uncle Rui took a deep breath to calm himself. He heard the knocking again and walked to the door, opening it as he went. He said, "Coming, coming."
Doctor Jin, standing at the door, heard a voice from inside and saw Uncle Rui opening the door. He said, "A-Rui, have you gotten rich and don't need to do business anymore? Why have you closed the door for no reason?"
Uncle Rui hurriedly said, "It's A-Lan. She has a headache and isn't feeling well, so I closed the door, carried her in, and used medicated wine to massage her."
Doctor Jin said, "I see. Do you need me to take a look?"
Uncle Rui said nervously, "No need, no need. It's just a minor issue. I massaged her, and she's feeling much better now."
Doctor Jin nodded and said, "Alright, then. By the way, is my pair of slacks ready? I have to go to a house call soon."
Uncle Rui rubbed his hands and said, "The slacks, ah, they're ready, ready. I'll get them for you right away." Uncle Rui then turned around and went to get the slacks. After folding them, he handed them to Doctor Jin, saying, "Doctor Jin, here are your pants." Seeing that Doctor Jin had taken the pants, he said "Take care" and quickly closed the door.
Doctor Jin, standing at the doorway, had just received the pants and hadn't had time to say anything when he saw the door being closed again. He stood there for a moment, dazed. Without saying anything, he turned and went back to his clinic.
Inside the room, Aunt Lan helped Axi to the edge of the bed and let her sit down. Then, she went to get some gauze and helped Axi bandage her wound. After she had finished bandaging Axi's wound, she asked, "Axi, how did you end up like this?"
At that moment, Uncle Rui lifted the door curtain and asked, "A-Lan, have you finished bandaging her wound? We're a shop that's open for business, with people coming and going all the time. If people find out, we're finished."
Aunt Lan quickly stood up and said, "Husband, you're so flustered again. If we're discovered, I'll just go back to being a Danjia woman."
Seeing Aunt Lan's agitation, Uncle Rui walked over and said, "Keep your voice down. I'm not afraid of being a Danjia man. I just don't want to lose this shop. It was so hard for us to make it this far."
Seeing the difficult situation Aunt Lan and Uncle Rui were in, Axi said, "Lan Jie, Rui Ge, I understand your predicament. How about this? Lend me a pair of men's clothes, let me dress as a man, and as long as I can get out of this courtyard, I have a way to get back to the riverbank."
Uncle Rui thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Okay, that's good. By the way, I have some money here for you. I'm so sorry." He took some money out of his pocket and handed it to Axi.
Axi quickly refused, saying, "Rui Ge, don't say that. This isn't your fault. It's just my bad luck." She tried to stand up, but the pain in her foot made her sit back down on the bed.
Seeing Axi like this, Aunt Lan and Uncle Rui quickly went to help her.
Aunt Lan said anxiously, "Oh dear, Husband, Axi's foot is injured so badly. How will she walk?"
Uncle Rui looked at Axi's injured foot and said, "Yeah, if she gets tetanus, it'll be terrible."
Hearing Uncle Rui say this, Aunt Lan quickly walked out. Seeing her like this, Uncle Rui asked, "A-Lan, where are you going?"
Aunt Lan turned back and said, "I'm going to find Doctor Jin."
Uncle Rui said nervously, "Then Doctor Jin will find out you're a Danjia woman."
"Don't worry. I have a way." Aunt Lan finished speaking, turned and went out to Doctor Jin's clinic. She arrived at the clinic and saw that Doctor Jin wasn't there. She walked over to where the medicine was stored and started searching.
Li Yu and A-Xiang returned from outside and heard the sound of glass shattering in Doctor Jin's clinic. They curiously looked in from the window and saw Aunt Lan searching for something. They asked, "Aunt Lan, what are you looking for in Doctor Jin's place? Is Doctor Jin not here?"
Aunt Lan was startled and turned her head to look at the window. Seeing that it was Li Yu, she said, "Oh, it's A-Yu. I came to Doctor Jin's place to get some跌打藥 (dieda yao, Chinese medicine for bruises and sprains) and saw that Doctor Jin wasn't here, so I thought I'd search around and see if I could find some." She finished speaking, turned back, and continued her search.
At that moment, Doctor Jin came in and saw Aunt Lan searching through his medicine. He said, "A-Lan? What are you doing here? Are you looking for me?"
Aunt Lan, already startled by Li Yu, was even more flustered when she heard Doctor Jin's voice. She stammered, "Y-yes, y-yes. I saw you weren't here. I just wanted to get some of your跌打藥."
Doctor Jin quickly said, "Who fell? Did they get injured?"
Aunt Lan quickly made up an excuse, saying, "It wasn't me. It's a relative of mine. He fell and bled a lot."
Doctor Jin continued to ask, "Did they injure any tendons or bones?"
Aunt Lan thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not."
Doctor Jin sighed and said, "You don't know anything. How dare I sell you medicine? You think I'm like those street-side quack doctors who don't care about people's lives? No, you have to take me to see her. You can't just come here and ask for medicine." He finished speaking and turned to grab his medical bag.
Hearing Doctor Jin's words, Aunt Lan panicked and quickly said, "No, that relative of mine is very poor and can't afford medical fees."
"Aunt Lan, if your relative is really that poor, I'll pay for the medical fees. We're all neighbors, after all, and should help each other. " Li Yu said this as he and A-Xiang walked in.
Doctor Jin agreed, "Yes! A-Lan, A-Yu is right. Neighbors should help each other. If you're sick, you should see a doctor. Don't wait until it gets worse. Besides, a doctor's heart is a parent's heart. I have to see patients who are sick, whether I get paid or not. That's a different matter."
Seeing this, Aunt Lan knew that if she continued to speak, Axi's identity would be exposed. She quickly refused Doctor Jin and left without turning back.
Li Yu watched Aunt Lan leave and said to Doctor Jin, "Doctor Jin, Aunt Lan's family must have something going on. Otherwise, she wouldn't be acting so strangely."
Doctor Jin agreed, "I think those two have something to hide today."
Li Yu said to Doctor Jin, "Doctor Jin, I have an idea. We can test to see what's really going on with Aunt Lan's family!"
Doctor Jin quickly said, "A-Yu, what did you think of? Tell me quickly."
After Li Yu finished telling Doctor Jin his plan, Doctor Jin slapped his thigh and said, "That's a good idea!"
After Li Yu and Doctor Jin discussed their plan, they went back home with A-Xiang. After a while, Li Yu came out wearing a police uniform. As he was leaving, he saw Aunt Lan carrying a bundle of unknown herbs and returning to her house.
Seeing this, Li Yu went to Doctor Jin's clinic to find him and then walked together to the tailor shop. He had Doctor Jin hide nearby and then knocked on the door of the tailor shop.
Uncle Rui saw Aunt Lan carrying a bundle of unknown herbs into the house and asked, "A-Lan, are these the跌打藥 Doctor Jin gave you?"
"No, Doctor Jin wouldn't sell them to me. I could only pick some herbs from the wasteland next to the toilet." Aunt Lan said this while placing the herbs in a basin and washing them with water.
Uncle Rui pointed at the herbs Aunt Lan had brought back and asked, "How can you make medicine like that?"
Aunt Lan said while washing the herbs, "It's fine. This is for applying, not for eating. Don't worry."
Uncle Rui said nervously, "Even if it's for applying, what if it gets worse?"
As soon as Uncle Rui finished speaking, they heard a knock on the door. Aunt Lan quickly said, "Husband, you go open the door. I'll have Axi hide first."
Uncle Rui quickly nodded and said, "A-Lan, quickly help Axi hide first. I'll go out and deal with it."
Li Yu saw that he had knocked on the door, but no one had responded after a while. He knocked again. Uncle Rui opened the door in a panic. Li Yu said, "Uncle Rui, what's wrong? You've closed the door in broad daylight. Don't you need to do business?"
Uncle Rui said nervously, "Your Aunt Lan isn't feeling well. I closed the door to give her a massage."
Li Yu smiled and pushed Uncle Rui aside, walking in. He said, "Uncle Rui, you really can't lie. I just saw Aunt Lan going to Doctor Jin's clinic to get medicine, and I saw her picking some herbs from the area next to the toilet. How come she's not feeling well so quickly? You're not hiding the thief who stole things, are you? Tell me about it. Let's see if I can help you."
Uncle Rui sighed, took Li Yu to the room, and called out, "A-Lan, bring Axi out! A-Yu has found out we're hiding her."
Aunt Lan helped Axi come out from behind the closet. Seeing Li Yu wearing a police uniform, Axi quickly said, "Officer, please let Lan Jie and Rui Ge go. It has nothing to do with them. I am the Danjia person you're looking for. I didn't steal anything. They're accusing me falsely."
Aunt Lan quickly stepped in front of Axi and said to Li Yu, "Yes! A-Yu, you can't arrest Axi. She was falsely accused. She didn't steal anything from Mrs. Zhou."
Li Yu smiled and then said to Uncle Rui, "Uncle Rui, go to the door and call Doctor Jin in to take a look at her wound. Otherwise, if it gets infected, it'll be trouble."
Uncle Rui responded and went out of the room.
Li Yu smiled at Aunt Lan and said, "Aunt Lan, you two don't need to be afraid. I'm not here to arrest you. I saw you going to Doctor Jin's clinic to get medicine and then picking止血药草 (zhi xue yao cao, hemostatic herbs) from the area next to the toilet. Then, Uncle Rui was a little flustered when he was talking to Doctor Jin and me. So, Doctor Jin and I realized that something was wrong with you two. So, Doctor Jin and I came up with this plan to see what was going on with you and Uncle Rui. Why would you not even let a doctor take a look at a wounded person?"
Aunt Lan, supporting Axi, sighed and said, "It's like this. Axi was chased into the courtyard by 369 and hid in our house. We were afraid that she would be discovered, reported by the neighbors, and caught by 369, taken to the police station. Then we would be kicked out of the courtyard. So, I didn't dare to tell you."
At that moment, Doctor Jin and Uncle Rui walked back in. Hearing Aunt Lan's words, Doctor Jin said, "A-Lan, we're all neighbors. If we can help, we will. As long as she's not a real robber, I won't tell anyone."
Hearing Doctor Jin's words, Aunt Lan said with tears in her voice, "Doctor Jin, A-Yu, thank you so much." Then, she was about to kneel down and kowtow.
Seeing Aunt Lan like this, Li Yu quickly reached out and helped her up. He said, "Aunt Lan, don't do that. Get up first. Help your relative sit down on the bed so Doctor Jin can take a look!"
Aunt Lan also realized what she was doing and quickly helped Axi sit down on the bed.
Doctor Jin asked in confusion, "A-Lan, is this your relative?"