Chapter 38: The Background of Yang Haiyan

Meanwhile, Ye Fan was with Chen Shuting, taking over the henchmen of Huang Dalei. Elsewhere, Li Yaoyao had just woken up.

Upon rising, she looked toward the wooden box, only to find a note left behind by Ye Fan.

"Had some urgent business today; I'll video call you later!"

The handwriting was scrawled, clearly written in haste. She couldn't help but sigh with disappointment, once again wishing that the box could transport living things.

She was starting to consider leaving Yang Village to return to the provincial capital. It wasn't that she disliked the place, but she wanted to show the box to her grandfather as soon as possible; perhaps the old man could offer some insight.

"Should I ask for leave and go home for a few days?"

The more she thought about it, the more tempting it became. She missed Ye Fan so much and wanted to see him sooner.

However, she still had to check on Sister Haiying and the others. Yang Haiying and Xue Ke'ang had been beaten on her account, and she certainly couldn't just walk away like that.

Having made up her mind, Li Yaoyao left her house, planning to visit the couple before heading home.

As soon as she entered the courtyard of Yang Haiying’s home, she saw Old Man Yang Kairen boiling traditional Chinese medicine.

"Ah, the educated youth Li is here!"

Seeing Li Yaoyao, Yang Kairen happily welcomed her into the yard.

"Uncle Yang, what kind of medicine are you brewing?"

"Healing medicine!" Yang Kairen sighed. "Ke'ang was beaten quite badly last time, so I went to town to get him some medicine."

Hearing this, Li Yaoyao’s heart grew heavy.

"Uncle Yang, I'm so sorry. It’s all my fault that Ke'ang suffered such serious injuries!"

"Hey! Why say such things?"

Yang Kairen grinned, revealing a few missing teeth. "Those scoundrels were bullying you, so of course we had to stand up for you!"

Touched, Li Yaoyao asked, "Is Ke'ang inside?"

"He is!" The old man pointed toward the house. "Haiying is in there taking care of him. Go on in and see them."

As soon as Li Yaoyao stepped inside, she was greeted by the pungent smell of herbal medicine mixed with the scent of alcohol and disinfectant.

"Sister Haiying! Brother Ke'ang! I've come to see you!"

As Li Yaoyao called out, Yang Haiying lifted the bedroom curtain and poked her head out.

"Yaoyao is here! Come, sit down!"

She bustled about to welcome Li Yaoyao into the inner room, where she saw Xue Ke'ang lying half-propped up on the *kang* bed, his head wrapped in bandages.

"Brother Ke'ang!"

Li Yaoyao was shocked by his appearance. "How could you be so badly hurt?"

"Don't worry, educated youth Li, I'm fine. These are just superficial wounds!"

Although he looked miserable, Xue Ke'ang still managed a smile to comfort her.

Yang Haiying added, "Thanks to the healing medicine you gave us, Ke'ang’s injuries look scarier than they actually are. Once we applied the medicine, he was fine!"

She spoke warmly as she served tea, urging Li Yaoyao to sit.

Embarrassed, Li Yaoyao said, "I’ve been running a high fever for the past two days, so I couldn't come to see you."

"There was no need to come!" Yang Haiying sat on the *kang*, leaning against Xue Ke'ang. "I heard from Sister Haiyan that you were scared that day. I actually know a shaman in the next village who is said to be very effective. Should I take you to see her?"

"Thank you, Sister Haiying, but Ye Fan gave me some medicine. I felt better after taking it!" Li Yaoyao replied with a smile.

Mentioning Ye Fan perked up Yang Haiying’s interest. "When will you bring him to the village? We want to see what kind of guy he is to have captivated our Yaoyao like this!"

"Oh, Sister Haiying!" Li Yaoyao blushed. Perhaps in the past, she would have tried to clarify things when teased about Ye Fan, but now that they had confessed their feelings to each other, she didn't bother to protest.

"By the way, what does Ye Fan’s family do?"

Once Yang Haiying started, she became quite gossipy.

Li Yaoyao shook her head; Ye Fan had never told her about his family.

"You don't know?" Yang Haiying and Xue Ke'ang exchanged a glance before looking back at Li Yaoyao. "Yaoyao, don't blame your sister for being nosy, but if you like Ye Fan, it’s best to find out about his family situation first. After all, marriage is the joining of two families!"

Hearing this, Li Yaoyao fiddled with the hem of her clothes, looking down in silence.

Yang Haiying continued, "You’ve been home resting for the past two days, so you probably don’t know what’s been happening in the village. Sister Haiyan had some trouble at home a couple of days ago!"

"Sister Haiyan?"

Li Yaoyao thought for a moment. It seemed that since Sister Haiyan went to the village committee to see off the police, she hadn't visited her house.

"Sigh! Sister Haiyan has had a hard life!" Yang Haiying sighed.

"Her husband passed away the year before last, leaving her with a son and a daughter. She was living well with her in-laws and was always a dutiful daughter-in-law, but who would have thought that after half a year, her mother-in-law would demand to keep Erdan and force her to take only Daya away!"

"Such a thing happened?"

Li Yaoyao was astonished. Sister Haiyan was always so helpful and beloved by everyone, even being elected as the Women’s Director; she had no idea her life was so bitter!

"Indeed!" Yang Haiying said indignantly. "Sister Haiyan couldn't stand it, so she secretly took Daya and Erdan back to the village. Her in-laws have come to the village to make trouble several times!"

"They can't be allowed to take the child!" Li Yaoyao said quickly. "The child has already lost his father; he can't lose his mother too!"

"Exactly!" Yang Haiying nodded. "Two days ago, the in-laws came back, and her brother-in-law came with them! Her brother-in-law went south a few years ago to strike it rich, and they say he’s made a lot of money!"

"And then?" Li Yaoyao wondered if they had tried to buy the child by force.

Sure enough, Yang Haiying slapped her thigh bitterly. "Her brother-in-law found a few friends in town and claimed he wanted to pay Sister Haiyan some money to hand over the child! He threatened to snatch the boy if she refused!"

"What?" Li Yaoyao’s eyes widened, her heart racing.

"Fortunately, the police happened to be at the village committee. When her brother-in-law saw the police, he didn't dare resort to violence, but he said they would come back in a couple of days!"

"Then you must tell the village chief quickly! They can't be allowed to take Erdan!" Li Yaoyao urged.

She had met Erdan before; he was such a good boy who helped his mother with chores at such a young age. If he were taken away from his mother, what if he ended up going down the wrong path?

Li Yaoyao looked at Yang Haiying with concern, only to see her sigh. "The village chief can't interfere! It's a family matter, and those trying to take the child are his grandfather, grandmother, and uncle... they are all family..."

Hearing this, Li Yaoyao sighed as well.

In this day and age, a boy was the continuation of the family line. Even if they snatched him away, the villagers probably wouldn't say anything, and some might even think it was perfectly normal.

The two chatted for a while longer before Li Yaoyao took her leave, leaving behind some money as a gesture of her support.

On the way back, Li Yaoyao couldn't shake her gloom, feeling terrible for Sister Haiyan. Just as she reached home, she saw Yang Haiyan waiting at her door.

"Sister Haiyan?"

Li Yaoyao called out, thinking to herself that one shouldn't speak of the devil.

Hearing her voice, Yang Haiyan hurriedly turned around.

The usually vivacious woman now had dark circles under her eyes, her skin was sallow, and her spirit seemed completely broken—she looked nothing like the person she used to be!

Li Yaoyao rushed over and asked, "Sister Haiyan, what happened to you?"

"I haven't slept well these past few days," Yang Haiyan said, looking haggard.

"Why?" Li Yaoyao quickly pulled Yang Haiyan into the house. As soon as they sat down, Yang Haiyan covered her face and began to sob!

"Sister Haiyan!"

Li Yaoyao panicked and quickly poured her a glass of water.

She heard her say, "I’m at my wit's end, that's why I came to ask you for a favor!"

"Huh?"

Li Yaoyao was stunned, remembering what Yang Haiying had told her earlier that morning.

Sure enough, Yang Haiyan began to recount her story, speaking of how Erdan was about to be taken away, crying her heart out as she spoke.

Listening to the heart-wrenching wails, Li Yaoyao felt incredibly pained.

A child is the apple of a mother’s eye; being forcibly separated from her son at such a young age was something no one could bear!

But this was a family matter—what could she, an educated youth, possibly do?

Thinking this, Li Yaoyao couldn't help but shed tears along with her.

Yang Haiyan said, "Educated youth Li, you are the only one who can help me now!"

"Me?" Li Yaoyao sniffled and said, "Sister Haiyan, tell me. As long as it is within my power, I will definitely help you!"