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Li Changjiang and his wife were shocked and stood frozen for a second before realizing what had happened.

In grief, Li Changjiang cried out “Yunqing” and quickly picked up his daughter, rushing outside.

As he reached the doorway, he came face to face with Chu Qingzhi.

Li Changjiang, looking haggard and defeated, saw Chu Qingzhi and, with a sense of desperate hopelessness, knelt down and pleaded, “Miss Chu, please save my child.”

Li Changjiang had seen Chu Qingzhi at the Food Festival before.

His wife also rushed over and knelt before Chu Qingzhi, crying, “Miss Chu, please save my daughter.”

The neighbors gathered around, their gazes filled with sympathy.

Chu Qingzhi instructed, “Bring the child back to her room, and 1 will examine her right away.”

Li Changjiang carried his daughter back inside without a word, placing her gently on the bed. He then turned to Chu Qingzhi with a pleading look, “Please save my little girl.”

Chu Qingzhi moved to the bedside and gently took the girl’s thin, pale arm to feel her pulse.

The girl had a serious lung disease, and the blood she coughed up was a result of complications from the illness.

“Do you have paper and pen?” asked Chu Qingzhi, ready to write a prescription.

Li Changjiang and Madam Li lowered their heads in embarrassment. Their family’s lives were a problem. How could they have the money to buy those excessive things?

Seeing their reactions, Chu Qingzhi asked again, “Do you have charcoal?”

Madam Li quickly replied, “Yes, I’ll go get it immediately.”

Chu Qingzhi took out a piece of paper from her bag and wrote the prescription with charcoal. She also handed one tael to Madam Li, “Go get the medicine. I have some things to discuss with Master Li.”

Madam Li looked at her husband with teary eyes.

Li Changjiang, seeing this scene, immediately said, “I am willing to do anything for Miss Chu.”

Chu Qingzhi nodded, “Then take care of your daughter for now. Tomorrow morning, please come to the former Xu Paper Mill to guide everyone in paper-making.”

“Miss Chu, I offended Tao Zhenfeng. He’s the county magistrate’s nephew. Will you get into trouble if you let me work there?” Li Changjiang said apologetically.

Chu Qingzhi reassured him, “Just focus on your work; 1’11 handle the rest.”

Li Changjiang nodded. “Then I’ll listen to Miss Chu.”

Xiao Zongchao followed Chu Qingzhi out of Li Changjiang’s house. At this moment, his admiration for Chu Qingzhi was like the Yellow River, flowing endlessly. He looked at her with a glint in his eyes.

“I’m going to Tongzi County and Suiyang County next…”

Before Chu Qingzhi could finish, Xiao Zongchao said anxiously, “I’ll go to the workshop to continue making paper. I’ll definitely let you see the complete paper tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

The two of them walked out of the alley.

“Stop!” An impolite shout came from behind the two of them.

Turning around, Chu Qingzhi faced the person who had called out.

Xiao Zongchao shivered and slowly turned around. He looked at the woman in front of him and said in fear, “Mother.”

The woman, dressed in black with a patch on her waist and looking thin and mean, questioned Xiao Zongchao angrily, “Why have you come back? And who is she?”

A neighboring auntie at the side said with a smile, “Madam Xiao, don’t scare your son…”

“It’s none of your business!” Madam Xiao interrupted the auntie rudely and stared at Chu Qingzhi. “I heard that you came back with my son?”

Xiao Zongchao was very afraid, but he still stood up. “Mother, she’s the owner of the workshop…”

Madam Xiao, already biased by what she had heard, believed that Chu Qingzhi was a bride Xiao Zong had tricked back, “Owner? What kind of owner can a young girl be? Don’t try to deceive me with such talk.”

She pointed at Chu Qingzhi with a nasty tone, “No matter who you are, if you want to enter the Xiao family, you must bring a hefty dowry. Otherwise, don’t even think about it!”

“You’re being presumptuous. Who wants to marry your son? She’s here to look for my husband.” Madam Li, who came out to fetch medicine, quickly stepped forward to defend Chu Qingzhi.

Seeing Chu Qingzhi dressed well and wearing beautiful jewelry, Madam Xiao thought she must be from a wealthy family and a wicked idea came to her mind, “If she’s not marrying my son, then why did she come back home with him? What kind of girl does that? That’s so indecent!”

Even the auntie at the side couldn’t stand to listen anymore, “How is walking on the street indecent? Can’t you say anything nice?”

Madam Xiao impatiently waved her hand, “This has nothing to do with you, go away.”

The auntie rolled her eyes in exasperation. Madam Xiao was notoriously biased in this alley, pampering her eldest son while neglecting her second son, who was treated like nothing. Everyone disapproved of her behavior.

Madam Xiao’s disdain for her second son stemmed from an incident.

During her difficult delivery of her second son, she nearly died. Afterward, she felt that the second son was bad luck for her and thus, disliked him from birth.

Xiao Zongchao’s face flushed red. He looked at Chu Qingzhi. Such a good girl was insulted by his mother. He wished he could kneel down and beg for forgiveness.

Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists, he shouted, “Mother, stop it! Miss Chu is my boss. You may dislike me, but she has done nothing to you. Why are you insulting her?”

It was the first time he had spoken to Madam Xiao with such a loud voice, and he was stunned by his own outburst.

Everyone else was equally shocked.

Xiao Zong was famously meek and never dared to defy his parents. Seeing him talk back to his mother like this was a first for everyone.

Madam Xiao was momentarily stunned, then became furiously angry. To think her son would yell at her over a woman, “How dare you unfilial son!”

She raised her hand to slap Xiao Zongchao, but Chu Qingzhi pulled him away, dodging Madam Xiao’s slap.

Madam Xiao’s slap missed, causing her to stagger a few steps before regaining her balance. Her face darkened with rage and she immediately shouted, “You dare to hit me!”

“So what if I hit you? You’re not anyone to me. It doesn’t matter if I kill you.” Chu Qingzhi’s voice was light, but it was soul-stirring. Madam Xiao’s heart turned cold.

At this moment, Xiao Zongchao’s father, brother, sister-in-law, and grandmother pushed through the crowd and walked in.

Old Madam Xiao criticized, “You’re a girl. It’s fine if you go out with a man, but you even hit someone. You’re really uncivilized!”

Chu Qingzhi said calmly, “You’re a woman too. Why did you come out instead of staying at home? There are many men here!”

Old Madam Xiao was taken aback, choking on her words. She almost passed out.

Chu Qingzhi continued, “Or is there a man you want to see here? Why don’t you take this opportunity to hang out with him?”

The surrounding men instantly stepped back, distancing themselves from Old Madam Xiao.

Old Madam Xiao’s old face turned red, wishing she could find a hole to hide in.

The crowd looked at Chu Qingzhi with a mix of admiration, surprise, and disbelief.

This girl was not simple at all.. With just a few words, she made Old Madam Xiao shut up, something no one else had ever managed to do in their quarrels!