When Lin Shuyue rushed to the hospital, Ah Qin was about to be discharged. Her condition had worsened. The doctor told her to eat whatever she wanted and do whatever she wanted.
She wanted to see a ballet performance as her Nana loved dancing this dance the most. Unfortunately, she passed away just as she signed up for it. Ah Qin never had the chance to see her daughter perform in her life.
Ah Qin no longer had the strength to speak. She was much weaker than the last time she met the police on the day Deng Ling and Yang Haoan were arrested. She sent Wang Guiquan out to go through the discharge procedures.
She asked Lin Shuyue to take two photos for her and her husband. She knew that they were causing too much trouble for Lin Shuyue. There were many people who could take photos and there were countless photo studios outside, but Lin Shuyue still meant something different to her.
"Reporter Lin, I know you are a big shot, and taking photos for us is an insult to you. But to us, you mean something different to us, husband and wife." Ah Qin said this for a minute, intermittently, and had to stop to catch her breath after saying a few words.
The car accident that year damaged her lungs. The fact that she is still alive today is already thanks to Wang Guiquan's good care of her.
"How could that be? It's my honor to take this photo for you." Lin Shuyue sat on a stool in the ward and talked to Ah Qin who was sitting in a wheelchair.
Ah Qin smiled and looked at the sky outside the window. The sky was unexpectedly blue today, with wisps of white clouds floating above, and the sunshine was exceptionally bright.
"My parents loved my brothers more than me. When I became an adult, they told people they wanted a 500-yuan dowry and would let me marry whoever could afford it. So Ah Quan used all his savings from working for several years to marry me."
"Ah Quan lost his parents when he was young, and he grew up with his grandmother, who also passed away early. After I married him, we became husband and wife, as well as family members."
"The children are gone, and I will go find them soon. Ah Quan is the only one left in this world." Ah Qin said, "I know that after I am gone, Ah Quan's only purpose in living is to wait for the fate of Deng Ling and Yang Haoan. I heard from the police that Deng Ling and Yang Haoan have too many cases on their hands, and the only thing waiting for them is the death penalty."
"Once they die, A Quan will not be able to live either. I was thinking, when the time comes, I will ask you for help and bury us together. We don't trust those people in our hometown." Ah Qin and Wang Guiquan have lost their children. Over the years, their relatives have brought their own children to visit them many times, just wanting them to give their property to their children after they die.
Ah Qin was unwilling and didn't want to give it. When their Nana just passed away, she still remembered the faces of those people and would never forget them.
It's funny, she is not an orphan, she also has a close relative named Quan, but in the end, the only person they could entrust their funeral affairs to was this reporter whom they had only met a few times.
Ah Qin couldn't explain the reason, but she just believed in Lin Shuyue. She believed in her since the first time they met.
It was not a big deal, Lin Shuyue agreed.
Ah Qin smiled and said, "It's not in vain that I asked you for help. Our small fishing village has been developing better and better in recent years. Ah Quan and I bought a piece of land near the sea. It's not big, two mu. We will give it to you."
Lin Shuyue is not an ignorant person. The small village where Ah Qin and her husband live has beautiful scenery and is close to tourist attractions. Now there are many tourists who come there spontaneously. In a few years, the tourism industry will develop more developed, and then there will be even more people going there. The land in the seaside tourist area is very valuable.
Two mu of land is equivalent to more than 130 square meters.
"Auntie, this is too expensive. I can't accept it. Helping you is what I should do as a journalist. If you give me the land, the nature of the land will change. I won't help you with what you just said."
There is no one in this world who doesn't love money. Lin Shuyue also wants the land of more than 100 square meters by the sea.
However, a gentleman seeks money in a proper way. If she took the two acres of land from Ah Qin today, she would lose the integrity and kindness that she should have as a reserve police officer and a reporter.
She can take Ah Qin's land today, and tomorrow, she can take hush money from the murderer. She is not an entertainment news photographer, and if she really takes hush money from the murderer, she will become the same as the murderer.
If she reports again in the future, her heart will no longer be pure. Lin Shuyue doesn't want to be that kind of person, so she has her bottom line.
She wants the bonus given by the system for completing the task, the commendation for her bravery given by the Public Security Bureau, and the bonus given by the newspaper. Those are the rewards she deserves.
She cannot touch the victims' thank-you money or gifts, or the murderer's money or gifts, for the rest of her life. This is her bottom line as a person and as a journalist.
Ah Qin smiled very happily. She really wanted to give this piece of land to Lin Shuyue. She would be very happy if Lin Shuyue accepted it, but she would be even happier if Lin Shuyue didn't accept it.
"Reporter Lin, you are a good reporter. The people need good reporters like you."
Ah Qin's words were undoubtedly the best compliment to Lin Shuyue.
"Your words to me make me happier than giving me land."
The two women were chatting, and the doctor in the tree outside was calling tirelessly, bringing an indescribable sense of irritation to those who heard her calls.
The ballet performance was in the evening, and Lin Shuyue went to have dinner with Ah Qin and her husband. Along the way, she would always inadvertently take pictures of them in corners where Wang Guiquan and Ah Qin couldn't see her.
In many photos, the couple looked at each other in understanding, sometimes smiling at each other, sometimes Ah Qin staring at Wang Guiquan. Every photo was very natural.
The ballet performance lasted for an hour and a half. When the actors took their bows, Lin Shuyue stepped back a few steps and took a photo of Ah Qin and Wang Guiquan.
The background of this photo is a blurry little ballet dancer of about fifteen or sixteen years old. Under the refraction of light and shadow, it looks like a family of three.
The next day when Lin Shuyue printed out this photo, Ah Qin cried.
She thought that if nothing had happened that year, her daughter would have been as dazzling on the stage as those ballerinas yesterday.
The place where Ah Qin and her husband rented was not far from the hospital. The weather was very good today, and when Lin Shuyue came, Ah Qin and Wang Guiquan were taking a walk downstairs.
Lin Shuyue sat on a rock and asked Ah Qin, "Has Zheng Zhongfu come to see you since he got out?"
Ah Qin in shook her head, and the taciturn Wang Guiquan said, "He came to see us with gifts, but we didn't see him."
Ah Qin said: "I know what happened back then. They were also victims. Their situation was not much better than ours. Even before the incident, we were still good friends. But now, I can't help but vent my anger on them. I can't meet them calmly."
"During the years when I was most vicious, I even wondered why it was my daughter who died and not his daughter." Everyone has a vicious side. When Ah Qin missed her children and was struggling in the abyss of pain, she couldn't help but be vicious.
Now, she is much calmer, but she still doesn't want to see Zheng Zhongfu.
Lin Shuyue didn't sit with her for long. Ah Qin told Lin Shuyue that Wang Guiquan bought two tombs in the cemetery in Pengcheng. When she died, he would place the ashes of their two children in front of her. When Wang Guiquan passed away, their family would be reunited.
And that cemetery will sweep the graves in the cemetery, so they don't have to worry about the graves being overgrown with grass and no one to pull it out.
On the way back, Lin Shuyue felt more and more sad. She couldn't control her emotions and cried bitterly when she reached a place where she was surrounded by people.
The hemp rope is broken only at the thinnest part.
Ah Qin's family is so miserable.
Originally, two unfavored people got together as a couple and worked hard to live their lives. Their life should have been good. However, because of Yang Haoan and Deng Ling, Ah Qin and Wang Guiquan's families suffered a devastating disaster.
After so many years, the murderer was finally brought to justice, but Ah Qin couldn't wait for the day of the verdict.
Why are there always people suffering so much in this world?
Not long after Lin Shuyue walked out of the alley, a jeep across the street also drove away in the opposite direction.
Zhao Youcheng looked at Lin Shuyue's back as she left: "Captain Hang, why don't you go up and take a look?"
Hang Jiabai drove the car attentively: "What am I going to do up there? Tell the girl, 'I saw you crying, why are you sad?' Are you a fool?"
Zhao Youcheng was not angry even after being scolded. He just looked out the window with a pout.
Hang Jiabai is not a fool. He saw it, so he said, "Okay, I'll treat you to a meal. You can eat as much as you want within 20 yuan."
"Captain Hang, you are so stingy. I want to eat pig's trotter rice."
·····
Lin Shuyue did not expose the fact that Lin Jianxin sold his son, but she told Wang Mingzheng about Zhang Zhenfa's poisoning of the rival restaurant. The relationship between her family and Zhang Zhenfa was no secret, and anyone with a keen eye could find out, so Lin Shuyue had to avoid suspicion.
The person who took over the news was Huang Qiang. Without the shackles of Yang Baozong, he was full of energy every day and he let out all the suppressed desire to write over the years.
During the days when Lin Shuyue was not reporting, he and Li Weisheng seemed to be competing to support the sales of the entire newspaper.
Wang Mingzheng walks with a breeze now.
Three days after sending the photo to Ah Qin, Lin Shuyue received another call from Wang Guiquan. She rushed to the hospital, and the light in the emergency room was still on.
Wang Guiquan sat on a stool at the door of the emergency room, holding his head and waiting, his hands shaking unconsciously.
Lin Shuyue didn't know how to comfort him. They waited from morning to afternoon, and at two o'clock, the lights in the emergency room went out and the doctor came out. He regretfully announced to Wang Guiquan and Lin Shuyue that the rescue was ineffective, but the patient was still conscious, and the family members could go to see him for the last time.
Wang Guiquan staggered over, Ah Qin held his hand and stared at him intently, he nodded to Ah Qin repeatedly. Ah Qin smiled and touched his head: "I'm leaving first, I'll go find the way for you."
Wang Guiquan burst into tears. Ah Qin's eyes searched in the emergency room. Lin Shuyue walked up to her. Ah Qin looked at her eagerly. Lin Shuyue took her hand and said, "Before I came here, I asked Captain Hang of the Criminal Police Team. He said that the cases of Yang Haoan and Deng Ling have been basically tried and the trial will start in August."
It is already July, and there is still a month left. Ah Qin smiled and said, "But... unfortunately, I can't see it. It's great that they are coming down to atone for my... son... and daughter."
Ah Qin left with a smile on her face. She could finally see her children. She missed them so much.
Lin Shuyue felt her hand slowly drop and become cold. Wang Guiquan cried until he fainted. When he woke up, he cremated Ah Qin in silence, and then took Lin Shuyue to see the cemetery he had bought.
The cemetery was on the mountain, halfway up the mountain. After Wang Guiquan put Ah Qin down, he also put the ashes of his two children in.
There was an empty tomb nearby. He had ordered a large tombstone in advance, and the words on the empty tomb were all carved. The photo on the tombstone was a group photo of the family of four, a photo of an empty ballet stage taken by Lin Shuyue, and a sticker of Sun Wukong.
Wang Guiquan said: "My son likes Sun Wukong the most."
Lin Shuyue felt like her eyes were always raining these days.
After coming down the mountain, the two separated at the entrance of the cemetery, and Wang Guiquan thanked Lin Shuyue.
Lin Shuyue looked at his back. She was not even sure whether Wang Guiquan would contact her again as Ah Qin hoped.
But she sincerely hoped that Wang Guiquan could look forward. Even if it was impossible, she hoped that Wang Guiquan was alive, because being alive was better than being dead.
•••••
Ah Qin's departure did not seem to have much impact on Lin Shuyue's life.
She still went to work and came home every day, and then followed other reporters in the team to run around in Pengcheng all day.
No matter where a car accident happens or where residents in a community are quarreling or fighting, they will rush over.
One day in August, Lou Fengqin felt cold all over when she got up in the morning. Lin Shuyue took her temperature with a thermometer and took her to a nearby clinic for treatment.
The clinic is particularly busy today, and most of the patients are children aged 0-3 years old.
And the symptoms are highly similar, all of which include vomiting, diarrhea, and unbearable abdominal pain.
Lin Shuyue asked the nurse who was giving Lou Fengqin an IV drip: "Pretty girl, why are there so many children coming to see the doctor today?"
The nurse gave Lou Fengqin an injection expertly and answered casually, "I don't know what the reason is. Since the afternoon of the day before yesterday, children have been coming here one after another with similar symptoms. They are all children, and there is no such pediatric infectious disease on the market. It's very strange. Several children have been sent to the hospital."
"These young children shouldn't be poisoned together if they have food poisoning." Another child was crying over there. The nurse took the plate and went about her business in a hurry.
Lin Shuyue looked at the anxious parents and the children crying in pain. In her previous life, a famous food safety case came to her mind.
Lin Shuyue asked the mother who was holding her child and receiving an IV drip: "Sister, what has your child eaten recently?"
The mother, who had been suffering for half a month, raised her haggard face and opened her red eyes: "My baby is only one year old. In addition to my milk, I also give him some rice noodles. We don't give him anything else to eat."
[ Ding ~~~ Keyword 'rice noodles' is reached, time-limited task: Children have diarrhea, pain, and vomiting for no reason? Please find out the reason. Time limit: 105 days. ]
[ Children are the future of mankind and the flowers of the motherland. Please pay attention to children's food safety and protect their growth. ]