Chapter 47: Chapter 29: Would Rather Be an Ugly Girl

Zheng Changhe laughed and said, “Come any time you like! I’m just worried you won’t be used to our simple country food.”

Juhua’s mother added gratefully, “We should at least pay something. It wouldn’t be right to pay nothing at all!” Zheng Changhe nodded again and again.

Juhua, who was outside picking vegetables, heard their conversation.

’I was already worrying about the family’s debt,’ she thought. ’If we don’t have to pay the medical fees, isn’t that perfect? Besides, Qin Feng is right. What I taught him was a valuable medical method, so he should pay for it in some way.’

So, she walked into the house and said softly to her parents, “Dad, Mom! Whatever Doctor Qin’s reasons, he’s trying to help us. We can’t just reject his kindness. If we keep refusing, we’ll be wasting his good intentions—which are far more sincere than any ’help’ from Liu’er’s mother. I doubt Doctor Qin has a relative in his forties looking to marry an ugly girl like me!”

Qin Feng had been nodding along as he listened to her, but when he heard the last sentence, he spat out a mouthful of tea. He choked and coughed for a long while before finally stopping. Looking at Juhua with a helpless expression, he said, “You certainly have a way with words, Miss Juhua!”

Juhua’s mother shot her a look and chided, “Honestly, child. You think everyone is like that woman? She’s the only one who acts without a brain in her head!”

This time, Juhua couldn’t help but break into a brilliant smile before heading back outside to pick vegetables. ’It feels so good to make a handsome guy squirm!’

Qin Feng stared after her, captivated by her joyful expression. ’How can such an ugly face produce such a brilliant smile?’ he wondered. ’A smile so brilliant it makes you forget her marred skin!’

In the end, Zheng Changhe accepted Qin Feng’s kind offer and agreed to stop paying for the medical fees. Juhua’s mother was so happy that she insisted Qin Feng stay for dinner, and he readily accepted.

Wanting to treat his guest to his own favorite foods, Zheng Changhe enthusiastically recommended the dishes his daughter cooked. He also suggested Qin Feng try a bowl of crispy rice soaked in bone broth, describing how incredibly fragrant it was, even though he himself couldn’t eat it at the moment!

Sure enough, after eating a large bowl of the broth-soaked crispy rice, Qin Feng was full of praise for its crisp texture and fragrant taste. He was so impressed that he didn’t hesitate to ask if he could take some home, explaining that sometimes when he returned from his rounds, he could soak it for a quick meal instead of waiting to cook.

This delighted Zheng Changhe, who chuckled and repeatedly told his wife to pack some up for him.

Juhua was speechless. ’How can Dad be so happy when someone’s asking to take our food?’

’That crispy rice is hard to make,’ she fumed silently. ’It takes time and a lot of firewood. Besides, we normally only cook a proper meal at noon, which is the only time we get a rice crust. For breakfast and dinner, we just have cornmeal porridge. Now that my brother is going to school, the first thing he does when he gets home is soak a small bowl to tide himself over. And Dad just gave away so much at once that the jar is nearly empty!’

Qin Feng genuinely loved the taste, and he knew the villagers here were simple and sincere, which was why he didn’t stand on ceremony. He had no idea what Juhua was muttering about in her head; if he had, he probably wouldn’t have been able to swallow another bite.

Qin Feng truly felt that Juhua was an excellent cook. He ate a bowl of the crispy rice and then a bowl of steamed rice. When he finished, he looked on with satisfaction at the warm, loving family.

It was only then that he found Juhua’s disfigured face to be truly jarring. It was a glaring flaw that made the otherwise perfect, heartwarming scene feel incomplete.

And so, after a moment of thought, he said to Juhua’s parents, “Uncle Zheng, Aunt Zheng, please don’t worry too much about Juhua’s face. I have already written to my master and described her condition to him, to see if he can think of a way to cure it. Even if he can’t, I will keep searching for a solution and studying the problem. As long as there is the slightest sliver of hope, I will do what I can to help treat Juhua!”

Juhua’s parents stared at him in disbelief. The mother’s voice trembled as she asked, “Doctor Qin, you… are you telling the truth?”

Qingmu also put down his chopsticks and looked at Qin Feng with excitement.

Qin Feng smiled. “Of course it’s true. I just don’t have complete confidence yet, which is why I haven’t mentioned it until now.”

But her parents, filled with a newfound hope, didn’t care about his talk of confidence. They stubbornly believed that as long as someone was willing to try and treat Juhua, she would eventually be cured. Overjoyed, the old couple began to wipe tears from their eyes.

Only Juhua remained calm. She knew this was just one of Qin Feng’s ideas, a personal hope. ’After all, doctors are naturally interested in difficult and unusual cases.’ She was afraid her parents were getting their hopes up too high, only to be crushed with disappointment if a cure couldn’t be found for a long, long time. So, she decided to manage their expectations.

“Dad, Mom! Doctor Qin only said he’d do his best to find a solution, not that he already has one. If your expectations are this high, it’ll be awkward for him to face you if he can’t find a good method anytime soon. If you ask me, you should just carry on as before and not make a big deal of it. Besides, my face doesn’t bother me in the slightest anymore! If I had to choose, I’d rather be the ’ugly’ Juhua, protected by my parents and brother, than be the ’pretty’ Liu’er, who’s being married off by her parents to be some rich family’s concubine. As long as you don’t reject me, I couldn’t care less what other people think!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep