The wild duck was in excellent condition. Its meat was marbled, with shiny feathers and big, bright eyes. If it hadn't been seen in the mountains, one might have thought it was a domestic duck.
While Ye Zhinan was marveling at it, the other ducks in the river had all fled.
These little creatures were quite alert!
However, she had been out for quite some time and needed to return before sunset. She decided to stop by the fields first; otherwise, it might arouse others' suspicion.
Just then, Sister Hong was on her rounds. Seeing Ye Zhinan working hard in the fields, she kindly offered her a bowl of water.
"You're still injured. Don't push yourself too hard."
Ye Zhinan looked up, a row of beads of sweat on her forehead. She took the water with a big smile and gulped it down in one go.
"Sister Hong is the only one who cares about me. Are your ducks okay?"
Sister Hong frowned, looking worried. She started to pour out her troubles: "How could they be okay? I had to get rid of most of them as the Inspector Qin told me to. I felt so heart - broken."
"Out with the old, in with the new. We can't be careless with sick ducks."
Ye Zhinan thought of the wild duck she had just caught but decided to hold back.
She couldn't just give away the wild duck casually. She needed to plan it carefully.
Lost in thought, she returned home. As soon as she stepped in, she heard Ye Yingfeng's urgent voice.
"I'll go and call a doctor!"
"Wait. Maybe Nannan will be back soon!"
It was Han Xiangmei's voice, but it sounded much weaker.
A bad feeling welled up in Ye Zhinan's heart, and she quickened her pace.
"What's going on?"
"You're finally back!"
As soon as Ye Yingfeng saw her, he pulled her into the room. There, Han Xiangmei was lying on the bed, pale - faced, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath.
Ye Shenyan was sitting beside her, holding a wet towel in one hand and a bowl of something steaming in the other, looking extremely worried.
"Come and take a look at your mother. She suddenly had a terrible stomachache and can't even get out of bed."
Ye Zhinan's eyes darkened, and she immediately felt Han Xiangmei's pulse.
"How many times has she been to the outhouse?"
"She's been going there constantly since afternoon. I lost count. Her legs are all weak." Ye Yingfeng answered quickly.
"Drink this first!"
Ye Zhinan took out a small bottle from her waist pouch and poured out some liquid.
Thankfully, she always carried Smecta with her, so she didn't have to go into the space to get it.
Then she went back to her room, entered the space, found some electrolyte water, and filled it into a medicine pot. When she came out, Han Xiangmei was already asleep.
"She's probably too weak. Let her sleep for a while."
Ye Zhinan pulled Ye Yingfeng out of the room, leaving Ye Shenyan inside to take care of her.
"Are you guys okay?"
"Us? Do you mean...?"
Ye Yingfeng's eyes darkened, and he immediately understood what his sister meant.
"Dad and I are fine. We ate the same things."
"Something's wrong!"
A flash of coldness passed through Ye Zhinan's eyes. She rushed to the water storage tank.
"Was this water fetched today?"
When she left, most of the water in the tank had been used, but now it was about two - thirds full. Obviously, new water had been added.
"I fetched it when I got back, but I filtered it! And Dad and I both drank it."
So it wasn't here?!
Ye Zhinan frowned even more tightly. If she couldn't find the source, her whole family would still be in danger.
Lost in thought, she walked to the stove and noticed that the bowls and chopsticks were wet, with water droplets hanging on them. She immediately took out a test strip and dipped it into the water.
Sure enough!
The test strip immediately changed color.
"It's the water used."
Ye Zhinan pointed at the remaining water in the sink, her face grim: "There's something wrong with this water. Mom must have eaten something after washing the dishes. You guys didn't touch it, so you're okay."
Ye Yingfeng's face turned pale. He immediately stepped forward to check carefully.
"You can't tell just by looking. Is Mom going to be okay?"
Ye Zhinan shook her head. She needed to test the water quality first, so she immediately went back to her room, entered the space, and tested the water sample she had collected.
When the test results came out, her face turned even grimmer. A chilling look flashed across her eyes, as cold as ice from a thousand years ago.
"How is it?"
Ye Yingfeng had been waiting outside. Seeing Ye Zhinan's bad expression, he seemed to guess something: "Did someone really tamper with it?"
"I don't know."
Ye Zhinan shook her head, her voice cold. No matter how much Ye Yingfeng asked, her answer was always the same three words.
"I don't know!"
"Nannan!..."
Ye Yingfeng was about to continue asking when Ye Shenyan called from inside the room: "Your mother's awake."
The siblings quickly rushed into the room.
After a short nap, Han Xiangmei looked a bit better, but she was still weak all over and her voice was faint.
"I'm okay. Don't worry about me."
Ye Zhinan frowned slightly but quickly hid her worried expression and pretended to be relaxed: "See, your daughter is amazing. The medicine worked right away! Here are two more doses of medicine. You'll be fine in two days."
She helped Han Xiangmei drink the electrolyte water and gave her some congee. Only then did everyone feel relieved.
"Don't all stay here with me. I just ate something bad. I'll be more careful in the future. You guys should also be careful when you eat!"
Han Xiangmei's words carried a hidden meaning.
Although Ye Zhinan didn't know how much her mother had guessed, she understood that there was something wrong with the food at home. They didn't say it out loud for fear of worrying the family.
"We're okay. You should be more careful. If anything ever happens to you again, I'll risk my life to get justice for you."
Ye Shenyan poked his walking stick on the ground, making a thumping sound.
It was the first time the siblings had seen their father so angry. They just stood there, stunned.
The corners of Han Xiangmei's bloodless lips twitched into a faint smile. She lay down contentedly to rest.
Seeing this, Ye Shenyan winked at the siblings.
The three of them tiptoed out of the room.
In the moonlight, their expressions were surprisingly the same, with a cold look in their eyes.
"Tell me. What's going on?"
Ye Shenyan's tired eyes fixed on Ye Zhinan.
This time, she didn't dare to evade. She said bluntly, "Sewage was mixed into the dish - washing water. The components in the sewage are the same as those in the polluted river water."
"Our family has filtered water. So..."
Ye Shenyan suddenly understood. He lowered his head, his hands hanging by his sides.
"Dad, it's obvious who did it. Wait for me. I'll go and reason with them."
After saying that, Ye Yingfeng picked up his stick and was about to walk out the door.
"Stop!"
Ye Yingfeng thought his father was going to stop him and was about to argue, but he saw Ye Shenyan pick up a thicker stick and walk out.
The siblings looked at each other and then chased after him.
Ye Zhinan originally wanted to handle this by herself, but while she could hide it from her brother, she couldn't withstand her father's questioning. Now she understood one thing.
Touching mother meant crossing father's bottom line. The Wei family was in for trouble.
It seemed as if the Wei family had a premonition. The gate was wide open, and Wei Louming was standing in front of the door. When he saw the three Ye family members approaching, his eyes flickered.
"Brother Ye, what brings you here?"
Ye Shenyan's weather - beaten face was expressionless, but there was a burning anger hidden in his eyes, as if it could burn someone to ashes the next second.