Chapter 144: Let's See How Much Longer You Can Be So Arrogant

Xu Lin leaned close to Liu Pandi's ear. "It can cause infertility. If you trust me, go to the hospital for a thorough checkup. You are still young and have a chance to recover. If you drag this out, it will do you no good."

This was undoubtedly a kindly meant warning from Xu Lin, which turned Liu Pandi's face pale with shock.

Liu Pandi was a woman of this era, properly brought up and deeply imbued with the era's values, including her own outlook on life. In Liu Pandi's heart, a woman who could not bear children was not a complete woman. She simply could not accept the possibility that she might be barren.

Terrified, Liu Pandi grabbed Xu Lin's arm and asked in a low voice, "Is it true?"

"Whether it's true or not, you will know once you go to the hospital for a checkup. I have no reason to play tricks on you in a matter like this." Xu Lin patted Liu Pandi's hand. This was also a pitiful young girl, and she hoped that with her warning, Liu Pandi would start taking her own health seriously. At the same time, she hoped Liu Pandi would be kinder to herself and stop scrimping on everything just to mail things back home. That family truly did not deserve such devotion from Liu Pandi; any parents with a shred of conscience would not suck the blood of their daughter sent down to the countryside.

"Then, then I'll go take a look." With weak and rubbery legs, Liu Pandi collapsed to the ground, a wave of relief washing over her heart. Fortunately, the money she had gotten from Hu Changming hadn't been mailed home yet. Her mother had urged her several times, but Liu Pandi kept stalling on the pretext that the money hadn't been distributed yet. As for why she was stalling, it was because Liu Pandi wanted to ask for leave to go home and visit; she hadn't been back in years. She wanted to go home and take a look, and by the way, go on a blind date. If she could successfully marry, she would find a reason to return to the city. She had wanted to save that money for travel expenses.

If her body really was in such poor condition, she definitely couldn't mail the money back anymore; she had to look out for herself. She was no longer a child and needed to plan for her future. In fact, ever since Du Yong was abandoned by his family, Liu Pandi had started thinking about her own future, but try as she might, she couldn't come up with a good solution. And so, she had thought of the path of returning home for a blind date and getting married. But if she couldn't bear children, getting married would be useless; she would certainly be abandoned by her husband's family.

No, no, she had to go get checked. She could endure anything else, but not the matter of having children.

Wu Qi watched Liu Pandi's expression change back and forth. Having no idea what Xu Lin had said to Liu Pandi, he was consumed by curiosity. Unable to hold his tongue for long, Wu Qi stepped forward and asked, "Educated Youth Liu, what's wrong with you? What did Educated Youth Xu say to you?"

"What business is it of yours? Go away!" Liu Pandi snapped, giving Wu Qi an annoyed shove and urging him to leave quickly. "Educated Youth Wu, you haven't split your firewood yet, have you? Go split your firewood quickly. Don't think that just because you're the team leader, you can skip this chore. Let me tell you, you are not allowed to ask for special treatment, or I'll be the first one to object."

"What are you talking about? When did I ever ask for special treatment?" Wu Qi's face turned beet red, and anger flared in his heart. How was he asking for special treatment? He had spent the entire previous night taking care of Du Yong at the commune, and then spent a good part of the morning doing the same before hurrying back. Upon returning to the educated youth courtyard, he barely had time to drink a bowl of water before everyone finished work, and then he hurriedly called everyone to a meeting. Who could have known that the meeting wouldn't happen and he would forget to split the firewood, and now it was somehow his fault? Was he busy with his own personal affairs?

The more Wu Qi thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, almost to the point of tears. Unfortunately, Liu Pandi had no desire to comfort him; instead, she urged Wu Qi to go do his own work immediately and not think about slacking off.

Once Wu Qi left, Liu Pandi looked at Xu Lin with eager eyes and asked in a low voice, "If, I'm saying if, how much money do you think it would cost to get my body back in shape?"

"That's hard to say. It depends on how far you want to recover. Your body hasn't been properly cared for since you were a child, and your vital energy is severely depleted." Xu Lin shook her head as she spoke. It was one thing that her adoptive parents were vicious, but Liu Pandi's own birth mother had also let the child become so depleted. It was truly a rare sight.

"If I want to recover until I'm completely healthy, how much would it cost?" Liu Pandi asked softly.

"That would take a lot of money. You can't afford it right now. You should focus on finding a way to treat your uterine cold first. That really can't be delayed any longer. You're not that young anymore. If you don't treat it now and wait until after you get married, chances are you'll have to wait at least three years before you even have a chance of conceiving." Xu Lin held up three fingers. "And that's assuming things go well; it might take even longer."

There was one thing Xu Lin didn't mention: if she happened to end up with a man with low sperm count, tsk, then she would be truly out of luck, with virtually zero hope of ever conceiving.

Hearing this, Liu Pandi's face turned even paler, and tears welled up from sheer fright. To be married for three years without producing an offspring—wouldn't she be cursed to death by her husband and in-laws?

No, no, she had to ask for leave tomorrow to go to the commune hospital—no, she had to go to the county hospital for an examination. As the person directly involved, Liu Pandi knew in her heart that much of what Xu Lin said was true. She had never been valued since childhood and had rarely eaten a full meal. Surviving to this day without starving to death was purely a matter of luck.

By the time the medicinal brew was ready, Liu Pandi had recovered somewhat and departed with weak and trembling steps.

In the afternoon, Xu Lin went to the fields. Huang Zishu came over to help, but Xu Lin refused. She didn't want to constantly take advantage of others.

Returning to the educated youth courtyard after finishing work in the evening, she saw Qin Fang standing by the doorway looking radiant, her eyes carrying a provocative gleam as she looked at Xu Lin. How should she put it? Xu Lin touched her chin, feeling that Qin Fang's expression was exceptionally punch-able.

To figure out why Qin Fang was looking at her with such a gaze, Xu Lin immediately activated her mind-reading technique.

"Hmph, little slut, let's see how much longer you can act arrogant. This time, I'll make sure not even the scum of you is left."

Listening to Qin Fang's vicious inner voice, Xu Lin raised an eyebrow and muttered inwardly, *Good grief, this little wench Qin Fang isn't planning to harm me, is she?*

"Little Qi, it's all up to you later. You must snatch away all of the little slut's lifespan and fortune."

"Hehe, as long as you can trick her into picking up the life-buying money, I will naturally be able to snatch away all her lifespan and fortune."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely make her pick it up." Qin Fang revealed a malicious smile. To trap Xu Lin, she had prepared a huge sum of money. Not to mention a country bumpkin like Xu Lin who had never seen the world, even a young master like Su Liang would find it hard to resist greed upon seeing it. Besides, once that life-buying money was picked up, the contract would be sealed; sheer curiosity alone would be enough to make Xu Lin fall for it.

Qin Fang was full of confidence and smug satisfaction, just waiting for Xu Lin to be swindled.

"Linlin, why do I feel like Qin Fang's look is a bit off?" Qian Li whispered.

"Shh, don't talk about her; she can eavesdrop." Xu Lin reminded her in a low voice, making Qian Li's skin crawl the moment she heard it. She had almost been psychologically traumatized by Qin Fang. Fortunately, she had written home, and her father had called her the very first moment he received the letter, telling her to protect herself. They would also find a way to protect her; she just needed to bide her time until they figured out a way to take the other party down.