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The woman’s home was at the very end of this alley, and as Limin supported her walking inside, she observed the few neighboring homes they passed and found that all were locked, except for one that wasn’t locked but was deathly silent. It showed no signs of habitation.

Limin couldn’t help feeling perplexed. Could it be that none of the five or six households in this entire alleyway were inhabited? Before she had a chance to ask, they had already arrived at the woman’s home.

"Sister, come in quickly, my place isn’t much to look at, so please don’t mind it!"

The door to the home was unlocked, and as the woman pushed it open, she called out, "Son! Mom’s back! I’ve got Silver now, we can go to the doctor!"

Seeing her rush to speak to her son about seeing a doctor as soon as she entered, Limin’s heart settled a bit; it seemed her son was indeed sick.

The woman led Limin into the house. Since the woman had difficulty walking, Limin didn’t let go of her arm just yet, and followed her into the inner room to see her ill son.

The house was not very tidy. Someone lay on the kang bed, their face turned inward, not showing clearly, and their whole body was tightly wrapped in thick blankets, making it impossible to gauge the child’s size from behind.

However, the woman had said her son was only seven years old, so perhaps it was just that the blanket was too thick to show his actual size.

"Why have you covered him with such a thick blanket?" Even though he was sick, it was almost summer; that blanket seemed far too hot.

For a moment, the woman’s face showed an unnatural expression, but she quickly covered it up and Limin didn’t notice.

"Oh, you don’t know. My son has always been frail since he was young, even in summer he needs to sleep under a blanket. And now he’s sick, my heart is so heavy, oh."

Seeing the woman about to cry again, Limin didn’t have the heart to ask further and instead smiled and sat down at the table.

The woman also sat down and poured a cup of water for Limin. The kettle was already on the table, so she didn’t need to stand up to fetch the water.

"Sister, you’ve been supporting me for a while, you must be thirsty by now, right? Here, have a cup of water. We don’t have any tea leaves, so just make do with some water."

As it happened, Limin was indeed thirsty. Seeing that the woman poured from a kettle that was prepared earlier in the day, and that she herself had taken a sip first, Limin drank without concern.

"Sister, where are you from? I haven’t seen you around here before." Seeing that Limin had finished her water, the woman poured her another cup and started chatting with her while she poured.

A fleeting sense of strangeness passed through her mind so quickly that Limin failed to grasp it: "Oh, I’m from Liu Family Village, I don’t often come to town. I just happened to come this way today."

The woman smiled, "I think Sister, you should be of marriageable age, why are you still wearing a girl’s hairdo? Have you not married yet?"

Limin frowned slightly; her head suddenly felt tiresome, and she instinctively raised her hand to rub her temples, "I, I don’t intend to marry. Those men, not a good one among them, just like your man, doesn’t care a jot even when his son is ill!"

At this point, clarity struck Limin’s heart, and she finally realized what was strange just now.

"Didn’t you say your son was seriously ill? Why aren’t you taking him to see a doctor?"

She had sat down to chat, which definitely spelled something fishy with this woman!

Having thought this, Limin suddenly stood up, intending to leave, but her vision darkened abruptly, and her head not only felt tired but also grew increasingly groggy.

"What’s going on?" Limin felt both exhausted and weak, struggling to stay standing, and sat down again. Yet her head remained dreadfully heavy; she was desperate to lie down on the table for a good sleep. But now was no time to sleep.

Limin looked at the empty teacup in front of her. How could such a financially struggling household afford such a clean and delicate cup?

"Did you, did you drug me? What exactly are you trying to do?" With difficulty, she raised her finger, wishing she could ruthlessly slash this malicious fraud to pieces!

The woman shrugged, her laugh vile and deceitful, "Sister, you’re a good person, but there’s a saying you must always remember, ’Good people don’t live long, while scoundrels live for a thousand years.’"

"You, you swindler!" Limin gritted her teeth in hatred.

Laughing unsteadily, the woman replied, "Sister, don’t blame me, I’m just taking someone’s money to do their dirty work."

Was there someone else involved?

Limin’s groggy mind was slow to react, and she couldn’t recall whom she might have offended: "Who? Who wants to harm me?"