Nurse Sister Huang Wan'er

"Sister Wan'er, we really won't cause any trouble."

"Who, who are you calling sister so casually?" Huang Wan'er clutched her ward-status clipboard and glared at him.

Zhang Yang didn't mean to anger the young woman on purpose, but he was in a rush to get to the black market.

To save time and minimize trouble, he had no choice but to play the emotional card.

"Beauty Wan'er, I have to go out on an errand in a bit to raise medical expenses for my brother. You're familiar with things around the ward, so I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on them! If I find a way to make money outside, I'll definitely remember to buy you a little gift."

Huang Wan'er looked at Zhang Yang with a slightly higher level of respect.

She had been assigned to the county hospital by her family last year. During her year at the hospital, she had seen plenty of patients' families.

She had seen plenty of impoverished families; most people would just furrow their brows and hold their heads in despair, weeping bitterly over medical bills they couldn't afford.

Wealthy families were naturally generous, usually giving nurses on rounds an apple or a tangerine plucked from get-well gifts.

The items were good, and naturally, they didn't turn them down.

Yet out of all the family members she had seen, Zhang Yang was the first one who explicitly mentioned buying her a gift.

"Oh right, I don't know which kind-hearted sister it was who brought hot water bags to the three of us last night. If you're not busy later, Miss Wan'er, please help me ask around so I can thank her in person."

Huang Wan'er tilted her head and asked, "I know who sent them, but you have to tell me first how you plan to repay her."

Without missing a beat, Zhang Yang replied, "Then when I come back, I'll buy her a gift too."

"Alright then, you can bring me two different gifts!" Huang Wan'er let out a sudden giggle.

"So it was you who sent them." Zhang Yang suddenly understood.

Huang Wan'er gave him a playful glare. "You think our hospital has an endless supply of people? I was on duty last night and saw the three of you huddled together—you scared me to death!"

Noticing that Gao Wen and Gao Wu were still asleep and the elderly man in the next bed hadn't woken up yet, she deliberately lowered her voice.

"If I hadn't been on night shift, the head nurse would have chased the three of you out long ago!"

With the situation clarified, Zhang Yang could rest much easier.

"I knew I'd run into a kind and beautiful fairy! With Sister Wan'er here, I don't have to worry about my brothers anymore."

After expressing his thanks, Zhang Yang made to leave.

Huang Wan'er, however, couldn't help but grab him by the sleeve.

"Where are you going? The county seat is so big, and you're not from the city. Do you have any relatives or friends here? Do you even know the way?"

Huang Wan'er's tone wasn't particularly gentle, but the good intentions behind it were unmistakable.

Unfortunately, no matter how well-intentioned she was, Zhang Yang couldn't tell her the truth.

"Oh, I have a cousin working at the city's mining plant, I'm going to find him to figure something out!"

After all, he wasn't a person of this era. His memories of many things were from a long time ago and rather hazy. If he kept talking, the more details he provided, the easier it would be to slip up.

Not wanting Huang Wan'er to spot any flaws, Zhang Yang cut the conversation short and made to leave in a hurry.

Huang Wan'er called out to him once more.

"The mining plant is so far from the hospital. It'll take you a whole day just going back and forth—it's too exhausting! Why don't you take my bicycle and ride there?"

A bicycle?

That was another fantastic asset!

Zhang Yang had ways to make money, so he wasn't afraid of owing favors. Hearing Huang Wan'er make the offer, he didn't stand on ceremony with her.

"A bicycle is great! Then I'll borrow it from you, Sister! But since you trust me so much, aren't you afraid I'll run off with your bike?"

"Your three brothers are still in my hands. Aren't you afraid I'll use them for medical research?" Huang Wan'er hooked the corner of her lips in a mischievous smile.

To an entirely ignorant country bumpkin, the phrase "medical research" sounded like a very serious matter!

Zhang Yang, however, knew that Huang Wan'er was genuinely just joking.

What right did a junior nurse have to participate in medical research?

She was purely teasing him for fun.

Naturally, he had to play the part of a cooperative straight man.

"Please, no, good sister, don't experiment on my brothers! I will definitely return what I borrow and come back early. Even if I don't come back, your bicycle will be safe and sound!"

Huang Wan'er furrowed her brow. "Pui pui pui, don't talk silly. Here, these are the keys. Go to the bike shed and look for the one with an orange ribbon tied into a bow on the handlebars. That's mine."

"Got it!"

With a means of transportation, Zhang Yang's trip to the Maolizhen black market went much smoother.

There were several markets open in Zhenhai City today, and the town was very lively.

Yet Zhang Yang, preoccupied with matters of great importance, couldn't spare even a glance at the hustle and bustle along the road.

After riding for over an hour, he finally reached Maolizhen and, following his memory, arrived at the edge of the black market.

Perhaps because of the bustling activities in the city today, the black market wasn't as crowded as last time.

Moreover, coming here today, he discovered that the operating rules of the black market had changed; it was no longer restricted to the fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth of the lunar month.

Perhaps it was open every day now!

Zhang Yang adjusted the bamboo basket on his back and set off to find a stall purchasing medicinal herbs.

Hardly had he taken two steps, however, when someone blocked his path.

"Young man, weren't you the one who wanted to leave a message for Old Four Peng last time? People from the Peng family have come several times, saying they lost something... Could it be that you're the one who found it?"

Zhang Yang didn't answer him directly.

This was the black market, not an ordinary bazaar; it was only smart of him to keep his guard up.

Wealth dazzles the eyes; what if this was a deliberate attempt to trick him and pry into his affairs?

Feigning ignorance, Zhang Yang beat around the bush and asked, "It's been a few days since that happened, I almost forgot... What did the Peng family lose?"

"We don't know either! We only know their family sent several groups of people to look for it! Old Four Peng even went down to the cellar himself to question them. That bunch said apart from playing cards, they hadn't seen a thing, and even accused Old Four Peng of deliberately making up an excuse to start trouble! The two sides had an argument, and in the end, it was dropped."

With the vendors chiming in one after another, patching fragments together, Zhang Yang finally pieced together a complete version of what had happened.

"I happened to ask someone from the Peng family when they were looking around. They said it was an amulet that Old Four Peng had worn close to his body since childhood."

"They refused to say what it specifically looked like, probably afraid that there are too many capable people in the black market who could copy it and make a fake."

As they spoke, Zhang Yang silently pondered to himself.

Now the missing item and the explanation matched up, but thinking about that small black stone...

Could a thing like that really serve as an amulet?

"The Peng family speaks of it with absolute reverence! They say as long as that object is around, Old Four Peng's luck remains steady! Without it, his fortune becomes unstable."

"That's why the Peng family has been watching him very closely lately, forbidding him from wandering into the black market so he won't mix with that bunch in the cellar again..."