âSure, if you can cure the Old Lady and make her obedient, Iâll give you as many uncleâs petty cash as you want. But Iâm not as rich as your aunt.â Uncle chuckled.
âWeâre all family, so I donât want to charge too much. Instead of giving me money, you can just give me one or two of those unwanted stones, I wonât be picky. I guarantee sheâll behave, follow the rules, and not cause any trouble for you.â
Stones⦠Father Li understood immediately she was referring to the jadeite raw stones in the study. Mother Yu laughed too.
Those were taken by force from her by the Aunt, all top-quality jadeite stones brought out by the Uncle Qi Yue. Though they were still raw stones, windows had already been opened in them to reveal the jadeite inside. The Aunt cherished them too much to completely open them herself, so she gave them to her sister before returning to the Old Yu Family, where she then forcefully took them away.
Xiao Qian was candid; sheâd have them returned the same way they were taken!
âIf you want them, theyâre yours, as long as you can control your aunt. Iâll even throw in my cherished purple clay teapot. I donât usually give that to anyone. It is a masterpiece by an old friend of mine, who can no longer make them due to his old age.â
âXiao Qian, hurry up, thank your uncle!â
Xiao Qian could see the teapotâs great value from Mother Yuâs attitude and immediately thanked her Uncle without reservation.
Though she couldnât currently see the value in these collectibles, a high-quality purple clay teapot could sell for tens of thousands or even millions a few decades later. Uncle mentioned the artist was already not producing more, making it even more valuable. Xiao Qian, the practical person that she was, liked to measure things with property value, estimating the teapot could be worth one or two houses after a decade.
Xiao Qianâs principle was that it didnât matter if she understood or appreciated these works of art, as long as they could be sold for money, they were good.
âAfter I finish Li Zhenâs treatment, Iâll give you a detailed plan you should follow. Youâll be guaranteed the kind of family status and authority only enjoyed by men in feudal society.â
âCan you really do that?â Xiao Qianâs uncle thought she was joking.
âThere arenât many patients with a serious illness like Li Zhen. Most people have problems like your Aunt, who, while not sick, still have trouble in their life. We donât consider such people as patients, but rather as clients for counseling. As psychological counselors, we can certainly help these people. In fact, we wouldnât say there are too many patients around us, but rather each person needs emotional counseling, covering feelings, career, family, and friendship. We can help with it all since we can place everyone in the right position based on their behaviors within our knowledge of expertise.â
In her past life, Xiao Qian performed a lot of emotional counseling for issues like unhappy marriages, and cheating husbands, etc. Only a few people were genuinely as sick as Li Zhen. Still, everyone had emotional or other kinds of issues they needed to discuss at some point, which also made for quite a profitable business.
âWhat caused my sonâs illness?â
âItâs a psychosomatic disorder induced by compulsory focus. Through yesterdayâs treatment, I found that it is related to the sexual orientation discrimination he experienced before. Out of fear of being discriminated and misunderstood, he exaggerated the fantasy of physical disability, which led to the psychogenic physical disorder. The root of the problem lies in you.â
âMe?â asked an astonished Father Li.
âYes, fathers hold a unique position in their childrenâs heart, but you never understood your sonâs sexual orientation issue, causing huge psychological pressure on him. Today, I want you to be part of the treatment as well. The two of you need to have an open and honest conversation about this topic.â
Many seemingly unrelated things were actually tightly connected.
Father Li couldnât accept that his son liked men, but the fact that Li Zhen had almost become paralyzed made him come to terms with it. It didnât matter anymore whether Li Zhen liked men or women. All that mattered was that he was alive and healthy. Continuing the family line didnât seem important anymore.
âSo Xiao Qian, you are implying that Li Zhenâs problem is with his father rather than his mother?â
âItâs not that his mother is completely unrelated, but her relationship with him isnât significant.â
âWhy are you then commanding your aunt?â Mother Yu stopped after seeing Xiao Qianâs gesture of pushing her glasses.â
âI am a professional psychologist with a sense of medical ethics. Seeing my auntâs misbehavior, I must correct it. Thatâs my professional duty.â Xiao Qian nodded earnestly.
Meaning, she was merely correcting her auntâs behavior for no good reason. Was justification needed?
âYou donât charge for treating your auntâs issues?â the uncle joked.
Xiao Qian answered dead seriously, âAbsolutely not.â
âWell, do as you please.â
The progress of the treatment was much faster than expected, as Xiao Qianâs judgment was accurate. Having the uncle join made the therapy even more effective.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The seemingly serious problem had a simple solution, as it mostly depended on oneâs ability to find the right key to unlocking the soul code. Xiao Qian was an expert at this. However, if the wrong method was used, things could go very wrong, and the disease could become even more severe. The main thing was using the right method.
Mother Yu had been waiting outside the whole time. The treatment took a little longer this time, lasting almost three hours. When Father Li came out, his eyes were red, as if he had been crying.
âHow is it? Can my son feel anything?â Xiao Qianâs aunt approached.
Father Li nodded excitedly, unable to express his feelings in words.
He had just opened up his heart to his son, and he realized the boy had also suffered a lot over the years. The treatment didnât only benefit his son; it was a lesson for him as well. The money spent was beyond worth it, as it knocked down the wall between him and his son.
âCan I see my son?â Xiao Qianâs aunt asked her.
Xiao Qian picked up the cold coffee from the table and took a sip.The aunt quickly replied, âIâll buy you as much as you want!â
âBy the time you buy it, heâll probably be waking up. You can see him after he wakes up, but you should know what to say and what not to say.â
âYes, yes, yes!â The aunt nodded hurriedly, doing whatever Xiao Qian said without any hesitation.
âAlso, Li Zhen needs soup tonight. You can buy some ingredients and continue cooking at my auntâs house.â
âSure, sure!â
âMy little aunt is on vacation today, so you may have to prepare meals for the whole family as well and do laundry. Donât worry; Iâll tell Li Zhen about your performance. He will be happy, and his treatment may improve even more when heâs in a good mood!â
Listening to Xiao Qianâs words, the aunt excitedly asked Mother Yu, âSister-in-law, what dishes do you want? Iâll buy them all and cook them!â
âYou donât have to go through all the trouble, just make some Buddha Jumps Over the Wall or somethingââ Mother Yu changed her tune upon seeing Xiao Qianâs auntâs twisted expression, âItâs too much to ask you to do such complicated dishes, just make some simple home cooked meals. But there might be more people tonight, as Elder Brother and his family are coming back. Youâll have to make separate meals for Panpan who is a picky eater. The other two kids do eat everything, though they love meat. As for what your brother and I like, you know it well. Xiao Qian, will you come tonight?â
âI wonât be joining you. I am going to spend time with my mother. I heard Aunt once took a baking class? My mother is quite fond of mango pancakesâ¦â