What Su Fen said was not without reason. Logically, if it was going to cause trouble, it would have done so long ago. Why wait several months?
Something must have happened in between to cause the present outcome.
Beside them, Su Fen's cousin puffed away and tapped ash from his cigarette. Neither Qi Gu nor Lin Hanzhi smoked, and neither could stand the smell, so they both moved farther away. Yet her cousin insisted on coming closer, repeatedly offering, "Masters, are you sure you don't want one? These cigarettes aren't the cheap stuff..."
At his words, Qi Gu lowered his eyes and looked. Sure enough, the pack bore the prominent name "Zhonghua."
Qi Gu did not smoke, but he knew that for a farmer in a poor area, a pack like this was probably something he only got to smoke after snagging one at a wedding banquet-and only if no elders of a higher generation were seated at his table.
Was Su Fen's cousin actually well-off?
With that thought, Qi Gu exchanged a glance with Lin Hanzhi.
Lin Hanzhi stepped forward and accepted the cigarette offered once again. He lit it and held it between his pale, slender fingers, brought the filter to his lips, and pretended to take a few puffs. Then he lowered his hand and let the cigarette burn on its own, its ember flickering.
"Good cigarettes," Lin Hanzhi praised, fighting the urge to cough.
"Hahaha, just ask me for more if you like them." At the compliment, Su Fen's cousin's sun-darkened, ruddy farmer's face flushed even redder, his delight impossible to hide.
"Where are you two masters from? Have you handled anything like this before? My cousin's husband's condition... is there still hope?" Feeling he had established a rapport with Lin Hanzhi, Su Fen's cousin began