Director Zhao had initially thought highly of Lin Jianguo’s capabilities but hadn’t realized he had such troublesome family members.
He once considered him a suitable son-in-law, but now he no longer thought so. Forming a marital alliance with their family would inevitably lead to major troubles if Jianguo couldn’t keep his relatives in check.
The Zhao family was willing to support their daughter and son-in-law, but they had no intention of constantly cleaning up the in-laws’ messes.
Mingxi was busy until noon when everyone left for lunch, finally giving her a break.
Exhausted, she headed to the cafeteria and spotted Old Qi waving at her before she even entered.
Seeing Old Qi, Mingxi’s weary face finally broke into a smile.
“Old Qi, what brings you here? It feels like ages since I last saw you.”
The dishes in front of Old Qi were lavish, likely bought from outside.
He warmly urged her, “No need for talk now, hurry and eat. You look like you’re about to collapse from exhaustion.”
Mingxi was genuinely tired and hungry. Thankfully, that pot of chicken soup had kept her going until noon.
Some patients were disobedient and unreceptive, asking the same questions repeatedly. She had to break everything down and spoon-feed the information into their ears, yet many still couldn’t grasp it.
The place was crowded, with everyone talking over each other, making the TCM department noisier than a marketplace.
Mingxi quickly finished a bowl of rice and finally felt somewhat revived.
Old Qi watched her eat with a beaming smile and only spoke after she finished: “Yue Kai is away on a mission. I was worried you might not be adjusting well, so I thought I’d check on you today.”
“But I didn’t expect you to have so many patients. I figured you’d probably be just as busy in the afternoon, so I came at noon to catch you.”
Mingxi smiled sheepishly. “There were indeed many patients today. It should ease up after this period passes.”
“Besides, I’m adjusting fine. Every day, I just sit in consultation and treat patients—life is quite fulfilling.”
There was just one slight discomfort: although Yue Kai sometimes skipped a day or two when busy, knowing whether he was around made a difference.
When he was there, she did feel more at ease.
Having lived so long, Old Qi could easily read Mingxi’s thoughts but chose not to call her out.
“As long as you’re comfortable. I’m staying in the residential area now and will be there for a long time. If you need anything, you can always come find me.”
“Or just visit during your days off to chat with this old man.”
Old Qi wasn’t actually lonely—there were plenty of old folks around—but he worried Mingxi might be.
Mingxi understood his kindness and agreed readily: “I’ll definitely visit you on my day off. I’ve recently brewed some medicinal and fruit wines—I’ll bring them for you to try.”
She’d found many treasures while scavenging last time, even ginseng. People hadn’t bothered to check properly—the ginseng box was shabby, and the root was hidden in a secret compartment. What a waste it would’ve been if thrown away as trash!
Hearing about the wine, Old Qi grinned until his eyes narrowed to slits. “Wonderful! This old man will eagerly await your fine brew.”
Old Qi had been sitting with Mingxi until she finished her meal, and even packed the leftovers for her to heat up and eat later in the evening.
After seeing Old Qi off, Mingxi went back to rest for a while, knowing she had a tough battle ahead in the afternoon.
The afternoon brought even more people, and Mingxi was so busy she didn’t even have time to take a sip of water.
Liu Cuihua and her daughter stopped by briefly before leaving. The two of them wandered around aimlessly like a pair of loafers.
Having failed to find Zhao Qingling all morning, they were growing genuinely anxious.
“The day is almost over—where has that leader’s daughter disappeared to?”
If they couldn’t find Zhao Qingling to ask for help, they would surely be sent back.
Lin Hongmei’s eyes shifted shrewdly as she tugged at her mother’s sleeve and said, “We’ll never find her like this. Maybe we should ask someone where the leader’s daughter lives?”
They could then secretly wait outside her home, convinced they’d eventually catch her.
But since they didn’t know Zhao Qingling’s name, no matter how many people they asked, no one could figure out who they were referring to.
There were plenty of girls around here, and with their vague description of “long hair and big eyes,” they could point to almost anyone—who could possibly guess who they meant?
After a long day of searching, Liu Cuihua and her daughter were utterly exhausted.
When Lin Jianguo came by with food and saw how worn out they were, he asked what was wrong.
Liu Cuihua immediately complained to her son, “Son, we’ve been looking for that leader’s daughter all day and still haven’t found her. Who knows where she’s run off to?”
Lin Jianguo frowned at them and asked, “Why are you looking for her?”
Lin Hongmei’s eyes darted around, and she held up the unfinished pastries as she said, “We wanted to thank her for giving us these pastries. Mom and I have never tasted anything so delicious before.”
Her words instantly filled Lin Jianguo with guilt. He had been feeling resentful toward them these past few days, but this remark softened his irritation somewhat.
“If you finish the pastries, I’ll buy you more. Don’t take other people’s things.”
Liu Cuihua seized on the keyword and widened her eyes, saying, “Take? When did we take anything? That girl gave these to us to eat.”
Lin Jianguo sighed and explained, “She brought them to share with you. How was she to know you’d grab them and run off?”
“These pastries aren’t cheap, and the ration tickets are hard to come by. She saved up for a long time just to buy this much. If you really want to eat them, I’ll try to exchange for some pastry tickets and buy you some.”
Liu Cuihua and Lin Hongmei were stunned—so the pastries hadn’t been a gift after all.
Mother and daughter exchanged a glance, their eyes shifting uneasily, before they stubbornly insisted, “Well, she should have said so earlier. They’re just pastries—that leader’s daughter is so stingy.”
“She’s grown up eating things like this all her life. Missing a little bit shouldn’t matter.”
Once again, they shifted blame and refused to admit fault. The more Liu Cuihua spoke, the more confident she became, and the more she convinced herself that Zhao Qingling was stingy.
A woman this selfish wouldn’t do—if she married into a family and remained this stingy, always thinking of herself, how would they manage?
Good things should be offered to the mother-in-law first; that’s how it’s always been.
The guilt Lin Jianguo had felt moments earlier vanished under their unreasonable excuses.
“Enough. You can say these things in front of me, but don’t ever let anyone else hear you.”
“You’ve been here for two days already. When are you planning to go back?”
When this topic was mentioned, Liu Cuihua and her daughter immediately fell silent.
Why go back when life here is so good?
The countryside is full of mud, and going back would mean doing farm work. Here, there’s a small building, no need for labor, and every day Lin Jianguo delivers meals with both vegetables and meat. They were already too content to think of their old home.