Nothing in the world is more important than your child!
Shi Xin Yan had arrived early to welcome Yu Zhiming and his companions on behalf of her husband, Qi Yue, and guide them to the restaurant.
But the moment she heard Yu Zhiming mention that her son might have a growth in his nasal cavity, Shi Xin Yan grew so panicked she forgot everything else.
She apologized, explaining she had to take her son to the hospital for an examination and that Yu Zhiming and the others would have to go to the restaurant on their own.
Yu Zhiming said he understood.
A dozen or so minutes later, after freshening up, Yu Zhiming, his sister, and Xiaoxue arrived at the private room in the restaurant on the hotel’s third floor, dragging a suitcase full of gifts.
The private room was spacious and luxuriously decorated.
In addition to a rotating, circular dining table that could seat ten, there was a lounge area for conversation and a private restroom.
Yu Zhiming and his companions first sat down on the sofa in the lounge area.
While sizing up the room, Fu Xiaoxue asked in a low voice, "Uncle, you said Dr. Qi’s wife is young and beautiful, like a celebrity. Could she actually be a celebrity?"
"It’s a classic pairing in novels, a big star with a famous doctor."
Yu Zhiming reached out and flicked her on the forehead. "Why are you reading trashy novels instead of studying?"
Fu Xiaoxue rubbed her forehead and huffed, "Uncle, can you please focus on the main point?"
"A celebrity! A celebrity with a famous doctor!"
"If Dr. Qi can land a celebrity, wouldn’t you, my young, handsome, and skilled doctor of an uncle, have an even better chance of marrying a big star?"
Having been flattered, Yu Zhiming played along with a smile. "Xiaoxue, I’ll seriously consider your suggestion."
"If I get the chance to meet a big star, I’ll do my best to win her over!"
Yu Xiangwan shot the two of them a disdainful look. "Can you two behave yourselves?"
"Be careful. Someone might overhear and you’ll become a laughingstock!"
After a brief pause, she added, "The entertainment industry seems a bit messy. It’s better not to get involved."
"Fifth Brother, I hear Binhai has a lot of rich second-generation kids."
"You should marry a well-bred daughter from a rich family, one with a net worth of not too much—just a few tens of millions is fine. Don’t set your sights too high."
Yu Zhiming rolled his eyes. "One of you wants me to find a big star? The other wants me to marry a rich heiress?"
"You two really have a lot of confidence in me..."
The group chatted and laughed for over half an hour before Qi Yue, his beautiful young wife, and their chubby little son finally arrived.
Yu Zhiming noticed that the faces of this May-December couple were all smiles and knew that Qi Xiaopang’s issue wasn’t a big problem.
"Dr. Yu, thank you so much! There really was a foreign object in Xiaopang’s nasal cavity."
"Look..."
Shi Xin Yan opened her palm, revealing a pink gemstone the size of a soybean.
"It’s this pink diamond that Old Qi gave me."
"I lost it four years ago and searched for it for so long. I never imagined my son had sniffed it up his nose."
Shi Xin Yan shot Qi Yue another sidelong glance.
"Old Qi, and you call yourself a famous doctor."
"A pink diamond this big was hidden in our son’s nose for three or four years, and you never even noticed."
"Isn’t that embarrassing?"
Qi Yue laughed awkwardly. "It’s a classic case of the darkest place being under the candlestick. Definitely. Besides, he never said his nose was uncomfortable all these years, so who would have thought?"
"Come, let’s sit at the table..."
Qi Yue, Yu Zhiming, and the others sat down, taking their respective places as host and guests.
Yu Zhiming first introduced his Fourth Sister, Yu Xiangwan, and his niece, Fu Xiaoxue, then brought out the gifts he had brought.
When Qi Yue saw the gift from Dean Wu that Yu Zhiming presented, his eyes lit up.
He called over a waitress and, with an excited tone, asked her to take the pig’s head meat to the kitchen to be sliced onto a large platter.
Qi Yue didn’t forget to add, "Just slice it thin, no need to add anything else."
"And also, a small dish of raw minced garlic on the side..."
"On second thought..."
"Just bring two whole heads of garlic. We’ll peel them ourselves..."
Hearing this, Shi Xin Yan coughed lightly twice.
Qi Yue glanced at her and said, "I know pig’s head meat is greasy, but indulging once in a while is fine."
Shi Xin Yan said through gritted teeth, "Did I say you couldn’t eat the pig’s head meat?"
"It’s the garlic. The raw garlic."
"The taste is so strong, and it makes your breath stink for hours. What’s so good about it?"
Qi Yue laughed heartily. "Ah, that’s what you don’t understand. Eating flatbread wrapped with pig’s head meat and garlic is a taste of heaven."
"Right, Zhiming?"
Yu Zhiming grunted in agreement and explained to Shi Xin Yan, "There’s a saying: ’Meat without garlic loses half its flavor.’"
"We grow a lot of garlic in Lu Province, and we’re used to eating it raw. Dr. Qi is just staying true to his roots."
Shi Xin Yan snorted twice through her nose.
Just then, Qi Yue opened the lid of the baijiu cask, brought his nose close, and took a deep sniff.
"Spicy enough, strong enough, and mellow enough. I like it!"
"Zhiming, want some baijiu?"
Yu Zhiming quickly shook his head. "Dr. Qi, I don’t drink."
As a doctor, and an ambitious one at that, Yu Zhiming was quite strict with himself.
Qi Yue chuckled. "When it comes to alcohol, drink if you want, don’t if you don’t. The important thing is not to force it or go against your wishes."
He poured himself a glass of baijiu, and seeing that Yu Xiangwan didn’t refuse, poured one for her as well.
Qi Yue said slowly, "Wine, women, wealth, and wrath—the great desires of man. And desire is the source of motivation."
"My perspective is that in life, while you’re striving for progress, you should also enjoy yourself when you can."
"Life should be lived brilliantly, but also with a bit of freedom, a bit of abandon. You can’t be too hard on yourself!"
"Living like an ascetic, following all the rules and restrictions—even if you live to be two hundred, what’s the point?"
"When you encounter something wonderful, you must do your best to pursue it..."
Qi Yue, getting more into his speech, pointed at Shi Xin Yan beside him and said with a smile, "The year I first saw her, I felt like my heart had been struck."
"I felt like I was in love again..."
Shi Xin Yan reached out and lightly tapped Qi Yue’s shoulder, chiding coquettishly, "You haven’t even started drinking, and you’re already drunk?"
"How can you have the nerve to bring up a topic like that?"
Qi Yue laughed, picked up his baijiu, and took a small sip.
"Zhiming, I’m not being a shameless old man. I just want to tell you, when you find what you want, you just have to go for it boldly."
"So what if you fail?"
"You just try again!"
Qi Yue elaborated, "Zhiming, I’ve noticed you’re a bit conservative. You lack a certain sharp, decisive drive."
"If I were you, I wouldn’t wait around for others to discover me. I’d have run up to them and promoted myself long ago."
Yu Zhiming listened while reflecting on himself.
’Am I really that conservative?’
He didn’t think he was conservative.
He hadn’t actively tried to leave the county hospital simply because he felt he wasn’t ready yet, that there was still more for him to learn.
However, understanding oneself is a very difficult thing.
Now that he had stepped out, he could discover more of his own shortcomings in a new environment, reflected in the light of new colleagues.
But there was one thing Yu Zhiming was already sure of.
With a leader like Qi Yue, his days in Binhai, both at work and in his personal life, were bound to be much more exciting.
Yu Zhiming started to look forward to tomorrow, to his future in Binhai, with even greater anticipation.
Qi Yue’s voice sounded in his ear again. "With medical science having developed this far, it’s hard to make great achievements by just following the established rules."
"You need imaginative ideas, but even more, you need audacious courage to break through existing constraints and limitations."
"Zhiming, I have very high hopes for your medical talent. You absolutely must not waste it."
"Whether in work or in life, you need to let loose a bit, be a bit bolder!"
Yu Zhiming met Qi Yue’s gaze and stated, "Dr. Qi, all I can say is that I will work harder."
"Yes, starting with tomorrow’s assessment, I will do my best to pass with an outstanding performance."
Qi Yue raised his glass again and took another sip.
He set down his glass, let out a deep breath, and said, "Ah, Zhiming, for that assessment tomorrow... just do your best."
From Qi Yue’s words and tone, Yu Zhiming keenly sensed an unspoken helplessness.
’Could there be some unexpected trouble with tomorrow’s assessment?’
Just then, the waiter began to serve the dishes.
Besides six small platters of cold appetizers, there was a large platter of thinly sliced pig’s head meat, plus a small dish of peeled garlic cloves.
Qi Yue picked up a large, now-softened flatbread, rolled it up with a generous amount of meat slices, and grabbed two cloves of garlic.
He smiled at Shi Xin Yan and said, "Don’t worry, we’ll sleep in separate rooms tonight. I won’t stink you out."
As Shi Xin Yan stared at him, speechless, Qi Yue took a big bite of his meat-filled flatbread, then bit off half a garlic clove with a CRUNCH...