The rain that had started yesterday morning did not stop until the next morning, when the skies finally cleared. The person delivering Zhou Mingshi’s belongings had run into a landslide on the way and was stuck on the road.
After getting up, Lin Yi’an knocked on the door of Zhou Mingshi’s room.
Zhou Mingshi had just opened his eyes when he heard the knock. He got out of bed and slipped on his shoes.
He walked to the door and was about to pull it open when he glanced down and noticed how disheveled his pajamas looked. He paused, straightened them out, and only then opened the door.
Lin Yi’an looked him over. “Feeling any better?”
Zhou Mingshi replied, “I didn’t have a fever during the night, and my headache’s gone too.”
Lin Yi’an gave a small nod. “Mom and Dad have breakfast ready. Go wash up, get changed, and come downstairs to eat.”
After saying that, she headed downstairs first.
Assistant Chen came in and handed him the clothes he was supposed to wear today. “I think you’re actually well suited to taking traditional Chinese medicine. Grandma Lin’s medical skills are excellent too. In the past, your colds never got better this quickly.”
Zhou Mingshi took the clothes from his hands. “If you’ve really got nothing better to do, go downstairs and find something useful to do.”
Assistant Chen said, “It’s only a little after seven, and there’s already a patient here. I heard he came all the way from another town dozens of miles away. After receiving treatment from Grandma Lin for several months, he went from being completely bedridden to being able to get up and walk. After I got up, I was downstairs helping Grandma Lin…”
Zhou Mingshi said, “Just don’t end up making more work for her.”
Assistant Chen grinned. “I may not be able to do much else, but I can pour tea, carry water, hand Grandma Lin whatever she needs, and take care of little things that are within my abilities.”
After changing into his clothes, Zhou Mingshi said, “Let’s go downstairs.”
The breakfast spread included multigrain porridge, soy milk, boiled eggs, steamed corn, soup dumplings, a plate of cherry tomatoes, and a plate of pickled vegetables.
Lin Yi’an looked at Zhou Mingshi. “I forgot to ask, what do you usually have for breakfast?”
Zhou Mingshi glanced at the table. “This is perfect.”
Lin Yi’an said, “Almost all the ingredients are homegrown, and the eggs are from our own chickens. My parents were worried you might not be used to this kind of food, so they asked me to see if there was anything else you’d like to eat.”
Zhou Mingshi replied, “I’m used to it. I’m not just being polite. I’ve always preferred light, simple food, and Uncle and Auntie’s cooking suits my taste very well.”
Lin Yi’an nodded.
It had been raining yesterday, but today the sun was shining brightly. After breakfast, Lin Shuhe was going out to buy groceries, and Zhou Mingshi asked Assistant Chen to accompany him.
After one patient left, two more arrived. The clinic was busy all morning, and Lin Yi’an went into the treatment room to help as well, leaving her with no time to pay attention to Zhou Mingshi.
Zhou Mingshi was not idle either. He still had work to do, so he went upstairs to work.
After finishing an acupuncture session for a patient, Lin Yi’an didn’t see him and asked Ye Lingzhi, “Where’s Zhou Mingshi?”
Ye Lingzhi replied, “He’s upstairs. President Zhou’s medicine has been reheated.”
Lin Yi’an said, “I’ll take it up to him.”
Ye Lingzhi said, “Last night, when President Zhou was taking his medicine, I saw Assistant Chen hand him some candy.”
Lin Yi’an replied, “Then give him a piece of candy.”
With that, she casually picked up a piece of candy from the fruit tray, carried the bowl of medicine upstairs, and knocked on his door a few times.
“Come in!”
Hearing his voice, Lin Yi’an pushed open the door. Seeing him seated in front of his computer, she walked over and placed the bowl of medicine on the desk. “Your medicine’s ready.”
Zhou Mingshi looked at the bowl of medicine in front of him. “My fever’s gone, and my head doesn’t hurt anymore. Do I still have to drink this?”
Lin Yi’an said, “Grandma prescribed two doses for you. You need to take them for two days.”
Zhou Mingshi fell silent for a moment. “…All right.”
After speaking, he picked up the bowl. The moment he finished the medicine, a piece of candy with the wrapper already peeled back was held out to him.
Zhou Mingshi looked up at her. Lin Yi’an smiled. “I’m used to coaxing little kids. I wasn’t paying attention for a moment.”
The children in the village hated taking traditional Chinese medicine. Their parents had no idea what to do. At some point, someone came up with the idea of bringing them here and letting them help feed the children their medicine. Once they finished it, they would be rewarded with a piece of candy.
Zhou Mingshi smiled, looking at the candy in her hand, still half wrapped in its wrapper. Reaching out, he took it between his fingers. “So Yi’an thinks I’m a little kid?”
Lin Yi’an took the now-empty medicine bowl from his hand and said, “In front of me, everyone’s a patient. I don’t distinguish between little kids and grown-ups. So anyone who finishes their medicine gets a piece of candy.”
With a smile, Zhou Mingshi nodded. “Fair enough.”
Looking at the smile on his face, Lin Yi’an said, “Go ahead and get back to work. I’m heading downstairs.”
He watched her leave the room. After the door closed behind her, he put the candy into his mouth and tossed the wrapper into the wastebasket.
He had barely finished the candy when the phone on his desk rang. He picked it up, glanced at the screen, and answered, “What is it?”
Zhou Kanghui’s voice came through the phone. “When are you coming back?”
Leaning against the back of his chair, Zhou Mingshi said, “I only got here the night before last. What’s the hurry?”
Zhou Kanghui said, “It’s not that I’m in a rush. It’s just that your aunt’s forty-sixth birthday is in a few days. Shouldn’t you and the young lady from the Lin family come back together?”
Zhou Mingshi’s tone remained calm. “Is that really necessary?”
Zhou Kanghui said, “Once you two get married, we’ll all be one family. We’ll be living under the same roof, seeing each other every day. If Miss Lin is going to fit into the Zhou family as quickly as possible, I think it’s necessary. Don’t you?”
Zhou Mingshi said, “You just reminded me of something.”
Zhou Kanghui continued, “Your aunt and I have been married for so many years…”
Zhou Mingshi cut him off. “Even if you’ve been married for a hundred years, I’m still not the one she gave birth to. I’m not so stupid that I don’t know who my mother is. If she wants to put on airs as a mother-in-law, she can go find her own daughter-in-law.”
Displeased, Zhou Kanghui said, “You really take after your mother. You’re just as stubborn…”
Zhou Mingshi replied, “You should be burning incense and thanking the heavens that I take after my mother. If I were like you, the Zhou family would’ve gone bankrupt long ago.”
Zhou Kanghui felt his temper flare instantly. He shouldn’t have called this unfilial son in the first place. “Just keep provoking me. One of these days you’re going to anger me to death.”
Zhou Mingshi said, “You sound full of energy. Looks like you’re not angry enough yet. Don’t worry, death’s still a long way off for you.”
Zhou Kanghui was left utterly speechless. Secretly, he kept telling himself, ‘He’s my own son. My own son. I used to infuriate my parents the same way. What father hasn’t been driven up the wall by his own child?’ Thinking that way made him feel a little better.
Softening his tone, he said, “Mingshi, we’re family. Why do you have to draw the line so clearly? Your Aunt Sun has had a hard time all these years. Your grandparents have never accepted her. For my sake, can’t you at least show her a little respect?”
Zhou Mingshi let out a cold laugh. “Show her respect?”
“Take Yi’an with me and eagerly go celebrate Sun Yurong, only to slap my own mother’s memory in the face?”
“Zhou Kanghui, are you the one who’s lost your mind, or am I?”
Zhou Kanghui immediately felt a pang of guilt. Whenever Mingshi called him by his full name, he knew he’d crossed the line again. Even his speech became halting. “Uh… I… I didn’t think that far…”
Zhou Mingshi said, “What do you ever think about? Have you ever truly understood anything in your entire life?”
Embarrassed, Zhou Kanghui said, “I just feel that your Aunt Sun has had a difficult life following me all these years. I can’t help feeling sorry for her.”
Zhou Mingshi said, “A woman whose biggest concerns every day are what to eat, what to wear, and which jewelry to put on, someone who doesn’t have to do a thing… and you’re telling me she’s had it hard?”
“Looks like the two of you have had life far too easy. Come to Yi’an’s hometown and see the people here harvesting their crops in the pouring rain. Then you won’t think she’s had it so hard anymore.”
Having said all he wanted to say, he had no desire to continue the conversation. He hung up the phone without another word.