When Xia Enruo left in the morning, she gave Ge Qiuqin a bowl of fish soup and two bowls of flour. She wanted to make a bowl of plain noodles for Gu Shaoxuan at noon, but she was too busy today, so she asked Ge Qiuqin to help roll out the noodles and she would make the noodle soup herself when she got back.

Ge Qiuqin complained that she was being too formal; she could have just told her to make noodles, why did she need to bring flour?

Xia Enruo knew that Gu Shaoxuan would cause a lot of trouble for the neighbors while he was in the hospital, and felt bad about taking advantage of the situation, so she insisted that Ge Qiuqin stay. The two agreed that one of them would roll out the noodles and the other would make the noodle soup.

Ge Qiuqin was given this critical task and dared not slack off, so she prepared to knead the dough with great care.

The eldest and second eldest children in the family have gone to elementary school, leaving two children who revolve around her.

A few days ago, Ge Qiuqin received a letter from her hometown saying that her mother was ill. She was very worried and wanted to go back to visit her, but she couldn't get away with her four children. So she sent back the only 50 yuan she had, as a way of showing her filial piety.

Zhang Xin knew she was sending money back home and complained that she didn't know how to manage her money. He even told her to patch up the holes in her old rain boots to save money when she wanted to buy new rain boots.

Ge Qiuqin glanced at her watch; it was almost time. She picked up the basin to pour water. Her eldest son, Zhang Zhicheng, led his younger brother home from school and called out:

"Mom, my shoes have holes again, and my classmates are laughing at me. Don't mend them anymore, just buy me a new pair."

Ge Qiuqin bent down and picked up her eldest son's small feet.

That's right, the patch has broken again, and this time there's really no way to patch it anymore.

"Big brother, just fool around for a couple more days. Once Mom gets the money from your dad, we'll buy you new shoes."

Zhang Zhicheng nodded understandingly.

"Okay, Mom, you'd better hurry, or my teacher will start scolding me."

When the younger siblings heard that Ge Qiuqin was going to buy new shoes for her older brother, they started clamoring.

"Mom, I want some too! I want new shoes too!"

"Mom, I want to eat peach shortbread."

"Mom, I want to buy new shoes too."

Ge Qiuqin patted the children's heads and said:

“Why are you buying new shoes? Your older brother is starting school and his shoes are too worn out, so he needs new ones. Your shoes are still perfectly fine, why would you need to buy new ones? Eldest son, you're taking care of your younger siblings, and Mom has to help your Aunt Xia with cooking.”

Ge Qiuqin felt bad seeing the children wearing old clothes. She wanted to buy them some new clothes, but she was short of money and had no income. Zhang Xin only gave her 20 yuan a month when he received his salary.

She was told that the rest had been mailed back to her parents. Ge Qiuqin didn't know what to say, so she could only live frugally, patching her clothes again and again. She was the poorest person in the entire family compound.

Inside the hospital

Qiao Huizhen didn't see many patients all morning. She spent her free time drinking two large glasses of water in her office and going to the restroom repeatedly. She was actually quite pleased with herself today. Thinking that Gu Shaoxuan would be left without anyone to take care of him and would definitely become disabled soon if he didn't recover well, her hope for Ding Haotian becoming the chief of staff was rekindled.

She went to the dispensing room and asked the nurse.

"Did Chief of Staff Gu receive an IV drip today?"

"Dr. Qiao, Director Chen said they need three bottles of IV fluid a day, one more than Brother Ding's, but they need to be administered separately. We're preparing the medication for them right now."

Qiao Huizhen's eyes darted around as she walked towards the ward. She first glanced at Ding Haotian, who was fast asleep in bed, and then went to the next ward and pushed open Gu Shaoxuan's door.

Gu Shaoxuan watched as Qiao Huizhen walked in and looked at her.

"Hey, Chief of Staff Gu, haven't you had a break yet? I have to say you're in good physical shape. My old Ding was already fast asleep."

Qiao Huizhen thought that Gu Shaoxuan hadn't eaten since last night and was too hungry to sleep.

"Sister-in-law Huizhen, are you not busy anymore? How is Haotian's health?"

Since losing consciousness after being hit, he hadn't had a chance to ask Ding Haotian about his condition when he woke up.

"He was also seriously injured, but less so than you."

"That's good, it's good that you're alright. Sister-in-law, is something wrong?"

Gu Shaoxuan asked again.

"The nurse is coming to give you an IV soon, and your sister-in-law is here to tell you that you need to drink some water first, otherwise the medicine will irritate your stomach and be bad for your health. Your sister-in-law will pour you a big glass of water, and you should hold your breath and drink it. Your sister-in-law was afraid that the nurses wouldn't know and would be clumsy and forget to tell you."

Gu Shaoxuan knew that Xia Enruo had repeatedly told him not to drink water before she returned, but Qiao Huizhen was a doctor after all, so what she said should be true.

Qiao Huizhen filled three large jars with water for him, watched Gu Shaoxuan drink them all, said a few polite words, and left satisfied.

Before leaving, she glanced inside through the glass window of the ward one last time, and thought to herself with a smile:

"You haven't eaten all day, but you've had a good drink this time. You'll get an IV later, and we'll see if you don't burst from holding your pee. You'll wet the bed and feel terrible."

Qiao Huizhen left satisfied, swaying her hips as her little leather shoes clicked on the ground.

At the newspaper office, after Zhang Xin and Chen Yan finished their intimate moment in the office, Chen Yan copied down all the articles he had interviewed.

"I hate you! Look, you've twisted the collar of my dress so badly, you have to pay for my dress."

Chen Yan spoke in a high-pitched voice, her coy manner pleasing Zhang Xin.

"Sweetie, after we finish eating, let's go to the mall to buy a dress."

Zhang Xin put his arm around Chen Yan's waist and said.

"Do you have money? This dress of mine isn't cheap; with your salary, you probably hand it all over to your employer."

"Look at what you're saying, my fanny pack is bulging."

Chen Yan perked up at the news.

Doesn't your wife, who looks old and haggard, ask you for your salary?

“She asked me for a salary, she doesn’t deserve it! She doesn’t even have a job, her whole family depends on me to support them. My mother said I can’t give her too much money, otherwise she’ll squander it. I only give her 20 yuan a month, which is enough for her and her mother’s five expenses. I lied to her and said I sent the rest of the money back to my parents. She actually believed me. She’s such a country bumpkin, so easy to fool.”

Zhang Xin felt nauseous at the thought of Ge Qiuqin's wrinkled, sallow face; he'd had enough of it over the years. If it weren't for the fact that they had several children and no one to care for them, he would have divorced her long ago and sent her back to the countryside. However, he had already planned that once the children were older and no longer needed to be cared for, he would send them back to his parents' hometown and divorce Ge Qiuqin.

Chen Yan rubbed against Zhang Xin again and again, striking all sorts of seductive poses.

"Come on, you rascal. I'm hungry. Let's have some Western food together and then go shopping."

Zhang Xin pinched her butt, packed his things, and led her out the door.

The two arrived at the central street. The Western restaurant there was run by Russians and was filled with young men and women, all dressed in suits and chatting. It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was packed. Chen Yan took Zhang Xin's arm and they found a private room to sit down.

A waiter dressed in a trendy tuxedo approached with a menu.

"This environment is really nice, no wonder all my colleagues came here."

"I'm glad you like it."

Zhang Xin touched Chen Yan's hand and said.