Zhang Heping rolled his eyes. "You have a wife and children, so you probably don't care about looks. I haven't even brought Xiaoqian home yet, how could I dare to disfigure myself?"

"So when are you and her planning to get married?" Shen Yanming asked.

Zhang Heping, as if all his strength had been drained, leaned back on the sofa and said, "Her family doesn't agree."

"Why? With your qualifications, what else could you possibly want?"

"I don't have any burdens, but I also can't help the other party."

Zhang Heping sighed, "The two of them were getting along really well and were about to get married, but then the wheat harvest started. She's just an elderly couple, and they don't have any relatives to help. Xiaoqian and I are busy at the hospital and can hardly go back."

The parents objected, feeling that having me as a boyfriend was no different from having no boyfriend at all, and wanted Xiaoqian to find someone who could take care of the family.

Neither Shen Yanming nor Bi Qiaoan could respond to this. Zhang Heping was unlikely to resign, and unless Xiaoqian's parents compromised, the marriage would likely fall through.

"Didn't you tell them that even if they couldn't help with the farm work, they could still take care of the elderly couple in their daily lives?"

You don't have parents to support in your old age, so in the future you'll only need to take care of your parents-in-law.

Besides, the young couple can eat in the hospital cafeteria, and the produce from the fields can certainly feed their parents and children. Isn't that more worthwhile than finding a partner with other professions?

Shen Yanming hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say anything about being able to support them without relying on the produce of the land.

Although Zhang Heping had stored a lot of supplies with him, if these were taken out, Xiaoqian's family might suspect their origin. It would be difficult to explain, and he'd only cause trouble for himself.

Zhang Heping understood this principle, so he would never reveal his true financial situation unless he was at his wit's end.

He nodded and said, "I've said it before, and everyone understands this principle, but they just can't get over this hurdle in their hearts. They feel that Xiaoqian will have no one to rely on if she stays with my husband and me."

"That's easy, the whole family can live with you, right? You have so many rooms in your house, can't you fit both of them?"

"They don't want to, saying they feel like they're living under someone else's roof."

"Then you'll marry into the family?"

Zhang Heping rolled his eyes at Shen Yanming. "I don't mind living at Xiaoqian's house, but their distinction between 'marrying' and 'taking a wife' is too clear, which makes me very uncomfortable."

We should have just gotten married, since it's the year we've been living. But then, they started arguing with me about whose surname the child should have.

"Fine, I'll go with them. I don't care. The key is, if I compromise, they'll think I'm 'marrying in,' and I'll have no status or say in the family anymore. That's why we're at an impasse."

"Sigh!" Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan sighed in unison, feeling that their brother's love life was truly full of hardships.

But they couldn't say anything, because whether they advised breaking up or reconciliation, they would end up being blamed.

Bi Qiaoan felt the atmosphere was a bit oppressive, so she smiled and changed the subject: "Why are you talking about this? Didn't we come here to change my husband's dressing? Hurry up and take a look at him! Actually, I think he can have his stitches removed. He hasn't been able to sit still these past two days and keeps wanting to run around."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heping remembered his original purpose for coming.

He made two "oh" sounds, then opened his medical kit to check Shen Yanming's wound.

Old Shen was quite helpless. Hearing his wife say that, he had no choice but to take off his clothes and show them to the two of them in front of them.

Sigh, I had to make a huge sacrifice to distract my brother.

Fortunately, one was his wife and the other was his brother, so there wasn't much to hide. Of course, the most important thing was that his private parts were covered.

Zhang Heping examined Shen Yanming's wounds one by one, marveling at the healed skin and repeatedly asking him, "How did you do that?"

Shen Yanming's eyes flickered, and he said, "I drank half a cup of energy rainwater."

"I see!" Zhang Heping wasn't surprised at all after hearing that. As for greed, there was none at all. He still had two buckets of food at home that he hadn't touched; Old Shen had reminded him to save them.

However, Zhang Heping asked in bewilderment, "What about your face? Why aren't the pustules on your face going away?"

Shen Yanming smiled and said, "It will grow back after it disappears, since I can't completely avoid exposure to sunlight."

Zhang Heping was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Oh my, now I'm finally not afraid of getting infected anymore, and I don't have to be so careful anymore."

Shen Yanming, however, reminded him, "You'd better be careful. If you really get abscesses, it's best not to treat them. Otherwise, if people ask you how you did it, will you tell the truth or not? If you tell the truth, and they ask you for energy rainwater, will you give it to them or not?"

Zhang Heping was speechless, his smile vanished, and he refused to mention the energy rain again. He took out tools from the first-aid kit, preparing to remove Shen Yanming's stitches.

Watching his meticulous movements, Old Shen felt a sharp pain in his teeth. He had barely overcome his fear of having needles and thread pierce his flesh when he was stitched up, and now he had to go through it all again.

He turned his head to the side, refusing to look at Zhang Heping, much less at his fully prepared tools.

Bi Qiaoan was also a little scared of the scene, so she quickly ran away and asked Zhang Heping, "What do you want to eat for supper?" Then she named the four kinds of food.

Zhang Heping smiled and said, "I want them all!" Anyway, Old Shen is a big spender, so he doesn't need to make a choice!

Bi Qiaoan responded and went to serve him some white fungus and lotus seed soup. The soup had just been turned off before he came in, and it was still piping hot.

The act of ladling soup was too easy, and the time spent was insufficient for Zhang Heping to complete the suture removal.

Bi Qiaoan dawdled, deciding to make the ice jelly as well. Although it wasn't convenient to ask Zhang Heping's preferences, she figured any toppings she added would make it incredibly delicious.

She rummaged through the cupboard and found some nuts she had stored, poured some in, and then sprinkled in dried fruit. There were blueberries, strawberries, grapes, mangoes, and the like.

Fresh fruit would be best, but finding it is a bit of a hassle, so Bi Qiaoan took a shortcut. Even so, it's already quite a generous portion. Finally, add a spoonful of watermelon juice, and a bowl of ice jelly is ready.

Bi Qiaoan paced back and forth in the kitchen, unwilling to go out. She could hear her husband, Lao Shen, gasping for breath every now and then, which gave her the creeps.

A few minutes later, Shen Yanming called out, "Wife, come out, it's ready!" Bi Qiaoan then brought out the ice jelly and white fungus soup from the kitchen. She placed them in front of Zhang Heping, causing him to pause in his work of tidying up the tools.

"See? I told you so! Your family has good food, not bad at all!" Zhang Heping said with a smug look, speeding up his work. After putting the tweezers and alcohol into the first-aid kit, he went to the bathroom to wash his hands before picking up the bowl and slurping down his drink.

Ignoring him, Bi Qiaoan looked at Shen Yanming and asked, "Does it hurt?"