Chapter 31: Find a good father-in-law and someone will support you

The most uncomfortable thing was that the bitter taste stuck in my mouth before I could finish speaking. When I ate, I always felt that the dishes were overcooked. Dr. Chen said, "Chinese food abroad is like this. It's not delicious. It's not as good as what I cook myself."

"Ah...it's okay..." Li Wenjing's thoughts were pulled back to the restaurant. He had booked a Chinese restaurant. It was hard to say what cuisine it was, but they had all kinds of dishes anyway.

"Can you cook?"

"When you study abroad, you need to eat something good. The dishes in the cafeteria are not tasty. Besides, I come from the countryside and I can cook a few dishes."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone to show her the dishes he'd cooked. He scrolled through the pictures one by one, and when Li Wenjing praised him, he smiled until wrinkles appeared on his face. After the meal was over and the waiter brought dessert, Li Wenjing sat down next to him and showed him her laptop and some scratch paper.

"I checked the data from the French testing company today. The subsidence exceeded predictions. Their project team considers it to be within normal limits. The strata in that area are complex, so according to EU standards, there are some issues. So I recalculated a bit. Could you please take a look?"

"There's no such thing as precision in engineering; it's all about approximation." Dr. Chen glanced at her for a few seconds, then turned to look at her. "Don't worry, you haven't even finished your meal, and you're already working. Otherwise, Engineer Zhang will say you're good at everything, and you'll just keep working forever."

"I'm sorry, I...I'll go pay the bill first. Thank you for helping me."

As soon as Li Wenjing stood up, he immediately stopped her, saying "I'll do it, I'll do it". The two rushed to the front desk. Finally, after much persuasion, Dr. Chen paid the bill and said she would treat him next time.

"Then I'll buy you a drink later?"

He sighed, "I still can't drink enough with my boss at the table..."

They both laughed, and Li Wenjing said, "Okay, let's all sit at the children's table and have some non-alcoholic drinks."

"I'd better not drink it. I need to check your calculations."

The two discussed the local geological conditions for a while. Dr. Chen revised her draft and gave her a new approximate calculation formula. By the time they were done, it was almost ten o'clock and the restaurant was about to close. After putting away their computers, they moved to a nearby bar, where hot pop music was playing. Amid the lively crowd, Li Wenjing felt out of place. She quietly sipped her peach juice while Dr. Chen ordered a glass of sparkling water. They exchanged glances and couldn't help but smile.

"I think we're quite compatible. Let's get to know each other more in the future."

"We've only met twice."

"All around."

"As expected of Chen Bo, rigorous."

He burst into laughter, laughing at her for making a dirty joke. Li Wenjing laughed too, "No wonder everyone calls you Dr. Chen. Usually we call you Wang Bo or Li Bo."

After joking, Li Wenjing asked, "Why did you come to Africa?"

"To make money. I have an older brother and a younger sister at home. Once my younger sister starts working, I'll be able to relax. How about you?"

"I'm from the countryside too. Who doesn't make money?" Li Wenjing thought for a moment. "I have younger brothers, too. Brother Chuan may not have told you that my parents don't have a pension."

He was obviously silent for a moment. Li Wenjing smiled and said, "You have a doctorate and such a high degree of education. Once you return to China and settle down, you can find someone better."

"It's hard to find a partner abroad, especially in Africa. With our major, it's even harder to find one working in engineering." He took a sip of water, his cheeks puffing out and then slumping. "I don't think this is a problem. I studied all the way up, from college to graduate school to a doctorate, with basically no one supporting me. It's the same when I return to China. I really think you're a good person, and I like you."

Li Wenjing continued to joke, saying, "Find a good father-in-law, and you'll have someone to support you."

"I'd like to be liked by girls. I've had this dream before..." He shook his head. "It's better to just live a down-to-earth life."

"Yeah, it's better to rely on yourself than on anyone else." Li Wenjing took out his wallet, counted out the money for the drinks, and put it on the table. "I have to pay this time."

He walked her home. The bus route had been changed, and the bus stop near Li Wenjing's house had also been relocated, so Li Wenjing offered to give him a ride. It was almost midnight when they got home. Yu Di had just returned from overtime and was clamoring for a midnight snack. Li Wenjing was at the dining table, checking the formula Dr. Chen had given her.

"Come on, you still have to work after coming back. What are you going to eat for dinner? Are there any leftovers?"

Li Wenjing was afraid that she would ask again out of curiosity, so she evaded the question by saying that she was eating out and went back to her room. Dr. Chen sent a message saying that he was going to bed and asked her to rest early.

"I'm doing some calculations, which are quite complex and usually require simulation software," Li Wenjing said. "The French may not believe us, so I have to write everything down before I can bring it to them."

"That's how white foreigners are. They haven't been in Africa for so many years in vain. We Chinese have only been here for a short time, so we're still at a disadvantage in many aspects."

"It doesn't matter who this problem is, but if it's not resolved, it will cause safety problems."

"Take your time. This question is very complicated and could be published as a paper."

"Is that okay? I'm planning to publish a paper, get a job title, and apply for graduate school."

"You're going to continue your studies abroad? Master's and doctoral studies are very tiring."

"What are you doing? I still want to study more."

Her parents never cared about her education. They thought she didn't need to study much, that as a girl, she could only go to college or a junior college, get a job, and then get married and start a family when she was old enough, and they would have "accomplished their mission." Her grandmother loved her the most and often asked her about her studies. Her mother told her that her grandmother's family used to be landlords, and her father was a doctor, a rare intellectual in that era. Her grandmother had been literate since childhood, but later the family's land was confiscated, and because of their bad class background, they were demoted to their village. When Li Wenjing heard this, she felt upset for a whole day. During winter break, she saw her grandmother, who asked her how she did on the exams. She said she ranked fifth. She showed her the certificate, and she was very happy, praising her for her academic ability. Li Wenjing then said she wanted to go to high school, college, and even get a doctorate.

"This is incredible! We have a female doctor in our family!"

The saddest thing was that she didn't live to see herself become a doctor.

Li Wenjing thought of her grandmother. Every year before the Chinese New Year, her family would go to the mountain to sweep the graves. Her grandparents, her maternal grandparents, and her cousin... many of them were buried on the mountain.

The messages from home were folded and hadn't been seen for a long time. Li Wenjing still sent 10,000 yuan every month as before. She thought that there had been too much rain at home this year and the grave might need to be rebuilt. She was about to contact her father to pay attention, but when she opened the chat bar, there was a long string of voice messages, all about receiving and sending money. Li Wenjing didn't read it carefully. After sending the message, she suddenly saw that the other party was typing.

They didn't recognize all the characters, so most of the messages were voice messages. Li Wenjing waited for a while and found a text message.

"Junjun is going on winter vacation. He has a partner and is applying for a visa. As their older sister, you should take them out to play."

"What do you mean? Not to mention that I don't have any vacation time, I can't even take Junjun out, so why bring his girlfriend into the mix?"

Li Wenjing was furious. "Why are you asking? He's having his own fun. Tell him to come find me himself."

"You get angry the moment you talk. Now that you've made it, you'll just ignore your brother. I don't care what you do. Just get Junjun a visa and give us parents some face..."

Li Wenjing was so angry she couldn't even read the long string of text messages. Her head was buzzing like an ear full of mosquitoes. She dropped her phone and covered her ears with her hands. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but her mind was full of math formulas. She even did math in her dreams. WeChat messages from her father, mother, and brother bombarded her. Gu Weiyi also added to the chaos, saying he was going to Congo and wouldn't be back. She frantically scrolled through her phone, but the input method had problems and she couldn't send anything. She could only fret. A group of people in the office laughed at her, laughing at her for overestimating her abilities and having her results rejected by the French.

Li Wenjing woke up from her dream in fright. It was just past five o'clock and the sky was still dark. She couldn't fall asleep anyway, so she simply got up, washed up, sat at the dining table, and stared at last night's draft with a pen in hand.