Chapter 64 Meeting the Parents

Tao Nanfeng did not participate in the selection for the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. When the notice was posted, he was guarding the construction site of the hospital.

The rough stone foundation has been completed, and the walls are being built at this time. Since there is a brick factory in Quping Town, all the exterior walls are built with ordinary clay bricks. The walls are 240mm thick, and there are cantilevered waistlines under the windowsills, which alleviate the monotony and rigidity of the facade.

The workers of the construction team are all experienced. They concentrate on applying cement mortar with putty knives, then stacking the bricks neatly and aligning them with horizontal lines to ensure that they are horizontal and vertical and that the mortar is full.

Tao Nanfeng watched the bricklayer's movements with some fascination, and felt that such repetitive and monotonous work was full of rhythmic beauty.

She also started to learn how to lay bricks. She weighed a brick in her hand and shook her head, saying it was too light.

When encountering the need to process bricks during wall corner construction, Tao Nanfeng would aim at the right position, move the putty knife in his right hand up and down, leaving a shadow in the air, and the brick would break into two pieces.

The workers praised: "The cut is smooth, great craftsmanship!"

Tao Nanfeng laughed out loud, feeling a sense of pride in his chest. He piled up the bricks layer by layer, and slowly built the wall in his hands. He felt a great sense of accomplishment.

His skills became more and more sophisticated, and suddenly he heard someone shouting loudly: "Tao Nanfeng, Tao Nanfeng——"

Standing behind a half-person-high brick wall, Tao Nanfeng looked up, and his eyes suddenly shone brightly. It was Li Huilan and Wei Min. They were finally back!

Tao Nanfeng put down his work and walked over quickly: "How is it going? Is the purchase of medical equipment going smoothly?"

Li Huilan nodded excitedly: "It went very smoothly! This time when I returned to Jiangcheng, I visited all the hospitals and compiled all the equipment price lists into a book. Then I started to negotiate prices with the medical equipment manufacturers. It was really exhausting."

Wei Min interrupted her: "Okay, okay, you can report the details later. Let's go back to the field office to cancel our leave, and then go back to the educated youth camp to take a shower and change clothes, okay? I've been sitting in the car for so long, my whole body is about to stink."

Li Huilan rolled her eyes at him and said to Tao Nanfeng, "Don't worry, I've learned something from you this time. I've purchased a batch of new equipment and have signed a letter of intent. In addition, I also bought a batch of old equipment that is 70% new from a hospital. The quality is good and it's definitely cheap."

She smiled mysteriously, "I'll tell you tonight. This process was really full of ups and downs. Not only did I not exceed the budget given to me by the director, I also saved one third. Do you think I'm great?"

Tao Nanfeng perked up when he heard this and gave her a thumbs up: "Very good!"

No wonder it took more than two months. It turned out that in order to spend the least money and buy the best equipment, Li Huilan went to all the major hospitals in Jiangcheng and even managed to buy a batch of medical equipment that was 70% new.

That’s right, it doesn’t matter if equipment like hospital beds, stretchers, and IV stands are old. The farm is in a state of disrepair and needs to be renovated, so every bit of savings counts. Li Huilan really put her heart and soul into this time, and she deserves great praise.

Wei Min's two hands were busy, as he was carrying two large travel bags and a large backpack on his back. Sweat was pouring down his temples, leaving purple marks on his palms, and he was gasping for breath due to exhaustion.

He begged for mercy, "Auntie, please, stop talking. Can we go back to the educated youth camp and put down our luggage first?"

Li Huilan burst into laughter, swung the large bag on her shoulder behind her, and winked at Tao Nanfeng: "This kid is quite useful, let's go back first. I brought you a gift, I'll give it to you later."

Looking at Li Huilan's lively appearance, Tao Nanfeng smiled and was secretly happy for her in his heart.

Li Huilan is the eldest in the family. She has always had a strong sense of responsibility. She regards herself as the eldest sister everywhere and is used to taking care of others. It's rare to see her so cheerful and happy, like a little girl, which is a good thing.

Apparently, sending Wei Min along all the way was really a party.

At night, Xiangbei and Tao Nanfeng returned to the educated youth point together. The educated youth in Jiangcheng were all excited about the director's visit.

Because Qiao Yadong successfully obtained the recommendation form, even Xiao Aiyun brought her younger sister to celebrate, and the dinner was rich and lively.

Xiangbei brought two bottles of homemade corn wine, which pushed the lively atmosphere to the extreme.

Xiao Aixia drank tea instead of wine, her eyes sparkling as she raised her head to toast Qiao Yadong: "Brother Qiao, you are going to college soon. I wish you a bright future and a successful career!"

Qiao Yadong looked at the thin little girl in front of him, and noticed Xiao Aiyu's vague concern for him out of the corner of his eyes. Thinking of what he had said to her, he felt a little guilty.

Qiao Yadong smiled gently, bent down to clink glasses with Xiao Aixia, and took a sip of wine: "Thank you! You should study hard too, brother is waiting for you on the university campus."

Xiao Aixia had been on the farm for three months. She had eaten her fill and had grown taller and fatter. She looked like a young girl. She straightened her back and said loudly:

"I will study hard and go to college like my brothers and sisters in the future, learn knowledge, and become a useful person to the farm and the country."

Qiao Yadong walked around the crowd and came to Xiao Aiyun, raised the wine glass in front of her, his eyes full of apology.

"Xiao Aiyun, I want to say sorry to you. In the winter when I first arrived at the farm, I was very naive about emotions and said some hurtful words. Please forgive me!"

Xiao Aiyun heard the words Qiao Yadong once said.

"We, the people at the No. 6 Youth Camp, are not allowed to date before we are 20 years old... We young people are responsible for developing the farm and leading the villagers to live a good life. If we have thoughts about it now, it means our thoughts are corrupted!"

A faint smile gradually appeared at the corner of her mouth, like a winter jasmine flower trying hard to bloom in the cold wind.

"What you said may have been harsh at the time, but if you think about it carefully afterwards, you are half right. How can you take care of your family if you haven't established your career? You build roads and mine, I teach seriously, Tao Nanfeng works on infrastructure, and we are all busy with our careers together. It's quite interesting."

Meeting her kind and honest gaze, Qiao Yadong felt even more tormented.

"No, you don't have to speak for me. It was indeed my fault. I was cowardly and timid and didn't dare to face my inner feelings. I used my busy career as an excuse to cover up my selfishness and incompetence. I was just taking my anger out on others."

Qiao Yadong drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. The farm wine was strong and it was so spicy that tears welled up in his eyes.

He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes while coughing, and explained sheepishly: "I can't drink, sorry."

There is no price to regret. If we had been brave and honest at that time, perhaps everything would have been different.

At this moment, Tao Nanfeng was listening to Li Huilan's excited recounting of her adventures in Jiangcheng Hospital.

"Oh, the head of the equipment department of the Seventh Hospital refused to see me. Fortunately, my father has some connections in the medical system, and I finally got to see him through the back door. When the other party saw Wei Min's ferocious appearance, he was so scared that he called the security guard, thinking that it was the family of the patient who had an accident the day before yesterday who came to cause trouble.

After finally explaining it clearly, I took out the purchase list and wanted to buy their old equipment. The equipment department leader was arrogant and Wei Min was shouting at the door again, telling me not to say anything more to him and to hurry to the next store. Only then did he calm down and talk business with me obediently. ”

Li Huilan sighed: "Alas, when doing purchases and business outside, women always suffer losses. Fortunately, Wei Min came with me this time, otherwise I don't know if I could save money."

Wei Min scratched his head after hearing her sincere words: "Well, actually I didn't help much, I just kept the place under control. The main business is handled by Li Huilan, she is sweet-talking and hardworking, I admire her from the bottom of my heart."

The two of them flattered each other, and the smart educated youth saw something was going on and started to make a fuss.

"You two think I'm good and I think you're good, so why don't you just be together?"

"That's right, we don't have a pair here at the educated youth site, so it's up to you guys."

"Wei Min, show some manliness and confess your feelings! Confess your feelings!"

Li Huilan's face turned red with shame. Wei Min looked at her quietly, and his slightly dark face also had a little ochre color.

Xiangbei held Tao Nanfeng's hand under the table, they smiled at each other, and suddenly the air became sweet and sticky.

Li Huilan waited for a long time but Wei Min did not take any action. She pretended to be calm and rolled her eyes at everyone. She laughed exaggeratedly and said, "What are you doing? You are just randomly matching couples..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Wei Min suddenly reached out and hugged her: "Li Huilan, I like you!"

Li Huilan's face suddenly turned red to her ears, and she struggled desperately: "Hey, are you crazy?"

Wei Min was very strong and refused to let go: "I like you, did you hear me? Don't think I'm rude, and I don't think you're a bad mouth. Let's have a relationship, okay?"

Li Huilan was really pissed off by him: "How can I be so good at talking? I don't mind you being strong but simple-minded, so you should be grateful. You still dare to say that I am good at talking? Get out of here!"

Wei Min finally succeeded in hugging Li Huilan under the encouragement of the crowd. He was reluctant to let go of the warm and soft beauty in his arms. He grinned and said, "I have strong limbs, so what? If you don't agree to date me, I won't let go."

The educated youth couldn't help but laugh when they saw this pair of bickering lovers praising each other one second and then starting to bicker and fight the next.

Everyone burst into laughter, and banged the table as they laughed.

"Oh my god, Wei Min is awesome, he's a real man!"

"Li Huilan, you must hold on and not let him succeed so easily."

"Whether we Jiangcheng educated youth can successfully become a couple depends on you two."

“Hahahaha…” The laughter seemed to be enough to blow the roof off.

Such excitement and joy gradually relaxed Li Huilan. A soft and sweet light flashed in her eyes. She symbolically struggled for a moment and whispered, "Okay, silly, I agree."

Wei Min pretended not to hear and continued to hold her tightly, even squinting his eyes in enjoyment.

Li Huilan gritted her teeth, raised her foot and stomped down hard.

"Ouch——" Wei Min screamed in surprise, let go of his hands and hugged his stepped leg, then sat down on the chair, crying out in pain.

Li Huilan snorted: "Serves you right!"

Wei Min rubbed his instep and hummed, "You agreed, I heard it, everyone can testify for me."

Everyone clapped their hands on the table in unison: "Testify! Testify!"

Li Huilan blushed and said stubbornly: "What did I agree to? I didn't agree to anything..."

Wei Min was a little anxious, and regardless of the pain in his feet, he rushed over to hug her again: "How can you be so naughty?"

Li Huilan hid behind Tao Nanfeng and made a face at Wei Min.

Wei Min knew Tao Nanfeng's ability and didn't dare to act rashly, especially since Xiang Bei was sitting next to her. He chuckled and glared at Li Huilan: "You just bully me!"

At this moment, everyone lost control and the food in their mouths spat out.

"Oh my god, Wei Min, you're such a wimp!"

"The head of the security department was bullied by a little nurse in the clinic, and you still have the nerve to speak out."

"It's over, it's over. This guy will be a henpecked husband in the future."

Wei Min has always had a good temper. He didn't mind at all when hearing people making fun of him. He just laughed foolishly. However, Li Huilan seemed a little unhappy after hearing what everyone said. She walked out from behind Tao Nanfeng and took the initiative to hold Wei Min's hand.

"What's wrong with being henpecked? I just like Wei Min! I want to be with him, so what?"

Wei Min was surprised and delighted, and held Li Huilan's hand tightly: "You take care of it, you take care of it, I will listen to you from now on."

Happy and fulfilling times always pass by quickly.

At the end of August, Qiao Yadong said goodbye to everyone and packed his bags to go to Jiangcheng to attend university.

Years ago, Tao Nanfeng brought two sets of high school textbooks from home and organized everyone to study together after work, waiting for the college entrance examination system to be restored in 1977.

The main construction of the hospital has been basically completed, with only the garden left to be repaired.

The small pond has been filled with water to raise fish, and the village stonemason has been asked to make the stone table and stone chairs. It is too hot in September, and it is difficult for transplanted flowers and trees to survive. Tao Nanfeng plans to wait until the autumn wind blows before starting to plant trees and flowers.

After being together with Xiangbei for half a year, their relationship gradually stabilized. Tao Nanfeng began to think about their future and spread out the letter paper to report to his father.

"Dad, how are you doing now? You spent the entire summer vacation investigating stilt houses in western Hubei. What new findings did you gain? Are you planning to publish a book?

After hesitating for a long time, I decided to report one thing to you - I am in love.

His name is Xiangbei, and he is a very good person..."

Having written this, Tao Nanfeng stopped writing and stared at the fluttering curtains in a trance.

Xiangbei took a few people out last week and said that now that the hospital is about to be built, they have to start looking for good doctors and nurses. I wonder how his search is going now.

The movement implicated many people. Some highly skilled doctors and nurses were demoted to rural areas and farms because of their background and historical issues. Jiang Kun, a surgeon at Xiufengshan Farm, was one of them.

According to Xiangbei's idea, what he was looking for was a group of medical masters hiding in the countryside and on farms.

Although Xiangbei only graduated from junior high school, his vision and breadth of mind were a hundred times higher than those of many educated youth.

Perhaps because he had seen too many comrades sacrificed in the spearhead company, Xiangbei cared very much about his family, friends and lover around him, and he devoted his all to the development of the farm.

It is because he is full of sense of responsibility and works hard for it that Tao Nanfeng falls in love with him. If he was a mediocre person who only knew how to follow Tao Nanfeng, he would not be worthy of Tao Nanfeng's love and trust.

"Dad, I don't know how you would define love. Is it the traditional sense of being well-matched, or the mutual appreciation of fighting side by side, or the deep friendship of supporting each other through thick and thin. My feelings towards Xiangbei are very complicated.

Yes, I love him very much.

This love first began with his care for the educated youth when they first arrived at the farm, and they gradually built up trust in the process of building roads, mining, and fighting against the original leadership team together.

I believe whatever Xiangbei says; I think whatever Xiangbei decides is correct.

I am not good at housework, I don’t like socializing, and I don’t like interactions with utilitarian purposes. I may not be able to be like my mother, a wife and mother who possesses traditional Chinese virtues as well as a career woman with cultural heritage.

Xiangbei can appreciate my ambition, support my pursuit and tolerate my shortcomings. When I am with him, I don't have to worry about dealing with interpersonal relationships, nor do I have to worry about the trivial matters of food, clothing, housing and transportation. He will silently take care of these things, allowing me to live a relaxed life and work seriously.

I feel that as long as he is by my side, I have confidence and courage. No matter how strong the wind and rain are, I will not be afraid. ”

After writing this in one breath, Tao Nanfeng finally felt a lot more relaxed.

After her mother passed away, her father was the only relative left. I have been in a relationship with Xiangbei for half a year, and it is reasonable for me to tell my father.

Ten days later, Tao Nanfeng was doing landscape design in the office when someone from the mailroom delivered a telegram. When I took it and looked at it, it turned out to be a letter from my father, with just twelve short words written on it.

—I have set out. I will make a decision when I get to the farm.

Seeing that Tao Shouxin had already set out three days ago, Tao Nanfeng suddenly panicked: "It's over, it's over, my dad is coming!"

The author has something to say:

Do you think Dad Tao would agree?