Chapter 327 Casual Chat

Li Xiaoxuan and Nan Zhiyi arranged to meet at the department store in the morning.

After calming down the clingy Xiaoman, Nan Zhiyi took the tram to the entrance of the department store.

From afar, one could see Li Xiaoxuan already waiting there, eagerly anticipating the arrival of her.

"Xiaoxuan, I'm sorry I'm late." Nan Zhiyi quickened her pace.

As soon as Li Xiaoxuan saw her, she affectionately took her arm: "It's not late, it's not late either, I just got here! Come on, let's go in quickly, there seem to be quite a lot of people today."

The two went directly to the counter selling skincare and cosmetic products.

Li Xiaoxuan was clearly a regular customer here. She carefully looked at the various daily necessities under the glass counter and tended to choose products with more exquisite packaging and slightly higher prices.

She picked up two lipsticks with relatively novel packaging and looked at Nan Zhiyi: "Zhiyi, look at this color, will it be too bright for me to wear?"

Nan Zhiyi has a natural sensitivity to color and color matching.

She took the lipstick, lightly tested the color on the back of Li Xiaoxuan's hand, and gave her advice: "This red is slightly orange, which complements your skin tone and makes you look healthy without being too exaggerated. It's great for everyday use."

She then pointed to a powder compact with a finer texture next to her, "If you want a more even base makeup, you can try this one; it doesn't feel as heavy."

Li Xiaoxuan looked convinced: "Yes, Zhiyi, you have good taste! You're always right!"

She readily decided on the items she wanted to buy, asked the sales clerk to issue the receipt, and leaned affectionately against Nan Zhiyi, saying, "Zhiyi, you have no idea, without you, I find shopping so boring, I can't make up my mind about anything. From now on, I'm going to rely on you!"

Nan Zhiyi chuckled and gently patted the back of her hand: "You're praising me so highly, aren't you afraid I'll fall down?"

Li Xiaoxuan took the packaged items and said with a smile, "Don't drop it, I'll hold it up!"

She kept asking, "Zhiyi, are you really not picky? I think the new pearl cream is pretty good too."

Nan Zhiyi shook her head, "Not for now. I told you before that my husband's younger brother lives in the south. Just two days after Xiaoman's birthday last time, he and his girlfriend sent back a big package of things. It wasn't just for Xiaoman; there were also some novel skincare and cosmetic products in it, enough for me to use for a while."

"Oh, that's great! It's so convenient to have a younger brother in the south!" Li Xiaoxuan took her arm and walked out. "Come on, Zhiyi, let's go eat. Donglaishun, it's on me! To reward you for being my advisor all morning."

Upon arriving at Donglaishun, Li Xiaoxuan skillfully cooked mutton around the bubbling copper hot pot, and then began to give Nan Zhiyi special lessons, teaching her the secrets of playing mahjong.

Nan Zhiyi listened with great interest, and was amused by her vivid explanation, laughing heartily.

"Xiaoxuan, you're so funny! Now that you've said that, I don't think mahjong is so complicated anymore."

Li Xiaoxuan proudly raised her chin: "Of course! Just follow me, and I guarantee you'll have great luck and beat them all!"

After lunch, Nan Zhiyi followed Li Xiaoxuan back to the Qin family home.

As the youngest son in his family and having just gotten married, Qin Fen was temporarily living with his parents in a two-story red brick building in the government compound.

Li Xiaoxuan led Nan Zhiyi into the clean and tidy courtyard and went straight into the living room.

The living room is spacious, with terrazzo flooring and a few pieces of slightly worn solid wood furniture. A white crocheted canopy covers the sofa, giving it a dignified yet simple feel.

"Mom, I'm back! Zhiyi from Minister Gu's family is here too!" Li Xiaoxuan called out as soon as she entered the door.

Qin Fen's mother came out from the inner room with a gentle smile on her face: "Welcome, welcome, please come in." Her gaze fell on Nan Zhiyi, "Zhiyi, don't be shy, just relax and have fun."

Nan Zhiyi greeted her with a smile: "Aunt Qin, I'm bothering you again."

"Don't bother me, you young people can do what you want." Qin's mother waved her hand and then said to Li Xiaoxuan, "The two friends you invited have arrived and are having tea in the side room."

After saying that, she turned and went back to her room, leaving the young man alone.

Li Xiaoxuan put her things aside and pulled Nan Zhiyi into the side hall.

The mahjong table was already set up, and the other two partners, Mrs. Sun and Dr. Zhao, whom I had met before, had arrived and were sitting on the sofa drinking tea and chatting.

Upon seeing them enter, Madam Sun greeted them first: "Comrade Zhiyi is here! Please sit down, please sit down, we've been waiting for you!" She had a cheerful personality and a bright voice.

Dr. Zhao nodded and smiled at Nan Zhiyi quietly.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the two, Madam Sun couldn't wait to walk to the mahjong table: "Don't just stand there chatting, sit down quickly, let's play and talk! I haven't touched a mahjong tile in so long, I'm so impatient!"

Upon hearing Madam Sun's words, Li Xiaoxuan teased, "Sister Sun, your addiction is bigger than anyone else's!"

Madam Sun laughed to herself, "I came here to give you money. Seeing you young ladies win so happily makes me happy too!"

The four men sat down at the card table, chatting and laughing. They shuffled and stacked the cards, and the crisp clinking sound quickly warmed up the atmosphere.

While playing cards, they inevitably chatted about local gossip. Nan Zhiyi rarely interrupted, mostly listening with a smile, finding it all quite amusing.

Mrs. Sun talked about the interesting things happening at her husband's workplace.

"Our newspaper recently had a few college graduates assigned to it. One young man, probably wanting to show off, volunteered to cover an important meeting. Guess what happened? He was so nervous that when he was pouring water for the leader, his hand trembled, and half a cup of hot tea spilled all over the leader's pants! Oh my god, Old Deng was so embarrassed when he came back and talked about it!"

Everyone laughed when they heard that.

After Madam Sun finished telling this joke, Dr. Zhao, who had been quiet all along, pushed out a card.

"Hey, speaking of which, we recently got a new doctor at our hospital, and he's in the surgery department."

Li Xiaoxuan asked curiously, "You're here, why are you sighing?"

Dr. Zhao, who is usually mild-mannered, frowned and became indignant at this moment, which was rare for him.

"It's just that her skills aren't up to par. Last week, she was the lead surgeon for a simple appendectomy and almost ruptured the patient's intestines. Luckily, the head surgeon was there and took over in time. This isn't the first time."

Mrs. Sun: "Surgery? You can't do it if you're not skilled enough. Who's this new doctor?"

Dr. Zhao seemed hesitant, but still spoke up, "Everyone in the hospital knows she's not skilled enough, but no one can touch her. I heard... she got in through connections with the Luo family."

"The Luo family?"

Madam Sun's hand, which was about to touch the cards, froze in mid-air. She quickly exchanged a glance with Li Xiaoxuan beside her and hurriedly lowered her voice to ask, "Is it the Luo family from the military region?"

Dr. Zhao nodded, his expression disdainful: "Yes, it's his family. I heard that Dr. Lu is the fiancée of the eldest grandson of the Luo family. She got in because of that connection, and even the head of our department has to give her some leeway."

After she finished speaking, she seemed to realize that she had said something inappropriate, so she stopped talking and focused on the cards in front of her.