“When you were unconscious, Dr. Guan paid more attention to you than a doctor should pay to a patient. Also, I saw her wiping your hands and face and talking to you a few times. The expressions on her face could not be explained by ordinary friends.”
"Furthermore, after you woke up, I caught you talking in the ward twice. I'm not blind, so I guessed what was going on."
Jiang Lin was surprised to be discovered at the hospital, and he blushed with embarrassment.
Jiang Ruyu couldn't help but laugh at her younger brother's budding romantic feelings. Sigh, it's not easy for him. He's already in his early twenties and still doesn't have a girlfriend.
"What do you think about your relationship? Do you know about Dr. Guan's family situation? I heard from the nurses at the hospital that Dr. Guan's family is also in the military. There's a big difference between our family and hers."
Jiang Ruyu wasn't saying this because she disagreed with her brother's relationship, but that if there's a significant gap in social status between the two people, both men and women would have reservations.
Jiang Lin scratched his head: "Guan Jin's parents are both military doctors, and their family is indeed better off than ours. But I'm not after her family's wealth. I like her as a person. I don't care what others say. As long as we don't have any objections, what others say doesn't matter."
Jiang Ruyu didn't want to say anything like "public opinion is a fearsome thing" to him: "Think it through yourself. You also need to communicate well with Dr. Guan. You're not that old. You need to be careful about getting married."
Jiang Lin looked at his sister with some hesitation and doubt and asked, "Sis, it seems to me that you don't approve of me and Guan Jin."
Jiang Ruyu shook her head: "I have no objection to you and Guan Jin dating, but how should I put it, it seems that you will be the fastest developing one in our family. You are not that old, so you can seriously consider marriage. Your other half must be completely devoted to you."
Jiang Lin, don't think your sister is selfish. The system's affairs can't be known to a third person, including your future wife. I hope that with 'it's' help, you can lead us further and higher, so that our next generation, and even the generation after that, can live better lives, instead of us becoming pawns in someone else's scheme. Do you understand?
Jiang Lin understood: "I know, sister. It was my brother who let me join the army, and now you... I know what's important, and I know who I am."
"Don't feel burdened. Just live your life as usual. However, people have different levels of closeness and distance. Of course, I care more about my siblings and me and our next generation. I'm saying this in the hope that you can think clearly about what is most important to you."
The siblings' conversation ended before Zheng Yang got off work. There were still a few pieces of beef brisket left, and with the weather still good enough for them to sit for another two days, they would finish them off tomorrow.
Jiang Lin was given a large piece of beef brisket and a chicken to take home so that Jiang Hui could make soup and dishes to nourish Jiang Lin's body. These past few days, Jiang Lin has been drinking some nourishing soup with every meal, and his complexion has improved a lot.
For dinner, I cooked rice, chopped half an old goose to make soup, took out the copper pot we use for hot pot in winter, washed some greens, sliced winter melon, cut two plates of the reserved beef and mutton, sliced potatoes, and also prepared soaked kelp, dried daylily, and dried mushrooms.
The braised beef was ready to eat. I gave a piece to Jiang Hui and the others. Jiang Ruyu sliced it into thin slices, and the sauce was made with minced garlic and chopped Erjingtiao peppers, with a little sesame oil. It tasted amazing when you wrapped it up and ate it.
The two children are almost nine months old now. They can drink a little soup and eat some soft meat, but they can't eat too much because it's easy for them to have indigestion and make it harder for them to poop.
The next day, Jiang Ruyu went to work as usual. She first went to the manager to report back from her leave, and brought him half a catty of tea and a catty of dried scallops as a gift, since the leave she had taken this time was a bit long.
"Oh, Xiao Jiang, you're back. How's your brother?" Manager Wang was a cunning old fox, and for some reason, he had always been very lenient with Jiang Ruyu.
"My brother is fine now and is on leave at home. Thank you for your concern, leaders."
"Haha, alright, you can go back to work now." Manager Wang didn't say much more and let Jiang Ruyu go back.
Jiang Ruyu smiled and nodded before leaving. Manager Wang watched Jiang Ruyu's retreating figure and smiled, thinking that the three siblings of the Jiang family were no ordinary people.
A few days later, on Sunday, Jiang Lin took out the basket of meat and told Zheng Yang that he was about to return to his unit and had gotten it through connections with his comrades.
Jiang Ruyu then brought over a tin oil drum that they had previously used to smoke cured meat. Zheng Yang had modified it, burning cypress branches at the bottom and covering it with oil. After smoking for a day, it was hung in the kitchen so that the cured meat would be smoked by the smoke every time they cooked, making it less likely to spoil.
Not long after the cured meat was prepared, Jiang Lin had to return to his unit. Jiang Ruyu went to buy two boxes of Beijing Eight Delicacies. In fact, Beijing Eight Delicacies are old-fashioned pastries from Beijing, created and invented by the imperial chefs of the past. They are generally made into eight shapes: flat round, ruyi, peach, apricot, kidney, jujube flower, lotus leaf, and oval, which are all auspicious and wishful.
The "Eight Treasures of Beijing" include "Fu" (福, good fortune) cake, "Shou" (寿, longevity) cake, "Lu" (禄, prosperity) cake, "Taishi" (太师, Grand Tutor) cake, jujube flower cake, "Xi" (喜, happiness) cake, pepper and salt cake, and Sachima (萨奇马). Each type has a different filling. Actually, they are not that delicious. It's like a landmark. People who come here on business trips feel like they haven't been there if they don't bring back a box.
I also took some of the freshly smoked cured meat, not too much, just to express my gratitude. Actually, in relationships between men and women, neither party should be too eager; it's best for both to treat each other as equals.
When Jiang Lin left, Grandma Jiang, perhaps because of her advanced age, was very reluctant to let him go: "Da Linzi, Grandma is so old. If you leave, I don't know if I'll be able to wait until you come back next time."
Jiang Lin knelt before his grandmother, his eyes red with tears: "Grandma, don't worry, just wait for me to come back. Next time I come back, I'll bring you my granddaughter-in-law."
Grandma Jiang's cloudy eyes lit up: "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Jiang Lin nodded seriously: "I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, ask my sister. She knows. She even met him and spent several days with him."
Grandma Jiang looked at her granddaughter again, and Jiang Ruyu nodded with a smile: "That's good. Then you can go now and hurry up and marry a wife."
Jiang Lin didn't expect his grandmother to react this way. He said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Okay, I'm leaving now, Grandma. Take good care of yourself and wait for me to bring my wife back."
"Okay, you should go now."
Jiang Lin left under his grandmother's urging, while back home, Han Ling brought good news.
"Really? You're pregnant?" Jiang Hui looked at his wife's belly with a big grin, laughing like a fool.
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