Chapter 167 The Decision
Zhou Xiangyang gave a disapproving look and said confidently, "It's no exaggeration. You look at yourself every day, so naturally you won't notice any changes. In any case, the most important thing right now is to help you improve your health."
He didn't even need to weigh him; he could tell at a glance that Lin Yuanshu had lost weight. His eyes were his scale.
Lin Yuanshu blinked, not wanting to refute Zhou Xiangyang's words and become a spoilsport, so she nodded and smiled in agreement: "Okay, I want to drink your crucian carp soup tomorrow. It feels like it's been a long time since I've had it, and I really miss it."
“No problem.” Zhou Xiangyang said enthusiastically, his fighting spirit burning. He would raise Lin Yuanshu’s body back to its former size. In his eyes, a body with flesh was a sign of health.
An hour later, Zhou Xiangyang brought out dinner from the kitchen, which included sweet and sour pork ribs, stewed chicken with dried mushrooms, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and other dishes that Lin Yuanshu liked.
Fortunately, Director Huang's assistant had told him in advance that Lin Yuanshu was going back to Beijing today, so he went to the market early in the morning to buy some vegetables, meat and fruit that Lin Yuanshu liked.
If he's home alone, he can just grab something to eat and be done with it.
Lin Yuanshu sat at the dining table, enjoying the long-awaited meal prepared by Zhou Xiangyang. She felt incredibly happy, as she had missed Zhou Xiangyang's cooking the most during her time in the epidemic area.
The food prepared in the canteen in the epidemic area can only be described in two words: edible. To put it nicely, it emphasizes the original flavor of the food; to put it bluntly, it contains no seasonings other than salt.
She couldn't understand why Zhou Xiangyang's cooking was so delicious, just as she couldn't understand why the cafeteria food was so bad.
Watching Lin Yuanshu enjoy his meal with such a happy expression, Zhou Xiangyang felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction, even more so than if he himself had eaten something delicious.
After dinner, Lin Yuanshu and Zhou Xiangyang washed the dishes together and cleaned the kitchen and living room. She was not one to think that everything was fine once the dishes were put down.
After doing all that, Lin Yuanshu took warm water to the toilet to take a shower. It was summer, and if he didn't shower for a day, he would feel sticky all over.
After Lin Yuanshu finished showering, he dried his hair in the living room, while Zhou Xiangyang went to the bathroom to take a shower.
When Zhou Xiangyang came out of the bathroom, Lin Yuanshu had also dried her hair halfway. Luckily, she didn't have long hair anymore, so drying it wasn't too much trouble. She really missed modern hair dryers!
The main reason was that it was inconvenient to take care of her hair while living in the epidemic area. She was worried that long hair would cause lice, so she simply decided to go all out and grow her hair short, not too short, just shoulder-length, which was just enough to tie up.
The two went back to their room together and chatted. As they talked, they shared their lives over the past year. Although they kept in touch and wrote letters to each other, there were some things that were not easy to write in their letters.
Lin Yuanshu pursed his lips, leaned on Zhou Xiangyang's shoulder, and was extremely conflicted about whether or not to tell Zhou Xiangyang about the resumption of the college entrance examination.
She felt her heart was split in two. One half told her that after spending so much time together, Zhou Xiangyang was undoubtedly a trustworthy person; the other half warned her that one should always be wary of others, and that trusting too much could lead to disaster.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and made up her mind: "Xiangyang, when I was in the epidemic area, I overheard someone saying that the leaders above will announce the resumption of the college entrance examination in a while, and then we can all take the college entrance examination and go to university."
Zhou Xiangyang paused for a moment, then said excitedly, "This is really good news."
Lin Yuanshu gently pushed Zhou Xiangyang away, looked up at Zhou Xiangyang's face, remained silent for a moment, and slowly said, "I plan to take the college entrance examination next year. Once I get into university, it means I can't get pregnant for the next four years. So I want to get pregnant as soon as possible and have a child before I take the college entrance examination next year. Then I will have free time to be with the child. If I can't get pregnant within the stipulated time, then pretend I didn't say this. We can talk about having a child after I graduate from university. What are your thoughts on this? How long do you plan to go to university?"
She made this decision after careful consideration. Firstly, she would be 31 years old by the time she finished university. In modern times, it wouldn't be a problem since she would still be suitable for childbearing. However, in this era of underdeveloped medical care, she felt it was better to get pregnant sooner, since it would be easier for her body to recover at a younger age.
Secondly, pregnancy now will have less impact on her work. When the batch of college graduates from 1977 comes out, the competition will be even more intense. How will she have time to get pregnant and have children?
She didn't want to be in such a hurry, but there was nothing she could do about it. In 1977 and 1978, employees who had worked for more than five years could attend university with a salary. In 1979, this benefit was no longer available and was replaced by employee scholarships, which were certainly not as good as paid time off.
Therefore, she has no choice but to take the college entrance examination next year. She would rather work harder than lose the opportunity to study with a salary.
She had hesitated about whether to give up going to university, but after talking with Wu Qin, she felt that a university degree was still quite important. If she wanted to climb higher, she really couldn't do without it.
It just goes to show that plans can't keep up with changes!
Zhou Xiangyang thought about it carefully for a moment, then said seriously, "I think it's great. You're the one who suffers the most from childbirth. You can have the baby whenever you want. I have no objection at all."
Lin Yuanshu touched his nose and said with difficulty, "If things go according to my plan, you might have to stay home to take care of the children when I go to university. I'm not comfortable leaving them with your mother, and my mother is getting old. Even if she takes care of them, you'll have to lend a hand. At least you won't be able to take the college entrance exam for the next few years."
That's how life is after marriage. Either she or Zhou Xiangyang sacrifices themselves. And she's a bit selfish, so she's unwilling to sacrifice herself.
Even if she could hire a nanny to take care of the child, she and Zhou Xiangyang couldn't just sit back and do nothing; someone had to take care of the child.
Zhou Xiangyang hugged Lin Yuanshu tightly and whispered in Lin Yuanshu's ear, "I know what impact your decision will have. I'm willing to stay home and take care of the child. Anyway, it's just that I can't take the college entrance examination for the next few years, not that I can't take it for the rest of my life. Considering the great sacrifice I've made, please love me more! Never leave me."
His tone carried a hint of pleading, begging Lin Yuanshu to pay more attention to him.
Without hesitation, Lin Yuanshu hugged Zhou Xiangyang back and said firmly, "How could I possibly bear to leave you!"
If Zhou Xiangyang is particularly chauvinistic, she wouldn't even want to continue the marriage, let alone have children.
Zhou Xiangyang received Lin Yuanshu's promise, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He was not afraid of making sacrifices, but he was afraid that he would be useless to Lin Yuanshu. Being useless meant that he could be abandoned.
Therefore, he preferred to make sacrifices. The more he sacrificed, the less likely Lin Yuanshu would leave him. He used the thread of guilt to bind Lin Yuanshu.
Zhou Xiangyang looked at Lin Yuanshu with deep affection, then cupped Lin Yuanshu's face and kissed him without hesitation.
They hadn't been intimate for so long that the moment they touched, it was like dry tinder meeting a raging fire—completely uncontrollable. Plus, since they no longer needed any special protection, their actions became even more intense.
Before she knew it, it was time for Lin Yuanshu to start work. She went to see Director Huang early in the morning to discuss her work arrangements for the coming days.
Director Huang pushed a large stack of documents in front of Lin Yuanshu and said with a smile, "After the Minister of Health learned that you were going back to Beijing, he decided to entrust you with the research and development of anti-tuberculosis drugs. I collected these documents for you. You can take a good look at them. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me. I will help you find the information. As for the team members, you don't need to worry about them. The Minister of Health has decided that our institute will send half of the personnel, and the other team members will be transferred from various research institutes. You just need to focus on your work."
Lin Yuanshu's expression was complicated. She hadn't expected the Minister of Health to trust her so much and be willing to entrust her with this important task. This was unlike the previous research on generic drugs or drug production processes; this was research on new drugs.
If she weren't planning to get pregnant or take the college entrance exam, she would be very excited, but now, she could only politely decline, saying, "Director Huang, I'm glad that you and the Minister of Health trust me so much, but I'm worried that I'm not up to the task for such an important project. I know nothing about anti-tuberculosis drugs."
Director Huang waved his hand dismissively, saying with complete trust, "Both the Minister of Health and I believe in your abilities. You were completely ignorant about penicillin and other drugs before, yet you still managed to complete the project. This time will be no exception."
Lin Yuanshu said somewhat embarrassedly, "But the previous projects weren't about researching new drugs! This time the challenge is much greater."
Director Huang stroked his chin, looking at Lin Yuanshu thoughtfully, and said with a puzzled tone, "I know your personality. You're not the kind of person who gives up easily. Why are you unwilling to take on this project this time? Just tell me the truth."
Lin Yuanshu thought for a moment, but couldn't think of a better excuse. Continuing with this excuse would only make Director Huang suspicious of her, so she could only tell the truth: "I'm planning to have a baby soon."
Director Huang asked in shock, "Aren't you infertile?"
He often heard others say that Lin Yuanshu was good at everything, except that she couldn't have children. He used to feel sorry that Lin Yuanshu couldn't have a child as amazing as her. He didn't expect that Lin Yuanshu could have children, but she just hadn't planned to have children before.
Lin Yuanshu subconsciously asked, "Who's lying?"
This is blatant slander.
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
Director Huang rubbed his temples. Lin Yuanshu had really given him a difficult problem. It would have been better if Lin Yuanshu had been infertile; at least then he wouldn't have so many problems.
Of course, he couldn't stop Lin Yuanshu from having children, after all, he already had several children at Lin Yuanshu's age.
He couldn't let Lin Yuanshu be unable to become the child's mother because of his own selfish reasons.
“Sigh, this project is absolutely indispensable to you. If you can’t take on this task, the Minister of Health will likely assign it to someone from another research institute, which is something I don’t want to see. I will have Team Leader Ye and others help you. In the early stages, you can stay away from the sources of risk and be responsible for the theoretical work of the research and development plan and analyzing the data during the research and development process… Anyway, this project is not something that can be completed in a short time. You can wait until you give birth before you start doing experiments…” Director Huang’s tone was tinged with helplessness.
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