Jia Yuan turned to look at her father beside her, and Wang Ziwen shook her head in agreement, suppressing a laugh: "I don't have any money either. All the money in our family is with your mother."
Jiayuan and Jiadong both turned to look at Li Qin at the same time.
Why are you looking at me when you're asking your uncle for a red envelope?
As soon as Li Qin finished speaking, Ding Qiunan came out of the house, holding two red envelopes wrapped in red paper. She held them up and said, "I have red envelopes here. I'll give them to whoever wishes me a Happy New Year."
The two little ones glanced at each other, then ran over, calling out "Auntie, Auntie!" in a much sweeter tone than usual.
The two happily accepted the red envelope from Ding Qiunan, opened it, and found ten yuan inside. They jumped for joy.
Li Chu shook his head. They're all the kind of people who never learn from their mistakes. Have they forgotten where last year's red envelopes went?
Seeing that Ding Qiunan had also gotten up, Li Qin washed her hands and went into the kitchen to make dumplings.
After greeting Wang Ziwen, the girl followed her inside to help her sister.
Seeing Li Qin walk into the kitchen, Li Chu waved to Jia Yuan and Jia Dong and called them over. He took out a stack of one-cent coins from his pants pocket and gave each of them ten coins.
After taking the money, Wang Jiayuan said, "Uncle, didn't you run out of money?"
Li Chu glanced back at the kitchen, then turned to pat his niece's hair: "Keep your voice down. Are you stupid? If I give you money in front of your mother, do you think it will go into your pockets? Have you forgotten where your New Year's money went?"
Then she turned to Wang Jiadong and said, "Jiadong, you're so old and still so silly."
Jia Dong and Jia Yuan realized what their uncle meant. That's right, every year the New Year's money ended up in their mother's pocket, and they didn't get a single penny.
The two looked down at the ten yuan their aunt had given them and suddenly it didn't seem so appealing anymore.
"Alright, hurry up and put the money I gave you away so Mom doesn't find out. Jiadong, go buy some treats for your sister later."
The two nodded and quickly put the money into their pockets.
Suddenly, Wang Jiadong and Wang Jiayuan both turned to look at Wang Ziwen next to them.
Wang Ziwen stood by the side for the rest of the day, watching their little actions without saying a word.
At this moment, he saw his two children looking at him, and he smiled and waved his hand: "Don't look at me, your uncle is giving you money, I don't care, and I won't tell Mom. If you get found out by her, then there's nothing I can do."
The two were relieved when their father said he wouldn't tell on them. As for whether their mother would find out, they would hide it carefully.
Seeing the two of them being so cautious, their eyes darting around, made Li Chu laugh uncontrollably.
After finishing the dumplings, the sister's family went home. Wang Ziwen was going to take them to pay New Year's greetings to some of her former leaders later.
After seeing them off, Li Chu took Ding Qiunan and Xiao Hei out for a stroll.
The streets were almost deserted, and the department stores, usually packed with people, were closed for the holiday. Occasionally, a few mischievous children were setting off firecrackers by the roadside.
The two walked slowly like this, the girl taking out sunflower seeds and peanuts from her pocket and popping them into her mouth as she went. Li Chu now spends all his free time sitting down and peeling these things for his wife, so she can keep them in her pocket and eat them anytime.
Every morning and evening, she also drinks a cup of prepared milk powder and canned fruit. Ding Qiunan feels that she has gained some weight in just a few days, which is a happy kind of trouble for the girl.
After wandering around for a while, the two went home. There wasn't much to do at home, so they both went to the study. The girl continued to write down the Chinese herbal medicines, while Li Chu began to organize his third notebook.
The ringing of the telephone in the living room broke the tranquility of the study. Hearing the phone ring, Li Chu's heart skipped a beat.
This phone has rarely rung since I installed it, so why did it ring today?
Li Chu looked up at the girl, and Ding Qiunan happened to turn around and look at him at the same time, a hint of unease flashing in her eyes.
Without thinking much, Li Chu stood up and quickly walked into the living room to answer the phone.
"I hope nothing bad happens?" Li Chu wondered to himself.
The voice on the other end of the phone put Li Chu's mind at ease a little; it was her brother-in-law calling.
"Xiao Chu, I need to trouble you with something. My boss's son has a health problem. Could you take a look at him?"
After hearing Wang Ziwen's words, Li Chu was completely relieved. As long as it wasn't a family matter, it wasn't a big deal. What followed was a headache. This brother-in-law, getting him work on the first day of the Lunar New Year—that was really something.
That's what she was thinking, but what she said aloud was, "Brother-in-law, when?"
"The sooner the better, preferably now. Should I send someone to your place, or should you make the trip yourself?"
Why the rush? Li Chu raised an eyebrow. It seemed there was more than one problem, otherwise they wouldn't be in such a hurry.
Li Chu thought about it and decided to make the trip himself; he didn't like patients coming to his house.
“I’ll go there myself. Just tell me the address and I’ll ride my bike there.”
The place Wang Ziwen mentioned wasn't far from his place; it was the staff quarters of the district's government offices.
Li Chu hung up the phone and looked up to see Ding Qiunan standing at the study door, looking at him with concern.
He smiled at the girl and said, "It's nothing, it was my brother-in-law who called. He wants me to come over and help someone with a medical condition."
Ding Qiunan visibly breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it wasn't work-related. She then asked, "Shall we go now?"
Li Chu nodded: "Okay, I'll go now and come back as soon as I'm done watching." As he spoke, he walked to the coat rack and started putting on his cotton-padded jacket and coat.
The girl walked up to him and helped him straighten his clothes: "Take it easy on the road, don't rush."
"I know, if you get hungry later, just cook some dumplings first, you don't need to wait for me."
"Okay, I'll eat first if I'm hungry." After he changed his shoes, the girl put her bag on his shoulder.
Li Chu didn't let the girl see him out. He was already dressed lightly inside, and it would be troublesome if he caught a cold outside.
He arrived at the destination in less than ten minutes and saw his sister and brother-in-law standing at the gate waiting for him from afar. Li Qin stood there with a dark face, while Wang Ziwen stood beside her with a forced smile.
He saw his younger brother Li Qin and Wang Ziwen come to greet him.
As soon as they met, Wang Ziwen said with a smile, "Xiao Chu, I'm so sorry to have given you something to do during the New Year holiday."
"What kind of brother-in-law are you? On the first day of the Lunar New Year, you dragged your brother-in-law out to see a doctor. Couldn't you have waited until after the New Year? It's not like he's going to die anytime soon." Li Qin scolded Wang Ziwen in front of her brother.
"My dear wife, can we keep our voices down? That's not just my boss, he's your boss too."
Li Chu knew that his sister scolded her brother-in-law in front of him because she was worried that he would feel uncomfortable if he was called out to see patients on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Smiling and waving his hand, Li Chu said, "Sister, we're all family, so let's not talk like that. Helping my brother-in-law is helping me too. He's helped me so many times and never said a word, so let's not stand on ceremony."
Then, looking at Wang Ziwen, he said, "Brother-in-law, what's the patient's condition? Tell me about it first."
Seeing that her younger brother really didn't mind, Li Qin smiled with relief. It was precisely because they were siblings that she was even more worried.
This was her only remaining relative from her maternal family. She still clearly remembers how her younger brother used to run after her when he was little.
Conditions were tough in Nanniwan back then, and her parents were often away from home due to work. She took care of her younger brother all by herself. Whenever there was something special, she would give it to him, but he would always insist that she eat first, and he would throw a tantrum if she didn't.
Once, she was sick and lying in bed crying because she felt so uncomfortable. Her younger brother ran over and, while wiping away her tears, cried and said, "Sister, when I grow up, I want to be a doctor so that you won't have to feel so uncomfortable anymore." Her brother was only six years old that year.
Later, when she learned that her younger brother had actually been admitted to medical school, she cried uncontrollably in Wang Ziwen's arms.
My younger brother has remembered what he said when he was a child for more than ten years and has been trying to remember it.
Seeing Wang Ziwen beside her, who was about to speak but then turned to look at her, Li Qin took a few steps to the side, said nothing, and quietly waited for them.
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