In September 1995, Ding Qiunan, who had just turned 55, officially retired and became a full-time housewife.
Sitting in the back seat of the car, just as it drove out of the compound, she looked back, her eyes filled with melancholy.
"What? You can't bear to part with it?" Li Chu, sitting next to her, patted his wife's leg with a smile.
"It would be an exaggeration to say I'm reluctant to leave. It's just that leaving my workplace all of a sudden, and knowing I might never come back, gives me a strange feeling, just like when I left the hospital a couple of years ago."
"That's how it is when you first retire. My sister and brother-in-law were like that back then. It's okay, you'll get used to it in a few days. I'll stay home with you during this time."
"Huh? You're not going to work?"
"I'm on vacation, and I happen to have nothing to do during this time."
Upon hearing his words, Ding Qiunan's eyes visibly brightened, and she nodded with a smile.
When I got home, I saw the bare patches on my military uniform and cap, and I immediately felt disappointed again.
Having worn a military uniform for thirty years, I may never wear it again.
"Qiu Nan, are all the formalities completed?"
Li Qin lifted the curtain and walked in.
"Once I've finished taking care of it, I won't need to go anymore."
Looking at her sister-in-law's expression, Li Qin knew what was going on; she had been in the same situation that year.
You'll get used to it in a few days.
"I'm fine, I'm just not used to the sudden movement yet." Ding Qiunan smiled and took her sister's hand, leading her to sit down on the sofa.
"Sigh, it's just that the kids have all started school. If they hadn't gone to school yet, I guess it would have been better if I stayed home and took care of them."
"Now we can serve them breakfast every morning before they go to school, and then we can go out and find a place to play cards. Anyway, we don't have to cook lunch."
"When Li Chugang came back, he said he would also take a few days off."
"Oh right, where is he?"
"He's in the kitchen, getting food for the dog."
There are only four dogs left in the house, and we were keeping them secretly.
Two years ago, the city banned the keeping of large dogs, and at the time I thought of sending the dog to a sanatorium to be kept.
As a result, the four children almost cried themselves to death. There was no other way but to raise them like this.
Whether it's the neighbors in the alley, the neighborhood committee, the office, or the police station, everyone knows that there are several large dogs in this courtyard, but they all turn a blind eye and assume that they have already given them away.
Fortunately, these dogs don't bark much, and the yard is big enough for them to run around in.
Over the years, some of our dogs have died of old age, while others have died of illness. Now we only have four left: Xiao Hei, and the dogs from the fourth, fifth, and sixth days of the Lunar New Year.
Xiao Hei is getting old and spends its days taking leisurely walks. It can't run anymore. Its biggest hobby is following Li Chu wherever he goes, as long as he's home.
Right now, it's lying by the kitchen doorway, quietly watching its owner busy inside.
Every time they send a dog away, Li Chu and his family feel sad for a long time.
He has made up his mind this time not to let the remaining three dogs have any more children. After they have lived out their days in old age, his family will no longer keep dogs.
This was a decision made collectively after a family meeting, even though everyone felt reluctant to part ways.
Especially Ding Qiunan, not long after she married into the family, the first generation of Xiao Hei was taken in. More than 30 years have passed, and the family has never lacked dogs. This sudden decision to stop raising dogs is something she reluctantly agreed to, but she still didn't talk to her husband for a whole day.
These dogs have brought so much joy and laughter to their family and have been a great help to them. When they come home from get off work or school, the first thing they are always greeted by those dogs is always them.
Even now, the police dogs in the Public Security Bureau's police dog team are still descendants of the first generation of Xiao Hei.
These dogs at home can only see the outside world on weekends when they go to the sanatorium with their owner. At other times, they never leave the house.
Others may pretend not to know, but if you take your dog outside to roam, that's really going too far.
...
Autumn goes and winter comes, winter goes and spring comes...
Li Chu finally fulfilled his promise from years ago, allowing several veteran comrades to live to witness the grand occasion of 1997.
And as he wished, after the conference that year, he retired from his post and returned to the life of an ordinary doctor.
This is a job you can't quit, just like his position at the health bureau—you have to keep doing it until you die.
However, this already satisfied him greatly.
The first thing he did after retiring was to arrange good positions for Zhao Zhijun and Tian Jun, who had followed him for more than ten years.
Then he immediately took Ding Qiunan out to appreciate the beautiful landscapes of the motherland.
For three whole years, they would sometimes bring Ding's parents, and sometimes his sister and brother-in-law. When the children were on vacation, they would also bring them along. They traveled all over the country.
After the turn of the millennium, Li Chu, who was already 65 years old, resumed seeing patients at the main hospital.
Thanks to Li Chu's previous teachings and the three students he personally taught, Li Wenxuan, Liu Ziqiang, and Duan Jianing, the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine has become a flagship department of the hospital after many years of development. From the senior doctors who were rehired to the trainees, from doctors to nurses, the total number of people in the department exceeds two hundred.
Because of the large number of patients, the main hospital specially allocated the entire third floor of the new outpatient building to the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
As the department was upgraded, Li Wenxuan naturally received a 24 cents epaulet.
The reputation of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the General Hospital is the highest in the country.
Their department is also unique in that it does not have any specialist clinics; all patients who come to see a doctor only pay a registration fee of two yuan.
Of course, patients don't have the right to choose their doctors; they have to wait in line and see whoever is in front of them.
Even if many people manage to get into the TCM department of the main hospital after graduation, it's not an easy thing to practice medicine there. It doesn't matter what exams you've passed, what license you've obtained, or whose student you were or what your academic qualifications are.
To qualify for a consultation here, you must pass the department's exam and get the approval of the department head and deputy head.
After Li Chu came to practice, just like before, he didn't accept appointments, and it wasn't a specialist clinic. The registration fee was also a standard rate, and the hours were not fixed. If you were happy, you could sit in the clinic all day, but if you were not, you might not see him for several days in a row.
When he first arrived, the hospital leaders were quite nervous. Although he was supposed to be retired, the difference in rank was still too great. If he didn't do something right, they would be the ones who would suffer.
After observing for a period of time, these leaders finally confirmed that this person was simply there to see patients and wouldn't deal with any other miscellaneous matters, which put their minds at ease.
As for their other half, they can't rest easy as long as this person is still here seeing patients.
October 1st, a day of universal celebration.
Li Chu walked out of the house somewhat angrily, wondering what his wife was up to. She had already bought all the groceries yesterday, so why did she still want him to go out and buy more?
Oh, no, it means she wanted to eat someone's tofu and asked me to go buy it for her.
Heaven help me, that tofu shop is more than ten kilometers away from here. I wonder if eating their tofu will make me an immortal.
He muttered to himself as he walked toward the bus stop.
And Xingjian, that brat is no good either, he didn't even come with me.
A round trip of 30 kilometers, oh my god, by the time I get back it will be lunchtime!
Once he got on the bus, he realized that everything about today seemed rather strange.
The car just happened to be driven away, and everyone in her family was busy and no one was there to accompany her. She just happened to want to grope that particular restaurant, and that was the only place she wanted to go.
Is this old woman up to something again?
Li Chu sat on the bus, his mind wandering.
"Why are you, a young girl, staring at this old man like that?"
Although he's getting old and his mind is occupied with other things, his intuition hasn't diminished at all over the years.
The young woman sitting next to him, around twenty years old, kept glancing at him from time to time since he got on the bus, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"Oh? I'm so sorry, sir." The young girl blushed instantly after Li Chu's words and quickly apologized. Then, she cautiously asked, "Excuse me, are you Professor Li?"
Um?
"You can recognize me even with a mask on?"
"It really is you, Professor Li. I am a student majoring in pharmacy at Peking Union Medical College, and I have attended your classes."
"That's not right. Where have you heard my lectures? I haven't taken a class at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in over ten years."
"Hehe, I audited classes at the main hospital's medical school." The girl smiled a little shyly.
"You're quite honest."
"Professor Li, may I ask when your next class will be? You don't have a fixed time for your classes, and it's really difficult for us students from outside the school to attend one of your lectures."
Li Chu suddenly realized why the large classroom was always full when he taught; it turned out that so many students from outside the school came over.
"You've really stumped me. I don't know when the next class will be. They only notify me a day or two in advance after they've arranged it."
Here's a phone number for you. It's the number of some kind of secretary at the medical school. He's the one who usually helps me coordinate and arrange my class schedule. You can call him later and ask him.
"Oh, thank you so much, Professor Li. Thank you so much."
"No need to thank me, just study hard, the future belongs to you."
Li Chu smiled and said something, then took out a pen from the top pocket of his shirt, and then took out a small notebook, where he wrote a phone number and a surname.
By the way, the best app for reading aloud right now is Yeguo Reading (yeguoyuedu). Install the latest version.
"You can call him Secretary Guo or Teacher Guo, just say that I gave you this number and ask him to tell you my class time."
The little girl took the paper as if it were a precious treasure, carefully put it into her small bag, and then took out a hardcover notebook.
"Professor Li, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Is it about studies?"
"certainly"
"That's no problem."
An elderly man and a young boy sat on the bus, asking and answering questions, attracting the attention of those around them.
It's clear that this girl's love of learning isn't feigned; the questions she asked were probably prepared in advance, intended for use in her next class if she were to attend.
And just like that, Li Chu almost missed his stop. Unexpectedly, this little girl even chased after him and got off the bus.
"Professor Li, could you please sign your name for me again?"
"I'll give you an autograph? That's rare. I remember kids your age all like to follow celebrities. At least you can sell those celebrities' autographs for some money in the future. What use is my autograph?"
"I don't like chasing celebrities. Look, I've already had several highly respected professors sign autographs for me here. I can't even squeeze to the front of your group."
Indeed, there were several signatures on the notebook she was holding. Li Chu recognized them all; they were all elderly men and women from the medical industry.
Seeing this, he readily picked up a pen, signed his name, and added a blessing before leisurely leaving.
The little girl clutched the notebook tightly to her chest as if she had found some rare treasure.
Li Chu wasn't worried that his signature might be used by someone with malicious intent to do something bad.
His signatures are all carefully chosen. There's one type of signature for students, another for prescriptions for patients, yet another for signing documents in the past. And the signature changes again when he prescribes medicine for senior officials. Each signature serves a different purpose, and it's all been reported in advance.
The latter two types of signatures would never circulate outside. Anyone who tries to forge his signature is simply asking for trouble and will likely face legal consequences.
Li Chu shook his head helplessly as he looked at the tofu in his hand, having driven 30 kilometers round trip just to buy two pounds of tofu.
However, when he got home and walked through the door, he finally realized what had happened that day.
This year marks their 40th wedding anniversary.
Wow, there are so many people in your family!
Looking at the relatives and friends in the courtyard, Li Chu felt somewhat dazed.
Who are those? Oh, it's Sixth Brother, his wife Jiang Li, their child, and their grandson.
They even invited Zhu Wen, who had worked for their family for half his life, to come.
The two in-laws, several elders, Uncle Wu and Aunt Wu, and Grandpa Shen were all invited over.
Not to mention his cronies and their followers.
Who's standing at the main door? Oh, that's my wife, the woman who's been with me for forty years, the woman who's been through thick and thin with me, the woman who will always consider me her everything.
She stood there smiling, just as she had forty years ago when they went to get their marriage certificate together.
At this moment, Li Chu was mesmerized. His gaze seemed to travel back forty years, back to the day when the two of them had just received their marriage certificate and stood at the entrance of the office.
"Comrade Ding Qiunan, I am a new husband, please guide me in the future!"
"Comrade Li Chu, I am a new wife, please guide me in the future!"
(The End)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com