Zhao Qinglan chatted with her daughter for a while and was visibly much happier before calling her husband in to say a few words to their daughter.
After hanging up the phone, she started muttering to herself.
“If you look at the timeline, Erwa will be taking the college entrance exam in about a month. It’s fine if I’m not around usually, but I have to go back for the exam. What do you think?”
What could Li Huai say? Could he not let his wife go back? Although he was reluctant to see his wife leave again, he also loved his son.
Despite Erwa's carefree attitude, he dotes on Erwa just as much as he does on other children.
Moreover, the college entrance examination is a major event in a child's life. As a father, he cannot be by his side because of work, and he cannot prevent his wife from having the opportunity to accompany their son.
"Then you can go back whenever you feel comfortable."
"Okay, I'll pack my things in the next few days and then head back to the provincial capital."
After speaking, Zhao Qinglan looked at her youngest son.
Her youngest son will graduate from elementary school this year and will be going to junior high school. Although it may not seem as important as her second son's college entrance exam, she, as a mother, feels that leaving at this time would be a bit of a waste.
But before she could say anything, Sanwa spoke up.
"Mom, don't worry about me. I'm all grown up now. Besides, you've always been here with me." He generously offered to lend his mother to his mentally challenged second brother for a while.
Zhao Qinglan smiled with satisfaction. "My third child is becoming more and more sensible."
With her husband and youngest son no longer a worry, Zhao Qinglan stayed home for a few more days before boarding the train back to the provincial capital with Ding Yu and the others.
As for her own car, she was too lazy to bother with it and left it at home when she left.
Even if she doesn't use it, Li Huai won't drive it easily. Xiao Chu, on the other hand, feels it's a waste to see such a nice car sitting there collecting dust.
When Zhao Qinglan was about to leave, she would only inform Grandma Su, with whom she had a close relationship.
Several days after she left, Tao Ailian realized that the lady next door was gone again, and her little scheme immediately came to mind.
It's unclear how long Zhao Qinglan will be gone this time, but she can try to get closer to Grandma Su to find out.
Although Grandma Su didn't usually like to interact with Tao Ailian, she couldn't just ignore her when she spoke to her normally.
When asked casually where Zhao Qinglan had gone, Grandma Su thought it wasn't a secret, and besides, she thought Zhao Qinglan's children were all outstanding and admirable, so she answered casually.
"Qinglan's second son is taking the college entrance exam, so she's going back to take care of him."
Tao Ailian knew exactly when the college entrance examination would be held, and calculating the time filled her with joy.
She's been gone for so long! No, she needs to go to the hospital.
She felt it would be a waste not to seize such a good opportunity and do something about it.
Her sudden arrival at the hospital and finding Dr. Jiao surprised him as well.
Ever since she saw Zhao Qinglan in person that day, she felt somewhat ashamed of herself. Back in her dormitory, after thinking about her thoughts over the past few days, she wondered if she had been bewitched, actually having designs on a married man.
Just as she was thinking that time would dilute her feelings for someone, Tao Ailian arrived.
Upon first seeing Tao Ailian, Dr. Jiao felt somewhat ashamed.
"Dr. Jiao, are you busy?" Tao Ailian tried to strike up a conversation.
"fine."
"Oh dear, my stomach has been a bit bloated and uncomfortable lately. Could you prescribe some medicine for me?"
"Okay, tell me more details."
Once everyone else left, only the two of them were left, and Tao Ailian sighed.
"Sigh, I'm alright, but poor Political Commissar Li, his wife has been away from home for a month, I reckon his stomach problems will flare up again soon."
Dr. Jiao couldn't help but press further. "A month?"
"That's right. I don't know what Zhao Qinglan was thinking, leaving her husband at home for a whole month."
Dr. Jiao wanted to tell herself that the person had nothing to do with her, but the thought that the other person might suffer from stomach problems because no one would cook for them at home for a month made her feel bad, and she also began to resent Zhao Qinglan.
Yes, since you've already married him, why can't you cherish him and treat him better? She doesn't even have that chance.
Seeing the change in Dr. Jiao's expression, Tao Ailian's lips curved into a smile.
Some things are best left unsaid, but she brought up the matter of getting medicine again, which made Dr. Jiao uneasy.
After Tao Ailian left, Dr. Jiao stood by the window, feeling extremely conflicted.
Seeing how well-matched and harmonious the couple looked together that day, she felt ashamed and dared not have any other thoughts.
But what if I misunderstand? Do they only show a good relationship in public, like Comrade Tao said, men care about their image in public?
If her guess is true, she only hopes that the two can end their marital relationship as soon as possible, and she wants to go to Political Commissar Li's side to take care of him.
If Zhao Qinglan doesn't cherish this opportunity, then let her have it; she would be more than happy to accept it.
In reality, Li Huai wasn't as miserable as they described. Even when his wife wasn't home, he could still eat at the cadre canteen. Last time, his stomach problems flared up, but he was too busy with work to eat.
Because of what happened last time, Xiao Chu was also annoyed. He thought that now that Zhao Qinglan was gone, he had to keep a close eye on the leader, remind him to eat on time, and take good care of the leader's health.
Zhao Qinglan had no idea that just a few days after she left, someone was already instigating outsiders to try and steal her husband from their family.
Back in the provincial capital, Zhao Qinglan became a loving mother, cooking all sorts of delicious food for her second child and her mother every day with the nanny.
Erwa felt incredibly happy, and even reading books and doing practice problems didn't feel so painful anymore.
While her child was at school during the day, Zhao Qinglan would occasionally go to the company to check on its operations and attend meetings.
She now makes unpredictable public appearances, and the company's staff are afraid to relax too much, lest the big boss suddenly show up.
Lanxin is currently operating normally, simply opening branches and supermarkets in various provinces in a step-by-step manner.
She believes that in a few years, Lanxin's presence will be seen throughout the country, not just in all cities, but at least in the first and second-tier cities of each province.
By gradually building Lanxin into a large and powerful conglomerate and expanding it internationally, her career journey can be considered quite successful.
Her return brought great joy to Madam Sun and Old Master Dou.
Sun's age wasn't that advanced, so it wasn't obvious yet, but Old Master Dou, Zhao Qinglan felt that he had aged considerably since she hadn't seen him for several months.
She felt a deep sense of gratitude, thinking only of spending as much time as possible with the elderly so that they could enjoy their later years in comfort and happiness.
If the husband can't do it, then let his wife do it for him.
With this in mind, in addition to cooking delicious food, she also often accompanied the two elders to watch TV, chat, and go for walks. The smiles on the two elderly people's faces became much more noticeable.
In fact, as people get older, they don't care about food and drink or enjoyment; what they want most is the company of their loved ones.
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