Early the next morning, Ye Weiwei and Huo Xiao took an oxcart to the town, then transferred to another vehicle and traveled for two hours to the county seat. In the county seat, they made a phone call to Train Conductor Wang to confirm that he was home. After a quick lunch, they traveled for more than three hours to reach the city.
Wang Tao personally came to the station to pick them up, and his face lit up with a smile as soon as he saw the young couple.
He earned foreign exchange while entertaining foreign guests on the train this time, and his good performance earned him praise from his superiors. His elder brother even went out of his way to ask him about the situation. After learning that Ye Weiwei was a skilled doctor, he specifically instructed him to treat these two people well if he encountered them again.
This time, he went to his older brother's place to borrow a car. As soon as his brother heard that the car was for picking up the two of them, his brother agreed without hesitation and even hinted that he should invite the two of them to his home for dinner.
"Train Conductor Wang, thank you so much for coming to pick me up in person," Huo Xiao said with a smile.
Wang Tao waved his hand, "You're being too polite. You're Fang Ming's good brother, which means you're my good brother too. Besides, I owe you a lot for your wife's help on the train, otherwise I would have been in big trouble this time."
Huo Xiao: "That little bit of help is nothing. Besides, we've already received payment for the consultation."
When the topic of consultation fees came up, Wang Tao became even more excited. "Then there's even more to say. The foreign exchange you've generated has helped us exceed our target for this year. We should be even more grateful."
Ye Weiwei stood aside, observing Wang Tao's unusual enthusiasm, and began to have some reservations.
At Wang Tao's repeated invitation, Huo Xiao had no choice but to agree to visit Wang Tao's home the next day at noon.
Wang Tao was driving a government vehicle today. They were looking for someone to inquire about the Huang family's powerful backers, and perhaps they could get some useful information from Wang Tao.
Wang Tao drove the two to the guesthouse and then left.
Ye Weiwei and Huo Xiao ate their first proper meal in several days, then took a hot shower at the guesthouse's public bathhouse before going to bed early.
The next day, the two first went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two bottles of wine, a box of pastries, a bag of fruit candies, and two cans of food, before carrying the gifts to Wang Tao's house.
Wang Tao's family lives in a two-story building in the government compound. Wang Tao's family lives with his parents, his older brother and sister-in-law, and their extended family.
Huo Xiao and Ye Weiwei received a warm welcome from the Wang family.
Wang Tao's father was a veteran soldier, a man of integrity, who spoke with a booming voice even in his seventies. Her mother was an ordinary housewife, who seemed kind and approachable.
Wang Tao's older brother, Wang Hai, works for the government. He looks a lot like Wang Tao, speaks in a serious and methodical manner, and gives people a very rigorous impression.
When Wang Tao's father heard that Huo Xiao was a retired soldier, he asked Huo Xiao a lot of questions about the military. He was also very sorry to hear that Huo Xiao had retired due to injury.
"Now that you've recovered, you should go back. The military needs people like you!"
Wang Tao laughed it off, "That's just how my dad is. He thinks nowhere is as good as the army. When I was demobilized, I couldn't stay in the army, and he complained about me a lot at home."
The father scoffed, "Of course! Without soldiers fighting and shedding blood on the front lines, where would we get this peaceful and prosperous life we enjoy today!"
Wang Tao gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Lunch was very lavish. The Queen Mother was an excellent cook; her braised fish was just as good as that of the head chefs at state-run restaurants.
After the meal, Wang Tao asked Ye Weiwei if she could take his parents' pulses and check their health.
Ye Weiwei would never refuse such a small matter.
Wang's father, however, seemed quite uncomfortable. "I'm in such good health that I can hunt wild boars in the mountains without any problem. Why would I need to see a doctor?"
Wang Tao bluntly exposed his words: "You've got to be kidding me! I don't know who it was that got out of bed for days from being exposed to the cold wind."
The Queen Mother didn't give him a friendly look either, "You're so old, yet you still won't admit you're getting old. All you do is brag all day long. Someone like you, going up the mountain to hunt wild boars? You can't even climb the mountain!"
The father looked at his eldest son with annoyance, "Is this how they bully me?"
Wang Hai pushed up his glasses. "You said it yourself, you need to be soberly aware of your shortcomings in order to make progress."
Wang's father was completely exasperated and extended his hand for Ye Weiwei to take his pulse.
After taking his pulse, Ye Weiwei said, "The old man has rheumatoid arthritis. I'll prescribe two formulas: hot compress and oral medication. He should recover after a period of treatment. Also, he has excessive liver fire, which affects his sleep. He should pay attention to regulating his mood and eat some cooling foods, such as green tea or chrysanthemum tea."
Wang Hai found paper and pen, and Ye Weiwei wrote down two prescriptions, noting the usage, dosage, and precautions before giving them to Wang Hai.
Upon seeing Ye Weiwei's handwriting, Wang Hai couldn't help but praise, "Comrade Ye has beautiful handwriting. It flows smoothly and is elegant and bold. It's rare to see a female comrade write like this."
Ye Weiwei smiled and said, "When I was little, my grandfather made me copy medicine prescriptions for a while."
Wang Hai: "I don't know who your maternal grandfather is..."
Ye Weiwei: "My maternal grandfather's surname is Zhang..."
The father asked excitedly, "Which stamp? Is it the one for establishing an early stamp?"
Ye Weiwei was taken aback: "It is indeed Li Zaozhang, my maternal grandfather Zhang Qianqiu, do you know him?"
Mr. Wang became even more excited, slapping his thigh and suddenly standing up, "I know him! How could I not know him! Your maternal grandfather is my savior, how could I not know him?"
Ye Weiwei smiled apologetically: "I've never heard my grandfather mention you."
Father Wang laughed heartily: "You're right that you haven't heard of him! I've never met your maternal grandfather either, I only know his name!"
Seeing that Ye Weiwei and the others were puzzled, Wang's father explained, "That was more than 30 years ago. If it weren't for your maternal grandfather's large donation of medical supplies back then, I wouldn't even know where my grave is now! Your maternal grandfather was truly a great philanthropist. The medical supplies and food he donated saved the lives of countless soldiers on the front lines! How is he now?"
Ye Weiwei hesitated for a moment before saying, "My maternal grandfather is not in the country now."
Upon hearing this, Wang's father's expression stiffened, then he angrily said, "I know, it must be those wicked bastards again! Those sons of bitches are utterly heartless... cough cough..."
Mr. Wang coughed excitedly, which startled Mrs. Wang, who quickly patted his back to calm him down, saying, "Take it easy! Take it easy!"
Ye Weiwei looked at the Wang brothers, Hai and Tao, with a puzzled expression. "Did I say something wrong?"
Wang Hai shook his head, "No, no, don't misunderstand, it has nothing to do with you. That's just my dad's temper. He can't stand people but can't do anything about it, so he can only come back and sulk."
Wang Tao whispered, "A while ago, he had a fight with Director Guo in the compound. He even brought a small stool to my brother's workplace to complain to the leader. He went for several days in a row but got no results. We tried to persuade him but he wouldn't listen, and we didn't dare to stop him."
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