Chapter 89: Return to Medical College

As the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Wen Jiajia struggled on her first day back at work. Just getting up early was enough to make her feel exhausted.

She hadn’t had to wake up early for more than six months. She had grown accustomed to sleeping until she woke up naturally each day and had long forgotten how difficult early mornings could be.

Just like college students adjusting to early rising after the holidays, the first challenge most people face is getting up early.

Moreover, Wen Jiajia had a long commute and needed to wake up at six o’clock every day.

That day, Wei Dai had to call her three times before she managed to drag herself out of bed. Meanwhile, Xiaomei, in the crib beside her, was still fast asleep with her hands curled into little fists.

Aunt, on the other hand, was already up, as she usually wakes up very early, sometimes even at five o’clock. She would then go for a run around the lake before coming home to make breakfast.

Wen Jiajia admired Aunt’s energy and wondered if she would still have such vitality when she reached Aunt’s age.

For breakfast, they had shrimp cakes.

With the hot weather, river shrimp had started to appear. A basket could easily catch half a basket of these shrimps.

River shrimps are delicious and even better when stir-fried with leeks. Wen Jiajia had enjoyed this dish greatly around this time last year.

However, Zhong Huisheng preferred making shrimp cakes with river shrimp. The method was simple: add eggs and water to flour to make a batter. After seasoning and adding some wild onions picked from the yard, the mixture was stirred and then scooped into a frying pan. Each spoonful included some river shrimp, and they were fried until golden brown and crispy. The fragrance of the crispy shrimp was irresistible.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, along with Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai, were all fond of these shrimp cakes. If it weren’t so hot, Wen Jiajia could have eaten more than ten shrimp cakes in one sitting.

After breakfast, Wen Jiajia rode her bike into the city.

Zhong Huisheng accompanied her. Since Wei Dai was home that morning, Wen Jiajia decided to take the the aunt into the city for a bit of sightseeing before taking the bus back in the afternoon.

With the increase in the number of people and the city expanding, there were now three buses passing by the troops each day: one in the morning, one around noon, and another in the evening, making it easier for people to travel between the city and the suburbs.

As they traveled, Wen Jiajia kept pointing out landmarks. Although Wei Dai had introduced the aunt to the city when he picked her up, it had been a long time, and the aunt had hardly left the army’s place during this period.

Wen Jiajia was surprised by how much the construction site outside the city had changed. The site, which had just laid the foundation and built the first floor, was now nearly completed.

“Auntie, you’ll find it easier to visit in the future,” Wen Jiajia said, pointing to a red building in the distance. “That’s the Workers’ Cultural Palace. It’s been completed, so it should be closer to the gate now.”

Zhong Huisheng nodded, “I enjoy coming to this place.”

They arrived in the city, and Wen Jiajia stopped at a department store to let Zhong Huisheng get off. She wanted to buy some items to send back home.

Wen Jiajia didn’t accompany them into the store. It was nearly 8 o’clock, and she was worried about being late.

Before leaving, she gave the aunt detailed directions.

Zhong Huisheng waved and said, “It’s okay. Go to work. If I get lost, I can ask someone.”

Wen Jiajia nodded, not too worried. The aunt had seen Shi Guang and was very capable, so she rode her bike to the hospital.

Upon returning to the hospital, Wen Jiajia felt as if she had stepped into another world. Even the security guard seemed familiar.

“Hey! Comrade Wen is back?” someone said. “I haven’t seen you for a long time. You’ve changed a lot.”

Wen Jiajia was taken aback, “What’s changed?” She had been losing weight over the past two months. While she wasn’t back to her pre-pregnancy weight, she was definitely just over 100 pounds.

She didn’t want to lose more weight, as having some flesh on her body was necessary for warmth and resilience.

There was also her hairline and hair volume. Though hair loss had been significant, the original owner had thick hair. After adjusting her sleep pattern, Wen Jiajia’s hair loss decreased. Overall, there wasn’t much difference from before.

“Haha, you look quite different now,” the man laughed and rode away on his bike.

Wen Jiajia was momentarily speechless and continued toward the office building. Along the way, she ran into Fang Hongjun and stopped to say hello.

Fang Hongjun’s career was progressing smoothly; he was now the deputy director of the Security Department. He told Wen Jiajia, “I’m getting married next month. When I come back from my hometown, you and Wei Dai must come to the wedding for a drink.”

Wen Jiajia responded, “Congratulations! Knowing you’re getting married makes me feel much more at ease.”

“Yes,” Fang Hongjun said, smiling. “Last year, when I went home, my mom kept nagging me. She said that you and Wei Dai already had children, while I was still single, and then she pushed me to go on blind dates.” His smile made it clear that he had met his fiancée on one of those blind dates.

Wen Jiajia immediately understood. His fiancée was from his hometown, so it made sense that he would wait until he returned to invite them to the wedding. The wedding banquet would likely be held in his hometown.

Curiously, she asked, “Who is she?”

“By the way, you know her,” Fang Hongjun’s face suddenly flushed red, and the blush on his yellowish, rough skin was quite noticeable.

Wen Jiajia was silent for a moment before asking, “Is she from Fuyang?”

“Yes! My sister said she is quite familiar with you.”

Wen Jiajia was surprised, “Could it be Fang Mingyan?”

After a moment of thought, she shook her head. If it were truly Fang Mingyan, she would have definitely received a letter about it.

Fang Hongjun sighed and said helplessly, “Fang Mingyan is my cousin from two rooms away.”

He added, “Mingyan is a sharp-tongued girl. We always used to argue whenever we met. Even though we haven’t had much to do with each other lately, I still don’t think much of her, and she probably feels the same about me.”

Wen Jiajia was embarrassed and could only laugh awkwardly. She had almost forgotten about it.

“It was an educated youth,” Fang Hongjun said, smiling before Wen Jiajia could ask again. “Do you remember Chen Qianyue? I met her during the Chinese New Year; she was one of the two people I met.”

Wen Jiajia suddenly realized, “Oh, it’s her.”

Fang Hongjun nodded, “Yes, she’s a good person. Apart from Chen Ai, I am most familiar with her in the Youth League.”

The main reason was that the first money she earned came from Chen Qianyue, so she couldn’t forget her.

Fang Hongjun added, “Yes, she mentioned you when we were chatting.”

Wen Jiajia responded happily, “That’s great! After you get married, she’ll come here with you, and we can catch up.”

“That’s what she said.”

After a brief chat, Wen Jiajia said goodbye to Fang Hongjun and headed to the office building.

She parked her bicycle in the carport downstairs and went upstairs, thinking about Chen Qianyue the entire way.

It was now 1976, and educated youths would return to the city in a few years. She wondered… Then she shook her head, realizing she was overthinking. Fang Hongjun was working in the city now, and given his position, even if he didn’t get the first batch of housing, he could still get a place in the second batch.

Besides, the large-scale return of educated youths to the city wouldn’t happen until after 1980. If Chen Qianyue didn’t pass the college entrance examination, she would still need to stay in the countryside to work.

So, upon reflection, even if the college entrance exams resumed next year or the educated youths returned to the city a few years later, it wouldn’t affect their relationship.

Wen Jiajia arrived at the office and attracted a lot of attention.

Director Gao, in particular, made Wen Jiajia feel a bit nervous. She took her hand and kept saying, “It’s so good to have you back.”

“How much do you miss me?” Wen Jiajia couldn’t help but ask. “Did I take too long a leave?”

Director Gao hurriedly replied, “Look at how many times I’ve urged you to return over the past few months. You should know how much I missed you. According to me, you should have come back to work after your confinement in February. It’s already mid-May, and summer is almost here!”

She looked haggard, indicating that Wen Jiajia’s absence had significantly increased the workload for her capable assistant.

To be honest, it wasn’t impossible to find someone to replace Wen Jiajia. Even if one person wasn’t enough, the combined abilities of two or three people could catch up with Wen Jiajia.

However, Wen Jiajia had a good presence. Sometimes, she thought of things that others hadn’t, and she was very discreet. There was no need to explain things she didn’t want to reveal, and she never divulged them.

It was evident that there was a unique connection with colleagues. Without Wen Jiajia, it always felt like something was missing.

Director Gao observed Wen Jiajia closely and noticed that her face had become rounder. Smiling, she said, “You’ve clearly been recovering well over the past few months.”

Wen Jiajia smiled and nodded, “The elders at home who came to help were indeed very capable.”

Director Gao responded with relief, “That’s good. Now you can fully devote yourself to work.”

Wen Jiajia’s smile froze, and she suddenly had a bad feeling. “Uh, boss, is there anything new happening in our factory recently?”

“Well, don’t you know that our factory is busy every day and every month?” Director Gao sat down and continued. Wen Jiajia sighed with relief, but then Director Gao added, “However, it will be even busier recently. There’s an exhibition in the capital, and our medical glass is participating. Additionally, we have a few more orders. In the coming days, we’ll be very busy.”

Wen Jiajia’s smile grew increasingly stiff. She hadn’t expected to face such a situation as soon as she returned to work.

Director Gao, unable to see her idle, immediately assigned several tasks to her.

Fortunately, Wen Jiajia was familiar with these jobs, so she wasn’t too flustered about starting over again.

Only after returning to the office did Wen Jiajia feel like she was back in her own territory.

“Oh, it’s been tidied up!” She touched the windows, tables, and chairs; there wasn’t a speck of dust.

Moreover, there was no musty smell in the room from the lack of ventilation. Instead, it smelled of the fresh fragrance of the grass and trees nearby.

Several camphor trees had been transplanted next to the Little Red Building, and their scent was carried in by the wind.

Swallows were also perched on the windowsill. Wen Jiajia was delighted and took out some biscuits from her bag, crumbling them and placing them on the windowsill for the swallows to eat.

She loved furry animals and had previously asked Wei Dai to bring an injured retired dog from the team to keep, but it had been taken away by someone else early on, and she hadn’t met a retired dog since.

If she couldn’t raise a dog, having a swallow was also nice. Swallows were beautiful and very lovable. After eating, they flew away, leaving no mess to clean up.

Wen Jiajia checked the cabinet and the desk. She had locked these places, and seeing no signs of tampering, she felt relieved. She then took out the keys, unlocked them, and began organizing the documents.

After sorting for a while, she suddenly paused.