Chapter 36

“Weiwei, this is my grandson Shen Junqian. I sprained my foot yesterday after work, and this boy is so filial, he insisted on taking me to the hospital.”

Shen Junqian: “…”

Did he really insist on taking him to the hospital?

Shen Junqian was speechless.

It wasn’t that he insisted. It was the old man who had pretended to be sick and dragged him to the hospital, wanting to show off to everyone that his grandson was so filial. The old man cared a lot about his image.

“Ouch, ouch, look at my leg.”

Director Shen went all out with his act, pretending to be in pain and glaring at Shen Junqian.

Lu Baiwei was about to ask Director Shen what happened to his foot when Shen Junqian spoke up: “You take a look at his foot, he sprained it.”

“Alright, alright, let the little girl check it for me. You can go now.”

Fearing his act might be exposed, Director Shen quickly shooed Shen Junqian away.

Lu Baiwei didn’t think Director Shen really sprained his foot.

As the director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine department at the county hospital, he could simply get someone to set the bone and apply some ointment if he had sprained his foot. How could it be that after a whole night, he was still in pain and trembling?

Sure enough, once Shen Junqian left, Director Shen’s limp was gone, and he stopped shaking.

“The older the grandson, the harder to manage. He’s always hanging out with all sorts of people, but this boy still has some filial piety. I thought I’d pretend to be limping for a few days so he wouldn’t run off every day.”

Director Shen warned Lu Baiwei: “Little girl, don’t let this slip.”

He hadn’t told his grandson this version of the story.

Every day, Director Shen would pester Shen Junqian to take him to and from work, getting him to run errands and follow his orders. After a few days, the old man claimed that his foot was healed by Lu Baiwei.

Of course, during those days, he had been secretly observing her.

He found that Lu Baiwei was not only calm and steady, but also meticulous when helping him. She had a good relationship with the doctors in her department, and her personality was gentle and poised.

Director Shen was very pleased with her.

“Ahem, my foot was treated by the little girl, you should thank her properly.”

After pretending to limp for a few days, Director Shen was finally up and about, and he had new demands for Shen Junqian.

When Shen Junqian came to pick him up, he handed a stack of money to his grandson.

“Since the little girl has been staying in the county hospital dormitory, the food in the hospital cafeteria is pretty bland. When you have time, take her to the state-run restaurant for a meal.”

If Lu Baiwei had known what Director Shen was planning, she would have laughed out loud.

—

If Lu Baiwei had known what Director Shen was saying, she would have almost burst into laughter.

The hospital canteen’s food has no oil or flavor—what a ridiculous lie!

In the county hospital, to ensure patients get proper nutrition, as long as you can afford it, you can have meat and vegetables every day.

Of course, when Director Shen asked his grandson to invite Lu Baiwei for a meal, he deliberately avoided mentioning it to her.

So when Shen Junqian, who wasn’t very familiar with her and had only met her a few times, invited her to the state-run restaurant, Lu Baiwei was quite surprised.

But she didn’t refuse.

Because according to the timeline, the He family in Beijing was in trouble at this moment.

He Ting’s nephew and niece were first sent to live with relatives, but the He family’s relatives were also afraid of getting implicated, so they would soon send He Ting’s nephew and niece to Yangxiang Village to live with them.

To take care of these two little ones, she and He Ting would need to earn more money.

By working through the black market, they were bound to cross paths with Shen Junqian, and Lu Baiwei wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to get close to the black market boss.

“Little girl, what do you want to eat?”

“The hospital food is bland, how about a bowl of braised pork and a serving of braised pig’s feet?”

“Also, let’s get a fish and stir-fry some water spinach.”

Although Shen Junqian seemed a bit off on the surface, he was actually a filial person. He had eaten at the hospital canteen before, and he just followed along with whatever Director Shen said, even if it was a lie.

Lu Baiwei, however, believed in the idea of no free lunch.

The old man faking a limp had nothing to do with her.

And besides, Shen Junqian was the kind of person who could rise to be a black market big shot—he couldn’t possibly not see that his old man was pretending to be lame.

To get close to the boss’s inner circle, Lu Baiwei decided to be honest.

“Brother Shen, let me pay for this meal!”

Lu Baiwei smiled at him: “You know, someone like Grandpa Shen, an experienced doctor, if he really twisted his leg, he’d just go to an orthopedic doctor for some treatment and put on a patch. The reason he says his legs are inconvenient is just to make you care more about him.”

“Brother Shen, I can tell you’re really good to the old man. You know he’s pretending to limp, but you still ride your bike to take him to the hospital every day.”

The little girl was interesting.

When that old man sticks out his bottom, you know he’s about to do his business.

So just humor him!

After all, when he was young, the old man had always been the one taking care of him, and now it was his turn to take care of him.

Shen Junqian looked at Lu Baiwei with an appreciative gaze: “You figured it out?”

Shen Junqian looked at Lu Baiwei with an appreciative gaze. “Did you figure it out?”

“Mm, when you get old, you want the younger generation to spend more time with you. My grandpa used to be like that when he was alive, and I would try all kinds of ways to keep him company.”

Shen Junqian remembered when he was young and went to the countryside for a medical check-up. The little girl’s grandfather was very kind to her.

He had bullied the little girl, and her grandfather had treated his broken bones, making him howl in pain.

When he went back for a follow-up check-up, he was terrified of the little girl, who had her grandfather behind her. He was afraid that she would frown or cry, causing her grandfather to change his bandages, which would hurt him terribly.

So, her grandfather had passed away?

She was so soft-hearted; she must have been bullied a lot, right?

“The old man loves to make trouble, always saying that I hang around with bad company, and then he makes you play along with me,” Shen Junqian said.

He didn’t mind looking after a younger sister. With a righteous tone, he added, “I’m doing alright in the county; if you need anything, you can come to me.”

“Don’t worry about saving money for the old man; order a few more dishes.”

Shen Junqian waved the money he was holding. “He’s been making a fuss for days. We should make a good meal, spend all the money he gave us.”

He winked at Lu Baiwei. “Little girl, let’s fool the old man together. Stick with me, and you’ll eat well and live luxuriously.”

“You’re really filial!”

Lu Baiwei couldn’t help but laugh.

At the state-run restaurant, the portions were large, and Shen Junqian had already ordered four dishes.

Lu Baiwei quickly waved her hand. “No, no, four dishes are enough.”

The braised pig’s trotters at the state-run restaurant were very flavorful. With one bite, the rich sauce filled her mouth. The trotters were not cooked until soft but still had a bit of chew, with enough texture.

As Lu Baiwei ate the braised pig’s trotters, her mind was occupied with how to solve He Ting’s problem with meals.

He Ting had never cooked when he was at the youth brigade. He had shared meals with Zhou Yanfeng from the communal pot.

When she first came to the county town, Lu Baiwei was still basking in the joy of being able to intern with Director Shen. After staying at the hospital for a few days, she began to think about He Ting, who was still in the Xiangyang brigade.

During work hours, she was busy helping Director Shen, but when she returned to the hospital dormitory, she was consumed by thoughts of He Ting.

Handsome men truly had a magnetic power.

Even when she was at the state-run restaurant eating a pig’s trotter, she thought about He Ting.

She felt sorry that he didn’t get to taste such a delicious braised pig’s trotter, and she promised herself that when she returned to the brigade after her half-month internship, she would make him a meal to make up for it.

While Lu Baiwei was lost in thoughts of making He Ting a meal of braised pig’s trotters, she had no idea that during her absence in the county, He Ting was being noticed by someone else.