Chapter 17: Dad and Mom Voluntarily Stepped Down to Give Up Their Quota for Others

“Oh my, Grandpa’s precious granddaughter! Grandpa missed you too. At least you still have a conscience to come visit your old man.” Bai Miaoshou hugged his granddaughter with one arm and lovingly stroked her soft hair with the other, his gentle eyes carefully studying her face.

She resembled her grandmother about fifty percent. It had been a long time since they last saw each other, and she had clearly grown—matured and become more steady. The immaturity of her younger years had faded.

Before coming to pick her up, he had actually been a bit worried. His granddaughter had grown up pampered and spoiled. Even though she had come to her senses and decided to join the army to become a military doctor alongside him, he was afraid it might just be a spur-of-the-moment decision.

It was his fault, too—he was too happy and submitted the recommendation letter too quickly. If she couldn’t handle the hardships and backed out, what then?

But now, seeing her in front of him, those worries vanished. An old man who had lived most of his life knew how to judge people.

This time, his granddaughter looked truly more mature.

He was now completely convinced—this wasn’t a decision made on a whim.

The little girl had a stubborn temper, just like her grandmother. If it was something she didn’t want to do, no one could force her.

And once she decided on something, no one could stop her.

Bai Yalan looked up at her grandfather with adoring eyes, half acting spoiled and half serious.

“Grandpa, I didn’t just come here to visit you. The letter should’ve made it clear—have you read it?”

Upon hearing this, Bai Miaoshou felt even more reassured—his granddaughter was serious this time.

He laughed heartily, “Yes, yes, I read it. Don’t worry, Grandpa already wrote and submitted your recommendation letter.”

Bai Yalan’s face lit up with joy, “Really? Grandpa, you’re the best!”

Father and Bai’s mother smiled and didn’t interrupt as they watched the pair chat happily.

When they finished talking, the couple finally stepped forward and greeted in unison, “Dad.”

Old Master Bai was still focused on his granddaughter. He merely glanced at them and nodded—that was his version of a greeting.

“Mm, so you came too.”

Even his tone dropped a few notches. Father and Bai’s mother exchanged looks and saw the wry smile in each other’s eyes—how blatant could his favoritism be?

At that moment, a soldier entered to remind them, “Doctor Bai, the car is already waiting outside. Should we head over now?”

Doctor Bai responded with an “oh,” and chuckled, “Right, right. I got so caught up in chatting that I forgot all about that. Come, come, Xiao Lan, let’s go. I heard you were coming, so I specifically applied to get us a bigger house. Once you’re settled, your parents can stay here too and keep you company for a while. Everything’s arranged. We’ve got a place to stay.”

“Yes! At your command!” Bai Yalan responded playfully.

Old Master Bai gave her a light smack on the head and scolded with a smile, “You little rascal.”

The whole family, with their bags and luggage, got into the military jeep with help from the soldiers, chatting and laughing along the way.

The jeep turned a corner toward the family housing area.

Outside the car window, soldiers were running in formation. Among them, Qin Kaishen’s figure flashed by for a brief moment.

Neither he nor the people in the jeep noticed this fleeting encounter.

As the vehicle drove away, Qin Kaishen only glanced in its direction, then quickly looked away—he didn’t think much of it.

Once they arrived at the family compound and got out of the car, the family was brought to the spacious house that Grandpa had applied for. Bai Yalan was momentarily surprised.

Her grandfather had always been simple and frugal when it came to living conditions. When he said he had gotten a bigger house, she didn’t think much of it.

But now, seeing it in person—wow. Grandpa really hadn’t exaggerated.

The house was indeed big—four bedrooms and a living room. Father and Bai’s mother were also astonished.

They both turned to look at Old Master Bai with surprise, secretly amazed at his generosity. The man had always been thrifty—did he really change just for his precious granddaughter?

Indeed, daughters (and granddaughters) held more sway. The couple exchanged a glance and smiled, shaking their heads.

In front of her grandfather, Bai Yalan had always been bold and informal. While marveling at the spacious house, she half-jokingly teased:

“Grandpa, this house is so big. The army must have rules about this, right? You better be careful not to exceed the standard and ruin your reputation in your old age… Ow!”

The old man knocked her lightly on the head, pretending to be serious.

“You little rascal. Don’t underestimate Grandpa’s moral standards—everything’s within regulations.” He glanced around the house and added, “Ungrateful girl, I did this all for you. Since you’re determined to become a military doctor like Grandpa, I’ll give you a quick lesson on the levels and benefits associated with the position. So, military doctors start from…”

Old Master Bai went into detailed explanations, and Bai Yalan listened with her big, bright eyes wide open, full of seriousness.

She finally understood: Military doctors began as intern military doctors, then advanced to junior, intermediate, senior, and special-grade military doctors.

Interns received the same treatment as ordinary soldiers—no cap on number, and they stayed in the dorms.

Junior doctors had company commander-level benefits—also no cap on number, and they also lived in dorms.

Intermediate doctors had battalion commander-level treatment—eligible for two-bedroom family housing, with only 10 allowed.

Senior doctors enjoyed regiment commander-level benefits—three-bedroom family housing, limited to 5 people.

Special-grade doctors—like Grandpa—had division commander-level treatment, with four-bedroom family housing, and only three such positions total.

Bai Yalan listened intently to the end, her eyes full of admiration. “Grandpa, you’re amazing! I want to learn from you and become a special-grade military doctor too!”

Old Master Bai laughed heartily. “Now that’s ambition! That’s my granddaughter, Bai Miaoshou’s bloodline! Then you better work hard.”

“I definitely will, Grandpa. I promise I won’t let you down!”

“Good girl. I’ll be waiting for you to bring honor to our name.”

As the two chatted, Father and Bai’s mother had already begun unpacking. Since they planned to stay a while, they brought plenty of clothes and daily necessities—it took quite a bit of time to get everything in place.

After a busy half-day, the family finally sat down for a simple meal. During their casual conversation, Old Master Bai brought up something he clearly wasn’t pleased about.

“What are you two planning to do now? My son, Bai Miaoshou’s son, actually got laid off. That’s so embarrassing—what a disgrace!”

He had already been disappointed that his son didn’t inherit his medical skills or ambitions. Now to hear he’d been laid off too?

Bai’s father’s face turned red instantly, and Bai’s mother flushed with discomfort too, feeling on edge.

She knew the old man wasn’t really angry at her, but it still stung.

Bai’s father said nothing for a moment, so Bai’s mother responded, “Dad, we’re planning to start a small business.”

But Bai Yalan didn’t want her parents to feel humiliated or let her grandfather misunderstand. She knew they weren’t going to tell the truth, so she spoke up herself.

“Grandpa, it’s not like that,” she said. “Dad and Mom voluntarily asked to be laid off so someone else could have the position.”

Bai’s father quickly tried to stop her. “Xiao Lan!”

But Bai’s mother held him back and whispered, “Forget it, it’s better that Dad knows.”

Old Master Bai had narrowed his eyes, his expression serious and stern. “What’s going on?”

He was always strict with his family—except his granddaughter.

Bai’s father was used to this. Seeing his father so serious, he had no choice but to tell the truth.

“The factory was doing poorly. A large number of people had to be laid off, and even our leadership team needed downsizing.

Old Guo’s family has five kids. Their oldest son—the only adult—is serving in the army. The rest are elderly and in poor health. So I talked to the leadership and volunteered for me and Sujuan to be laid off, so Old Guo’s family could keep their jobs and have some income.”

“So that’s what happened.” Old Master Bai’s expression finally softened—he had misunderstood his son and daughter-in-law.