Chapter 54: Prepared Specially for You

Chapter 54: Prepared Specially for You

Cheng Yuan was momentarily dazed, only snapping out of it when his mother nudged him hard in the ribs. However, seeing the beautiful young woman walking toward him, he immediately straightened his back, only coming to his senses when his mother uttered, "Comrade Shen."

At first, he had only been looking for older women; after all, his captain and platoon leader was quite elderly, so there was no way it could be a beautiful young lady.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No, no, I just arrived a moment ago. Let's talk inside. It just so happens that Yufen doesn't have any patients right now, so we can have some water and talk slowly."

Cheng Yuan couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. His own partner was decent-looking, but compared to the woman before him, the difference was vast. Although he knew such thoughts were inappropriate, he didn't miss the chance to strike up a conversation.

"You... you must be Comrade Shen. I wasn't sure how to address you."

Shen Meng frowned; she felt this man's smile was incredibly greasy.

"Just call me Comrade Shen."

Cheng Yufen tidied up the table and poured a cup of warm water for each of them. She had brought the enamel mugs from home this morning; otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough.

"Comrade Shen, yesterday was my fault. I said things I shouldn't have. Please don't hold it against me. This is my son, Cheng Yuan. He knew I caused trouble and insisted on coming over to apologize. Oh, and these are some things from our home—they aren't worth much, but you must accept them!"

Wang Jin'e had been turning this over in her mind all morning, thinking about how to say the right things to Shen Meng. The fact that she could speak so smoothly now was thanks to practicing it several times in silence.

What she handed to Shen Meng was a bag of eggs, some canned yellow peaches, and some dried vegetables. Aside from the canned peaches, nothing looked particularly valuable, yet Shen Meng could sense something unusual in Wang Jin'e's eager manner.

"Oh, I can't accept this. I happen to have something to do in a bit, so let's keep this brief. This is a radio, brand new and unused. It's a cash-on-delivery transaction, so we'll consider ourselves even. As long as Dr. Cheng's side remains peaceful, I won't bother making a fuss about anything in the future."

"Yes, yes, yes. I will definitely keep a close eye on my mother from now on and make sure she never comes to disturb my aunt again. Oh, here is the money for the radio. Please count it."

Shen Meng took the money, glanced at it briefly, and nodded to them.

"Mm. Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be going. Enjoy your chat."

"Wait, wait, Comrade Shen! Please take these. It would put our minds at ease if you accepted them. Besides, no matter what, my captain was a soldier trained under your husband. It's only right to show some respect."

Shen Meng turned and gave them a smile. "That won't do. Wouldn't that be a mistake? I don't take even a needle or a thread from the masses. Is Comrade Cheng trying to bribe me?"

Cheng Yuan had only wanted to put his mind at ease, but he hadn't expected this woman to not be money-hungry. His favorable impression of her grew even stronger.

"No, I didn't mean it that way. These were prepared specially for you. If you truly won't take them, that's fine. Oh, I am a militiaman; if you ever need help in the future, just say the word. We are all from the same county, right?"

"Mm!"

Shen Meng nodded and walked out of the hospital. Inside the office, Cheng Yufen tidied up the three enamel mugs that were barely touched.

"Sister-in-law, you and Xiao Yuan should head back first. I still have consultations this afternoon."

Wang Jin'e rolled her eyes at her and packed up the items they had brought.

"It's better if I don't take them! I saved these eggs for a long time; I'll use them to nourish Xiao Yuan later. That woman is a fool; she actually thinks I prepared something worthless. In these dried vegetables, I've packed two catties of large fatty meat. I had to pay extra for them to include it. Hmph!"

Cheng Yufen sighed, looking at the triumphant Wang Jin'e. "Sister-in-law, she surely knows there's something fishy going on. If she actually took the items, that would truly give them leverage over her!"

"Fine, fine, you're all so smart and I'm just a fool. Alright, oh dear, it's so late. Yufen, you didn't even think to get some food for me and Xiao Yuan, really..."

"Mom, what did you just promise Comrade Shen? Let's go home. Aunt, please don't mind my mother's words. You must come to my wedding later!"

After saying his piece, Cheng Yuan left the office. His eyes searched the corridor, but the figure of the beauty was nowhere to be seen. Thinking about his upcoming marriage, a wave of melancholy washed over him, replacing his former anticipation.

"Alright, son, let's hurry. If you ask me, don't take Comrade Shen's words too seriously. She certainly won't make things difficult for your aunt, but we still have to maintain these family ties."

In her mind, she was calculating that when Cheng Yuan got married, she would make sure Cheng Yufen gave a very generous gift. It was only natural for an aunt to give some money to her nephew for his wedding; it wouldn't be considered making things difficult.

Watching the retreating backs of her sister-in-law and nephew, Cheng Yufen thought about the coldness in her own home last night. It made her think of the words Shen Meng had said. Had she really been in the wrong all these years?

Once she was outside the hospital gates, Shen Meng carefully counted the money in her hand. Not a cent was missing; it was exactly right.

Riding a bicycle all day had truly exhausted her. She really wanted to take the large Jeep out of her space and drive home, but in an era where bicycles were rare luxuries, if she actually drove a Jeep into the countryside, the commune members working in the fields would all run to the roadside just to get a look.

Left with no choice, she found a deserted spot, ate a serving of sirloin steak and had a few sips of red wine from her space, before pedaling her bicycle toward Shenjia Village.

By the time she reached the Shen family home, it was already 2:30 PM. When she entered the courtyard, everyone was there; even the children hadn't gone out to play, they were all waiting in the yard.

"Xiao Meng is back! Why were you out so long? You must be starving. We saved some food for you, come and eat."

"Big Brother, I ate something on the way, I'm not hungry. Why is everyone home?"

Shen Shoutian gave a simple, honest laugh. "We just wanted to see you since you were coming home. If you had returned in the afternoon, I wouldn't have seen you."

Shen Shoutian's wife, Lyu Qinlan, also smiled at her.

The eldest Shen couple were honest people. They had three children; the eldest was thirteen and the youngest was six. The cousin of the maternal grandmother that Lu Mingyang had mentioned was their son, Shen Xiaohu.

Shen Yutian was the second son of the Shen family. He was holding a sleeping child in his arms, and beside him was his wife, Su Xiaomei. She was very timid, her eyes darting away whenever she looked at someone, not daring to meet their gaze directly because her right foot was somewhat lame—a lingering effect of polio from her childhood.

The youngest son of the Shen family was Shen Xiaobin, who was currently out running around playing wildly with several nephews and nieces.

"Brother, I'm not hungry. Save the food for dinner; we're leaving tomorrow."

(End of Chapter)