Chapter 164: Good News from Home

Chapter 164: Good News from Home

Ye Xiaoxiao received a letter from her family.

Her eldest sister, Ye Lian, had married a man named Zhen Wanlin, and they hosted a modest banquet with just a few tables in town.

The Zhen family didn’t have many relatives, and Ye Lian also agreed to keep the banquet simple, inviting only close family.

Although this was Ye Lian’s second marriage, the Zhen family was generous and paid a bride price of one hundred yuan.

This money was not kept by her uncle’s family but was given entirely to Ye Lian, who added some items to her dowry.

Ye Lian’s two children also took on the Zhen surname.

This was suggested by Zhen Wanlin after discussing it with Ye Lian.

The reason for choosing the Zhen surname over Ye was that Zhen Wanlin worried that if he and Ye Lian had more children in the future, the siblings might become distant due to having different surnames.

This reasoning was sound, and the Ye family agreed.

After reading the letter, Ye Xiaoxiao genuinely felt happy for Ye Lian. She wished Ye Lian a happy new life.

The second part of the letter mentioned that Ye Changqing and Ye Changjun had also gotten jobs in the county town.

Eldest Brother Liu was dependable and had found them good jobs.

Reading the letter reassured Ye Xiaoxiao about her family.

She wrote to remind her eldest brother and sister-in-law to be especially careful with Ye Baocheng’s commute to prevent kidnapping.

In the original story, Ye Baocheng was kidnapped.

Although the original plot had mostly changed, Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t taking any chances.

With Ye Baocheng starting school, Ye Xiaoxiao bought a lot of school supplies and mailed them back for him and his younger brother.

Though Ye Baoyuan wouldn’t start school for a few years, Ye Xiaoxiao got him a set ahead of time.

...

The school’s anatomy practical class finally began.

Ye Xiaoxiao and her classmates would be attending the class with third-year senior male and female students.

There weren’t many third-year students—fewer than their own year.

Some had even gone out with the teachers for practical classes.

So, there were only three senior male students and two senior female students present.

Ye Xiaoxiao finally saw female students in their major, which was quite rare.

Zhang Kaining whispered to Ye Xiaoxiao, “We actually have senior sisters.”

Ye Xiaoxiao recognized one of the senior sisters, having met her once during orientation day, but they hadn’t interacted much.

“Junior sister, come join our group.”

Meng Jingwan beckoned Ye Xiaoxiao over.

"Hi, senior, I’m Ye Xiaoxiao."

"Hello, my name is Meng Jingwan, and this is Zhang Xinyun."

Zhang Xinyun nodded at Ye Xiaoxiao.

"She’s such a pretty junior—hopefully she won’t get scared and cry later."

Once the groups were formed, the teacher started the class.

The earlier theory classes had covered the basics, so this session was about building nerve. They mostly used white mice and rabbits.

Next door, the Western medicine students’ class had barely started when the wailing began.

Meanwhile, the TCM students, guys and girls alike, stayed completely calm.

Ye Xiaoxiao stared at the lifeless rabbit with a detached expression.

She’d done anatomy classes before, so she wasn’t fazed.

In these classes, ending the animals quickly is actually the kindest thing. The worst are those who hesitate, prolonging the animals’ suffering.

Once the teacher went over the basics, he let the students take over.

Both seniors let Ye Xiaoxiao take the lead.

Meng Jingwan coached her, "Xiao Xiao, cut right here."

Ye Xiaoxiao made a clean, swift cut, ending the rabbit’s life quickly.

Meng Jingwan and Zhang Xinyun exchanged surprised looks—this junior seemed pretty experienced.

"Junior, have you dissected animals before?"

"Not really, but my older siblings are surgeons and forensic doctors. I’ve seen a lot growing up and picked up some knowledge myself."

She was hinting at her past life.

Meng Jingwan and Zhang Xinyun understood—without family ties, few would choose TCM.

For one, it’s a niche field, and Peking University offers tons of courses. Plus, without prior experience, mastering TCM in three to five years is tough.

After class, the teacher told everyone to tidy up the dissection room.

Meng Jingwan and Zhang Xinyun swapped dorm numbers with Ye Xiaoxiao.

"Come by our dorm sometime—it’s just the two of us," Zhang Xinyun said.

"Definitely."

She left the classroom and ran into her roommates.

"You took the anatomy class too, how was it?"

Tang Xiuxiu stayed pretty calm, but she looked pale.

"Same as always, no big deal."

Xia Li: "Of course it’s you, Xiao Xiao, ugh..."

She covered her mouth, still haunted by the recent horror.

"Let’s drop it, I’m gonna be sick."

The others were pale too.

They probably lost their appetite for lunch.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I’m gonna grab some food then."

Zhang Kaining came over, finally getting a chance to say hi to Ye Xiaoxiao’s roommates.

"Xiao Xiao, let’s grab lunch and hit the lab this afternoon."

Zhang Kaining’s experiment was moving too slow. After the first phase of trials, he still had to tweak the drug ratios based on feedback. He needed Ye Xiaoxiao’s help.

Ye Xiaoxiao, with nothing else planned, agreed.

Zhang Kaining looked at the others, "Hey, wanna join us for lunch? My treat."

Xia Li waved her hand quickly.

Even though it was free, she wasn’t in the mood to eat.

The others said no too.

Tang Xiuxiu even asked directly, "Want me to take your bag back to the dorm?"

Ye Xiaoxiao gave her bag to Tang Xiuxiu.

Zhang Kaining was pretty bummed.

"Let’s go, you still serious about your career?"

Zhang Kaining perked up: "Of course, why wouldn’t I? You think Tang Xiuxiu saw me just now?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "You’re hard to miss, big guy."

Zhang Kaining: "Then why didn’t she say anything?"

"You’re a grown man, waiting for her to make the first move? Zhang Kaining, if you like her, just tell her. If she says no, move on."

Ye Xiaoxiao was blunt, hitting Zhang Kaining where it hurt.

"You’re right."

Zhang Kaining thought hard about Ye Xiaoxiao’s advice.

After lunch, they went back to the lab and didn’t bring it up again.

Ye Xiaoxiao had made a good chunk of money by now. After leaving the lab, she thought about checking out the city for a good spot to buy a place.

Beijing didn’t have many high-rises yet. Ye Xiaoxiao, knowing where the future hotspots would be, figured buying a few properties and waiting for prices to go up was a safe bet.

Hearing Ye Xiaoxiao’s plan, Zhang Kaining said, "Xiao Xiao, if you’re buying, get something near school. Prices there never go down."

But around the school were mostly family compounds, with housing assigned by the units, so there wasn’t much for sale.