Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Shen Banyue stirred slightly, watching as Shen Guoqing grabbed Doctor Ma and easily pulled him away, then shielded Nurse Zhou behind him. She relaxed again, settling into a more comfortable position to enjoy the show.

Shen Wenyi muttered under his breath, "Who's that girl? Could she be Guoqing's blind date? She's quite pretty, but isn't it a bit unseemly for Guoqing to be so persistent? It might tarnish the image of us men from Xiaodun Brigade."

Zhao Xuehai, despite the significant age gap between them, immediately chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! When we're out and about, we have to think about the face of our brigade's men, young and old."

Shen Zhenhua was speechless. "Didn't Xiao Jie call her Nurse Zhou? Wasn't Guoqing's blind date the daughter of the accountant from Yangliu Brigade? Clearly not the same person." He couldn't help but give Zhao Xuehai a light smack. "What do you, a little kid, know? Don't just echo whatever Shen Wenyi says."

Shen Wenyi: "..."

Elders who aren't much older are really annoying!

He changed his angle. "Then who is this girl?"

Xiao Jie couldn't resist interjecting, "I already said, Nurse Zhou! She's really nice, she even gave us candy!"

Shen Wenyi: "..."

Shen Zhenhua immediately laughed. "See, even the kids think you're dumb."

While they were chattering away, the conversation between the three over there ended rather unpleasantly. Doctor Ma, looking grim, went into the clinic, while Nurse Zhou walked over with Shen Guoqing.

"This is Nurse Zhou. I happened to run into her, so I invited her to join us for dinner."

Shen Guoqing gave a quick explanation. The people on the cart exchanged glances, squeezed together, and made room for Nurse Zhou. Zhou Yaoyao smiled at everyone, climbed onto the ox cart, and sat down next to Shen Banyue. Seeing her settled, Shen Guoqing then walked back to the front of the cart, his movements stiff and awkward.

Shen Wenyi, seeing his demeanor, couldn't hold back a snort of laughter, winking at Shen Zhenhua. Shen Zhenhua found it too embarrassing to watch and deeply suspected that this kid was destined to remain a bachelor.

Zhou Yaoyao greeted the children and casually asked how everyone had been lately. Xiao Jie immediately started chattering away, and the other boys—well, except for Lin Mian, whom Shen Wenyi had certified as a 'clam'—chimed in one after another.

Even though it hadn't been long, there was so much to talk about!

The fish in the water, the jackals on the mountain, the bamboo shoots in the bamboo grove, the wild boar they carried home, the odds and ends they dug up by the stream... There was no end to it, they simply couldn't finish. They hadn't even gotten through much before they arrived at the state-run restaurant.

The group noisily entered the restaurant. The waitress sister sitting behind the counter immediately furrowed her willow-leaf brows and shouted, "You adults, keep an eye on the kids! This is a place for the masses to eat, not a playground for children. What's with all this racket?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she spotted Shen Banyue and Xiao Dizi coming in behind the others. Her expression instantly brightened. "Oh, it's you! Come over, come over!"

Shen Banyue walked over and took out a paper package, handing it to the sister. "Sister, these are bamboo shoots we dried ourselves. Please take them and try them."

The waitress sister was taken aback, then found it both funny and touching. Such a little kid was actually giving her something. "Oh my, how could I take your things? You keep them and eat them yourself!"

Shen Banyue smiled. "We dug up the bamboo shoots ourselves, just put in a bit of effort. And you gave us peach shortbread to eat last time." Knowing they were coming to the state-run restaurant today, she had specially packed a bag of dried bamboo shoots before leaving home as a return gift for the peach shortbread she'd eaten last time.

She wasn't really a child, after all. How could she just eat someone's food for free?

The waitress sister remarked with feeling, "You're quite the kid."

After thinking for a moment, she still accepted the package of bamboo shoots. She fished out two large handfuls of sunflower seeds from under the counter, put them in a bowl, and handed it to Shen Banyue. "Here, take these seeds to eat. My surname is Li, the 'Li' that means 'fierce.' My name is Li Yanmei. You can call me Sister Li. Next time you come to the commune, feel free to come find me at the restaurant."

Although this sister wasn't the friendliest waitress, her personality was genuinely straightforward and cheerful. Shen Banyue quite liked her, so she readily accepted the sunflower seeds and agreed. "Alright, thank you, Sister Li."

"You've got quite a lively group here, so many people. How about a stewed pork belly with vermicelli? That dish is big. Stir-fried shredded pork with radish shreds is another option. There's not much pork in it, but this dish counts as a vegetable price, doesn't require meat coupons, and is cheap—very cost-effective..."

Sister Li quickly got into her role, turning to Shen Guoqing and the others to introduce today's dishes and recommend a few that were large and economical.

This was, of course, out of consideration for Shen Banyue. Otherwise, the menu was written on the little blackboard on the wall. Were they afraid customers couldn't read it themselves?

Once the group was seated, Shen Wenyi fished a few sunflower seeds from the bowl. Munching on them, he gave Shen Banyue a thumbs-up. "Our Xiao Yue the Hero really has wide connections and a lot of face."

Shen Banyue couldn't be bothered to respond to him.

Zhou Yaoyao smiled and ruffled Shen Banyue's messy hair. "That's right, they're all so well-behaved and likable." Both mischievously clever and obediently sensible. Having seen plenty of children who howled so much during injections it made your head throb, Zhou Yaoyao truly liked these kids.

Zhao Xuehai's eyes darted around. Suddenly, he asked, "Sister Zhou, do you have a boyfriend?"

Zhou Yaoyao was startled, her face immediately flushing red. However, she answered quite openly, "Not yet."

Zhao Xuehai chuckled and asked again, "Then do you demand a lot, a lot of bride price?"

Zhou Yaoyao let out an "ah" of surprise, then shook her head. "It's... it's okay. My parents haven't really discussed this with me, but they're both reasonable people. They probably wouldn't ask for too much."

She smiled, a bit embarrassed, but didn't act coy. Instead, she joked with Zhao Xuehai quite openly. "But I can't be in a relationship with you, you're too young!"

Zhao Xuehai waved his little hand. "I'm not looking for a relationship. When I have money in the future, I'll buy meat. Xiao Yue the Hero says that for me, it's 'one person full, the whole family not hungry.' I was asking for my Brother Guoqing... mmmph... mmmph..."

Shen Guoqing could bear it no longer. He finally stood up and covered Zhao Xuehai's mouth.

He leaned close to the troublemaker's ear and whispered a threat, "If you keep talking nonsense, you won't get to eat. Not a single slice of meat!"

Alright, with his weakness firmly grasped, Zhao Xuehai automatically 'muted' himself.

Zhou Yaoyao glanced at Shen Guoqing, then quickly turned her head, pretending she hadn't understood anything. Shen Guoqing also glanced at her, scratched his head, and in a fluster, stood up and said, "The food should be about ready. I'll go get the dishes."

As a result, his foot caught on a stool leg, and he nearly tripped. Finally steadying himself, he walked off with a stiff, awkward gait.

Shen Wenyi couldn't hold back his laughter. Zhou Yaoyao's face was still red, but she couldn't help but smile.

Shen Banyue, sitting to the side, looked at one, then the other, thinking to herself that Comrade Shen Guoqing might just have a chance here!

Everyone ate their fill with great satisfaction.

Especially that huge pot of stewed pork belly with vermicelli. It wasn't expensive, but the portion was very generous, with plenty of meat slices.

According to Shen Zhenhua, usually it was only about two-thirds full, but today the pot was completely full. Sister Li had clearly intentionally given them extra.

After bidding farewell to Sister Li, the group drove the ox cart again to take Zhou Yaoyao back to the clinic. She still had to return for her shift.

Arriving at the clinic entrance, Zhou Yaoyao jumped off the cart and waved to Shen Banyue and the others. "Come on, I have some milk candy at my place. Come with me to get some. I'm in a hurry, no time to bring it out."

Shen Banyue guessed she felt awkward about getting a free meal, so she got up, jumped off the ox cart, turned and scooped up Xiao Dizi, and followed.

Lin Mian immediately jumped off the ox cart after her. The others, hearing about milk candy, also jumped down one after another.

Shen Wenyi, sitting next to Shen Guoqing, nudged him with his elbow. "Hey, aren't you going?"

Shen Guoqing hesitated for a moment, seemed to remember something, and then got off the ox cart as well.

Doctor Ma's name was Ma Guangrong. He was tall and thin, wore glasses, and his white coat was washed clean. At first glance, he quite fit the stereotypical image of a "doctor." Unlike the other doctor, surnamed Fang, who always had messy hair and whose white coat buttons were missing, leaving only one.

As soon as Zhou Yaoyao entered, Doctor Ma looked over with a cold expression and said, "You're late, Nurse Zhou."

Zhou Yaoyao paused mid-step, glanced at the empty consultation hall, and said, "Oh, then tell Director Zhang to deduct my pay."

Ma Guangrong was left speechless by her retort.

Director Zhang was old and usually didn't involve himself much in management, let alone minor matters like being a few minutes late. He would only chuckle and say, "We're just a small commune clinic. Where do we get so many rules?"

Zhou Yaoyao ignored him and went straight into the office. She took a tin box from her desk drawer, opened it, and inside, besides the milk candies, there was also a small packet of biscuits wrapped in oiled paper.

She picked up the box and stood up, about to walk out, when Ma Guangrong suddenly appeared at the office door, his expression unpleasant. "Nurse Zhou," he said, "you ought to watch who you're making friends with."

Zhou Yaoyao's face turned cold as she retorted, "Doctor Ma, who I befriend is none of your business. And what do you mean by 'what kind of people'? What are you implying?"

Ma Guangrong sneered and suddenly said, "You're not thinking of dating that peasant, are you? Zhou Yaoyao, you can't be that naive. Sure, it's just a commune clinic, but we're still state employees. If you end up with a commune member from the village, are you out of your mind? Mark my words, you'll regret it someday!"

Still smarting from the slap Zhou Yaoyao had given him earlier, and with no patients around at the moment—the other nurse was in the pharmacy—Ma Guangrong didn't hold back, speaking with unusual bluntness and venom.

He wasn't a young man anymore and had been actively seeking a partner through matchmaking lately, but nothing had worked out.

The clinic had only three doctors. Director Zhang was about to retire, and Ma Guangrong was the obvious successor. It might not be a glorious future, but in Yunling Commune, he was considered quite accomplished. He was also decent-looking, though his family burdens were heavy and he was a bit older.

But the matchmakers seemed blind to his merits, always introducing him to village girls.

It wasn't until a so-called friend joked that the two unmarried nurses at the clinic were quite nice that Ma Guangrong had a sudden realization.

Right, why not go for what was right in front of him?

Both nurses were young—one nineteen, the other twenty. After weighing his options, Ma Guangrong decided Zhou Yaoyao came from a slightly better family background and began occasionally trying to woo her. Unfortunately, Zhou Yaoyao seemed just as blind, completely ignoring his advances. Today, he had finally couldn't hold back and called her out for a "talk."

Who would have thought this feisty little pepper would slap him without a second thought?

And then she happily hopped onto that peasant's oxcart.

Ma Guangrong felt both furious and humiliated. After all, he was a doctor, a backbone doctor who had even trained at a major hospital. How could he be inferior to some peasant?

Zhou Yaoyao scoffed coldly. "Not date a commune member? Then date you instead? Someone whose blind date comes to the clinic entrance to argue, and all you do is hide like a coward—you have the nerve to talk about 'what kind of people'? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the puddle? See what kind of person you are? I do regret something—I regret that day I wasted my breath arguing on your behalf. I must have had nothing better to do. You're just a crow and a black pig—neither of you is any whiter than the other!"

Ma Guangrong's face turned livid with anger. "Zhou Yaoyao, you... you... you..."

Zhou Yaoyao rolled her eyes and suddenly turned to Shen Guoqing, who had just walked over. "Comrade Shen Guoqing, what do you think of me? Would you be willing to date me?"

Shen Guoqing stumbled, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.