Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 217 - 166 Collision

Chapter 217: Chapter 166 Collision

It was well past midnight, and it was so hot! Looking forward to all kinds of support and encouragement~

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On the return trip, Chuxia remained silent the whole time, part out of guilt and part uncertain of what to say to Zhou Mikang.

The cities of this era, unlike those of the future, didn’t have skyscrapers as soon as one entered. Generally speaking, a five or six-story building was considered tall; mostly, there were bungalows, which had the advantage of offering a broad view.

Feeling all kinds of discomfort and awkwardness, Chuxia turned her gaze out of the window, pretending to admire the scenery.

The sky was really blue now, and the air, so fresh. Thinking about it, she had been here for nearly a year and had never taken the time to enjoy all this. She couldn’t help but smile wryly; when she couldn’t even eat her fill, where would she find the mood to appreciate the scenery?

She felt a pain on her arm and turned her head to see Zhou Mikang holding a handful of candy: "Eat."

Awkward! Did he think she was a child? She intended to refuse, but what he offered was her favorite sorghum candy, soft and chewy, totally different from what she had eaten before! Confronted with the delicious temptation, her hand couldn’t help but reach out.

Zhou Mikang frowned: "Two hands!"

"I don’t want it anymore!" Chuxia pouted and pulled her hand back. It wasn’t like the candy wasn’t wrapped; even if it fell to the ground, it could be picked up and eaten without issue. Was there any need for such an attitude?

Anyway, she had plenty of pocket money. When she had a chance to go to the market, she’d buy a big bag—she really didn’t crave the candy he offered! Hmph!

"You’re not big, but you sure have a temper," Zhou Mikang softened his tone, "Candy cheers you up. I know you can buy it yourself, but distant water can’t quench immediate thirst. Here, take it!"

Alright, in recognition of his somewhat decent conscience, she wouldn’t hold it against him. Chuxia pursed her lips and reached out to take the candy onto her lap, unwrapped a piece and popped it into her mouth, chew chew, her eyes brimming with happiness, then she unwrapped another...

Watching her eat joyfully, like a little squirrel with her cheeks bulging, a smile unconsciously appeared on the domineering man’s face.

"Don’t you have something you want to ask me?"

"Hmm?" Chuxia stared at Zhou Mikang with confusion, still chewing with puffed cheeks, a bit of candy paste sticking to the corner of her mouth. The cuteness softened Zhou Mikang’s heart, making him instinctively reach out, causing Chuxia to reflexively tilt her head away: "What are you doing?"

Zhou Mikang simply stopped the car and reached out to turn her head towards him. Chuxia’s eyes instantly widened in alarm, and before she could get angry, Zhou Mikang had already wiped the candy paste from the corner of her mouth, smiling faintly: "Really just a child."

The rare gentle gesture from him thoroughly stunned Chuxia. Her large eyes blinked and blinked again, her face filled with disbelief.

Zhou Mikang glanced at her, his brow furrowed: "You’re not used to it unless I scold you, is that it?"

That’s right, this is the squad leader Tongzi! Phew... With a long sigh of relief, Chuxia felt as if she had finally seen a familiar person again: "It’s best if you don’t scold me, but don’t put on that scary scowling face like a barn owl either—it’s frightening."

He just couldn’t be a little nicer to her! Listen to what she’s saying; he was kindly smiling at her, and she compared it to a barn owl’s sneer!

Forget it, perhaps the way he had treated her before was somewhat problematic. Moreover, she was still a child after all. If he really took her to task, it would be pointless.

"About the betrothal gift, don’t you want to know what’s going on?"

"Betrothal gift?" Chuxia paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh oh oh, when you asked if I had anything to ask you, you meant you wanted to explain that to me, right?"

Zhou Mikang didn’t make a sound, clearly taking that as a yes.

Chuxia continued, "I think, I think there must be a reason why you did that. If you want to tell me, you’ll naturally tell me. If you don’t want to say it, I guess asking won’t make any difference."

Zhou Mikang looked her over: "You’re angry, aren’t you?"

"No." Chuxia shook her head without hesitation, "As long as you stick to your promise to manage your salary with me and support my parents with me, I won’t be angry as long as you don’t go back on your word."

"My salary will be yours, but this month’s is already gone..." He paused, then Zhou Mikang said, "Last time, when I took out the betrothal gift, I didn’t think much of it. Later, when the family discussed it, we thought that knowing our dad and mom’s character, if we actually gave them the betrothal gift, they would probably just save the money and not spend a dime.

The money was given to them so they could live comfortably; if it’s just going to be saved, what’s the point? So, after some discussion, we only gave them a bit of pocket money, and the rest went towards building a house.

By the time our parents get home, the foundation should be started, and in another month or two, they’ll probably be able to move into the new house. Then you won’t have to worry about living in the old house being too hot in the summer."

Was the money actually used to build a house for her family?

Chuxia stared blankly at Zhou Mikang, at a loss for words for a moment.

He didn’t mention it earlier because he didn’t want to hear words of gratitude from her parents, did he? Or perhaps, he also wanted to give her parents a surprise?

He must have seen her parents’ unhappiness and their somewhat colder attitude than before, but he, he hadn’t mentioned a word about it until he saw them off!

The problem was, her parents hadn’t gone back!

Originally, her dad didn’t want the Zhou family to know about his illness, harboring a grudge in his heart against them, not wanting to bask in their glory. Now it seemed, such actions were truly laughable!

If the Zhou family members were to find out from someone else’s mouth that her dad was hospitalized here and hadn’t returned home, where would they put their face? Thinking so, Chuxia swallowed her saliva, "There’s something else I need to tell you, I hope, you won’t get mad."

Zhou Mikang, who was happy not to have heard a word of thanks or anything of that sort from Chuxia, softened his expression, "Go ahead."

"My dad... my dad and mom actually didn’t go back to their hometown." Chuxia glanced at Zhou Mikang’s face before continuing, "My dad is sick..."

"Screech!"

A harsh braking, Zhou Mikang frowned and looked at Chuxia, "Where are they now?"

...

Meanwhile, Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe, after Chuxia and Zhou Mikang had left, quickly got off the train; their belongings were entrusted to Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan to bring back.

As soon as the two reached the exit, Jing Zhe came to meet them and, with the old folks in tow, rushed to the 401 General Hospital for examination and treatment, with Jing Zhe providing one-stop service.

Lin Baohe’s condition was as Director Xu and Jing Zhe had described—not serious, but if it progressed further, it would certainly be troublesome.

The surgery was scheduled for the next day, and for the moment, they were administering IV drips to regulate his body.

As a well-known orthopedic specialist at 401, Jing Zhe usually didn’t handle these kinds of surgeries, but this time, he was as serious as if facing a major operation, repeatedly reminding his assistants and nurses to be well-prepared in advance.

In 401, Jing Zhe was definitely the prince charming in the nurses’ eyes. During the time he was seconded to Division A, how much they "missed" him was obvious.

Seeing his concern for Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe’s surgery, the nurses thought that the old couple must be important relatives of his, and therefore treated Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe with the warmth of spring.

This left the other three patients in the same ward baffled; although they were not ordinary people to be staying in such a ward, when had the nurses ever been so attentive to them?

As a result, a few patients who had originally not wanted to associate with Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe due to their plain appearance began to chat with them, intentionally or otherwise.

"Sister, what’s wrong with your brother?" asked the elderly lady in the second bed with a smile.

Zhao Yulan politely replied, "His femoral head is not great, they said injecting some medicine will fix it."

The woman in the third bed, in her thirties, quickly picked up on Zhao Yulan’s words, "That’s not a big issue, you’ll be as good as new after it’s healed."

Zhao Yulan nodded, "Hmm, that’s what the doctor said."

"You must be relatives of Doctor Jing, aren’t you?" asked the girl in the fourth bed, her voice soft and gentle, which made Zhao Yulan feel an involuntary affection—reminding her of her own daughter.

"No, Doctor Jing is my daughter’s teacher."

Zhao Yulan was definitely a model of responsiveness.

"Your daughter..." The young woman who was about to ask about Zhao Yulan’s daughter, spotting Jing Zhe at the doorway, quickly checked herself and greeted with a smile, "Hello, Doctor Jing!"

Jing Zhe nodded at her and came straight to Lin Baohe’s bedside, "Uncle, you’re not feeling any discomfort, are you?"

Lin Baohe tried to sit up to reply, but Jing Zhe pressed him down, "Uncle, you’re treating me like an outsider again, aren’t you? Better lie back down. If the needle comes out, you’ll have to endure it again."

"Doctor Jing, it’s really troubling you too much, we..." Zhao Yulan, full of gratitude, didn’t know what else to say.

"Look, I just mentioned Uncle, and Auntie starts being formal with me again. I’m Chuxia’s teacher; it’s only right that I take care of you. Please sit down, Auntie." Jing Zhe then turned to Lin Baohe, "Uncle, you might feel a little uneasy later on, that’s a normal reaction to the medication, don’t worry."

Lin Baohe nodded, uttered a sound of agreement, and wanted to say some words of politeness, but felt it was somewhat redundant, so he simply smiled and stayed quiet—when it didn’t involve his daughter, Lin Baohe was absolutely a man of few words.

"Is the IV already in? That was quick." Zhu Xinqin whirled into the room like a gust of wind, taking Zhao Yulan’s hand with familiarity, "I’m Jing Zhe’s mother."

"Hello, hello..." Zhao Yulan stood up in a fluster, her face full of bewilderment, and Lin Baohe also began to feel uncomfortable; for such a minor illness, how had they involved Doctor Jing’s mother?

"Oh? Uncle and Auntie, how come you’re here? Jing Zhe, Aunt Zhu?"

The newcomer was someone Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe recognized; they had seen her the previous day at the engagement banquet, Chuxia’s elder uncle’s wife, Yu Tao.

At this moment, Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe just wanted to find a mask to cover their faces—how did they just... bump into her? Look at this situation, right, they seemed to have heard yesterday that Yu Tao’s mother was also hospitalized here. Ah, how could they have forgotten...

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)