Riding the wind of rebirth

When Mai Xiaomiao returned after finishing the call, she and the two women seemed to be quite familiar with each other, and the three of them chatted and laughed.

"How so?" Ye Xin asked.

"The naval officer said that Wenyu is a party member, the student union president, and has meritorious service records. Such talent is sought after everywhere. His suggestion is for Wenyu to take the postgraduate entrance examination and transfer from the Third Military Medical University to the Second Military Medical University. Firstly, she can continue her studies, and secondly, it is much easier than transferring her military status after graduation."

“As long as he gets into the Second Military Medical University, everything else will be easy; he can take care of it all,” Zhou Zhi said. “I wonder if Wen Yu is confident about taking the postgraduate entrance exam? Uncle Navy said that as long as her score is high enough for admission, he can arrange for her to be under the best mentor.”

Nowadays, the number of places for postgraduate students recommended for admission without examination is extremely limited, and they are all highly qualified, which is a completely different situation from universities thirty years from now. Furthermore, the Army is currently the strongest branch of the military, so the Third Military Medical University is actually stronger than the Second Military Medical University.

For someone like Fang Dashuai, a graduate student recommended by the Third Military Medical University, getting into the Second Military Medical University isn't actually that difficult.

However, Ye Xin didn't dare to make any absolute statements: "Then let's prepare for both possibilities and let him study for the exam."

"Graduate students can get married, right?" Zhang Xinyi's thoughts drifted to another topic: "We agreed to get married after graduation. If Wenyu studies for another two years, I'm afraid someone might want to get married..."

Ye Xin immediately objected, reaching out to tickle Zhang Xinyi: "Who's got frizzy hair! I don't care about him at all!"

"Alright, alright." Zhou Zhi still had some bias towards Zhang Xinyi, so he quickly protected her: "Let's find a place to eat first, and then find a place to have tea and have a good chat."

"We're going to have a nice meal first, then go to the Bund for dessert and coffee!" Ye Xin said, "Let's really give you a good squeeze, you old tycoon!"

They had experienced similar days before, but the Jiang Shuyi of that time had been replaced by Mai Xiaomiao. Fortunately, the two women accepted Mai Xiaomiao completely after spending a short time with her.

Zhang Xinyi already knew about Mai Xiaomiao through her mother and had already formed an impression of her in her mind. In her mother's words, Mai Xiaomiao was a well-behaved and silly girl. God opened the door to her mathematical genius but closed the window to her high emotional intelligence.

However, Aunt Su, the mother of the braised pork knuckle, believed that purity of heart was the most important thing. With a good heart, emotional intelligence didn't matter. Even if someone with a good heart but low emotional intelligence wasn't liked at first, "time will tell," and they would eventually win people's favor. On the other hand, girls with bad hearts and high emotional intelligence had a special name in later generations: "green tea," and Aunt Su disliked that kind of person the most.

Upon meeting her today, Mai Xiaomiao was indeed much as I had imagined. However, she lacked the rational and serious demeanor of many science students and was more like an innocent and romantic young girl. She kept praising her own beauty upon seeing me, and I could tell from her eyes that it came from the bottom of her heart.

A girl like this is impossible not to like. Apart from being a little petite, she is perfect for braised pork knuckle.

Ye Xin didn't know much about Mai Xiaomiao, but with just a reminder, she found an ideal future path for Fang Wenyu and herself. Due to the limited knowledge of college students, this path was indeed something that she and Fang Wenyu had never thought of before, and many worries arose from this.

Now, as long as Fang Wenyu can pass the exam in Chongqing and come to Shanghai, all the troubles will be solved. Hmm, it seems that the navy uniforms are better looking than the army uniforms...

So even though Ye Xin had some inexplicable feelings towards Mai Xiaomiao before, they were gone now, and she was secretly grateful. When Zhou Zhi drove to the Shanghai Old Restaurant near Yu Garden and was still looking for a parking spot, Ye Xin couldn't help but call Fang Wenyu, completely unaware of where she was.

Why not use Zhouzhi's phone? Because a thrifty girl wants to save her boyfriend money.

Instead, Zhang Xinyi looked at the place after getting off the car and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Why don't we just find any place? We don't need to come to such a nice place."

“Sister Xinyi, you don’t need to be so polite,” Mai Xiaomiao said. “Zhouzi also treated everyone to meals in New York. It’s not that he likes to treat people; it’s that he wants to eat there himself.”

Zhang Xinyi couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Well, if her mother hadn't heard so many stories about Mai Xiaomiao from Aunt Su, it would be hard to say whether Mai Xiaomiao had high or low emotional intelligence based on just this one sentence.

However, judging from her behavior, Mai Xiaomiao really said whatever came to mind. At this moment, Zhang Xinyi sincerely believed that Mai Xiaomiao, who was simple-minded and straightforward, was far more suitable for Zhou Zhi than her best friend in England.

Ideally, men and women should complement each other.

When Ye Xin returned after making the call, the waiter led her to a small private room on the third floor. As she looked at the room's decor, she exclaimed, "Wow! Do we really need to spend so much on braised pork knuckle? This place doesn't look cheap at all."

"Anyway, it's rare for you to get a meal from me these days." Zhou Zhi smiled and opened the menu, saying to the waiter, "Give me a few of your signature dishes: sea cucumber with shrimp roe, braised eel, stir-fried shrimp, braised shredded vegetables, and the eight-treasure duck is too much for us to finish. Oh, and crabs are still in season, so let's also have crab roe tofu... Can you make braised pork belly with water chestnuts?"

Those who can sit in this hall are all distinguished guests. The waiters of this old Shanghai restaurant are also very professional: "Our pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup is now divided into spring and autumn seasons. In spring, we use thunder bamboo shoots, and in autumn, we use water chestnut bamboo shoots. Shall I go and bring them over for you to take a look?"

Huh? This service is pretty good. Zhou Zhi felt that this move surpassed the Rongleyuan Garden in Sichuan: "It's a good opportunity to see what water chestnuts look like."

Soon, two bamboo shoots were placed in a bamboo basket lined with green grass and brought out. Zhou Zhi smiled as soon as he saw them: "These are old acquaintances. So the water chestnut bamboo shoots you mentioned are actually what we call Ci bamboo shoots in my hometown. These bamboo shoots are quite good. Then give us another dish of pickled bamboo shoots and pork, and add a green vegetable, that will do. How about stir-fried kale?"

After the waiter left, Ye Xin asked, "You seem quite familiar with this place, Zhouzi?"

"I'm not familiar with it, but I came here to learn from their experience when Rongle Garden in Chengdu was being renovated."

"This place is actually the same as Rongleyuan, a time-honored brand. Its predecessor was called Rongshuntang, which opened in the first year of the Guangxu reign. However, the plaque is said to have been left by the Qianlong Emperor. Later, it was called 'Rongshunguan' by the old customers, and then it was called 'Old Restaurant'. When it was expanded in 1965, it was simply changed to 'Shanghai Old Restaurant'."

"Master Chef Zhang Yuanfu of Rongleyuan and Master Chef Li Borong, the executive chef here, both used to prepare state banquets at the Great Hall of the People; they are figures of the same caliber. I don't know if it's because their respective restaurants both have the character 'Rong' in their names, but their friendship is quite deep. I've also heard Master Zhang tell many stories about the local Shanghai cuisine." (End of Chapter)