A doctor who travels through two eras

Lin Sanqi looked at his clothes, then at his pants. The front door wasn't open, and he was still wrapped in a coat.

"Yes, what's the problem?"

The shop assistant was delighted upon hearing this:

"No problem, it's been so many years, it's really rare to see someone come to eat hot pot alone, you're really generous."

Lin Sanqi took off his hat and then his coat before smiling and saying:

"Your Donglaishun restaurant, oh right, it's called Minzu Restaurant now. I used to come here often."

I've been working in the south for the past few years, so it's been a rare treat to come here. I didn't invite any friends or colleagues because I didn't want them to spend too much money; these days, everyone has their struggles, and I wanted to save them some money.

By 64, although the situation was no longer as difficult as those three years, people were no longer starving.

However, supplies still required coupons, especially meat, which was in short supply. Donglaishun not only accepted grain coupons but also meat coupons and cash, making it unaffordable for ordinary people.

If Lin Sanqi invites other people to eat hot pot, given his current status, the people who are invited will definitely rush to pay the bill, which would be undesirable.

Lin Sanqi preferred to enjoy a delicious meal by herself, without any burden, without owing favors, and without needing to engage in hypocritical formalities.

Besides, he's not short of money.

The shop assistants were all shrewd; seeing Lin Sanqi wearing a woolen overcoat and shiny leather shoes, they knew he must be a high-ranking official.

Such a powerful businessman would not be allowed to exist in Beijing.

So they politely led them to a quiet table inside:
"Comrade, please have a seat."

Lin Sanqi put down her coat, looked around, and noticed that it was lunchtime, but only about a third of the customers were seated. Curious, she asked:
"Comrade, is your business at Donglaishun not doing well either? A prestigious old brand, and you only have this little customer traffic?"

The shop assistant was inwardly complaining, but outwardly remained cheerful:
"These days, who can afford to eat meat except when they need to ask someone for a favor?"

For example, if four people came, given their current appetites, two pounds of meat per person wouldn't be too much. Is it even possible to eat like that? That would require eight pounds of grain coupons.

Ordinary workers are rationed to only two ounces of meat per month, and they can't even eat two pounds of meat a year. How can they possibly eat it all in one meal? Who would be willing to do that?

So, someone like you, dining alone at our Donglaishun restaurant, has become incredibly rare over the years. Those who can afford it might just go for a bowl of braised pork offal and baked wheat cakes – that's considered quite extravagant.

Lin Sanqi remained silent, thinking that even though the three years of hardship had passed and the national economy had recovered to some extent.

However, it turned out that while no one starved to death, it was impossible to have enough to eat and eat well, and the supply of materials was still in a difficult state.

Having traveled through time for so many years, it seems that I haven't changed anything about this era in terms of major trends.

Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi smiled wryly. He couldn't change the irreversible tide of history, so he would just have to eat and drink well and stimulate domestic demand.
"Comrade, give me two catties of mutton, with the best cuts of mutton, cucumber strips, mutton ribs, frozen tofu, and Chinese cabbage, and a bottle of Fenjiu liquor."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

That evening, after a hearty meal of mutton, Lin Sanqi, still burping, had just arrived at her home in Dongmianhua Hutong when she noticed a jeep parked in front of her door.

Cars were a rarity these days, especially military-plated vehicles.

Lin Sanqi wasn't afraid that they were there to arrest him, so he went over to take a look and found two young soldiers huddled together inside. The jeep was covered with a thick layer of snow.

I tapped on the table, thinking to myself, "I don't want to freeze to death in the car."

"Hey, comrade, you can't sleep in the car. Your car doesn't have air conditioning, you'll wake up as an ice pop tomorrow morning."

The two young soldiers woke up and saw that the people outside the car were almost crying.

"Minister Lin, you, you're finally back."

They waited from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., both hungry and cold, but dared not leave.

Fortunately, there were no buses or taxis at night back then, so Lin Sanqi had no choice but to go back to Dongmianhua Hutong to spend the night.

If he goes to sleep in the dormitory of the Capital Infectious Disease Hospital tonight, those two school officers are in big trouble.

Lin Sanqi touched it, took out two chocolates from his coat pocket, and handed them over:

"Come on, this can help you warm up. Why don't you two come inside and warm up? I have a fireplace, it heats up quickly."

After the two cadets got off the vehicle, trembling, they gave Lin Sanqi a stiff salute.
"Minister Lin, the leader said that after we pick you up, we should go to the headquarters compound immediately. He and several other leaders are waiting for you there."

"Which leader?" "Reporting, it's Leader Jing and several military region leaders."

Lin Sanqi glanced at his watch: "It's almost 9 o'clock. You've been waiting all afternoon. The leaders should have all gone home by now, right?"

"Report, Leader Jing said that no matter how late it is, they will pick you up and wait for you."

Lin Sanqi didn't have the habit of going to bed early either, but since there were a few old men who wanted to chat, he decided to go and chat with them.

Of course, he also knew in his heart that these twelve urgent summons, like gold medals, meant they wanted to see him alive or dead, so it couldn't be anything good.

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll go home to get some things and then I'll come with you."

Half an hour later, Lin Sanqi appeared in the military compound on Fuxing Road.

When he entered Leader Jing's office, he found it filled with old men, and the smell of cigarettes was almost suffocating.

Through the smoke, Lin Sanqi could see that, in addition to Leader Jing, Cao Zhiyang from the Yunnan Military Region, Xu Tianxing from the Snow Region, Tian Yingzhe from the Liaoshen Military Region, Guo Huaqiang from the Southeast Military Region, and Yang Shufeng from the Air Force were also present.

Since they were all old acquaintances, Lin Sanqi relaxed and joked:
"Hey, gentlemen, why aren't you sleeping so late? Why are you playing cards here?"

As soon as Chief Cao saw Lin Sanqi arrive, he excitedly rushed over and enthusiastically helped him take off his coat.

Lin Sanqi was so startled that he quickly dodged away. Good heavens, what level am I that I have to have two stars get my clothes?
"No, no, no, Lao Cao, don't be so enthusiastic. The more enthusiastic you are, the more scared I get."

Hahaha~~~ Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Chief Cao insisted on taking Lin Sanqi's coat and hanging it on the hanger before smiling and saying:

"It is my honor to serve God of Wealth Lin. However, the one who should be flattering him the most today is Old Xu, but he can't bring himself to do it. Don't agree to any of his requests later."

Xu Tianxing blushed immediately. As a straight man from the military, he absolutely couldn't bring himself to fawn over a young man.

But he still came up and tightly grasped Lin Sanqi's hand:
"Comrade Sanqi, I, Lao Xu, am not good at saying nice things, but I am truly grateful to you."

Lin Sanqi grabbed Chief Xu's hand and asked anxiously:

"How's it going? Did you take down the Indians yet?"

Commander Xu nodded emphatically:
"Absolutely. With the advanced weapons you provided, we thoroughly thrashed the Indians, leaving them utterly helpless. However, the enemy is too cunning, employing human wave tactics against us, completely disregarding the fact that their own soldiers are falling in waves, so the battlefield remains in a state of flux."

Lin Sanqi nodded slightly, thinking that human lives in such a trash country are worthless, and using human lives to fill the gaps is a headache.

When Leader Jing saw Lin Sanqi approaching, he stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Comrade Sanqi, we've been waiting for you for quite a while now. We're all starving, but we have some things we'd like to discuss with you."

Lin Sanqi weighed the large bag in his hand and said:
"I brought braised pork, peanuts, ham sausages, and Moutai liquor. On this snowy night, wouldn't it be wonderful to drink and chat?"

Wow~~~
The officers in the room were all excited. They busied themselves tidying up the table, finding chairs, and unpacking food. In no time, they were all sitting together.

Lin Sanqi was the youngest and lowest-ranking person present, so he acted as a waiter, pouring drinks for each of the old men before raising his glass and saying:

"Come on, let's start with one. Xiao Lin wishes all the grandpas and uncles a happy new year and a long and healthy life."

Okay~~~
Everyone raised their glasses and downed them in one gulp. Then, they eagerly reached for the pig's trotters and beef tendons, clearly starving.

After a few rounds of drinks, Lin Sanqi, her face flushed and slightly tipsy, slammed her hand on the table and asked:
"Alright, you can tell me now. What's the matter that you called me here in such a hurry?"

Chief Cao put down his drink, and taking advantage of his closest relationship with Lin Sanqi, he spoke up:

"Xiao Lin, whether it's the plane you sent or the Shandong cat, they are top-notch treasures and have played a huge role on the current battlefield, reducing our casualty rate."

As Yang Shufeng just told us, now that 500 J-7 fighter jets have been deployed, we used to be able to see enemy aircraft but couldn't hit them. Now it's the other way around; we can chase them down and engage them, even into foreign airspace, without fear.

Yang Shufeng of the Air Force nodded emphatically:

"Yes, we chased the enemy planes all over the world like we were chasing rabbits. In the second half of the year alone, we shot down 80 enemy planes. Now no enemy planes dare to fly into our airspace."

Lin Sanqi asked in surprise, "That's a good thing, at least we've gained air superiority."

Chief Cao slammed his fist on the table: "We have airplanes and cars now, but we don't have enough fuel!" (End of Chapter)