Restarting life by going to the countryside to support medical work

Chapter 697 Doubts
By the time Li Yancheng returned from the Luo family, night had already fallen.

The house was quite lively. Not only were Xing Lihua and Tong Xiurong there, but Luo Min's sister Luo Ting and her husband Guo Songshan were also there.

They say three women make a drama, let alone four. You can hear their laughter and chatter all the way to the front door, which is tough on Guo Songshan, this big man.

The other four people were sitting around the stone table in the courtyard, cracking sunflower seeds and chatting, while he was all alone to the side, unable to join in the conversation, so bored he was practically counting ants.

Only when she heard a noise coming from the hanging flower gate and looked up to see Li Yancheng had returned did she stand up with a joyful expression.

Guo Songshan had very mixed feelings about his brother-in-law, who was two years older than him.

On the one hand, he particularly admired Li Yancheng. He was able to reach his current position at such a young age. Outsiders might not know this and might think it was because of Luo Lao. But as Luo's son-in-law, he knew very well that everything his brother-in-law had achieved was through his own hard work.

It was achieved through their own abilities and with their own blood, step by step.

Of course, my father-in-law helped me during that time, but it was mainly due to my own efforts. If I were truly hopeless, how could I have reached this position?

On the other hand, Guo Songshan was also somewhat jealous of Li Yancheng. As sons-in-law of the Luo family, their circumstances and current status were worlds apart.

At the same time, he was also a little afraid to face Li Yancheng, because every time he was with this brother-in-law, he always felt like he was facing a leader.

No, that's not right. This brother-in-law has a much stronger presence than his boss, after all, he's half a rank higher in the government.

This time is different. Now that he sees Li Yancheng back, he feels like he's seeing family. At least he has someone to talk to. He was so bored just now.

As Guo Songshan stood up, the four women who were chatting also stopped. When they saw the person who came in through the hanging flower gate, Tong Xiurong slowly stood up.

"Director Li is back."

"Sit down. Why be so polite at home?"

Li Yancheng waved his hand, gesturing for Tong Xiurong to sit down.

Xing Lihua and Luo Ting both called out "Da Cheng" and remained seated without getting up. This showed a difference in their relationship with each other. Even if Tong Xiurong had the courage, she wouldn't dare to address him that way.

Why are you bringing up the past today? Is there something your father wants to talk to you about?

After her husband finished greeting everyone, Luo Min asked curiously, remembering that her husband was on the phone with her father when she left home that morning.

"It's okay. You went out, so I'm all alone. I'm too lazy to answer those calls anyway, so I might as well go over there and have some peace and quiet."

With outsiders present, Li Yancheng didn't mention that he went back because he sensed his father-in-law's mood was off.

He spent the whole day there today, but didn't say anything comforting to his father-in-law. He just had a drink with him at lunchtime, and after his afternoon nap, he played a few games of chess with him and chatted about trivial things. When he left just now, he could clearly feel that the old man's mental state had changed, which put his mind at ease.

Luo Min gave her man a deep look. She could tell he wasn't telling the truth, but she didn't press him. Instead, she turned and started chatting with her best friend again.

Li Yancheng then invited Guo Songshan to sit under the eaves, and the two began to talk.

……

On the other side, after his son-in-law left, Old Luo sat quietly on a recliner in the courtyard, his eyes slightly closed, listening to the storytelling on the radio beside him.

The old lady couldn't hear him; she was listening to opera on another radio in the house. As for laughter and chatter, she had run out to play with several other friends of similar age after finishing her meal.

After listening to the opera she wanted to hear inside, the old lady came out and sat down next to her husband. She first refilled his teacup with water, and then asked him hesitantly.

"Old Luo, is there something you need from Da Cheng today?"

"What do you think your son-in-law came over for today?" Old Luo, sitting on the recliner, didn't open his eyes or answer his wife's question directly, but instead asked her in return.

"I asked you because I couldn't figure it out. Usually, he would call first before coming over, but he came over without any notice today. It's not a big deal."

Before, when he came over, he would always discuss business with you in the study. Today, I remember neither of you went into the study, and I even heard you talking about trivial family matters.

This is what the old lady found most unbelievable.

She didn't know much about others, but she was very familiar with her husband and son-in-law. The two of them were not the type to talk about trivial matters, especially when they were together.

But today is completely out of character... this is so strange.

His wife's analysis immediately piqued Mr. Luo's interest. He opened his eyes, sat up straight, and looked at his wife sitting beside him with a smile, asking, "Don't you have anything else on your mind all day? Why are you thinking about us?"

"We've lived together our whole lives, how could I not know you? Why would I need to think about it?" The old lady rolled her eyes at her.

"As for Dacheng, every time this kid comes over, you grab him and ask him about work, talk about policies, and always want to hear his opinion on something."

I don't even want to talk to you. The kids are busy with work all day. They come back to see us, to check on us, and to relax. But coming here is like rushing to take an exam.

Don't assume everyone is like you, working in the office and working at home, talking about work all the time, as if there's nothing else to do.

I don't know about others, but Da Cheng is very good at balancing work and rest. Xiao Min, Huan Sheng, and Xiao Yu have all said that Da Cheng spends as much time with them as possible when he gets home, except for urgent official business. Look at yourself then.

What could the old man say besides chuckling foolishly?

He knew very well that if he opened his mouth to explain anything today, he would be met with countless criticisms.

In the end, he didn't say what Li Yancheng had come over for today, because he didn't want his wife to worry.

He himself still doesn't understand why he suddenly felt down; it's inexplicable and makes him feel even worse.

So, after realizing that he was inexplicably irritable today, he called his work secretary and told her not to contact him unless something urgent had happened.

What he didn't expect was that his son-in-law could tell he was in a bad mood just from the short phone call and rushed over. Although Li Yancheng never said why he came, Old Master Luo could tell that his son-in-law had rushed over because of him.

When they arrived, they didn't ask anything, just chatted about everyday things and random things.

Surprisingly, the day's events restored his mood, and he was no longer as irritable as he had been in the morning.

This made him realize that his son-in-law's medical skills were truly miraculous.

They say mental illness is hard to cure, let alone when he didn't even know why he was in a bad mood. But all he did was chat with the other person, and it subtly made him feel better again. Hey... this kid is really something!
Seeing that her husband was unwilling to say why his son-in-law had come today, and noticing that his expression didn't seem to indicate that anything had happened, the old lady didn't press him further.

As she gets older, she has long since become indifferent to everything, and now her only hope is that her children are all doing well.

Fortunately, while not all of her four children are outstanding, at least none of them are the type to cause trouble all day long. Her grandchildren are also well-behaved, obedient, and clever.

The spouses of the four children, whether it's two daughters-in-law or two sons-in-law, are all honest, down-to-earth, and reliable. Uh... except for the youngest son-in-law, who is a special case.

Thinking about her son-in-law who had stayed at home all day, the old lady couldn't help but mutter to herself that her youngest daughter was incredibly lucky.

She could find such a good son-in-law even if she had to work as a temporary worker and live in a temporary dormitory.

Over the years, the old lady has thought this more than once.

At the same time, she was also somewhat relieved that she and her husband hadn't forcibly stopped their youngest daughter from falling in love with a divorced man.

Even if you try to stop them, with the youngest daughter's stubbornness—she's unyielding once she's made up her mind—there will still be a lingering resentment. Just like the eldest daughter and her husband, the youngest daughter and her husband certainly won't treat them like their own parents as they do now.

The old lady was pondering this matter in her heart at this moment. Although Grandpa Luo was also thinking about his youngest son-in-law, Li Yancheng, his thoughts were different.

The old man was thinking about the changes his youngest son-in-law had undergone over the years.

To be honest, Mr. Luo was quite puzzled by Li Yancheng's drastic change from before to after.

He really couldn't understand why someone could have such a big personality change after adulthood. Was it because of that miserable first marriage?
Back then, after learning that his youngest daughter had fallen for a divorced man, even though he was already sitting on the sidelines in that small town in the Northwest, Luo still asked his old comrade-in-arms in Beijing to investigate Li Yancheng's background.

According to the information that Luo Lao found at the time, this man was honest and timid, and didn't like to talk. When he first met Li Yancheng, who had gone there with Su Xiaotong, in that small town in the Northwest, he seriously doubted whether his old comrade-in-arms had investigated the wrong person.

Putting aside being honest and dutiful, you're also described as having a weak personality? And being quiet? Are you kidding me?

Would a cowardly person dare to confront those reckless criminals?
Can someone who doesn't like to talk be interrogated?

What puzzled Luo the most was that the investigation clearly stated that Li Yancheng's medical skills were very average. Whether it was his secondary vocational school education or his further training in the army, he only studied Western medicine, and his training in the army was in emergency care. There was not a trace of him having studied traditional Chinese medicine from beginning to end. So why was his level of traditional Chinese medicine so high?
For so many years, this question has lingered in Mr. Luo's mind.

Why can a person's personality change drastically, and even their major change?
After Luo Lao returned to Beijing from that small town in the Northwest, he also had a second, more detailed investigation of Li Yancheng conducted.

After much investigation, all that could be found was that he went to provide medical support in a town under Yishun County that year, and when he returned, the changes were very obvious. Nothing else could be found.

Li Yancheng had already started working at the Social Affairs Bureau at that time. The organization had suspected that he might have been replaced, but no matter how they investigated, there was no trace of that.

No matter how hard they racked their brains, they could never have imagined that while their subjects' physical appearance remained the same, their souls had been taken over by someone from decades in the future.

Li Yancheng was aware of the subsequent investigations targeting him, but he didn't care at all.

He married Luo Lao's daughter and worked in such an important position; it would be strange if the organization didn't send someone to investigate his background.

He wasn't afraid of an investigation, since they wouldn't find anything anyway.

……

The night is getting deeper.

Around 9 p.m., Li Yancheng had Wang Qihua drive Xing Lihua and the others back to their respective homes.

In the bedroom on the second floor of the backyard, Luo Min had just finished a pre-sleep "aerobic exercise." Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily. Her ear was pressed against her man's chest, listening to his strong heart beating.

Just as sleepiness was about to wash over her, she suddenly remembered the question that had been on her mind. So she forced herself to lift her head, opened her big, watery eyes, and looked at her husband to ask him.

"Dacheng, why did you go back there and stay all day today? You told me you were just there to freeload, but I didn't believe you."

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." When Luo Min raised her head, Li Yancheng, who had been keeping his eyes closed, opened them. After hearing his wife's words, he smiled and gently tapped her nose.

"Didn't Dad talk to me on the phone when you went out?"

"Yes, I know. Did Dad send you over?" Luo Min nodded.

"No, it was when I was talking to Dad on the phone that I could tell from his tone that he seemed to be in a bad mood. After hanging up, I thought that Dad is getting old, and his mood can greatly affect the function of his organs, so I went over to see what was wrong."

Halfway through the conversation, Luo Min sat up abruptly, completely disregarding the fact that her body was exposed. Before Li Yancheng could finish speaking, she asked anxiously.

"Dacheng, then... then Dad..."

"It's alright, it's alright. I assure you, when I left, Dad would have recovered completely."

Li Yancheng reached out and held his wife's small hand, comforting her.

Seeing that her husband said everything was alright, Luo Min, who trusted him completely, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she didn't understand medicine, she had lived with a national-level TCM doctor for more than ten years and knew from listening to him that for older people, mental state has a significant impact on physical health.

That's why she was so anxious when she heard that her father was having emotional problems.

(End of this chapter)