After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The static on the other end of the telephone line crackled and hissed, like someone had sprinkled salt into a cold pan.

Zhao Gang's palms were sticky with cold sweat as he held the receiver, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged. He had even thought he had misheard, or that his old classmate Chen Yuanshan was making up a tall tale to comfort him.

"Old Chen, you...you're not drunk, are you?" Zhao Gang's voice was shaky, as if he were walking on cotton. "That Sir Williams said...he wants to be my assistant? And for free?"

"Drunk my ass! I'm in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office right now, this is a foreign affairs call, how dare I spout nonsense!" Chen Yuanshan's voice came through the receiver, carrying an irrepressible excitement that made Zhao Gang's ears ring.

"Old Zhao, don't you understand yet? In our eyes, that young wife of the Gu family might be a greenhorn, but in the eyes of those cardiac surgeons in Europe, the name 'Ye' is a privilege! It's a golden brand!"

Chen Yuanshan swallowed hard and continued bombarding Zhao Gang's fragile nerves: "That's what Williams said—'If someone else suggested preserving the valve, that would be murder; if it's Ye, it's God performing a miracle.' He was even afraid Dr. Ye wouldn't include him, so he specifically emphasized bringing his own full set of surgical instruments and the latest artificial blood vessels, asking for nothing in foreign exchange from the Chinese side, just wanting to be able to hand over a pair of scissors at the operating table! You hurry up and call the Gu family, I'm hanging up now!"

With a loud "clang".

Zhao Gang lost his grip on the receiver, which slammed heavily onto the red lacquered wooden writing table, creating a shallow dent.

He felt as if his spine had been ripped out, slumping into a chair along the edge of the table. His mind was filled with the phrase, "God is performing miracles."

What outrageous thing did he just do?

He rejected the life-saving plan offered by the kind person over the phone, and it could even be said that he personally blocked his daughter's only way to survive.

The bedroom curtain was suddenly flung open, and Zhao Gang's wife, Liu Xiumei, rushed out with her eyes red and swollen like rotten peaches. She had been listening in the inner room the whole time, and seeing her husband's distraught appearance, her heart leaped into her throat.

"Old Zhao! What did they say over there? Did the British disagree with doing it?" Liu Xiumei's voice was hoarse with anxiety as she grabbed Zhao Gang's arm and shook it violently. "Say something! Are you trying to drive me crazy?!"

Zhao Gang looked up at his wife, whose face was streaked with tears. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence that was even more painful than crying: "Xiumei... our daughter is saved. But... but I just pushed our living Buddha out the door."

"What?" Liu Xiumei was stunned.

Zhao Gang grabbed a handful of his hair, filled with remorse and wanting to slap himself twice: "The person who can save Lanlan is Gu's niece-in-law, Ye Zhen! The British expert said that if Ye Zhen is willing to perform the surgery, he will fly over to assist her! But just now... I actually told Old Gu that I didn't trust her! I said we have to accept foreign technology!"

After Zhao Gang finished explaining the whole story to his wife, the air froze for three seconds.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out in the living room.

Liu Xiumei slapped Zhao Gang with all her might, striking him directly on the back, causing the battle-hardened political commissar to stagger.

"Zhao Gang, you idiot! Is your brain filled with mush?!" Liu Xiumei stopped crying and, at this moment, displayed the fierceness of a northern woman, pointing her finger at her husband's nose and scolding, "We'd even sell the house for Lanlan, what do we care about saving face? Since this person can save her life, and is one of our own, you have to beg them back, even if you have to kneel!"

"I...should I call now?" Zhao Gang looked at the black rotary dial telephone, somewhat apprehensive. He had spoken too harshly just now; if he called back now, where would he put his old face?

"If you won't hit me, I will! What's the point of having any shame at a time like this!"

Liu Xiumei snatched the phone receiver and, without hesitation, dialed the number Zhao Gang had just mentioned from the phone book.

His fingers were trembling, but his eyes were as determined as if he were about to blow up a bunker.

……

The dining room of the Gu family compound.

The atmosphere remained subtly awkward; it was so quiet you could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Gu Jianguo ate his rice in silence, occasionally stealing a glance at his nonchalant niece-in-law.

Ye Zhen ate with relish. Grandma's cooking was excellent; the stir-fried cabbage with vinegar was cooked perfectly, sour and spicy, and very appetizing. As for being rejected earlier? She was a doctor; providing treatment was her duty. It was normal for family members not to believe her. She wasn't going to argue with a patient's family.

Gu Zheng, however, didn't have such a good temper.

He slowly and methodically removed the bones from the ribbonfish for Ye Zhen, tossed the tender white fish meat into her bowl, and then hummed in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone at the table to hear: "Some people just think that the moon is rounder in foreign countries than in China. Little do they know, the moon is a sphere everywhere, that's common astronomical knowledge."

"Cough cough!" Gu Jianguo choked on a mouthful of rice and glared at his nephew.

"Second Uncle, I was talking about astronomical knowledge, why are you so agitated?" Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow, tossed the fishbone in his hand into the plate, and his eyes revealed a roguish protectiveness. "Besides, our Zhenzhen's scalpel is for people who know their stuff. Since the Zhao family doesn't like it, that's fine. My wife has been working herself to the bone lately, and I feel sorry for her."

Gu Jianguo was speechless, and a sense of unease crept into his mind. Could this girl really be that capable? Even Old Zhao looked down on her?

Just then, the phone rang suddenly.

"Ring ring—ring ring—"

The shrill ringing sounded particularly jarring in the quiet room, like some kind of urgent signal.

Gu Linlin was nearby and was about to take the call when Gu Jianguo waved his hand and answered it himself. He had a vague suspicion in his mind, but it was too far-fetched for him to believe.

"Feed? I'm Gu Jianguo."

Immediately, a woman's voice came from the other end of the phone, trembling with sobs and barely audible. Telephones in those days had poor soundproofing, and her loud voice leaked through the receiver, even reaching Ye Zhen, who was sitting at the dining table.

"Old Gu! This is your sister-in-law, Xiumei! Um... is Xiaoye still at our house? Please don't let her leave!"

Gu Jianguo was taken aback: "Yes, yes, I'm eating right now. Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

"Old Gu, I'll be frank with you!" Liu Xiumei spoke rapidly on the other end of the line, like a machine gun. "Old Chen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just replied. That Sir William from Britain said that if Xiao Ye is willing to have the surgery, he'll bring his own equipment and fly over to assist her! Old Zhao was confused earlier; he was blind. I apologize to Xiao Ye on behalf of my whole family! Please, give the phone to Xiao Ye; I'll beg her personally!"

"puff!"

Gu Jianguo spat out the mouthful of wine he had just taken a sip of.