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

Ye Zhen stared intently at Ye Cheng, her tone not harsh, yet powerful like a pillar of strength: "You can."

Ye Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed: "I used to... not even be able to take care of myself properly."

"The past is the past." Ye Zhen's gaze swept over the large bag of mountain produce he had brought. "You could grit your teeth and support over forty brothers, you could feed them even before the money came in, and you were willing to forgo this money for my reputation. How could such a responsible man be a bad father?"

Ye Cheng lowered his head, his eyes suddenly turning red, and his nostrils flared.

Gu Zheng picked up the enamel mug and used it to cover his upturned lips: "Alright, brother, if you keep your eyes so red, I'll have to open a bottle of Fenjiu and have a couple of drinks with you tonight."

Ye Zhen glanced at him: "He has to go back to the village this afternoon, so stop making a fuss."

Gu Zheng readily put down the jar: "I just wanted to lighten the mood since the atmosphere was too heavy."

Ye Cheng quickly wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his rough hand and smiled憨厚ly: "It's okay, I didn't cry, it's just that it's windy in Beicheng."

Gu Zheng nodded seriously: "Yes, it's very windy inside too."

Ye Cheng couldn't help but laugh at him.

Ye Zhen handed over the first sheet of paper she had just finished writing: "This is the diet plan for the next two weeks."

Ye Cheng accepted it with both hands, as if holding an imperial edict.

The handwriting on the paper was neat and tidy, densely packed. He looked at the first line, then the second, his brows furrowing more and more as he read.

"Zhenzhen, this is too much of a fuss."

Ye Zhen said firmly, "Do as instructed."

Ye Cheng was stumped: "What if there are parts I don't understand?"

Gu Zheng leaned over and glanced at it: "It's alright, brother. I'll read it to you first. Take it back and let your wife see it too; she knows more characters than you."

Ye Cheng nodded repeatedly: "That's perfect. From now on, we'll let her manage all the big and small matters in our family."

Gu Zheng laughed: "Your sister-in-law is a wise woman. This is called listening to your wife, which will bring you prosperity."

Ye Cheng couldn't hide his pride: "She understands much better than I do."

Ye Zhen changed the subject: "Did you bring the account book?"

"I brought it!" Ye Cheng quickly took out the account book from his pocket and handed over the manila envelope. "This is the settlement statement from the main hospital's infrastructure department. Please check it."

Ye Zhen took the ledger and untied the old rubber bands wrapped around it.

The edges of the pages were frayed and tattered. The first page was written crookedly, but every stroke was powerful and penetrating.

*On March 2nd, two cartloads of stones were delivered, bringing in 136.4 yuan.*

*On March 5th, I bought explosives, spending 27.8 yuan.*

……

Ye Zhen flipped through the pages and found that all the numbers after the decimal point were carefully circled in red pen. Some of the characters were written stiffly, as if they had been cut by a stone, but every account, date, and reason was clearly written.

Ye Zhen checked the numbers from beginning to end, then ran her fingertips along the rough paper: "The numbers are all correct."

Ye Cheng breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's good, as long as there are no mistakes."

Ye Zhen looked up, her eyes filled with approval: "Big brother, you're much clearer about keeping accounts now than before. You look like a real businessman."

Ye Cheng chuckled and scratched the back of his head: "It was all taught by Xiuxiu. She said that a bad pen is worse than a good memory. You can't just rely on your head to remember cash accounts. You have to write them down in black and white to feel at ease."

Gu Zheng chimed in from the side, "Your sister-in-law has a high level of awareness."

Ye Zhen opened the settlement statement, looked at it, and put it aside: "When will the last batch of payments arrive?"

"The infrastructure department said it would be within three days."

"Once the payment arrives, pay the workers' wages first," Ye Zhen instructed.

"That's what I think too. The brothers are following me, and I can't let them down," Ye Cheng answered readily.

Gu Zheng tapped the table with his fingers: "Are there any big jobs coming up later?"

Ye Cheng nodded: "The county wants to build a new grain station. They like our stones because they are hard, but they are trying to drive the price down. I haven't agreed yet."

Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow at him: "So what are you thinking?"

Ye Cheng straightened his back a bit: "No price increase, absolutely no acceptance. Our material is top grade; we'd rather halt production for a few days than tarnish our brand."

Gu Zheng laughed heartily, "Well done, brother! You're really doing a great job as a contractor now!"

Ye Cheng was a little embarrassed by the praise.

Ye Zhen closed the ledger, tied it back with a rubber band just like before, and handed it back to him: "Go back and tell Xiuxiu that this ledger is exceptionally well-remembered."

Ye Cheng took it with both hands, as if receiving an award, and carefully tucked it back into the inner pocket of his old coat, close to his chest: "She'll definitely be happy to hear that."

Gu Zheng got up and went into the inner room.

Ye Cheng was still staring at the diet plan, worrying: "Zhenzhen, how many meals a day does this 'small, frequent meals' mean?"

"Eat as much as you can, and in addition to the three main meals, have two or three snacks to tide you over."

Ye Cheng counted on his rough fingers: "That means eating five or six meals a day?"

As they were talking, Gu Zheng came out from the inner room, carrying two bulging net bags in his hands. He put them on the coffee table with a heavy thud.

"Being a father isn't easy, brother. Take your time and practice."

Ye Cheng looked down and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Inside were two cans of expensive Shanghai brand malted milk powder, a bag of Red Star milk powder, several boxes of Merlin brand luncheon meat, a few packets of military-supplied compressed biscuits, and a small packet of top-quality brown sugar. Back then, these were hard currencies that even industrial coupons and sugar coupons couldn't guarantee you'd get your hands on!

Ye Cheng jumped to his feet, waving his hands repeatedly, "Brother-in-law! I absolutely cannot accept this! We haven't even finished using all the good stuff you gave us last time!"

Gu Zheng sat down next to Ye Zhen, crossed his legs, and exuded the nonchalant air of a privileged young man from a wealthy family: "Who said it was for you?"

Ye Cheng was stunned.

Gu Zheng pointed to the net bag with his hand: "This is for my sister-in-law and my nephew in the belly to nourish their bodies."

Ye Cheng still shook his head: "That won't work either. These things are too precious, they'd cost so much money..."

"She's the one who eats the best food, it doesn't mean you get to benefit from it." Gu Zheng's words effectively blocked any further avenues for negotiation.

Ye Cheng's face turned red with frustration, and he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

Ye Zhen had already spread out the second sheet of paper and, without looking up, instructed, "Don't give her formula on an empty stomach. Dilute it a little at first, and gradually increase the amount once her stomach gets used to it."

Ye Cheng watched as she started writing and drawing again, sweating profusely with anxiety: "Zhenzhen, stop writing. My blockhead can't remember so many rules and regulations."

"I didn't ask you to memorize it," Ye Zhen pushed the written paper over. "Take it back, paste it on the kitchen wall, and do it every day."

Gu Zheng leaned over and glanced at the order form, gasped, and joked, "Honey, is this order for your wife's pregnancy, or for special meals to select pilots for our Air Force?"

Ye Zhen glanced at him sideways, her voice cool: "The town's health center has poor conditions, and the first three months are the peak period for miscarriage. You can't be careless with your first pregnancy."

Gu Zheng immediately shut up and, with great tact, pushed the ink bottle towards her: "Listen to Dr. Ye, it's better to be cautious."

Ye Cheng sat on a small stool, watching Ye Zhen write line by line.

His gaze fell on his sister's hand holding the pen. These were the same clean, white hands that could save lives on the operating table in a big city hospital, and also those that could sit at the small table at home, carefully writing down for his peasant wife how to drink water, how to eat, and when to go to the hospital for checkups.

Ye Cheng rubbed his sore nose hard, his voice muffled: "Zhenzhen."

Ye Zhen didn't look up, but gave a soft "hmm".

"Thank you."

After writing the last word, Ye Zhen turned the paper over to let the ink dry, her tone calm yet intimate: "I'm the child's aunt, no need to thank me."

Ye Cheng almost couldn't hold back his tears.

Gu Zheng reached out and patted his broad shoulder heavily: "Brother, don't worry. After the child is born and grows up, I'll personally teach him to ride a horse!"

Ye Cheng looked up and sniffed sheepishly, "We don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl."

Gu Zheng didn't care at all: "So what if she's a girl? Girls can ride too! We don't practice that kind of preference for boys over girls in our family."

Ye Zhen snapped the pen cap back on with a "click": "Let's make sure the baby is born safely first."

"Okay, we'll do whatever your aunt says." Gu Zheng smiled indulgently.

Ye Cheng looked at the two sheets of paper on the table filled with medical orders, then at the net bag of shimmering malted milk powder and milk powder. After a long while, he carefully pulled the things into his arms and said, "Then... then I'll shamelessly take them back."

Ye Zhen nodded: "Mm."

Ye Cheng folded the two pages of paper neatly and, along with the settlement slip from earlier, carefully placed them into a kraft paper envelope. He handled it with the same care and caution he would show a treasurer than if it contained ten thousand yuan in cash.

Gu Zheng looked up at the clock on the wall: "Brother, don't bother tonight. Stay at home for the night, and I'll have Xiao Wang drive you to the long-distance bus station tomorrow morning."

Ye Cheng quickly stood up and waved his hand, eager to get home: "No, no, Xiuxiu is feeling unwell at home alone. I have to catch the night bus back tonight."

Ye Zhen frowned slightly: "The night bus is bumpy, can you handle it?"

"With my build, I could smash rocks all day without even breaking a sweat, so what's so difficult about riding in a car?" Ye Cheng grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Gu Zheng didn't hesitate and stood up to pick up his car keys: "Come on, grab your things, I'll drive you to the station."