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

Sunlight filtered through the bare branches of the poplar trees, casting its rays onto the gray brick walls of the Gu family compound.

Ye Zhen sat on the sofa, holding a stack of colorful bills in her hand.

In this era, this thing was even more useful than the RMB—foreign exchange certificates.

The design of the ticket is quite exquisite, featuring Guilin's landscape and the Great Wall, with the words "Bank of China Foreign Exchange Certificate" printed in traditional Chinese characters on the back.

"Are you stunned?"

Gu Zheng changed into casual clothes, wearing a black wool coat over a turtleneck sweater. He looked less austere in his military uniform and more relaxed like a young nobleman from the capital.

He casually scooped an apple from the fruit plate, wiped it on his clothes, took a crunchy bite, and explained indistinctly, "This is hard currency. This old man has been saving it up for more than half a year. In the past, only foreign guests and overseas Chinese could use it, but now we ourselves can use it to buy scarce goods in the Friendship Store. Simply put, this is called 'privilege'."

Ye Zhen carefully put the money in her pocket, then looked up at him: "Let's go, didn't we say we were going to buy a watch?"

"Alright, the car's at the door."

Gu Zheng tossed the apple core precisely into the trash can three meters away, put one hand in his pocket, and led Ye Zhen out the door.

At the entrance of the compound, a brand-new Phoenix brand "28-inch" motorcycle was parked.

The black paint was shiny, the chain guard was smeared with oil, and a thick cotton pad was specially tied to the back seat, showing that it had been carefully prepared.

"Get in the car."

Gu Zheng straddled the car seat with his long legs, one foot on the ground, and turned to Ye Zhen, raising an eyebrow. "Hold on tight, the brakes are a bit tight, it's easy to brake suddenly."

Ye Zhen looked at the high back seat, and without being coy, she gracefully sat down sideways, her hands properly gripping the springs under the seat.

"Hold on tight—let's go!"

Gu Zheng pushed off with his foot, and the wheel started to turn.

However, the car had only slid less than two meters when the front of the car began to swerve violently.

"Ouch—why is this dragon head so heavy!"

Gu Zheng exclaimed in surprise, and the car veered sharply to the left, about to crash into the curb.

Ye Zhen was startled and instinctively released her grip on the spring, grabbing Gu Zheng's tight, slender waist.

"Be careful!"

The moment she wrapped her arms around it, the car miraculously straightened up. Not only did it straighten up, but it also glided so smoothly and steadily that it was completely different from before.

Ye Zhen: "..."

Who is she?

Surgeon.

They have an abnormal level of understanding of human muscle control and balance.

That last movement was clearly caused by someone actively using their core muscles to deviate from the rhythm.

"Commander Gu."

Ye Zhen pressed against his back, her voice cool and calm, as if she knew everything, "If your sense of balance is this bad, I'll take you to an ENT specialist for a vestibular function test later? And get a brain CT scan while we're at it to see if you have cerebellar atrophy."

Gu Zheng paused in his pedaling motion, then let out a low, cheerful laugh. The vibration in his chest traveled down his back, making Ye Zhen's palms go numb.

"Dr. Ye, if we see through each other but don't say anything, we can still be good friends."

Instead of restraining himself, he freed one hand to press down on Ye Zhen's hand wrapped around his waist, pulling her closer to him. "Since you're already holding me, don't let go. This road is bumpy."

The asphalt roads in Beijing are so smooth you could ice skate on them, where would the bumps come from?

Ye Zhen rolled her eyes, but when her fingertips touched the man's hard, firm muscles at the waist, her cheeks still couldn't help but feel slightly hot.

To punish this man for his "shamelessness," she stretched out two fingers and precisely pinched the soft flesh of his waist.

"hiss!"

Gu Zheng gasped, and the car lurched. "Honey, be gentle! This is your future source of happiness. Who's going to be responsible if you break it?"

"Ride your bike properly! Stop talking nonsense!"

……

Friendship Store outside Jianguomen.

This place in Beijing in the 1980s was another world altogether.

Unlike the bustling atmosphere of a department store, the entrance was rather quiet.

The tall glass doors were tightly shut, and two uniformed guards stood at the entrance, scrutinizing the doorway.

Not far from the gate, a few ordinary citizens stood on the steps. They wore blue-gray cotton-padded coats, their hands tucked into their sleeves, craning their necks to look inside, their eyes full of curiosity and envy, but none of them dared to cross the line.

That was the class divide, and also a unique feature of this era of scarcity.

Gu Zheng locked the car, strode over, and naturally took Ye Zhen's hand.

Just as the gatekeeper was about to raise his hand to stop him, Gu Zheng expressionlessly pulled a red certificate from his coat pocket, along with a stack of foreign exchange certificates, and casually waved it around.

The gatekeeper straightened up instantly, even with a slightly ingratiating smile, and turned to open the glass door: "Please, sir; please, comrade."

A wonderful aroma of coffee and baked bread wafted over.

Ye Zhen narrowed her eyes slightly.

She had seen all kinds of shopping malls in her previous life, but stepping into this "top hall" of the 1980s still gave her a feeling of time travel.

The shelves no longer only display enamel basins and military overcoats.

Imported chocolates were neatly stacked into pyramids, colorful M&M's were packaged in transparent jars, there were canned Jianlibao (a popular Chinese herbal tea brand) that I had never seen before, and even imported liquor and cigars.

The polyester shirt was ironed to perfection and hung in a prominent position, with a price tag that was astonishing.

"How is it? Doesn't it look interesting?"

Gu Zheng acted like a parent taking their child to the Grand View Garden, casually picking up a box of imported cookies, looking at it, and then throwing it back into the basket. "These things are terribly sweet. If you like them, I'll buy you some to try later."

Ye Zhen shook her head: "I don't like sweets."

"Alright, let's get down to business." Gu Zheng pulled her straight to the clock counter on the second floor.

Once upstairs, the atmosphere became noticeably quieter.

The glass display case was polished to a shine, and inside lay exquisite watches that gleamed alluringly under the spotlights.

Behind the counter stood a saleswoman with curly hair and bright red lipstick, manicuring her nails with a nail file. Seeing someone approach, she glanced up and her eyes swept over the two people like radar.

The man was imposing and dignified. Although he wasn't wearing a military uniform, his aura clearly indicated that he came from a military compound.

She's a woman...

Although she was pretty, her clothes looked like an old style, with frayed edges on the cuffs.

The sales clerk had a plan in mind. She stood up lazily, without saying hello, and simply pointed with her chin to the very center of the counter.

"Those are imported from Switzerland, Rolex and Omega, you need a receipt."

Gu Zheng completely ignored her attitude, pointed to the gleaming gold women's watch in the center of the counter, and said to Ye Zhen, "I think this one's fine. It's a Plum Blossom brand; my grandmother used to have one, and it lasted for twenty years without breaking. Want to try it on?"

It was a fully automatic mechanical watch with a diamond-encrusted dial. In those days, it was an absolute symbol of status, and its price was as high as five hundred foreign exchange certificates, equivalent to two years' wages for an ordinary worker.

The salesperson pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, "What's the point of trying it out? You can't afford to pay for it if you scratch the watch crystal."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was just loud enough for someone to hear.

Gu Zheng paused in his action of taking out the watch, and his face instantly darkened.

The oppressive feeling of being in a high position is like a lion that was dozing suddenly opening its eyes.

"What did you say?" He turned his head, his voice not loud, but chillingly cold.

The saleswoman was stung by that gaze, nearly dropping her nail file. Her face turned deathly pale, and she stammered, "I...I said this watch is valuable..."

"No need to try."

A slender, fair hand gently pressed against the glass counter, stopping Gu Zheng's impending outburst of anger.

Ye Zhen remained calm, not even glancing at the sales clerk. Her gaze swept past the expensive imported goods and landed on an inconspicuous spot in the far corner of the counter.

"Take that one."

She pointed to a watch with a silver strap and a white dial in the corner.

Gu Zheng followed her finger and paused for a moment: "That? That's a domestically made Shanghai brand, it only costs a little over a hundred yuan. Honey, we brought money, no need to be stingy."

Upon seeing this, the salesperson's lips curled into a sarcastic smile again.

He's such a country bumpkin, never seen the world before. He'd rather have a Swiss watch than a cheap, mass-produced Chinese brand.

"Comrade, you can buy Shanghai brand products at the department store over there, you don't need to come here specifically," the salesperson said sarcastically.

Ye Zhen glanced at her indifferently and said, "Model A623, all-steel shockproof, 19-jewel movement, calendar function. This is an improved version of the same movement that Premier Zhou wore during his lifetime."

The sales clerk was stunned.

Ye Zhen ignored her expression, turned to look at Gu Zheng, and said in a calm but firm tone: "I've seen the design drawings for this watch. The stability of its balance wheel and hairspring system is no less than that of Swiss watches. Most importantly, its components are readily available in China."

She paused, picked up the unassuming watch, and held it up to her wrist.

The silver watch chain made her wrists appear as white as snow.

"Imported watches are delicate. If they break, they have to be sent back to the factory for repairs, which takes several months. I just want to tell time; there's no need to treat them like royalty."

"Moreover," Ye Zhen raised her eyes, a confident glint in them, "my wrist doesn't need a Rolex to prove its value."

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Several customers who were selecting goods stopped what they were doing and looked over in surprise.

The saleswoman's mouth dropped open, her face turning red and then white, as if she had been slapped hard without anyone noticing.

It's not that they can't afford it, it's that they simply don't care about it! That's what a true expert is, that's real confidence!

Gu Zheng stared at Ye Zhen for a full three seconds.

He originally thought that girls would like things that are shiny and expensive.

Yet Ye Zhen, dressed in the simplest clothes and standing in front of a counter piled high with foreign goods, was more dazzling than those diamonds.

She is pragmatic, insightful, and confident.

She wasn't just choosing a watch; she was telling him: Ye Zhen is Ye Zhen. Even with a bracelet made of straw rope, she is still the miracle doctor who decides life and death on the operating table.

Gu Zheng's Adam's apple bobbed, and a strange, indescribable emotion welled up inside him.

I felt a mix of heartache, pride, and above all, an overwhelming urge to give her my whole heart.

"wrap up."

Gu Zheng pulled out a foreign exchange certificate, slammed it heavily on the counter, and stared coldly at the terrified saleswoman. "I want this one. Also—"

He pointed to the best box of imported chocolates in the counter.

"Wrap that up too. My wife is picky; this watch is for work, and this candy is for sweets."

The sales clerk was busy issuing invoices and packaging goods, not daring to even lift her head, her previous arrogance completely extinguished.

……

I walked out of the Friendship Store carrying a paper bag.

"You really don't want that Plum Blossom brand?" Gu Zheng was still a little unwilling. "Our family doesn't lack that little bit of money."

Ye Zhen shook the Shanghai brand watch on her wrist, which kept accurate time, and smiled slightly: "This is pretty good. I support domestic products."

Gu Zheng chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Alright, I'll listen to you. With your level of awareness, even the political commissar would have to give you an award."