I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

"I'm back!"

With the crisp sound of high heels clicking, Xia Yun pushed open the door that wasn't closed properly and came in, carrying a large bag.

"What are you up to?" Lu Han asked.

Xia Yun opened the cloth bag, took out a large bowl, and opened the lid to reveal braised pork hock.

"A famous Shanghai dish, it melts in your mouth and isn't greasy."

As he spoke, he brought out a large bowl and said, "The fish head in the casserole is fragrant and delicious. Yang Zheng, come on, let's continue drinking."

Yang Zheng stared in disbelief at the glistening pork hock and the fragrant braised fish head in a clay pot: "This... must be very expensive, right?"

"Xia Yun, where did you get these two dishes? You can't even find them in ordinary restaurants." Lu Han also found it unbelievable.

Xia Yun smiled gently and said, "International Hotel."

Ah, these are famous dishes for entertaining foreign guests; they must be so difficult to prepare.

"Eat up. Yang Zheng is your best friend. Just a packet of pig's head meat and a packet of peanuts is too meager. I used my connections to buy these two dishes. It's rare for friends to get together, so let's splurge a little."

Xia Yun filled the three people's glasses with wine and generously toasted Yang Zheng. Of course, she only took a small sip and was so spicy that she jumped up and down.

"Xia Yun, this is too extravagant. A bag of pig's head meat is delicious enough."

Yang Zheng felt bad that someone would go out of their way to buy groceries just for him; two dishes would probably cost him three months' salary.

"The past is the past, and the present is the present. You are Lu Han's friend, and you are also my friend. How can we neglect a friend who has come from afar?"

No wonder Lu Han likes Xia Yun so much; they are the most compatible couple.

Eating pork hock, meat and skin together, one bite and your mouth is full of juicy goodness, it's so blissful.

"Try a little bit of the skin, it's especially delicious." Lu Han picked up a piece of leg skin and offered it to Xia Yun.

Xia Yun turned her head away: "I don't want to eat it, it's too greasy."

"It's not greasy, would you like to try it?"

"Then I'll just have a small bite."

Xia Yun took a small bite and pushed it into Lu Han's mouth, saying, "You eat it, you eat it, it's too greasy."

Lu Han stuffed the fish eyeball into his mouth without any disgust, and then picked it up: "Eating fish eyes is good for your eyes."

"I won't eat it, I'm scared."

"Don't worry, just eat."

Xia Yun reluctantly ate it: "Mmm, it's delicious."

"Then have another one."

Yang Zheng also wanted to try fish eyes, but unfortunately, they were no longer available.

As they ate, Yang Zheng became a third wheel.

However, he didn't mind. After eating vegetarian food at school for more than a month, he was finally getting to eat meat, and he couldn't let the delicious food go to waste.

No matter how hard they tried, the three of them ate until they were stuffed, but they still couldn't finish the two large bowls of food.

Lu Han poured the food into a lunchbox, so he could have another meal that evening.

Xia Yun washed the dishes clean and said to Yang Zheng, "You two chat, I'll go take the dishes back."

"Xia Yun, thank you, the meal was wonderful today." Yang Zheng stood up to express his gratitude.

"If you hadn't come, Lu Han wouldn't have been willing to eat such expensive food. You should thank me." Xia Yun smiled playfully and turned to leave.

There really are perfect girls in the world. In short, Yang Zheng didn't think she was too precious, but he also gave Lu Han plenty of face.

"When are you getting married?" Yang Zheng asked as he sat down again.

"Given my current situation, how can I get married? I have no career, no house, and no money," Lu Han said dejectedly.

"Xia Yun probably wouldn't care about these things, right?"

"She doesn't care, her parents do, and I do too. I feel bad that I can't give her a decent life and that she has to suffer with me."

Xia Yun's family must be quite well-off to be able to buy famous dishes at international hotels.

"Don't worry too much and let a good girl down," Yang Zheng kindly reminded her.

"Xia Yun is a very pure girl; she loves simply and doesn't consider the future. But I have to think about it. Married and living in a single dormitory? Look at this place, how are we supposed to cook? How are two people supposed to live here?"

"After marriage, can't we have separate rooms?"

"I'll only be eligible for a separate room after I have a child. What will I do before having a child? A small house, plus another child, it'll be hard to even turn around."

"Does Xia Yun know about your worries?"

"We've talked about it. She asked me to move into her house, but I won't agree. Wouldn't that be like marrying into her family?"

"What did Xia Yun say?"

"She said she was willing to wait for me. I wanted to become an engineer, get a professional title, and have a cadre quota so that I could get a house quickly even without children."

Yang Zheng didn't know what to say. He was also an older single man, and he didn't dare to date because of practical difficulties.

"Let's not talk about me anymore. It's still early. How about we go and pay our respects to Professor Dong?"

"Isn't it impolite to have your face all red from drinking?"

"It's alright. Professor Dong values ​​your talent. Becoming his apprentice as soon as possible is what he cares about."

"Then, wash your face with cold water and rinse your mouth; you smell of alcohol."

After washing up, the two felt much more refreshed.

After taking a few bus stops, we arrived at Professor Dong's prosthetics research office.

"Doesn't Professor Dong rest on Sundays?"

"How can he have time to rest? So many prosthetics are waiting for him."

"How does he take the mold?"

"People who need custom-made prostheses come to Shanghai to have their impressions taken. If it's not successful the first time, it has to be done two or three times. Fortunately, they are all military personnel, and the country provides them with food and lodging. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford the expenses for ten days or half a month. Professor Dong is also very dedicated. He teaches during the day and goes to have his impressions taken at night. He works very hard."

As the two were talking, they entered the office and saw an old man in his sixties squatting in front of a pile of molds and plaster, pondering something.

"Professor Dong!" Lu Han called out carefully, afraid of startling the old man.

Professor Dong turned his head, rolled his eyes at Lu Han, and then saw Yang Zheng next to him. His eyes lit up immediately.

"Yang Zheng? You're here! You've finally come!"

Professor Dong stood up and warmly shook Yang Zheng's hand: "You're really good, kid, to have gotten into a university in Shanghai. I've asked Lu Han many times to take you on as my student, but he always brushed me off."

Yang Zheng said humbly, "I was half a month late to report for duty. My studies are heavy, and I haven't been able to contact Lu Han. I met him today, so I came here."

"Good, good, it's good that you're here. Yang Zheng, come here, I just made a few new molds, come and take a look."

After saying that, he pulled Yang Zheng to see the samples, completely forgetting that Lu Han was also there.

Rows of molds, including hand molds. Yang Zheng asked, "Professor, can hands move freely?"

Professor Dong shook his head: "It can only serve a decorative purpose and has a slight effect."

It turned out to be the case.

Professor Dong took out a new prosthetic leg, handed it to Yang Zheng, and asked, "Is it different from the traditional one?"

"Lighter and more durable."

"This is a silicone statue of a high-ranking official. I hope that in the future, all disabled people can use such good materials."

Regardless of how high-ranking an official was, what Yang Zheng was really thinking was, could we also make a pair of silicone statues for Wen Hui? They would feel just like real skin.

"Yang Zheng, would you be willing to make prosthetics with me? We don't make much money from prosthetics; the materials are provided by the patients themselves. But when you see someone stand up, it's very fulfilling and makes you very proud. You must have felt that way when you saw your brother-in-law stand up, right?"

"Professor Dong, as long as you don't mind that I'm not smart, I'm willing to learn from you."

"I couldn't be happier! You can make high-quality prostheses yourself, how could I possibly look down on them?"

"Actually, it was my master who helped..."

"Now I am your master. Follow me, and surely you can create a better prosthesis?"

"Master, I am willing to learn from you."

Unintentionally, I gained another mentor, a guiding light on my life's journey.