Chapter 703 Yang Xiaohua's Plan
Seeing this, He Yushui immediately smiled and took Shen Chunhua's hand:
"That's right! Sister Chunhua, please sit down quickly. If you don't eat now, the food will get cold!"
She swiftly added a set of bowls and chopsticks to Shen Chunhua's bowl, and put the fattest piece of braised pork into her bowl.
"Try my new cooking. If it doesn't taste good, just tell me!"
Zhao Shuzhuo finally breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face again.
He filled a cup of rice wine for Shen Chunhua and added a spoonful of hot soup for Yang Xiaohua. The warm candlelight reflected on everyone's faces, making the atmosphere of the welcoming banquet even more cozy.
Outside the window, the moonlight quietly climbed up the window frame, wrapping the laughter and joy into the night of the Great Northern Wilderness.
The steam rising from the dining table blurred everyone's eyes and brows. Amid the clinking sound of enamel bowls, Wang Jianguo picked up a piece of spicy and sour potato shreds with chopsticks and suddenly turned his gaze to Yang Xiaohua who was sitting next to Zhao Shuzhuo.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the wooden lattice windows covered with new window paper, casting tiny shadows on her pale cheeks, making the shadow under her eyelashes particularly heavy.
"Comrade Yang,"
Wang Jianguo put down his chopsticks and spoke in a low voice.
"Do you have any plans for the future? Have you figured out what you want to do?"
His question made the originally lively dinner table suddenly quiet, and He Yushui paused in serving the soup.
Shen Chunhua's hand holding the dish was suspended in mid-air, and even the crackling sound of the firewood in the stove became clearly audible.
Zhao Shuzhuo immediately noticed Yang Xiaohua's shoulders tremble slightly. He looked at the girl's fingers clenching the corner of her clothes, her knuckles turning white, as if she was trying hard to restrain something.
Before Yang Xiaohua could speak, Zhao Shuzhuo rushed to say:
"Jianguo, Xiaohua is here for the first day, she..."
His voice softened unconsciously.
"She just took care of her father's funeral. Let her rest for a few days and get used to it."
After saying that, he secretly glanced at Yang Xiaohua and found that she was staring at the rice in the bowl with empty and confused eyes.
However, as soon as she finished speaking, Yang Xiaohua suddenly raised her head. Her eyelashes were still stained with moisture, but her eyes were extremely firm:
"No, Brother Zhao, I know you are doing this for my own good."
Her voice was a little hoarse, but it was filled with determination.
“But, I…I don’t want to rest.”
She took a deep breath, as if she had gathered all her courage.
"I used to be a nurse. Although I can't treat serious illnesses like a doctor, I am very skilled in treating wounds, giving injections, changing dressings, and taking care of patients."
At this point, her eyes swept across the people at the table and landed on the yellowed health poster on the wall:
"If possible, I still want to work in a hospital, or a clinic."
Her fingers unconsciously stroked the rim of the bowl.
"I want to work and be busy so I don't have to think about it."
The last few words were spoken very softly, but they hit everyone's heart like a hammer.
Zhao Shuzhuo felt his throat tighten. He remembered Yang Xiaohua staring out the window in a daze on the train, and her back curled up in her seat late at night, crying silently.
Looking at the girl's stubborn expression at this moment, his heart seemed to be strangled by a rough hemp rope.
"Little Flower,"
His voice was filled with undisguised heartache.
“I support you in whatever you do.”
As he spoke, he silently put the tender pork ribs into her bowl.
“But promise me, don’t push yourself too hard.”
He Yushui stood up with red eyes and poured Yang Xiaohua a bowl of hot soup:
"Our farm hospital is short of staff! I'll take you to see the director tomorrow. He will definitely be happy to accept you!"
Shen Chunhua also nodded repeatedly, wiping the corners of his eyes with his sleeves:
"Good boy, I'll make you some knee pads. Don't let your legs get frozen in this cold weather!"
As dusk deepened, in the dim light of the oil lamp, Yang Xiaohua looked at the hot soup with oil droplets floating in the bowl and suddenly felt her eyes getting hot.
This was the first time she felt the warmth of being cared for since her father passed away.
The evening breeze outside the window swept across the fields of the Great Northern Wilderness, bringing the scent of earth and grass, while the comforting voices coming from inside the house were quietly building a warm wall for her.
The atmosphere at the dinner table became heated with Yang Xiaohua's decision, but Shen Chunhua frowned slightly and placed the bamboo chopsticks on the edge of the celadon bowl, making a crisp clash sound.
She reached out to smooth the white hair at her temples, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were filled with worry:
"Oh, Xiaohua, it's fine for you to work at the clinic, but it's too far from here,"
She gestured the distance, her fingertips almost touching the map on the wall.
"It takes 40 minutes to ride a 28-inch bicycle on a dirt road. If it rains or snows, the mud and water will stick to the wheels. I have to leave early and return late every day. It's too hard."
Shen Chunhua's words brought a brief silence into the house. He Yushui slowed down her action of adding firewood to the stove, and the crackling sound of the flames licking the bottom of the pot became clearer and clearer.
Yang Xiaohua lowered her eyes and stared at the gradually cooling rice soup in the bowl. She knew that what Shen Chunhua said was true.
But when I thought about putting on my nurse's uniform again and feeling the touch of sterile cotton balls on my fingertips, all the fatigue seemed to be bearable.
Zhao Shuzhuo straightened his back immediately, and the shoulder line of his military coat was stretched straight. He picked up the enamel pot and drank a sip of strong tea, his Adam's apple rolling up and down in the dim light:
"That's okay. I can pick Xiaohua up every day."
His voice was as solid as the frozen soil of the Great Northern Wilderness. He glanced at Yang Xiaohua's slightly surprised face and added:
"I learned how to repair motorcycles in the army before I was discharged. I will go to the county to buy a second-hand Jialing in a few days. It is much faster than a bicycle on a dirt road."
Yang Xiaohua's eyelashes trembled violently, remembering Zhao Shuzhuo silently helping her carry her luggage up and down the train, and remembering his figure shielding her from the cold wind on the platform.
She clutched the edge of her apron, her throat tightened:
"Brother Zhao, that's too much work for you."
Zhao Shuzhuo didn't say anything, just shook his head. The light from the kerosene lamp shone on his angular face, making the blush on his ear tips look gentle.
He lowered his head and ate the rice in the bowl, but did not notice that the corners of his mouth unconsciously raised.
Wang Jianguo watched the conversation between the two and suddenly put down his wine glass heavily, with the porcelain bottom making a crisp sound when it hit the wooden table.
He reached out and wiped his face, deliberately making an exaggerated expression of disgust:
"Hey, you two, you're already flirting with each other before anything even starts?"
His teasing made He Yushui burst out laughing, and Shen Chunhua also shook his head and chuckled.
Wang Jianguo sat up straight, his expression became serious, and he tapped his fingers lightly on the table:
"Excuse me, it's too early for you to discuss this now."
His eyes swept across everyone, from Yang Xiaohua's slightly embarrassed expression to Zhao Shuzhuo's vigilant eyes.
"I have another idea, would you like to hear it?"
He Yushui immediately perked up. She tiptoed to the table and brushed the edge of the pottery jar with the end of her braid:
"Brother Jianguo, what good ideas do you have? Tell us about them."
Her eyes sparkled, as if she had foreseen some brilliant plan.