Gu Houyi still rembers when the issue of demolishing Huichun Hall was resolved, he felt as if a mountain blocking his path had finally been removed. He finally cleared out the old Chinese doctor and his outdated clinic, feeling a sense of relief. Just as he planned to lead all the employees forward on this path, an accident led to his premature departure.
Gu Houyi then realized that he and Xu Changshan were no different, both being the ones to be cleared out. The difference between them was rely a matter of ti.
Their eyes t in the void, like the leaders of two sects. Xu Changshan was the first to smile and greet him, "Dean Gu, long ti no see."
Gu Houyi nodded and smiled, "Mr. Xu, buying groceries?"
Xu Changshan actually had a shorter route to take, but he always chose to pass by here because he could see Huichun Hall, to which he had dedicated almost his entire life. Now that the building was gone, and the land after the demolition had been enclosed into the second phase expansion site of Changxing Hospital, he still wanted to see it. Every ti he passed by here, he would think of the youth he once had, the family he once had, the wife who once shared weal and woe with him, and the children who once surrounded him.
At that ti, he was the center of the family, everyone saw him as their reliance, and now he is old, his wife has left him forever, and his children all live independently. He is no longer a necessity in their lives. He can still smile at life, but behind the smile, there is a sense of loss. What keeps him strong is not just Huichun Hall, but mainly his beloved grandson. As his grandson grows, he begins to feel anxious, worrying about the day when his grandson no longer needs his protection.
Gu Houyi was once the center of Changxing, with all the employees revolving around him, looking up to him. He saw Changxing as a big family and himself as the father of this family. He hoped to lead the employees to make this family more and more prosperous. Just when the ti finally arrived, he suddenly found that this family no longer needed him. What a sorrowful realization that was.
Their gazes simultaneously turned towards the construction site beside them.
"When does construction start?"
Gu Houyi shook his head and said, "I don’t know, I went to the Science Association."
Xu Changshan then rembered that Changxing had a new dean and recalled the undisguised sense of loss on Gu Houyi’s face when he t him just now. Xu Changshan felt a bit apologetic: "Coming back for a visit?"
"Just passing by." Gu Houyi would never easily admit that he had co on purpose.
Xu Changshan said, "I specifically chose this road, wanting to take another look at Huichun Hall."
Gu Houyi thought to himself, isn’t Huichun Hall already torn down?
"I have to thank you. In the past, I caused you quite a bit of trouble." Xu Changshan was by no ans thanking him for demolishing Huichun Hall. This gratitude was entirely for his beloved grandson. If not for Gu Houyi solving Xu Chunliang’s job problem, who knows what his grandson would be like now? Xu Changshan could hardly imagine.
"Oh, you’re too kind. I should be the one thanking you."
The two exchanged polite remarks, feeling a sense of empathetic understanding.
Xu Changshan invited Gu Houyi to visit the new site of Huichun Hall across the river for tea when he had ti. Gu Houyi said he would surely visit if he had the ti.
Watching Xu Changshan leave, Gu Houyi also hurriedly walked towards ho. The dream had always been there, but he no longer had the chance to fulfill it.
During this ti, Xu Chunliang had been accompanying Yan Huaiyi for quality checks at the city’s branches and community clinics. Before starting, he thought the workload would be very heavy, but once he started, he found the work much easier than he imagined, especially compared to working in the dical affairs departnt, which was positively leisurely.
After all, the forr mainly dealt with patients, while the latter dealt with dical staff.
Before they began their inspection work, all branches and community clinics had already received notifications and prepared ticulously. In fact, such so-called quality control inspections were nothing more than a formality, maybe during the inspection everyone perford well, but as soon as the inspection period ended, everything would imdiately revert to the way it was before. Even Deputy Dean Yan Huaiyi believed that these inspections were rely formalities with negligible effect.
Inspection work and reception work were complentary. No matter where they went for inspections, departnt heads would ticulously prepare the receptions. Yan Huaiyi was quite cautious about this, knowing very well his position in Zhao Feiyang’s eyes. If he accepted any invitation, it might be reported to Zhao Feiyang by so interested party the next day.
It wasn’t out of the question that Zhao Feiyang might use this opportunity to cause trouble, especially in this sensitive period, so Yan Huaiyi refused all invitations. Since he took the lead in doing so, Xu Chunliang certainly wouldn’t eat alone. During the few days of inspections in the city, it was basically working als at noon, and if they worked overti in the evening, it was still working als.
Fengcai Community was their last unit for quality checks in the city. Today’s inspection work went smoothly and ended early at four in the afternoon. Yet, Yan Huaiyi still refused the community clinic director’s dinner invite, letting Xu Chunliang go ho early to rest. Next Monday morning, they would head to the last unit, Weishan Island Hospital, which was the highlight of this quality inspection.
On the way ho, Xu Chunliang received a call from Li Jia Kuan from Gusu Traditional Chinese dicine Hospital. He was attending a eting in Dongzhou for the past two days, so he wanted to visit Mr. Xu at Huichun Hall and catch up with Xu Chunliang. The two had t on the way to the provincial capital, when they had jointly rescued businessman Luan Yuchuan on the high-speed train.
Xu Chunliang expressed his welco and specifically instructed Li Jia Kuan not to ntion their rescue on the train in front of his grandfather, with the excuse that Huichun Hall had strict family rules and his grandfather strictly forbade him from using dical skills outside before his training was complete.
Li Jia Kuan understood. The stricter the regulations were in these traditional Chinese dicine families, the more he wouldn’t cause trouble since Xu Chunliang had ntioned it.
The two agreed to et at Huichun Hall in an hour. After Xu Chunliang hung up the phone, he called his grandfather, planning to have dinner together outside in the evening.
Xu Changshan told him that there was no need to go out. He had arranged a farewell dinner for him with Zheng Peian and Gao Xinhua, and had bought a lot of good dishes. Zheng Peian was already preparing in the kitchen.
Xu Chunliang knew that his grandfather didn’t like to eat out, and since Zheng Peian’s culinary skills were comparable to those of a star hotel chef, he agreed.
Li Jia Kuan arrived at Huichun Hall on ti, bringing special local products from Gusu: roast chicken, sausages, two bottles of sesa oil, and a case of wine.
Xu Chunliang guessed he wouldn’t co empty-handed. Seeing him bring so much, he thought he was being too polite. Li Jia Kuan said he ca to visit Mr. Xu, and these were gifts for him, all local specialties and not worth much.
Xu Changshan, hearing there were guests, also ca out to greet them. He had no impression of Li Jia Kuan.
Li Jia Kuan introduced himself, saying that he had heard Elder Xu’s lectures in the past and had always admired his dical skills and deanor.
Zheng Peian, who was cooking, also ca out after hearing the commotion. He was surprised to see Li Jia Kuan; they had known each other for a long ti. Both graduated from Nanjiang College of Traditional Chinese dicine, with Li Jia Kuan being three years senior. When Zheng Peian first entered the campus, they t at a Dongzhou alumni gathering. They hadn’t been in touch much after graduation, especially since Zheng Peian went to Xiangnan for ten years.
Despite not having seen each other for so many years, they recognized each other at first glance. Back then, Zheng Peian was still a young lad, and Li Jia Kuan had a head full of thick black hair, yet they called each other by na without hesitation and started chatting warmly.
Gao Xinhua was the last to arrive, bringing two bottles of wine with him.
Xu Chunliang helped introduce everyone, letting his grandfather accompany Li Jia Kuan and Gao Xinhua for tea, while he assisted Zheng Peian with serving the dishes.
Zheng Peian tore up the roast chicken brought by Li Jia Kuan and plated it, then sliced the sausages. He smiled at Xu Chunliang and said, "The old man said to give you a farewell. We should have invited your friends, not us old guys."
Xu Chunliang couldn’t help but laugh, "Don’t let him hear that. In his eyes, we’re all kids. This is called using public matters for private interests. Actually, he wants soone to drink with. I’m only going for three weeks, what’s there to send off?"
Zheng Peian replied, "The key is to make the old man happy." He asked Xu Chunliang to help wash the freshly picked perilla leaves.
Xu Changshan had stored quite a bit of good wine, and Huichun Hall hadn’t hosted so many people for dinner in a while. He brought out a bottle of Qionghua Lang that he had treasured for six years.
Gao Xinhua said, "Great wine, Uncle Xu. Your hospitality standards are quite high today."
Xu Chunliang wasn’t even aware that his grandfather had stored so much good wine.
Xu Changshan boasted with a smile that he had plenty of good wine, not just at Huichun Hall, but he also had two large jars of fine wine stored in a cave in Huoshan, Wannan.
In fact, when Xu Changshan first stored this batch of Qionghua Lang, Xu Chunliang had just graduated from junior high school. He had planned to use it for his grandson’s college entrance celebration three years later. Unexpectedly, another three years passed, and his grandson still hadn’t passed the entrance exams.
Just when it seed like all hope was lost, a new opportunity erged.
Xu Changshan never thought he would end up using the relocation opportunity to help his grandson secure a stable job in the health system. He was even more surprised when his cherished grandson showcased exceptional talent in the workplace, far exceeding his peers. According to Gao Xinhua, since joining Changxing, Xu consistently made significant achievents and was appreciated by his leaders, even being selected by the dean to join the quality control team this ti.
If it were only Gao Xinhua saying this, Elder Xu might not fully believe it, but with Zheng Peian saying the sa, it proved Xu Chunliang indeed had talent.
Xu Changshan raised his glass to welco Li Jia Kuan’s arrival. Li Jia Kuan, being a forthright person, had always admired Elder Xu. He first toasted the elder, then raised his glass to Gao Xinhua.
Gao Xinhua laughed and said he wasn’t worthy of such toasts, as they were of similar age and on equal terms, so there was no need to toast him.
Li Jia Kuan ntioned that they were the sa age, and his birthday was even earlier than Gao’s.
Gao Xinhua laughed, "You’re the elder brother; I should toast you instead."
Li Jia Kuan quickly shook his head, "No, no, you’re in a high position, and I’m just a rural doctor, so I should toast you."
After their exchange of politeness, they both drank two cups together.
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