Chapter 646

"Go on, go on, keep your voices down, don't disturb their sleep. Let's go buy some vegetables," Liang Xia said.

"You're not speaking, so there's no sound." Fang Nan pressed his voice even lower.

After the two of them tiptoed out of the villa, they began to look around.

Outside the courtyard the lights were bright, the flowers and grass fragrant, quiet and secluded.

The temperature difference was also great; a hot wind rushed at them, invading the couple's bodies.

"The place where rich people live really is comfortable; the air conditioning runs twenty-four hours a day."

"This villa must cost at least a million, right?" Liang Xia exclaimed with deep emotion, her voice choked.

"The interior renovation alone probably wouldn't be covered by a million."

Fang Nan did renovations himself, so he knew a thing or two about interior decor. He shook his head: "It's already six-thirty now; who knows if we can still buy vegetables."

"Besides, how do we get down from here? Let's hurry to the gate and wait for the bus."

"Go on, go on." Liang Xia urged them on.

The further out they walked, the more restrained their movements became, especially looking at the elegant pathways like something out of a TV show; the two of them looked rather sneaky.

But the people in the security booth saw that the two had come out from inside the villa area, so they paid them no mind.

After the two left the gate, they looked again toward the sanatorium's clinical area. At this moment a crowd still gathered there, noisy and chaotic, but guards and police were maintaining order, so it was busy yet orderly.

The two waited for ten-odd minutes but still no bus came; there wasn't a single car on the road either. This made them a bit anxious, so they thought about turning back to ask the security guards in the booth.

Fang Nan knocked on the window, tugged at his short-sleeved shirt a little, forced a smile, and asked: "Big brother, which bus route goes down the mountain from here?"

"We're planning to go down and buy some vegetables. Our son and the others haven't eaten dinner yet."

"Oh, my son works here now too." Fang Nan emphasized this point.

There were two people on duty in the security booth. They had been sitting there playing on their phones, but hearing this they hurriedly became formal, opened the window and door, and asked: "May I ask who you are?"

The other one said: "Today the buses here aren't running."

The sanatorium road has been sealed off. Right now there are still occasional critical patients being transferred in, and some patients being transferred out, plus family members of deceased patients coming to collect corpses, so it was temporarily sealed off.

"My son is called Fang Ziye."

"Big brother, come, have a cigarette." Fang Nan forced a smile.

As soon as Fang Nan finished speaking, the two people inside hurriedly stood up, quickly walked around from inside the security booth.

Long Jinhua hurriedly asked: "Uncle, may I ask what your name is?"

"I'm called Fang Nan. I'm also a local from Enshi. I came to see my son. He was injured, and right now he's still catching up on sleep."

"This is my wife. I thought I'd go buy some vegetables so that when he wakes up he'll have a hot meal waiting." Fang Nan finished briefly, continued holding out his cigarette, and bowed slightly.

Long Jinhua and his colleague bent their waists even lower. After taking the cigarette with both hands they hurriedly helped Fang Nan up, saying: "Uncle, Uncle, don't be anxious."

"You want to buy vegetables, right?"

"At this hour there's no bus here. We have meat and vegetable supplies here. You tell us what you'd like to eat, and I'll have someone deliver the vegetables over."

"We'll deliver them right to Professor Fang's courtyard. You won't have to trouble yourself running back and forth." Long Jinhua said very decisively at this moment.

Now there weren't so many patients being transferred back and forth. The logistics department staff didn't need to go procure other instruments and medicines. The logistics staff in charge of the canteen, if they heard Professor Fang Ziye needed vegetables, even if the canteen didn't have them they'd find a way to get them.

"That's not necessary, too much trouble. Big brother, you just tell me how to get to the vegetable market and that's enough." Fang Nan and Liang Xia were still quite simple and honest.

"There are no cars down the mountain at this hour. The road up the mountain is sealed off. Why don't you tell us what vegetables you need?" Long Jinhua continued to ask.

Normally, if a professor wanted to cook at home, they could just go to the canteen and take back whatever vegetables they needed.

Naturally that's still possible now.

The "miracle" Fang Ziye created inside the sanatorium, and the incident where he was injured on the scene — everyone in the sanatorium from top to bottom knew about it.

"Just half a catty of pork, and some random vegetables — cabbage, radish, anything works. How much would that cost?" Fang Nan thought since he had connections inside the sanatorium, he'd have to pay for it.

"No charge, Uncle. I'll arrange for someone to deliver it right away..." Long Jinhua replied after making a mental note.

"You say? Someone's really delivering vegetables? At this hour?" Fang Nan and Liang Xia sat in the courtyard chatting. Liang Xia's tone was half-believing, half-doubting!

"I don't know either... Xiao Ye just said room and board are covered here, never said anything about vegetable delivery too."

"If they really deliver, it'll probably cost money. Later don't you complain it's expensive. Xiao Ye and Tingzhu are both hungry..."

"Am I that kind of person?" Liang Xia muttered, but her brows furrowed slightly.

Around seven-forty, Liang Xia and Fang Nan saw three or four people walk in from outside. It seemed that besides someone carrying a basket, there was also someone wearing a white chef's uniform, and someone carrying a suitcase.

When they reached the villa courtyard gate, the leader forced a smile: "This is Professor Fang's home, right? We're here to cook dinner for Professor Fang..."

Fang Nan and Liang Xia were slightly petrified upon hearing this.

After much persuasion, once they reacted, the two only accepted the vegetables, then hurriedly ducked back into the house, shut the door. The couple's expressions were stiff, faces full of apprehension and unease...

When Fang Ziye woke again it was already around eleven at night. The drowsy Fang Ziye subconsciously looked to his side, but didn't find Luo Tingzhu.

Vaguely, Fang Ziye then remembered his parents had come. Luo Tingzhu had gone to the second bedroom...

Fang Ziye squeezed his eyes shut, only feeling a swelling at both temples. Occasional needle-like stabbing pains twitched straight to his cerebral cortex, with nowhere to escape.

Fang Ziye spread his four fingers, used both thumbs to press on his temples, and only then felt somewhat more comfortable.

He threw off the blanket and got up. The room temperature was suitable, shutting out the irritability of late June.

When Fang Ziye pushed open the bedroom door, he discovered Luo Tingzhu and his own parents were gathered around the dining table chatting about something.

On the dining table, five dishes were arranged in a circle, meat and vegetables interwoven.

"Xiao Ye. You're up." Fang Nan's ears were quite sharp. He heard the sound of Fang Ziye pushing the door at the first moment.

Luo Tingzhu stood up at the sound, called out "Senior Brother," but before she could move, Liang Xia had already hurriedly stood up and rushed toward Fang Ziye.

She approached, grabbed Fang Ziye's right hand and examined it carefully. With her head lowered, she asked in a soft voice: "Does it still hurt, Xiao Ye?"

Her voice was gentle, her eyes glistening. Her slightly plump body was a full head shorter than Fang Ziye, so she had to look up at him.

Family forever cares about your body — whether you're full or hungry, fat or thin — not your jianghu status.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Mom."

"I'll go brush my teeth first, let's hurry up and eat. You go dish out the rice first." Fang Ziye said.

"Okay, I'll go dish out the rice." Hearing Fang Ziye say he wanted to eat, Liang Xia hurriedly suppressed everything on her mind.

People regard food as heaven; the child is hungry and needs to eat, all other problems can be pushed back...

A right-handed person, after injuring their right hand, will find it especially inconvenient, because the right hand cannot make a fist, so Fang Ziye had to hold the toothbrush with his left hand, and use his right thumb and index finger to pick up the water cup to brush his teeth.

After awkwardly managing to finish, Fang Ziye rubbed his face with one hand.

While eating, Fang Ziye also felt not very comfortable.

His right hand couldn't use chopsticks, his left hand was not at all as proficient with chopsticks as his right, so he simply switched to a spoon.

Liang Xia and Fang Nan didn't move their chopsticks the whole time, only urging Fang Ziye and Luo Tingzhu to eat more, insisting they eat their fill.

After eating roughly seventy to eighty percent full, Fang Ziye stopped.

It's not suitable to eat too full at this time, but Fang Ziye's slow eating speed clearly made him the last one to put down his chopsticks.

"You really finished eating? No need to rush with the meal." Liang Xia, who basically ate absent-mindedly and just managed a few bites, said in a soft voice.

Fang Ziye nodded vigorously: "Mom, I really am full."

"I'll go wash the dishes, Auntie." Luo Tingzhu proactively came over to collect the bowls.

"I'll go, I'll go." Fang Nan immediately, with quick eyes and fast hands, intercepted Luo Tingzhu.

"Xiao Luo, you've also worked hard for a long time, let me handle this small matter, you should rest well too."

Fang Nan clearly also treated Luo Tingzhu as one of their own and felt heartache for her, picking up the plates and squeezing off toward the kitchen.

Liang Xia hurriedly said: "Tingzhu, you rest a bit too, you're tired too, Auntie feels heartache watching you..."

Hearing this, Luo Tingzhu didn't struggle further, shook her head; "Actually I'm fine, I've always been doing rotating shifts at the sanatorium."

"The workload isn't very large."

Fang Ziye said: "You joined emergency rescue earlier than me, do you want to go rest a bit? I'll chat with my mom for a while."

Luo Tingzhu hesitated slightly, Liang Xia directly cut off Fang Ziye's suggestion: "Tingzhu, you stay too, let's all talk a bit, after we finish your uncle and I still have to go back."

"We two came this morning, the pigs and chickens and ducks at home have no one to look after them."

"It's this late, Mom, just go back tomorrow morning!"

"I'll have someone drive you back. One night definitely won't starve them." Fang Ziye's voice was firm.

"That works too..."

"Xiao Ye, tell me honestly, this place you came to, what kind of place is it really?"

Fang Ziye then patiently explained, and after coordinating with Luo Tingzhu to demonstrate seven or eight sets of Couple's Fist, he said: "Mom, this time it's not because I work here that I needed to go to the scene."

"It's just that I am a doctor, so I must go to the scene."

"Even if I listened to your advice and went to Ba County People's Hospital, the result would still be the same!"

"The incident happened suddenly, the scene needed people, not only did Ba County People's Hospital's people have to come support, even some doctors from township health centers in the town were transferred to the scene."

"If you don't believe it, you can go ask around."

"It really has nothing to do with where I work, as long as something similar happens here, someone has to go to the scene to participate in rescue."

"And, as long as I'm a doctor, no matter where, similar things could happen, as long as they happen, someone must go to the scene."

"Unless I stop being a doctor."

"Nonsense." Liang Xia waved her hand, indicating she accepted Fang Ziye's 'explanation'.

Right, no matter where you are a doctor, as long as something similar happens, someone must go to the scene, if not Fang Ziye then Zhang Ziye, Li Ziye, there's no escaping it.

"Mom, we medical staff at the scene are actually already protected very, very well, that's all dozens of meters outside the safety line, this time was just an accident, and an accident that couldn't be predicted in advance."

"It's not just me who got injured, not just me the doctor who got injured."

"Those injured more severely are the police and firefighters, especially the frontline firefighters, they're the ones in the most danger!"

"Our town definitely had doctors go to the scene too!"

"You tell me, if you let me work in the county, that kind of thing wouldn't happen, right?" Fang Ziye said.

Given Liang Xia's level of being well-informed in the town, it's impossible she didn't know this. The reason she was worried and anxious was because Fang Ziye got injured.

"Tingzhu? Is it really like that?" Liang Xia seemed a bit distrustful of Fang Ziye.

Luo Tingzhu nodded: "Auntie, it's like this, the number of people from our sanatorium who went to the scene actually isn't that many."

"Then why did you go? Are you the only one who can?" Liang Xia started criticizing again.

Hearing this, Fang Ziye found his rhythm again; "Mom, disobeying orders on the spot, that's not just a matter of injury, that means changing careers, your son would starve to death."

"Think about it, if I don't be a doctor now, what else can I go do?"

"Go learn to make doors and windows with my dad, that works too, I'm pretty good at screw practice now, later I'll ask my dad..."

"Ow, gentle." Fang Ziye felt his ear get pinched, and hurriedly stopped joking.

Not until past twelve o'clock did the family finish the Q&A chat.

Then Liang Xia bumped Fang Nan, and signaled with her eyes toward Luo Tingzhu's direction, Fang Nan immediately stopped being wooden, and asked: "Tingzhu, Uncle actually knew about this matter at the time."

"However, we are Fang Ziye's parents, the family ultimately gave birth to a son, not a daughter."

"Since ancient times, a man when grown should marry, a woman when grown should wed, marriage requires courtship, our family is the side seeking the bride, your Auntie and I also know you and Ziye have quite good feelings!"

"What your Auntie and I mean is, we still want to meet your parents before your engagement, to talk carefully about your marriage."

"This is also our sincerity, and even more our respect for your parents."

"As the old saying goes, courtship requires courtship, the man's side to a certain extent still needs some sincerity, both parents not meeting is really a bit too rash..." Fang Nan's voice was comparatively sincere.

Hearing this, Luo Tingzhu fell silent, her complexion gradually becoming unnatural.

Seeing this, Fang Ziye hurriedly said: "Dad, Mom, didn't we already agree on this matter, you two just stop asking further."

"Tingzhu can make her own decisions."

Their own parents always said they wanted to meet Luo Tingzhu's parents — isn't that making things difficult for people? How could the current Luo Tingzhu possibly summon her own parents to gather together?

"This isn't as simple a matter as you think." Fang Nan shot Fang Ziye a glance, his tone serious.

Fang Ziye knew his own parents were both rather old-fashioned people; he felt that when seeking a daughter-in-law, they must have the other party's parents' consent, and moreover had to meet face-to-face, observing the Three Letters and Six Rites.

Even if the money wasn't much, the procedures that should be gone through still had to be gone through — this was the stubbornness of the two of them.

Luo Tingzhu still didn't reply, merely lowering her head slightly; Fang Ziye squeezed Luo Tingzhu's hand and said in a low voice: "You go back and rest first; I'll have a good talk with my dad and mom."

"Okay." Luo Tingzhu answered and left; she believed in Fang Ziye.

After Luo Tingzhu left, Fang Ziye said: "Dad, didn't I tell you several times about Tingzhu's family situation? Why do you still talk like this?"

"Parents' command, matchmaker's words — since ancient times, this is the natural order of things!" Fang Nan said.

His expression was stern: "You want to marry someone, yet you don't even notify the other person's parents, the two sets of parents don't even meet face-to-face — what does that count as?"

"People abroad don't get married anymore, is that it? It's a new era now — people in free love can't hold a wedding without a middleman matchmaker, so they count as illegal spouses, is that it?" Fang Ziye's tone rose slightly.

"Dad, Mom, I respect your thinking very much, but we also have to speak based on facts."

"Right now it's Tingzhu herself who doesn't want her parents meddling in her marriage — she can't do it!"

Liang Xia said: "What can't be done about this? Her parents are just divorced, not dead. They can still rush over, can't they?"

Liang Xia and Fang Nan were both rural people; they had seen many cases where the girl's child was willing but the parents disagreed with the marriage, and in the end it fell through — there were plenty of such cases.

There were even cases that ended in disputes.

Like Luo Tingzhu's case — not even reporting a major marriage matter to her parents — that's an even greater taboo for forming a marriage alliance.

"It's that Tingzhu temporarily can't face her parents — can you not pressure her?" Fang Ziye continued to counter-question.

Fang Nan and Liang Xia were fine in every other respect — it was just that their thinking was too rigid.

Most things Fang Ziye could decide on his own, but when it came to Fang Ziye's own marriage, they themselves got stubborn first.

"One's own parents — what's there that can't be faced?"

"It's not like they harmed her by making her eat people." Liang Xia said.

"Betrothal and acknowledging kin — this is originally just such a matter. Little Ye, I've already told you many times: marriage is a major affair, it must be decided by parents, both sets of parents must talk together — this is two families' business, not you two's business."

"Forming a marriage alliance also isn't a matter of you and Luo Tingzhu falling in love and getting married."

"There's a case right in our town — the bride's father didn't show up, said he'd called in advance, but at the wedding the bride's father disagreed and directly chased the marriage party back."

"Isn't it just that the betrothal gift money wasn't negotiated properly?" Liang Xia continued lecturing.

Fang Ziye acknowledged Liang Xia's concerns, and also knew what Liang Xia said was fact. But his tone still rose: "Does giving money count as having raised her?"

"They divorced when she was young, each started their own families, tossed the kid at home, gave some money, never accompanied her — how can you expect her to treat such parents as ordinary people's parents?"

Fang Nan's voice was stiff and proper: "Then what else? We rural people aren't like this? Earning money originally isn't easy."

"How many people don't toss their kids at home and go out to work? It's all forced by livelihood!"

"How can this child be so stubborn and refuse to listen to advice?"

This is probably the thinking chasm between parents and children — very hard to unify.

Actually Fang Ziye knew Fang Nan's scruple — it was just fear that Luo Tingzhu's parents didn't know, the daughter got married off, then they'd come make a scene at the wedding venue, and the Old Fang Family would lose too much face.

It wasn't purely a face issue either — it was a matter of whether one understands etiquette or not.

In their view, Luo Tingzhu's parents had "the grace of nurturing," so they had a say in Luo Tingzhu's lifelong major affair!

As for what Fang Ziye said — can't face it, awkward to face it?

Those are Luo Tingzhu's parents — you can't even face them yourself, where has your conscience gone?

"Fine fine fine, Dad, Mom, you two stop talking."

"My business doesn't need you to manage either — let's just drag it out like this, drag one day is one day, drag one year is one year. Drag a lifetime is a lifetime, okay?" Fang Ziye saw explaining wouldn't work, so he didn't plan to speak further.

"What temper this child has — you should go do Tingzhu's work." Fang Nan said.

"Forcing a cow's head down when it won't drink water?"

"You two aren't Tingzhu either — don't make decisions for her."

"I can listen to you two, but this kind of thing really isn't solved by persuasion."

"At least, by my cognition, I don't feel Luo Tingzhu doing this has anything wrong!"

"Just going by what you two say — some people leave kids at home and go out to work, that's no choice."

"Why don't you two go out to work? Why stay accompanying me all along? That's because you two can barely support the family right here in town, so you're willing to stay by my side for my sake."

"You two are my parents, so you treat me very well."

"Tingzhu's parents are much richer than you two; their separation wasn't forced by livelihood — the two of them are very happy now, each with their own families, but Tingzhu herself has never had parental accompaniment all along..."

"At most this only counts as 'feeding,' not 'nurturing.'"

"What you two persuade me to do, I can also choose not to do, right? We have to speak reason..."

"If giving money counts as raising, then rich people raising a kid would be far too easy." Fang Ziye said with resounding force.

Without experiencing another's suffering, don't advise another to be good.

Luo Tingzhu's case isn't a matter of kindness or unkindness.

It doesn't even touch on filial or unfilial.

Parents' grace of nurturing isn't merely just 'feeding.'

Luo Tingzhu's marriage — the only person she actually wants to tell is her grandma. But her grandma has passed away.

"Little Ye, this matter really can't be handled the way you say! You have to listen to advice, eh?" Fang Nan said.

Fang Ziye said: "Dad, Mom, today I'll properly talk to you two — you two just fear Tingzhu's parents will come make a scene, right?"

"Just fear losing face, just fear others thinking you don't understand propriety — is that it?"

"You fear losing face yourselves, so you want me to forcibly twist someone else's will — is that a proper thing?"

"Then tell me, aside from this scruple, what else are you afraid of?" Fang Ziye directly pierced through the superficial fig leaf of both his parents.

Fang Nan and Liang Xia both felt somewhat awkward and uneasy.

This was indeed what they were worried about.

Back in the hometown, is losing face not a big deal? Being labeled as insensible by others, not taking responsibility for your own child's wedding — this matter is truly not small.

Fang Ziye said: "First, Tingzhu and I have both made our positions clear. In this matter, she can make her own decisions, and her parents have no opinion."

"You are my parents, so don't go making decisions for others."

"Aren't you also afraid that at the wedding, people will ask where the in-laws went? That the wedding you arrange for us won't be glorious enough?"

"Where are there so many issues? A wedding is actually just for others to see; no matter how glorious or face-saving you make it, it's merely a few sentences in other people's mouths."

"How much actual benefit can you yourself get?"

"Just for the sake of face, must you nitpick?"

"Then let me make an unreasonable demand: I plan to spend fifty million on this wedding of mine — isn't that also an unreasonable demand?"

"Besides, our family is just an ordinary family; we don't have so many face burdens! ~Okay? Mom, Dad." Fang Ziye spoke earnestly and from the heart.

(Chapter End)