Chapter 284: Moving from a Commodity Apartment to a Big Villa!

Night falls.

Tang Ye returns home.

The house is quite lively.

Tang Yu is sitting on the sofa, chatting with Li Qin.

Zhang Ayi is all smiles; seeing Tang Ye enter, she immediately greets him: "You're back?"

Tang Ye responds casually, changes into his slippers, and casts his gaze toward the kitchen.

He sees Qin Lan wearing an apron, busily and intently working in front of the stove.

He puts his briefcase into the bedroom, walks back out, and asks with a smile: "How do you have time to visit today?" Li Qin's tone is gentle: "I came specifically to thank Dean Tang. The list for advanced studies at the Provincial Hospital has been announced, and I was successfully selected."

Tang Yu adds with a smile: "It is mainly because of your excellent work; the hospital leadership recognizes you. However, once you reach the provincial hospital, you must settle your heart and train hard for two years; it will be good for your future development."

Li Qin nods repeatedly: "Please rest assured, Dean Tang, I will certainly not let down your expectations."

At this moment, the doorbell suddenly rings.

Tang Ye thinks it is Du Xi returning and walks quickly to open the door.

Outside the door, besides Du Xi, are Dean Lu and Qi Pingsheng.

"Uncle Lu, Uncle Qi, why are you here?" Tang Ye welcomes them warmly.

Dean Lu is in a great mood and jokes half-heartedly: "Coming to mooch a meal, you don't mind, do you?"

Qin Lan pokes her head out from the kitchen and greets them with a smile: "Welcome! Old Lu, come in and sit, no need to change your shoes."

Zhang Ayi and Li Qin did not expect Dean Lu and Qi Pingsheng to visit suddenly, and for a moment, they feel a bit awkward.

Li Qin hurriedly stands up to greet them.

Dean Lu says with a smile: "Li Qin is here too! Dean Tang helped quite a bit with you being able to go for advanced studies this time."

Tang Yu is slightly stunned, then smiles: "I acted according to the rules; I absolutely did not break any rules."

Dean Lu laughs out loud and gives Qi Pingsheng a look.

Although Qi Pingsheng looks down on Tang Yu in his heart, his face is still full of smiles: "Old Tang, we came today to tell you some good news. The new house the hospital has allocated for you is ready, and here is the key. In addition, the hospital will provide three hundred thousand for renovation costs."

The City People's Hospital has built a new residential area; mid-to-high-level doctors who meet the standards can enjoy free housing, and those at the Vice President level can even live in villas.

Tang Yu looks at the envelope in his hand, his heart surging with complex emotions.

Once, for the sake of a house, he struggled for more than a dozen years; several times, when the opportunity was within reach, it was snatched away by others using underhanded means.

In fact, he was always indifferent to material things, but he always felt he owed his wife and son, who supported him silently.

"This is truly too sudden; thank you for the hospital leadership's care." He is momentarily speechless.

Qin Lan takes the key and smiles: "Dean Lu, thank you for bringing such good news. If you ask me, with Old Tang's ability, he should have had this treatment long ago."

Dean Lu glances at Tang Ye and agrees: "That's right, it was our lack of consideration before."

Zhang Ayi and Li Qin watch this scene, their hearts filled with complicated feelings.

Is the Tang Family really going to move away?

Decades of neighborly friendship, suddenly about to be separated; feelings of loss, envy, and reluctance are intertwined.

"Congratulations, Old Tang." Zhang Ayi's tone is slightly stiff.

Tang Yu sighs with emotion: "Having lived here for so many years, I really am quite reluctant to leave now that I actually have to."

Qin Lan suddenly remembers the dish still stewing on the stove and hurriedly returns to the kitchen.

Before long, she brings the dish out and feigns a request for them to stay: "Let's eat a little together; try my cooking."

Zhang Ayi hurriedly declines: "No, no, I have bone soup stewing at home; I have to go back and check on it."

Dean Lu and Qi Pingsheng do not stand on ceremony; after Qin Lan makes a symbolic invitation, the two happily stay.

Helpless, Qin Lan has to go out to buy some deli food and has the restaurant rush to make two more substantial dishes.

In the house downstairs, Li Qin takes a sip of the bone soup and catches a glimpse of her mother's listless expression.

"Mom, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Zhang Ayi feels a dull pain in her heart and forces a smile on her face: "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Li Qin sighs softly and jokes half-heartedly: "I really didn't expect the Tang Family upstairs to be so prosperous now. When you were young and dating Uncle Tang, why didn't it end in marriage?"

Before the words are even finished, Zhang Ayi's face turns deathly pale, and it is a long time before she lets out a breath.

"I was blind back then. I didn't have that fate; it couldn't be forced."

Seeing her mother's intense reaction, Li Qin's joke gets stuck in her throat, and a sour feeling rises in her heart.

Putting herself in her mother's shoes, if she were facing such a disparity in fate, she would likely sigh as well.

There is a rustling sound outside the door.

Li Qin's father, Li Guozheng, pushes the door open and enters, his brow furrowed with dark clouds.

"Seeing your expression so poor, did you run into something troublesome?" Zhang Ayi asks softly.

Li Guozheng throws his briefcase heavily onto the table, his tone full of resentment: "I just heard the hospital is going to form a team for Tang Yu to apply for a provincial-level laboratory. The project I was in charge of had a great chance of getting support, but he intercepted it halfway!"

Zhang Ayi sighs softly and tries to persuade him gently: "Don't get sick over this. Old Tang even helped Qinqin secure an advanced study spot."

Hearing this, Li Guozheng is stunned, then sneers: "What I'm angry about is that Qi Pingsheng is ungrateful! If it weren't for my father promoting him back then, how would he have had the chance to become a Vice President? At this critical moment, he didn't side with me at all."

Zhang Ayi pats her husband's hand to comfort him, but in her heart, she thinks to herself: It is likely not that Qi Pingsheng is unwilling to help, but that Tang Yu is currently in the limelight, and even Qi Pingsheng can no longer be of any use.

"Why is it so noisy upstairs?" Li Guozheng hears laughter coming from the hallway and suddenly asks with a frown.

"Dean Lu and Vice President Qi are both upstairs."

Li Guozheng's expression freezes instantly, and it is a long time before he squeezes a few words through his teeth: "Very well... this world is truly pitch black!"

Li Qin feels quite uncomfortable.

Back when her grandfather hadn't retired yet, Li Guozheng had enjoyed plenty of benefits.

At a time like this, lamenting the unfairness of the world is truly somewhat ironic.

……

Upstairs.

Dean Lu's eyes crinkled with a smile; holding his wine glass, he said loudly, "Little Tang, the leaders of the Provincial Health Department called personally today, and it really excited me! Thanks to your mediation, the provincial and municipal levels are placing such importance on the project. I'll toast you a drink!"

Tang Yu and Qin Lan exchanged glances, finally understanding why Dean Lu was so warm and enthusiastic today.

So that was it: the new hospital project had been approved.

Once the project is completed, Dean Lu will certainly be able to advance further.

Tang Ye clinked glasses with Dean Lu and drank it all in one gulp, his expression composed: "Uncle Lu, once the project is approved, the funds will be in place very soon. The key next is execution; the construction of the new hospital must strictly control quality throughout the entire process, striving to build a regional medical benchmark."

Qin Lan watched her son speaking with such eloquence, her eyes and brows filled with pride!

——With a son so accomplished, how could one not feel gratified?

They saw off Dean Lu and Qi Pingsheng.

The old couple finished washing up and went into the room.

Seeing Qin Lan applying a facial mask, Tang Yu teased, "You seem to love fussing over yourself quite a bit lately."

Qin Lan patted her cheeks, "You are becoming more and more outstanding, so I can't just stand still, can I? There are so many young girls at your hospital; if I don't have a sense of crisis, sooner or later someone will take advantage of the opening."

Tang Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "How is that possible? You're talking nonsense."

Qin Lan smiled at Tang Yu, "This was all something your son reminded me of."

Tang Yu: "……"