"You're here." Lin Zhilan glanced up at the wall clock; it was already almost half past six.
At this time in the capital, the sky would already be dark, but outside on the island, it was still bright. She had lost track of time for a moment.
Lin Zhilan stood up and stretched her stiff neck, calling out to her two apprentices, "Alright, it's getting late. You two should hurry home for dinner."
"Sure thing."
Lin Zijun smiled playfully and nodded at Su Lang.
Since Su Lang wasn't on a mission right now, as long as he got off work early, he would come to the hospital to pick up Lin Zhilan.
This was already common knowledge throughout the hospital and the family compound.
So, Lin Zijun and Su Lang weren't exactly strangers.
Just as they were about to leave, the two apprentices each pulled a large cloth bag from under the desk and placed them in front of the couple.
Lin Zhilan's eyelids twitched. "What's this?"
"Master, this is a token of our respect for you." Lin Zijun patted the cloth bag next to his hand. "Inside is some cured meat and sausage my mom made, along with some sweet potato noodles and dried mushrooms. You're a great cook, so you definitely don't need me to teach you how to prepare them."
Qin Qing pursed her lips. "I have some fabric here, and a few hair ties. They are also to show my respect for you, Master."
"..." Lin Zhilan fell silent for a moment, then turned to look at Su Lang. "Commander Su, this doesn't count as accepting bribes, does it?"
"It doesn't!" A voice came from outside the door.
"Director Liu, what brings you here?"
Director Liu nodded in greeting to Su Lang and said with a chuckle, "I'm here to inspect your work."
Lin Zhilan spread her hands. "Well, you see, you caught them giving me gifts right in the act."
"They are your apprentices, it's only right for them to show respect to their master. Just take it."
"Exactly, exactly. Master, the leadership has spoken, so you can put your mind at ease," Lin Zijun hurriedly added, and Qin Qing nodded in agreement.
"It's so heavy. How am I supposed to carry it?" Lin Zhilan changed her excuse.
Lin Zijun said, "Isn't Commander Su here? Master, when a man is useful, you have to use him!"
"You're such a smart aleck!" Lin Zhilan curled her finger and flicked him on the forehead.
"Hiss!" Lin Zijun winced in pain and nudged Su Lang with his elbow. "Commander Su, does my master hit you like this at home?"
Su Lang slightly shifted his body away, distancing himself a bit. "Am I the same as you?"
Lin Zijun muttered softly, "It's not the same. It probably hurts even more when she hits you."
"Tsk!" Lin Zhilan clicked her tongue lightly.
Lin Zijun immediately squeezed out a smile. "Then we'll be heading back first. Goodbye, Master!"
"Goodbye, Master." Qin Qing followed him out.
Once the two youngsters had left, Director Liu finally handed the file folder in his hand to Lin Zhilan. "The paperwork for you to go to the Yangcheng College of Traditional Chinese Medicine is all done. You report on March 10th."
"That fast?"
Lin Zhilan took it and flipped through the various documents.
"Chief Cheng gave the word, how could it not be fast?" Director Liu smiled. "Dr. Lin, congratulations. You have a boundless future ahead of you."
Lin Zhilan shook her head helplessly. "Director Liu, please don't tease me. I already wish I could split myself into eight pieces to get everything done, so... I'm still going to need your help."
"Tell me."
Lin Zhilan said, "Can our Traditional Chinese Medicine department recruit another doctor? An experienced TCM practitioner."
Ye Congshan was about to retire, and Lin Zijun and Qin Qing were still too young and inexperienced. Currently, Lin Zhilan was the only one in the department who could hold down the fort.
If she had to run back and forth between two places, the TCM department would be severely understaffed.
"An experienced TCM practitioner..." Director Liu pondered for a moment. "You'll have to give me some time to look around."
"It's fine, no rush," Lin Zhilan smiled. "As long as you get someone before I leave for my classes, it'll be okay."
"You call that no rush?" Director Liu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
It was less than a month before classes started. Finding an experienced and capable TCM doctor wasn't going to be easy.
Lin Zhilan smiled faintly. "I have no choice either. Who told you to be the director?"
"Alright, alright, you two hurry on home. I'll figure something out."
Lin Zhilan and Su Lang carried the things back home. The food, bowls, and chopsticks were already set out on the table.
Stir-fried shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs, and a plate of rather unappetizing eggplant.
The eggplant was overcooked and had turned black.
Su Bingcheng brought over a bowl of soup. "You're back. Just in time to eat. I made all the dishes today."
Linlin waved her little hand, signaling her mother to squat down.
"What is it?"
Linlin leaned close to Lin Zhilan's ear. "Grandma said the eggplant is poisonous and told us not to eat it."
The little girl knew to lower her voice, but the whole family still heard her.
Lin Zhilan suppressed a smile and looked at her father-in-law.
Su Bingcheng cleared his throat a couple of times. "Grandpa just hasn't cooked in a long time. It'll be better once I get some practice."
"Dad is right."
Lin Zhilan played along and gave her daughter's little bottom a pat. "Let Daddy take you to wash your hands. It's time to eat."
After washing their hands, everyone sat down at the dining table.
Su Bingcheng said, "Everyone, have a taste and give me an objective evaluation. Let me know what needs improvement, and I'll do better next time."
Jiang Chengzhou was the first to try the food, picking up some shredded potatoes with his chopsticks.
"..."
"How is Grandpa's cooking?" Su Bingcheng asked expectantly.
Jiang Chengzhou replied, "It's just like the food Uncle makes."
Su Lang almost choked. "Dad, you should taste it yourself."
Su Bingcheng picked up a piece of eggplant and put it in his mouth.
The eggplant was overcooked; the skin was bitter, and the flesh inside lacked flavor.
He awkwardly put down his chopsticks. "Never mind, nobody eat this. I'll go to the cafeteria and get some food for us."
Lin Zhilan said, "Dad, it's fine. Aside from the eggplant, the other dishes are just a bit bland, but they're edible. Plus, we shouldn't waste food."
"I'm just afraid the kids won't eat it, and they're growing."
Jiang Chengzhou comforted his grandpa. "It's okay, we can just pretend we're eating a 'recall the bitter, think of the sweet' meal."
His grandpa's cooking was even worse than wild vegetable pancakes.
"..." Su Bingcheng did not feel comforted at all.
Worried that the two kids would be picky and refuse to eat, Lin Zhilan told them, "If you two are good and finish the food in your bowls today, we'll buy seafood to eat tomorrow."
"Is Grandpa going to cook again?" Jiang Chengzhou asked, holding his bowl.
"I'll cook," Lin Zhilan said.
"Then I'll learn from the sidelines," Su Bingcheng immediately offered.
Since he had nothing to do nowadays, it would be nice to be able to cook for the kids.
Xu Yueyun also raised both hands in support.
"Auntie, I want to learn from you too," Jiang Chengzhou spoke up.
He was completely disappointed with his uncle's and grandpa's culinary skills now.
If he took after his auntie, his cooking would definitely be delicious.
"Sure," Lin Zhilan agreed.
Xu Yueyun frowned and said, "You're so busy with work. If it's too much, we can just eat at the cafeteria. Don't go through too much trouble."
"It's no trouble," Lin Zhilan smiled. "The New Year season isn't completely over yet, so the department doesn't have many patients. Plus, I find cooking quite relaxing. The things we sent to the capital before were all dried goods, so this time Mom and Dad can finally taste some fresh seafood."
Su Lang secretly transferred the vegetables from his daughter's bowl into his own, earning a grateful smile from Linlin.
"Then I'll come back a little earlier tomorrow." Su Lang ladled a spoonful of soup into his wife's bowl.
On the entire table, only this bowl of soup was appetizing enough to go with the rice.
Hearing Su Lang say this, Xu Yueyun stared at him and frowned.
