"Let me try too."
"Just watch and learn for now. If you hurt your sister while brushing her hair, see if I don't teach you a lesson."
The voices of Su Lang and Jiang Chengzhou drifted up from the living room downstairs.
Lin Zhilan paused her steps and glanced over.
Linlin was sitting on a small stool, with Su Lang sitting behind her, his legs spread apart, clumsily trying to tie up her hair.
Linlin's hair was fine and smooth. Because Su Lang was inexperienced, he looped the rubber band around his fingertips several times but still couldn't manage to tie it on.
The uncle and nephew were still studying it from behind, completely oblivious to the fact that the little girl was already clenching her teeth.
Sensing her gaze, Su Lang suddenly turned his head to look in her direction.
Lin Zhilan had come downstairs in a hurry, so her hair was still draped messily over her shoulders.
Su Lang's gaze landed on her collarbone, his eyes darkening profoundly.
The bite mark he had left there was now covered by her clothes.
Su Lang smiled as if nothing had happened. "Come here, let me brush your hair too."
Lin Zhilan's face grew hot under his stare. She deliberately changed the subject, "Better not. You should take a look at your daughter's face first."
Su Lang looked down.
Linlin's entire little face was scrunched up, grimacing in pain.
He quickly let go of her hair and gently rubbed the top of his daughter's head, apologizing profusely. "Daddy is so sorry. Did I hurt you?"
"It's okay, you just need to practice more." The little girl was quite magnanimous, not angry in the slightest.
Su Lang softened his voice, "Why didn't you tell Daddy that it hurt just now?"
Linlin propped her chin on her small hands and said earnestly, "If I said it hurt, what if Daddy refused to braid my hair ever again?"
Su Lang was momentarily stunned.
Even Lin Zhilan was a bit surprised, not expecting her daughter to think like that.
Suddenly, Su Lang lifted his daughter up in the air.
Linlin was amused and giggled, completely forgetting the pain from just a moment ago.
"When Daddy comes back from this mission, I'll braid your hair every single day until you get sick of it." Su Lang set his daughter down, his voice so gentle it could melt a heart.
"I promise I won't get sick of it," Linlin answered in a crisp voice.
Before long, Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng also arrived.
The whole family saw Su Lang out.
Before he even left, Xu Yueyun's eyes were already turning red.
Su Lang chuckled, "Mom, it's not like I'm never coming back. It's just a routine mission, there won't be any problems."
"Pfft, pfft, pfft," Xu Yueyun lightly smacked his shoulder. "Keep the bad luck away and bring the good luck in. Don't talk nonsense right before you leave!"
Su Lang couldn't help but laugh. Comrade Xu, a staunchly materialistic revolutionary soldier, had actually started believing in these superstitions when it came to him.
Lin Zhilan held her daughter, her face showing no particular expression.
But her eyes were overly bright, as if shimmering with unshed tears.
"I'm leaving now."
"Mhm," Lin Zhilan's eyelashes fluttered slightly. "I... we'll be waiting for you to come back."
Su Lang adjusted his uniform, saluted his family, and turned to get into the vehicle.
As the jeep drove away, Xu Yueyun finally couldn't hold it in and raised a hand to wipe her eyes.
Lin Zhilan stood there for a moment before suddenly looking at her mother-in-law.
Xu Yueyun really didn't know how to comfort her, but then she heard her daughter-in-law ask in a cheerful tone, "Mom, what do you want to eat for dinner tonight?"
"You child..." Xu Yueyun was left caught between tears and laughter by her question, the tears in her eyes refusing to fall.
Lin Zhilan shrugged.
The world is vast, but eating is the most important thing.
Xu Yueyun patted her daughter-in-law's hand, knowing full well that she was the one who was the most reluctant to see him go.
After Su Lang left, the adults seemed fine on the surface. The two children were downcast for a few days but soon regained their vitality.
Shortly after, Jiang Chengzhou started school.
Auntie Yu ran back and forth between the house and the hospital.
Lin Zhilan threw herself into Liu Feng's treatment, while Linlin continued learning calligraphy and painting with Xu Yueyun and Wang Rou.
Su Bingcheng also found his own source of amusement.
He spent his days tending to the vegetables in the yard, occasionally chopping a few bamboo stalks to weave various toys for the children.
Without Su Lang around, it seemed everyone had settled into their own routines.
Because Lin Zhilan now had a schedule that included attending classes at the Yangcheng College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Director Liu hired another male traditional Chinese medicine doctor named Chang San.
The first time she heard the name, Lin Zhilan thought it was Chang Shan.
Chang Shan was an herbal medicine, slightly toxic, specifically used to treat malaria and stubborn phlegm accumulation.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine department currently only had four people, two of whom hadn't even finished their apprenticeships.
Logically, everyone should have been happy about the arrival of a new doctor.
However, on Chang San's very first day, all four of them disliked him.
Chang San was very gaunt, with more than half of his hair white, making him look like he was in his fifties or sixties.
But according to Director Liu, he wasn't even forty yet.
His most unlikable trait was his arrogance.
Arrogant beyond belief.
On his very first day, he gave Lin Zhilan a harsh scolding.
"Do you know that spending your time and energy on this kind of patient is simply a waste!"
Lin Zhilan had just stepped out of Liu Feng's ward and was greeted head-on by these baffling words. She was so angry she almost laughed.
She closed the ward door to prevent Liu Feng inside from hearing.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Lin Zhilan sneered, "Dr. Chang, what gives you the right to make such a definitive assertion?"
Chang San kept a straight face. "I heard from Director Liu that your medical skills are excellent. Don't you know the pathology of flaccidity syndrome? With polio, after the fever subsides, although the evil qi is gone, the vital qi is severely damaged.
Qi and blood are deficient, body fluids are exhausted, and the nerves and muscles have already undergone irreversible atrophy and degeneration. It's like a dead tree, no matter how much you water and fertilize it, it can never sprout again! You can't give a patient hope only to plunge them into despair!"
Chang San had deep eye sockets and high cheekbones, giving him a sinister look when he stared at people.
When he got agitated while speaking, it sounded like he was cursing someone out.
"Have you examined this patient?"
Lin Zhilan wasn't in a rush to prove herself. Instead, she furrowed her brows, looked at him, and asked calmly.
"I... I've read his medical records."
Chang San paused before answering.
Lin Zhilan pushed the ward door open again. "Come in. Please take his pulse, Dr. Chang, and then we can discuss this."
Chang San gave her a look and walked in without the slightest hesitation.
"Xiaofeng, this is Dr. Chang, a new arrival in our department. He's here to check on your condition."
Liu Feng had already heard everything Chang San said outside.
With a stiff face, he managed a forced smile at Lin Zhilan and nodded.
Chang San took his pulse and then carefully examined his legs.
The two legs were of different thicknesses, and the muscles showed obvious signs of atrophy.
But for someone of Liu Feng's age, maintaining his current condition was already quite good.
Finishing his examination, Chang San straightened his back. "Dr. Lin, what exactly did you want me to look at?"
He had seen everything there was to see, and Chang San didn't feel there was any error in his conclusion.
"You can't cure it?" Lin Zhilan asked with a smile.
Chang San frowned deeply at her. "Dr. Lin, do not make jokes about patients."
"You're the one making jokes!" Lin Zhilan glared at him. "Dr. Chang, I've also heard the director praise your medical skills. But the cases you've seen and the medicine you've learned are nothing more than the experiences of a tiny corner of the world. What gives you the right to conclude that Liu Feng's illness cannot be cured?"
