Chapter 366: Chapter 365

Ling Chengyan lived in the big courtyard dormitory, and when she walked out of her house, naturally other colleagues and comrades saw her. They were alright, only gazing with surprise. However, the ladies, aunts, and sisters-in-law living in the family courtyard were instantly captivated by Ling Chengyan’s outfit and surrounded her with incessant praises.

Ling Chengyan had never been complimented for her appearance this way before. What she usually heard were commendations of her exceptional skills, outstanding horse riding and archery… Uh, even here, it was much the same; her combat prowess was renowned, being a shooting champion, a sharpshooter, and including the secretly circulated nickname “Mother Tiger,” which Ling Chengyan was actually aware of but didn’t care much about.

Now, being praised for her looks and attire, she was somewhat unaccustomed to it, smiling and socializing for a while until Wang Liansheng came up to rescue her, and they went out together and got in the car. Only then did Wang Liansheng burst into laughter uncontrollably.

Ling Chengyan gave him an annoyed glance, and after the glare, she couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

In Huicheng Ling Family, Ling Family’s elder brother and second brother had expanded their transport team by several times within just a year. From initial few broken vehicles, they expanded to more than thirty vehicles, and routes extended from within the province to several surrounding provinces and cities. Recently, Ling Family’s elder brother and second brother were planning to investigate the market in Beijing, intending to set up a business point there and open a line heading to Beijing.

Ling Chengyan brought the family back to Ling Family, informed them via letter ahead of time, but Ling Family’s second brother couldn’t make it back; only the elder brother was home.

Ling Chengyan briefly exchanged pleasantries with the elder brother and sisters-in-law before heading to Ling Father’s room.

The Ling Family had installed homemade local heating, with the stove located in the outer room of Ling Father’s place. Xin, Shi Tou, along with cousins, had already arrived early, and a group of children crowded around the stove, rummaging for roasted sweet potatoes.

The elder brother accompanied her over, and he laughed seeing the children: “This stove was custom-made following the advice of our dad, with a special added oven function. These kids just come here after school, as this room has delicious roasted treats by our dad like sweet potatoes, potatoes, dry buns…”

Hearing what her elder brother said, Ling Chengyan couldn’t help but laugh, but she suddenly recalled something and asked, “Does the coughing have anything to do with this stove?”

The elder brother immediately shook his head, smiling: “Our fire wall, chimney were built by experts, the smoke travels smoothly, and there’s no smoke inside the room… Besides, we use the best smokeless coal, there’s almost no odor in the house… I even specifically asked the doctors, and they all said there’s no obvious connection with this, it’s still…”

At this point, the elder brother paused, his eyes shifting, noticing Ling Father walking out somewhat sheepishly, he called out: “Dad!”

Ling Chengyan inquired about Ling Father’s health with concern. Ling Father waved his hand indifferently, repeatedly saying he was fine, and the cough was just an old ailment that a cold had triggered again, saying it would be fine after a few days.

Seeing Ling Father’s nonchalant attitude, Ling Chengyan didn’t ask further and naturally switched the topic. After chatting for a while, Ling Chengyan hesitantly brought up to Ling Father, as the Spring Festival was approaching, both she and Wang Liansheng were struggling with work duties, unable to look after the kids. Their aunt twisted her foot earlier and couldn’t go to the provincial city to help them. Hence, they could only ask old father to help them look after the children for a few days in the provincial city.

Wang Liansheng immediately supplemented: “You don’t need to worry about other matters at home, just manage the kids mornings and evenings, restrain those two little rascals from running around. There’s a decent canteen with good meals.”

Their faces were filled with embarrassment and pleading, even though Ling Father saw through it as an excuse, but he was willing to cooperate, hence agreed with a cheerful laugh.

After eating, Ling Chengyan left the kids at Ling Family to play, and she went with Wang Liansheng to the elder brother’s house.

Besides visiting Ling Father, they brought good news for Hongling during this trip; after the new year, in April or May, the Provincial Medical Institute would recruit a batch of specialized students. The recruitment target mainly included past graduates, junior college graduates, and in-service workers, and anyone with a high school, junior college, or equivalent diploma could apply.

Although Hongling had dropped out for a few years, her scores were good during supplementary exams back then, and since attending the Health School, her academic performance consistently ranked top of the class… Based on several factors, Hongling’s chances of succeeding in the exam were much higher than those of high school graduates and in-service workers.

Since this recruitment required practical exams, participation wasn’t mandatory, but practical exam scores would count towards the total score. Hence, it inclined towards candidates with specialized expertise in the exams.

Wang Liansheng explained to the elder sister-in-law with a smile: “After being accepted, there’s an additional exam for upgrading to a college degree after two years of study, so, Hongling, work hard, you could become a university student and have a more promising career in the future.”

Nowadays, Zhao Danni wasn’t the clueless rural woman she was while at home; after coming to Huicheng, especially after managing the construction site logistics and painstaking self-study, she understood a lot more. Naturally, she understood that in terms of work, whether one has a diploma or the diploma’s prestige affects one’s job position and future.

“Your fourth uncle and aunt have worried and worked hard for you, you certainly should study well.” After a moment of seriousness, Zhao Danni regained her usual forthrightness and laughed: “Hongling study well, our family days are better now, we can afford your studies as long as needed.”

The roomful of people started laughing.

Ling Chengyan genuinely admired the elder sister-in-law’s straightforward and bright nature, even though she was a rural woman without much education, she was understanding, discerning, good-hearted, more approachable than Ling Family’s two sisters-in-law.

Considering the recruitment included in-service workers and required practical assessment, Wang Liansheng made comprehensive arrangements and secured a practiced unit for Hongling, right at the Provincial Medical Institute Affiliated Hospital.

However, this time Hongling wouldn’t be taking the ride back to provincial city but pack her belongings and take the train by herself the next day.

Ling Chengyan was quite uninhibited, smiling while patting Hongling’s hands, saying: “Let your father or second uncle see you onto the train, I’ll be waiting at the provincial station for you.

Ling Chengyan and Wang Liansheng took Ling Father and the kids back to the provincial city, and before Ling Chengyan could worry, Wang Liansheng already contacted Song Ke, a senior physician at the provincial hospital, to have Ling Father’s health examined.

Professor Song Ke was the surgeon who performed Ling Father’s operation previously with excellent skills and was quite familiar with Ling Father’s condition.

They needed to visit the hospital the next day, so they went to bed early the night before.

In the middle of the night, the phone suddenly rang, causing Ling Chengyan to get up from bed instantly and leap to answer the phone. Wang Liansheng sat up, briefly dazed—had his wife just jumped over him?

“Hello, Captain Ling, there’s someone at the gate looking for you; we noticed something strange, it seems he’s injured… He said he’s your brother.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep