In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 564: Being short-handed
After finishing dinner, Yu Dawei was the first to leave the table and go to the center of the living room. He sat down on the sofa, picked up the red telephone in the living room, and prepared to contact Professor Zhang.

What harm would it do to ask? Even if it weren't for Li Fubao's help to them, Yu Dawei would still be willing to ask. After all, Brother Li was a good person and a friend worth making.

The phone rang for a long time. It was eight o'clock in the evening. If the old professor and Aunt Wu were home, they would probably be watching TV or reading. It was unlikely that no one was home.

Sure enough, the call was answered shortly afterward, and Aunt Wu's voice came through: "Hello, who is this?"

"Aunt Wu, this is Yu Dawei. Is Professor Zhang home?" Yu Dawei asked.

"Dawei! Zai Zai, what a coincidence! He went abroad a few days ago and just got back this afternoon. He's reading in his study right now. Wait a moment, I'll go call him." Aunt Wu on the other end of the phone was clearly excited after hearing Yu Dawei's voice.

When she said this, her tone softened noticeably, and her voice became gentler: "By the way, Dawei."

"Oh? Aunt Wu, what's wrong?"

"I just wanted to ask how Dafeng and Eryan are doing. I haven't seen them for years, and I wonder what they look like now." Aunt Wu had actually called a few times in the past few years, but perhaps because she felt that her youngest son had no chance with Dafeng, she was too embarrassed to keep bothering Yu Dawei.

Today, I took the opportunity of Yu Dawei's phone call to ask about the two girls. In my impression, both girls are quite nice; one is cheerful, and the other is quiet.

"Eryan graduated from the technical school in our county and is now working for my aunt. It seems she's planning to go solo soon, maybe open a barbershop or something."

Yu Dawei briefly explained: "Dafeng has been in charge of the mechanical parts business under me, and it's doing quite well so far. You know, it cost a lot of money to operate on her back then, and this silly girl insisted on earning money to pay it all back herself. Now, well, she's almost done it."

It should be a matter of a few years. It's good that she manages the parts business and can get a lot of dividends every year.

"That's good, that's good." Aunt Wu's tone on the phone was clearly conflicted and hesitant. After a pause, she finally couldn't help but ask quietly, "I don't know if it's just my imagination, but lately I feel like my Huaijin seems to be getting closer to your Dafeng."

“A few days ago, Zhang Huaijin asked me to pick out a red dress for him at the trade fair and send it to a girl. When I looked at the address, I realized it was your hometown.” Aunt Wu said mysteriously, “I haven’t told the old man about this yet.”

"Uh..." Yu Dawei was speechless for a moment upon hearing this. He really didn't know that the two of them had developed their relationship so quickly.

"I'll ask them when I get back to see if they've officially started dating. That'll tell me they've definitely been spending more time together lately." Yu Dawei clicked his tongue in amazement. Love came too fast, like a tornado.

"Oh, oh, oh! Good, good, good!" Aunt Wu on the other end of the phone was so excited when she heard Yu Dawei say that she was dancing with joy. Her little rascal had finally done something right and hadn't married any shady women outside.

"Oh dear, I was so engrossed in chatting with you that I almost forgot about your important business. Wait a minute, I'll go to the study and call Lao Zhang over right now." Aunt Wu only then remembered the purpose of Yu Dawei's call and quickly hung up the phone, shouting into the study, "Lao Zhang, Lao Zhang! Dawei's on the phone."

Yu Dawei could hear Aunt Wu's strong voice through the receiver, but the distance was getting farther and farther away, and the voice was getting softer and softer.

Not long after, Professor Zhang's voice came through the phone receiver again: "Dawei, is there something you need to say at this hour?"

Professor Zhang was organizing his notes from a conference abroad in his study when his wife told him that Yu Dawei had called him. He quickly put down what he was doing and came over. Several years had passed, but Yu Dawei still insisted on sending him gifts every year during holidays. Although the gifts weren't expensive, Professor Zhang was still quite touched.

In addition, after Dafeng's surgical case was made public in major hospitals, it became another "masterpiece" of Professor Zhang. Although he is a doctor and it is not appropriate to compare his surgery with others, it can be considered a very classic case of brain surgery in every aspect.

As a result, his status in the hospital was elevated once again after that, and he is now the honorary vice president of several well-known medical universities in China.

After all, having his name around makes recruiting new students much easier.

"Professor Zhang, there is something I would like to ask for your opinion on."

Yu Dawei then recounted to Professor Zhang the ideas he had shared with Li Fubao at the dinner table. He even mentioned the money issue, saying that Li Fubao had said at the dinner table that no amount of money was a problem, as his father-in-law was never short of cash.

Therefore, regarding the commission, Yu Dawei gave Professor Zhang some freedom, which was also an implication to Professor Zhang that he was not short of money and should take what he was entitled to, which could be considered as earning some extra income for the hospital.

Yu Dawei did this in the hope that the other party would agree to bring the equipment over, since Li Fubao's only advantage now is that he is not short of money.

After listening to Yu Dawei's story, Professor Zhang took off his glasses, leaned back on his old leather sofa at home and thought for a while. Finally, he sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Dawei, I really can't make this decision."

"Because hospitals have their own regulations, equipment in any hospital cannot be borrowed or transferred casually, and there's also the issue of my own situation."

“I’ve gotten older these past two years. I can still do some simple surgeries, but I might not be able to handle things like brain hemorrhage removal surgery, which takes a long time and requires a lot of energy.”

Professor Zhang is not afraid of his lack of technical skills, but rather of his lack of physical strength. He is currently struggling to keep up with his physical condition, and even climbing five flights of stairs to his eldest son's house leaves him breathless.

Moreover, in the past two years, he has focused more on theoretical research and has performed very few advanced surgical procedures.

"I see..." Yu Dawei's tone was somewhat disappointed.

At a nearby dinner table, Li Fubao, Boss Liang, and Duan Dahai all realized how difficult the situation was. Li Fubao, in particular, whose eyes, which had initially sparkled with hope, gradually lost their sparkle.

It seems Old Deng won't make it through this time; it's all fate.

Just as Yu Dawei was about to hang up after exchanging a few pleasantries, Professor Zhang spoke again from the other end of the line.

"How about this, I'll go to the hospital tomorrow and discuss it with the hospital leaders to see how we can borrow the equipment." Professor Zhang sighed. After all, he takes their things every year, so he should at least do his part.

He who takes a bribe is beholden to it.

(End of this chapter)