The aloof military doctor arrives at the unit, and the tough guy can't sit still.

"Haha, I'm even happier than if I found money."

Aunt Lü raised her eyebrows high, and then opened the lid of the large basket containing the plasters. "Look, it's all sold out. The last people who came didn't get any. You didn't see two young girls almost fighting over our whitening cream."

Aunt Lü waved her hands, gesturing as she spoke, and then burst into laughter.

"Really, that's great."

Xia Qiuran was overjoyed that the products sold so well.

"I never expected that giving it away for free would actually work so well. I was so worried before." Aunt Lü's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter. "Here, this is the money from today's sales, a total of 180 yuan."

Xia Qiuran took it and immediately pulled out 20 yuan. "Here you go, Aunt Lü."

"Why give it to me? You've already paid me my salary," Aunt Lü said hastily, pushing it back.

Xia Qiuran directly stuffed the money into Aunt Lü's hand, saying, "This is extra. Thank you for your hard work over the past few days, Aunt Lü."

She was in the army and was not supposed to set up a stall outside. If it weren't for Aunt Lü's help, the plasters probably wouldn't have sold so well. Now that the stall is doing well, she certainly can't forget Aunt Lü's contribution.

This 20 yuan is more than half a month's salary for an ordinary person. Aunt Lü accepted it somewhat embarrassedly and thanked her several times.

But she couldn't contain her joy. She could cook braised pork for the child when she got back, and she could finally get new cloth shoes for Tie Tou that had fallen soles.

...

When Xia Qiuran returned to the army, she saw Chen Xiu waving to her from afar.

Xia, are you free tomorrow afternoon?

"My holiday is over this week, but I should still be able to spare two hours to cook a meal."

Xia Qiuran guessed why Chen Xiu had come to see her, so she answered with a smile.

"You're so clever. I haven't even opened my mouth yet, and you already know what I'm going to say." Chen Xiu smiled shyly. "My cousin Zheng Han is coming over tomorrow. I'm afraid I won't be able to cook those preserved fish and meat well and they'll be wasted."

"No problem, Auntie, I'll be there on time tomorrow."

Xia Qiuran smiled and replied before turning to walk towards the dormitory. Unexpectedly, she bumped into Bai Yunyun just as she reached the corner.

Xia Qiuran was startled and quickly patted her chest, saying, "Dr. Bai? What are you doing here? You scared me!"

Bai Yunyun looked around, seemingly mysterious. "What did Chen Xiu want from you just now? Did she want you to cook for Lu Zhenghan's god-sister?"

"Dr. Bai, they are our elders and superiors. It's not appropriate for you to address them by their first names like that."

Xia Qiuran glanced at Bai Yunyun warily, wondering what kind of mischief she was up to this time.

"Hmph, so what? Xia Qiuran, you didn't agree to Chen Xiu's request, did you?" Bai Yunyun glanced at Xia Qiuran with a hint of mockery.

"Yuan Qiaoling is the daughter of Lu Zhenghan's father's colleague, and can be considered Lu Zhenghan's god-sister. She has now been assigned to Shangchun City as a clinical medicine teacher. This time, she heard that Lu Zhenghan's grandfather gave Zhou Guangming a death order: if the marriage between the two cannot be arranged, he will come in person."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Xia Qiuran. How about we join forces for now and get rid of Yuan Qiaoling?"

After Bai Yunyun finished speaking, Xia Qiuran only glanced at her indifferently, and for a moment felt that she seemed to have entered a morbid obsession with Lu Zhenghan.

"Dr. Bai, have you been reading too many comic books? If Commander Lu can really find a suitable partner, that would be a happy event. Why would I want to ruin it?"

Bai Yunyun scoffed, "There's no one else here, Xia Qiuran, what are you pretending for?"

"Dr. Bai, if you really like Commander Lu, I think you should compete fairly with others. If Commander Lu finds out about this kind of underhanded behavior, it will only annoy him more," Xia Qiuran explained earnestly.

But Bai Yunyun wouldn't listen to a word, glaring at me and shouting, "Stop giving me those grand theories! What's wrong with fighting for what I want?"

"It's not wrong for you to work hard, but it's wrong for you to hurt others."

"Dr. Bai, I think we don't quite agree. Let's not talk about it anymore." Xia Qiuran said and turned to leave.

Bai Yunyun was left alone, clenching her teeth tightly.

"Xia Qiuran, there will be a day when you cry."

...

Another day, Xia Qiuran specially brought some of the wild mushrooms and wood ear fungus she had bought earlier, which she had planned to bring back when she visited her relatives again, to Chen Xiu.

After opening the door, Chen Xiu saw that Xia Qiuran had brought so many things over and felt apologetic, so she said something.

"Xia, what are you doing? Wood ear mushrooms and wild mushrooms are rare finds at the market. You came to help me, why did you bring me so much stuff?"

"Auntie, today is an important day for the regimental commander, so it's only right that I, as his subordinate, add a couple of dishes for him."

Xia Qiuran answered as if it were a joke, but in reality, she was always grateful to Lu Zhenghan for helping her many times and for giving her such expensive clothes. It was only right that she brought two dishes today.

"It's not an important day."

As soon as Xia Qiuran finished speaking, a deep and calm voice came from inside the room.

"Today is just a welcome dinner. Yuan Qiaoling is the daughter of my father's colleague, so it's only proper etiquette."

Xia Qiuran looked up and met Lu Zhenghan's deep gaze. His eyes were dark and he seemed very dissatisfied with Xia Qiuran's answer.

Xia Qiuran smiled and didn't say anything more. How could she have brought the wrong vegetables? She quickly went to the kitchen and started getting busy.

Chen Xiu first scraped off the scales of the fish, while Zhou Guangming helped chop the newly bought ribs in the backyard.

It seems they really value the upcoming arrival of their "adopted sister".

Xia Qiuran also quickly started picking vegetables.

"Ding ding."

"Ding ding."

There were two or three knocks on the door. Xia Qiuran saw that Lu Zhenghan, who was sitting in the living room reading a newspaper, did not show any intention of getting up to open the door. She could only wipe her hands and go to open the door herself.

As soon as the door opened, a strong scent of face powder wafted out, and Xia Qiuran couldn't help but sneeze.

Upon opening his eyes and seeing the person outside the door, he was immediately stunned, and the person opposite him turned pale instantly.

It turns out that the dark-skinned woman who was flirting with a man while robbing a scarf at the state-run store that day was actually Lu Zhenghan's god-sister, Yuan Qiaoling.

"What a coincidence!" Xia Qiuran thought to herself. "How could it be her? Her character is really not worthy of Lu Zhenghan."

"Is that Qiaoling? Come in and sit down." Chen Xiu came out of the kitchen, breaking the silence.

"Auntie, it's me." Yuan Qiaoling gave Xia Qiuran a warning look, then took small steps into the house and answered in a soft, obedient voice, "I brought you a small gift for my first visit. I hope you and Uncle won't find it offensive."

Xia Qiuran could hardly believe her eyes as she looked at Yuan Qiaoling, who was pretending to be obedient with her head down.

She acts like a female hooligan in private, but immediately becomes docile and sensible when she's at someone else's house. It's a real shame she doesn't use her acting skills to make movies.

Since Yuan Qiaoling was a guest, Xia Qiuran was afraid of making things difficult for Zhou Guangming and his wife, so she did not expose what Yuan Qiaoling had done on the spot, and silently returned to the kitchen to continue preparing the meal.

"Qiaoling, come sit on the sofa. This is Zheng Han. You all know each other, so don't be shy," Zhou Guangming said as he walked over.

Lu Zhenghan nodded to Yuan Qiaoling out of politeness.

When Yuan Qiaoling saw Lu Zhenghan, her eyes lit up instantly. She couldn't take her eyes off him for a second, and her cheeks flushed slightly before she hurriedly lowered her eyelashes.

Yuan Qiaoling fell for Lu Zhenghan the first time she met him when she was ten years old. After arriving in Shangchun City, she called Lu Zhenghan immediately, but he refused to even pick her up from the station and directly refused her invitation to dinner. If it weren't for Zhou Guangming's treat this time, she probably wouldn't have even seen Lu Zhenghan once.

In a fit of anger, Yuan Qiaoling went to find Ge Xiangqian, a former classmate with whom she had maintained contact.

But now, seeing Lu Zhenghan's face, she was instantly captivated again, and all the previous unpleasantness vanished like the wind.

"Brother, it's been a long time," Yuan Qiaoling called softly.