Chapter 51: New Residence, New Problems

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: New Residence, New Problems

A little after 4:30 PM, Yu Zhiming, his eldest sister, Fourth Sister, and Xiaoxue arrived at the Zijin Garden District by taxi.

The district was located in Binhai’s Taihe District, on the middle stretch of Minsheng West Road. It consisted mainly of mid-rise buildings, forty-six in total.

Together with a few neighboring communities, it formed a residential area that was an oasis of tranquility within the city’s bustling Inner Ring.

As he walked into the gated Zijin Garden District, Yu Zhiming noticed the building facades were neither new nor old. The roads were reasonably clean and level, and the landscaping was also well-maintained.

Led by Yu Xiangwan, who pointed things out along the way, Yu Zhiming, his eldest sister, and Xiaoxue finally reached the apartment.

It was a small apartment, only forty-seven square meters. It was a west-end corner unit with a southern exposure, located on the top, eleventh floor. The floor had four units served by two elevators.

The bedroom and living room felt surprisingly spacious. Along the south side ran a long, enclosed balcony that connected the two rooms.

Yu Xiangwan had focused the renovations on the bedroom. In the living room, she had put up new wallpaper and redone the flooring.

The kitchen and bathroom had only been touched up and refurbished.

Although Yu Zhiming had already seen it on video, he was still quite satisfied now that he was inspecting it in person.

He was especially pleased after personally testing the bedroom’s soundproofing; it was nearly as good as his bedroom back in their hometown, which delighted him.

Moreover, the decor and furnishings were warm and comfortable, very much to Yu Zhiming’s taste.

It was clear Yu Xiangwan had poured a lot of heart and effort into it.

"Fourth Sister, you did an amazing job. I’m giving you major credit for this!"

Yu Xiangwan’s eyes crinkled with delight. "Fifth Brother, pretty words are nice, but something more tangible is even better, you know."

"I have to remind you, besides being siblings, we also have a boss-and-employee relationship here."

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "Don’t worry, you’ll get paid for your trouble."

Yu Zhaoxia, who had been pacing around the apartment, exclaimed, "Such a tiny place costs forty-five hundred a month?!"

"A lot of people back home don’t even make that much in a month."

Yu Xiangwan laughed. "Eldest Sister, this forty-five hundred rent is already a discount. The landlord gave us a deal because we’re renting long-term, doing renovations, and on top of that, Fifth Brother is a doctor at Huashan Hospital."

"The normal market rate is around fifty-five hundred."

Just then, Fu Xiaoxue asked, "Auntie, are my dad and brother really not coming back tonight?"

Yu Xiangwan hummed in agreement. "They’re in the suburbs on a rush job, renovating a villa. They probably won’t be back for a few days."

As it happened, their next-door neighbor worked for an interior design company.

When he came over to see the place, he was impressed with the work done by Yu Xiangwan’s brother-in-law and nephew. His company had a rush project, so he hired them on the spot.

Seeing Xiaoxue pout with disappointment, Yu Xiangwan comforted her, "If they do a good job on this project, there’s a good chance your dad and brother will be able to stay and work in Binhai long-term."

"You’ll have plenty of opportunities to see them then."

Yu Xiangwan then turned to Yu Zhaoxia, winking playfully. "Eldest Sister, don’t you worry. I’ll take you to see him tomorrow."

"You two need a proper reunion to cure your pining for each other."

Yu Zhaoxia raised her hand and swatted Yu Xiangwan. "You little brat, you’re getting more and more shameless, saying such things in front of the kids."

Yu Xiangwan took a step back, dodging her sister’s next playful strike, and changed the subject. "So, what are we doing for dinner?"

"Should we eat out or cook here?"

"I bought plenty of vegetables, meat, chicken, and fish. The fridge is completely stuffed."

Yu Zhaoxia shot her a glare. "Eating out will be expensive. It’s still early, so we’ll cook."

"Xiaoxue, come help."

Yu Zhaoxia and Xiaoxue got busy in the kitchen...

Yu Xiangwan went into the bedroom, came back with a stack of receipts of various sizes, and sat down across from Yu Zhiming.

"Fifth Brother, let me give you a detailed breakdown of the renovation costs and other expenses..."

Yu Zhiming cut her off. "Fourth Sister, is there any money left from what I gave you before?"

"Of course!"

Yu Xiangwan pulled a folded sheet of A4 paper from the bottom of the stack and spread it out for Yu Zhiming.

"As of last night, there should theoretically be 35,377 yuan left. The actual amount is 34,758 yuan. Hehe..."

Yu Zhiming just said, "Oh." Then he added, "Fourth Sister, ten thousand of that is for you, for your trouble and as a bonus."

"The rest can be our living expense fund for now. Just let me know when it’s running low."

Yu Zhiming added, "Fourth Sister, as for your pay, we’ll go by Binhai’s standards. Let’s set it at six thousand a month for now."

Yu Xiangwan got up, sat down right next to Yu Zhiming, and wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Fifth Brother, I knew doting on you all those years would pay off! Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure to feed you until you’re plump and healthy."

Yu Zhiming shot her a sidelong, skeptical glance. "With your cooking skills? I’ll be grateful if I don’t waste away."

"This isn’t our hometown, where we can just pop over to Second Sister’s or Third Sister’s for a good meal."

Yu Xiangwan patted Yu Zhiming’s shoulder, declaring confidently, "Things are different now. Before, I cooked for you out of obligation and sisterly love."

"But now, my motivation is the power of money."

"Fifth Brother, I’ll study cookbooks and work hard on my cooking. For your sake... and for my own stomach."

Dinner wasn’t ready until a little after seven that evening.

The meal was quite a feast: braised carp, spicy diced chicken, cold-cut marinated beef, home-style tofu, scrambled eggs with chives, dry-fried green beans, and a winter melon soup with dried shrimp.

For the main course, Yu Zhaoxia had specially prepared handmade noodles. This was because of a tradition that says you eat dumplings before a journey and noodles upon arrival.

Once she was done cooking, Yu Zhaoxia came and sat at the dining table. Fu Xiaoxue, who was already waiting, eagerly picked up her glass of juice.

"Mom, Auntie, this is our first meal in Binhai! Let’s all toast to Uncle’s future success!"

"And to him buying a big house in Binhai and settling down happily!"

Yu Zhaoxia poked her daughter on the forehead. "Look at you, getting ahead of yourself. Is it your place to be making the first toast?"

"Fifth Brother..."

She began to lecture her younger brother. "Now that you’re in Binhai, just focus on your work."

"I’m here, and you have Second Sister and Third Sister. You don’t need to worry about Mom and Dad back home."

Yu Zhiming nodded in agreement as his eldest sister continued her rambling, "Doctors like you make a living with real skills, so I’m not worried about your work. I’m just worried about whether you’ll be able to adjust to life here and get along with your new colleagues."

Yu Xiangwan cut in, "Eldest Sister, I’m here. I’m staying in Binhai to look after him, so what’s there to worry about?"

Yu Zhaoxia shot her a look, retorting, "You’re exactly why I’m more worried."

"He’s less trouble than you are..."

Fu Xiaoxue couldn’t help but interrupt. "Mom, can we eat now? Uncle barely ate any lunch. He must be starving."

Yu Zhiming chimed in, "My stomach is growling. Eldest Sister, you can give me the rest of the lecture after we eat..."

After dinner, they all got busy with their own tasks—some cleaning up, some showering.

Yu Zhiming went back to his bedroom, sat at the desk, and opened his laptop to review Xu Feng’s case file once more.

Xu Feng was Su Tong’s neighbor, the one who suffered from intermittent bouts of pain throughout his body.

Yu Zhiming had spent the last few days studying his condition.

He had memorized all of the man’s physical exam results and analytical data.

But he still hadn’t found anything of value.

Tomorrow, Yu Zhiming was due to report for his first day at Huashan Hospital, and it was highly likely that Xu Feng’s case would be discussed.

’Everyone is talking about this case and watching me. If I can’t offer any real insight...’

’...then my debut tomorrow won’t be very impressive.’

’I might even get labeled as all hype and no substance. It would be hard to turn that impression around later...’

In the living room, Yu Xiangwan was enthusiastically pulling a Murphy bed down from a unit that looked like a large wardrobe.

"Xiaoxue, this bed can sleep two. You and your mom can take it."

"The sofa can be turned into a bed, so I’ll sleep there..."

Just then, Yu Xiangwan heard the bedroom door CREAK open and turned to see Yu Zhiming walking out.

He was obviously unhappy about something.

"Fifth Brother, is the soundproofing bad? Or is it something else?"

"There are bugs. I can hear them gnawing and crawling around. It’s driving me crazy."

Yu Xiangwan immediately slapped her forehead. "Oh, shoot! I forgot how many bugs there are in the south."

"Cockroaches must have gotten in over the past few days."

"Eldest Sister, stop what you’re doing! Come on, we’ve got to go catch bugs in Fifth Brother’s room!"