Chapter 77: Ultimatum

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Ultimatum

A little after seven in the evening, Yu Zhiming once again rode a shared bike back to the Zijin Garden District.

He returned to his apartment drenched in sweat. After a quick wash and a cool shower, Yu Xiangwan had dinner ready.

Two plates of dumplings, a plate of braised meat, a plate of cold spinach salad, and the soup was an egg drop soup with bok choy made using the dumpling broth.

There was also a small dish of minced garlic.

"Sis, we’re not going to be eating dumplings for every meal from now on, are we?"

"What, you’re already sick of them after just a few meals?"

Yu Zhiming keenly sensed the abrasive edge in his Fourth Sister’s tone and quickly did a mental calculation.

’Yup, she’s entered her ’irritable, grumpy, and annoyed-by-everyone’ phase. Better not to provoke her.’

"How could I ever get sick of them?"

"These are the dumplings that Eldest Sister and you made together. I could eat them every day for a year and not get tired of them."

Yu Xiangwan huffed softly. "Good. The dumplings shouldn’t be kept in the freezer for too long."

"Eldest Sister said that once we finish these, she’ll make some more, freeze them, and send them over with cold-chain shipping."

Still concerned for her younger brother, Yu Xiangwan asked, "What’s the hospital doing about that exposé?"

Yu Zhiming took a sip of the dumpling broth and said, "Teacher Qi said an investigation team from the Ministry of Health is coming to the hospital tomorrow to conduct an in-depth inquiry. He also said it’s highly likely I’ll be called in for questioning."

"He told me not to worry and to just tell the truth."

Yu Xiangwan said indignantly, "Public hospitals are so full of drama and backstabbing. Can’t they just focus on treating patients and saving lives?"

"Fifth Brother, if they wrong you, don’t just bottle it up. I can tell Dean Gu from Ning’an really values you."

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "Sis, Teacher Qi said the main conflict is a power struggle between several hospital leaders."

"I’ve done nothing wrong, and I have my skills. The hospital’s turmoil won’t affect me."

Yu Xiangwan warned, "Fifth Brother, it’s still better to be careful. You’re only an attending physician, not well-known yet."

"Someone might just treat you like a pawn and discard you."

Yu Zhiming, who had gained a deeper understanding of his own abilities, said smugly, "Sis, you don’t need to worry at all."

"I have a dragon-slaying skill in my hands. There’s nowhere in the world I can’t go."

Yu Xiangwan couldn’t help but laugh. "Look at you, getting so full of yourself your nose is in the air."

"Hurry up and eat..."

After dinner, the siblings picked out a foldable bicycle online for over seven hundred yuan. It was a Phoenix brand.

After placing the order, Yu Zhiming casually asked, "Sis, you’ve been in Binhai longer than I have. What are your thoughts on your next step?"

Yu Xiangwan turned to Yu Zhiming, her expression fierce. "Are you saying you don’t plan on supporting me anymore?"

"Of course not! Of course not!"

Yu Zhiming quickly explained, "As long as I have food to eat, I’ll never let you go hungry."

"I’m just worried you’ll get bored staying at home by yourself."

"Besides, you have to get out more to meet more people and find a handsome guy you like."

Yu Zhiming added, "I’ve gotten to know a few people at Huashan Hospital."

"A doctor’s network is quite extensive. If you have any new ideas, Sis, I might be able to help."

Yu Xiangwan was very pleased with her brother’s sentiment. Then, she mysteriously pointed to the apartment next door.

"That guy, wasn’t he fired from his company? Now he’s hooked up with Xiaobo."

"Xiaobo?" Yu Zhiming repeated, confused.

Yu Xiangwan nodded. "Under Xiaobo’s ’persuasion,’ that guy is busy designing a new renovation plan. He’s getting ready to poach clients from his old company with it."

"If this works out, Xiaobo said he’ll pull together a renovation team and take on the job himself."

"As his aunt, I have to help Xiaobo out, don’t I?"

Yu Zhiming rolled his eyes and shot her down. "What could you possibly do to help with an interior renovation job?"

"Haul bricks? Or scrape putty?"

"Fifth Brother, there are plenty of things I can do," Yu Xiangwan said, unconvinced. "Logistics, for example. A renovation crew of seven or eight people has to eat, drink, and sleep. That takes a lot of managing."

"And procurement. I might not know much about renovation materials, but I can definitely help Xiaobo haggle for better prices."

She then patted Yu Zhiming’s shoulder forcefully.

"Fifth Brother, Xiaobo wants to use this opportunity to form a team and start a renovation company. He’ll definitely need your support."

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "The kid declared the day before yesterday that he’d be his own boss within five years. It’s only been two or three days, and he’s already making his move."

"His drive and execution are pretty good."

Yu Xiangwan also smiled. "Xiaobo said he feels the guy next door is capable and has decent character, so he’s taking this chance while he’s unemployed to try and build something together."

Just then, Yu Zhiming’s phone rang.

It was a call from Dean Wu of the county hospital.

Yu Zhiming answered the call. The other party first expressed some concern about the exposé before getting to the main point.

"I have a friend, late-stage uremia, who wants to do a related-donor kidney transplant. He’ll receive it from his father, and the tissue matching is complete."

Hearing this, Yu Zhiming asked directly, "Dean Wu, how old is his father?"

"Sixty-eight!"

Dean Wu sighed lightly over the phone. "His father has had a physical. He’s relatively healthy, and his kidney function is quite good."

After a brief pause, he sighed again. "My friend has two sons, both of them adults."

"But, Xiaoyu, this is how things often are these days. Parents are willing to sacrifice everything for their children."

"But the reverse isn’t always true. The children aren’t necessarily willing to do the same."

Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but interject, "Perhaps the father doesn’t want his two sons to donate either."

Dean Wu gave an awkward laugh over the call and changed the subject. "My friend’s father is on the older side, so they want the kidney transplant to be done as safely as possible, for instance, at a renowned domestic hospital like Huashan Hospital."

"Xiaoyu, can you help me get in touch with a kidney transplant specialist at your hospital?"

Although Yu Zhiming felt a little uncomfortable, he agreed out of respect for Dean Wu.

’With my connections to Teacher Qi, Dr. Wang Chunyuan, and Dr. Cui Zhitan, it shouldn’t be a problem to contact a kidney transplant specialist.’

He asked Dean Wu to send a copy of the friend’s medical records and his father’s physical examination results to his email.

He would give a reply in two days at the latest.

After ending the call with Dean Wu, Yu Zhiming went to the kitchen and saw Yu Xiangwan washing pots and dishes with rubber gloves on.

"Sis, if I had severe kidney failure and needed a transplant to survive, would you donate to me?"

Yu Xiangwan replied instantly, "Of course. If you needed my heart, I’d give it to you without a moment’s hesitation."

Yu Zhiming smiled. "Sis, I’d donate to you too."

"Don’t say such unlucky things."

Yu Xiangwan chided him, then remembered something else.

"Fifth Brother, that little assistant of Dean Gu’s, Gu Qingning, contacted me today. She invited me to go out with her tomorrow night."

"I accepted."

Yu Zhiming recalled their conversation from the previous night. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the young woman’s invitation had ulterior motives.

He warned her, "Sis, if you feel bored with no one to hang out with and want to go out with that girl, I won’t stop you."

"But that girl isn’t as pure and harmless as she looks. She’s quite sly."

"Sis, you need to be careful when you’re out with her."

Yu Xiangwan scoffed. "I’m not a child. Am I supposed to be afraid she’ll sell me?"

"I’ll get to know that little girl for you. If I feel she’s alright, I’ll bring her back to be your wife."

Yu Zhiming grunted twice, his tone full of disdain. "Someone like her? Full of bad intentions, and so skinny she’d feel like nothing to hold. I wouldn’t take her even if she were free."

Yu Xiangwan shot him a sideways glance. "Fifth Brother, I’ve discovered that since coming to Binhai, your standards have shot through the roof."

"That girl has the looks and the figure, and you’re still not interested?"

"What kind of girl do you want? Will you only be satisfied if you marry a big celebrity?"

Just as Yu Zhiming was about to speak, he heard his Fourth Sister’s threat: "Mom has given an ultimatum. If you can’t bring a girlfriend home this Spring Festival, you’re not to come home at all."

Yu Zhiming looked completely unconvinced.

"Sis, don’t try to fool me. That ultimatum was for you, wasn’t it?"

"You’re older than me, and you’re the woman."

Yu Xiangwan pulled off her rubber gloves and gave Yu Zhiming a playful punch on the chest.

"If I’m not allowed to go home for the New Year, you’ll have to stay and keep me company."

"Yu Zhiming, between the two of us, one of us has to make Mom and Dad’s wish come true this Spring Festival..."