"Thanks, handsome! If you need anything, come find us at the nurses' station!"
"Thanks for the egg fried rice, handsome. I'll definitely stay at your inn for a couple of days when I have time."
"Thanks, handsome! I'll introduce you to a girlfriend sometime!"
With one gesture, Lin Zhe had won over every nurse on duty at the nurses' station. They all smiled and thanked him.
"That handsome guy is a relative of the patients in beds two and three in room 822. I saw him when I went with Dr. Lin to change their dressings earlier."
"The lady in bed three must have been a real beauty when she was young. That guy just now was so handsome I could die."
"If I were single right now, I'd definitely go after him!"
"Xiao Mo, what did you think of that handsome guy? Hurry up and make your move!"
"Why would he be interested in me? I know my limits."
"Li Lili, hurry up and bring that egg fried rice over! We're all waiting!"
"Hey, don't you dare run! Trying to make off with the egg fried rice?"
Several nurses at the station swarmed the extroverted nurse who was trying to escape with the egg fried rice and dragged her back.
The heaping portion of egg fried rice was divided into ten smaller servings, enough for every nurse at the station.
"Oh my gosh, this tastes incredible!"
"Seconded! This is so good! Can someone spare me a little more?"
"Good lord, when did egg fried rice reach this level?"
"The chef who made this must be the ancient Greek god of egg fried rice!"
"..."
The nurses at the station devoured their portions like a whirlwind, leaving not a single grain behind.
After tasting it, they all showered the egg fried rice with praise and gave it glowing reviews.
"I've decided! I'm going to Mount Sanqing tomorrow, and I'll stop by the Fortunate Inn to eat my fill of egg fried rice!"
The extroverted nurse who had spoken to Lin Zhe earlier made up her mind the moment she tasted the egg fried rice.
"Li Lili, bring me back one serving... no, make that three! I want my husband and kid to try it too!"
"Three for me too! I'll send you the money on WeChat in a bit!"
"I want six! Sweet Lili, you wouldn't turn me down, would you? I'll cover a night shift for you in return!"
"I want four..."
"I want two..."
"Hey, hey, seriously, you guys! Am I going there for fun or to buy egg fried rice wholesale?"
Listening to everyone's orders and the quantities they wanted, Li Lili didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Good grief, bringing some back for one person would be fine, but all of you?
Three servings for this one, four for that one-it added up to dozens. This really was turning into a wholesale run!
Still, they all got along well, so Li Lili readily agreed in the end.
Inside room 822.
Lin Guodong and Han Li had also finished their two heaping portions of egg fried rice without leaving a single grain.
"This egg fried rice is incredible! Did our kitchen make this? The new chef is a much better cook than your mom!"
After finishing his portion, Lin Guodong gave the egg fried rice high praise as well.
"Yes, it's better than mine. I've lived half my life and never had egg fried rice this good. At this quality, it's bound to sell well!"
Han Li was equally full of praise for its flavor.
Lin Zhe smiled and kept them guessing. "The new chef is good, but still a little behind Mom.
"The secret to why this egg fried rice tastes so good lies elsewhere."
"Oh? Elsewhere?"
"You mean the rice was made with high-quality grains?"
Lin Zhe's words had piqued both Lin Guodong's and Han Li's interest.
"It doesn't have much to do with the rice either."
Once he felt he had kept them guessing long enough, Lin Zhe revealed the answer.
"The key is the eggs used to make it. These eggs..."
Mixing truth with fiction, Lin Zhe told his parents about the hundred chickens he was raising in the bamboo grove.
With a hundred chickens roaming around out there, he couldn't possibly keep them hidden. He had to invent a plausible explanation for their presence.
And so Lin Zhe acquired a friend with a doctorate in animal husbandry and veterinary medicine who had already emigrated overseas.
"You even have a friend who studied animal husbandry and veterinary medicine? You really do know all kinds of people..."
"That's a good friend you've got, giving you so many laying hens for free."
Neither Lin Guodong nor Han Li thought to probe further into this friend of Lin Zhe's. After hearing his explanation, they simply felt their son's friend was a good person.
"Yeah, he's a great guy. When he comes back from overseas, I'll bring him home and introduce him to you."
Seeing that he had successfully bluffed his way through, Lin Zhe felt considerably more relaxed. Fortunately, his parents weren't the type to get to the bottom of everything.
Creak!
As soon as Lin Zhe finished speaking, the ward door swung open and two people came in.
Hong Jinhua, the patient in the next bed who had been gone for most of the day, walked in with her daughter, Hong Jingjing.
Hong Jinhua couldn't carry anything with her fractured right hand, but in her left she held a box of nutritional supplements in expensive-looking packaging.
Hong Jingjing carried several shopping bags in both hands, filled with fruit and various snacks and drinks.
"Oh! You're all here! Mr. and Mrs. Lin, I have a bad temper, and there were some misunderstandings earlier."
"I'd like to offer you both my sincere apologies."
"I bought you a few nutritional supplements as a token of goodwill. Please do accept them!"
Gone was Hong Jinhua's usual sour, cutting expression. Instead, she wore a warm, sincere smile.
As she apologized to Lin Guodong and his wife, she placed the supplements on the metal cabinet beside Han Li's bed without giving them a chance to refuse.
"Uncle, Auntie, please forgive us for anything my mom and I did wrong earlier."
"My mom and I would like to apologize to you both. Ending up in the same ward is a kind of fate, wouldn't you say?"
"We'll be spending plenty of time together here, so I hope our families can get along. I also hope you'll accept our apology."
Hong Jingjing's tone and expression were equally sincere.
As she spoke, she set all the bags she was carrying on the floor beside Han Li's bed.
"Huh? This..."
Lin Guodong and Han Li exchanged a look, utterly baffled by the mother and daughter's drastic change in attitude.
They had been so arrogant and ill-tempered before going out. How had one trip outside turned them into completely different people?
Why had they suddenly become so sincere and reasonable?
Lin Zhe had no idea what had happened between them earlier.
Honestly, seeing Hong Jinhua and her daughter apologizing and bringing gifts left him a little bewildered too.
"What's past is past. You didn't need to buy us anything. Keep these for yourself."
Seeing Hong Jinhua and her daughter offering gifts and apologies, Han Li had already forgiven them. Naturally, she wouldn't accept their things.
"Han Li's right. What's past is past. It was only a small matter. Now that we've cleared the air, we can let it go."
Lin Guodong was also the sort who responded to kindness rather than force.
Seeing Hong Jinhua and her daughter back down and admit their mistakes put his mind at ease, and he no longer wanted to hold anything against them.
Before you continue