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Chapter 82: Chapter 82: The Familiar Doctor
Han Jiaojiao also felt quite embarrassed and muttered, "I don’t know either, but these past few days, I’ve been feeling restless and uncomfortable." In fact, she also felt that she’d been acting strange recently, wondering if it could be her period coming soon.
Han Yi took her hands and led her to the sink to wash them, saying, "If you’re not in the mood to cook, how about I hire a cook to help us?"
Normally, cooking was Xiao Jian’s responsibility, but Han Jiaojiao often insisted on doing it herself. Han Yi didn’t like to see her struggle, yet whenever he saw how happy she was cooking, the words would reach his lips and then, involuntarily, he would swallow them back down. He probably understood her feelings, her desire to do more and prove herself, but actually... For him, just having her safe and by his side was enough.
In the past, she was the Han Family’s young lady, and that would not change in the future. He didn’t want her life to be bogged down by these endless trivial matters, especially not at her young age. She was still so young, and she should live more freely...
Xiao Jian and Bai Kairui had gone to the labor service center in the morning and should be back by now... Han Yi quickly pondered the plans for what was to come, speaking slowly, "You don’t need to worry about strangers affecting us, we can just have her come over at cooking time."
Han Jiaojiao let him wash her hands, speaking in a soft, sticky tone, "But I want to cook for you."
Upon hearing this, Han Yi felt as if his chest was filled with some kind of emotion, warm and comforting. He whispered close to her ear, "Brother doesn’t want to see you cooking for other men, what should I do?"
Han Jiaojiao pursed her lips, giggling, and stopped twisting around and fell silent.
Yan Xiao paced restlessly in the main hall, constantly listening for sounds from the kitchen. When he heard Han Jiaojiao’s clear laughter, he felt somewhat relieved. He thought to himself that the young girl seemed obedient, but once angered, among all the people in the house, only Brother Han could soothe her. She truly was more familiar with her own family.
"Where are Xiao Jian and Kairui?" Lu Changyuan grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the table and started cracking them while asking. It was almost noon, and by this time, Xiao Jian would typically have started preparing the meal, with Kairui assisting him in the kitchen, washing vegetables and such. Yan Xiao would also lend a hand.
Yan Xiao glanced outside and replied, "They should be back soon. This morning Brother Han sent them to find a housekeeper to take care of the cooking." Now that Xiao Jian had also developed an "Ability" for speed, it was quite inappropriate to waste time in the kitchen, but they hadn’t found an alternative solution. Other than Xiao Jian, only Han Jiaojiao could cook, but how could they expect a teenage girl to take care of the meals for several grown men every day? Not to mention that Brother Han wouldn’t stand for it, they themselves felt uncomfortable with the idea.
Finding a housekeeper had been a plan for a while now, but with the mixed crowd at Beicheng Base, it was uncertain if they could find a suitable person.
Although the base was huge, it was still just a piece of land centered around a development zone, and its area certainly couldn’t compare with a city. From where they lived, a trip to the labor service center was just a fifteen-minute walk. Xiao Jian and Bai Kairui had left at nine in the morning but had yet to return, finally coming back just past half-past twelve.
When Xiao Jian and Bai Kairui entered the house, Yan Xiao and Lu Changyuan were nibbling on sunflower seeds to stave off hunger.
"You are finally back!!!" Yan Xiao flung aside a handful of seed shells and lunged forward, "I’m about to starve to death!"
Xiao Jian was taken aback, glancing at the two empty bowls on the table and asked hesitantly, "You... haven’t eaten?"
"Those are Brother Han and Jiaojiao’s bowls!" Yan Xiao couldn’t help but complain, "Jiaojiao only cooked for the two of them! Changyuan and I didn’t get anything! Why were you gone so long! I’m starving!"
"Where is Brother Han?" Xiao Jian looked around, "Is he upstairs? Kairui, go and call Brother Han."
"Me again?!" Bai Kairui reacted vehemently, having been tricked by Yan Xiao before, and emphatically shook his head, "I won’t go!"
"Why are you looking for Brother Han? Just go cook, I’m famished!"
"I brought two people back, they’re still waiting outside, we need to see how Brother Han wants to arrange them."
Their voices were loud, and the people upstairs had already heard the noise. Han Yi and Han Jiaojiao came down, one after the other.
"Brother Han."
Han Yi’s expression seemed somewhat languid as he found two chairs nearby and sat down with Han Jiaojiao, saying, "Bring the people in for a look."
Before long, Xiao Jian led a man and a woman in. Both appeared to be in their thirties, looking haggard, but their clothes were quite clean, suggesting that they were meticulous workers.
Han Jiaojiao thought the man looked familiar but couldn’t recall where she had seen him. While she was pondering, Yan Xiao had already called out—"I’ve seen this person before! Hey, Han Brother, isn’t this the doctor from the hospital you invested in? I met him once when I went to visit you during your hospital stay, right?"
Han Yi eyed the man with a puzzled look, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes. "Zhou Yan?"
He naturally wouldn’t remember every employee in his hospital, but this man had once been Han Jiaojiao’s attending doctor, so he recognized him.
After Han Yi called out his name, Han Jiaojiao also remembered, but... Doctor Zhou had lost so much weight... She almost didn’t recognize him.
Zhou Yan forced a smile, "Young Master Han, Miss Han." Clasping the hand of the woman next to him tightly, he spoke with obvious nervousness, "This is my wife, Yu Wanxi. I heard that you were in need of someone to cook, I... I thought I’d try."
"No, it’s not." The woman by Zhou Yan’s side quickly raised her head, interrupting him, "I want to come over to do it, I can cook and clean."
Han Yi raised an eyebrow, his inquiring gaze turning to Xiao Jian.
"Kerry and I have been at the labor center for quite a while. There were plenty of job-seekers, but they all seemed sloppy, and some could only speak their local dialect, making communication an issue. By chance, these two were from Qingjiang City and neither wanted to leave the other behind, so I brought them both back." Xiao Jian was straightforward; he reasoned that Master Han hadn’t specified hiring just one person, so he brought both for a selection.
Han Yi smiled, "Doctor Zhou, can you cook?"
Zhou Yan’s face turned a bit red.
Han Jiaojiao became somewhat uneasy, unable to hold back she said, "The base should have medical facilities, why doesn’t Doctor Zhou try there? The treatment for a doctor is definitely better than cooking."
Zhou Yan’s face darkened, his voice somewhat hoarse as he responded, "We’ve just left there not long ago."
Upon hearing this, everyone involuntarily exchanged glances.
Yan Xiao half-jokingly said, "Could it be that you killed someone with your medical treatment, and they kicked you out?"
Yu Wanxi hurriedly said, "No, it’s not his fault, he did it for me—"
Before she could finish, Zhou Yan pulled her forcefully behind himself, his face somber as he said, "Things are not as they were, we ordinary people cannot offend anyone... I was just momentarily incensed."
Han Yi’s expression bore a playful look, "Momentarily incensed... So, you mean to say, you still plan on going back?"
Zhou Yan sighed, his face heavy as he shook his head.
"Not going back. From now on, we’ll take it one step at a time."
After a moment of silence, Han Yi said, "We’re short of more than just someone to cook here, we also need a family doctor."
The expressions on both Zhou Yan and his wife’s faces turned eagerly excited, "Then... Does that mean we..."
