RYEY -Chapter 537 A Phone Call

“Mom, thank you. I’m so, so lucky to have been reborn from your womb.”

“Smart mouth. Just remember one thing: life is above all else. You must stay alive—to take care of me and your grandma, and of course, your father too.”

“I promise!”

Li Ming gave Cheng Qiao a formal salute. He had long known that his parents were different from other parents. They carried secrets—secrets ordinary people could never possess.

As their son, how could he spend his entire life guarding a small grocery store and wholesale market? If he could leave his mark in the long river of history, that would be the greatest meaning of his life.

“Li Ming, you’ve been the naughtiest since you were little, but Mom knows that deep down you’re the kindest of all the children. I only ask one thing of you—protect yourself.”

“Mom, thank you. I’ll remember your words. Wait for me to come back with military merits and report the good news.”

“You must protect yourself. You have to become familiar with those medicines. Some are poisons to deal with enemies; others are secret remedies to save your life. Even if you don’t like studying medicine, you still have the basic ability to tell them apart.”

Li Ming opened his arms and gently hugged Cheng Qiao.

“A loving mother threads the needle,
sewing clothes for her wandering son.
Stitch by stitch she sews them tight,
fearing his return will be delayed.
Who says a blade of grass can repay
the warmth of three spring suns?

Mom, I haven’t even left yet, and you’ve already reminded me again and again. You’re making your son’s heart ache.”

“You child, isn’t Mom just worried about you? Alright, I won’t say more. When do you report in?”

“Once the school issues our high school graduation certificates, we’ll be leaving. Mom… Grandma, she—”

“I’ll bring your grandma to Liangzhou.”

“Then what about Li Chen?”

Ever since Li Chen started school, he had stayed by Li Ming’s side. He treated Li Ming like his own older brother and told him everything.

Li Chen also took Li Ming as his role model—whether it was studying, managing the grocery store, or taking care of Grandma, he did everything wholeheartedly.

“That’s not something Mom can decide. We’ll have to wait for his parents’ decision. If he’s willing to come with me, of course I’ll take care of him.”

“I’ll go talk to him.”

Li Ming hurried off and called Li Chen over. Li Chen’s eyes were red—after following Li Ming for so many years, he truly couldn’t bear to part from him.

“Li Chen, I’ll ask you straight. Do you want to go home, or do you want to go to Liangzhou with my mom and grandma?”

“Brother Li Ming, I don’t want to go home, and I don’t want to go to Liangzhou either. Can I stay here? I won’t freeload—I’ll help look after the grocery store and wait for you to come back.”

“But can you manage on your own?”

“I…”

“Ming’er, Grandma will stay too,” Grandma spoke up. “Your mom has work to do and has to take care of your younger sister. There’s so much going on at home—leave Cheng’er to me.”

“Mom, you—”

“Qiao, it’s fine. Bing’er brings his little girl to see me every week. If I leave, it won’t feel right. Let me stay here—my heart will be at ease.”

Cheng Qiao nodded silently. She truly was swamped in Liangzhou. Even though Cuihua and her husband helped with the family farm, Qian Longxin managed the beauty salon, and Shen Ying supported the clinic—

Some tasks still had to be done by Cheng Qiao herself. For example, establishing a laboratory dedicated to researching the pills from her space.

No matter what, for the pills from the space to be introduced openly and legitimately, there had to be a proper and aboveboard reason. Moreover, Cheng Li had gone abroad, and she still had to check on Cheng Liguo from time to time.

Cheng Qiao stayed in Chuncheng for a week, preparing ample supplies for Li Ming and Xiao Gui. Only after seeing them taken away did she reluctantly bid farewell to Mother Li and return to Liangzhou with Ye Jing.

The days that followed were busy yet fulfilling. Cheng Qiao either immersed herself in experiments in the laboratory or went with Hantong to the Qilian Mountains to gather medicinal herbs.

Gradually, the everyday versions of the pills began to appear one after another—such as anesthetic powder. Zhu Qingde had no idea that the anesthetic powder in use was no longer produced by the space.

When Hantong ran out of her health-preserving pills, Cheng Qiao gave her another bottle. Seeing Hantong take them without any adverse reaction, she knew the daily version of the health pills had been successfully developed.

Yet no matter how things changed, the core remained the same—the pills could not do without the spiritual water from the space. For this reason, Cheng Qiao and Hantong specially went to the Qilian Mountains and carved out an artificial spiritual spring, channeling the river water from her space into it.

This matter was extremely secret. Apart from Ye Jun and Ye Jing, only Hantong knew about it—but they were all delighted. From then on, they no longer had to produce medicine in secret.

Ever since being taught a lesson by Hantong, the gyrfalcon avoided her whenever it saw her, even insisting on hiding inside Cheng Qiao’s space. It had discovered that only that place was truly safe.

Amused, Cheng Qiao took the gyrfalcon into the space. Hantong pretended not to notice, but inside she was overjoyed—Serves you right for being so arrogant. From now on, you’d better stay far away whenever you see me.

Hantong never expected that very night she would be urgently summoned away. Mai Sui’s body had undergone a pathological change, and she wanted to see Hantong.

Cheng Qiao immediately took out all the pills, including the Qilin Resurrection Pill. That child was her goddaughter—if she could be saved, she absolutely had to be saved.

Hantong was gone for two whole months. Cheng Qiao continued living according to her own rhythm. Whenever Ye Jing didn’t have classes, he stayed by Cheng Qiao’s side to learn.

He caught many rabbits to practice on. Slowly, the scalpel in his hands became like a living blade, following a path of steady, precise, and ruthless efficiency.

Cheng Qiao was very satisfied with Ye Jing’s rapid progress. Zhu Qingde and Shen Sanleng treated him as their own student and apprentice, teaching him with great care.

The auxiliary building of the clinic had been completed, and they were about to begin a new round of recruitment. As long as the applicants had high medical ethics, they would be accepted.

Skills could be improved over time, but poor medical ethics would damage the reputation of the entire clinic. As Cheng Qiao was reviewing an applicant’s résumé, the phone on the desk rang.

“Cheng Qiao, this is Yuan Guangming. Come here immediately. If you don’t, I’m afraid your father won’t survive.”

Cheng Qiao froze for a moment. She had just returned from visiting Cheng Liguo last month, and everything had been normal. But now was not the time to overthink. She immediately called Qin Daqiang to borrow a car.

Qin Daqiang readily agreed and even arranged for Qin Guoqing to drive Cheng Qiao there. A round trip would only take a day at most—if needed, Guoqing could make another trip to bring her back.