Zheng Ming asked the question, feeling a bit excited in his heart.
Had he managed to latch onto Lin'er's thigh?
Was he like Qin Wen now?
Under Zheng Ming's expectant gaze, Zheng Qingya slowly said: "I invited Lin'er to our house for dinner today."
Zheng Ming felt both happy and disappointed upon hearing this.
He was happy that Xia Lin would be visiting his home; she was Xia Feng's sister, a truly valuable connection.
He was disappointed that it was just a visit, and Zheng Qingya hadn't yet secured that connection.
Zheng Ming then helplessly shook his head, realizing he had been too hasty. It was impossible to secure such a connection so quickly.
Although securing connections was key, one had to cultivate relationships first. A foundation of affection was necessary before one could truly latch onto a powerful figure.
It was like dating, he thought. You couldn't just ask someone to a hotel room on the first encounter.
It required a long process. Even though the end goal was the same, the process had to be completed.
"Alright, I'll go home early today. I'll call your mother and ask her to prepare more dishes," Zheng Ming said, still pleased.
"Hmph, Dad, aren't you going to praise me?" Zheng Qingya wasn't about to miss an opportunity to take credit.
"Good, good, good, you're the most capable."
Zheng Ming praised his daughter's capability with three "good"s.
"Heh heh... I won't talk anymore. We're going shopping now, and your mother will discuss the evening's arrangements."
After a few words to finalize their plans, the father and daughter hung up.
After hanging up, Zheng Qingya, satisfied, walked out of the restroom and headed back to the private room. Da Feng Novel Network.
For the rest of the afternoon, the four of them continued shopping. In the end, aside from Qin Wen buying a qipao, no one else purchased anything. It was purely a shopping trip for the sake of it.
On the way to Zheng Qingya's house, Xia Lin and Ma Yuqin each bought two boxes of bird's nest. Qin Wen, however, arrived empty-handed.
After all, her visits to Zheng Qingya's home were like coming home, so bringing gifts felt too formal.
Zheng Ming got off work early today and returned home. The couple prepared a table full of dishes together.
Looking at the nearly ready meal, Yang Xueping asked her husband, "Honey, is Lin'er really that important?"
Yang Xueping asked again, looking at Zheng Ming, who hadn't been in the kitchen for years.
"I'm warning you, be polite later. Her importance is beyond your imagination. Don't doubt my judgment with your ignorance."
After Yang Xueping asked several times, Zheng Ming became a little impatient, afraid that Yang Xueping might not be mindful of the occasion. He issued a warning.
"Don't try to intimidate me with your official airs. I'm just an ordinary citizen, unlike you," Yang Xueping retorted.
Seeing his wife's expression sour, Zheng Ming wisely refrained from saying anything further.
Before long, Zheng Qingya arrived home with Xia Lin and the others.
"Dad, Mom, we're back," Zheng Qingya shouted as she entered.
"Xiao Ya, you're back," Yang Xueping happily came out of the kitchen and called.
"Auntie Yang, I'm here too, heh heh..." Qin Wen stood to the side, calling out with a smile.
"Xiao Wen, you haven't visited Auntie in so long. You deserve a scolding. Are these your good friends?" Yang Xueping asked Xia Lin and Ma Yuqin.
"Hello, Auntie. We bought some gifts for you and Uncle Zheng."
Xia Lin and Ma Yuqin both greeted her.
"It's so nice of you to bring gifts when you visit. Don't bring any next time," Yang Xueping said, taking the gifts and pretending to be angry.
At this moment, Zheng Ming also came out of the kitchen. Seeing Xia Lin, he called out joyfully, "Lin'er, Yuqin, welcome to my home. Make yourselves at home and please don't be strangers."
"Hello, Secretary Zheng," Xia Lin and Ma Yuqin called.
"Ah... this is home, why are you calling me Secretary Zheng? It makes us seem like outsiders," Zheng Ming said.
"Uncle Zheng, you didn't even see me? You didn't say hello," Qin Wen said.
"Haha... Xiao Wen, what's the difference between you visiting us and coming home? Do I need to greet you? You really think of yourself as a guest," Zheng Ming laughed heartily.
Xia Lin's visit made Zheng Ming very happy; he was happier seeing her than meeting anyone else.
After having dinner at Zheng Ming's house and resting for a while, Xia Lin left.
...
Madrid, Spain!
The King's Palace.
"Your Majesty, the Queen's condition is very strange. With current medicine, she cannot fully recover," reported the Spanish Royal Physician, Hoziah Ellis, with a worried expression.
"Even with our current medical technology, we can't cure such a minor illness?" King Felipe VI blamed the attending physician.
The Queen only suffered from loss of appetite, unable to eat and vomiting whatever she consumed. She could only receive nutritional drips daily. Seeing the increasingly emaciated Queen, Felipe VI was extremely anxious.
In his eyes, wasn't this simply a clear case of appetite loss?
Wasn't appetite loss a minor ailment?
Why couldn't such advanced medicine cure a case of appetite loss?
If this continued, Spain's medical standards were indeed worrying.
Hoziah Ellis dared not make a sound at being scolded. After all, if you didn't understand, whatever you said was right.
He was already powerless. Any further words to the King would be mere excuses.
"Have the American experts been invited?" Felipe VI changed the subject and asked.
"Your Majesty, the American medical experts refused to come. I showed them all the Queen's symptoms, and they said this was a rare anorexia that occurs once in a millennium and that they were helpless," Hoziah Ellis truthfully reported.
Upon hearing this, Felipe VI became even more enraged. He cursed, "Americans are all show and no substance! They refuse to come and already claim they can do nothing? For America to call itself a country with world-class medical skills is just a hollow reputation."
Felipe VI was so angry at the moment that he even dared to insult Americans.
Hoziah Ellis: ...
Hoziah Ellis still dared not make a sound.
"Find a way. If you can't cure the Queen's illness, you don't need to continue in your profession," Felipe VI pointed at Hoziah Ellis and scolded.
He had given him an ultimatum: either cure her or be fired.
"Your Majesty, I have a small suggestion," Hoziah Ellis suddenly said.
"Speak," Felipe VI said coldly.
"Although this anorexia is difficult to treat, Chinese medicine in China has a thousand-year heritage. Perhaps we could invite a Chinese doctor to treat the Queen?"
Hoziah Ellis asked cautiously.
Felipe VI looked down on traditional Chinese medicine. He knew this. The fact that Hoziah Ellis was mentioning it so cautiously now was undoubtedly because he wanted to try it.
After all, neither his side nor the American side had any solutions. They were at a loss.
It was better to let a Chinese doctor try, and if the treatment failed, they could blame it on the Chinese doctor.