Edict of Empress Dowager Cixi

  "Of course, don't you forget who I am, your old mom?" Zhang Jin's mother said with a self-satisfied smile, only to suddenly realize that her own speech outline had been disrupted by her cunning son. She quickly pulled the topic back to her predetermined main line, "Stop flattering me, this time don't think you can fool your mom with a few jokes. Tell me, when are you and Little Yezi planning to have kids?" The 'Little Yezi' in Zhang Jin's mother's mouth was her nickname for Zhang Jin's ex-wife, Ye Hong.

  Zhang Jin's mother liked Ye Hong just like Ye Hong's mother liked Zhang Jin, and she was delighted. The intimate attitude made Zhang Jin's sister jealous. When Zhang Jin and Ye Hong got divorced, they were most worried that their parents would not be able to accept it. Because Ye Hong's parents lived in the same city and often met before the divorce, they could not hide it, but there were ways to conceal the fact of their divorce from Zhang Jin's parents who were far away in Beijing. So until now, Zhang Jin's mother still did not know that the little Ye she liked as if she was her own daughter was no longer her daughter-in-law.

  "Mom, don't be in such a hurry, okay? I'm not even thirty yet, this is the best time for a man to enjoy life. Just do me a favor and let that grandson of yours arrive a bit later, can't I just enjoy two more years? Men... even if they have kids at forty, it's not too late!"

  Zhang Jin's words brought about Li Qin's fierce criticism: "You think it's not too late, what about that little leaf? When a woman gets older and gives birth, it's dangerous, do you know that? That's called an elderly mother! How can you only care about yourself and not feel sorry for others?"

  Zhang Jin's smile was even more bitter, although in his heart he thought 'My future child's mother is still hiding in some corner, anyway it has nothing to do with the little leaf you like.' His mouth still mechanically and perfunctorily responded to his mom's questioning: "Mom, Yezi is only 26 years old this year, she's still far from being an older pregnant woman."

  "It's not early, it's just the right time! At this age, I and your mother are still young and can help take care of the child. Otherwise, in two years, we'll be old and who will take care of the kid? If we hire a stranger as a nanny, I won't feel at ease! Haven't you seen on TV that many kids develop autism or become bad because their parents don't have time to discipline them and they're left alone at home for too long? I'm telling you, having a child is a responsibility, you can't just think of yourself, you need to consider the child's well-being..."

  "Mom, giving birth is a matter of two people, even if I want to, it's not possible? Can't rush this, right?"

  "Don't give me any nonsense, I've already called Yezi and she said it's just that you don't want to have kids so early! $#%......" Li Qin's tone became even more aggressive.

  Zhang Jin was thoroughly tongue-tied after being scolded by his mother, and it wasn't until a while later that he thought of an excuse to interrupt: "Mom, look at me now, I'm busy. Let's talk another time if we have the chance." But in his heart, he was thinking, "That witch Ye Hong, even after divorcing me she won't let me off easy. She actually went to my mom and slandered me, telling her all sorts of bad things about me... this is just too..."

  "Oh, okay......" After decades of being a teacher and training students, Li Qinsomehow felt unfulfilled and truly missed the days before her retirement.

  "Hey, wait a minute..." Just as Zhang Jin was about to hang up the phone with a sigh of relief, the urgent voice came through the receiver again, making his heart jump back up into his throat. Fortunately, this time Mom wasn't talking about "the next generation" anymore.

  "Right, you're so gassed, Mom forgot the main thing." The empress, relying on her identity as a mother, scolded a bit unreasonably and continued: "Aren't you a doctor in Shenzhen? Don't you know which hospital is better for weight loss? Your younger aunt's husband ran back from Tianjin."

  The little soldier in Old Mother's mouth is called Qi Bing, the son of Zhang Jin's younger sister, ten years younger than Zhang Jin. Perhaps because he was the only child and grandson of his uncle's family since childhood, he has been pampered with all the love, and as a result, he has been overeating since childhood, leading to excessive nutrition. As a result, at the age of 19, he is already over 190 cm tall, but his weight exceeds 200 kg! This "sturdy" figure looks like a mountain of meat to others!

  This year's third-year student, Qi Bing, suddenly fainted during a physical education class six months ago. After being sent to the hospital by ambulance and undergoing examination, he was found to have contracted a disease called "pulmonary ventilation dysfunction syndrome", a high-risk disease caused by obesity, which can even be life-threatening if left untreated. In consideration of this child's life, Zhang Jin's aunt had no choice but to help him drop out of school and sent him to a well-known weight loss center in Tianjin for treatment. However, unexpectedly, this spoiled brat couldn't bear the hardship and ran back home without losing any weight during the first difficult period of his weight loss journey.

  "Weight loss, huh..." Zhang Jin thought of his master-level doctor's various mysterious methods and Qi Bing's close relationship with himself, and replied straightforwardly: "Alright, that's settled then. I'll give my old aunt a call and have her send Little Soldier over. Once we arrive in Shen City, I'll take care of him."

  …………

  He hung up the phone with his family's Taohua, and then called his aunt in Northeast China to confirm Qi Bing's arrival time in Shenzhen. Less than five seconds after he finished talking to his aunt, Zhang Jin's phone rang again. Looking at the name on the caller ID screen, Zhang Jin couldn't help but smile, and answered the phone with a scolding tone: "You little brat, you're pretty quick! What's up? Spit it out!" The one who made the call was none other than Qi Bing, the big fat classmate who had just reached a 'reselling' agreement with Zhang Jin.

  On the other end of the phone, Qi Bing's laughter was somewhat flattering: "Hehe, brother, that... is... I heard my mom say you want me to go to your Shenzhen to lose weight... huh... is it?"

  Zhang Jin was crystal clear about what Qi Bing wanted to say, but he still asked in a rough and loud tone: "What's up? If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be so ambiguous. You're not even like a man!"

  Qī Bīng's tone became cautious: "Hey, brother, the weight loss center you contacted for me won't be like that one in Jīn City, right? I'm declaring beforehand, I really can't take that kind of weight loss method."

  "Can't bear hardship? Do you still want to lose weight? Do you still want to look good? Do you still want to have beautiful eyebrows? Do you still want to live a long life of one hundred years?" Zhang Jin was somewhat disappointed with this brother who feared hardship.

  On the other end of the phone, after hearing his brother's persuasion and thinking about how handsome he would look after losing weight, and thinking about the beautiful girls who would bat their eyelashes at him, Meat Mountain's voice suddenly became more robust, just like a soldier reporting for duty. He said loudly: "I'll do it!" However, this little guy's resolute voice didn't last even two seconds before it fell again, reverting to its usual dejected tone. With a sorrowful voice, he said: "But big brother, I really can't take that kind of weight loss! Under the watchful eyes of those sadistic guards, every day is just two cucumbers and half an apple, three meals a day with three sets of equipment, running, swimming, sauna... it's like a special forces training program. But even soldiers get to eat their fill, we're basically being trained as refugee special forces! If I hadn't run away early, I reckon by now I'd already be dead in Jin City. That really isn't a human way of living!"

  Zhang Jin's anger was stifled, and he didn't even have the heart to scold anymore. In the end, he could only weakly say: "Alright, you can come with peace of mind, I definitely won't let you suffer that kind of hardship." After finishing speaking, he heavily hung up the phone. At this time, Zhang Jin was already doubting whether it was a correct decision to bring such a lazy and idle person into his life.

  After hanging up the phone with Qi Bing, Zhang Jin re-entered the hall to take a look at the "patient" who had been left alone for a long time. He saw that Hai Jufu had completely dispelled his previous worried expression and was now walking around in circles in the spacious hall with his hands behind his back, holding a bamboo pipe.

  "Uncle Jufu, sorry about keeping you waiting for so long! How are you feeling now?"

  The first to respond to Zhang Jin was Hai Jufu's raised right thumb, followed by his excited and disbelieving voice: "Divine doctor, you are indeed a divine doctor! You're amazing, truly amazing!" Next, Hai Jufu pointed with the bamboo pipe in his hand at the dark clouds outside the window that were pressing down heavily: "In the past, whenever it was this kind of weather, I couldn't even get out of bed. Every joint in my body felt like there were insects crawling inside, aching all over. Even when I came here previously and the weather wasn't as bad, my body had already started to feel sore and itchy all over. But after these few injections from you, Young Zhang, my body feels like it's lost ten or more kilograms, this old skeleton of mine feels as light and agile as if it had just been oiled with fish oil, feeling even better than on a sunny day... Ah, comfortable, too comfortable..."

  Zhang Jin was secretly pleased, but pretended to be humble and said: "Uncle Ju Fu, I'm not a divine doctor, and your illness isn't cured yet. Because your illness is more severe than Uncle Ju Li's, the treatment time will also be longer. After five days of acupuncture and four days of moxibustion, it can be completely cured. So in the next few days, you need to come here for an hour every afternoon. And during this period when the illness isn't fully recovered, before going to bed at night, it's best to use a hot towel to warm up each joint for 15 minutes."

  Hai Ju Fu's current mood is the same as when he first received the injection, and he still regards Zhang Jin as a god. He naturally obeys Zhang Jin's instructions without fail.

  Taking advantage of the rain not having come yet, Zhang Jin sent off Hai Jufu with a happy face and sat back on the sofa in the hall, turned on the 54-inch LED TV hanging on the wall, lit a cigarette and relaxed again. However, soon he had to get up again, but it was Hai Jufu who had just been sent out of the door by himself came back.

  "Uncle Ju Fu, is there something else?" Zhang Jin asked with some puzzlement.

  Hai Jufu rubbed his hands together in a somewhat awkward manner and said with embarrassment, "That little Zhang! I just wanted to ask if you could also take a look at the others in our village who have this illness? This disease is really torturing people!" As he spoke, Hai Jufu's face was filled with distress.

  "Of course!" Zhang Jin replied without hesitation. Firstly, as a fellow villager, he couldn't very well treat him differently; by showing this kindness, he was also making it easier for himself to establish a foothold in the village. Secondly, although the experience gained from treating illnesses was far less valuable than the two mu of fish ponds and several dozen chickens and ducks, or the lush fruit trees and vegetable garden on the other two mu of land, it was still some form of income. As the saying goes, "even a mosquito is meat!"