Sister Wu

Qin Baike's lips curled slightly. "He only started delivering food after he arrived. There was no delivery service before."
"So the delivery was custom-made for him? Is he also the nephew of one of your comrades?"
Qin Baike immediately straightened up, his expression turning serious as he looked at her. Tang Yiyi froze, then belatedly remembered that his comrade had died saving him. She hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, Baige, I didn't mean it."
Qin Baike sighed, a trace of melancholy flickering in his eyes. "It's all right. There are still some things I can't let go of."
Tang Yiyi picked up the teapot and poured him a cup of tea. He took it and drank it in one gulp. "Liu Xin came to the shop the year before last," he said, then paused, as if searching for words.
He continued, "That night, he walked up from the riverbank and stopped at the noodle shop entrance, watching others eat noodles without blinking. He must've been broke and starving. I cooked two bowls and set them in front of him. He said he had no money. I told him to eat, and he could help wash dishes afterward. His available hours matched the shop’s schedule exactly, so after that, he stayed."
"He must have been in trouble that day," Tang Yiyi said with certainty.
Qin Baike looked up at her, replying calmly, "Who knows?"
As the two chatted, Boss Fan approached with a middle-aged woman. The woman had a kind face and greeted Qin Baike with a cheerful, "Hello, young man."
"Sister Wu, I just brought my mother back. This is Xiao Tang; she'll be coming with me in a few days to give my mom acupuncture." Qin Baike stood up, smiling for once, and introduced Tang Yiyi to the woman.
"Good, good," Sister Wu said, taking Tang Yiyi's hand. "So young and already a doctor. Your parents are truly blessed." She then turned and spotted Qin's mother, laughing aloud. "Auntie Qin, watching people play mahjong again?" With that, she went over to pour her water, offered her some fruit, and then wheeled her out under the trees for fresh air.
Sister Wu's actions were practiced and efficient. Boss Fan explained that she was the wife of the local gardener. She used to work outside, caring for partially or fully paralyzed patients in hospitals. Later, she helped out in the villa's kitchen, and now, with Qin's mother here, she had returned to her old profession.

"My luck has always been good; you see," Qin Baike tilted his chin towards his mother and Sister Wu, "not everyone is fortunate enough to find such a satisfactory caregiver."
Seeing that Qin Baike had made tea, Boss Fan sat down as well. After two cups, he said, "Later, come help in the kitchen. We're short-staffed."
"All right," Qin Baike nodded. "I haven't seen your wife."
"Some company's plants are dying, so she took a team to replace them."
"Are those plants all rented out?" Tang Yiyi asked.
"Yes. They pay monthly rent. It's cheaper than buying, and more importantly, most people can't keep plants alive. If they buy them and the plants die, they feel bad. With rentals, when a plant is about to die, they call us and we replace it. The annual cost ends up about the same as constantly buying new ones, but it's less stressful. After all, watching a plant die is never pleasant."
"I never would have thought plants could be rented."
"Neither did we at first. Business is all about innovation as you go."
"It’s really comfortable here, Boss Fan."
"You're not alone—everyone says that. Many elderly visitors want to stay, but we can only accommodate twenty. Every November, when they leave, they pay for the following year in advance, worried someone else will take their spot. I tell them not to, that I’ll hold their place, that I’m not greedy. But they insist; paying gives them peace of mind."
"If it were me, I'd pay in advance too."
"I’m easy-going—however you want it. I don’t like arguing or competing over everything, so people enjoy dealing with me."

"That's not very soldier-like," Tang Yiyi joked.
"I wasn't like this in the army. But after over a decade as a firefighter, life and death put everything in perspective."
Hearing this, Tang Yiyi glanced instinctively at Qin Baike. He shot her a blank look. "What?"
Boss Fan chuckled, "This guy was born without a smile nerve. One day, you should try acupuncture on him—see if you can fix it."
"Yes, I’ll need to study his condition and consult my master when I get back."
Qin Baike looked at the two, who were clearly in sync, then finally turned to Boss Fan. "Weren’t you just complaining about being too busy? You seem pretty relaxed to me."
"I was, but your arrival made me forget all about it. All right, it's almost time. Let's head to the kitchen and get dinner ready—so many people to feed." Boss Fan stood up, then said to Tang Yiyi, "Dr. Tang, feel free to explore."
Qin Baike rose with him and glanced back at her. "Don’t leave the yard. I’ll take you out tomorrow morning."
"I won’t go out," Tang Yiyi nodded.
After watching the two leave with their luggage, she stood up to tidy the tea table. She asked a nearby elderly man where to discard the leftover tea, then cleaned up the tea set and made her way toward the sunroom.