Chapter 201: Ning Qingyuan, You’re Really Something
“Little sis, hurry and lift it up,” Ning Qingyuan urged, his curiosity at its peak.
Ning Xiyue smiled and lifted her hands from the water. The sweater she pulled out, once covered in a large patch of engine oil, was now completely spotless.
“There’s really not a single stain left,” Ning Qingyuan said, touching it with fascination.
He squatted by the basin and lifted his own sweater. The black oil that had stained the white stripes was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place.
“Of course. Not only can it remove oil stains, but it also gets rid of any other dirt. When you go back to the countryside, I’ll give you a bottle. That way, when you’re doing farm work, you won’t have to worry about clothes getting dirty and not washing clean.”
What Ning Xiyue had used today was actually an upgraded version of the laundry detergent she had invented back when she was first sent to the countryside. She used it herself all the time — it saved her a fortune in soap and ration coupons.
The results were exceptional: it could remove all kinds of stubborn stains, make clothes look brand new, and was gentle on both hands and fabric.
After trying countless brands of detergent in the modern era, Ning Xiyue still believed the best was the one she made herself. She proudly called it the king of detergents.
She walked over to the bedside and took two bottles from her bag. She left one in her eldest brother’s hospital room and handed the other to Comrade Ji.
“Comrade Ji, use this for your laundry from now on. Just a little bit is enough to clean an entire basin of clothes — they’ll come out spotless and fresh.”
Why did she suddenly feel like a door-to-door detergent salesperson?
“Alright, thank you,” Comrade Ji said, accepting it without hesitation. If there was something good to be had, he certainly wouldn’t let the chance slip by.
“No one’s sister is as amazing as mine,” Ning Qingzhi said proudly, lifting his chin.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Ning Xiyue replied modestly, then squatted down to continue washing.
Seeing this, Ning Qingyuan pushed her toward the bed to sit. “Sis, leave this kind of small chore to me. You just sit.”
Comrade Ji took Ning Qingzhi’s empty lunch box and went to wash it.
Since the two men had taken over the work, Ning Xiyue turned her attention to cleaning her brother’s wound and applying medicine.
It wasn’t the hospital’s medicine she used but her own.
Although the hospital’s ointment had been produced based on a formula she had submitted — and it worked fairly well — mass-produced medicine was never as effective as the ones she made by hand.
She wanted to use the best medicine so her brother could heal quickly. His marriage application had already been approved, so the sooner he recovered, the sooner he could get married.
As she applied the ointment, she saw that the wound was healing nicely, which reassured her. At this rate, he would be fully recovered within ten days.
Sure enough, after several days of careful care from the siblings, by the ninth day Ning Qingzhi’s wound had healed completely, forming a scab. The injury around his eye had also fully recovered.
The only question now was how well his eyesight had returned — and they were waiting for the doctor’s assessment.
Ning Xiyue, Ning Qingyuan, Song Jiayin (Ning Qingzhi’s fiancée), and Comrade Ji were all standing anxiously outside the ophthalmology room.
Ning Qingyuan paced back and forth, glancing repeatedly at the door.
Song Jiayin was practically pressed against the door, trying to peek inside.
Comrade Ji leaned calmly against the wall, unmoving, but his eyes were fixed on the door.
Only Ning Xiyue sat relaxed on a small stool, not worried at all. She already knew what the results would be — she was certain no one would be disappointed.
With a creak, the door opened, and the doctor emerged with Ning Qingzhi.
Everyone immediately rushed forward, four pairs of eyes focused on the doctor.
“How is it? How is it? Is everything okay, doctor? There’s no problem, right?” Song Jiayin asked anxiously, holding onto Ning Qingzhi.
“Doctor, is my brother alright?” Ning Qingyuan asked intently.
Comrade Ji stared at the doctor silently.
“Step aside a little,” Ning Xiyue reminded them with a smile. “Don’t block the doorway. Let the doctor come out first.”
Only then did they realize they were crowding the door. They quickly stepped back and waited for the doctor to speak.
“Congratulations. The wound has completely healed, and not only has his eyesight returned to normal, but it’s actually improved. His vision used to be 1.0 — now it’s 1.5. Truly incredible. It’s a miracle.”
The doctor’s expression was full of amazement and excitement.
He had no idea what kind of medicine Comrade Ji had provided, but its effects represented a huge leap forward for their country’s ophthalmology treatment.
In fact, it was unprecedented worldwide — no other country had a medicine capable of such results.
“Ah! Thank you, doctor. This is wonderful — big brother’s healed!” Ning Qingyuan clapped his hands in delight.
Everyone felt relieved upon hearing the news, joy spreading across their faces as they crowded around Ning Qingzhi.
Ning Xiyue thought to herself that if her brother used the medicine for a few more days, his vision could even reach 2.0 (5.3 on the eye chart).
The doctor, still excited, pulled Comrade Ji aside and asked in a hushed tone, “Comrade Ji, when will this medicine be produced and put into use? Have our top medical experts developed any other drugs like this?”
“Doctor Zhang, don’t ask questions you shouldn’t,” Comrade Ji replied, his demeanor returning to its usual stern, icy coldness.
His sharp gaze made Dr. Zhang’s excitement vanish instantly. Realizing he had overstepped, cold sweat broke out on his back. He quickly apologized and left without mentioning the medicine again.
Back in the ward, Comrade Ji instructed everyone not to talk about the medicine and handed confidentiality agreements to Ning Qingyuan and Song Jiayin, asking them to sign and keep the details secret.
They signed without hesitation and then returned to chatting with Ning Qingzhi.
Ning Xiyue also pretended to sign one.
She and Comrade Ji worked in tandem, attributing her brother’s recovery to the country — mainly to keep Song Jiayin, who didn’t know Ning Xiyue’s true identity, in the dark.
Once everything was settled, Comrade Ji took the hospital’s report and headed back to the military to make his report.
The three siblings and Song Jiayin stayed behind to pack.
As they packed, Ning Xiyue chatted, “Now that everything’s fine, big brother, you can finally start planning the wedding again. We should contact our parents.”
They hadn’t told their parents about the injury at all, afraid they would worry. Until now, their parents still didn’t know anything.
Now that her brother had recovered, it didn’t matter anymore — they had to inform their parents about the wedding.
Ning Qingzhi nodded in agreement. Looking at Song Jiayin, he said, “I’ll call them in a bit. While I still have some leave, we should get the wedding arrangements finalized.”
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen our parents. I really miss them,” Ning Qingyuan said, his heart full of emotion. It had been a year since their last visit, and he wondered how they were doing.
“I miss them too. It’s been over half a year since I left home. With the wedding, we’ll get to see them again,” Ning Xiyue added. She knew their parents would definitely come for the wedding — the family would reunite in Shanghai.
“I’ll go with you to pick up Auntie,” Song Jiayin suggested.
Though curious about the parents she’d heard so much about, she couldn’t help but worry about getting along with them — she’d heard too many stories from colleagues about mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law clashing after marriage.
“Of course. Don’t worry, my parents are very easygoing,” Ning Qingzhi reassured her. “Here’s a tip: as long as you get along with my sister, they’ll absolutely adore you.”
Hearing that, Ning Qingyuan eagerly raised his hand to share the best trick he’d learned as a kid:
“And if you ever want to do something big, make sure to bring my sister along. That way, you’ll never get scolded — you’ll even get praised. I did that all the time when I was little.”
Then he grinned at Ning Xiyue, trying to curry favor.
Ning Xiyue: “…”
So all those times her second brother dragged her around as a kid, it was just to avoid getting punished.
So much for brotherly love and sibling affection — the truth was far less noble.
“Oh, I see. I was always wondering why you took your sister everywhere when you were little — so that’s why. Ning Qingyuan, you’re really something. Get over here!”
An especially furious yet familiar voice came from the doorway, and the four people in the room turned their heads toward it.
“Mom?”
The three siblings stared at the doorway in shock and spoke in unison.
