Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 166 - 161 Old Acquaintance - Restaurant Owner

During the meal, Cai Jun’s curiosity about Wang Jian became so obvious that even Ren Yu noticed. She kept asking him questions, one after another, to the point where Wang Jian couldn’t even eat properly. All his effort went into just answering her. This girl really doesn’t hold back...

Ren Yu was speechless and a little baffled. Her best friend, Cai Jun, was usually quiet and reserved, despite her habit of singing Chairman Kang’s praises. She couldn’t fathom what had gotten into her friend now. Cai Jun was interrogating Wang Jian relentlessly, looking as though she was about to demand his entire family history. In the end, she had no choice but to drag Cai Jun to the restroom.

As soon as they reached the restroom, Ren Yu pulled Cai Jun aside and asked in a low voice, "Why did you keep grilling my brother like that?"

Cai Jun was taken aback; she knew she had been asking a lot of questions. Before she could respond, Ren Yu continued, "I know you’ve always wanted to set me up with Chairman Kang. He’s a decent person, but his personality isn’t my type. He’s only coming to my hometown this summer break because you told him where to go, I’m sure of it."

Ren Yu gave a wry smile. "I can understand your good intentions, but while he’s fine as a friend, his emotional intelligence is too low, and he’s terribly fussy. If he weren’t a person of decent character, I wouldn’t even want to be his friend."

"So... even if Brother Jian weren’t in the picture, it would be impossible for us to be together."

Cai Jun drew a sharp breath. This was the first time Ren Yu had voiced her true opinion of Chairman Kang, and the first time Cai Jun realized that the man she thought was a good catch was actually so disappointing in Ren Yu’s eyes. Still, their friendship was strong, and since Ren Yu had been so clear, Cai Jun knew she couldn’t keep playing matchmaker. But she couldn’t resist asking one last time, "Really? Not even the slightest possibility?"

The eye-roll she got in response was answer enough. "Alright, alright, I get it," Cai Jun said hurriedly. "Honestly, if it weren’t for the old ties between his family and mine, and the fact that I know him inside and out, I never would have pushed so hard for you two. But you can’t force a relationship. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t do it again."

Seeing Cai Jun concede, Ren Yu finally let her off the hook and began washing her hands at the sink.

But just then, Cai Jun suddenly asked, "Your brother... he doesn’t seem all that impressive, does he? Just a village doctor. Are you really planning to spend the rest of your life with him?"

At these words, Ren Yu’s hands stilled under the running water. I’d love to settle down and live happily ever after with Brother Jian, but I’m afraid it won’t be that simple.

A flicker of sorrow crossed her face but vanished just as quickly. She turned to Cai Jun. "You only say that because you don’t know him..."

Not impressive...

Ren Yu thought back to Wang Jian’s incredible Medical Skills. For one, he could diagnose all sorts of ailments with a single glance. In all his time practicing medicine from home, he had never once encountered a case he couldn’t solve. And she had never seen anything like his trembling silver needles. Some conditions that would require surgery or lengthy treatment with Western Medicine, Wang Jian could resolve with just a few courses of acupuncture.

And she calls that ’not impressive’?!

Ren Yu was lost in thought, unsure how to explain it to Cai Jun. She finally just said, "Forget it, it’s not important. Just please stop asking so many questions. It’s making things really awkward for me."

"Okay."

Cai Jun readily agreed, though she didn’t miss the distant look in Ren Yu’s eyes.

It seems... my best friend is completely smitten.

Cai Jun sighed inwardly. They always say a woman’s intelligence drops when she’s in love. I never used to believe it, but I can’t believe it’s happening to Ren Yu.

Ren Yu was a top student at their school with a boundless future; Cai Jun had always seen her as a future powerhouse of a woman. To think that even a strong woman like her couldn’t escape this trap made Cai Jun start to have some doubts. As for me, though, the man who could cloud my judgment simply hasn’t appeared yet.

When the two returned to the table, Cai Jun was visibly back to normal. The three of them waited for their Japanese dishes to arrive.

The sashimi came out relatively quickly, but the grilled items took more time, as some had to be sent to the oven for flavoring after being seared.

"This is my first time at this restaurant," Cai Jun said, now that she couldn’t probe into Wang Jian’s personal life anymore and had to find another topic. "If you hadn’t brought us here, I probably would never have known a place like this existed."

The Japanese restaurant was in a rather remote location, and the surrounding area was even cordoned off for what looked like renovations or repairs. If Wang Jian hadn’t led them there, Cai Jun and Ren Yu would have never found it.

"This place, Little Boat, isn’t a chain," Wang Jian explained with a smile. "The owner runs it himself, so very few people know about it. If it weren’t for a chance encounter, I would have never found it either. But I’m telling you... it’s worth it. The owner has excellent suppliers, the ingredients are incredibly fresh, and everything, cooked or raw, is delicious."

"That’s so true..." Ren Yu nodded. She had just eaten a piece of the foie gras nigiri. Each serving came with a huge slice of foie gras that melted in her mouth, completely redefining her perception of organ meat.

Cai Jun also agreed, as there were only two pieces in that dish, and she had eaten the other one.

After finishing her piece, she thoughtfully took out her phone to look up the restaurant’s reviews. To her surprise, not only was it a place with thousands of five-star reviews, but it was also expensive, with an average cost of three hundred per person. It was rare to find a restaurant at this price point that managed to keep its customers from finding fault, as it’s human nature to nitpick after spending a lot of money.

She skimmed the comments and saw many people mention that a special feature of the restaurant was that the menu was updated daily based on the freshest available ingredients, and that the owner would personally guide customers on the proper ways to eat different types of sashimi.

"Huh?" Cai Jun immediately looked up. "How come we haven’t seen the owner today?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"You’re right, I haven’t seen him," Wang Jian said, startled. He glanced around. The restaurant wasn’t large; you could see the entire kitchen and the dozen or so tables from where they sat, and indeed, the owner was nowhere to be found.

Wang Jian flagged down a server. "Where’s your boss?"

"The boss? Oh, he went to pick up his wife. He should be back any minute."

As if on cue, the front door pushed open, and the bell on the door chimed melodiously.

A bald man walked in, leading a pregnant woman by the hand. Judging by the size of her belly, she was quite far along; Wang Jian could tell at a glance that she was almost due. He didn’t recognize the woman, but the bald man looked familiar.

"Speak of the devil," Wang Jian said with a laugh to the two women. He didn’t rush to greet the man, simply adding, "That’s the owner."

As the bald man turned, he spotted Wang Jian. He looked startled for a second, then his face broke into a delighted grin. He said a few words to his wife and then led her straight toward their table.

The server, seeing the owner had returned, had already gone over and explained that Wang Jian’s party had been asking for him. The owner approached them with a wide smile. "Doctor Wang, long time no see! Ever since you graduated and became a doctor, you haven’t come by for a meal!"

After speaking, he glanced at Ren Yu and Cai Jun before guiding the pregnant woman next to him forward. "You probably haven’t met. This is my wife, Xiao Hu. If you were coming to eat, why didn’t you give me a heads-up on WeChat?"

Wang Jian also laughed. "I thought you’d be here. I had no idea you’d gotten married."

Changing the subject, he asked, "Did you two just come from a prenatal checkup? Why did you bring your wife to the restaurant? At this stage, it might be safer for her to be staying at the hospital."

With his sharp eye, Wang Jian could naturally assess the state of the pregnancy. All of Xiao Hu’s vital energy was concentrated in her abdomen, and the energy of the small life within was almost fully formed. It was clear the baby was coming soon. The owner wasn’t short on cash, so he would definitely be having frequent checkups at this point. Thus, Wang Jian was confident in his assessment. Still, if he and the owner weren’t old acquaintances, he wouldn’t have been so direct.