141 – Relatives

Li Jun returned home to an apartment that he shared with his parents. “Mom, I think I saw Cousin Yun here in Imperial City.”

“What is that brat doing here?” asked Li Nan, Li Jun's mother. “He’s in town, and he’s not going to visit us?”

“I’ll give him a call," said Li Chao, the father, as he whipped out his phone from a fancy holster. "Sari, call Little Yun."

"Calling Little Yun," the mechanical female voice responded.

Li Chao waited for the phone to ring.

“Uncle Chao?” Li Yun’s voice could be heard over the phone. “How are you?”

“Hey Little Yun! Heard you’re in town, why haven’t you visited!?” Li Chao yelled out over the phone in his usual voice. He always sounded like he was screaming at someone.

“I was busy for a few days, are you still in the same apartment? I’ll stop by after finishing up.”

“Sure, sure! But we moved to a new apartment last year, I’ll send you the address.”

Li Yun put away his phone, and waited for the auction house to start bidding. He still has 5% of his energy left. He would rather spend it all auction hopping, but since his uncle had already figured out he was here, it was better to pay them a visit.

Taking the taxi ride, Li Yun arrived in a middle class neighborhood, located on the 3rd ring of Imperial City. 

Imperial City was surrounded by five major roadways known as the rings. Outside of the fifth ring was the cheapest available real estate, and inside the first ring was the most expensive.

His uncle owned a restaurant, and it had been booming in the past few years. His son Li Jun worked for the General Administration of Quality. Although it wasn’t the highest paying job, it had good upward mobility and many potential connections.

Li Yun hadn’t seen them since his paternal grandfather passed away almost 20 years ago. He was surprised Li Jun had even recognized him.

His father and mother visited them in Imperial City once before for Li Jun’s wedding, and they may have shown them his pictures in a match matching scheme.

From his mom’s constant complaints, he knew that his uncle and his family were always much more focused on building wealth. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong about it. Many people wanted to build wealth, but were either unmotivated or lacked ambition.

“Ah! Little Yun! Come on in!” Li Chao pulled Li Yun inside, and they chatted around the dining table as Li Nan and their daughter-in law Rong prepared dinner.

“Little  Yun, you know we live here, and we have an extra room, why do you have to be a stranger?” his uncle scolded him. “You know how expensive it is to stay here? You should be saving up for marriage!”

Li Yun nodded. “It’s not a problem uncle, I didn’t want to inconvenience you and I’m only staying for a short while.”

“I heard your mom said you’re training to be a surgeon?” asked Li Jun. “Are you here for training or exhibition?”

Li Yun felt a bit awkward. His family didn’t even know he was in Imperial City.

“I took time off to check on a friend,” siad Li Yun. “I’m staying with his family.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you had friends in Imperial City. Why don’t you relocate here to work?” Li Jun asked. “You’ll have a lot better pay.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I would never guess a little brat like you would become a surgeon!” Li Chao laughed. “It must be tough work though.”

“Yeah, I heard it’s pretty exhausting. Why don’t you come work for the Ministry of Health?” Li Jun suggested again.

Li Yun understood it was just lip service. A lot of families liked to boast about where the city they lived in.

Li Nan and Rong both sat down after setting up the roasted duck, lettuce, and rice.

“So we have a doctor in the family, isn’t that convenient?” Li Nan gave Li Yun his bowl and chopsticks. “Do you have any advice for your uncle? He’s constantly complaining to me about his stomach after eating my food.”

Li Yun returned her a smile. 

The family was overall healthy. There were minor ailments that everyone suffered from. Both his uncle and cousin enjoyed drinking parties, so it was common for them to have aches and pain. Even if he told them to drink moderately, they wouldn’t listen.

Amongst Li Yun’s group of friends, they would gather and drink, although it was often exaggerated. Bufu, despite having a high tolerance, wouldn’t drink beyond his capacity, but always acted like he was drunk. Bu Tao and Fatty rarely ever drink heavily. Ersan and Ju De were both light weights who drank light beer.

“It’s the same old advice, eat, sleep, and exercise,” Li Yun replied. “Don’t drink or smoke too much.”

Everyone laughed, typical doctor’s advice everyone had heard over and over again. 

There really weren't any secrets to healthy living and a longer life. Some people were lazy, but could spend hours searching the internet for secret cure-all remedies or paying an exuberant amount for 1,000 years old ginseng.

“The last I heard, you were dating a teacher?” asked Li Nan. “When is the wedding?”

“I’m seeing someone else, and I’m waiting for her to graduate.” 

Li Nan nodded. “If you’re in town again, you should definitely introduce us. You know what’s even better, have your wedding in Imperial City. Did your parents show you pictures? Xiao Jun and Rong's reception was in our restaurant. It’s quite roomy and can fit up to 750 people.”

The more marriage was discussed, the more Li Yun felt that marriage was a much more difficult ordeal than any surgical plan and prescription formula. He heard Fatty Fang complaining about it before, but he didn’t think he would have to be a part of the planning, and he wasn’t even engaged!

“We are planning to look for another property to open a restaurant,” said Li Chao. “But handling one is already very difficult. If your parents ever plan to move here, managing the restaurant is a lot easier than working in the factory.”

“Dad enjoys any type of work, so he doesn’t want to stop working," Li Yun replied. "And mom likes taking care of the apartment.”

Li Chao sighed. “I guess different people have different walks of life. But you’re still young, so you should try to think about your future and try to accomplish more things.”

It was a typical family discussion.

When he got back to his accommodations, his mother called him about his trip, wondering why he was in Imperial City. 

After explaining his situation, Lu Suyin looked to husband. “I feel like Xiao Yun is keeping things from us.”

“He has been like that since high school,” replied Li Fan. “He’s grown up now, and even has his own place; we are quite lucky to have a good son.”

“I know, but remember when he used to tell us everything about his missions?”

“Isn’t it good that he has grown out of it?”

“You honestly believe that?”

Li Fan was also worried about Li Yun’s obsession with completing his missions. When Li Yun stopped talking to them about it, he sensed it was because he didn’t want them to worry.

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with his regular life, it should be fine.“

chocomug

There are six rings in Beijing, but this is Imperial City, totally fictional capital city..