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Even though Xu Yino already helped Liu Banxia ask for leave on behalf of Qiaoqiao, Liu Banxia still needed to report his whereabouts to Qiaoqiao.

After all, it had been arranged to have a barbecue at home in the evening, and several people were waiting on him alone. If he were to be late, it wouldn't be right not to inform her.

Besides, Qiaoqiao didn't have high demands; she just needed to know what he was up to. She also knew Sister Wang well. If she weren't pregnant, she would have driven over to pay her respects.

At the end of the workday, the four of them gathered together and drove straight to the crematorium.

"Boss, maybe it's time for you to buy a car too," Liu Banxia said.

"Even if I buy one, I won't have much use for it, and it would cost a lot. I still have to pay off the mortgage on the house and save up for a wedding," Shi Lei replied.

"I see, you're waiting for the bride to bring a dowry, huh?" Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

"So, is the bride happy with the house decorations or not? If she's not, maybe you can see what can be changed. After all, it's a new house, you should be careful."

"Does it need altering? The new house is decorated quite well, and I can't even bear to live in it right now," Shi Lei said, a bit embarrassed.

"Have you shown it to her? Don't just be satisfied yourself; you need to think more carefully about it," Liu Banxia urged.

"Hmm..., I'll go check it out when I have some time off," Shi Lei replied.

"Sigh..., sometimes I think I'm quite blunt, never thought you're even more so than I am," Liu Banxia said helplessly.

"Whether changes are needed can be dealt with later. At the very least, you should show her, ask for her opinions, and make your stance clear."

"But from what Qiaoqiao said, the bride's personality is pretty good, overall she wouldn't want a lot of changes. At most, it's just small decorations in the house."

"Boss, you really need to pay attention. Is it easy to meet someone suitable? You're about to become an associate chief physician. In the future, you'll probably lecture at the medical college, and your income will increase a bit."

"Sometimes don't be too stingy with money, buy small gifts more often. Of course, this is what Sister Li taught me; usually, Qiaoqiao buys me small gifts."

Shi Lei rolled his eyes and said, "What's the point of showing off to me? Just drive properly."

"I'm being serious, you know. In the beginning, for a couple, looks and personality matter the most. But in time, looks become the least important," Liu Banxia said.

"Anyway, pay more attention. Even when work is busy, make time for video calls or buy little gifts — it's not about how much money you spend, but just making each other happy."

"Sigh..., you're stressing me out," Shi Lei said helplessly.

"Well, it's because you didn't work hard when you were young, so now you have to work twice as hard," Liu Banxia replied.

"When you seriously start discussing things, even if the dowry is a bit on the high side, it's not a big deal. If the money isn't enough, you can take it from me. I won't spend it randomly, just follow normal customs."

"Talking about this issue really worries me. I have to provide a dowry, jewelry, and rings, there seem to be other things too, right?" Shi Lei asked.

"It varies among people, but it seems there's indeed a common trend in the city," Liu Banxia said.

"Usually, it's three golds and one diamond. The dowry seems to be sixty to eighty thousand, or even more. We have the house, what we lack the most is probably a car."

"Of course, it depends on specific situations. The other family has just one daughter; there will be some level of competitiveness. It's not good to offer too little, and the dowry returned will probably be significant as well, used for your life together."

"Sigh..., I joked about it some time ago. But I didn't dare chime in, afraid of saying the wrong thing," Shi Lei said.

"You are truly giving me a headache. Hmm..., let me think. Maybe I've ignored a problem. Did you disclose your financial situation to them early on?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Yes, it's best to be upfront early on. I'm not wealthy. If she feels my financial condition is acceptable, we can be together; otherwise, it's a waste of everyone's time and money," Shi Lei stated with confidence.

Liu Banxia could only laugh and cry, "That's not exactly how you explain things. Being open doesn't mean laying everything out blatantly; she might even think you are showing off or that you don't have much to offer."

"But no worries, it seems she truly accepts you. Otherwise, things wouldn't have progressed. It's good. I'll ask Qiaoqiao to subtly gauge her thoughts on the dowry if you really plan to get married in the future."

"Also, don't forget what I just told you. Little gifts, little romantic gestures are necessary. You're not getting any younger; hurry up and marry, and have kids."

"In our line of work, I suspect the older we get, the busier we'll be. By then, you'll need to manage a family and children. Don't you think you should speed up a little?"

"Yeah, you're not just babbling," Shi Lei nodded.

"Even if I'm babbling, it wouldn't be about this. Don't think that just because the girl accepted you, you can disregard your appearance. Clean up when you go on dates," Liu Banxia advised.

"Women doll themselves up for those who appreciate them; men can do the same. What era is it now? Women can not only support half the sky, they can handle the majority too."

"When you go out to eat or have fun, if you don't tidy yourself up properly, it's hard to justify it. So you have to make an effort, understood?"

"You talk a good game, but where were you before?" Shi Lei retorted.

"Uh... well, wasn't I busy? I was struggling for survival, what's the gossip about? Which hall is Sister Wang's elderly mother's memorial in?" Liu Banxia asked.

Maybe Shi Lei hit a sore spot for him; in this area, he really isn't all that capable. You see him talk so confidently, but that's him talking.

When he's with Qiaoqiao, it's always Qiaoqiao pampering him.

"Hall number six," Shi Lei said, looking at his phone.

Liu Banxia turned the steering wheel and parked in the parking lot.

"Hall number six," Liu Banxia said as he got out of the car.

"Is it the one up ahead? It's quite close to the parking lot, but it seems a bit small," Chen Xuehai commented.

"I asked the director, and the director said Sister Wang didn't want it to be too a big deal; she didn't even want us to come," Liu Banxia said.

Chen Xuehai nodded.

"Oh, why did you all come over?"

Seeing Liu Banxia and the others walk in, Sister Wang quickly stood up from resting on the side.

"Sister Wang, let's pay our respects to the elderly lady first, then we'll talk," Liu Banxia said.

Despite being the youngest and least experienced, Liu Banxia was vaguely the leader among the four. Neither Sister Wang, Shi Lei, Wang Lei, nor Chen Xuehai found anything wrong with it.

This was partly thanks to Liu Banxia's extensive inpatient experience; the three of them preferred not to stress about it.

After the person at the side announced the ceremony, Liu Banxia and the others finished bowing and then followed Sister Wang to the side.

"Old Ma, let me introduce you. They're all good kids from our hospital, Liu Banxia and Chen Xuehai, both about to become deputy directors at the emergency center. Shi Lei and Wang Lei are also about to be promoted to deputy attending physicians," Sister Wang introduced.

"Thanks for your hard work, the hospital job is so exhausting, did you come straight from work? Rest a bit. Have you eaten? Why not grab something at the side first?" Sister Wang's husband, Old Ma, warmly greeted them.

"We've already eaten before coming; we're all family here. Sister Wang takes good care of us young folks at the hospital, we had to come over and see," Liu Banxia replied.

"Ah... I just worry about you running around, I even told Chief Director Zhou not to let anyone come over," Sister Wang sighed.

"You don't have to worry, if we don't come, we'd feel guilty," Shi Lei said.

"But we have work on the day after tomorrow for the funeral, only Banxia is off, so he'll represent us. If there's anything that needs to be done, just instruct him directly."

"No need, it's hard enough to have a day off, just relax at home. There's nothing much on our side, after cremation, we go straight to the countryside to bury," Sister Wang said.

"That's fine, I'll bring over my seven-seater car then, it can help carry more people," Liu Banxia said.

"Qiaoqiao was even mentioning it on the way here; she wanted to come. She said whatever happens here, I must make sure to handle it well; this is the highest order from our family's leader."

"Being pregnant, definitely not letting Qiaoqiao go through the hassle," Wang Ying said.

"Lily even called me today, I told her to stay at home and not come over to mess around. The emergency center is so busy, having the intention is enough."

"Especially you, Wang Lei, with how busy the anesthesiology department is, there's hardly enough time to rest. You made a point to come all the way here, quite a distance."

"It's also an order from our family leader; it was a fortunate coincidence today, teaming up with Banxia for surgery, so I could make it off on time. Then we planned it during dinner and came straight over," Wang Lei said.

"Okay, you've seen it, now I'm starting to send you away, go home and rest properly," Wang Ying said.

"Alright, we'll stop bothering Sister Wang," Chen Xuehai glanced at the people coming in at the entrance and said.

They understood Wang Ying, dismissing them was for their benefit, urging them to hurry home and rest. Besides, many people were coming to pay respects after work, and it was indeed quite crowded now.

Everyone was very close, not just there to show face.

Even though the emergency center only had the four of them present, they represented the backbone of the center. Wang Ying was touched in her heart, rushing here right after work.

This was camaraderie, and she naturally knew how difficult the surgery they managed together was, and how exhausting it must have been afterward.