A very heart-warming story with a cute couple.
Summary: Zhan Aiping did not understand why she was reborn, to be honest she did not have any regrets, even if her life was bumpy. Her ex-husband happened to be a scum, her children inherited their father's unscrupulous means and when Zhan Aiping sent him to prison they left her one by one. She was in a slump of her life, this is when she met her old friend, childhood sweetheart, Gu Sheng, they grew up together and knew each other since childhood, but who knew their meeting at this advanced age was so fateful and they fell in love and got married. They lived like rivals when they were children, but now her old man Gu managed to heal her heart and make her happy. Now she is reborn before the marriage and she may not cancel the marriage, but she will definitely change the groom.
Gu Sheng loved Zhan Aiping for a long time when suddenly he got an offer from the girl he liked to get married.
Although I don't usually read setting in the 70-80'ss, but this one is a calm and cute family novel. Although I accept the fact that I read it dioganally not to get too bored.
You could say the obstacle in the face of ex-husband is not an obstacle at all, Zhan Aiping got rid off of him pretty soon, the reason why she was led astray was simple, she grew up in a household where her mother was a female soldier and was very demanding, not like a mother but more like a leader that puts pressure on their children, her father remarried to a new woman after their mother's death and with new stepmom you'll get a stepdad, she lacked family love but she also had high demands due to her upbringing, she had amazing scores in medical school and was a close student to a professor, but then she met with her first life and death situation in life and it broke her mentality. She quite being a military doctor and became a teacher under the soft quidance of her fiance. In her previous life she quit many things to be a housewife and a promising surgeon lost its' former glory, but little did she know that her husband had a child prior to the marriage and concealed the fact, but did not think it was a big deal and asked her to accept the child years later when she found about it.
Now she could make up for years that she missed her old husband Gu.
Zhan Aiping also wants to follow him to southern province and she became a doctor at a local small hospital. You could say she's starting at grassroots. But now that years passed and she's not a little girl anymore she is filled with a baggage of knowledge and she can bring many benefits to those who surround her.
Her life with Gu Sheng is a truly happy life, he indeed liked her, but did not confess and everyone around them were doubtful about their future married life, one switched partner too son and another agreed to marry this quick. But the married life was filled with nothing but sweetness. Gu Sheng is loving and caring, thoughtful and can be a good friend along being a good husband. They're truly a great match. She loved her Gu Sheng for who he is.
The novel is mostly their life in teh family compond and their slow steps towards the future. There are a lot of characters, thus I'd say it's like slice-of-life and a family novel. So many characters.
Zhan Aiping's family:
Zhan Bo - father
Aunt Zhu, Zhu Jiaorong - second wife, always wants to get rid off children from the first wife, brought her daughter into this marriage
Zhan Mingzhao - Aiping's biological younger brother, he left for the art troupe earlier than her leaving the house to another provine
Zhan Aijia - step-sister, always envious of Aiping's beauty and success, but also nto very smart. To compete with her sister for men she found a man older than her with three sons to be a stepmom, thinking she will have a great life :)
Zhan Mingkang - youngest son of this marriage
Gu Sheng's family (they're a mixed family, like military, art etc.):
Gu Ze'an - father
Qin Ying - mother
1st child - the eldest, lives away he's in politics
2nd and 3rd are twins - soldier and navy
4th son is into art (yes I don't bother to name everyone)
daughter Gu Xiangyi - came to southern province to work in the city hospital to become more independent
Gu Sheng is the youngest in the family.
Gu Sheng's and Aiping's children:
Gu Chen and Gu Yuan - brother and sister twins born in the first year of marriage, born beautiful and well-behaved.
Family compound:
Shen Liqing and Wang Youli, young couple that came a bit later than Gu Sheng and Aiping, they've been pen pals and liked each other later, Liqing is like a salted fish, lives in her fantasies about pastoral life, but she is very positive. They managed to get pregnant along with others.
Jiang Rui and Qin Lanfang, one is commander working with Gu Sheng and another is a sister to Qin Yanfang, who works as a nurse with Zhan Aiping. Lanfang had a bad leg and was fixed by Aiping, Aiping was also their matchmaker, because Captain Jiang liked Lanfang for years. They also got pregnant along with Liqing and others.
He Lingling and Xie Shu, were neighbors of Zhan and Gu before moving, loving but quarreling couple. Became better when she got pregnant along with others. Has little connection with Aiping. But her husband was one of several men who copied Gu Sheng's work of "how to take care of your wife".
Director Li, Li Yuxia, she works as women's representative who mediates between couples and such. Actually, was the first to get pregnant in the chain of happy events. But she is advanced in age, so she doubted Aiping in her diagnosis, so when it was confirmed she felt ashamed.
Hospital (township health center to be exact):
Dean Hao
Dr. Zhou, barefoor doctor who was responsible for Chinese medicine and orthopedics before Aiping came along. Married to his wife Meng Xiaoyun. He's an older doctor.
Qin Yanfang, works as an accountant. She actually had an upcoming marriage, but because her fiance's family wanted to marry her sister to a fool she broke up the relationship decisively, later they were bickering with Dr. Zhao a lot and eventually got married. Aiping was right about the two.
Dr. Zhao, new doctor of gastroenterology, but was poisoned on the first day of work because he likes wild mushrooms. This became a meme, at first he wanted to tranfer due to shame, but then stayed and even had frienemies relationship with Qin Yanfang, which led to marriage.
Zhu Hui, became a nurse and works to become anesthesiologist in their growing hospital. Was married to a soldier named Luo, but divorced when she found out that her mother-in-law covered up a cheating scandal between her youngest son and the first daughter-in-law and brought two children, who were supposed to be Captain Luo's biological sons, but were actually his nephews. Although Luo was not aware, but Zhu Hui still got divorced to live a happier life.
Professor Sun and his wife Qi Shuwan, Aiping was his student, but she was ashamed to appear in front of her teacher, they changed their relationship and accepted each other as godparents. Now that she's not in the army it won't raise suspicions.
It's not a pastoral life, but Zhan Aiping came to this small hospital and knew she can bring changes, this is the time when people lacked knowledge, hospitals lacked talents, there was a lot to do. She wasn't in a hurry, step by step along the way she promoted scientific knowledge as means to dispell rumors about herself. She published collection of stories she created to enlighten people in the village. She also worked on her own book to make her knowledge about surgery available. She agreed to have lectures in the local medical school.
With her help their small hospital also grew and expanded little by little.
Their small couple was an example for others how to live and how to bring up their children, especially when the whole compound became pregnant one after another. It's a small bessing that he knowledge she accumulated for years now can be applied to those in need.
As for the relationship it actually wasn't as sweet as some imagine, it's a sweet bickering, they can be open-minded towards each other, make jokes, feel fun, so it's all still sweet but not stale.
The way the family compound and hospital people got along actually reminded me of the old days, people weren't so preoccupied about their future partners, no one had so many things on their minds, life was simpler and married life too. Things have changed a lot, of course it was inevitable for things to change, this is why everything about marriage and partners is not so free-wheeling.
But the rest of people I can do without. Like it's fun to watch people "competing" in moderation in good humor, but at other times people simply like to show off how well someone is married off or who is smarter or who is better, which is tiresome and sometimes even hateful and stupid. This type of mentality is alien to me, this constant show off. Imagine someone lost their child, for example, and another person shows off children and grandchildren. Just an example that it's not humane.
RATE: 3/5. If you like the novel you won't mind the length and occasional people who want to compare this and that, then you will like it, but if it gets on your nerve then it will feel long.
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