Huo Jinghao and Ye Yuting cooked lunch while Wen Liang and Zuo Jing sat in the living room chatting. Zuo Yuxi, a lazy man who never did housework and had no knowledge of cooking, naturally sat on the sofa beside them and listened, occasionally interjecting a few words, which not only eased the tense atmosphere of the first meeting, but also allowed the two most important men in their lives to get to know each other better.
Once upon a time, a scene that could only occasionally appear in dreams actually appeared before her eyes. If she hadn't been following Wen Liang's footsteps closely, even she would have found it a little unbelievable:
He and he really sat face to face, chatting and laughing together!
…
"How are your grades in school?"
"Thanks to Director Zuo, I helped to cheat twice, so I was able to deal with it."
Zuo Jing was stunned at first, seeing his daughter, who was always cold and calm and never polite to anyone, pick up a pillow and throw it at Wen Liang out of shame. He thought his daughter's expression at that moment would never appear on his daughter, so he laughed and said, "It's not about trivial matters when it comes to big things. It's a good idea to use this method to avoid criticism from the school."
Wen Liang took the pillow and gently placed it behind him. Without even looking at Zuo Yuxi, he smiled and said, "Secretary Zuo is far-sighted. If my father heard this, he would have hit me with a wooden stick a long time ago."
Zuo Jing deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Why are you still calling me Secretary Zuo?"
Wen Liang went with the flow and said respectfully, "Uncle Zuo!"
"That's right. Your father and I have been colleagues for many years. You and Yuxi are friends. Yuting is also your head teacher. So we are all not strangers. I am worthy of being called uncle!"
…
Hearing the laughter coming from the living room, Ye Yuting and Huo Jinghao in the kitchen turned their heads at the same time and smiled at each other. Huo Jinghao sighed, "It's better for you to come back, otherwise this house is cold all day long, without any vitality. Sometimes when I come home from get off work, your father is not here, and there is really no one to talk to."
She paused and said softly, "Yuting, what have you thought about the matter I told you during the New Year? Do you want to come to Lingyang to work? I am really worried about you being alone in Qingzhou."
Ye Yuting picked celery and said with a smile: "Mom, I am not alone, don't I still have Yuxi?"
"Then let Yuxi come over too. I don't trust either of you..."
"Mom, it's easy for me to say that if I come to Lingyang, I can just be like you and become a teacher at No. 1 Middle School. But what about Yuxi? What about her job? We can't let Dad dismiss the current director of the Lingyang Education Bureau and then let Yuxi usurp the throne, right?"
Huo Jinghao picked up the cleanly picked celery and hit Ye Yuting on the head, saying, "What's the matter with plotting to usurp the throne? That's so ugly. If you don't want to be a director, you can be a deputy director. Anyway, the rank is the same, so there's no difference."
Ye Yuting stuck out her tongue and said, "Your political sensitivity is not as good as mine. Although Qingzhou is a prefecture-level city, Yuxi is the top leader after all. The top leader can do whatever he wants, but the second and third leaders can only look at other people's faces and have to take the blame when something goes wrong. With Yuxi's personality, I don't think you can convince her."
Huo Jing thought about it, walked to the kitchen door, and shouted to the living room: "Yuxi, come and help."
Zuo Yuxi asked curiously: "Mom, don't you always dislike me being in the way? Why are you willing to let me go to the kitchen today?"
Since meeting Wen Liang, Zuo Yuxi's eloquence has become more and more like a venomous snake. Dou Jinghao choked and scolded: "Come if I tell you to, hurry up!"
Zuo Yuxi glanced at the two men beside her, and made sure that they would not be unhappy even if she left, so she went to the kitchen with peace of mind. After entering, she took a washed cucumber and took a crisp bite, but Huo Jinghao took it away directly, complaining: "You are so stingy, you won't even let me eat a cucumber?"
Ye Yuting laughed beside her and said, "Mom is going to interrogate you, how dare you eat it?"
Dou Jinghao glared at her, and Ye Yuting raised her hands in surrender, hiding far away and said, "You guys chat, you guys chat, I'll go cook!"
"Mom, what's going on? Why are you so serious?"
"I've discussed this with your father and want you and Yuting to come to Lingyang to work. What do you think?"
Zuo Yuxi burst out laughing and said, "Don't use Dad to scare me. First of all, Dad will never transfer my job at this time. Second, I won't listen to you, so this topic can be put aside for the time being..."
Ye Yuting poured oil into the pot and turned back to agree, "Put it aside, put aside the dispute, and cook quickly. Yuxi, go get me the cooking wine."
"OK!"
Dou Jinghao lost her temper because of her two daughters singing the same tune. She held Zuo Yuxi's hand to prevent her from running away and asked, "This is indeed my idea. I haven't communicated with your father yet. But why can't you think about it? You have to give me a reason, right?"
"Mom, let me tell you this. If you want to have a good development in the officialdom, the experience of being the top leader is indispensable. If I hadn't been lucky, it would have been difficult for me to become the director of the Municipal Bureau at this age. Now that I have the opportunity to be ahead of others, I must firmly grasp it in my own hands. If I can finish this term steadily, then by then, whether I come to Lingyang or go to the province, I will definitely be at the level of deputy director. According to your arrangement, how would I be arranged in Lingyang? I would just find a deputy position in a bureau committee and it would be difficult to have the opportunity to be promoted to the next level unless someone else vacates the position. Time would be wasted in vain."
Zuo Yuxi hugged Huo Jinghao's arm and said, "Mom, don't you think about it? How many five years does your daughter have to waste?"
Huo Jinghao said helplessly: "I don't know how I taught you such a hobby. Girls can do any job they want. Wouldn't it be great for Yuting to be a teacher? Why do you have to hang out in places like the officialdom..."
Huo Jinghao was easily dealt with. Zuo Yuxi put the cooking wine next to the stove, and then high-fived Ye Yuting. Huo Jinghao looked at her two daughters who were laughing so hard that they fell backwards, and a peaceful smile gradually appeared on her face. Not only did they let go of their worries, but they were also closer than before. Nothing could make her feel happier and happier than this.
That's enough!
In the living room, Wen Liang and Zuo Jing's conversation was getting better. Zuo Jing never mentioned Bencao Ruolan, but slowly led the topic to Wen Huaiming, as if he was more interested in this person than introducing an investment project.
"… Qingzhou's national reform and grain reform are both progressing, and Huaiming has a heavy burden. If there are any problems that the city cannot solve, he can raise them with the province. After all, this is not just a matter for Qingzhou, but also related to the overall reform of the entire Jiangdong Province…" (To be continued)