Xu Lan was the cashier of the state-owned Shanhai Hotel. Everyone in Shanhai knew about this hotel, and many units used it as a designated reception venue for various conferences and banquets. At that time, Shanhai people were proud to hold wedding banquets in this hotel.
As a symbol of an era, this place actually condenses a lot of memories. When Cheng Ran was young, his father had to go on business trips to the province for study and exchange, or to other cities for guidance, so he took Cheng Ran to the unit. At that time, she had something to do, so Cheng Ran was left alone to play. This kid jumped all over every corner of the fifth floor of the hotel from top to bottom.
At that time, Shanhai Hotel was one of the first units to install elevators. It was extremely new at that time. Cheng Ran rode the elevator up and down, causing many people to think that child labor was hired to operate the elevator.
The food in the hotel was also very good. There were always extra tables left over from banquet reservations. When the guests couldn't finish their meals, the number of tables that could be canceled was limited, so it became a benefit for the hotel employees. Cheng Ran could fill his mouth with delicious food, such as crystal pork elbow, assorted seafood, NMG roasted lamb leg... In short, he never went hungry and had plenty of food.
As a result, some of Xu Lan’s colleagues would joke every time they saw Cheng Ran coming, “Here to improve the food again… But Cheng Ran, no matter how much you eat, you are still so thin. Do your parents abuse you when they get home? You don’t eat good food at home…”
The hotel also has various departments, including catering, finance, administration, transaction management, settlement, warehousing and logistics... At that time, it was like a big family, and Cheng Ran was very familiar with it. Many old employees could be said to have watched Cheng Ran grow up. There were people who liked him, but there were also many who felt headacheed by him.
After Xu Lan arrived at the office, thinking about the results of the high school entrance examination that would be released today, she called first, but the line was occupied and had not been connected yet.
The hotel was holding a banquet, and Wang Jiao, the manager of the catering department, came over and asked Xu Lan to help. The hotel had just streamlined a group of waiters, and they, as internal employees, had to help out when things were busy. Moreover, Xu Lan and Wang Jiao had a good relationship, so she left the office immediately.
It was almost eleven o'clock when they finished their work. Xu Lan rubbed her shoulders, left the restaurant building and went to the office building. She went up to the second floor where the Finance Department and the General Manager's Office were located. In the corridor, she heard the voice of her colleague Yuan Chun from afar, "Hey! President Tong... Look at your Tiantian, she came here today to accompany her father... That's why they say daughters are caring little cotton-padded jackets. I don't know where my Yuanlei went during the holiday. I can't find him all day... If I had known that Tiantian you were here today, I would have talked to Yuanlei and asked him to come and play with you. You have such good grades... Let him learn from you, instead of going out to the Internet cafe to play games all day..."
Turning into the corridor, Xu Lan saw three people at the other end, her colleague Yuan Chun, general manager Tong Peng, and his daughter Tong Tian.
Yuan Chun is an accountant, and she is usually very calculating and shrewd. Just now, when Wang Jiao came to ask for help, Yuan Chun was out, but Xu Lan knew that she had played this trick countless times before, using various excuses to avoid going to the restaurant... In her words, she was hired to do the accounting, not to serve dishes.
General Manager Tong Peng is a very easy-going person. He is tall and people in the company sometimes give him a nickname, "Handsome Tong". He is good-looking and has good genes. His daughter Tong Tian is very pretty and pure.
He was one of Cheng Ran's playmates. She brought Cheng Ran to work before, so Cheng Ran and Tong Tian knew each other. However, that boy left a lot of bad impressions on the girl, like leading her through the dusty and greasy kitchen, teasing cats and dogs with bones... and even picking up old printing paper behind the abandoned bar. Tong Tian, wearing a beautiful skirt, didn't dare to go beyond the line, so naturally she couldn't do the things that a wild kid like Cheng Ran did.
For some reason, Tong Peng rarely let his daughter come to the company. He probably didn't want his daughter to be led astray by such a wild boy...
Thinking of this, Xu Lan felt guilty.
People say that family education sometimes has a profound impact on a child. Neither she nor Cheng Feiyang are rich. They are both people who work hard for life every day. Cheng Feiyang is too busy to take care of Cheng Ran, and the same is true for her. A semi-free-range child like Cheng Ran is not well brought up, let alone compared with Tong Tian, who has a wealthy family, even Yuan Chun's family cannot compare with him.
When Xu Lan came over, the three of them also saw her. Xu Lan greeted her, "Manager Tong."
Tong Peng nodded, and before he could give any instructions, Tong Tian next to him spoke up, "Hello, Aunt Xu!"
Xu Lan felt warm in her heart. It was true that Tong Tian was a different girl. Manager Tong had good upbringing and was very polite. She was always sweet and obedient to her father's subordinates like them.
"Tian Tian is here today... You have grown into a big girl... Why did you come to see your father today?"
"The results of the high school entrance examination are out. I just went out to buy something and didn't go home. I thought I would come to my dad to check the results." Tong Tian said lightly.
When Xu Lan heard about the high school entrance examination score check, she felt nervous. The score checking system was online, and the results were out... But Xu Lan seemed to be trapped in a quagmire, and her whole body suddenly felt much heavier. When she heard the busy tone of the score check before, she was actually deceiving herself and feeling relieved.
Yuan Chun quickly interrupted, "Tiantian scored 657 points! That's a great score! He'll definitely get into a high school with this score."
Tong Peng said with obvious humility, "It's hard to say, after all, the score line hasn't come out yet..."
"Oh! Mr. Tong, don't be so modest! Last year, the admission score for No. 1 High School was 640. This year it's about the same. Even if there are fluctuations, they won't be too big, just a few points up and down! Your Tiantian scored over 650! This is nearly 20 points higher than last year's admission score! Forget more than 20 points, 10 points is enough to open up a level!"
"Look at our Yuan Lei. He was ruined by playing basketball. He didn't focus on studying. He participated in basketball games every day, but he only scored 620! He almost dropped below 600! He definitely can't get into a key school. I calculated that he is 20 points short of No. 1 Middle School. I'm afraid he will have to pay more than 10,000 yuan in school selection fees! You guys are so carefree. You did so well in the exam!"
Yuan Chun praised endlessly with her eloquent speech.
Tong Peng nodded, "Playing basketball is good, boys should be more lively..." Needless to say, his daughter did well in the exam, although modesty is necessary, but at this time he is in a good mood, so it is said that a sedan chair is carried by people, even the most sober and humble people may not be able to withstand the boasting of your proud part. What he is proud of now is his daughter.
Yuan Chun suddenly turned around and said, "Oh, by the way, Xu Lan, how many points did your Cheng Ran get? I heard someone say that your Cheng Ran plans to go to No. 4 Middle School?"
Long before, some colleagues had asked her about Cheng Ran's academic performance. Xu Lan usually did not publicize Cheng Ran's real level to the public, but it was not good for everyone to know. That time, she had a quarrel with Cheng Feiyang. She came to the company, feeling anxious, and talked to several older sisters in the catering department, expressing her concerns about Cheng Ran's performance. Unexpectedly, this matter still reached the ears of Yuan Chun, a woman.
Yuan Chun is actually quite proud of her son. At work, you can hear her praising her son all the time, and her ears are so tired of it... Even though she is now scolding Tong Peng and Tong Tian for her son not doing well in the basketball exam, she is actually very happy that her son is good at basketball!
Yuan Lei and Tong Tian both grew up in the same courtyard of the hotel's staff quarters and were playmates. Yuan Chun also looked for various opportunities to bring his son and Tong Tian into contact.
It was probably because Xu Lan brought Cheng Ran to the unit and played with Tong Tian for a while, that Yuan Chun suddenly started to be wary of Xu Lan.
Even the fact that Tong Peng reduced the number of times his daughter came to the company might have been because Yuan Chun had whispered in his ear.
Now Yuan Chun suddenly brought up something that was not related to the topic. On the surface, he seemed to be concerned, but in fact, he was condescending and sarcastic.
Tong Tian scored 657 points, which Xu Lan could not even imagine, and was sure to be admitted to the senior high school of No. 1 Middle School. Yuan Chun's son Yuan Lei also scored 620 points, and was willing to pay a high price to attend No. 1 Middle School.
At this moment someone suddenly said, "Your Cheng Ran is planning to go to No. 4 Middle School." Xu Lan felt upset. What do you mean, woman
No. 4 Middle School is barely a second-class middle school. The best of the second-class middle schools is No. 2 Middle School, which had an admission score of 610 last year. No. 4 Middle School is the tallest among the short ones. Schools below No. 4 Middle School are not worth considering. Even so, the admission score of No. 4 Middle School last year was 580.
The fees below 580 are divided into five sections, and each section has a different price for school construction fees.
If the score is more than 40 points short, you won't be able to continue your studies even if you have 30,000 yuan.
580... If Cheng Ran could get into No. 4 Middle School, she would be relieved. He worked very hard in the few days before the high school entrance examination. Xu Lan saw it and hoped that Cheng Ran could work hard to achieve a miracle.
"I... haven't checked the scores yet."
Xu Lan felt very unconfident when she heard her own voice.
"Then check it out quickly! Oh, you, as a parent, why don't you hurry up with such an important matter... Check it out quickly to see if your child Cheng Ran can make it to the score line of No. 4 Middle School this time! Last year it was 580, right?" Yuan Chun's voice rose eight octaves, and he looked like an enthusiastic person who was scolding Xu Lan for being irresponsible.
With Yuan Chun leading the pace, Tong Peng also looked at Xu Lan.
Apparently this general manager is also very enthusiastic about this kind of thing now...
"You copied down your family member Cheng Ran's admission ticket number, right? Come on, come to the office... I'll help you make the call."
Yuan Chun dragged Xu Lan into the office without saying anything, picked up the desk phone and said, "You read and I'll dial!"
There was a moment when, seeing Yuan Chun's eager look, Xu Lan wanted to pick up the brick-like phone and smash it on her face.
But Tong Peng had already entered the room.
Tong Tian was also standing obediently by the side, probably wanting to know the results of Cheng Ran, whom she knew.
Xu Lan is now in a dilemma, her scalp tingling, and she is full of resentment and resentment. She is usually very strong-willed at work, and she will do what others say she can't do. She is usually stubborn... There is no other reason, she is just very concerned about her reputation.
But her son was a weak point. Compared with the 657 and 620 in front of her, her son's grades were very high. If they were far from the mark, losing face would be a small matter. She was afraid that Cheng Ran would not be able to get into No. 4 Middle School.
That would be a bolt from the blue and add insult to injury for the family.
But what can they do about it... Their family will have to bear the brunt of this.
Xu Lan took out the line of numbers on the manuscript, and Yuan Chun called the hotline, entered the admission ticket number, and pressed the buttons one by one.
The only sound in the air was the clicking of keys.
For a moment, Xu Lan felt that she heard the voice of fate's judgment.
"Well, I've finished entering... Why is the candidate number repeated? How annoying... Candidate name is Cheng Ran, yes, that's right." Yuan Chun muttered in a good mood, then pointed at the table, "Let me read it out for you to remember!"
Xu Lan hurriedly searched in her bag, her hands were tense, and she couldn't find the pen she had lost inside.
Tong Peng took out his pen from his pocket, Tong Tian took it, and then handed it over, "Aunt Xu."
Xu Lan took it and quickly spread out the manuscript.
Yuan Chun was already reading it over there, his voice was free and easy.
"math"
"One, one hundred... forty-six..."
…
"Um???"
Everybody has been urging me to write, but it's not that I don't want to write. I can only report to you that from the 13th to the 17th, Kaoyu was traveling outside and attending a friend's wedding. In order to ensure that there are updates every day, I can only write once!
What can I do? I am desperate...
To show that I am not lazy, I will post pictures of the wedding scene on WeChat platform when the time comes...