Chapter 34: This is the situation in my family

Attend the meeting at work.

Before the meeting, her calculation plan had been sent to the various responsible persons and the chief engineer, and Dr. Chen from the same group and his unit and the dean were called in to review it. She felt bloated and kept slumping towards the chair, probably because she drank too much water before coming in.

"If it doesn't have a big impact, we'll just listen to the French. If there's a problem with the change, we'll be fully responsible and won't be able to explain ourselves."

"It's not enough for us to just have a meeting. We need to bring their engineers along. This is a huge matter..."

The murmurs of the crowd's discussion filled her ears, a clear refusal to take responsibility, buzzing like flies. Li Wenjing felt the urge to yell at them, but she pinched her fingers to calm herself. Before the meeting, she checked her phone one last time. Gu Weiyi had sent her a message of encouragement: "Keep it up!" She wondered if, after spending time with him, she had become a bit of a madwoman, constantly irritable and looking for a fight. Her parents, both from the countryside, had no idea how to educate their children. Their constant refrain was, "Girls need to be obedient and quiet, or they won't be able to get married."

Quiet and obedient—they only taught her, her younger brother, and they were always extra tolerant.

"Sister, Qingqing is pregnant."

She received a call from Wenjun. She had just finished overtime and Gu Weiyi came to pick her up. These days, the two of them often dated and went to a barbecue bar near their home for a midnight snack before going home.

"She had an abortion... We went to her house to apologize, and her parents asked me to tell you that I should take her on a trip during the winter break, otherwise her parents will scold me..."

Li Wenjing ordered a whiskey for the first time ever, but Gu Weiyi stopped her. She had a report tomorrow and asked not to get too drunk. Li Wenjing shook her head, speechless. Suddenly, she felt her strength dissipate into thin air, everything empty, only the breath she held in her heart. The more Gu Weiyi tried to stop her, the more she wanted to drink. She took a gulp of the wine, and her mouth was bitter and spicy. She wanted to yell, to scream, to spit out all the bitterness in her heart.

Gu Weiyi snatched the wine and drank a large glass of wine from the cup she had drunk from. He was not used to strong liquor, and just after taking a big sip, his cheeks swelled up like waves. Li Wenjing patted his back, and he really couldn't help it, and spit out tears and wine together. Seeing him like this, Li Wenjing was stunned at first, then smiled bitterly and patted his back.

"Don't force yourself to drink if you don't know how to drink."

Li Wenjing took out a cigarette from her bag, glanced at him and motioned to go out to smoke. Just as she lit the cigarette, he followed her with her bag.

“That’s the situation in my family.”

When she answered the phone just now, Li Wenjing did not deliberately avoid her. He knew a little about the family affairs, and he told her his most private secrets. In front of him, Li Wenjing did not want to hide anything. Developing a relationship will eventually reach this point, so there is no need to hide anything and be honest with each other.

"You envy my dad for being so good to me, but I envy your parents and brother even more for having such a good family like you."

Li Wenjing took a deep puff, but her mind was not on the cigarette. She started coughing. This time, Gu Weiyi patted her on the back. He didn't smoke. Li Wenjing simply put out the cigarette. A few wisps of smoke passed through her fingers and floated onto Gu Weiyi's face.

"I'm really tired and don't want to say anything more to him. I'll transfer the money. It's not for my brother, but for his girlfriend. She's from the same county as us and is a very quiet girl..." Li Wenjing said, "Her parents also found out and came to my house to make a scene. We have to take responsibility for this."

"It's your brother who's responsible, not you," he said. "Psychologically speaking, if parents treat their children badly, the children will actually feel indebted. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I really don't know," Li Wenjing leaned against the wall. "Apart from making money, what else can I do? My mom has cervical cancer and needs chemotherapy again, and my brother is still so naive."

"You care too much about him, and he won't grow up," Gu Weiyi said. "Is just giving money good for your family?"

"What else?"

"You haven't been home for a long time, haven't you? People need to communicate and care about each other, especially families."

Li Wenjing was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly against the wall. He asked drunkenly, "Communicate? You want me to communicate? What about you? How many times have you communicated with your dad? You can't even do it yourself when you can advise others so clearly!"

When Gustav was mentioned, Gu Weiyi also laughed angrily, "My dad, who knows?"

"This is the situation. If you can't handle your family affairs, I can't handle mine either. Let's not blame each other."

"At least you dealt with my dad."

"Your dad hasn't finished it yet. Compared to what's going on in the project, your issues are nothing."

"Wenjing, Wenjing..."

Dr. Chen had finished his presentation and called Li Wenjing twice before she finally realized what was happening. Dr. Chen pushed the tea towards her, assuming she was nervous and reminding her to drink some water. Li Wenjing came to her senses. Everyone at the table was looking at her. She rubbed the headache that still lingered from yesterday's drinking. The content of the meeting had been nothing but repetitive talk, and she was tired of it. Whether the plan was reasonable was another matter; it was simply a question of who would bear the responsibility.

"Dear leaders and bosses, Dr. Chen has already explained the specific theoretical basis for the foundation modification plan. I was the one who proposed this matter. I will also go to communicate with the French engineers."

The dean said, "It's mainly the French attitude. We've talked our mouths off, but they can't ignore us. Anyway, we've done everything we can. You're still young, and these things won't be easy to deal with. Don't worry, we'll discuss it with them at the next meeting."

"Chinese railways built in Africa can use Chinese standards, but foundations built using EU standards still depend on who's willing to help them. I know that engineering issues have nothing to do with EU or Chinese standards; it's a question of discourse power," said Li Wenjing. "My teacher once said, 'Don't be fixated on rigid standards; they're fluid.' Numbers are static, but people are dynamic. The average mortality rate in Africa's construction industry is 20%—1 is 1, 2 is 2. I didn't realize it when I was in college, but now I understand that a single number, a single coefficient, can impact lives. I won't ignore it just because France treats me poorly or looks down on me. I..."

"I'm the best at dealing with being looked down upon. Chinese people are looked down upon. When I chose to be an engineer, I was often looked down upon. If I can do well, then Chinese people can do well too."

The conference table fell silent. Actually, the last sentence was unnecessary, as it seemed too deliberately sentimental. It was just that yesterday's drinking still left a bitter taste in her mouth, and Li Wenjing was just letting out all that resentment.

"Then I won't waste any more time. I'll go find the French now. Thank you all for coming to listen to my report."

Li Wenjing bowed, sorted out the documents and walked out of the office. Applause came from behind her, like the sea lapping against the shore, continuously reaching her ears. She did not look back and went straight to the underground garage. She called Yu Di and asked her to accompany her to communicate with Pierre.