Seeing her like this, Zhou Mingli knew that Jiang Ci was being mischievous.
Cheng Huasheng and Li Ailian both came to their house to invite them, and since they were both free anyway, they agreed.
So the two families didn't ride bicycles, but took their three children to take the bus instead.
There's a bus line from the newspaper office's staff quarters to the Forbidden City; the four adults only had to pay four cents to get there.
This is much easier than if they had ridden their bicycles there.
There were quite a few people visiting the Forbidden City today, since it was the weekend and the bus routes to the Forbidden City were very popular. Luckily, the bus stop was not far from the starting station, so we were able to grab a seat.
Li Ailian asked Zhou Mingli if his family had prepared winter vegetables and coal briquettes, while Cheng Huasheng told Jiang Ci about her work.
"Actually, when we invited you to Beijing, apart from Zhou Mingli's job being arranged, Ailian and I were most worried about your job."
Cheng Huasheng made it clear, "I don't need to say it, Mingli and you both understand that you are a very capable person. If I just arrange for you to do an ordinary worker's job, it will save me trouble, but it won't be suitable for you."
"That's why I'm so conflicted and don't know what to do."
"You went to the Huo family with my father last week, so you must have met Hawkins and Mr. Huo, right?"
Jiang Ci nodded, "Yes, I did. Mr. Huo even gave Mr. Cheng and me a fish each."
“Hobans works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He highly praised your spoken English and was going to recommend you there, but…” Cheng Huasheng hesitated, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs only accepts graduates from worker-peasant-soldier universities at the very least, not to mention students returning from abroad. They are already more competitive, so Hobens’ recommendation of you might be somewhat…”
Insufficient educational background.
Although a high school education is considered a high level of education now, there are still worker-peasant-soldier universities, and even more ambitious young people who rushed back from abroad upon hearing the news.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for external affairs, not internal affairs, and therefore has stricter requirements for academic qualifications, as well as for foreign language proficiency, oral communication skills, and written expression.
Because Jiangci's educational qualifications were insufficient, he was initially excluded from the program.
After not receiving any interview results, Jiang Ci knew that her interview had been a waste of time.
Hobbens couldn't help her get a job. The young man was very shy and embarrassed to see Jiang Ci, afraid of disappointing her. So he asked Mr. Hobbens to convey his message to Cheng Yehan.
Old Mr. Huo was so angry he wanted to beat his grandson to death, but seeing his cowardly appearance, he had no choice but to go to Cheng Yehan.
Cheng Yehan was also very frustrated.
He really liked Jiang Ci, and he recommended her to the Huo family because he thought they were old friends and might be able to help.
Mr. Huo and Mr. Hobbens also liked Jiang Ci's appearance, but...
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn't want her, so Cheng Yehan can't just barge in and force them to accept Jiang Ci, can she?
He hesitated at home for a few days. It was only when Cheng Huasheng took his wife and daughter to the Zhou family to invite them to visit the Forbidden City that he asked Cheng Huasheng to help convey these words.
Cheng Huasheng was extremely worried.
Jiang Ci is too capable, making it difficult to assign her work. This is another blow to her, and Cheng Huasheng also feels embarrassed.
Jiang Ci was very nonchalant. "It's also because my own abilities haven't reached that level. There's an old saying that goes, 'Good wine needs no bush.' My wine hasn't been smelled, which means it's obviously not brewed well enough."
"If I can't do this, I can still do that, right?"
Seeing that there was no disappointment or indignation in her eyes, Cheng Huasheng felt relieved, but also secretly admired Jiang Ci.
If he had her magnanimity, he wouldn't have gotten so caught up in this issue, only managing to exonerate his father through that small group more than a decade later.
“Jiang Ci, with your ambition, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.” After saying this, Cheng Huasheng had a sudden thought and said, “Jiang Ci, how about I recommend you to attend the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University? Once you graduate, going to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be a natural progression.”
With Jiang Ci's abilities, Cheng Huasheng felt that once she entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, her career would definitely not stop at being just a low-level employee.
Jiang Ci silently thought to herself: The college entrance examination starts next year. I can properly study at Peking University and Washington University. Why do I still need to go to this worker-peasant-soldier university?
By the time she graduates, the first batch of college students will also be graduating. The Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University has no value whatsoever, which will only make things more awkward.
Jiang Ci shook her head. "Forget it. Even if I don't go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I can find other jobs. Mr. Cheng, we are very grateful that you gave our family of four the opportunity to come to Beijing and provided us with accommodation. As for jobs, that's something we need to think about ourselves. Don't worry, we will live well in Beijing."
Seeing Cheng Huasheng hesitate, Jiang Ci smiled and said, "Mr. Cheng, you don't think I can't even survive in Beijing, do you?"
Some things are better left unsaid.
For example, Jiang Ci was engaged in speculative business. She could tell Zhou Mingli about it because Zhou Mingli was her closest relative, but she couldn't tell Cheng Huasheng.
The fewer people who know about this, the safer we are.
Cheng Huasheng had nothing to say and could only nod.
Once they arrived at the Forbidden City, the four adults put aside their important business.
The Forbidden City at that time was quite different from the Forbidden City later on.
Jiang Ci wasn't particularly interested in this place, but she followed him inside anyway.
The Palace Museum has only recently reopened to the public, and there are already quite a few visitors, including some foreigners.
There were quite a few exhibits inside. Jiang Ci looked at them and found that most of them were ones she had seen before, so they weren't particularly interesting. However, since so many people seemed to be interested in them, she couldn't pretend that she wasn't interested in these antiques, so she could only follow them inside.
Jiang Ci glanced at the description of the displayed antiques, and at the very bottom was the author's name—Huang Zhiyuan.
She fell silent, not uttering a word.
Zhou Mingli, Cheng Huasheng, and Li Ailian seemed to have also seen that name.
Huang Zhiyuan must have been a man of genuine talent and learning; all the Qing Dynasty enamelware exhibited in this hall were edited and displayed by him.
The person who was originally full of enthusiasm now felt as if they had been transported to another world after witnessing Huang Zhiyuan's contributions to the museum.
He has passed away, and these few words left in the Forbidden City have become the only bridge of communication between him and these people a year later.
“This kind of enamel is common in our country, but it has become an antique in this country.”
“If we bring all the enamelware from home here, we might make a fortune.”
Two inappropriate conversations in a foreign language caught Jiang Ci's attention.
She turned her head to look over.
They turned out to be two blond, blue-eyed foreigners with arrogant expressions, looking at the enamelware with disdain.
A pure Oxford accent.
Not an American.
It's Old Ying.
They call it "the sun never sets"!
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