Grandma Baihua never expected Jiang Ci to refuse her, and she was completely stunned.
Jiang Ci glanced at her watch; since she had left early, she still had some time.
"I don't think we're that close. We do have two employees in our family right now, and whether or not we can take care of the children is our own business, isn't it? You... worrying about things so far ahead of time, aren't you being a bit presumptuous and meddling too much?"
Grandma Baihua's face turned pale and then red. "Comrade Xiao Jiang! How dare you speak like that!"
"I was just trying to be helpful by reminding you, and not only did you not appreciate it, you even said I was meddling?! I only thought of helping you because I'm kind-hearted; if it were anyone else, I wouldn't even give her a second glance!"
It was the time when kindergarten children were going to school, and Grandma Baihua's voice, though not soft, attracted a lot of attention.
Jiang Ci smiled slightly, "Really? You're being so kind to our family. I remember a while ago, your daughter-in-law was almost assaulted and told a bunch of lies, which I exposed. Your son looked at me like he wanted to kill me. Now you're actually putting aside past grievances. Your family is so kind-hearted."
"Forget it, Comrade Xiao Jiang, there's no good in this family. Bai Hua's mother-in-law is definitely not well-intentioned either. Don't pay any attention to her."
The speaker was a young man, indignant and seemingly prejudiced against the Bai family.
Isn't there prejudice?
Because of Bai Hua, several people were injured that night. People living in the same area were related by blood or marriage, so naturally some people became hostile towards Bai Hua's family.
Anyway, the Bai family's reputation isn't as good as it used to be.
Jiang Ci got on the bicycle and said, "I understand, Baihua's mother-in-law. You don't need to worry about my family's affairs."
As she spoke, she winked meaningfully at Grandma Baihua, "Instead of wasting your time, why don't you worry about your daughter-in-law first?"
Bye-bye~
After saying that, Jiang Ci pedaled her bicycle, waved to the young man, and rode off in a flash.
The way pedestrians looked at Granny Baihua was... well, it was indescribably strange.
Granny Baihua was trembling with anger, and her gaze towards Jiang Ci's back was practically spitting fire.
Unfortunately, they didn't realize it at all.
Sitting on the back of the bicycle, Zhou Yang said in a childish voice, "Mommy, that grandma is no good at all. Her child is also very naughty at kindergarten; none of the other children play with him."
Zhou Miao nodded in agreement, "He always snatches other children's meat and testicles. Even when the teacher makes him stand as punishment, he doesn't change. He's a bad kid."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ci asked them, "Has anyone bullied you?"
The two children answered in unison, "No!"
"Anyone who dares to bully me, I'll beat them up!" Zhou Yang said fiercely, clenching his fist. "Brother Dazhu taught me how to fight!"
"Yes, both Brother Dazhu and Brother Erzhu said that if anyone bullies us, we'll bully them back!" Zhou Miao nodded seriously.
Jiang Ci: "…………"
It's been over a month already. Aren't kids supposed to be forgetful?
Why do these two little rascals still remember what Dazhu and Erzhu said?
"If anyone bullies you, fight back on the spot, and remember to tell us when you get home, okay?"
The two children answered in unison, "Okay!"
Jiang Ci asked them, "If a stranger offered you candy or other delicious food, would you eat it?"
"No! We won't eat or accept anything from adults, children, or strangers—grandparents, brothers, or sisters!"
"I don't want to go to unfamiliar places or far away; I want to stay with my mom and dad."
I still remember Zhou Yang and Zhou Miao very clearly.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli have been subtly teaching them not to follow others just because of a little delicious food, fun toys, or the coaxing of strangers.
Zhou Yang and Zhou Miao never accept anything from others.
This habit is ingrained in their culture.
Jiang Ci laughed, stopped the car, and patted the two children on the head. "That's right, we've arrived at school. Your fathers will pick you up after school this afternoon."
Zhou Miao hugged Jiang Ci's neck and kissed her cheek.
Zhou Yang then kissed her on the other side of her cheek.
As she watched her two children enter the kindergarten, Jiang Ci still had a gentle smile on her lips that she herself didn't even realize was on her lips.
Soon, Jiang Ci rode her bicycle to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Fortunately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not far from the newspaper's staff quarters. Jiang Ci looked around and found that the bus stopped at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She calculated the time spent riding a bicycle and taking the bus, and decided to leave the bicycle for Zhou Mingli to use.
He goes to work earlier, and his commute is longer than hers.
There's only one bicycle in the family. Before, when Jiang Ci couldn't find a job, she secretly worked as a real estate agent, traveling back and forth between Beijing and other cities. Having a bicycle saved her a lot of time, and Jiang Ci has been using the bicycle in the family all along.
Now that her job is stable, she can give the bicycle to Zhou Mingli.
Thinking this, Jiang Ci glanced to the side as she rode, and saw a boy being pulled by an adult into an alley.
Oversized, out-of-fashion clothes; about twelve or thirteen years old.
She thought the boy looked familiar, but couldn't see his face. She couldn't remember where she had seen him before, so she simply put the matter out of her mind.
On my first day of work, I absolutely cannot be late.
Jiang Ci arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ten minutes early, and before she even went inside, she saw Hobens standing outside the Ministry.
He was also riding a bicycle, wearing a warm cotton-padded coat. He would occasionally glance at the time, then look around as if searching for something.
Upon seeing Jiang Ci, his eyes lit up slightly, but then his expression darkened again as he seemed to remember something. He forced a smile and pushed his bicycle toward Jiang Ci.
"Good morning, Comrade Huo." Jiang Ci got off her bicycle.
Hobbens' smile unconsciously turned genuine. He scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I knew you were at work today, and I was worried you'd be turned away at the door, so I came to come in with you."
"It's so great to have your help. This is my first time here, and I'm a little unsure of what to do," Jiang Ci said, guiding the conversation.
As expected, Hobbens was very forthcoming. As the two pushed the cart inside, Jiang Ci listened to Hobbens explain the specific onboarding process to her.
This greatly reduces the probability that Ecida might make a mistake.
With a letter of introduction, Jiang Ci entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs smoothly and the onboarding process was very normal. Before that, the cadre asked her to pick up her work clothes, and it was also Hobens who took her to the logistics department. She picked up two sets of work clothes and two pairs of leather shoes, one thin and one thick.
The uniforms provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were dark blue overcoats, with the same style for both men and women. One of them was quite thick, clearly prepared for winter.
“The Protocol Department has quite a few formal occasions to attend before the end of the year, and since there are many foreigners, we may need to prepare evening gowns and the like. I know where there are tailors; if you need them, you can have them made later.” Hobbens tried his best to help her.
"Okay, tell me the tailor's address, and I'll go find him later."
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