"There aren't that many jobs here," Shan Lian yawned and muttered. "I'm sleepy because..."
She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, her eyes half-closed, and mumbled, "Anyway, it has nothing to do with work. I can handle the work here."
Jiang Ci casually said, "That's good. It's almost the end of the year, so we're not that busy here."
When Shan Lian heard about the end of the year, she thought of holidays. She pouted and said, "What's so great about holidays? I'd rather work overtime at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs than stay at home."
Jiang Ci: "This doesn't sound like something you would say. I remember you really enjoy lively atmospheres."
Shan Lian's ears burned. "Anyway, I just don't like celebrating the New Year."
Jiang Ci didn't say much about it. She smiled casually and said, "When you're actually working overtime during the Spring Festival and see other families reunited, you'll feel lonely."
She picked up the documents and walked casually forward, saying, "If you're really tired, you can rest. I'm leaving now."
As Shan Lian watched Jiang Ci leave, she pouted, snorted, placed her hands on the table, rested her chin on her arm, and her sparkling eyes fell into deep thought.
She has never experienced a true family reunion.
No matter how good her maternal grandfather, uncle, aunt, and cousin were to her, and even when her godfather, who was in the army, came back to celebrate the Lunar New Year with her, she still didn't feel happy.
No matter how close those people were to her, they were not her closest relatives.
Her closest relatives, one had already passed away, and the other... well...
A mocking smile appeared on Shan Lian's lips. He still refused to acknowledge her as his daughter to the public.
Shan Lian bit her lip, and after thinking about all sorts of random things, she suddenly didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Bored, she looked around.
She noticed that her colleagues seemed to have been influenced by Jiang Ci's speech, and they were all discussing when the holiday would start this year and what gifts the department would give out.
In previous years, the ministry would distribute gifts during the Lunar New Year, such as two pounds of flour, a pound of meat, a pound of noodles, tangerines, apples, and the like.
Cadre A: "I'm going back to Tianjin this year. My parents have been urging me to go back for the Spring Festival for a long time. As soon as I got the holiday, I rushed back by train and I'm determined not to stop in Beijing for even a second!"
Officer B: "I miss my parents too. They're both in the army. I guess I'll have to take my wife to the army base for the New Year."
Cadre C: "Isn't that great? The Spring Festival is all about family reunion. It doesn't matter where we spend it."
Cadre A: "That's true. I heard that houses will be allocated after the New Year. I wonder if I'll be able to get one. If I get two rooms, I can bring my parents over!"
Spending Chinese New Year with my parents...
Shan Lian held a pen and twirled it casually in her hand, her eyes lowered, lost in thought.
Jiang Ci went to the embassy of Country Y, carrying a gift.
This is what she intended to give to Henry.
Henry will be returning to his home country for the Lunar New Year this year because of the tea issue, which will also be to report to the Prime Minister.
Henry was delighted to see the gift Jiang Ci had sent. "Elegant lady, thank you for the gift you prepared for my return home!"
He happily took it, exclaiming in surprise, "It's so heavy!"
"What's in here?"
Jiang Ci smiled and nodded, but did not answer.
Henry eagerly opened the gift.
Inside was a box of exquisitely packaged tea with the words "Nine-Bend Red Plum" and English text printed on it, and next to it was a tea set with bamboo leaf patterns.
Henry's eyes lit up as he picked up the tea set. "The patterns are truly exquisite!"
"We formed a friendship through black tea. You are about to return to your country, and I really can't think of what to give you. This is a tea set that I picked out. In our country, plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are the Four Gentlemen. Bamboo is humble and elegant, and it is a symbol of noble character."
Jiang Ci spoke eloquently, and Henry listened intently.
He had lived in Beijing for many years and could understand some of the Chinese that Jiang Ci occasionally spoke.
"The word 'bamboo' is a homophone for 'blessing,' so this pattern symbolizes wishing you a smooth journey home."
Henry listened to Jiang Ci's words, his eyes filled with emotion, "Ci, thank you!"
Henry invited Jiang Ci to his office to taste his treasured hometown black tea and English desserts made by his maid.
Jiang Ci chatted with him for a while longer before taking her leave.
She came to deliver the gifts for two reasons. First, Henry was indeed going back to his country, and she wanted to give him something. Second, she knew that Henry would definitely remember the fact that Chinese black tea was being sold to their country.
As far as she knew, Henry was a nobleman from Country Y, and some people from Country Y were quite fond of and fond of things from the East.
If Henry remembered the gift she gave him and mentioned it to his relatives and friends after returning home, he might be able to help her open up another trade route.
As someone in a superior position, Jiang Ci was all too aware of the wealth held by those at the top. Even the tiny speck of gold that slipped through their fingers was a brick in Jiang Ci's hand, used to solidify his own position.
By utilizing all available resources to become stronger, she would no longer need to worry about threats from others.
...
When it was time to leave work, Jiang Ci packed her things, but before she left, she noticed Shan Lian hesitating, seemingly doing something.
Jiang Ci subtly withdrew her gaze, saw Hobbens, thought for a moment, and went to her seat to get a box.
It contained pastries from Daoxiangcun, which Jiang Ci bought when she returned from the embassy. She originally intended them to be given as gifts during the Chinese New Year.
Jiang Ci greeted Hobbens, "Comrade Hobbens!"
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