A gentle night breeze blew as three bicycles rode along the empty street, barely exchanging a word with each other.
Suddenly, He Daqing, who was riding on the far left, slammed on the brakes and yelled as if he had gone crazy.
"I remember who that person is."
Liu Guangfu, who was riding in the middle, was startled by the sudden ghostly scream, and his bicycle instinctively veered to the right.
As luck would have it, Xu Fugui, who was riding on the far right, was also startled. His handlebars trembled, and he collided head-on with Liu Guangfu.
"Ouch!"
"Guangfu, how did you ride your bike?" Xu Fugui, who was crushed under the bike, was furious.
"And Lao He, what are you yelling about for no reason? Couldn't you have said something first?"
He Daqing was overjoyed to see Xu Fugui in trouble, and had no reason to help him.
Instead, Liu Guangfu, relying on his youth, quickly got up from the ground and moved the bicycle that was pressing on Xu Fugui away.
At the same time, he glanced at He Daqing with dissatisfaction and said in a rather complaining tone.
"Uncle He, what suddenly occurred to you? Don't be so startled, okay?"
"Of course I've thought of something good. Do you think I was just trying to scare you?"
As He Daqing spoke, he glanced at Xu Fugui again, and seeing that he was alright, he continued.
"Do you guys remember the old man who went to visit Director Sun's house earlier? I think I heard Zhu Zi mention that there's a big leader in the Ministry of Metallurgy surnamed Bai. It must be him."
"Uncle He, he's a high-ranking leader, but what does he have to do with us? You really have to get so worked up."
Liu Guangfu, that blockhead, never even considered the crucial point.
But Xu Fugui wasn't stupid; he immediately understood the meaning behind it.
Now his back and legs no longer hurt. After picking up the bicycle, he adjusted the handlebars and rode home quickly.
Seeing this, He Daqing immediately followed, leaving Liu Guangfu completely bewildered. He silently cursed the daughters-in-law of both men before hurrying to catch up.
Soon, the group sped all the way back to the entrance of the courtyard house.
Sure enough, before He Daqing even reached the door, he heard Sha Zhu bragging.
The old man was finally relieved; it seemed that Sun Zhengguo's words had all come true.
Next, Xu Fugui got anxious because he couldn't see Xu Damao anywhere.
At this moment, he didn't care about his reputation, so he quickly stopped the car and asked Yan Bugui, who was standing at the door.
"Old Yan, has my son come back?"
"He's back, he's back, Lao Xu. Don't worry, your Da Mao is having dinner at home!"
Hearing Yan Bugui's words, Xu Fugui was completely relieved; as long as the person was back, that was all that mattered.
But at that moment, the second aunt rushed towards her son with tears in her eyes.
"Guangfu, Shazhu and Xu Damao are back, but your dad isn't back yet. I hope he's alright. I should never have become a cadre in the first place."
"Mom, don't cry. Zhengguo said that Dad might be a day or two late coming back. This is just a normal investigation by the organization, so don't worry!"
After hearing her son's explanation, the second aunt was still a little worried, so she asked He Daqing and the other man.
"Uncle He, Uncle Xu, you were there too. Is my Guangfu just trying to comfort me?"
"Your Guangfu isn't lying to you. Go home and wait a bit longer! Maybe he'll be back tomorrow."
After He Daqing finished speaking, he gestured to Sha Zhu with his eyes, and then walked into the courtyard.
Xu Fugui was in a hurry to go back to see his son, so he simply nodded, which was considered an admission of the matter, and then followed into the courtyard.
Seeing that the two men's expressions seemed genuine, the second aunt could only wipe away her tears and call her son home for dinner.
When the neighbors at the door saw that there was no melon to eat, they all dispersed.
...
The next morning, a long banner was already hanging high at the entrance of the research institute.
The publicity staff were busy in an orderly manner, setting up flower pots, banners and welcome signs on both sides of the entrance.
Soon after, Sun Zhengguo arrived at the door and nodded with satisfaction upon seeing the setup.
When Section Chief Cai saw his boss arrive, he quickly ran over to fawn over him.
"Director, do you think there's anything we need to add to the setup at the entrance?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Zhengguo glanced at it again and shook his head. "No need, it looks fine to me. But how's the meeting room setup?"
"Director, the meeting room is where we're setting up our store today. Please rest assured, we've arranged it even better than this."
"Um!"
Seeing that Section Chief Cai was dedicated to his work, Sun Zhengguo didn't mind giving him a little something in return.
“Section Chief Cai, I have seen your hard work over the years. I also submitted your name for the institute’s upgrade, but the final decision will be made by the organization.”
"Thank you, thank you so much, Director Sun, for your kindness."
Faced with this unexpected good news, Section Chief Cai was overjoyed and expressed his gratitude as if it were free.
It's worth noting that this time, the institute was upgraded so easily that anyone who registered their name could be promoted to the next level.
Even if he remains the head of the publicity department, his administrative rank will be that of a deputy director.
That's why he was so happy.
After a brief incident, Sun Zhengguo wandered around for a while before returning to his office to wait for his superiors to arrive.
It was 9:30 a.m. when Sun Zhengguo received a phone call and quickly gathered all the cadres to go to the main gate to greet the leader.
Because today is a very important day for the research institute, all the staff members were present.
Ten minutes later, a large convoy of cars, kicking up dust, drove up from not far away.
Upon seeing so many cars arrive, the institute's staff immediately straightened their clothes, their expressions focused, awaiting the arrival of their leaders.
Soon, the convoy arrived at the entrance and then slowly came to a stop.
Then, a group of guards got out of several vehicles and quickly went on alert.
Upon seeing this, Sun Zhengguo's pupils contracted immediately. A big shot had arrived. Why hadn't anyone notified them beforehand?
At this moment, the door of a Hongqi sedan in the middle slowly opened, and an elderly man of short stature but vigorous spirit stepped out.
After getting off the bus, the old man maintained a gentle smile. He waved to everyone first, and then walked straight towards Sun Zhengguo.
When Sun Zhengguo saw the old man approaching, he didn't hesitate at all and quickly stretched out his hands to greet him.
"Hello, Mr. Deng, welcome to our institute for inspection."
"Comrade Zhengguo, you don't need to be so polite. I'm here today not only on my own behalf, but also at the request of my old classmate, to witness the changes in your research institute."
"Thank you, thank you! Thank you for coming to the event in person. And thank you even more to Director Lai for remembering our research institute despite not being in good health."
To be honest, Sun Zhengguo was really touched. The old man is in poor health now and is basically in a semi-retired state.
Even so, he still thinks of himself all the time, which reminds one of an old saying: "A scholar will die for one who understands him."
It seems the ancients were right!
...
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Sun Zhengguo then shook hands with Director Yu, Minister Li, Vice Minister Chen, and others one by one...
After a grand welcoming ceremony, Sun Zhengguo led the leaders into the research institute.
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