Chapter 352 Applying for Retirement
“This is different.”
"No, everyone is amazing."
"But they are still different from you. You are the project leader, and no matter how capable they are, they are just cooperating now."
“But they can become project leaders even if I leave. I was just a cooperating member at first, and I became a project leader later. We should give everyone more opportunities.”
There's nothing wrong with what he said, but it just sounds so frustrating.
"Comrade Lin Xiaotao!"
"Here I am."
“I’m not asking if you’re here right now. My main concern is rejecting your retirement application. You’re so young and you’re already thinking about retiring. I won’t allow it, and the higher-ups won’t allow it either.”
"Then I should resign?"
Dean: ...
"Don't you feel any remorse?"
"I don't think so."
There's really no way to communicate with each other anymore.
"Where is your husband? Have your husband come over and talk to me."
"Pei-chuan is tidying up at home."
"Okay, let him come and talk to me."
“I’m in charge of this family, and I can talk to you about it.”
"But I don't want to talk to you right now."
"Alright then, I'll have Pei-chuan tell you."
Although Xiao Taohua sometimes couldn't read people's expressions, the dean's attitude clearly indicated that he wanted to see Xiao Peichuan, so she had no choice but to agree.
Then, Xiao Peichuan, who was tidying up at home: ...
It's easy to imagine how the dean is feeling right now.
However, the couple had already discussed applying for retirement, and no amount of persuasion from the dean could change their decision.
"I'll go first. You sit there and I'll pack your things when I get back."
"I can do it."
"Okay, then you can pack your clothes first."
"Then go quickly and come back soon."
"Don't worry, leave it to me."
Then, the dean, who thought he could successfully persuade Xiao Pei-chuan: ...
"Do you know what Comrade Lin Xiaotao's existence represents? With such an excellent mind, many things can be solved much better with her around. Her mind is no longer just her own!"
“I know,” Xiao Peichuan said.
"You know? You don't know! If you knew, you wouldn't have so easily agreed to Comrade Lin Xiaotao's retirement! She's such an amazing person, why would she want to go home and have children? We're not living in feudal times anymore, so what if she doesn't have children! I used to think you and Comrade Lin Xiaotao were a good match, but now I think you're not good enough for her!"
That's not a nice thing to say.
Although Xiao Peichuan understood the dean's desire to keep Xiao Taohua, he wasn't one to let himself be wronged: "Dean, that's not right. It's our business whether my husband and I have children. Xiao Taohua has no objections, so if you have any, you can only keep them to yourself. Besides, Dean, I remember you already have quite a few children, including many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. How did you manage to have so many children when you were so busy?"
The dean turned pale with anger.
"I apologize for my harsh words, but 'do not do to others what you would not have them do to you' is a principle. I've seen Xiao Taohua working tirelessly on projects all these years, and it pains me to see her want to rest and retire, which I respect. This is a matter between my husband and me. However, you've elevated Xiao Taohua's mind to such a high level, which, in another sense, is a form of coercion—not in the ordinary sense, but in a moral sense. We both know that you want Xiao Taohua to keep working and make more contributions. But in my heart, nothing is more important than Xiao Taohua's own wishes. No matter how capable she is, in my eyes, she's just Xiao Taohua, still young and playful, and should do what she wants, instead of being burdened with shackles imposed on her by others. Those shackles are too heavy, and I'm sorry, I won't add them to her, nor do I want anyone else to do so."
"So, Dean, what I'm saying may sound harsh, but it's what I truly believe. Even if we don't have Xiao Taohua, there are others. Even if those people can't compare to Xiao Taohua right now, many of them will become capable with experience. You can't rely on Xiao Taohua alone. She's human, not a god. Over the years, everyone has come to understand one thing: many hands make light work. No one can make a fire burn brighter by themselves."
"This is just my opinion. You want to persuade Xiaotaohua through me? That's impossible."
The dean opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he didn't say a word.
Xiao Pei-chuan had already said everything, so what else could he say?
To put it bluntly, Lin Xiaotao wants to retire, but he doesn't want to. Can you really force someone to stay? The premise for forcing someone to stay is that they genuinely care about it, but Lin Xiaotao clearly doesn't care, and even wants to leave as soon as possible.
Besides, everyone has seen Lin Xiaotao's personality clearly over the years. To put it simply, she's naive. It's easy to get along with someone like that; you don't have to worry about conspiracies or backstabbing. But once she makes up her mind, she's resolute because she doesn't care much about what others care about.
You can say she's bad, but as long as her family doesn't care, Lin Xiaotao won't care either.
Her world is vast, vast enough to get along with everyone, yet it's also small, so small that only those truly held in her heart can influence her decisions. But each of those held in her heart deeply respects Xiao Taohua's own wishes, making certain things so natural that outsiders simply cannot change them.
Thinking of this, the dean gave a helpless bitter smile: "Alright, you can go back now. I will sign and stamp Comrade Lin Xiaotao's application report."
"Thank you very much."
The dean waved his hand: "What a pity."
Xiao Peichuan couldn't offer any words of comfort at this point. Saying things like "see you later" or anything like that would only seem hypocritical, since things had already escalated to this point.
But he doesn't regret it.
After all, Xiao Pei-chuan's world was much smaller than Xiao Tao-hua's. In his heart, there was only Xiao Tao-hua and his family, and he had very few friends.
His many years of suffering from illness also had a profound impact on him.
If you don't easily open up to others, you'll naturally have very few close friends.
But the closer someone is to him, the more he cherishes them.
Not to mention that Xiao Taohua is just retired, even if Xiao Taohua suddenly tells her that she wants to go to heaven, Xiao Peichuan will accompany her.
In some ways, Xiao Peichuan's temperament is cold and somewhat obsessive, but that's okay, that's just who he is.
Compared to those bad people who commit murder and arson, Xiao Peichuan's values are still quite upright; at least he wouldn't do such evil things.
So when Xiao Peichuan said goodbye to the dean, he had no worries. He had said what he should have said and what he shouldn't have said. The dean was probably furious with him now.
But as I said before, it has nothing to do with him, and even less to do with the little peach blossom that is about to leave.
The couple acted quickly, leaving with their luggage immediately after the dean approved the application report, without even notifying anyone else.
Colleagues who received the news later: ...
I was shocked.
After the initial shock, he threw himself back into the project.
So, whether they know or not, it seems to make no difference?
(End of this chapter)
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