35 Paving
◎Can't do it on my birthday, something comes up.◎
Xue Lu and Song Qinggui exchanged kissing techniques on the sofa before getting up to go to the Xue family's old residence for a banquet.
When the two arrived at the Xue family's house, they realized something was amiss.
Several cars were parked on Danshan Road, which is usually deserted and quiet, and they all had government license plates.
Seeing this, Xue Lu and Song Qinggui immediately knew that today's meal was extraordinary, and they both perked up.
As soon as the two entered the gate of the Xue family's old mansion, the butler led them to the tea room.
Xue Qielu and Wen Shuangjing were drinking tea and chatting with several guests when they saw Xue Lu and Song Qinggui. Old Master Xue quickly raised his hand and beckoned, "Come here, let me introduce you to your uncles."
Xue Lu was unaware of Xue Qielu's purpose, and his attention was not on Old Master Xue. Xue Lu was puzzled; Wen Shuang had been living in seclusion for many years, yet today she was willing to leave Cihangzhai, and with his own father no less—this was highly illogical.
However, Xue Lu did not show it on his face and went forward to exchange pleasantries with several elders.
Song Qinggui's gaze was also on Wen Shuangjing, and Wen Shuangjing glanced at her as well. The two nodded to each other, polite yet distant.
This was the first time Song Qinggui had met Wen Shuangjing Zhenren; she had only seen the photos Xue Lu had shown her before.
Song Qinggui married Xue Lu without holding a wedding ceremony. After registering their marriage, she mentioned that she wanted to visit Wen Shuangjing at Cihangzhai, since she was the mother who raised Xue Lu, and as a junior, she should show some courtesy.
But later, Wen Shuang conveyed a message through Fang Yali, saying that she had devoted herself to Buddhism and no longer concerned herself with worldly affairs, so these formalities were unnecessary. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is always difficult, and she wouldn't get involved in this mess.
The words were undeniably barbed, and Song Qinggui understood that Wen Shuang was not satisfied with her as her daughter-in-law.
Song Qinggui also had a bit of pride; she was never one to fawn over someone who wouldn't listen. From then on, she no longer had any attachment to Cihangzhai.
Wen Shuangjing suddenly appeared at today's family dinner, which surprised her.
Just as Song Qinggui was pondering why Wen Shuangjing was here, a voice came from Xue Lu's side.
"Director Song, why are you hiding behind Attorney Xue today? Where's the aura you had when you came to my office and slammed your fist on the table the other day?"
Song Qinggui looked up, smiled somewhat embarrassedly, and said, "Minister Zhou, you're wronging me. When did I ever slam my fist on the table with you?"
The speaker was Zhou Yue, the head of the Lancheng health department. When the cross-provincial transfer incident was first exposed, the higher-ups had considered severely punishing Jingtian Hospital and protecting public hospitals, a case of sacrificing the pawn to save the king.
Song Qinggui was quick-witted and sensed something was wrong. He went to the health department early in the morning to confront people. When he arrived at Zhou Yue's office, he argued with him and won a few days for Jingtian, which led to the subsequent media battle.
Zhou Yue, being in a leadership position, has a different perspective from Song Qinggui. His focus is on the stability of the medical system and doctor-patient relationships, and on protecting the interests of the majority of patients as much as possible. Therefore, if punishing Jingtian can appease public anger amidst the public outrage, he thinks it is worthwhile.
Therefore, in his eyes, Song Qinggui, who went to his office that day and argued with him, was really quite ignorant.
Sacrifice made for the greater good will naturally be compensated for in the same way. Letting Jingtian bear this punishment will naturally be followed by preferential treatment for her; these are all things that can be discussed. But this girl is really stubborn and just won't make any concessions.
Zhou Yue was quite angry with Song Qinggui that day, and he only felt better after taking a handful of Xiaoyao pills after she left.
But despite his anger, it didn't diminish his appreciation for Song Qinggui.
Zhou Yue has been in this position for a long time and knows that there are also costs to be paid. The hearts of medical staff have become colder and harder over the years, and that is the biggest price to pay.
Therefore, Song Qinggui is admirable. She was willing to argue for Jingtian Hospital and Haichuan Hospital, even at the risk of offending her superiors, because her passion had not cooled. As a medical worker, and as a young person fighting in the workplace, this is the kind of spirit and demeanor that should be shown.
So Zhou Yue looked at Xue Lu sincerely and said, "We old folks don't follow any marketing accounts, and we're not very familiar with your family's news. If your mother hadn't mentioned it today, I wouldn't have known this girl was your wife. You've got good taste, kid!"
Xue Lu smiled, a hint of pride in his smile. He looked at Song Qinggui and, seeing her slightly embarrassed by the praise, his smile deepened.
“My wife… she’s doing very well,” Xue Lu said sincerely, a hint of melancholy in his smile. “Actually, her clinical skills are even better than her administrative skills. She was highly regarded by many teachers when she was in school. I’m the one who held her back.”
“That’s not how you put it,” Zhou Yue said. “Actually, the ideal organizational structure for a hospital should be like this, with people who understand clinical practice managing clinical work. I think Qing Gui is very suitable for this position.”
At this point, Zhou Yue suddenly remembered something: "Qinggui, are you interested in taking the civil service exam? Our unit is short-staffed."
"I think I'd better not take the civil service exam," Song Qinggui said with a smile. "If I really ended up working under you, I'd probably get angry at you eight times a day. Aren't you afraid of hurting your liver?"
One sentence brought a knowing smile to the faces of the elders: "This child knows how to talk."
After greeting the elders one by one and chatting for a while, Xue Lu roughly understood the significance of the meal. These people who came were leaders from the health and education departments, as well as Wen Shuangjing's connections. His parents were paving the way for him, hoping that these elders would give him more guidance in the future.
Having understood Xue Qielu's intentions, Xue Lu's initially wary attitude relaxed.
Lunch started at noon, and by 1 p.m., the leaders had to leave. An international strategic cooperation conference was to be held in Lancheng next week, which required the health department to provide medical support, the education department to select talents from various universities to attend the conference, and to receive foreign guests. So even though it was the weekend, they all had to work overtime.
Xue Qielu was already deeply grateful that these people had taken time out of their busy schedules to have a meal at the Xue residence out of respect for Wen Shuangjing. They were preoccupied with official duties and couldn't refuse. So Xue Qielu rose to see them out, giving them freshly picked pine nuts from Cangwu Mountain as a small gift. It wasn't anything valuable, but the guests, unable to refuse his hospitality, accepted it all.
The leaders have left, but the family dinner is not over yet.
Xue Qielu sat up straight and cleared his throat: "I have two things to say."
All the Xue family members present raised their heads and looked at the head of the family.
"First thing," Xue Qielu said solemnly, "Qinggui, I have something I want to discuss with you, and I really hope you will agree."
Song Qinggui stopped eating.
This was the first time in the two years since she married into the Xue family that Xue Qielu had spoken to her with such equality and respect.
“Dad, please say so,” Song Qinggui said.
Xue Qielu: "I want you to take the position of Chief Public Relations Officer at the Xue Group headquarters."
These words caused an uproar in the room.
"Dad!" Xue Rao cried out in shock and anger.
Even the usually composed Xue Lu frowned upon hearing this, lost in thought.
Even Xue Tan, who was usually unsmiling, raised an eyebrow and looked at Song Qinggui meaningfully.
It's no wonder that the Xue family children were astonished by this.
Xue Qielu was a womanizer for most of his life and had many children, but he was extremely cautious when it came to business.
He knew that most of his children were spoiled brats, so he never let them get involved in the group's affairs, only giving them plenty of money to spend. Currently, apart from himself, Xue Tan, and Wen Shuangjing, no one else owns shares in the Xue family business.
Except for Xue Lu, who refused to give it to everyone else, Xue Qielu refused to give it to them.
Today, Xue Qielu's words—that Song Qinggui be hired by Xue's headquarters—signify that, after Xue Tan, the younger generation of the Xue family has a second, and perhaps the last, person who can participate in the management of Xue's business. And this person is none other than Song Qinggui, Xue Lu's wife.
How could Xue Rao and Xue Can not panic?
Xue Tan is the successor of the Xue family, which the third branch of the family can accept because Xue Tan has no grudges against them, and he is a very shrewd person who will at least not mistreat them.
Xue Lu is different. Back then, the third branch of the family almost broke ties with Wen Shuangjing and Xue Lu over shares. Moreover, they made things difficult for Song Qinggui quite a bit.
Given the couple's vengeful nature, if they were to gain real power within the Xue family, would their third branch of the family ever have a good life?
"Dad, you can't be so biased..." Xue Can couldn't hold back any longer.
Xue Qielu raised his hand to interrupt Xue Can, his hawk-like eyes fixed intently on Song Qinggui: "Annual salary of 1.2 million, 5% of Xue's shares, Qinggui, are you willing?"
"Dad!" Xue Rao exclaimed urgently, "Song Qinggui is an outsider, what right does he have..."
"Shut up!" Xue Qielu roared.
Owning five percent of the shares already grants the right to participate in major group decisions under certain conditions. Xue Rao's eyes burned with resentment.
Song Qinggui hesitated: "I..."
Xue Qielu knew what Song Qinggui was thinking: "He can take on the role concurrently."
Song Qinggui looked at Xue Qielu and explained, "If you can't let go of the hospital, you can take on the public relations roles for both Xue's and Jingtian."
An annual salary of 1.2 million and 5% of the shares are indeed very attractive.
Song Qinggui's gaze was deep: "I'll consider it and give you an answer within a week."
“Okay,” Xue Qielu replied.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was somewhat tense, but Xue Qielu didn't seem to care much.
He continued, "The second thing is that our Xue family hasn't organized a party in many years."
In the early days, the major wealthy families in Lancheng had a habit of taking turns hosting cocktail parties. They all had business dealings and had new connections with each other, which would also lead to getting to know each other at the parties – it was a win-win situation.
However, as the businesses of the families grew larger, there was inevitably some overlap in their business, less cooperation and more competition, and the tradition of holding banquets was tacitly abandoned by everyone.
Everyone was puzzled as to why the old man suddenly wanted to throw a party again.
Xue Qielu didn't say much, but looked at Xue Lu: "Little Fourteen, your birthday is next week. You'll be thirty. It's a big day. Let's celebrate on your birthday. You and your Seventh Brother can prepare together."
"No!" Before anyone could understand what Old Master Xue meant, Xue Lu blurted out his refusal.
Perhaps realizing that his tone was too urgent and seemed a bit unusual, Xue Lu quickly added, "I have some personal matters to attend to that day and cannot reschedule."
"What private matter is so important?" Old Master Xue muttered with some dissatisfaction, but did not insist: "Then when you finish your private matter that day, come over and let Qinggui make the arrangements first."
"Cough cough." Song Qinggui was drinking water and couldn't help but choke a little. Her ears felt a little hot, and she said, "Dad, I'm sorry, I also had something to do that day, and it was already arranged."
Upon hearing this, Xue Lu lowered his head.
The corners of his mouth couldn't hide his smile.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
