Chapter 339 Mooncakes
After parting on bad terms with Zhou Zhengping, Gu Yan packed up the matter along with other miscellaneous emotions and stuffed it into the most inconspicuous corner of his mind.
He didn't have time to dwell on things; business matters came one after another. Negotiations, signing contracts, socializing, and overseeing the production line kept him awake all day, working non-stop until late at night, so tired that he could fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
That afternoon, Gu Yan was catching up on a nap on the office sofa.
Chen Jun pushed the door open and shouted, "Boss! Get up! We're supposed to meet Director Zhang at 3:30. If you don't leave now, you'll be late!"
Gu Yan closed his eyes, grabbed a soft cushion from beside him, and threw it at the source of the sound. "Get lost! I'm not going anywhere this afternoon. You go find Vice President Huang!"
Chen Jun caught the cushion, pursed his lips, and knew that his usually hardworking boss was really exhausted.
He held up a square package in his hand: "Alright, alright, if I don't want to go, I don't want to go. But there's a package here from the capital, it's quite sturdy, do you want to open it or not?"
Upon hearing the word "capital," Gu Yan's tightly closed eyes twitched, and he reluctantly opened them a crack.
He propped himself up to sit, rubbed his temples, and held out his hand to Chen Jun: "Give it to me."
Chen Jun quickly moved the package over.
Gu Yan opened them in a few quick movements. Inside were several sturdy cardboard boxes and glass jars containing mooncakes, pastries, local specialties, and homemade pickled vegetables.
Chen Jun craned his neck to take a look and laughed: "Oh, mooncakes! Oh, it's almost Mid-Autumn Festival! Boss, how are we going to distribute employee benefits this year?"
Gu Yan's mind was entirely on the package. Without even looking up, he waved his hand impatiently: "Discuss these trivial matters with Vice President Huang. Don't come to me with everything! Get out, get out, close the door!"
Chen Jun shrank back, wisely retreated, and gently closed the door behind him.
The office fell silent.
Gu Yan rummaged through the pile of food and found a brown paper envelope, tore open the seal, and pulled out the letter.
It is Nan Zhiyi's handwriting.
The letter began with greetings to him and Wenjing, mentioning that he had sent some homemade mooncakes and northern specialties for them to try, and specifically reminded them, "Don't forget to show respect to your future in-laws."
Then I briefly talked about the family's recent situation. Xiaoman started kindergarten and is a "very obedient baby with perfect attendance." She didn't cry or make a fuss and adapted very well.
A color photo also slid out of the envelope; it showed Xiaoman standing at the kindergarten gate with a small backpack, grinning from ear to ear.
Looking at Xiaoman's adorable appearance in the photo, Gu Yan's fatigue and irritability from the past few days were somewhat relieved by her smile.
He held the photo up to the light from the window and looked at it carefully for a while before he saw a line of small characters written in pen on the back of the photo: Xiaoman's first day of kindergarten, September 1, 1979.
Gu Yan glanced at his watch; it was almost four in the afternoon. Xiao Man should be at kindergarten right now.
The afternoon sun slanted into the kindergarten's activity room at four o'clock, carrying a warm and drowsy feeling.
Xiaoman, dressed in a clean light blue smock, sat upright in her little chair, her hands obediently placed on her knees together.
On the podium, Teacher Wang was gently reading a story, her voice like a lullaby.
Xiaoman's thoughts had already flown away.
He's been in kindergarten for a while now and has figured out the routine: after waking up from his nap, he eats a sweet snack, plays with his toys for a while, and then sits like this listening to a story for a bit before his mom or Aunt Zhang appears at the door.
He pursed his lips, his eyes fixed on the green door, hoping to see his mother's figure in the next second.
He likes it when his mother picks him up. She smells nice and will squat down and hug him. In his heart, his mother is the most beautiful and best mother among all the children's mothers in kindergarten.
Teacher Wang's story continued, but Xiaoman didn't hear a single word.
Suddenly, his right hand was grabbed by a soft little hand.
Honghong, who was sitting to his right, quickly leaned over while the teacher was looking down at his book and said mysteriously, "Gu Zhao, can you just be my good friend?"
Xiaoman frowned. He remembered what the teacher had said. He tried to pull his hand away, but couldn't. He could only answer softly, "Honghong, no... The teacher said that we are all good friends."
Honghong was unwilling to give up, so she moved closer and offered a tempting offer: "How about I bring you ten chocolates and ten fruit candies every day from now on? They're so delicious!"
She stretched out both hands, trying to spread her ten fingers as she did so.
Xiaoman subconsciously swallowed. Chocolate…candy… He thought about it seriously, then asked hesitantly, “Really?”
Seeing that he was wavering, Honghong immediately smiled happily, "Of course! I have lots and lots of snacks at home! You only like me, so I'll bring you all of them!"
These words were overheard by Ya Ya, a little girl sitting on the other side of Xiao Man.
Ya Ya was unhappy and reached out to pull Xiao Man's hand back from Hong Hong. "Gu Zhao, don't listen to her! My family not only has food, but also lots and lots of new toys! Toy cars that can run, dolls that can blink! If you become my best friend, I'll let you play with them all!"
Xiaoman looked to the left, then to the right. The two little girls were clinging tightly to his arms, gazing at him expectantly.
He found a solution that would satisfy everyone and said very seriously, "Then let's be good friends!" That way he could play with his toys and eat snacks.
"No!" the two girls said in unison, gripping the bag even tighter.
One person tried to pull him to the left, while the other tried to pull him to the right. Little T was caught in the middle, his arm was a little sore from being pulled, and his face tightened, looking like he was about to get upset.
The commotion finally caught the teachers' attention.
A young teacher walked over, gently inquired about the situation, and couldn't help but exchange a smile with Teacher Wang, who was standing in front of the activity room.
The young teacher separated the three children, saying, "Honghong, Yaya, you can't fight over your best friend. All the children in our class are good friends, so we should be united and loving."
As she spoke, she picked up Xiaoman's little chair and placed it between the two quiet little boys next to her.
"Gu Zhao, why don't you sit here first?"
Xiaoman nodded obediently, sat down in her new seat, secretly rubbed her arm that had been pulled so hard, and still looked longingly towards the door.
Now, Xiaoman just hopes his mother will come quickly and rescue him from kindergarten.
His long-awaited hope soon came true.
Today is the day Nan Zhiyi comes to pick up her son from school.
Her schedule this semester is more relaxed than last semester, and sometimes she can leave Kyoto University as early as 3 p.m.
Sister Zhang has her class schedule and knows which days she can come home early, so she can stay home and prepare dinner with peace of mind, and hand over the task of picking up Xiaoman back to her.
As soon as afternoon classes ended, Nan Zhiyi rushed to the kindergarten.
Almost as soon as Nan Zhiyi stepped through the door, Xiaoman slid off the little chair, took a few quick steps, and rushed straight towards her: "Mommy!"
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