Chapter 352: First Day

Grandma Xia's father, grandfather and brothers had lost contact long ago after the war, so currently all the blood relatives are in this house. Of course, it's not to say that there are no other personal relationships, but none of them are close enough to visit each other on New Year's Day.

The more important ones were already met by Xia Zhizhi last night.

She already said yesterday that she would not go to pay New Year's greetings today, even though she said so.

But she really intended to do so.

After getting up and washing up, I didn’t have breakfast and went straight to lunch.

I had nothing to do at home, so in the afternoon, some of my brothers and sisters called me to play cards, and they specifically asked not to include Xia Zhizhi.

Xia Zhizhi went over to see that they were playing one point per game.

How many wins and losses can there be in an afternoon of playing?

Not to mention her, even Xia Jingjing, who had just celebrated the New Year and had plenty of money in her pocket, looked down on these guys and lost interest in them instantly.

She lay on the sofa and shook her legs for a while, then suddenly sat up and called out, "Aju, Aju, bring your camera and video camera, let's go to the city gate."

Ah Ju was peeling grapefruits, but when he heard her say that, he immediately stood up and packed his equipment, showing great execution.

The old lady didn't want her to go out, so she advised her: "Don't go out during the New Year. It's snowing outside and it's freezing cold. Don't let us get frozen!"

Xia Zhizhi didn't care about this at all. She always did whatever she thought of.

While putting on his shoes, he pulled Zeng Zelan and said, "New Year, new weather. It's boring to stay at home. I'm going to take a walk outside and take some photos. I'll look at them later to see how Beijing has changed. Grandma, come with me!"

Zeng Zelan immediately changed her mind: "Okay! Grandma and Zhizhi will go together. Wait, Grandma will wear the dress that Zhizhi made for her!"

When old man Zeng went to the outer room to secretly smoke a cigarette, his wife was abducted. He wanted to visit Lan Hai again, but he saw that the car had also been driven away.

Ah Ju was driving a car, and he even knew how to use a camera, so driving was no problem for him. No need to ask, if you ask, he learned it from his friends. Xia Zhizhi had so many bad friends, so it wasn't surprising that she learned everything from Ah Ju and her friends.

Ah Ju drove the old and the child around Beijing. Xia Zhizhi took a lot of photos with her camera and also shot a short documentary.

She held up the camera and said to Zeng Zelan: "Let's shoot a video every year and watch it later. It will be very meaningful as a memorial!"

As long as she doesn't eat shit, Zeng Zelan thinks everything is good, and naturally praises her: "Grandma's good grandson is so thoughtful!"

At that time, Beijing was not as big as it will be later, so it was still very fast to drive around. Even if they stopped occasionally to take some pictures, Xia Zhizhi was experienced in her job and it didn't take up too much time.

When passing by the Blue Sea and preparing to go home, Zeng Zelan looked at her watch and suddenly said, "It's still early, let's go to the West Flower Hall and sit down."

People who live here will have relatives visiting on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Even though Zhou and Deng have no children, their adult adopted children will return home to pay New Year's greetings on this day. They can move around, but there is no need to herd others.

That's why Xia Zhizhi went to pay New Year's greetings in advance.

Xia Zhizhi looked at her grandmother in surprise, but didn't say much. She just asked Ah Ju to drive the car inside.

Zeng Zelan saw that Xia Zhizhi didn't ask much, nor did she say much, she just patted Xia Zhizhi's hand.

West Flower Hall is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Zhou Deng. They are a bit romantic and like the crabapple flowers here.

It was already late afternoon when they arrived. The lively scene that Xia Zhizhi had thought was not happening was not the case. Only Ms. Deng was cleaning up the room where they lived.

Seeing Xia Zhizhi's curious look, Deng knew what she was thinking. She put down her work, made a cup of tea for the two of them, and said with a smile, "The children came in the morning and stayed for lunch. The husband has work in the afternoon, so we let them go back."

Zeng Zelan sat down at the table next to Deng Nutu: "I am free today, so I came to talk to you. I see your personalities, and if I don't come to see you, you won't be able to find me when you are free."

Xia Zhizhi looked at Zeng Zelan and then at Deng Nutu. One of them now worked in the General Political Department Office and the other in the Women's Federation's Child Care Department. She thought they were just familiar comrades-in-arms, but she didn't expect that they seemed to have some personal relationship.

It was obvious that the old friends wanted to have a private conversation. Xia Zhizhi was very shrewd. She picked up the cup and walked towards the office: "I'm going to wish Mr. Zhou a happy new year again."

Neither of them stopped her.

Mr. Zhou Deng and his wife and Mr. Zhou's secretary and his family all live in Xihua Hall. In the past, we could always hear voices there, but today must be a day off, as it was very quiet all the way.

It was snowing, it was afternoon, the sky was a bit gloomy, the lights were on in the office, and it was normal operation. The most expensive expense for this couple every month was electricity.

Xia Zhizhi pushed the door open and walked in. Mr. Zhou was the only one in the office, bending over the table reviewing documents.

I still have a thick stack of papers that have not been approved, so I guess I will have to work overtime again today.

Mr. Zhou frowned, holding a pen, looking at the document in deep thought. He did not react when Xia Zhizhi pushed the door open.

Xia Zhizhi walked over and saw that the tea in his cup was empty. He had drunk so much that the tea leaves were sticking to the wall but he hadn't added more, so she took the kettle and added some hot water to it.

Mr. Zhou then looked up and saw that it was Xia Zhizhi. He put down the documents in his hand and said, "It's rare for you to be so quiet."

Zhou Xiansheng moved his arms and neck, and Xia Zhizhi could hear the crackling sound of his joints.

I sat there for the entire afternoon without moving at all. Not to mention a man in his seventies, even a young person would not be able to bear it.

Xia Zhizhi raised her fist and banged him a few times: "Grandma Deng and a few other comrades keep telling you to rest and take care of yourself, but you always say you should do it well and never do it, just like my grandfather said you would quit smoking!"

Chairman Zhou took a sip of tea and said, "Comrades, we must listen to your correct opinions with an open mind, but we must implement them according to the circumstances."

His dedication to work is not something that can be persuaded by just a few words. When it comes to caring and loving him, no one can compare to Ms. Deng. However, Ms. Deng understands him and can only support his actions.

Xia Zhizhi whispered, "How much can one person accomplish working overtime? Let's get everyone to work together. There's strength in numbers."

Mr. Zhou often makes phone calls to various offices at 2 or 3 in the middle of the night to notify them of work.

He works 24 hours a day. Sometimes when there is an emergency, he will answer the phone at 2 a.m. and his attitude is quite nice after he picks up.

The switchboard operators in the office work in shifts, but they can’t help dozing off in the middle of the night. Sometimes the phone takes a long time to ring before being answered, and the colleagues who are woken up will be a little irritable.

Mr. Zhou has had the experience of being scolded for making phone calls, but even so, he only criticized everyone's attitude of not taking their work seriously.