20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3489 A Thousand Miles to Send a Letter Just for a Wall

"Chang'an, your godparents, Uncle Jiang, Aunt Wang, your little sister Momo, and your niece are all at our house. When can you come back? They're all waiting for you. Your niece is over a year old, and you, as her uncle, haven't even held her yet. That's not very good of you!"

My mother's voice was bright and flat, carrying a hint of reproach that seemed half-serious but was actually quite accusatory.

Zhao Chang'an had already refused to go home to entertain guests at noon, but now his mother suddenly called again. Moreover, she had originally said that only Xia Changhai and Lao Lei and his wife were coming, but Jiang Jie also came with her daughter and granddaughter. The undercurrent of this was obvious.

Zhao Chang'an was furious when he heard this, but he wasn't angry at his mother; he was angry at Lao Lei.

It was obvious that when the mother contacted Jiang Jie at noon, saying that she had something to do and couldn't come back, Lao Lei forced Jiang Jie to bring Xia Momo and her daughter to his door, just to force Zhao Chang'an to come back.

As for why Lao Lei was in such a hurry, it's because this is his last chance before retirement, his last gamble.

The nickname "Old Lei" comes from the fact that he started working in Leishan Township after graduating from technical school in his teens, and he worked there for a long time, outliving one colleague, subordinate, and leader after another.

As a result, at a meeting in Pengzhou, the new leader who came at the time misremembered his name and called him Lao Lei. Although Jiang Yaode knew that the leader had misremembered him, he readily agreed in order not to embarrass the new leader. Little did he know that this name would haunt him like a nightmare ever since.

This name brought him glory, but it also became a stumbling block to his transfer and promotion. He was born and raised in Leishan Township, and it was not appropriate for him to serve as the top leader in the township. If he was transferred to Leishan Township, would it still be Leishan Township?

And so, they remained stagnant for another ten years or so.

The question is, is this your last chance? What business is it of mine, Zhao Chang'an?
This is what frustrates Zhao Chang'an. Clearly, there are still many self-righteous people in this world who don't understand his personality.

Based on Zhao Chang'an's understanding of his mother, he knew that she was already very angry when she made that call.

When she's happy, she's more prone to being unreasonable and sarcastic, especially towards her father and herself. This is also an outward and concrete manifestation of her love.

When angry, however, they become extremely serious and calm, uttering harsh words and complaints while criticizing others.

Zhao Chang'an smiled bitterly. His mother had just turned eighteen when she joined the First Construction Company. Her close friends, Qiao Qinqin, Jiang Jie, and Qian Miao, were like his father's close coworkers, Xia Wenyang, Xia Changhai, and Lu Baosan.

Having weathered the storms of the past twenty-odd years, Jiang Jie is the only one she still keeps in touch with privately, so she cherishes her relationship with her.

Moreover, women are often prone to having a saintly heart, and it's only natural for them to feel pity for Jiang Jie's family's difficulties.

This is the difference between those in power and ordinary people. Just like my father, since becoming the general manager of the First Construction Company and then the director of the Construction Committee, there has been a great change in this regard.

Because power has a natural ability to attract people, it means that it can bring wealth and rent-seeking, and change the fate of oneself, one's family, and even the entire clan.

My father wanted to avoid such messy and ridiculous things as much as possible, so in many people's eyes, he became increasingly cold and inhumane after becoming an official.

The mother, on the other hand, was somewhat lost in the respect and flattery of others, and was also kidnapped by various things carefully packaged in the guise of morality and affection. Without power in her hands, she naturally did not understand the vigilance and caution of holding a handleless double-edged sword.

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit. You guys eat first if it gets late."

"Nothing much today, just playing mahjong. Dinner will be served whenever you get back."

Zhao Chang'an hung up the phone. He now understood why officials in ancient times rarely returned to their hometowns, but only did so after they retired in their old age.

"A thousand miles of letters just for a wall, why not give him three feet more?" At that time, Zhang Ying was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and also held the title of Academician of the Hanlin Academy, which shows how troublesome such trivial matters from his hometown could be.

As for the story of returning home in glory, it was merely the fantasy of some impoverished scholars.

When Zhang Juzheng returned to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents in a sedan chair carried by thirty-two men, he stayed at their graves for three years. This was a special case of showing off his status. Otherwise, for ordinary people, once they reach a certain position, their hometown would basically only appear in their dreams.

-

Zhao Chang'an didn't return home until 6 p.m., when the sun was setting. When they saw him come back, Lao Lei and his wife, and Xia Changhai and his wife all stood up with smiles.

Lu Baosan, on the other hand, remained seated at the mahjong table set up in the living room, calmly drinking tea and eating melon seeds, showing no politeness or formality towards Zhao Chang'an.

"Dad, Uncle Jiang, Aunt Li, Uncle Bao, Happy New Year! You guys keep fighting, don't worry about me."

Zhao Chang'an smiled and waved to Jiang Yaode and the others. Seeing that the study door was closed and the living room was filled with smoke, he knew that Xia Momo and Jiang Jie were in the study with the child because of the smoke.

“Chang’an is back, Niu Niu calls him Uncle.”

Jiang Jie stood by the study door, holding a beautifully sculpted little child, and smiled at Zhao Chang'an.

-

Around 9 p.m., Zhao Chang'an and his parents saw the guests off downstairs to go home.

Jiang Yaode drove a small van from the countryside, which was spacious enough, and his wife drove it.

When Jiang Yaode came downstairs, he was all smiles, even though Zhao Chang'an hadn't said a word of help, and Lao Lei hadn't offered any assistance either.

It was only then that Zhao Chang'an understood Lao Lei's thoughts. He didn't need Zhao Chang'an to offer him an official position or make promises, and he also knew that Zhao Chang'an wouldn't bother with such a small position as a deputy section chief, especially since they weren't familiar with each other to begin with.

However, the fact that he visited Director Zhao's home at the Construction Committee with his godparents, godsister, and niece, and that Director Zhao and his son Zhao Chang'an personally accompanied him, was enough.

Zhao Chang'an looked at his godparents, who looked much older as they got into the car. They had specially changed into their best winter clothes for the occasion. Xia Changhai was wearing a silk-padded jacket that he had bought this year, and Jiang Jie was wearing the mink coat that Zhao Chang'an had bought for her before.

Moreover, they both dyed their hair. Yesterday at Pengzhou Hospital, their hair was still half black and half white.

Xia Momo was wearing the latest trendy down jacket in Chongqing this year. She had dressed up carefully before coming over. Although she was so thin that she was almost unrecognizable, her once plump and rosy face was now covered with wrinkles and a sickly pallor. However, Jiang Jie dressed her up like a jasmine flower that had been kneaded and rubbed. Although withered, it still had fragrance and the shadow of the past.

During the meal, Xia Momo didn't look at Zhao Chang'an once, including not coming out of the study at the beginning. When Zhao Chang'an took the initiative to go in and greet her, she ignored him. However, Zhao Chang'an had already decided not to argue with her because of Xia Changhai and his wife.

Everyone greeted each other warmly. Li Shufen started the van, and at that moment, her mother, Zhang Lishan, suddenly took out a thick red envelope from her pocket and stuffed it into Jiang Jie's arms through the car window.

"Sister Li, you've given us too much!"

Jiang Jie panicked and tried to get out of the car, but Zhang Lishan reached in and pressed the manual lock button, preventing Jiang Jie from getting out.