Chapter 1791: True Gold Must Be Tempered by Fire

"My workstation is over there?" Zirui asked uncertainly.

He was truly surprised; he hadn't expected this.

At the level of Minister Kang, he has more than one Secretary; to be able to sit as the Secretary in the Minister's office, one must certainly be his most important Secretary.

This means that any secrets the superior has, one knows them all, and he is completely undefended against one.

Of course, a Secretary cannot slack off either; it would be too easily discovered.

However, he is merely a newcomer; does he really have such qualifications?

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" Minister Kang looked at him with a smile, his expression carrying a hint of teasing.

"I have no problem, not a single problem," Zirui immediately stated his position.

"Alright, since there is no problem, let's start working immediately. Young man, don't think that being a Village Chief in a poverty-stricken village is the most difficult thing; being my Secretary is."

Minister Kang was not joking; it was indeed the case.

Being kept to work on the very first day of reporting for duty—this was a show of force!

Zirui had been tempered by his father since childhood and was already very capable, but he truly hadn't expected there to be someone even more fanatical about work than his own father!

It is clearly work for the public, is there a need to be this desperate?

Minister Kang had almost no time to be idle; his work was scheduled to the brim, and he conveniently filled Zirui's schedule to the brim as well.

After one morning, his back felt like it was about to break.

When going to the Cafeteria to eat, Minister Kang asked with a smile: "Are you alright?"

"I am very well, no problem. I can completely withstand your work intensity, please rest assured."

Young and impetuous.

Zirui soon realized he had said the wrong thing; how could he be so unreserved and say everything?

The afternoon's work was even more intense than the morning's, and that wasn't all—he couldn't leave after work; he had to work overtime!

There was no prior notice for the overtime, and Minister Kang didn't feel that such a trivial matter as working overtime needed prior notice; being his Secretary meant overtime was the norm, and one would get used to it.

But at the Sheng Family, they were waiting very anxiously.

Today was Zirui's first day back home, and the family had prepared a sumptuous welcome banquet for him. Everyone had a lot to say to Zirui; he had originally said he was going to report to the Ministry of Commerce, but he hadn't returned.

Zihan kept asking Yueyue to go to the door to look, to see when Sange would return.

Yueyue went once, twice, three times, but on the fourth time she refused to go; she was very dissatisfied!

"Fourth brother, is your brain broken? Why do you want me to go to the door to look? Can't you just call Sange and ask?"

Zihan said: "Do I need you to tell me? If the phone could get through, wouldn't I already know what happened?"

Waiting from noon until evening, Zirui still hadn't returned, and even Shi Youxuan couldn't sit still, preparing to send someone to the Ministry of Commerce to ask what was going on.

Sheng Hanyu said: "No need to ask, he must have been assigned a position and started working directly; the reason he hasn't returned at this hour is that he is working overtime."

"No way? Who gets kept to work on their first day of reporting?" The family members didn't believe it and were all skeptical.

Shi Ran, Zichen, and Zihan were all high-level talents managing enterprises—not just their own family's enterprises, but others' as well—and they had never seen anyone use employees to such an "extreme."

"You don't believe it? Fine, let's make a bet."

"Bet on what?"

"Whoever loses must agree to one condition from the other party. You three have the same stance; if you lose, each of you must agree to one condition from me."

"Deal."

"Deal."

"Deal."

The three of them agreed, but Shi Youxuan did not participate.

She had a gut feeling that her husband would win.

Zirui finally got off work. He deliberately put on a relaxed appearance, tidied up the office, and then greeted Minister Kang before leaving.

Walking out of the office, his relaxed footsteps immediately became incomparably heavy.

His straight back also slumped. Zirui had never been this tired before; no wonder none of Minister Kang's Secretaries lasted long—it turned out they were all worked until they ran away.

The Secretary to the Minister of Commerce is a position many people covet; it is the best stepping stone for promotion, yet his Secretary changed frequently.

When Zirui was an intern at the Ministry of Commerce, he didn't know the reason because he was of low status and had no say, but now he knew.

So that was how it was; being a Secretary is also a bitter chore, but he was willing to endure it and was still very happy.

The first day of work, although exhausting, was very fulfilling.

After going to the door for the nth time, Yueyue finally ran back and cheered: "Sange is back, Sange is back."

Zirui walked in from outside, and everyone asked in unison: "Why are you back so late?"

Zirui didn't think much of it and told the truth.

"I went to report for duty first when I got back. I originally wanted to come home after reporting, but I didn't expect to be kept to work, so I just got off."

As soon as his voice fell, the brothers and sisters were all very disappointed.

The parents smiled with their eyes curved: "You lost, you all lost."

Zirui:...

What does that mean?

He was busy outside all day, and his family wasn't really worried about him, but actually used him to make a bet?

That's right, that's exactly what happened.

The siblings had lost, and as they were good sports, they let their father state his conditions.

Sheng Hanyu didn't hold back at all and said to Shi Ran: "In the future, bring your little grandson over to play more often. All the children in this house have grown up, and none of them are fun to play with."

Shi Ran:...

Fine, although she didn't know why her father liked small children more as he got older, this request wasn't hard to fulfill, so she agreed immediately.

It was Zichen's turn; his heart rose to his throat, terrified that his father would suddenly make things difficult and force him to return to Dingsheng.

Fortunately, he had overthought it; his father did not make things difficult for him, but merely urged him not to neglect his relationship with his girlfriend just to manage the business.

Although the two of them had been together for many years and had a deep emotional foundation, they were now separated by ten thousand waters and mountains; with such a great distance, they needed to keep in touch more, otherwise even the deepest feelings would have a day when they faded.

"Mm, I will," Zichen said, feeling quite moved.

His father usually looked very cold and would not fuss over them like their mother did, but his father also kept their lives in mind and remembered every little thing.

Seeing that his father's demands for his older brother and sister were not high, Zihan also breathed a sigh of relief.

As it turned out, he relaxed too early.

When Sheng Hanyu faced Zihan, his tone suddenly became stern: "In the future, you are not allowed to change girlfriends every other day. The previous one, Yuanyuan, was quite good. If you want to find a girlfriend, find one by that standard; don't be indiscriminate with just any messy woman..."

Mentioning Zihan made Sheng Hanyu furious!

This bet was mainly to teach him a lesson.

Seeing the flames of war spread to himself, Zihan immediately resisted; his most direct method of resistance was to refuse to agree and change the subject.

"Today is a good day for Zirui to return from the countryside; don't spoil the mood. You should care more about Zirui, why bring me up for no reason..."

He winked and gestured, signaling Zirui to come to his rescue.

If this were in the past, Zirui would not have bothered with him; he would have used the same tone as their father to lecture Zihan on how he should behave.

My Wife Always Wants to Make Me Angry