Chapter 367

We went downstairs, but Xue Bing was nowhere to be seen in the living room. Just as we were wondering, Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi came over and told us to go to Minister Huang Shan's study.

Xue Bing wasn't in the study either; only Minister Huang Shan was there, closing his eyes and grinding ink, a sheet of rice paper spread out in front of him, seemingly about to wield his brush.

We didn't dare to make a sound, walked over on tiptoe, and stood beside him, watching him focus his energy and calm his spirit, planning a thousand miles away.

Minister Huang Shan clearly sensed our presence, opened his eyes, and directed his daughter, "Go, get a bottle of Moutai."

Huang Weiwei quickly took a bottle of Moutai from the bottom shelf of the bookcase, looked around, and said, "Dad, there are no wine glasses."

Minister Huang Shan laughed, "I'm not drinking, what do I need wine glasses for?"

Huang Weiwei asked in surprise, "If you're not drinking, what are you taking the wine for?"

Minister Huang Shan didn't answer, took the wine from his daughter's hand, unscrewed the cap, and poured a little into the inkstone. A thread of rich wine fragrance immediately filled the room.

"Little Chen, come help me grind the ink." Minister Huang Shan handed the ink to me and walked to the window, looking at the swaying branches outside, saying nothing.

Wine accompanied the ink grinding; besides the ink fragrance, the wine fragrance was even more enticing.

"You all know Comrade Little Xue from the Cultural Center, right?" Minister Huang Shan suddenly spoke.

Huang Weiwei and I looked at each other, not daring to answer.

"Why aren't you speaking?" Minister Huang was not angry but awe-inspiring. He had been immersed in officialdom for many years and had always been in charge of the organization department; his conversational skills and ability to see the depth of problems were incomparable to ordinary people.

I naturally didn't dare to speak. Up to now, in the Huang family, I was still an outsider. People had given me the opportunity to enter their home, and I couldn't be arrogant.

A stray dog knows how to hide its tail, let alone a smart person.

"I know her!" Huang Weiwei answered, walked to her father's side, leaned against him like a little bird, hugged her father's arm, and laughed coquettishly, "She is a teacher from Chen Feng's hometown."

Minister Huang Shan gave an 'oh' sound, turned around, and stared at me.

I suddenly felt two cold rays of light shooting over, as if they were sharp blades, peeling off my clothes layer by layer.

"So, you are all familiar with each other?"

"Not too familiar," Huang Weiwei answered for her father again.

"Not familiar, and you helped her transfer jobs?" Minister Huang Shan was aggressive, his gaze sweeping over me and landing on a painting by Zhong Zengya hanging on the wall.

"Is there a problem?" Huang Weiwei was impatient. Her father's series of questions made this daughter, who had been spoiled her whole life, very uncomfortable.

Minister Huang Shan didn't say anything, grabbed a large brush hanging on the table, pondered for a moment, and wrote "Not to be pointed at by a thousand fingers." After looking at it from left to right for a while, he handed the brush in his hand to me and said, "You come and sign it."

My head roared. It wasn't that I didn't dare to write; writing a few brush characters wouldn't stump me.

The problem was that this was the calligraphy of the Organization Minister, and it was inscribed with "Not to be pointed at by a thousand fingers." Who couldn't see the implication?

Seeing that I didn't dare to take it, Minister Huang Shan smiled magnanimously, turned his head to look at his daughter, as if to say, 'Look, your boyfriend only has this much courage and level!'

I am someone who cannot stand being looked down upon.

Just as I was about to give it a try, Huang Weiwei laughed, "Dad, how would Chen Feng's few stinky characters dare to run wild on your turf?"

Minister Huang Shan stroked his chin with satisfaction, "It's okay, Confucius didn't mind ugly handwriting."

This sentence seemed to relieve me, but it also seemed full of sarcasm.

As the future son-in-law of his Organization Minister family, I couldn't let my future father-in-law look down on me.

I chose a medium-sized brush, dipped it full of ink, steadied my wrist, and with strength through the tip of the brush, wrote Lu Xun's two lines: "Frowning coldly at the thousand fingers pointing, bowing my head willingly to serve as an ox for the children."

In terms of calligraphy foundation, Minister Huang Shan was clearly a step ahead of me. But my characters wouldn't be too bad.

Minister Huang Shan's was clerical script, mine was running cursive script; they complemented each other and added to each other's radiance.

Changing to a small brush, I wrote my own name, leaving a small space for Minister Huang Shan to write his big name.

Minister Huang Shan looked at it with interest for a long time, the more he looked, the more he smiled. Finally, he took the brush from my hand and wrote a line of characters: "Written as a gift to my little friend Chen Feng."

He took out the vermilion box, took out the jade seal, and stamped it heavily.

"It's a gift for you two," Minister Huang Shan said, pointing to the calligraphy, then took his daughter's hand and went downstairs.

I stood blankly in the study, looking at the calligraphy in front of me, thunder and lightning flashing in the bottom of my heart.

Minister Huang Shan called me "little friend," what was his intention?

And he declared it a gift to "you two." This "you two," did it refer to me and Huang Weiwei, or something else?

They say the hearts of high officials are big, but who knows how deep they are?

I couldn't think too much; the more I thought, the more afraid I became. I secretly cheered myself up; Minister Huang Shan clearly didn't know about my relationship with Xue Bing; he was just acting on a father's instinct to pave the way for his daughter's happiness.

I followed them downstairs. In the living room, the father and daughter were leaning on the sofa, whispering intimately.

Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi went to the kitchen herself. The old nanny was advanced in age and could no longer be trusted with kitchen work, so she could only do some odd jobs.

I rolled up my sleeves, found an apron, tied it on, and volunteered to go up and help.

Seeing my posture, Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi didn't stop me, but instead said happily, "Little Chen, let's see how your cooking skills are."

She gave me a look, let me follow her in, and handed me a handful of garlic sprouts.

"Little Chen, did you have a good New Year?" she asked me nonchalantly.

"Very good," I answered, found a small basket, and prepared to pick the vegetables.

"Was Weiwei okay at your house?"

My heart stirred, and I pondered the meaning of her words.

"She didn't cause any trouble for your family, did she?" Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi followed up.

"No, how could she?" I said, looking up at her, just as she happened to look over. I was startled and quickly lowered my head.

"After the New Year, what are your plans?"

"First, do my job well," I answered honestly. "Auntie, you know, I just got promoted to Deputy County Magistrate, and I'm not familiar with a lot of the work."

"Aren't you considering personal issues?"

"Considering. I definitely have to consider them."

"How are you considering them?"

"I want to wait until I've adapted for a period of time before talking about it."

"Is it adapting to the work? Or adapting to the person?"

Her words left me speechless, with no way to answer. To tell the truth, in this sentence, perhaps subconsciously, I meant both.

"I..." I hesitated.

"Speak boldly."

"Adapting to the work."

Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi smiled, nudged her mouth toward the living room, and said, "Weiwei going to your house for the New Year, her dad didn't know beforehand. If I hadn't helped you suppress it, you would have been ready to be scolded."

A layer of cold sweat broke out on my back, but I couldn't say, 'I didn't ask her to go to my house for the New Year.'

"However, I think that Weiwei will go to your house sooner or later, so it's good to warm up a bit first." Her nonchalance made my heart jump with fear.

"This Teacher Little Xue, what are you planning to do about her?" she suddenly changed the subject.

"Nothing."

"Aren't you afraid of others calling you a Chen Shimei?"

"I didn't have anything with her in the first place," I said, my face turning red for no reason.

"It's good if there's nothing. Let the past be the past," Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi said, cracking an egg into a bowl. "People are young, who hasn't had a moment of heart-pounding?"

I nodded secretly.

"This Little Xue, she's quite beautiful, but her mind is too calculating."

I didn't dare to respond.

"I've heard Weiwei talk about your affairs. This Little Xue is formidable."

I smiled bitterly, "Her family is in the countryside. After graduating from university, she was still assigned to the countryside."

"I know a thing or two about country people. For their own personal interests, they often disregard family and career."

"Country people are relatively more simple and honest."

"That depends on the person. For example, this Little Xue is not simple."

I was submissive and didn't dare to argue anymore.

"Just now I told her about your affairs and invited her on your behalf to come and drink wedding wine when you hold your wedding."

Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi said unhurriedly, every word like a knife, cutting my heart until it was bloody.

"Great!" I said insincerely.

"It's good that you know it's good!"

My heart felt like it had fallen into an ice hole, frozen so it couldn't beat.

"Our Weiwei has never suffered since she was a child, and she has never been in love. Love, to her, is like a blank sheet of paper," she sighed, picking up chopsticks to stir the eggs.

I listened carefully and turned to look at Huang Weiwei in the living room.

"We are a cadre family, and we have very strict requirements for our children. Especially regarding their private lives, we cannot tolerate the slightest mistake," Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi said, having finished stirring the eggs, and placed the steamer on the gas stove. "This steamed egg custard is a dish Weiwei loves to eat."

"Regarding Weiwei and your affairs, her father and I respect her opinion," she concluded, took the garlic sprouts from my hand, pointed to the living room, and said, "Go keep her father and daughter company and say a few words."

I still wanted to continue performing, but she said unceremoniously, "Now is not the time for you to perform. Our Weiwei doesn't know how to cook; you can perform in the future."

I flushed red, caught in a dilemma.

"Go on. After we finish eating, we'll go see your new home together in the afternoon."