“Yunyun, success or failure hinges on this one moment, do you have confidence?”
Wu Chunmei looked at Du Yunyun with some nervousness.
Du Yunyun smiled at Du Fei and Liu Shishi beside her, “Brother, Shishi Jie, did you hear? We’ve learned to use idioms.”
Du Fei patted Du Yunyun’s head, “Little one, Mom is worried about you, and you’re making fun of her.”
Liu Shishi covered her mouth and giggled.
“It’s okay to tease your mom, as long as you can get into Qingbei University, Mom will be happy.”
Wu Chunmei looked at Du Yunyun in front of her, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
More than half a year ago, her and her daughter were tricked out of their house and money because of her son’s imprisonment, and they had to move back into their dilapidated old house.
But since Du Fei was released from prison, their lives had completely changed.
First, the local thugs who came to collect debts were beaten by her son until they begged for mercy, and then Du Fei took them to move to the city.
Living conditions improved, and their daughter’s studies also got better and better, even becoming a standout among countless good students in City No. 1 Middle School.
Not long ago, in the last mock exam, she scored first in the city.
All of this made Wu Chunmei, who had only wanted her son to be released from prison and for their family of three to live a stable life, sometimes wake up laughing in her sleep.
However, Wu Chunmei was still a little nervous today, because it was an important day for Du Yunyun to take the college entrance examination.
Admittedly, Wu Chunmei never went to school and barely knew a few characters.
But she had also heard that many excellent students and top scorers, for various reasons, performed poorly in the final college entrance examination, leading to lifelong regrets.
Her daughter Du Yunyun was indeed good at studying, but the college entrance examination was one of the most important events in life, so Wu Chunmei’s nervousness was unavoidable.
“Mom, don’t worry. I don’t dare to make big promises about getting into Qingbei, but I will try my best to perform at my highest level.”
Joking aside, seeing her mother so worried about her, Du Yunyun took a step forward, took her hand, and comforted her softly.
Du Fei and Liu Shishi also chimed in a couple of times, and Wu Chunmei nodded, trying to calm herself down.
Afterwards, Du Fei drove the family to take Du Yunyun to the college entrance examination venue.
At the entrance of the examination venue, Du Fei said to Du Yunyun, “Little sister, I should have waited for you at the door, but Shishi Jie and I have something to do today. How about it, is it okay for you to be alone?”
“Hmph, I didn’t take it to heart at all. Mom is just worrying for nothing. Really.”
Du Yunyun looked nonchalant.
Du Fei gave Du Yunyun a thumbs-up, “As expected of my sister, you have my old demeanor.”
His words immediately drew an eye-roll from Du Yunyun, and Liu Shishi, standing beside him, nudged his shoulder.
“Yunyun, don’t listen to your brother talking nonsense. I believe you will achieve excellent results, go for it!”
Liu Shishi’s words were simple and direct, without any unnecessary remarks.
Du Yunyun nodded seriously.
Then, under the blessings of Du Fei, Liu Shishi, and Wu Chunmei, she walked into the examination hall.
When Du Yunyun was out of sight, Du Fei turned to Wu Chunmei and said, “Mom, Yunyun has grown up, and she’s been sensible since she was young. She knows what she should do. If you keep waiting here until she comes out, it will only put pressure on her. I think you should go back and do whatever you need to do. If anything, go to the market and buy some good food for her.”
Initially, Wu Chunmei had planned to wait outside the examination hall until Du Yunyun came out.
But Du Yunyun’s performance just now, coupled with Du Fei’s words, made her feel that if she really waited outside the examination hall until her daughter came out, it might indeed put pressure on her.
Thinking of this, Wu Chunmei couldn’t help but nod.
However, regarding Du Fei’s offer to drive her, Wu Chunmei waved her hand and said it was not necessary; it was still early, and she would stroll over.
Seeing that Wu Chunmei didn’t want him to drive her, Du Fei reminded her to call him if anything happened, and then he and Liu Shishi drove away.
…
“Brother Zhang, have you considered the matter I asked you about before?”
A man in a suit carrying a briefcase looked at the man in front of him with anticipation.
The man called Brother Zhang, smoking a cigarette, looked troubled and said, “Oh, Little Zhu, this matter of yours is not easy to handle. We are currently promoting environmental protection industries here, and your chemical plant simply won’t pass the review, so…”
Brother Zhang didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.
Hearing Brother Zhang’s words, Little Zhu showed disappointment, and then said, “Brother Zhang, please help me out for my brother-in-law’s sake. My small factory is related to the livelihoods of dozens of people. I’ve made some money in recent years and can still make ends meet, but my workers will be unemployed.”
Little Zhu was the owner of a small chemical plant in the Rongcheng Development Zone, and the man sitting opposite him was Section Chief Zhang Zhitao, who was in charge of approving factories in the development zone.
The annual factory approval was here again, and Little Zhu’s chemical plant’s emissions did not meet the standards, so he came to Zhang Zhitao.
Even though Zhang Zhitao was just a small section chief, as the saying goes, a local official has more power than a distant one.
Zhang Zhitao held the power to approve factories, and bosses of all sizes in the development zone treated him like a grandfather. Every festival, gifts were indispensable.
“Little Zhu, I have always handled matters impartially. It doesn’t matter who you mention; if you continue like this, don’t blame me for chasing you away!”
Zhang Zhitao put on a pretense of being selfless.
But Little Zhu knew very well that all of this was related to his brother-in-law’s retirement from his position not long ago.
However, there was nothing he could do. In this day and age, favor fades with absence. It could be said that Zhang Zhitao had only gotten to his current position through the promotion of Little Zhu’s brother-in-law back then.
If his brother-in-law were still in office, he wouldn’t have had to beg Zhang Zhitao; a phone call from his brother-in-law would have been enough for Zhang Zhitao to handle it with enthusiasm.
“Brother Zhang, are you free tomorrow? I’d like to treat you to a meal.”
At this point, no matter what, he had to win over Zhang Zhitao, otherwise, the factory would definitely not be able to operate.
Zhang Zhitao feigned seriousness, “Little Zhu, what are you doing? Are you trying to corrupt me? No, no.”
Damn it, he had eaten his meals before, if not dozens, then not far from it. Now he was putting on airs of purity?
But since he was asking for a favor, Little Zhu could only smile and say, “Brother Zhang, what are you talking about? Am I that kind of person? I just want to take this opportunity to catch up, and we will absolutely not discuss official business.”
“Alright then, I heard from a friend that a new wild game restaurant has opened in the city center, let’s go there then.”
After Little Zhu’s repeated invitations, Zhang Zhitao finally agreed.
However, after hearing Zhang Zhitao’s words, Little Zhu showed a pained expression.
He knew the wild game restaurant Zhang Zhitao mentioned; it was very expensive inside.
A meal there would cost at least nearly twenty thousand, plus some kickbacks, it would probably cost at least tens of thousands.
Thinking of this, Little Zhu sighed silently in his heart, but outwardly, he smiled and said it was no problem.