"Old Fan, you must look after Little Sweet at the unit. Don't let our own child get bullied!"
Despite receiving assurances, Dong Yuanzhong wasn't entirely convinced and said to Fan Shufang again.
Where there are people, there is a martial world. Even the Translation Bureau wasn't filled with people of noble character.
There would surely be those who harbored ill will towards Little Sweet, perhaps even disliked her and sought ways to undermine her.
Fan Shufang felt speechless and wanted to roll her eyes.
The way he put it, it was as if she didn't know how to look after her own child.
"Old Dong, I really didn't expect you to say such a thing. I remember when Shou Wen first went to the Translation Bureau, you didn't say this."
Fan Shufang couldn't help but tease him.
She had lived with Dong Yuanzhong for decades and never knew that Old Dong had such a side to him.
Her own old man had never said he would look after anyone at work, not even their two sons.
Yet today, for Little Sweet, he had said such words.
However, Little Sweet was indeed a child worthy of affection.
Dong Yuanzhong, upon hearing Fan Shufang's words, widened his eyes and said, "Is it the same? Shou Wen is a boy, he needs to be tempered. Little Sweet is a delicate girl. What if she gets bullied?"
Fan Shufang: "..."
Alright, this was gender discrimination!
"Second Grandpa, please don't worry. No one will bully me. Everyone at the Translation Bureau is really nice to me."
Dong Yuanzhong snorted coldly.
"You think I didn't see? Someone was eyeing you covetously tonight! Please, pay special attention to the person translating for Old Chang."
What was going on?
Fan Shufang was also startled by Dong Yuanzhong's words.
Song Hongbing did indeed target Little Sweet somewhat, likely influenced by the gossip within the Translation Bureau. But tonight, Song Hongbing hadn't really shown any hostility towards Little Sweet, had he?
How did Old Dong discover that Song Hongbing was acting strangely?
In fact, Fan Shufang hadn't considered interfering, but she thought that as elders, they shouldn't always step in; children needed to grow on their own.
Little Sweet was smart and capable, and she believed Little Sweet could handle it.
"Anyway, I saw it, and he's not a good person! He's probably narrow-minded. Such a person is definitely unreliable."
Dong Yuanzhong didn't know if anything had happened between that person and Su Xiaotian, but based on his years of judging people, he sensed a problem.
Although Little Sweet was smart and capable, she was, after all, just a young girl inexperienced in the ways of the world, which made him quite worried.
"Second Grandpa, it's okay. I can handle it. Teacher Song might just think I'm young and not capable of handling important tasks."
Su Xiaotian wasn't foolish; she certainly felt Song Hongbing's hostility.
But she had enough confidence to protect herself.
How could one live in this world without experiencing storms?
Only through the baptism of storms could one achieve ultimate growth.
She was about to graduate from university and enter society. She couldn't always rely on her family for help.
"Alright, anyway, if you have any trouble, just find your elder brother and your second grandmother. Just don't let yourself be wronged!"
Su Xiaotian nodded.
Although she intended to handle it herself, if it came to the worst, there was no shame in asking for help.
As they spoke, they had already arrived at the entrance of the Su family's courtyard.
As it was late, after dropping Su Xiaotian off at the Su family's door, Dong Yuanzhong and his wife did not go into the Su residence. They dropped Su Xiaotian off and immediately returned.
At the same time, Minister Chang was on the phone with the director of the Translation Bureau.
The content was naturally a request to have a different translator assigned for the upcoming work.
Director Du was very surprised. Minister Chang from the Ministry of Commerce was generally quite pleasant, and he had never explicitly expressed dissatisfaction with translators before. What was the problem today?
Thinking this, Director Du voiced his question.
Minister Chang did not elaborate, merely stating that he hoped for someone more capable to handle this translation.
He was very dissatisfied with Song Hongbing's performance. If someone hadn't stepped in to compensate, there might have been problems today.
In future formal consultations and negotiations, if the translator faltered, it would cause major issues.
Although they were friendly nations, the other party would certainly not give him any room for error during negotiations.
The leader of the Translation Bureau frowned upon hearing Minister Chang's words.
He pondered for a moment, mentally reviewing the current translation team. Based on the current lineup, this arrangement was the most reasonable.
"Minister Chang, this matter is a bit difficult to handle. It's not that I'm being stingy, but you know, there are very few people proficient in the Y language. Recently, two have gone to Country Y, and currently, only a few are available. Besides the veteran translator Fu Guo Yang, Song Hongbing is the most outstanding."
Director Du felt his scalp begin to itch. Although Fu Guo Yang had extensive experience, he had other tasks and couldn't always accompany the Ministry of Commerce.
"Director Du, I don't need Fu Guo Yang either. I think the young girl named Su Xiaotian who was present today is quite good. Her spoken language is fluent, and when she translated, it was almost instantaneous."
Minister Chang's eyes lit up at this moment. He felt this might be a good opportunity to get closer to Su Xiaotian and persuade her to take a position in the Ministry of Commerce.
It was a pity that Director Du on the other end of the phone did not know that Minister Chang had such intentions.
If he had known, he would likely have been even more frustrated.
Su Xiaotian?
"You're talking about Su Xiaotian, who is interning at the Translation Bureau? She is indeed good, but she is still too young. Your translation tasks are too demanding, and she might not be able to handle them."
As the head of the Translation Bureau, he naturally had his concerns.
What if something went wrong if an intern undertook such an important translation task?
Moreover, Su Xiaotian's German and French skills were very solid, to the point where "proficient" was an understatement. Although she knew the Y language, he was unsure of her exact level.
He allowed Su Xiaotian to participate in this translation work, but in a less critical translation role.
The Ministry of Commerce's tasks in this reception were relatively more important and required stronger personnel.
"She's not too young, not too young. The little girl is almost graduating from university. She even served as a German translator in high school."
Minister Chang was familiar with Su Xiaotian and spoke without reservation at this moment.
Hearing Minister Chang's words, Director Du could no longer misunderstand. Minister Chang had known Su Xiaotian before.
And he must have been quite familiar with her to know about her high school days.
Wait, this young girl was reportedly in a gifted program in high school. How old was she then?
Had she really served as a translator back then?
He harbored some doubt.
In fact, Director Du began to consider whether Minister Chang was genuinely dissatisfied with Song Hongbing, or if he simply wanted to create an opportunity for Su Xiaotian by replacing Song Hongbing with her.
He then contemplated and compared the situations of the two.
He didn't know much about Su Xiaotian, only that she was a very outstanding junior.
But no matter how outstanding she was, she was ultimately just a rising star. He found it difficult to entrust her with major responsibilities.
On the other hand, Song Hongbing's performance in the past had been commendable.
The mistake this time was probably just an accident, wasn't it?