Chapter 131: Chapter 131

In the past few days, Tian Xiang was busy with work and hadn’t seen Meng Cheng’an.

Today, the two of them were managing reception duties, and she headed over to the Propaganda Department. She saw him as soon as she reached the corner.

It seemed like he was looking for her too, his steps were somewhat hurried.

They stood apart, one at the corner and the other in the corridor, both smiling at each other.

Meng Cheng’an walked over.

Tian Xiang scrutinized his face carefully.

Great, the dark circles under his eyes had mostly faded, his face looked a bit rounder, reverting to his usual elegant and handsome self.

Tian Xiang: "How have you been resting these past few days?"

Meng Cheng’an: "Not very well."

Meng Cheng’an whispered, "I can’t help but think of you, making it hard to sleep at night."

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Well, he was starting to speak sweet nothings too.

The two walked side by side towards the factory committee, and before they even arrived, they heard the old man’s hearty laughter.

Because this was a surprise inspection, everything was prepared at the last minute, so there wasn’t much of a program, just accompanying the old man for a stroll and taking a look around the factory and the office area.

The factory placed great importance on this, with key leaders accompanying, and heads of departments gathered in the office, awaiting admonishment.

The old man, having led troops before, didn’t speak in the political clichés typical of the officialdom, he directly told everyone to disperse, to go about their business, he was just there for a look without disturbing everyone’s work.

Seeing Meng Cheng’an and Tian Xiang arrive, the factory committee leaders quickly made space to let them come to the front.

Seeing his beloved grandson and granddaughter-in-law, the old man’s eyes crinkled with a smile and he asked Tian Xiang if she missed him, the old man.

With so many eyes on her, Tian Xiang didn’t know how to respond.

Meng Cheng’an said, "Let’s not stand here, let’s go over to the factory department and have a look."

The old man was displeased; the brat interrupted him, showing no respect.

However, in reality, Mr. Meng still listened very much to his grandson; when Meng Cheng’an said to go to the factory department, he led the group there.

The whole tour wasn’t long, walking and stopping with some conversations, taking less than an hour.

After leaving the factory department, the old man took a look around the cafeteria, and as he passed the auditorium, he suddenly stopped and asked Director Lin beside him, "With the New Year approaching, is the factory planning some programs, and the year-end commendation conference too?"

Director Lin nodded, "It’s a part of the routine every year."

Mr. Meng: "Let me take a look at the program list."

Director Lin looked at Jiang Qin behind him.

The union’s propaganda department handled these matters.

Jiang Qin: "Perhaps Mr. Meng should sit in the office while I have someone bring it over."

Director Lin asked the old man what he preferred.

The old man: "No need, I’ll just go over myself to avoid interrupting the little clerks’ work."

Saying this, he headed directly to the union office.

Director Lin and Jiang Qin exchanged a glance, feeling that the old man seemed a bit unhappy.

The entourage moved en masse towards the factory union, Jiang Qin leading the way and welcoming the old man into the propaganda department office.

Since Mr. Meng was visiting today, everyone in the office was present, not venturing out.

Actually, there weren’t many people in the propaganda department, just four, and with Meng Cheng’an attending to reception duties, there were only three left.

Previously, in the factory department, the old man was very happy, smilingly shaking hands and appearing amiable.

However, upon arriving here, his face turned stern.

A person who had battled on the battlefield for half a lifetime, when angry, exuded a strict, cold aura that was quite intimidating.

Many among the entourage already understood; the old man was there to support Meng Cheng’an.

Although past events were already bygones, with many things helplessly beyond reproach, the old man wanted to remind everyone that not pursuing doesn’t mean he had forgotten.

Lu Feng held his work notebook, which contained the event schedule he had recorded.

The previously graceful and composed person now couldn’t even lift his head, quietly stepped forward, and handed over the notebook.

The old man kept his hands clasped behind his back and didn’t take it, instead asking, "What is this?"

Lu Feng: "The year-end event schedule."

The old man responded with an "Oh" and said, "Read it to me."

Lu Feng’s heart tightened, glancing at the old man’s stern face, he quickly adjusted his mindset and began reading aloud from the side.

"Opening with a leadership speech, expected duration: half an hour. Following that, department heads will report this year’s production results..."

As Lu Feng read aloud, at the front of the crowd, Tian Xiang and Meng Cheng’an exchanged a silent glance, feeling a mix of awkwardness and amusement.

The old man was warning those who once looked down on Meng Cheng’an, and ironically, the one caught this time was Lu Feng.

Serves him right, the one who used to look down on Meng Cheng’an the most, wasn’t it him?

Seeing Lu Feng breaking into a nervous sweat, Tian Xiang was quite pleased.

This shameless guy, still pretending to be the male protagonist, just look at his pathetic state now, where’s his protagonist halo?

As Tian Xiang pondered, unexpectedly, the label of Lu Feng’s character on his forehead started to blur.

It was exactly at this moment that the old man raised his hand to interrupt him.

"What about the nominations and awards for outstanding employees and workers?"

The old man showed interest in this part and asked Director Lin beside him, "With the event less than ten days away, have you finalized the list of outstanding talents?"

Director Lin was unsure of the old man’s implication and truthfully responded, "It’s still under selection."

Mr. Meng: "The nominations should have been confirmed, right?"

Director Lin: "Each department submitted theirs, so yes."

"Oh." The old man looked at Jiang Qin, "Who did the union nominate this year? Any little clerks from the Propaganda Department and Internal Affairs Department?"

Propaganda and Internal Affairs Department, you might as well directly say if your grandson and granddaughter-in-law are included.

Jiang Qin immediately understood and nodded, "Yes, they are included."

Tian Xiang had already been re-nominated, and Meng Cheng’an was urgently added on.

The old man nodded in satisfaction, "That’s good."

Then he looked at Tian Xiang, "I heard that although Comrade Tian Xiang has only worked for half a year, she was featured in the newspapers and received a banner. Such a rare talent, you must give her some honor and encouragement to young people, at least nominate for Outstanding Worker."

The old man’s self-talk was understood by everyone as an order.

Director Lin smiled and said, "The factory is indeed fostering young clerks significantly now; appropriate encouragement is definitely needed, I feel the same way."

The old man nodded, acknowledging Xiao Lin as always very sensible.

Mr. Meng exhaled as if recalling something sorrowful, sighed, and said, "Speaking of which, Cheng’an has been working for three years now, working so hard, yet hasn’t received a thing. He doesn’t mind, diligently contributing to his work unit, but as his grandfather, every time I think back, it saddens me greatly..."