Xu Shaojie came out of the long-distance bus station and looked around. He hadn't taken a long-distance bus in a long time. This time, Xu Shaojie returned to the provincial city without telling Zhang Shaocai. According to Zhang Shaocai's temperament, he would have definitely asked Xu Shaojie to drive himself or send someone to pick him up. Xu Shaojie thought it was unnecessary. He also didn't tell Tang Wanrou. During the National Day holiday, Tang Wanrou would definitely return to the provincial city, and they could talk about it then.

  Xu Shaojie was thinking of meeting Sun Yong, he had never forgotten Sun Yong, although it had been a long time since they last met. Their schedules didn't match up, when Xu Shaojie returned to the provincial city, Sun Yong had already gone home for Chinese New Year. The school had two vacations, and Xu Shaojie's work made it difficult for him to have free time. If Xu Shaojie's guess was correct, Sun Yong should have also received an invitation.

  Xu Pingfan was already running around on the ground, Han Qing'e followed behind him, shouting Xu Pingfan's name, afraid that Xu Pingfan would fall. Xu Shaojie suddenly picked up Xu Pingfan who was still running and Xu Pingfan was startled, just about to cry when he saw it was his uncle, smiled and stretched out his hand into Xu Shaojie's pocket to search for something. Every time his uncle came back, he brought him snacks. As expected, Xu Pingfan finally found something delicious on his uncle, which turned out to be in the plastic bag that his uncle was holding. Xu Pingfan took it without hesitation and held onto it tightly, refusing to let go.

  "Shao Jie, how come you're back now, is it a holiday?"

  "Mom, one of my classmates is getting married on National Day, and I'm coming back this time to attend their wedding."

  "Oh, just got back, Yijie is still at work, Xiaomei is at home, hurry back, I'll bring Fanfan back soon, you too, every time you come back with something, Fanfan this kid, has nothing to eat, and asks uncle where he went, when will he be back."

  Xu Shaojie smiled and went home, where it was very quiet. Toys were scattered on the floor, and paper scraps were everywhere, definitely torn apart by Xu Pingfan. Xu Shaojie had witnessed Xu Pingfan's skills before - no matter how clean he cleaned up, Xu Pingfan could mess it up again in less than 10 minutes. Xu Shaojie's policy was to let him do as he pleased, and not worry about cleaning up after him.

  Liu Xiaomei saw Xu Shaojie and hurriedly asked if he had eaten yet, offering to cook for him immediately. Xu Shaojie smiled and said it was okay, that he had already eaten and wouldn't be eating at home in the afternoon either, as he would be having lunch with his classmates.

  Xu Shaojie's appointment as district party secretary was known to everyone in the family. Han Qing'e worried for a long time, thinking that Xu Shaojie was too young and not suitable for the position of district party secretary. She repeatedly reminded Xu Shaojie to be honest and upright, and not to make mistakes, as there were no powerful connections at home. Xu Yijie and Liu Xiaomei were happy for Xu Shaojie.

  When Xujie arrived at the school, it was not yet dismissed, and the new semester had just begun. Sun Tao should be leading a sophomore class now, which is said to be very tiring. When Xujie entered, he explained himself to the old doorman for a long time, but the old man had never seen him before. The campus was huge, and Xujie didn't know where to find Sun Yong's office, so he asked passing teachers and soon found it. Without thinking, Xujie directly entered Sun Yong's office, only to realize that he had been too abrupt - there were many people working in the office, including some teachers preparing lessons or grading assignments who looked at him with surprise. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Xujie found that Sun Yong was not even in his office.

  "Comrade, who are you looking for?"

  "Oh, I'm looking for Sun Yong, we were university classmates."

  "Teacher Sun Yong is teaching a class now, it's almost time for the end of the class, just wait for him."

  The old teacher pointed to Sun Yong's office desk, and Xu Shaojie walked over and sat down. On the table were textbooks, corrected homework, and other things. Xu Shaojie felt very uneasy sitting in the office, as there were seven teachers inside, all busy with their work, while he had nothing to do. He noticed the attendance sheet on Sun Yong's desk and kept glancing at it. When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Xu Shaojie let out a sigh of relief.

  "Xu Ban Zhang, long time no see! What brings you here, haha!"

  When Sun Yong's loud voice rang out, Xu Shaojie's body shook slightly. It had been a long time since he had received such a baptism. For a moment, Xu Shaojie felt somewhat unwell. Seeing the teachers in the office, there was no reaction at all. Xu Shaojie sighed and thought that people are always in need of adaptation.

  "Po, Sun Yong, I just got back and was thinking of dropping by to see you. How about I treat you to lunch this afternoon?"

  "Alright, you're the first one to invite me out for a meal, how could I refuse? You guys who are in leadership positions are really different, look at that demeanor, so great! Where did you learn from me eating chalk dust? Xu Class Monitor, stop pretending!"

  Xu Shaojie couldn't help but smile wryly, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He indeed had good taste in cigarettes, Zhonghua cigarettes. It was probably because Xu Shaojie knew that Sun Yong liked to smoke, so he had brought two packs especially for him. The teachers in the office looked up at Xu Shaojie in surprise, they couldn't believe it - Sun Yong had only been working for a year and the two were classmates, how could there be such a big difference between them? Coincidentally, Xu Shaojie's phone rang, he was quite embarrassed, pulled out his phone and walked out of the office to answer the call. The call was from Zhang ShiKui, asking if Xu Shaojie had arrived in the provincial city yet.

  "Xu Ban Zhang, what should I call you now?"

  Looking at Sun Yong's serious face, Xu Shaojie didn't dare to lose his temper. With so many teachers in the office, he patted Sun Yong on the shoulder and said it was already time for dinner, suggesting they go out to find a place to eat. Sun Yong nodded in agreement, but as he walked past the older teacher who had just asked Xu Shaojie a question, he whispered something to him. The old teacher nodded, seemingly agreeing with what Sun Yong had said.

  "Xu Ban Zhang, I really envy you, look at this, tsk, it's just not simple."

  "Sun Yong, no, broken gong, if you follow me to do things together, I will definitely smash this broken gong and make you unable to shout."

  "What's wrong with me? I didn't do anything wrong, I just went to work honestly."

  Xu Shaojie was speechless, he knew that Sun Yong was more innocent than when they were in Xilin University, although there was a hint of maturity on his face. However, the scope of his knowledge was limited after all, and no matter how he explained it, Sun Yong wouldn't understand, after all, their environments had changed.

  "What's going on with Sun Yong, Ma Jianhua and Du Yuxin now?"

  "It's not like that, we often exchange letters, they reckon you've written to them before but you didn't reply. I said your work is busy and you don't have time to reply, if there's anything going on, just tell me."

  Xu Shaojie felt a bit embarrassed, he had received letters from Ma Jianhua and Du Yuxin before, at that time, he had just started working in the municipal party committee office, was very busy, and had many things on his mind, so he didn't reply.

  "Xun Yong, thank you."

  "What's wrong with that? We're good friends, of course we'll speak up for you. By the way, what are you doing now?"

  I work in the countryside.

  "Xu Ban Zhang, can you be more specific and not beat around the bush? Where exactly are you working and what kind of big leader are you in charge of?"

  "I work in Yudu District of Huai'an City and I am currently the Secretary of the District Committee."

  Sun Yong let out a cry of surprise, and Xu Shaojie was startled.

  "Wow, you're riding a rocket, the district party secretary of Xilin City, what a great official position! It seems that in the future, you will really become a leader of the Party and the state, and then you'll be able to cover me."

  Xu Shaojie was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. This Sun Yong, teaching had made him muddle-headed, and he didn't have the slightest idea about administrative ranks.

  "Sun Yong, let me tell you, the district committee secretaries under Xilin City look down on the county committee secretaries because their official positions are higher. I have to look up at the county committee secretary because my position is lower. One day if the county committee secretary gets fed up with me, I'll just quit and forget about it. You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

  Chatting and laughing, the two of them unknowingly walked in the direction of Xilin University. The distance was a bit far, so they took a taxi to the big stall outside Xilin University. It was still the old place, the boss hadn't changed, and although Xu Shaojie hadn't been there for some time, the boss still remembered him.

  "Sun Yong, Liu Hong and Zheng Yuxin are getting married, you should have received the invitation by now."

  "Yes, I received the invitation. It was Liu Hong who brought it over. He came by in a rickshaw that day. Xu Ban Zhang, you shouldn't have received an invitation, should you?"

  "You're right, I received an invitation."

  "This Liu Hong, what does he mean, obviously knowing, yet still inviting you to participate."

  "Sun Yong, why can't I attend? We're all classmates, attending a wedding is what we should do."

  Sun Yong looked at Xu Shaojie, somewhat disbelieving his eyes. When Xu Shaojie said this, his tone was ordinary, without the slightest excitement.

  "Sun Yong, do you know how Liu Hong is doing now?"

  "I know some, I heard that when he became the head of the department, he was highly appreciated by the leaders. By the way, there's something you might not know, Tan Lingli, do you know her? She's Zheng Yuxin's best friend and confidant, she transferred to work at Xilin City TV station, saw her a few days ago, so glamorous."

  "Oh, where did Tan Lingli work before?"

  "I heard that Tan Lingli worked at a street office in Hanzhong District for more than half a year, and then was transferred to work at the TV station. Hanzhong District is almost in the suburbs, I really don't know where Tan Lingli got such great abilities from, being able to be transferred to work at the TV station, it's not easy, you can't judge a person by their appearance."

  Xu Shaojie smiled, and in his mind appeared Tan Lingli's ordinary face. Everyone has their own opportunities, who knows what kind of experience Tan Lingli had?

  "Director Xu, I now understand that being a teacher is not interesting at all. It's hard work and there's no social status to speak of. Fifteenth Middle School isn't a key middle school, the students are mostly naughty, if things aren't handled well, parents will come to the school to make trouble. If it were First or Second Middle School, those key schools, try it out, I guarantee that parents wouldn't even dare fart. Alas, I've gained some insight, our status is about the same as street cleaners."

  "Sun Yong, I'm really fed up with you. What do you want? Do you want everyone to worship you? When they see you coming, they all bow down to you. I work in the district and township, most of the time I deal with farmers, I've never thought it was a big deal. You need to adjust your own attitude, if you're not used to anything, then it's just annoying yourself."

  "Oh, I see. No wonder you're so calm and composed. You have such a profound understanding. That's a great saying. I'll definitely remember your words and reflect on myself when I get back."

  Xu Shaojie smiled, Sun Yong's change was not big, suddenly self-deprecating to the extreme, very realistic, and suddenly quickly relieved, satisfied with everything in front of him. Xu Shaojie had to admit one thing, as time passed, the distance between him and Sun Yong would become greater and greater. This distance mainly existed spiritually, and their environments were different, so their understanding of society wouldn't be the same either. Sun Yong was focused on doing things and would make a good teacher.

  Xu Shaojie's phone rang again, this time it was Tang Wanrou calling.

  "Xiao Rou, I've arrived in the provincial city. Yeah, I got here this afternoon. You were still at work, so I didn't tell you. Oh, you're coming back tomorrow, right? Okay, rest well at home."

  Xu Shaojie smiled along with Sun Yong, stood up and went to answer a phone call on the side.

  "Xiao Rou, my classmate is getting married, I received an invitation and will be back to attend the celebration. What, you're also attending, Xiao Rou? Can't you not attend? Alright, alright, you attend, attend."

  Xu Shaojie hung his head in despair. After being equipped with a mobile phone, things became much more convenient, but at the same time, his movements were restricted. No matter where he ran to, as long as there was a signal, everyone could find him.

  "Xu Ban Zhang, you're talking about friends now?"

  "Alas, there's still a long way to go before we can even get started. Let's just forget it and have a drink."

  When he got home, Xu Shaojie felt that he had drunk a bit too much. After all, drinking strong liquor requires a certain amount of alcohol tolerance. Xu Shaojie took the bus back and was already feeling somewhat tired. When he got home, Xu Shaojie didn't say anything and quickly rested. At night, he dreamed that he and Liu Hong were in a duel.