“You are…”

How peculiar – requesting leave but sending someone else to deliver gifts?

However, this did match Mao Guosheng’s temperament, as he had never been a particularly brave person.

The young man smiled, “In any case, could you please make an exception?”

The Director Zhou’s wife unwrapped the items, continuously giving meaningful glances to her husband. After some thought, Director Zhou wrote a note for the young man.

“Don’t let this happen again!”

The man thanked Director Zhou.

He had arrived quietly and left just as discreetly, without disturbing anyone else.

This truly showed mastery in the art of gift-giving.

Some gifts needed to be presented with fanfare, while others required discretion.

After the man left, Director Zhou’s wife pointed at the contents of the box, “I thought he looked familiar – it was the person who went to Teacher Mao’s house yesterday. Old Zhou, tell me, is it necessary to bring such expensive gifts just to request leave for Mao Guosheng?”

The boxes naturally contained cigarettes and alcohol.

These were the safest gifts, especially for people over 40 – it was rare to find someone who neither smoked nor drank.

Besides the cigarettes and alcohol, there were also two cans of tea.

Though the alcohol wasn’t Maotai and the cigarettes weren’t Zhonghua, they were among the finest brands available in Hangzhou.

The two cans of tea were West Lake Longjing, first-grade quality.

These two boxes were worth at least 300 yuan.

Just to request leave for Mao Guosheng?

Mao Guosheng’s monthly salary wasn’t even that high – he would probably be heartbroken if he knew, and might prefer not to take the leave at all.

Director Zhou pondered, “They must have other requests for me; this is just testing the waters. Let’s accept it. You’re right – Teacher Mao’s last disciple indeed has significant connections.”

What was Mao Kangshan planning?

After spending most of his life at the Provincial Construction Institute, was he now finding it too limiting?

Though Mao Kangshan had already retired and was only working on a rehire basis. If he didn’t want to come to work one day, he just needed to inform the Institute.

As for Mao Guosheng, requesting half a month’s leave – could he be looking for another job?

If someone could leave the design institute, Director Zhou wouldn’t stop them. At institutions like the Provincial Construction Institute, positions were fixed – when one person left, Director Zhou could use the vacancy to do someone else a favor. As for what the Mao family was planning, Director Zhou wasn’t in a hurry; they would surely come back.

Could it be that the Mao family was about to rise?

After Ge Jian had secured the leave for Mao Guosheng, Xia Xiaolan returned to Mao Kangshan’s home.

“Teacher, as we discussed last night, if you’re ready to pack, we can leave tomorrow. Oh, and please bring Brother Mao along – this way, you won’t have Brother Mao and Sister Zheng worrying about you two elderly folks traveling alone.”

Song Daniang was very tempted – having her son along would certainly be better, but what about Mao Guosheng’s work?

Mao Kangshan gave Xia Xiaolan a deep look.

Indeed, one couldn’t truly understand a person just from interactions at an academic seminar.

The more time he spent with Xia Xiaolan, the more interesting he found her.

Though she knew Zheng Shuqin wanted to come along, Xia Xiaolan deliberately stayed silent about it.

Guosheng hadn’t expected to go, yet Xia Xiaolan quietly arranged for him to join.

Leaving Zheng Shuqin in Hangzhou would surely upset her… This was typical of Xia Xiaolan. If someone made her uncomfortable, she wouldn’t endure it or bide her time – she would take revenge immediately if possible, and if not, she would quickly work on improving her abilities to ensure swift retribution.

It was as if she feared her enemies might not outlive her if she didn’t exact revenge quickly enough.

Moreover, Xia Xiaolan’s methods of revenge were incredibly precise and clever, always striking at the most vulnerable spots – whatever people cared about most, she would target mercilessly.

For instance, her approach to Nie Weiguo had been decisive and ruthless.

With Zheng Shuqin, she employed subtle mockery that would nevertheless cause great distress.

This was Xia Xiaolan – truly fascinating.

“I can see that Xiao Xia must have everything well arranged if she suggests bringing Guosheng along. Don’t worry about it – it’s rare for us to travel, let the young ones handle the details.”

Mao Kangshan spoke casually, though Song Daniang remained somewhat skeptical.

Xia Xiaolan chuckled – Teacher Mao thought just like her, never following conventional paths. Taking him as her teacher would not only be helpful but would surely keep things interesting.

Though the master-disciple relationship had only been established two days ago, they already shared a mutual appreciation.

When Mao Guosheng received the news, his plane ticket had already been purchased.

His wife Zheng Shuqin gaped in surprise:

“Guosheng, what’s going on?”

Mao Guosheng shook his head, “I’m puzzled too. Director Zhou said some strange things to me today – I didn’t even know about it, but my leave has been approved and they’ve even bought me a plane ticket to Pengcheng?”

Was this his father’s style of doing things?

Mao Guosheng knew his father well – he was eccentric and frugal, definitely not this thoughtful.

Zheng Shuqin had a sudden realization: “…Was it Xiao Xia?”

Zheng Shuqin immediately brightened, “If Xiao Xia is trying to win you over too, it seems the old man must have helped her. But why didn’t she mention anything about arranging your leave and buying tickets during dinner!”

Zheng Shuqin felt quite regretful.

If she had known about the flight to Pengcheng, she could have requested leave too.

Missing out on such an opportunity made Zheng Shuqin feel frustrated.

Guosheng wasn’t as clever as her – even if he went along, he wouldn’t be able to figure out Xiao Xia’s background.

Zheng Shuqin clutched her chest, but Mao Guosheng didn’t quite believe her interpretation.

Is Xiao Xia trying to win him over?

How could that be possible? He didn’t have his father’s abilities.

After just two days of Xia Xiaolan’s presence, Mao Guosheng had already started paying less attention to his wife’s words. Xia Xiaolan’s presence had awakened his sense of shame. When Zheng Shuqin kept talking about taking advantage of his parents, Mao Guosheng felt uncomfortable.

Those were his own parents – he hadn’t shown them much filial piety, how could he just keep taking advantage of them?

He couldn’t even match an outsider like Xiao Xia…

While Zheng Shuqin rambled on, Mao Guosheng barely listened, lost in his thoughts, completely ignoring her.

Xiao Xia was indeed being too enthusiastic – unsolicited favors usually came with ulterior motives. Going to Pengcheng would give him a chance to see if Xiao Xia was deceiving his father!

After Mao Guosheng packed his luggage, Song Daniang asked him to distribute some fruit.

One box of melons and one box of pears – since Mao Guosheng was home, he could deliver them to his brother’s and sister’s families.

Each family received the same amount, perfectly fair.

As for the Maotai and Zhonghua cigarettes that Zheng Shuqin had been eyeing, Mao Kangshan was still angry, so Song Daniang didn’t dare make any decisions.

Pretending not to hear Zheng Shuqin’s clever remarks, Song Daniang finished packing for herself and her husband. Though Xia Xiaolan had said Pengcheng was quite warm and told them to pack light since everything was available there, Song Daniang still withdrew 1,000 yuan from the bank to bring along.

As the taxi waited downstairs, people kept greeting Song Daniang:

“Where is your family heading?”

Mao Kangshan, thin and wiry, walked ahead with his hands behind his back. Ge Jian opened the car door for him, while Xia Xiaolan supported Song Daniang:

“Thank you for your concern. I’m taking my teacher and his wife on a trip.”

A chorus of respectful responses arose. Though Mao Kangshan maintained his stern expression, his lips couldn’t help but curve slightly upward as he lowered his head to enter the car.

He had found an uncut jade in the wilderness that no one had picked up, and he couldn’t resist taking it home.

Little did he know that the inner radiance of this jade would exceed his expectations.

Seeing how attentive Xia Xiaolan was to him, Mao Kangshan made up his mind – he must quickly help resolve whatever was troubling her!