Today was a good day, a day to leave all worries behind.
Dinner at Bai Jiu’s home was prepared early. Although there were few people, she had cooked a feast.
"Bai Jiu, this is way too lavish. I won’t even dare to come over for dinner anymore," Chi said, staring at the dishes on the table, practically drooling. It was too fragrant and too abundant.
"Then don’t come next time, kid," Mr. Mu snapped in annoyance, seeing Chi’s gluttonous expression.
"That won’t do." Hearing the professor tell him not to come, Chi naturally refused. "I go wherever the professor goes, hehe."
"Brat."
There was talking and laughing at the dining table. Mr. Mu even personally cut the mooncakes for the two children—there was no helping it, as the mooncakes were quite large. They honestly had a hard time stomaching these five-nut mooncakes. Of course, to those who liked them, these mooncakes were the most delicious food in the world.
The old man was very happy today and drank quite a bit of liquor at the table. Even so, dinner ended early.
"Zhijun, the final inspection on your end has passed. The project will likely be approved before long. However, the higher-ups intend to assign you a deputy. What do you think about this?"
The old man was someone who couldn’t stay idle. After dinner, borrowing the fading light outside, he and Gao Zhijun walked over to the grape trellis that Bai Jiu had set up for moon-viewing. Chi stood guard to the side. He didn’t drink, as he was on duty.
"I have no right to refuse," Gao Zhijun said, not actually caring much. He still had much to learn about dynamics. If someone who actually did practical work was sent down, he would naturally be glad. But the choice of candidate was not up to him.
Mr. Mu looked at his disciple, feeling very dissatisfied with the higher-ups’ arrangement. "I want Miao Qinxue to come and help you," the old man said, looking up at the sky.
Miao Xueqin, the son of his old friend, specialized in physical dynamics and was forty-three this year. Due to some particular reasons, he had only returned to the Academy of Sciences this year. However, he was not in Beijing City, but in the Northwest. His old friend’s intention was to get him to leave that place.
Gao Zhijun certainly knew Miao Qinxue; they had even exchanged letters. When he was at his most helpless, Brother Miao had helped him a lot. It could be said that he had a share of the credit for the last mission.
"Can he come?" If he came, Gao Zhijun would be willing.
Mr. Mu shook his head. "I don’t know, but we can fight for it. We can’t just accept whatever others say, right?" He still remembered how the documents he approved at the very beginning had been frequently stalled by the higher-ups. Now that the prototype was out, they wanted to send someone over to steal the fruits of their labor. Did they really think he was a paper tiger? He was not someone to be easily bullied.
"I’ll listen to you, Professor." Gao Zhijun trusted his teacher.
The men chatted for a while to sober up, and by then, Bai Jiu was also just about ready on her end. Leading the two children out of the house, Bai Jiu carried a basket on her arm.
"Professor, let’s go. We’re heading next door to view the moon."
"Alright, coming."
When Aunt Xu saw Bai Jiu’s family arrive at her door, she was incredibly enthusiastic. The rest of the Xu family had long heard of Bai Jiu, so naturally, they eagerly welcomed her now that they were meeting her in person.
Compared to the women, the men had already formed their own circle. Mr. Xu took the lead, guiding everyone to sit down at a pre-arranged table.
"Everyone, take a seat," Mr. Xu said as he sat down first.
Compared to the men’s side, the women’s side was much livelier, mainly because of the children. The children seemed to know that they weren’t welcome on the other side, so they didn’t even bother looking over.
"Mother, this is the Bai Jiu you’re always talking about, right? She’s so pretty," Aunt Xu’s daughter said warmly, affectionately holding Bai Jiu’s hand.
"Of course. No one in the entire compound can compare to her. Don’t be fooled by her youthful face; she’s very capable. See that?" Aunt Xu pointed at the two kids playing with Shu Kang on the side. "Those are twins. She’s the first in our compound to have them."
Aunt Xu looked on with envy.
"Wow, that’s really impressive," Aunt Xu’s daughter said after taking a look, offering genuine praise. She had been married for a long time but had only given birth to two daughters. She was always anxious about it, but her anxiety was useless. Ever since she had her second daughter, she hadn’t gotten pregnant again.
Seeing the envy on her daughter’s face, Aunt Xu felt a bit sour in her heart. She patted her daughter. "Don’t worry, you’re still young." She knew what her daughter was envious of.
Even though her son-in-law’s family hadn’t said anything, Aunt Xu felt quite sad for her. However, if you asked her, having daughters was also great. Back in the day, she had also given birth to two daughters and treated them even better than her sons.
"Mother, what are you talking about? What do I have to be anxious about?" Xu Shuyi didn’t really want to bring this up.
Seeing this, Aunt Xu said no more. Bai Jiu wasn’t stupid; she could more or less understand what was going on. However, since they didn’t bring it up, it wasn’t her place to ask.
"Bai Jiu, I really must thank you properly for what happened this time," Hong Menglin immediately changed the subject. "If it weren’t for you, who knows how much my mother-in-law would have suffered."
Bai Jiu shook her head. "I didn’t really help much. It was the compound’s security department that arrived in time, and also the two aunts who are close to Aunt Xu. By the time I came back, the matter had already occurred." She truly couldn’t take credit for this.
"We still have to thank you. If it weren’t for you, who knows how badly my mother would have been bullied. Despite her fierce appearance, my mother is actually very kind-hearted and easily swayed," Xu Shuyi added with a smile. She was different from Hong Menglin; as a daughter, it was fine for her to poke fun at her own mother.
"You child." Hearing this, Aunt Xu exasperatedly swatted her a couple of times. "You’re even making fun of your own mother now."
"Mother, I’m not wrong. Otherwise, why would their family be the first to come plead with us?" Xu Shuyi had dealt with the Lin family before she got married, and she genuinely disliked that family.
"Alright, that’s all in the past. Let’s not talk about it; it’s a killjoy," Aunt Xu said, unwilling to bring it up. She had finally toughened up for once, but who would have thought...
Seeing the mother and daughter getting agitated as they spoke, Bai Jiu quickly pulled Aunt Xu aside and started chatting about the compound’s gossip. But it had to be said that all women loved gossip. Xu Shuyi and Hong Menglin also joined in.
Gradually, Bai Jiu became a listener.
"Mother, how are those two sisters from the Ning family doing now? Have they still not decided on a winner?" Xu Shuyi came back quite often, so she knew more about this compound than Hong Menglin. The Ning family she mentioned was the one living behind the Lin family, and they were the ones who had helped Aunt Xu last time.
"Indeed. I don’t know what there is for those two to fight over. There are countless men in the world; how did they end up fancying a piece of trash like him?" Speaking of this matter, Aunt Xu’s entire body filled with anger.
Bai Jiu’s interest was piqued; it was her first time hearing about this. Back in her era, only TV dramas dared to play out such a plot.
"What happened? Do tell, Aunt Xu."
It had to be said, women were truly unstoppable when they started gossiping.
"Don’t tell anyone about this. Aunt Ning has it hard enough," Aunt Xu instructed, before recounting the Ning family’s gossip. "That young man is quite good-looking. He’s from the Minsheng Scientific Research Center. It’s just that his family background is a bit poor. I don’t know how those two sisters ended up setting their sights on him," Aunt Xu said, shaking her head, a trace of disdain on her face.
But these words sounded a bit off.
"What do you mean by ’setting their sights on him’?" Bai Jiu was bewildered.