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墨書 Inktalez
This was Li Haoyu Rao's first Spring Festival. According to past customs, the county head would convene a safety production meeting and an integrity meeting before the festival, as well as conduct inspections and visits to key areas such as supermarkets and enterprises.
Li Hao's schedule ended on the evening of the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month, and he was set to start again early on the first day of the new year. Lin Xiao was not from Yurou County, and taking a bus home would take seven or eight hours, making it unrealistic for her to return home for the holiday.
Luo Qianwei suggested that he could arrange a car to take her back. She declined, as there were regulations regarding public transport, and she didn’t want to trouble Luo Qianwei.
During the Spring Festival, the government office prepared a duty roster, and Lin Xiao, being alone, took on the duty for both New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year. Luo Qianwei warmly invited Lin Xiao to celebrate at his home, but she refused. It was the first time for Lao Luo's future daughter-in-law to visit.
On New Year's Eve, Luo Qianwei sent her a box of dumplings made by his wife, allowing her to celebrate the occasion in her own way. At midnight, Lin Xiao stood by the window, watching the fireworks bloom in the night sky while listening to the New Year's bell ringing from her computer. The sounds of firecrackers echoed from near and far.
Her phone beeped with a text message from Lin Xiao sending New Year wishes. She smiled knowingly; in that cold late night, warmth spread through her heart. She picked up her phone to send a text message with New Year greetings to Luo Qianwei and didn’t forget to thank his wife for the dumplings. Gradually, she replied to others' messages as well.
After some hesitation, she ultimately decided to send a message to her direct supervisor wishing him a happy New Year filled with family joy. Such messages got lost among Li Hao's phone notifications, and as expected, there was no reply.
Li Hao hadn’t returned to Beijing to see his grandparents in a long time; they had been asking him about his plans since around the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month. However, looking at his schedule, he decided to leave Xiang Tian with his mother for the Spring Festival.
Since starting his position in Yurou County in March, Li Hao rarely had two days of peace. He and Professor Sun were making dumplings while watching the Spring Festival Gala, occasionally chatting about various topics.
"After the new year, you'll be thirty; it's time you found someone," Professor Sun said earnestly.
"Mom, such things are unpredictable; please don’t trouble my senior sister," Li Hao replied helplessly. His mother was quite educated herself but seemed like one of those neighborhood aunties who had been increasingly pressuring him about marriage over these past two years.
"In fact, if you’ve decided not to get married at all, I wouldn’t have to urge you," she continued. "It’s been three or four years; you should let go. Life isn’t just about being with one person; it’s not all about marriage."
Li Hao felt a sense of fear in his heart. Having been in the political arena for so long, he had lost sight of his original intentions, just like his father.
Listening to his mother, he wanted to say a few comforting words, but they felt hollow, so he fell silent.
Just past midnight, his phone began to ring incessantly. He quickly skimmed through the messages to see if there was anything urgent that required a response.
Seeing Lin Xiao's message made him want to laugh. She was nothing like a typical woman; she was even more decisive than Luo Qianwei. In terms of messages, while Luo Qianwei had sent a long string of texts, Lin Xiao's message was succinct—just a period.
At ten past nine on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Xiao stood at the north gate of the County Government in a black down jacket, waiting for leaders from various departments such as civil affairs and fire safety.
To maintain her image, she didn’t pull the hood of her jacket over her head, but the wind seemed to have eyes as it blew into the back of her neck, leaving her nose red and cold.
Everyone arrived on time; Li Hao came down promptly at ten o'clock. Once they got into the Kostner Car—a business vehicle that could seat about six people—Lin Xiao realized something was wrong: she had caught a bad cold.
With the temperature fluctuating, her nose was running like a flood. Thankfully, she sat in the passenger seat where those in the back couldn't see her. She kept reaching for tissues to wipe her nose, but what bothered her most was the itch in her throat.
Someone once said that in this world, only love and coughs cannot be hidden. She suppressed the urge to cough, but when it became unbearable, she covered her mouth and coughed softly a couple of times.
Since it was the Spring Festival, the leaders in the car broke their usual silence and began chatting about mundane matters. Taking advantage of their lively conversation, Lin Xiao coughed a few times.
The morning was dedicated to visits, and Lin Xiao did not accompany the leaders inside; instead, she leaned against the car and coughed violently for quite some time.
"Lin Ren, are you okay?" Li Shifu, who was a dedicated driver and familiar with Lin Xiao, asked.
Lin Xiao held her chest and tried to catch her breath while waving her hand dismissively. It had been a long time since she had caught a cold; this morning's wind had turned what started as a mild cold into something worse.
On the way back, Lin Xiao struggled with her cough throughout the journey. Once back at her office, she closed the door behind her and leaned over her desk as another fit of coughing hit her hard, bringing tears to her eyes.
When Li Hao opened the door to her office, he found Lin Xiao with tears streaming down her face. She hadn't expected the county chief to come in person, and she hurriedly wiped her eyes and nose with the papers in her hands, looking quite disheveled.
"What's wrong with you?" Li Hao had never seen Lin Xiao in such a chaotic state.
"I'm sorry," she started to say, but was interrupted by a fit of coughing that she couldn't control.
Li Hao closed the door again and returned to his own office. After a moment, Lin Xiao composed herself, put on a mask, and knocked on the county chief's door.
"This is something my friend brought from Hong Kong. You should take it according to the instructions," Li Hao said as he took out two boxes of medicine from his drawer and placed them on the desk.
Lin Xiao understood Li Hao's character; since he offered it, refusing would only seem insincere. "Thank you. What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked as she picked up the medicine and set it aside on the corner of the desk.
"Nothing important. Just take care of yourself," Li Hao replied. His reason for calling her wasn't urgent, especially seeing how she was coughing like that.
Lin Xiao stood up with the medicine, ready to leave. "You can come back to work on the sixth day of the new year. Make sure to rest well in the meantime."
She was about to ask him what he would be doing in the next few days when he continued, "I need to go back to the Provincial Government for a few days. Once we finalize the draft for the county meeting before New Year's, everything will be set."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao felt a bit relieved. Before the New Year, she had already sent the speech outline to Luo Qianwei, and after finalizing it, they would just need to print and prepare for the meeting on the sixth.
After lying at home for two days, Lin Xiao felt much better from her cold. On the fourth day of the new year, Shang Juan returned from her hometown, bringing a lot of food for Lin Xiao.
"These aren't for you to eat for free," Shang Juan teased as she watched Lin Xiao enjoy her meal.
"What you say is absolutely right! A meal deserves a lifetime of loyalty; I shall serve you tonight," Lin Xiao replied playfully, mimicking the tone of a character from one of Shang Juan's favorite dramas.
The two couldn't help but laugh together.
"I'm not joking; tomorrow night you're going out with me for dinner. I’ll introduce you to someone," Shang Juan declared firmly.
"No refusals allowed! You just said you were free tomorrow night."
Shang Juan meant well, but she felt a sense of fear and resistance in her heart.
"I'll go with you, and Xiao Du will come too. We won't let you feel awkward," Shang Juan assured her repeatedly.
After thinking it over, Lin Xiao finally agreed.
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