1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 266 Leader, what's more important than family reunions? Serving the people! (Silver Alliance, 3rd update)
Beijing.

Dongcheng Area.

Guesthouse of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

After the two presented their various documents and completed the registration, the three of them carried their belongings into the room.

"Crack!"

Su Wenchen opened the door and was immediately greeted by a wave of heat.

Once inside, you can still hear the humming of the old-fashioned cast iron radiators in the room.

Feeling that the room was at least 18°C, Su Wenchen looked surprised, put down what he was holding, and then put his hand on the radiator to test it.

"As expected of a guesthouse prepared by a ministry, it even has radiators, and they're even a bit hot to the touch!"

Feeling the sudden increase in temperature, they immediately took off their heavy outer clothing. Song Wantang and Jiang Li also took off their heavy coats.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Song Wantang immediately responded.

"Now, not only are key guesthouses in the city equipped with heating, but even guesthouses in the urban areas have long had radiators installed!"

"However, the coal supply there is definitely not as sufficient as here. It is only supplied intermittently from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and because of this intermittent heating, the pipes rust, so even when the heating is on at night, the indoor temperature is very limited."

"Once, I went to inspect work in a rural area with my supervisor and stayed there. I almost froze to death."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li immediately laughed.

"Tangtang, when did you become so spoiled? So you still live with your family?"

Song Wantang waved her hand.

“I haven’t lived with my family for a long time. Although the government compound has heating, my mom nags me every day about finding a partner, which annoys me a lot. Now I live in the company dormitory.”

"I'm telling you, even though there's no heating, my blankets are thick enough to keep up!"

"But the blankets at the guesthouse last time were about the same thickness as the blankets in your room, but the indoor temperature was much different. I definitely couldn't stand it!"

During their conversation, Su Wenchen tidied up his things a bit and took out the meeting notice.

"Ali, I'm going to the ministry to report for duty first. You can rest at the guesthouse. If you feel bored, let Comrade Wantang take you to a department store or something."

"Anyway, you grew up here, so you know better than me what's available for sale. Don't be stingy with your money."

Hearing Su Wenchen's concern, Jiang Li immediately spoke softly.

"Don't worry about me, I have Tangtang here with me! You just do your thing."

Su Wenchen nodded.

"Then, Comrade Wantang, I'll leave Ali in your care for now. I'll find a chance to thank you properly after my meeting."

Song Wantang waved her hand.

"Don't worry, I would have taken good care of her even if you hadn't told me. But you really should thank me; I've been taking care of her for you for twenty years!"

Upon hearing Song Wantang's words, Jiang Li pouted.

"Who said you took care of me? Wasn't it me who took care of you for the past twenty years?"

“There was a guy who was too scared to go home because he broke a window, and I was the one who took him in! Then he turned around and dumped it on my head.”

"That wretched pear, actually bringing up past grievances! As members of our Red Detachment of Women, what's wrong with sharing both good times and bad?"

"It seems you've been away from the organization for too long and have forgotten its punishments."

As he spoke, he reached out and scratched Jiang Li's armpit.

Seeing this, Jiang Li quickly smiled and dodged.

"No, no, no, I'm pregnant now, I can't play around with you like this!"

"Ah, how despicable! You actually used a baby as a talisman to escape the organization's punishment. Well then, for the sake of my unborn godson, I'll spare your life for now."

"??? My child, when did he become your godson?"

"Hmph, I just made this decision unilaterally. What's wrong with me sharing half of my best friend's son's with her? Can you bear to see her all alone, without even anyone to burn paper money for her in the end?"

"Alright then! What if it's a daughter?"

"A goddaughter would be even better! I'll buy her a bunch of pretty clothes and dress her up beautifully."

Seeing that the two of them were completely ignoring him, Su Wenchen shook his head, picked up his briefcase, and left the room.

Just before the door closed, you could still hear the two of them excitedly sharing about their child's future.

Su Wenchen stood still in front of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The heavy iron gate was wide open, flanked by gray-white cement pillars, each topped with a faded five-pointed star.

A wooden guard post stood beside the gatepost, where a guard in a dark blue uniform stood with his back straight and his eyes alert as he stood guard at the entrance.

Su Wenchen walked to the side gatehouse and took out his identification and meeting notice.

After a quick check to see if my briefcase contained any prohibited items, I was allowed to proceed and was told which main building's conference hall to register and obtain my meeting attendance pass.

As Su Wenchen crossed the gate, a straight cement road stretched inwards, lined with neat rows of holly bushes. Despite the cold winter, the dark green leaves stubbornly offered a touch of green.

After walking a short distance, the first thing that catches the eye is a cluster of Soviet-style buildings from around the 1950s.

The main building stands majestically, with thick red brick walls, arched window frames painted milky white, and a sloping roof covered with dark gray tiles. A metal plaque bearing the words "Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry" hangs under the eaves.

The steps in front of the main building are wide, with stone slogan pillars on both sides. The weathered characters can still be faintly discerned as "hard work and struggle" and "science for the people".

Looking at the cluster of buildings before me, although they were not as tall as the ministry buildings of later generations, a sense of solidity still came over me.

After asking a few staff members, Su Wenchen quickly found the office where meeting attendance badges were issued.

Upon seeing Su Wenchen, the other party seemed somewhat surprised.

"Your company gave you two months' notice, why are you only arriving now? The meeting starts tomorrow, and you're only here today to get your meeting pass?"

"If I leave work early, you won't be able to get in tomorrow and you won't have anyone to turn to."

Su Wenchen explained with a smile.

"It's because our company found out too late, and we were also delayed on the way!"

The other party seemed puzzled.

"That can't be right. The meeting notices are all sent out by the post office through our office. They're all mailed out at the same time, so how could there be such a big difference in the delivery time?"

"Are you from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps?"

In his mind, only in the Xinjiang region, which is far away and sparsely populated, was it possible that the delivery time would differ significantly from that of other units.

Su Wenchen shook his head, took out the meeting notice, his company's letter of introduction, and his work ID from his bag.

"I'm from Blue Water Farm. The meeting notice was indeed sent to me just a few days ago!"

After receiving the meeting notice from Su Wenchen, the other party suddenly realized what was going on.

A warm smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Oh, so you're from Blue Water Farm! That's right, you did receive it very late because your farm wasn't originally included; the minister added it himself later."

"The minister came to ask yesterday if you had arrived yet! If you had, he asked me to let him know."

"Please sit down for a while. I'll go get your file and give you a brief report. I'll process your meeting attendance pass when I get back."

Su Wenchen nodded upon hearing this.

"It's alright, comrade, you go ahead! I'm not in a hurry here."

He then realized that his thinking was correct; their farm was indeed not originally qualified to attend the meeting, but it was only after the minister personally spoke up that their farm was qualified to take a seat.

The other party didn't keep Su Wenchen waiting for long. They quickly ran back from the corridor inside, carrying a file folder in their hand.

An even warmer smile appeared on his face than before.

"Director Su, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"

"I'll process your meeting attendance pass right away, but you'll need to go to Building 1 in a bit. The minister should go there after he finishes getting his pass." "Building 1 is the main building at the very front. There should be someone waiting downstairs now."

"Please wait a moment, I'll be done right away."

He then took out a card from the drawer and wrote down Su Wenchen's information, including his meeting number, by hand.

Finally, I opened the file folder, took out the documents, and compared them. The key point was to see if the photo in the file matched Su Wenchen himself.

Su Wenchen glanced at the file and saw that the photo was the one taken when he went through the onboarding process at the Organization Department of Lan City.

It is clear that his file has now been transferred to the ministry.

After comparing the photos.

The other party picked up the stamp and stamped it with a "click".

Then she smiled and looked at Su Wenchen, handing him a meeting attendance badge that looked like a name tag.

"Director Su, that's all. There's a brooch on the back. You can wear it on your left chest when you enter tomorrow."

Su Wenchen took it and glanced at it. It was somewhat similar to a student ID card from later generations, but at this time, all of them were handwritten and there were no photos on them.

Only his name, position, organization, and meeting number are listed.

After carefully putting away his meeting attendance badge, Su Wenchen expressed his gratitude.

"Sorry for troubling you earlier, comrade. If there's nothing else, I'll head over to Building Number One."

The other party simply smiled and waved their hand.

"It's okay, it's okay, this is my job. Do you know the way?"

"Do you need me to take you there? Anyway, no other units will probably come to handle this anymore. I'm free here, so I can take you there."

uh~
Feeling that the other party was being a bit too enthusiastic, Su Wenchen thought it best to be cautious before figuring out the situation, so he spoke directly.

"No need to trouble you, comrade. I passed by Building No. 1 on my way here, I can go there by myself."

The other party is not disappointed even after being rejected.

"Alright, Director Su, you can go ahead then!"

"If you have time to spare after you leave, you can come find me, and I'll show you around the various departments of our ministry."

"Since this is your first time here, I'll take you to see the different departments and get acquainted with them."

Hearing this, Su Wenchen couldn't refuse directly, so he nodded.

"If there's an opportunity, I'd appreciate it if you could help me, comrade. May I ask your name?"

The other person immediately slapped their forehead.

"Look at me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Guo Xiangyang, the head of the meeting affairs office under the political work group."

"You can come visit me if you have time. I live in Laoqian Hutong in Dongcheng!"

"If you're new here and don't know what to do, I'll show you around our capital!"

Seeing the other party's enthusiasm, Su Wenchen naturally wouldn't refuse them directly.

"Alright, Comrade Xiangyang, once I'm done with my work, I'll have you show me around when I have some free time!"

"The minister here is looking for me, so I'll go over there now. We can talk again later when we have time."

Guo Xiangyang waved his hand.

"Director Su, please go quickly! Don't keep the minister waiting."

Su Wenchen then picked up his briefcase, though he didn't know why the other person was being so enthusiastic.

But it's better than having a deadpan expression and then popping out to cause trouble.

As for having the other person show you around the capital, that's up to fate.

Since he wouldn't be staying here for long, Su Wenchen mainly maintained a respectful but distant attitude towards the people in his department.

We followed the same path we came from and walked down to the ground floor of the main building.

Su Wenchen climbed the wide steps and, after a few steps, saw a staff member in a Zhongshan suit standing downstairs, looking around.

Upon seeing Su Wenchen, he immediately jogged over.

"Is this Comrade Su Wenchen from Blue Water Farm?"

Upon seeing this, Su Wenchen nodded in agreement.

"I am Su Wenchen from Lanshui Farm. A member of the conference organizing committee just told me to come to the main building."

The other party nodded directly.

"That's it! The minister has been waiting for you for two days. Come on! Come inside with me!"

Su Wenchen then followed the other person into the main building, after several turns and twists...

The other party pushed open a mahogany door.

"Minister, Comrade Su Wenchen is here, what do you think?"

"Let him in! I'll be done here soon."

Upon hearing the sounds coming from inside the room, the person who brought Su Wenchen in made way for him.

"Director Su, the boss wants you to come in!"

Su Wenchen naturally heard the familiar voice of the leader in the room earlier. As soon as he stepped into the room, the people behind him consciously closed the door.

Upon entering, Su Wenchen discovered that the room was not large, only about thirty square meters in total. The cast iron hinges of the radiator inside made a low creaking sound!
Although it's an old-fashioned radiator, it still manages to fill the entire room with warmth.

On a three-meter-long, dark brown desk, there are stacks of various kraft paper file folders.

An old man was writing something with a fountain pen in his hand. Due to the range of motion, there were specks of ink on the right cuff of his dark blue Zhongshan suit.

The old man didn't even lift his head to speak.

"Xiao Su, please make yourself at home. I'll finish revising this draft soon, and we can talk then!"

Su Wenchen quickly replied.

"Boss, you're busy, I'm not in a hurry."

Upon hearing this, the other party replied with a smile.

"Haha, I knew you weren't in a hurry, otherwise you wouldn't have only arrived today."

“At first I thought you were too busy at your branch farm, so I even had someone ask the Xuzhou area when you left.”

"They said I'd be on the bus on the 20th, and according to the schedule, I should be arriving around the 22nd."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen immediately felt embarrassed.

"Boss, isn't my wife also from Beijing?"

"I was thinking that if the meeting lasted too long, I might not be able to go back for the Chinese New Year, so I thought I would just bring my wife here to celebrate the New Year with me."

The old man smiled.

"Looking at it this way, it was my fault. I was only thinking about having you come over to meet people, but instead I delayed your reunion with your family."

Su Wenchen shook his head repeatedly.

"No, sir, serving the people is far more important than reuniting with family!"

"Haha, as expected, my old boss's eye for people is still quite accurate. You're still as shrewd as I saw you back in Guangzhou, never falling into any traps!"

"Remember to keep this up from now on, no matter who you're with!"

"I was worried that after your farm came under the direct jurisdiction of the ministry, you might get a little too cocky! But it seems I was overthinking it!"

(End of this chapter)