Names: Uncle Zhao Mengsheng, Father-in-law Pei Yihong

Wu Huifen poured water for the two of them and added some sugar. "Tongwei, Chengdu, you two kids have really had a tough time."

Once you reach Lone Eagle Ridge, work hard and take good care of yourself.

Gao Yuliang patted Qi Tongwei on the shoulder: "Tongwei, don't be discouraged now that you're at the grassroots level. Your talent will shine wherever you are. Chengdu, don't be impetuous either. Learn from Tongwei, work diligently, and don't bring shame to our Handa University."

After this round of graduate job assignments, Gao Yuliang was actually still harboring resentment.

If given the opportunity, I want to go into politics.

"Don't worry, Teacher Gao!" Cheng Du patted his chest and assured him, "I'll definitely listen to Brother Tongwei, I won't cause any trouble, and I'll do a good job!"

Qi Tongwei held the cup. "Teacher Gao, don't worry, I will do my best when we get to Lone Eagle Ridge."

Gao Yuliang nodded. "Good, well done. Be careful on the road, and call me when you arrive to let me know you've arrived safely."

If you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to call me. I will definitely help if I can.

"Thank you, teacher!" the two said in unison.

After chatting with Gao Yuliang and his wife for a while, Wu Huifen gave Cheng Du and Qi Tongwei each a bag containing food and drinks.

These were all prepared in advance by Gao Yuliang at Wu Huifen's request.

"A poor family should travel with extravagance," Gao Yuliang thought, not wanting his two students to suffer on the road.

Upon arriving at the bus station, the two bought tickets.

After boarding the train, Cheng Du shoved his luggage onto the overhead rack and pouted, "Tongwei, you know, what kind of life do we have? Why did we have to come to this poor mountain village? I'm perfectly fine."

If my mom finds out, she'll probably give me a good scolding.

Qi Tongwei looked out the window at the receding city of Jingzhou. "Chengdu, since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Scolding won't help. We might as well work hard. We can't be stuck here forever."

Also, your mom loves you and would never scold you.

"That's true, but the thought of going to some godforsaken place makes me feel awful. Especially since I feel so bad for you." Cheng Du slumped in his seat, looking utterly dejected. "You know, that awful woman Liang Lu, isn't she just bored? We didn't do anything to her, why is she trying to ruin us like this?"

Qi Tongwei smiled and joked, "Who told you to follow me around every day and become my little follower? Who else would she mess with if not you? Besides, every cloud has a silver lining. Maybe we can make a name for ourselves in Lone Eagle Ridge."

"Make a name for yourself?" Cheng Du rolled his eyes. "Tongwei, don't try to comfort me. What kind of world can you make in a place like this? At most, you'll just be dealing with the gossip of this family and that family, just trying to make a living. By the way, when we get there, do you think we'll have a place to stay? Will it be one of those mud-brick houses?"

"It shouldn't be that bad. It's a township unit after all; at the very least, they should have a decent dormitory," Qi Tongwei said. "Don't think too much about it. Close your eyes and rest. The journey is still long. I heard the road ahead is difficult."

Cheng Du nodded, but he couldn't close his eyes. He kept looking out the window at the scenery and complaining about the long journey.

Qi Tongwei shook his head helplessly and closed his eyes to rest.

After changing buses twice, we finally entered the mountainous area. The road conditions became increasingly worse, and the ride became more and more bumpy.

At first, the intensity was barely tolerable, and he was even humming a song.

But not long after, his face turned pale, he gripped the handrail tightly, and his brows furrowed.

"Ugh... Brother Wei, I can't take it anymore, I'm about to throw up." Cheng Du clutched his chest. "This road is so bumpy! If it keeps bouncing like this, my insides are going to come out!"

Qi Tongwei took a plastic bag out of his bag and handed it to him: "Quick, if you want to throw up, throw up here, don't throw up in the car."

Cheng Du took the plastic bag, leaned against the window, and gagged a few times but couldn't vomit. "No way, this place is too remote. There isn't even a decent road. It's a godforsaken place, no doubt about it!"

"Bear with it, we're almost there." Qi Tongwei patted his back and comforted him. "If you really can't stand it, lean on my shoulder and sleep for a while. Once you're asleep, you won't feel the bumps anymore."

This was also based on Qi Tongwei's experience in his previous life.

Time flies when you're asleep.

However, the difficulty lies in the fact that it's hard to fall asleep on such a large bus.

Cheng Du shook her head weakly and said, "I can't sleep. I feel nauseous whenever I'm bounced. Waaah! Mom, I want to go home."

"It's too late to say all this now," Qi Tongwei said with a smile. "Besides, you patted your chest and said you'd risk your life to accompany him, so what? You're already backing down after just starting?"

"I'm not backing down!" Cheng Du immediately retorted, forcing himself to sit up straight. "I'm just complaining a bit. Since I've chosen you, I won't go back on my word! It's just a godforsaken place, right? I'll just treat it as a life experience. Later, when I tell others, I'll say I went to Lone Eagle Ridge, how impressive will that be!"

Qi Tongwei couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, Cheng Du, you have guts, we're brothers."

Don't worry, when we become successful in the future, we definitely won't stay in a place like this forever.

After another bumpy ride of more than an hour, the bus finally arrived at Guyingling Township Bus Station.

It's called a bus station, but it's really just a small courtyard with no decent shops around and dirt roads everywhere.

When the wind blows, everything turns to dust.

I'll eat dirt.

It's incredibly vivid.

The two got off the bus with their luggage. Cheng Du took a deep breath and immediately frowned: "My God, this place is so shabby! It's not even as good as the toilets at our university. I'm completely speechless."

Qi Tongwei looked around calmly and said, "Stop complaining. Go report to your respective units first. The judicial office and the police station are not far apart. I'll take you there first, and then I'll go to the judicial office."

"Alright, Tongwei, you've got to look after me." Cheng Du quickly followed Qi Tongwei's footsteps, complaining as they walked, "You know, the two of us, one a graduate student and the other an undergraduate, are just sent here like this. It's like a tiger fallen into the plains being bullied by dogs. It's so damn frustrating."

"This is what you call 'painful yet pleasurable'!" Qi Tongwei smiled and strode forward.

The two walked along the dirt road for about ten minutes and saw the sign for Guyingling Township Police Station. The sign was a bit old, and a lot of the paint had peeled off.

"Brother Tongwei, is this where I'm supposed to be?" Cheng Du pointed at the police station sign, somewhat incredulous. "This is so shabby! It's even worse than I imagined. I'm starting to wonder if I've gone to the wrong place."

"That's right, this is the place," Qi Tongwei said. "Go in and report for duty, I'll go to the judicial office."

Cheng Du nodded, took a deep breath, and walked into the police station with his luggage.

Not long after, Cheng Du came running out. "Thank goodness, the people at the institute are very welcoming. The director even arranged a dormitory for me. Although it's a bit simple, at least I can live there."

"That's good." Qi Tongwei nodded. "I'm going to report to the judicial office, which is not far ahead. We'll be neighbors from now on, so let's look out for each other."

After saying goodbye to Du Cheng, Qi Tongwei walked for a few more minutes and arrived at the Guyingling Township Judicial Office.

The judicial office was even smaller than the police station; it was just an eight-room tile-roofed house with a sign hanging at the entrance that read "Guyingling Township Judicial Office" in large characters.

Qi Tongwei carried his luggage into the judicial office, which was very quiet inside.

Only one elderly person was organizing documents.

The old man had gray hair and wore reading glasses; he looked to be almost 60 years old.

Upon seeing Qi Tongwei, he quickly put down the documents in his hand, smiled, and walked over: "You must be Qi Tongwei? I'm the director here, Qin Hansheng."

Qi Tongwei quickly extended his hand and said respectfully, "Director Qin, hello, I am Qi Tongwei, here to report for duty today."

Qin Hansheng grasped Qi Tongwei's hand and looked him up and down. "I've heard that a graduate student has come to our judicial office. He's a top student from Handong University. It's really a waste of your talent."

"I'm not aggrieved, Director Qin. It's my honor to be able to train at the grassroots level," Qi Tongwei said.

Qin Hansheng waved his hand and sighed: "Tongwei, I know you feel wronged. You are a graduate student, you should have gone to a provincial government agency, or at the very least a county town, but you were assigned to this poor mountain village. Either the higher-ups really want to train you, or you have been completely marginalized."

"Director Qin, which possibility do you think is more likely?" Qi Tongwei asked.

Qin Hansheng lowered his voice: "To be honest, I think the latter is more likely."

Did you offend someone?

In our Handong area, anyone who can interfere so much with graduate placements must have a very powerful background.

Don't worry, Tongwei, I'm retiring soon, I'm not afraid of anyone. Once you're in our firm, I'll have your back. Haha!

Qi Tongwei didn't feel bitter; instead, he felt a sense of warmth and familiarity. "Director Qin, let's not dwell on the past. Thank you. Now that I'm here, I'll do my job well."

Qin Hansheng nodded. "Good, well done. It's rare to see such a mindset in a young person. There are only four people in our judicial office. Besides me, there are two older people, all locals. Let's look out for each other in the future."

"Yes, Director Qin." Qi Tongwei was very familiar with this place.

After all, it's where dreams begin.

The memory is fresh.

Qin Hansheng led Qi Tongwei on a tour of the judicial office, the office area, and the dormitory. Although the dormitory arranged for Qi Tongwei was not large, it was very clean and tidy, with a bed, a table, a chair, and a wardrobe, providing all the basic necessities.

"Director Qin, thank you for your trouble." Qi Tongwei was still very grateful.

"Don't mention it," Qin Hansheng said with a smile. "You've just arrived, you must be tired from your journey. Settle in and rest first, then start work tomorrow. Things at the institute aren't busy, just some trivial matters, you'll get used to it gradually. If you don't understand anything, just ask me."

"Thank you, Director Qin." After Qin Hansheng left, Qi Tongwei tidied up his dormitory and quickly organized his luggage.

In his previous life, he had worked at the Guyingling Township Judicial Office and knew that Qin Hansheng was an exceptionally good person, upright, without any airs of an official, and very considerate of his subordinates, and never uttered a single complaint.

The other two people in the office, Li Jianguo and Zhang Jianjun, were both nearly fifty years old. They greeted Qi Tongwei warmly.

"Xiao Qi, you must be the new graduate student? Welcome, welcome!" Li Jianguo said with a smile. "If you have any questions in the future, just ask us, don't be shy."

"Thank you, Brother Li and Brother Zhang," Qi Tongwei greeted them with a smile. "I hope you two will take good care of me in the future."

If we're talking about age, I should call you "uncle," but that's not appropriate. How about I call you "brother" instead?