No different from Mondays in the past, Wu Hui is still a conscientious worker.
The rhythm is almost the same as usual: first I proofread the section that will be published soon, then I send a reply to the serial author, and finally I have time to read a few new submissions. Not only Qianhua Lane, but also nearby residential areas have been implicated in gang wars, and the situation has been tense recently. But the leaders went to have tea with other major newspapers, and there was no new public opinion suggestion from the National Police Agency. I don’t know if they had no plans or just couldn’t care.
She didn't pay much attention to the movements of other colleagues and only glanced at Ouyang's position once. It's empty again, which is normal. He collects materials all year round, and being willing to sit here for two hours is a rare thing, worthy of headlines.
When people are busy, the morning goes by so fast that even the blink of an eye feels blurry. Just by putting down the manuscript, Wu Hui felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and neck. When she came to her senses, the office was empty for some reason. She was originally waiting for her colleague to call her to have dinner with her.
She moved her shoulders and neck, and as soon as she went down to the first floor, she saw two or three familiar figures huddled together. They were blocked at the corner, no one came out, just you and me murmuring in a low voice.
"Don't you want to eat?" She tapped a female colleague on the shoulder.
"Yeah! You scared me."
"Why did it scare you? Maybe you have a guilty conscience." Wu Hui raised his eyebrows and looked in the direction where they were looking.
Another male colleague quietly pointed over and said smoothly: "Did you see it? There is a foreigner sitting in the lobby. When the advertising department came back, we didn't believe it at first. It seemed to be a representative of the Chamber of Commerce... I also heard what they said, no. Ask carefully."
"Chamber of Commerce? Which Chamber of Commerce?"
As he asked, Wu Hui caught a glimpse of the person sitting there. His appearance and appearance are eye-catching, even if you want to deliberately ignore it, you will find it difficult. Light blonde hair color will look out of place no matter where you go, let alone if you have long hair. As a man, compared to the contemporary aesthetics of my country, it is a bit out of place - not to say that it is bad. The color is very light, as if the hair is just pure white, but is plated with a touch of gold, like snow holding up the midday sun.
But the position of this bench happened to avoid the sun when it was at its strongest. The intersection of light and shadow fell at his feet, and he was shrouded in shade. This makes his long hair look even more like a source of light. Not only that, his dress was also clean and white, spotless. In addition, the fabric is decorated with gold patterns treated with special technology, which is not empty or complicated, but just right.
People passing by naturally responded with inquiring eyes, but only quietly and not blatantly. Who wouldn't be curious about this stranger whose purpose is a mystery? No one asked. The man didn't mind the occasional probing gaze, or he didn't pay any attention at all. He just held a book and sat there quietly reading, his eyes only falling on the pages. This strange tranquility made Wu Hui feel that he was not coming to a newspaper office, but to a library.
"Isn't he hungry?" Wu Hui turned to ask them, "No - aren't you hungry? Aren't you going to eat? Are you just watching here?"
"What are you talking about! Isn't this strange? Our place is a shabby place with no reputation. We don't see many visitors all year round, let alone a foreigner."
Wu Hui asked again: "Where is the reception?"
"I slipped out before dinner time. I didn't even know this person was there. Maybe this foreigner didn't make a reservation, right?"
"Either we made an appointment, or we are looking for someone else?" Another female colleague replied to the male colleague, "Are you here to provide materials? Then he didn't ask, then? Just keep sitting like this? Anyway, if you don't care, there will always be someone in the afternoon. Let’s deal with it.”
"If they are really from the Chamber of Commerce, we must have treated them poorly. But the leaders are not here right now..."
Having said all that, no one even came forward to ask, and I don’t know how long this visitor from afar was left in the dark - it’s not like none of these people can speak foreign languages. Wu Hui secretly cursed, but did not say it out loud.
Because her level is not that good either.
Colleagues chatted again. But she didn't catch a cold. No matter how strange the foreigners looked, they only had two eyes and one mouth, which had no additional scientific research value, not to mention they weren't doing this. She walked straight to the door, thinking about the newly opened pastry shop on the street that she had been thinking about last night.
As luck would have it, just as he was passing the foreigner, Qiwen walked in through the door. He held the camera in one hand and a stack of documents in the other. When he saw her, he raised his eyebrows as if to say hello.
So Wu Hui raised his hand to signal. But at the same time, a tall figure brushed past her, opened his arms somewhat exaggeratedly, and walked toward Qiwen. He subconsciously took two steps back, but there was a smile on his face.
"Why don't you wait in the reception room? It's too noisy here."
Seeing that he couldn't move his hand and just avoided it, the man put down his hand wisely, but at first it seemed that he was just pretending to "scare" the other party. But his interest did not diminish and he said eagerly:
"How long has it been since we last met? I mean, face to face like this. You are much shyer than in your letter, Mr. Ouyang."
It was too fluent, even too inconsistent with the person's appearance. Wuhui was naturally surprised, and it was enough for her not to care about Qiwen ignoring her. But as soon as he thought of this, Qiwen immediately raised the document and paid tribute.
"Can you please help me file it?"
"Can't."
I was about to eat, and you asked me to work? Her attitude speaks for itself. The man beside him laughed heartily, causing people passing by to turn around frequently. Lunch time is the time when most people come and go. As long as Wu Hui doesn't feel embarrassed, others will be embarrassed.
Qiwen immediately stopped. Based on his understanding of her, rejection was possible, but it was unexpected for him to reject her so naturally. He showed a frustrated expression and said with a smile: "Can I treat you to dinner? We can bring Mr. Adler with us. I will introduce him to you - he is the representative of Yangming Chamber of Commerce."
Wu Hui was in a daze for a moment when he heard the name of this chamber of commerce. Among all the chambers of commerce registered in Yaozhou, Yangming Chamber of Commerce is the most obvious interest group. In the long past, she had not come to this place, and the Yangming Chamber of Commerce was not its current name. At that time, it was just a voluntary association organized by local businessmen and was not very large in scale. When the port first opened, other chambers of commerce had relatively conservative strategies due to historical, cultural, or organizational constraints, but they were the first to establish a foreign businessman membership system. The name of the Chamber of Commerce has been changed many times, and even Yaozhou residents including Wu Hui are familiar with its current name.
No matter how mentally prepared she was, Wu Hui was somewhat shocked to learn about her old friend's connections from this angle.
"You must be Ms. Wuhui."
Very authentic pronunciation. If you close your eyes, you can barely tell his nationality from the tone of his voice. Although the wording or more obscure aspects are still not up to standard, it is more than enough for daily communication, not to mention that he is definitely a good hand in business negotiations. Wu Hui quickly mobilized all the social etiquette in her mind, and finally chose to extend her right hand to show her kindness. Mr. Adler naturally shook hands with her, behaved appropriately and smoothly. Even the length of her stay didn't make her feel any discomfort.
This Mr. Adler really fits the stereotype description of foreigners as "blond and blue-eyed". His eyes were a deep blue, which easily reminded Wu Hui of the sea he had looked at at the port, or a sea that was deeper and more distant than that. It was like a sapphire held on a velvet cushion - she had only seen it once at an auction with Qi Wen as a follower. All in all, there is a sense of nobility and alienation.
It's not simple.
She didn't know why she didn't want to deal with such people, maybe she was afraid of trouble.
But by some strange coincidence, she walked into the hotel with the two of them. It's said to be a hotel, but it has a Western-style decoration. Unlike the hard tables and chairs in other stores, the sofas here are very soft and the distance between the seats is wide and comfortable. The waitresses wore uniform goose-yellow uniforms, and the tender green gauze curtains on the windows swayed with the breeze, bringing hints of spring earlier than the flowers and plants that had not yet sprouted. It was also warm in the room, and the guests were obliged to take off their coats, except Mr. Adler.
Wu Hui realized that this was the pastry shop that she had longed for. During the construction period, the workers only told the outside world that they were selling pastries, but they did not clarify that they were Western pastries. And compared to the dim sum shop she imagined, it would be an exaggeration to say that this place is a restaurant. Or maybe it’s somewhere in between – the trendy coffee shop of the moment.
She took the menu from Qiwen and pushed it back with a quick glance. The overlapping words in three languages hit her eyes.
Mr. Adler opposite kept smiling, not mockingly. It doesn't matter, as long as you are calm enough, you are not afraid of being timid. This is Wu Hui's personal social philosophy and her philosophy of survival. Adler recommended a pastry called chestnut tart, saying it was the restaurant's signature. Everyone also gets a cup of coffee, which the waitress claims is one of the main items.
Oh Hye was not a person who knew much about coffee, but she was not someone who would make jokes like "it's better to make medicine" regardless of the occasion. She had to say that this glass of black water was indeed different from the ones she had drunk before. It was slightly sour but not sweet enough. She added an extra serving of cream.
Qi Wen had a lively chat with the representative, while Wu Hui just kept his head down and ate hard. The chestnut tart's chestnut flour is delicate, and the light sourness of the cheese offsets the overly sweetness. She didn't say much during the whole meal and couldn't get a word in. Only at the beginning, Qiwen introduced Mr. Adler's "main business." He was very interested in antique jewelry and joked that if he had any valuable treasures, he would welcome her to contact him as soon as possible. A thought flashed through Wu Hui's mind, and it just flashed through.
In addition to being a representative of the Chamber of Commerce, Qiwen also mentioned Adler’s second identity as a church preacher, but this was not considered his main job. Many schools along the coast of Yaozhou were built with funds invested by the church, which also made great efforts in recruiting personnel. This allowed many children in slums to have free education. It is indeed a great good thing to ignore the deeds and the heart. Wu Hui vaguely remembered that even the hospital where Mo Weiming worked was funded by the church.
The hospital and newspaper office are both located in the northwest of Yaozhou, close to the inland. Not many foreigners would pay attention to this kind of place, maybe the members of the Yangming Chamber of Commerce would be an exception. It is said that this cafe is a chain abroad, and Mr. Adler also has a stake. You can't make much money by opening here, Wu Hui thought, they must know this. A long time ago, there were cases of foreign restaurants in this area being thrown bricks by conservatives... After all these years, I wonder if those old-fashioned ideas have changed.
No matter what, it has penetrated to this point...but it doesn't matter, these are not things that someone with a monthly salary like her should worry about.
She roughly listened to the rest of the content. It's mainly about Qianhua Lane. Mr. Adler himself appears to have been implicated in the local gang war, and that part should appear in the papers soon.
It's almost likely that Wu Hui will write it himself. Free meals are the most expensive, and she has suffered a lot.
