Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 392 - 367: Invitation

Chou Xue was originally favored by Chairman Xu, who planned to entrust her with a significant responsibility after a period of observation. It turned out that not only was her business capability strong, but her character was also exceptional. She risked her own safety to rescue her colleagues during an emergency, nearly trapping herself in the fire.

Therefore, Chairman Xu specially reported to the headquarters in Provincial City about Chou Xue’s brave actions, commending her for her heroic behavior.

Due to certain constraints, no meeting was held. Instead, everyone was gathered together to discuss the matter and distribute the rewards from headquarters—two hundred yuan and some tickets, which was quite a generous gesture.

Moved, Chou Xue immediately thanked everyone and assured the Chairman that she would continue to excel in her current duties and would not become complacent.

At noon, she invited everyone to the State-owned canteen for a meal. Wang Yanan, who had previously harbored some resentment towards Chou Xue, warmed up to her, and their relationship improved from that day onwards.

As the person saved by Chou Xue, Li Xianglu naturally expressed her gratitude.

Her expressions of thanks varied—sometimes bringing food, sometimes supplies. More valuable gifts included fabric, and more commonly a piece of fragrant pancreas soap and Snowflake cream, all of which she would give to Chou Xue.

By mid-April, all the loans had finally been processed, and the bank’s workload decreased. After lunch, as everyone returned and sat at their desks, office work recommenced, though no customers came in, so they began chatting in small groups.

Wang Yanan talked about her cousin’s wedding at her aunt’s house over the weekend. It took place in the countryside and was exceptionally lively. With financial conditions improving, her family had slaughtered a pig and six large chickens, making the occasion very grand. She then mentioned the dishes served at the wedding banquet.

Wang Yanan’s family was fairly well-off, but they didn’t eat meat daily. She loved chicken, and her aunt sent her home with half a chicken.

The chicken was incredibly delicious, along with the steamed pork, tender and succulent, causing everyone to involuntarily swallow. Li Xianglu, however, smiled indifferently—her family almost always had meat, and since things improved rapidly after her adoption, she had never really experienced hardship.

As Wang Yanan finished speaking, Zhang Dahu made a slurping gesture and eagerly asked, "Yanan, does your aunt still have any chicken left?"

Wang Yanan and Zhang Dahu were openly dating and got engaged at the end of last year, planning their wedding for June. So when Zhang Dahu asked this, she wasn’t embarrassed but replied with a grin.

While everyone was talking, Chou Xue let out a long sigh.

This caught everyone’s attention, and Wang Yanan, who was now on good terms with Chou Xue, asked with concern, "Chou Xue, why the sigh out of the blue? What’s wrong?"

Chou Xue glanced at Wang Yanan, her tone envious: "I’m really envious of you, having lots of relatives and often getting to eat home-cooked meals. Unlike me, eating in the canteen every day, I’m so tired of it—I really miss the taste of home food."

Chou Xue, a very delicate-looking girl, made such an expression that everyone immediately looked at her with pity. Puzzled, Wang Yanan asked, "Don’t you have an aunt living across the river?"

Chou Xue helplessly shook her head and bitterly smiled, "You said it yourself, she’s just my aunt, and not every aunt adores her niece. Even though my aunt loves me, she has her own family to care for. She can only look after me during holidays."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yanan couldn’t help but sympathetically look at Chou Xue, then suddenly turned to Li Xianglu with wide eyes and said, "Director Li, isn’t your house big? If it’s convenient, you could also invite Chou Xue over to experience some family warmth, unlike us. My house is small, not to mention I live with my uncle, it’s really not convenient."

When Wang Yanan said this, everyone’s gaze turned towards Li Xianglu.

Li Xianglu looked up in surprise and smiled, "Then let’s wait for the weekend. I’ll invite everyone over to my place and you can try the dishes I cook."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yanan’s eyes lit up, her face beaming with a smile, while Zhang Dahu somewhat embarrassedly said, "Director Li, Yanan means that Chou Xue is a bit lonely by herself, that’s all she meant. Please don’t overthink it."

Chou Xue quickly waved her hands and said, "Yes, Director Li, please don’t think like that. I feel embarrassed. I just feel too lonely, especially on weekends, and I can’t help but envy Yanan when she talks about home-cooked meals."

After hearing Chou Xue’s words, everyone felt even more sympathetic. Even the usually quiet Han Xuemei said, "It’s a pity that my house is too small to host guests. However, I can make some food to deliver to Chou Xue, to give you a bit of the feeling of home."

Li Xianglu looked at everyone, a smile forming at the corners of her mouth, "Alright, I can see the love everyone is showing, hehe, let’s make it this weekend then. I’ll invite everyone to my place for a meal, and I’ll have Old Qin grill some meat for us."

Everyone was delighted to hear this. Wang Yanan even asked if they could bring their families, which annoyed Zhang Dahu. "What family does she need to bring? Aren’t I her family?" he thought, angrily calling her shameless.

So, it was decided, everyone would go to Li Xianglu’s house for a meal on Saturday afternoon.

After setting the plans, Li Xianglu lowered her head and continued with her work, unaware of the gaze fixed on her.

Unfortunately, it rained on the planned weekend, so the barbeque had to be postponed. By four o’clock, everyone had gradually arrived. Zhang Dahu rode his bike with Wang Yanan, and a chubby boy around seven or eight years old on the front bar, later introduced as Wang Yanan’s cousin’s son, a rather mischievous child who soon started playing with the twins and Gu Niannian.

The second group to arrive was Han Xuemei, who also came on a bike, bringing along a twelve-year-old girl. She apologized, explaining her husband was not home, and she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her daughter alone, so she brought her along. Li Xianglu quickly reassured her that it was fine since the kids could play together.

Lastly, Chou Xue arrived, and surprisingly, she brought someone with her—a tall, sturdy man dressed in a blue coverall, looking clean and simple with distinctively firm facial features.

Upon introduction, it turned out he was Chou Xue’s newly acquired boyfriend, reportedly having saved Chou Xue before. The two had unexpectedly met again on the bus to the Provincial City, and recently confirmed their relationship, so she brought him to show everyone.

While introducing him, Chou Xue’s face was shy but also sweet as she looked at the man named Gao Kang.

Li Xianglu recognized the man—it was the same man who had helped Chou Xue out of the riverbed that day. The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but turn up slightly. What a coincidence indeed.