Chapter 234: Truly a Straightforward Person
Su He thanked the onlooking crowd again. By this time, the train had reached its final stop—the Capital Railway Station.
The three of them followed the crowd off the train and arrived at the exit.
Director Tian said with a hint of pride, “I contacted an old classmate in advance. We’ll just follow him later—he’ll definitely arrange food and lodging properly.”
Su He asked curiously, “Director, what does your classmate do?”
“He works at a research institute—something related to pharmaceuticals, I think.
But he’s a bit too straightforward. After all these years, he hasn’t climbed up—still just an ordinary staff member. If it were me, I’d at least be a deputy director by now.”
Su He: “……”
Principal Chen: “……”
Just then, Director Tian’s eyes lit up. He waved toward the distance. “Zhonglin! Zhonglin! Over here!”
Lu Zhonglin hurried over. People in this era were still somewhat reserved—though excited, they only shook hands.
“Old Tian, it’s been about ten years since we last met, right? You haven’t changed much—you even look younger than me.”
Director Tian chuckled. “You’re in research—using your brain all the time, of course you age faster. I’m carefree, so I stay young. Come, Zhonglin, let me introduce you—this is Principal Chen from our An County night school.”
Lu Zhonglin quickly greeted Principal Chen, and they shook hands.
Director Tian straightened his back and pointed at Su He. “This is my secretary, Su He. Just call her Little Su.”
Lu Zhonglin felt puzzled.
This girl looked under twenty—how could Old Tian let her be a secretary?
Could it be she had some background and was placed into the factory through connections?
He disliked such people the most, so his attitude became slightly cold. He only nodded.
Su He’s outstretched hand hung awkwardly in the air.
Of course, while others might feel embarrassed, that word didn’t exist for Su He.
She naturally withdrew her hand, opened her small bag, and took out a notebook and pen.
“Uncle Lu, when I was little, my dream was to become a scientist. The people I admire most are scientists! Could you give me an autograph? I’ll use it to motivate myself!”
It was the first time Lu Zhonglin had heard such blatant flattery!
For a moment, he was stunned and, without thinking, took the notebook and pen.
Since he had already taken them, it would be awkward to refuse, so he wrote down a short quote.
When Su He saw it, her face lit up with admiration.
“Uncle Lu, your handwriting is incredible!
Truly like dragons and snakes dancing, strokes sharp and powerful!
If you weren’t a scientist, you’d definitely become a great calligrapher!
No wonder our director always mentions you, saying you were the most outstanding student in your class. I thought he was exaggerating—but now I see I was narrow-minded…”
At work, those junior to Lu Zhonglin treated him cautiously, while those senior often sidelined him. He had never experienced anything like this!
After half a lifetime of being straightforward, he was completely overwhelmed by Su He’s praise!
His mood instantly shifted from cloudy to sunny.
If not for some remaining restraint, his smile would have stretched ear to ear!
“Old Tian, young people like Little Su with such insight are rare! Honestly, having her as your secretary is a waste of her talent!”
Director Tian: “……”
A waste as a secretary? You want her to kick me down and take my position?!
A few nice words and you’re already won over—you’re too easy!
But still, Su He’s face is really thick, and her tongue is truly sharp!
In all of An County, only I can match her.
After chatting a bit more, Lu Zhonglin said, “Wait here, I’ll go buy two tricycle tickets and take you to the guesthouse. The train is often late, otherwise I would’ve bought them earlier.”
Before long, Lu Zhonglin returned with a troubled face.
“All the tricycle tickets are sold out. They said we have to wait until some vehicles return before tickets are available again.
There are still quite a few people ahead of us. It’ll probably take another two hours before it’s our turn.
Otherwise, we can take the bus—but we’ll have to transfer twice and still walk a bit…”
Director Tian was stunned.
Even after giving away some instant noodles, they still had more than half a box left, plus the travel bags—taking the bus would be extremely inconvenient!
But he couldn’t complain, especially since Lu Zhonglin already looked very apologetic.
At this moment, Su He said, “Director, I’ll go take a look over there—maybe I can figure something out.”
Director Tian thought, if this were An County, maybe—but here in the capital, unfamiliar territory, what solution could you possibly find?
Lu Zhonglin also advised, “Little Su, the ticket clerk already said there are no tickets. Going won’t help—let’s just take the bus.”
Principal Chen said nothing.
Because after their trip to Shanghai, he realized that anything impossible could somehow become possible with Su He.
Su He smiled. “Trying won’t hurt—I’ll go take a look.”
She scanned the area and spotted a man wearing an armband maintaining order, then walked over.
“Comrade, your job must be quite tough! In this heat, it’s easy to get heatstroke. Here, have some candy to keep your energy up.”
The man glanced at her and accepted the candy.
Su He politely said, “Comrade, I’m from out of town. I wanted to ask—which bus should I take to get to the Foreign Trade Ministry?”
The man raised an eyebrow. “What are you going there for?”
Su He looked slightly embarrassed. “I have relatives working there—I’m visiting them.
Actually, they said they would send a jeep to pick me up. But I thought it might not look good, so we decided to take public transport instead.”
The man’s attitude immediately became warmer.
“Oh, I see. It’s quite far from here—you’d need several transfers. Better to take a tricycle directly.”
Su He hesitated. “But I heard there are no tickets…”
The man lowered his voice. “A few are always reserved for emergencies. Since you’re from out of town, I’ll make an exception for you.”
Soon, Su He got two tricycle tickets.
She took out a bottle of foreign perfume from her bag.
“Uncle, I won’t say much—you’ve really helped me a lot. Please accept this as a small token.”
The man declined a few times but eventually accepted it.
Any lingering doubt he had vanished—this girl clearly had a strong background!
Not just anyone could arrange a jeep!
Su He added, “May I ask your name? Which department you’re in? Could I get your phone number? No other reason—just to visit you when I have time.”
The man was more than happy to build connections.
“You’re too polite!
I work in the tricycle dispatch office. My name is Hu Peng. The office phone is ×××. If you need a vehicle in the future, just call me…”
Su He wrote it down in her notebook, then said:
“Uncle Hu, I’ll be going now! It’s hot—make sure to stay cool while working…”
Hu Peng watched her leave and thought to himself—
This young girl is truly a sincere person!
