Thinking about these things, Fourth Aunt Huo spoke again, "In a few days, it will be Suisui and Zhaozhao's first birthday celebration. I've saved up quite a few ration coupons. Take them with you when you go. Big brother and sister-in-law must have prepared in advance, but it's still a token of our regard."
As she spoke, she opened the bedside table drawer.
She took out three pairs of silver bracelets.
The bracelets were all the same size, just with different patterns.
For Suisui and Zhaozhao, the pattern was a dragon and phoenix bringing prosperity.
For Fourth Uncle's family's Little Soymilk, it was the character for 'fortune' with auspicious clouds.
Also, she had prepared the red envelopes in advance. The money inside the three envelopes was the same, so there was no need for special markings.
Besides these, she had also bought a basket of eggs and three pairs of tiger-head shoes.
In Capital City, there's no strict rule about when to visit after a child's birth.
It's fine as long as you go before the full month celebration.
During this period, the two of them had been so busy they barely touched the ground, so they hadn't managed to visit.
Taking this opportunity, they could make up for all of it.
Worried that Huo's fourth uncle might forget, she emphasized the instructions again.
Huo's fourth uncle noted everything down one by one. "Aren't you coming with me to see them tomorrow?"
Fourth Aunt Huo shook her head, "I won't go. I still have a case at hand, I really can't get away."
Besides, she was a forensic doctor, her hands were stained with too much blood throughout the year.
There are folk taboos; the children are still young, so it's best to avoid getting too close before their first birthday.
On the day of the birthday celebration, she would go over for the meal, sit for a bit, and see the children, that would be enough.
Huo's fourth uncle wanted to say something more, but Fourth Aunt Huo directly cut him off, "Alright, that's settled. I'm entrusting this to you."
Seeing this, Huo's fourth uncle had no choice but to nod and agree.
The next day, after finishing his work, Huo's fourth uncle took these things back to the old house.
Regarding these gifts from the elders for the children, Jiang Si and Guan Xue didn't refuse. They happily accepted them on behalf of the children.
Before leaving, Huo's fourth uncle also gave Jiang Si the one-thousand-yuan bonus issued from above. "This is the reward from above for you. Keep it safe."
As for the possibility of other compensation later, Huo's fourth uncle didn't mention it.
These were just his speculations. If he mentioned them now and they didn't materialize in the end, wouldn't that just lead to empty disappointment?
Jiang Si didn't think that much about it. Ever since the people on the list were rounded up, the sword hanging over her head was gone, and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Affected by this incident, those who used to idle away their time at work now all worked with utmost diligence, afraid of others finding fault with them.
Moreover, as the weather gradually turned cold, the construction pace also slowed down.
With Director Yang and the others overseeing the construction site, there shouldn't be any major mistakes.
So, the day after the regular meeting, Jiang Si went to see Minister Zhao.
Around National Day every year was when her father-in-law and mother-in-law were busiest.
Huo Tingzhou had also reported to the military aviation base a few days ago to prepare for the upcoming military-wide skills competition.
Jiang Si planned to ask for a few days off to personally handle the first birthday celebration for the two little ones.
However, she didn't mention this at work. After all, there were many people in the unit. If she mentioned holding a banquet for the children, ten tables might not even be enough.
Therefore, Jiang Si didn't publicize the banquet.
Apart from Sister-in-law Hu and Sister-in-law Xu's families, she only invited Dean Gao, Professor Li, Director Yang, plus her own assistant, Assistant Qi.
Then there were her Master and Master's wife.
When she got married, President Zhou of the Artists Association personally made a chicken-blood stone seal for her. Jiang Si had always remembered this kindness, so she specifically invited President Zhou.
Chris and Chi Heng didn't need an invitation; they would naturally come when the time came.
As for Minister Zhao, he was going on a business trip to another city tomorrow and really couldn't make it, so that had to be dropped.
However, just before leaving the room, Minister Zhao quietly slipped two red envelopes to Jiang Si, saying it was a token of his regard.
Jiang Si couldn't refuse, so she accepted them.
When Minister Zhao returned, she would prepare a separate return gift; otherwise, it wouldn't be appropriate.
After handing over her work, Jiang Si took some seasonal fruit from her space, used the one-click cooking function to make a few jars of tangerine preserves with spiritual spring water, and brought them to Secretary Yan.
During their casual conversation, Jiang Si expressed her apology for having suspected Secretary Yan before.
Secretary Yan waved his hand after listening, "Xiao Jiang, you really shouldn't dwell on this matter."
The other side intended to use him as a scapegoat; it was normal for her to have such suspicions.
Moreover, he had interacted with Deputy Minister Xu for decades without seeing his true colors, so how could he blame Jiang Si?
Speaking of this, the most emotional person was Secretary Yan's wife.
Holding Jiang Si's hand, her eyes slightly red, she said, "Xiao Jiang, speaking of which, Lao Yan and I should thank you properly. If you hadn't helped clear the charges against him, we wouldn't even have had the courage to live. And thank you for taking Lao Yan to the hospital last time and paying the medical fees for him..."
In these times, it's easy to add flowers to the brocade, but offering fuel in snowy weather is too difficult.
They would always remember this kindness.
Before leaving, Secretary Yan's wife stuffed many things into Jiang Si's hands and personally saw her off downstairs, repeatedly urging her to come visit often when she had time.
Jiang Si nodded.
Just as she had composed herself and was about to get in the car, two somewhat familiar figures suddenly appeared in her sight.
It was Secretary Tan's mother and elder brother.
The two were carrying large and small bags, registering at the entrance of the residential compound.
Seeing this, Jiang Si couldn't help but smile. This good mood lasted until the next day.
After lunch, Jiang Si put the two tired little ones to sleep, handed them over to Third Granduncle and Uncle Zhong, and drove to Capital City train station to pick someone up.
Fortunately, the train wasn't late today; it even arrived over ten minutes early.
By the time Jiang Si parked the car and quickly walked to the exit, it was already crowded with passengers carrying large and small bundles.
Luckily, Jiang Si was tall and fair-skinned.
She stood out quite a bit in the crowd.
From afar, Hu Meili saw her and waved excitedly, "Sister Si—"
Hearing this familiar loud voice, Jiang Si quickly went forward.
After not seeing each other for so long, all three were quite emotional upon meeting again.
After exchanging a few more words, Jiang Si's gaze fell on the two brothers, Weidong and Weimin.
After almost a year apart, the two children had tanned and become much sturdier.
Especially the younger one, he had shot up in height.
Jiang Si remembered when he left, he barely reached her armpit.
Now he was almost up to her shoulder.
He also seemed more steady in temperament than before.
