Now Chris had no time for melancholy either. Early the next morning, she flew back to Shanghai with Qin Shian to begin preparing for her own wedding.
Jiang Si, meanwhile, threw herself wholeheartedly into the final handover work.
A few days later, the Foreign Affairs Building officially passed its final inspection.
At the celebration banquet, Minister Zhao announced excitedly that the organization had officially named the building: "Yihe" (Harmony and Friendship).
The two characters "Yihe" expressed both the pursuit of building "diplomatic friendship" through hosting foreign guests and emphasized the core principle of "harmonious cooperation and mutual benefit" on the diplomatic level.
No two characters could have been more fitting.
Amidst the chorus of praise from the audience below the stage, Jiang Si found herself gazing distractedly in the direction of the Foreign Affairs Building.
A month ago, Minister Zhao had asked her if she had any ideas for the building's name.
Jiang Si had thought he was just making casual conversation.
After a moment's thought, she had suggested the name "Yihe."
She never expected the organization would actually approve and adopt it.
The building she had designed with her own hands was now crowned with the name she had chosen. At this moment, Jiang Si felt there could be no more perfect conclusion.
As her thoughts wandered, Minister Zhao looked her way. "Now, let's invite Comrade Jiang Si to say a few words."
This immediately pushed the celebration banquet to another high point.
Jiang Si, however, was completely unprepared. It wasn't until her assistant reminded her that she snapped back to attention.
She held the microphone for a long moment before speaking.
Her gaze swept over the familiar faces in the audience: Professor Li, Secretary Yan, Director Yang, and countless members of the team who had fought alongside her.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Si began, "To be honest, I'm a bit stunned right now. It's hard to put my feelings at this moment into words."
"But I know that without every single person here today, there would be no 'Yihe' as it stands. Every brick, every tile, every detail of this building is the result of our collective effort and teamwork."
With that, she raised her glass. "May the world we have built together carry even more goodwill in the future."
"May our motherland prosper and thrive! May diplomatic friendships remain evergreen!"
As her words fell, thunderous applause erupted from the audience, lasting for a long time.
And so, amidst this lively and warm atmosphere, the celebration banquet came to an end.
Jiang Si also concluded this unforgettable chapter of her journey at the Ministry of Construction.
After the banquet, when she went to the Personnel Department to complete the formalities and return her work ID, she truly felt a pang of reluctance.
The head of the Personnel Department, however, pushed the ID back towards her. "This is on Minister Zhao's specific instructions. He said you should come back and visit whenever you have the chance."
This time, Jiang Si didn't refuse. "Alright, I'll definitely come back to visit often when I have the opportunity."
After leaving the Personnel Department, Jiang Si stayed at the unit until the sky had completely darkened before finally bidding farewell to everyone one by one.
As she stepped out of the Ministry of Construction building, she immediately spotted Huo Tingzhou, who had been waiting for a long time.
Her heart instantly warmed. She quickened her pace towards him. "Why are you here? I thought you were busy at your unit?"
Huo Tingzhou was just about to explain when his little "cotton-padded jacket" proved less than airtight.
Zhaozhao popped her head, adorned with two little buns, out from the back seat. "Mommy, Daddy wanted to give you a surprise!"
With that, she opened the car door.
Holding a bouquet of flowers, she ran towards Jiang Si.
Suisui followed closely behind, presenting a drawing he had made himself.
The siblings spoke in unison, "Mommy! This is for you, to congratulate you on completing your mission perfectly!"
Jiang Si was both surprised and delighted. She bent down and planted a kiss on each of their soft little cheeks.
"Thank you, my darlings. The flowers are beautiful, and the drawing is wonderful. Mommy is so happy."
Then her gaze fell on Huo Tingzhou, her eyes asking a silent question. "Where did you buy these flowers?"
Fresh flowers were already a rarity in this era, let alone on such a snowy day. She wondered how long they had traveled to get them.
"Do you like them?" Huo Tingzhou didn't answer directly. Instead, he opened the car door, gesturing for the three of them to get in quickly.
Jiang Si, holding the bouquet, settled into the passenger seat. The rich floral fragrance was refreshing.
She nodded, her eyes curving into happy crescents. "Of course I like them."
No woman dislikes a sense of ceremony.
Especially on such a special day.
The bouquet in her hands was of monthly roses, which carried a lovely meaning. Jiang Si asked with a smile, "Did you have to go very far to buy these?"
"Not really."
As soon as Huo Tingzhou spoke, his little "leather jacket" also began to leak air.
"Yes, far, Mommy! Very far!"
"The drive there and back took all afternoon. Daddy's money..." wasn't enough, so they had contributed their own pocket money.
But the rest of the sentence was cut off by Huo Tingzhou's deliberate cough.
Alright, that was enough.
Any more and these two little ones would have revealed the entire family fortune.
With both children in the car, Jiang Si didn't say anything more. She just looked at Huo Tingzhou's slightly reddened ears and couldn't help but smile.
Later that night, when the two of them were lying in bed.
Jiang Si proactively wrapped her arms around Huo Tingzhou's neck and planted a kiss on his lips.
"Thank you." She really liked this surprise, and also, "Starting this month, I'm increasing your allowance!"
Huo Tingzhou gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. From now on, he would have twenty-five yuan each month.
That was still ten yuan more than Old Xiao!
...
The next day, Jiang Si slept in naturally. Upon waking, the first thing she did was find a vase and arrange the bouquet from the previous night.
Remembering she had promised the two little treasures yesterday that she would pick them up from the Children's Palace today,
Jiang Si quickly got ready, packed some snacks the kids liked, and headed towards the Children's Palace.
She felt rather ashamed to admit it, but she had only found out last night
that the two little ones had started attending interest classes at the Children's Palace with the older kids from the family since the day before yesterday.
As for her, she lacked that kind of perseverance.
In the dead of winter, she hated going out the most.
The Children's Palace wasn't too far from the residential compound, just a ten-plus minute walk.
The last time Jiang Si had been to the Children's Palace was when she accompanied Sister-in-law Hu and the others.
Back then, she had only taken a cursory look around, so she actually had no idea which classrooms the two little ones were in for their classes.
Just as she was about to ask someone for directions, as luck would have it, she ran into an elderly gentleman wearing glasses who had a refined and scholarly air.
So Jiang Si politely approached him and asked for directions to the children's Go class and the children's abacus class.
He pointed to the building behind them, "The children's Go class has just started, you might want to go a bit later."
Then he added, "I'm actually heading to the abacus class myself, you can come with me."
Jiang Si quickly thanked him.
Through their conversation, she learned that this kind elderly gentleman was actually Teacher He from the abacus class.
As they walked, Teacher He casually asked, "You're here to pick up your child? What's your child's name?"
"Yes, I'm here to pick up my daughter. Her name is Huo Jingyan."
Upon hearing this, Teacher He stopped in his tracks. "So you're Huo Jingyan's parent. I've been meaning to find an opportunity to speak with you parents."
Jiang Si was taken aback.
Before she could say anything, Teacher He asked, "Are you aware that your Jingyan has signed up for the Beijing Abacus Competition?"
Jiang Si shook her head; she knew nothing about this matter.
Before she could speak, Teacher He continued, "And did you know she signed up for the youth group category?"
Jiang Si: "..."
