◎ Third update ◎ 

“Comrade, are there any other way to register?” It was rare for Xu Shengjie to see his brother so passionate about something and doesn’t want him to be dejected. If necessary, they could go to a farther place to register. 

The main reason why Xu Shengwei only registered this time was because he heard the news too late. Yesterday afternoon, he played table tennis with students from other schools. Because of his aggressive style, he won many games. Then suddenly, someone joked that he should participate in the city-wide Youth table tennis competition, where he might win a prize. 

However, it was too late yesterday and it was already past closing time. Today was the last day for registration, and Xu Shengwei thought he had enough time to get the registration done before others finished work. But unexpectedly, the person in charge of the registration left early. 

“Dongshan Sports Stadium is still open, but I don’t know if they left early,” said by the staff at the Youth Palace. Getting to Dongshan Sports Stadium from the Youth Palace involves crossing the city. In addition, the snow has not melted yet, so it is very time-consuming and laborious to go there. Even the bus has difficulty running. Every morning, sanitation workers have to clear the snow. When there is severe wind and snow, the passengers have to get off the bus halfway through the journey to help clear the snow so that the bus can continue to pass. 

The staff at the Youth Palace kindly reminded them not to make a trip for nothing. “I think you might not make it in time if you go now.” 

“Oh!” Xu Shengwei was very disappointed and hung his head dejectedly. After finally having something to look forward to, it just slipped away. 

Yang Yan, who had been listening nearby, smiled and walked over to ask the front desk, “Xiao Ling, which department is responsible for registration? What are their names?” 

“It was organized by the Education Bureau with the Sports Bureau.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to report anyone. I just want to see if I know them and help Comrade Xu Shengwei register,” she interrupted.  

“Ah, so that’s how it is. It’s Sun Ying and Feng Gonghe.” 

Yang Yan thought about it and figured it out. She turned to Liang Baozhen and said, “Why don’t you give me the photos and documents you need to submit? I’ll try to drop them off for you on my way home tonight.” 

“Auntie, do you know them?” Xu Shengya asked curiously. 

“Kind of. Their director was my father’s former subordinate.” 

“Then thank you for your help, Comrade Yang Yan.” Liang Baozhen didn’t know if it would work, but seeing that Yang Yan said it with certainty, maybe it really could work. 

Last time, she heard the staff members of the Youth Palace talking about Yang Yan’s family and mentioning that her family are officials in the city. The two staff members didn’t know the details; they only knew that the family lived in the compound of the Municipal Party Committee. 

Liang Baozhen wrote down Xu Shengwei’s information, including his name, age, school, and class, on a piece of paper and handed his photo. “Xiao Wei, why don’t you thank your aunt?” 

“Thank you, beautiful aunt!” Xu Shengwei seemed to come alive again! There was hope for the competition!  

“Thank you, beautiful aunt!” Xu Shengya followed to express her gratitude as well. She saw her second brother’s bright smile, which was great! 

The five-year-old Zhaozhao also copied them and said to his mother in a sweet voice, “Thank you, beautiful aunt!” 

“Hahahahahaha.” 

“My dear child, I’m not your aunt.” Yang Yan picked up her son, smiled gently, and tapped his nose, “Are you trying to learn to talk from your elder brother and sister?” 

“Zhao Zhao is so cute.” Liang Baozhen could tell at a glance that Zhao Zhao was someone who was raised with great care. 

“Your baby will definitely be cute when it’s born.” Yang Yan glanced at Liang Baozhen’s big belly, “Is it coming soon?” 

“Not for another couple of months,” Liang Baozhen is also looking forward to giving birth. 

“I think you two are a good couple. Your child will definitely be good looking.” 

After talking for a while, Yang Yan saw that her son’s calligraphy class was about to start, so she took her leave. “We’ll head in first. Don’t worry about the registration; I’ll bring the registration slip to you next class.” 

“Okay, thank you!” 

After Yang Yan walked away, Xu Shengwei jumped on the spot! He was so excited that his hands were clenched into fists, and even his hair stood up. “Aunt Yang means I’ll definitely be able to register, right?” 

“It should be.” Liang Baozhen was worried that if it didn’t work out, it would disappoint her brother-in-law, so she added, “But let’s wait until we meet again to talk about it.” 

“Don’t be so excited that you can’t sleep.” Xu Shengjie had never seen his brother so excited. Is he really that excited just from playing table tennis? 

Xu Shengjie rarely comes to the Youth Palace with his younger brother and sister. This is his second time. Xu Shengwei excitedly grabbed his oldest brother’s hand and took him to the table tennis training room near the Youth Palace. 

“Brother, look, look!” Xu Shengwei’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the students who were training inside. “Look how good they are. They are professionally trained and have coaches to teach them. They can practice serving hundreds or thousands of times.” 

The more Xu Shengwei spoke, the more envious he became. He figured out his serve, drive, and smashing all on his own and had never received any professional training. 

“Last time your sister-in-law said that you can’t sign up for these classes, right?” Xu Shengjie still has some impression. 

“Yes.” Xu Shengwei’s mood didn’t stay low for too long. “But if I get a good ranking in the city’s youth table tennis competition, I’ll have a chance to get in!” 

“No wonder you want to join so much.” Xu Shengjie saw that the kids who were about the same age as his brother or even shorter were training seriously, and he thought it was good, “Then make sure to play well.” 

“Yes!” 

*** 

Yang Yan picked up Zhao Zhao after his calligraphy class and went back to her parents home. Her father was a retired senior leader of the Education Bureau, her mother was the former head nurse of the Second Municipal Hospital, and she herself was married to an official’s son. 

The two families didn’t live far apart; the retired officials had a separate family compound. Two rows of towering trees stood tall, but it was still not the season of vibrant spring, and the branches were only covered with thick white snow.  

“Mother, are we going to grandma and grandpa’s house today?” Zhao Zhao asked excitedly. His grandma and grandpa loved him the most and there were many delicious foods at their home. His mom doesn’t let him eat candy, but Grandma will give him some. 

“Yes, we’re going to see Grandma and Grandpa, and we’ll also help Brother Xiao Wei register. Do you remember?” 

“I remember.” 

Zhaozhao nodded; he had a good memory and hadn’t forgotten at all. 

After opening the door, her mother, Yue Lan hugged her grandson as soon as she saw him and sat him on the sofa with a distressed look on her face. “It’s cold outside; why did you not put more clothes on Zhao Zhao?” 

“He’s wearing warm clothes and he says he’s not cold. His hands and feet are always cold. If you don’t believe me, touch his back.” 

“Oh, it’s warm.” Yue Lan glanced at her daughter. “Why did you come over today?” 

The two of them came just a few days ago, so it would usually take some time for them to come back again. 

“I came to see you.” Yang Yan felt a little headache when she thought of her cousin. “Mother, Qingqing went to find Wu Kai’s father.” 

“What? She really went to find him?” 

“Well, her husband doesn’t even know that Qingqing find his father, but she actually came to their house. Yang Yan’s cousin Ding Qing had a match a while ago, and it was said that the two were already discussing marriage. However, a year ago, because her match younger brother committed a crime and was said to be sent to labor reform, Ding Qing’s parents disagreed. 

Ding Qing’s parents were both city officials. Her father was the deputy section chief of the city’s science and technology bureau, and her mother was the director of the city’s Women’s Federation. They were well-known figures, so naturally they were unwilling to marry their daughter into a family who got involved in labor reform. 

“Qingqing is something else. Her match family is from the State Cotton Factory, right?” 

“Yes, the son of the director of the State Cotton Factory.” Yang Yan couldn’t remember his name, but she remembered his last name was Chen. Last time, Qingqing had approached her husband in the hope that he could help his match younger brother finish his labor reform and return to the city as soon as possible. Yang Yan’s father-in-law was also an official. Although he was retired, he still held a significant position. 

However, Yang Yan married into the family, and she didn’t want to ask her husband’s family for help because of her family’s affairs. Besides, helping someone who was send to a labor reform. Wouldn’t that be digging a hole for her family? If something went wrong, her family would be implicated. 

Because of this, she rejected Ding Qing and advised her not to get involved in this mess. After all, that man was just her match younger brother, not her match himself, so why should she go to such lengths? 

Who would have thought that she had gone directly to Yang Yan’s father-in-law to ask for help. Yang Yan’s father-in-law had already retired, and when he saw his daughter-in-law’s cousin coming to visit, he just casually said a few words and didn’t ask about these matters. 

“Forget it, don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Qingqing another day. Can that labor reformer really be released early? Qingqing really is confused.” 

“Okay.” After Yang Yan finished talking about her business, she remembered her original why she came for visit. She took out a piece of paper with Xu Shengwei’s basic information and a photo from her bag. “By the way, Mother, a family of my friend wants to participate in the city’s youth table tennis competition, but the registration period has passed. When Father comes back, please give this to him and ask him to help find Minister Qiu to add them.” 

“What? You want to go through the back door?” Yang Chenggong had just returned from playing chess outside with a retired elder and overheard his daughter’s conversation upon entering the house. 

“Father, I’m not going through the back door. The staff from your Education Bureau collected the registration forms in advance, saying today was the deadline, but when they went at around one in the afternoon, there was no sign of them.” 

Yang Chenggong looked at his daughter, “Why didn’t they go earlier to register? Do they really had to go on the last day, right? You young people are just lazy and tend to delay things.” 

“Then is the scheduled registration time still valid? Aren’t you public servants supposed to serve the people well? They didn’t go late, and they didn’t went to cut in line; they were all within the designated time which is reasonable and legal.” Yang Yan was always articulate and quickly left the retired official speechless with her few words. 

“Alright, alright, this girl is so sharp-tongued. I don’t know who she learned it from.” Yang Chenggong couldn’t stand it and had to surrender.