Chapter 60: Strictly Selected

Wu Yiyi had a little to drink, but not much, and her mind was quite clear. Accepting the cup of honey water handed to her by her mother, she slowly explained, "Mom, Dad, I wasn't drinking while entertaining leaders. I just had a bit of beer with my colleagues over dinner after work."

Hearing this, both Wu Hongyi and his wife felt much more at ease. It was normal for a young woman to have a social life as she grew older. Drinking wasn't strictly forbidden; what mattered was the context.

Did she drink willingly, or was she forced into it?

Since she was dining with colleagues, she must have been drinking of her own accord. Wu Hongyi treasured his daughter dearly and would never want the apple of his eye to be forced to drink with others for the sake of socializing.

"That's good then. Actually, if you ask me, it would have been so much better if you had joined our Tobacco Monopoly Bureau or your mother's bank, instead of insisting on working at the county government office. Even if you wanted to work there, why go and become a secretary to a leader? There was really no need..." Wu Hongyi trailed off, suddenly remembering something. He turned his head to look at his daughter and asked, "Was the colleague who drank with you the young man who dropped you off just now?"

At first, Wu Hongyi hadn't registered it, but the thought finally struck him. Under normal circumstances, a department dinner would involve both male and female colleagues, and if someone had been drinking, it should have been a female colleague who escorted her home. Why had she been brought home by a young man?

"Yeah, he's a newcomer at the government office," Wu Yiyi nodded, realizing what her father was getting at, though she made no effort to conceal it.

"A newcomer? What do his parents do? Is he from Huangyuan, or somewhere else?" pressed her mother, Fang Qinya, from the side.

Wu Yiyi curled her lips in slight annoyance and retorted, "What is this? He's just a colleague; are you running a household background check? I'm not talking about this anymore, I'm going to my room to rest. I've been running around with the leaders all day, and I still have to work tomorrow."

"This..." Fang Qinya still wanted to ask more.

However, her husband Wu Hongyi stopped her. "Alright, let her get some rest. She's tired."

Wu Yiyi nodded and went back to her bedroom. The reason she had only told half the story was that things between her and Li Xiuyuan hadn't reached that stage yet. Their relationship was currently just a little closer than that of ordinary colleagues.

For now, letting her parents know that a new male colleague had joined her workplace was quite enough.

Once Wu Yiyi had retreated to her room, Fang Qinya couldn't help but scold her husband. "Why did you stop me just now? I wanted to ask properly. Yiyi went out drinking with a young man, shouldn't we inquire a bit about him?"

"Oh, don't jump to conclusions. Didn't you see that Yiyi didn't want to talk about it? What could you possibly have dragged out of her by asking? Besides, Yiyi mentioned he's a newcomer. If I remember correctly, the provincial civil service exams only ended not long ago. How much time has even passed? I doubt they've interacted all that much yet."

"Are you saying we shouldn't ask at all, and just wait until Yiyi brings it up herself?" Fang Qinya asked, looking dissatisfied with her husband.

Wu Hongyi nodded. "Yes. Besides, since he managed to pass the civil service exam, his family background definitely cleared the background check without any issues. As for his education, he's at least a university graduate.

On top of that, our Yiyi has very high standards. If she's willing to give him the time of day, it means his appearance can't be bad either. Finally, regarding family conditions—even if he comes from an ordinary background, is that really an issue for our family?"

As Wu Hongyi explained this, Fang Qinya pondered it and realized her husband made a valid point. Taking the civil service exam was a screening process in itself. If your educational qualifications weren't high enough, you wouldn't even qualify to apply—especially for an agency like the county government office, which required a bachelor's degree as a bare minimum.

Secondly, the written tests and interviews served as further filtration: you needed good academic performance, acceptable looks, and basic eloquence...

Finally, with political vetting and medical examinations included, the entire process meant that the individual had essentially been rigorously pre-screened by the state.

As for the family background that ordinary families typically prioritized, it genuinely wasn't a concern for their household, because they were in a position to provide plenty of assistance themselves.

They had even discussed it previously: if their daughter were to marry into the family of a high-ranking official, the two of them would actually worry about her suffering grievances. An ordinary family background turned out to be just right.

"Since our daughter doesn't want to talk about it right now, we shouldn't push. At worst, after a while when you have a gathering with Old Zhao from the government office, you can just casually ask him," Wu Hongyi suggested.

Fang Qinya nodded. "Fine, I'll listen to you then."

Meanwhile, back at Li Xiuyuan's house, his parents were preparing to turn in for the night. Seeing that Li Xiuyuan had returned after drinking, they didn't say anything; ever since their son started working at the county government office, socializing and banqueting had become a frequent occurrence.

"Xiuyuan, drink some tea to sober up," said his father, Li Jianguo, pouring him a cup.

"Thanks, Dad." Li Xiuyuan had no idea where the myth about tea helping to sober someone up originated, but plenty of people believed it implicitly, even convinced that the stronger the tea, the better the sobering effect.

"Xiuyuan, our family business has been doing quite well lately. I wouldn't say we're packed to capacity every single day, but it's pretty close. I was thinking, could we perhaps lease a slightly larger storefront?" Li Jianguo said, sitting down beside his son with a beaming smile.

Ever since their son passed the exam to enter the county government office, their lives had been on an upward trajectory. The noodle shop's business had been exceptionally good, drawing in a steady stream of diners who all had pleasant things to say.

Aside from praising their son Li Xiuyuan for his competence and capability, people frequently brought up the family's noodle shop.

"Old Li, this noodle shop of yours is way too small. I reckon you could expand and even open a large restaurant without any problem."

"Yeah, Old Li, your culinary skills are unquestionable. It's just that the storefront sign is too small. Opening a big restaurant would make you a lot more money..."

After hearing remarks like this repeatedly, Li Jianguo had initially been able to keep his composure. But as the compliments piled up, he grew tempted. Moreover, business had genuinely been thriving lately, often resulting in full houses.

His ambitions had been stirred, and he figured that opening a large restaurant would surely bring in higher profits and help save up a bit more money for his son.

The moment Li Xiuyuan heard his father say this, he roughly grasped what was going on in his mind. Although he had never been in business himself, he understood human nature quite thoroughly.

"Dad, if you want to open a large restaurant, you'll have to wait a few more years. When the day comes that I manage to become a county-level leader, you opening a grand restaurant will guarantee profits. But right now? This little noodle shop has already reached its limit."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Li Jianguo asked, frowning.

"Dad, just think about it. Our customer base consists of the people living right here in this residential community and the regular patrons from the surrounding area. Your cooking skills haven't improved compared to before, so why is business better now? The real reason is that I got into the county government office, and coupled with Auntie Wang's constant boosting, certain people feel inclined to throw their business our way. That's why we're seeing this bustling trade.

"But if you were to open a large restaurant, where are you going to find that many people willing to give us face...?"