At that very moment, Sun Liancheng happened to walk in from the office door.
The archive had two offices in total, excluding the storeroom, and Sun Liancheng’s office was on the other end. He rarely came here; seeing him suddenly made both Xiaogao’s face turn a little unnatural and Zhou Dajun somewhat embarrassed.
Even though the one cursing was Xiaogao, it looked as if they were both gossiping about him behind his back. Even if Sun Liancheng realistically couldn’t do anything to them, it still looked somewhat awkward...
However, what surprised Zhou Dajun and shocked Xiaogao was that Sun Liancheng acted as if he hadn’t heard anything at all when he walked in.
Moreover, he swiftly put on a smile and walked toward Zhou Dajun with large strides.
"Haha, you’re still here... Old Zhou, how about having dinner together tonight? I know a place with amazing pickled fish!"
Facing the enthusiastic invitation from Sun Liancheng, Zhou Dajun looked out the window at the sun, puzzled...
Yes, the sun was indeed setting in the west.
"I’m afraid I can’t make it for dinner, my mother-in-law is at home, so I definitely need to go back for dinner... Uh, Director Sun, did something good happen to you?"
Zhou Dajun instinctively replied and then guessed aloud.
From his perspective, that seemed to be the only reason for Sun Liancheng’s drastically different attitude toward him.
Who knew Sun Liancheng would pat his shoulder, laugh, and point at him: "Old Zhou, it’s not that I have some good news, it’s you who have the great news... Turns out you’ve been hiding it well from Xiaogao and me!"
Facing Sun Liancheng’s smiling look, Xiaogao felt somewhat flattered, reminiscent of how rare it was for Sun Liancheng to smile at him...
But Xiaogao was confused, looking puzzled at Zhou Dajun.
What kind of "good news" did Zhou have that would make Sun Liancheng treat him like this?
But Zhou Dajun himself was quite bewildered; he truly didn’t know what Sun Liancheng was talking about.
In Sun Liancheng’s eyes, of course, Zhou Dajun was still pretending, but he could also understand because some matters were indeed not broadcast widely before they were finalized.
"Old Zhou, if you haven’t received the exact news yet, now you can rest assured!"
Only then did Sun Liancheng take out his other hand, which was behind his back, and put the "Jing City Evening News" delivered to his office twenty minutes ago on the table,
"Look, the newspaper just came out, and the official website has also released a brief. Your son, Zhou Wang, is now the pride of our whole Jing City, hahaha..."
Feeling puzzled, Zhou Dajun instinctively moved his eyes to the evening paper, still carrying some ink aroma.
On the front page, the headline read, "Newly announced ’Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Jing City’..."
Upon seeing this headline, Old Zhou’s breathing grew heavier because he already realized something.
As he quickly picked up the newspaper and flipped through it, he indeed soon found what he was looking for in a special column,
[...Section on Jing City’s Outstanding Youth: Zhou Wang: Zhou Wang, born on December 24, 2002, in Jing City Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, once studied... Born in a common working family, he always believed that the starting point of life does not determine the ending point. Starting from university, the brave Zhou Wang... Returning to his hometown, he never forgot the nurturing by his alma mater, donating Ten Million RMB to the educational development fund set up by Jing City First Middle School at the opening ceremony of the returning season, this act...]
Zhou Dajun was stunned; his gaze seemed still to be reading those words, yet it became unfocused.
An indescribable emotion rose from his heart, even making his head feel warm, making him unable to hear what Sun Liancheng and Xiaogao were saying beside him...
Zhou Dajun’s hands holding the newspaper trembled slightly.
This was the newspaper he had been reading daily since starting his job!
Those from his generation could not understand the weight of such a traditional propaganda vehicle in their minds...
It stood for authority, justice, credibility, and, above all, supreme honor.
As he touched the somewhat blurred portrait photo, Zhou Dajun’s eyes started to moisten, feeling that this moment was so unreal.
Was this slightly youthful-looking young man really my son, old Zhou?
"...Hahaha, old Zhou, I bet not only me, but even President Lin will soon come to ask you to host a dinner!"
Gradually returning to reality, Zhou Dajun finally heard Sun Liancheng’s laughter, which was genuine, without pretense, and sounded sincerely genuine.
Sun Liancheng had truly brewed up this sentiment with genuinely complex feelings; he wasn’t deliberately flattering old Zhou.
A Mercedes GLC was nothing; leaders might gossip for fun, but Zhou’s son achieving such an honor had official endorsement.
Zhou Wang was only 22 years old!
Who could say what heights he would reach in the future?
The far-reaching influence that stemmed from this, at least within their enterprise level, was something everyone had to reckon with, so in Sun Liancheng’s opinion, President Lin would most likely personally visit old Zhou, which was practically a certainty...
It might even lead to Zhou leaving the archive to shine in another position, which was indeed possible.