Sweet Nostalgia of the 80s

Chapter 1103: Chapter 1103: No Hope for Promotion

There’s no point in getting angry without a solution.

”Everyone has their destiny, and worrying won’t help.”

Ruan Fangfang didn’t like to hear Ma Mei say that, ”That’s because it hasn’t happened to you. I just don’t believe that, given your temperament, if An Hao one day took a dump on your neck, you would still tolerate her.”

”Can you not disgust people with your talk? We’re in the middle of cooking here, and you’re talking about shitting,” Ma Mei glared at her.

Hen Zhiyuan yelled from the living room, ”Even cooking has to come with grumbling. What’s there to talk about? Can we still have dinner? If I knew cooking was such a drag, I would have just eaten at the military canteen and come back.”

”Alright! The dish is ready; it’ll be on the table right away.” Ma Mei responded, then poked Ruan Fangfang, who was standing beside and causing a ruckus, ”You go set the table and serve the rice.”

The dishes were quite plentiful, with four dishes and one soup, and both fish and meat, but Hen Zhiyuan had no appetite at all.

After a few bites, he put down his chopsticks and ladled himself a bowl of soup from the pot.

”If you’re feeling really bored, you might as well pay a visit to Colonel Guan’s house,” Ma Mei couldn’t stand it and said to him, ”Even if he can’t help you with anything, it would still be good for you to ease your mind.”

”That makes sense,” Hen Zhiyuan quickly finished his soup in a few gulps, picked up his clothes from the clothes rack, put them on, and left the house.

Colonel Guan’s house was a small two-story building in the best location of the neighborhood. It took about twenty minutes to walk there from the family buildings.

When Hen Zhiyuan arrived, Colonel Guan’s family was having dinner. Seeing him, Colonel Guan’s daughter Guan Qing hurriedly went to the kitchen to fetch him a set of utensils.

”Haven’t had dinner yet? Sit down and join us!” Guan Qing said with a gentle smile.

Hen Zhiyuan forced a smile, ”I’ve already eaten. I had nothing to do after dinner, so I came over to see the commander.”

Colonel Guan looked at him, ”It seems like you have something on your mind. Come on, talk to me about it.”

”No, nothing!” Hen Zhiyuan said insincerely.

”Still saying there’s nothing! Your frown could squash a fly,” Guan Qing chuckled, ”You’ve known my dad for so many years. How could you hide anything from him? Just speak up. Don’t dawdle; that’s not like you!”

”I...” Hen Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment but decided to speak up, ”About this promotion, if I don’t move up this time, I’m afraid I’ll really have to transfer back home.”

”I knew you were here for this matter,” Colonel Guan put down his chopsticks and laid it out straight, ”I’m not trying to discourage you, but no matter how you look at it, you probably don’t stand a chance!”

”I know,” Hen Zhiyuan clenched his fists tightly, ”that’s why I feel so stifled. I came here to walk it off, hoping the commander could give me some guidance.”

”It’s not that you’re not excellent. But you’re just not excellent enough! You really met a strong opponent this time. To be honest, with his age and qualifications, he could have been promoted already,” Colonel Guan evaluated the situation very objectively.

Hen Zhiyuan had come with a glimmer of hope, but the commander’s words obviously meant he was not intending to help him.

But on second thought, it really was the case. With Qin Jian’s reputation being so well-known, even if the division headquarters recommended his name, it would probably still be rejected after being reviewed by the higher-ups.

The appointment of officers is a very serious matter.

Not only would he be rejected, but even those who recommended him would certainly be disciplined.