Li Ye had dinner at Teacher Ke's home, then chatted with Pan Xiaoying and his brother-in-law for quite a while. Before he knew it, it had gotten late, and both children could barely keep their eyes open.
Seeing that Teacher Ke had yet to "talk business" with him, Li Ye could only rise to take his leave. "Mom, I'll head back today. I'll come see you another day."
But Teacher Ke said to Li Ye, "The children are practically asleep. Stay here tonight! I've kept your and Xiao Yu's room tidied up."
Li Ye froze, realizing he had misunderstood.
"Ah? All right, all right."
Sure enough, after Li Ye settled the two children in, his brother-in-law and Pan Xiaoying left as well. Then Teacher Ke came to call for him.
"Li Ye, are you tired? If not, come chat with your father and me."
"Sure, I'm not tired."
When Li Ye entered the small sitting room, Wen Qingsheng smiled at him and did not look quite so stern.
Then Wen Qingsheng said, "Old Xue and Ma Zhaoxian both spoke to me about your situation a few days ago. There were some differences and disputes, but they were nothing serious. You were busy in Soviet Russia at the time, so your mother and I didn't disturb you."
Only then did Li Ye understand why Niu Hongzhang had learned the news before he had. In Wen Qingsheng's eyes, this did not "count as anything serious."
Li Ye thought for a moment and said, "When I went to work today, someone said there were currently three opinions from above. I think he was testing me, but none of those three opinions were fair, so I shot them down on the spot."
Wen Qingsheng said with an amused smile, "You didn't need to shoot