"Grandma, did Meiwen say what time she'd be coming over? I happen to have a guest to entertain tonight."
"She didn't say when, only that you had to be home. Your wife is away on business today, and among the younger generation, you're the only one presentable enough. Figure it out yourself!"
"I'll be home by five, then."
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Ye tossed the matter of entertaining Director Tan to the back of his mind.
Back when he had been worked like an ox and horse, whenever work clashed with personal matters, he would blindly "put work first," as if delaying work for private affairs meant committing some unforgivable crime.
But after countless times of "wronging himself and dedicating everything to the company," Li Ye had finally understood that the "putting public before private" praised to the skies by bosses was, more often than not, merely a way to force you into moving yourself with your own sacrifice. The company was nowhere near the point where it could not function without you.
As for the latter half—"forgetting private matters for the public, forgetting one's family for the nation"—that had even less to do with beasts of burden. If you wanted to forget family affairs for national affairs, you first had to reach a position where you could influence national affairs.
So Li Ye turned around and called Ma Zhaoxian. "Uncle Ma, I thought it over. It's better if I don't show up when entertaining Director Tan tonight. We're fellow townsmen, and there are some things that would be harder to say if I were there."
After thinking for a moment, Ma Zhaoxian agreed. "That's true. They're the ones asking us for help, not the other way around. It's fine if you don't show yourself for now."
And so