Jiangling Expressway exit.
Wu Dingrong stared longingly at the end of the endlessly flowing highway, squinting into the cold wind. His old face had been chilled black with a hint of red. Fortunately, it had not snowed today, or his stubble might well have been covered in snowflakes by now.
After waiting so long, he finally could not bear it any longer. He twisted his stiff neck and looked at the secretary standing beside him, asking in a slightly hoarse voice.
"Are you sure Professor Lu is coming back today?"
"...The people at the Transportation Bureau said he should be coming back today. He could not possibly be spending the whole day on the highway, could he? It is only five hundred kilometers, and it is not rush hour... Mayor, how about you sit inside the toll station first? Once the highway administration has news, I will call you."
Sun Xiaofeng, standing beside Wu Dingrong, was equally baffled.
Especially after seeing the flicker of displeasure on Mayor Wu's face, he was now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
He had been the first to learn that Lu Zhou would be returning to Jiangling today, and he had immediately reported the news to the mayor.
Upon learning that Academician Lu would be returning home in glory, the municipal leadership immediately convened a work meeting. They spent three hours deciding on the reception arrangements, one hour hanging banners at the expressway exit, and the remaining hour rushing here.
Ordinarily, an ordinary academician would not warrant a municipal leader coming out in person to receive him. Though academicians nominally received treatment equivalent to vice-ministerial rank, treatment rank and administrative rank were two different things, and administrative rank was even further removed from actual authority.
But Academician Lu was different.
Not