Stepping out of the Portal and into the bustling building, Lin Ze hugged his Paimon plush and suddenly felt as though he had returned from another lifetime.
"You've done good work, Xiao Lin. You weren't here for the New Year commendation ceremony, so I collected your bonus for you."
Minister Wu handed Lin Ze a thick red envelope. It was probably one of the envelopes the bureau had bought in bulk, and his even had an auspicious blessing printed on it:
"Many children, many blessings."
Lin Ze: "..."
He took the envelope and stuffed it into his trouser pocket, thinking that whatever it said on the outside, the contents certainly felt substantial.
"Not taking a break? You can make up the leave you missed. We don't play those games with shifting workdays around here. If you've got leave, take it; if you miss it, make it up. But you've only just come back over the New Year, and you're already throwing yourself into work again. Sure, I want our department to achieve something, but we still need to take things one step at a time, don't you think?"
After Minister Wu's seven days of New Year festivities, Lin Ze thought his face looked considerably rounder. Back when Lin Ze had first joined the department, Old Wu's jawline had been sharply defined. Now... it had probably merged with his neck.
"It's fine, really. I just... they're celebrating the Lantern Rite over there too, and since I missed the festivities here, I thought I'd join in on a mission."
Lin Ze told the truth. He was still waiting to eat dumplings.
"All right, but there's one thing I need to remind you of, Xiao Lin. Don't just hole up at home playing games whenever you come back from a mission. Take some