I woke up at 5 AM this morning and bought the earliest ticket to Guiyang.
After taking a shower, I had no appetite for breakfast.
As soon as I arrived in Guiyang, I messaged my mentor. He was so excited that he came early to wait for me at the entrance of the office. When we met, I immediately gave Master Guo a big hug—haha, he seemed a little embarrassed.
Then began the familiar routine of running around to get approvals and signatures. There were moments when forms were filled out incorrectly, printed wrong, or explanations weren’t clear enough, all while waiting for approvals from higher-ups at every level. The office has also tightened security measures—every corridor and door now requires facial recognition. Master Guo spent the whole morning running around with me, and it wasn’t until noon, after Secretary Jinfeng finished his meeting, that we finally got the signatures.
I’m really grateful to Master Guo, and Master Huang kept insisting on treating us to beef for lunch. However, we couldn’t wait for the leaders any longer, so Master Guo ended up treating me to a bowl of noodles before I had to head back.
Since I needed to discuss our future plans with Xiaohuanhuan’s parents tonight, I had to turn down dinner invitations from other colleagues. Huanhuan came to pick me up at the Fourth Elementary School. By the time we got home, I was starving and ate a lot.
The conversation with Huanhuan’s parents in the evening was quite productive. They expressed their willingness to support us, which put everyone at ease.
Huanhuan and I ended up staying up late again.