Living Room
Sarah, startled by the sudden by the announcement, quickly asked,
"What's going on? What in the world happened?" Maggi was stunned.
"You passed the civil service exam? Didn't you say you did poorly on the Administrative Aptitude Test and the Essay?"
"Well, ahem, it wasn't that I did poorly, it's just that you guys misunderstood. You never actually asked me how I did from beginning to end," Johny Lee said with an almost embarrassed smile.
"Later, I thought the interview was still up in the air, so I didn't tell you to avoid getting your hopes up for nothing."
He scratched his head sheepishly.
"Uh, remember I was out the morning before yesterday? That was for the interview. They asked a few tough questions, and I was ranked fourth, so I thought I probably wouldn't pass. Who knew they would call just now? I've been accepted to the East City Branch Bureau.I report next Monday."
Sarah grabbed her son's hand, her lips trembling. "You really passed? You're not lying to Mom, are you? You're not lying to me?"
Johny grinned. "Haha, how would I dare lie to you about this?"
Aunt Sue's lips went stiff, her face draining of color. "Is there a mistake? You passed the written test? What was your score?"
Johny glanced at them coolly.
"The Aptitude Test and Essay combined were nearly one hundred and thirty points."
"One hundred and thirty?" Tony gasped, inhaling sharply as if he'd been punched. "You scored one hundred and thirty?!"
"Truly Mom's good son! Truly Mom's good son!"
Sarah's tears flowed like a spring. Overwhelmed, she grabbed Maggi's hand, babbling excitedly.
"Maggi! Did you hear? Johny passed! Johny passed! My son is a civil servant!"
"I heard, I heard," Maggi said, gently wiping away Sarah's tears.
"This is good news, don't cry."
"I'm crying because I'm happy! I'm just so happy!"
Maggi smiled and playfully tapped Johny's forehead. "You little rascal! Well done! You really did your Big Sister proud!"
Johny's nose felt a little sore with emotion, and he forced a smile to keep his composure.
After a few minutes, Sarah finally managed to stop crying. She wiped her face and quickly took charge.
"Maggi, don't cook lunch. Come eat at my place. I'll go downstairs later and buy more groceries to prepare a feast." She turned to look at Aunt Sue and Tony. "You and Tony shouldn't leave either. Stay and eat with us."
Aunt Sue's expression was frozen in a rictus of shock. She forced a painful smile. "No, I... we have something to do at noon."
Tony gritted his teeth, unable to look Johny in the eye. "Mom, let's go."
Maggi politely added, "Why not stay a little longer?"
"We have things to do. You guys chat."
Aunt Sue pulled Tony up from the sofa. Before leaving, Tony gave Johny a look of pure, jealous hatred; his usual arrogance was completely shattered.
He and Aunt Sue left Maggi's house dejectedly. It was clear that Johny's unexpected success was a massive blow to the mother and son duo.
About ten minutes after they left, the sound of things being smashed echoed from the apartment upstairs.
Faint shouts drifted down through the ceiling.
"Stop hitting the child!" That was Aunt Sue's voice. "Stop hitting him!"
"Dad! Ah!"
"You useless brat! Even the Lee family's kid is better than you! See if I don't beat you to death!" That was Section Chiefs roar.
"Ah! Ah!"
Listening to Tony's continuous screams, Johny felt an incredible sense of relief. Karma is a bitch......
At lunch, Sarah, dizzy with excitement, uncharacteristically drank two glasses of iced beer.
"Johny, you've really brought honor to Mom. Phew, for so many years, Mom has never been as happy as she is today. Come, pour me another glass. I have to finish this bottle."
Johny also felt a profound sense of achievement.
He poured wine for his mother and Maggi respectively.
Maggi instructed softly, "Pour Sister Sarah a little less. Don't let her get too drunk."
"It's fine, it's fine," Sarah said with a smile that crinkled her eyes. Holding her cup in the air, she said, "Maggi, I toast to you. If it weren't for you helping Johny so much these past few days doing his laundry, cooking for him, he wouldn't have had so much time to review his studies."
Hearing this, Johny quickly raised his cup. "Maggi, thank you."
Maggi waved her hand dismissively. "Sister Sarah, Johny, you two are being too polite. Johny saved my life. What's there to say thank you for between the three of us? Come, I'm younger, so I should be toasting you. Cheers."
Evening
After seeing Maggi off, Sarah returned to her small room, humming an old song from the 1980s.
She opened her suitcase and began to pack.
Johny stood in the doorway, reluctant. "Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Stay for a couple more days."
"School in the countryside is starting soon. I was planning to go back to prepare lessons a few days ago, but seeing how depressed you were, I was worried, so I didn't leave," Sarah said, looking relieved.
"Now that you're in a government agency, Mom has nothing to worry about. It's time to go back."
Hebei Province was right next to Beijing; it was only about a three-hour drive, but it felt like a world away.
Johny helped his mother pack her junior high Chinese textbooks. "Then I'll see you off tomorrow. Please be careful on the road."
Sarah smiled and turned around. "You don't need to worry about me. After you enter the agency, you need to be careful yourself. The government is where the competition is most brutal in our country."
She sat him down, her expression turning serious.
"Our family has no background and no money. We are just ordinary folks so It definitely won't be easy to get promoted. The ladder is steep."
"It's okay if you can't be a leader," she continued softly. "As long as you're safe and sound, that's better than anything."
Johny hummed in agreement. "I'll remember that."
But his answer was a little distracted.
If it had been two months ago, Johny would have been satisfied with a monthly salary of two thousand yuan, a decent wife, and a small mortgage.
That kind of life would have been enough.
How could he have imagined that his life would undergo such earth-shattering changes?
Ever since he gained that inexplicable ability, everything seemed to be developing in a miraculous direction.
Becoming an official? It no longer seemed like an unattainable dream.
How should I proceed from now on?
Which direction should I strive for?
That night, Johny lay on the sofa, hands behind his head, lost in thought.
Since he had the opportunity to enter the system, and since he possessed the incredible ability of "BACK," he felt it was necessary to plan his life properly.
Under normal circumstances, with Johny's ordinary background, he would be lucky to reach the level of a Deputy Section Chief after working his way up for twenty years.
However, the current Johny Lee had the ability to turn back time.
In the competition for power and wealth, surely he could do more than that?
Should I set my goal at the Section Chief level? A Town Mayor or a County Bureau Chief?
Reaching the Section Chief level before retiring at sixty? Uh, isn't that a bit lacking in ambition?
Then how about the Division Chief level?
Sweat.....
Isn't this called having high aims but low abilities? He hadn't even started as a clerk yet, and he was dreaming of Division Chief?
But....
After a while, he took his hand down and slapped his thigh hard.
"Decided!"
When it comes to wishes or goals, it's better to aim a little further. If he ignored feasibility and just dreamed...
He wanted to rise from Clerk to Section Level.
From Section Level to Division Level.
From Division Level to Department Level.
From Department Level to Ministerial Level.
From Ministerial Level to National Level...
Yes! That was the goal!
He wanted to enter the central government!
He wanted to enter the Politburo!!
Johny Lee secretly made this unreasonable, impossible wish in his heart.
Authors Note:-
Johny is pumped up all right!!!!!!!
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