759 Transition (1/2)

Zhang Zian stood in front of the cashier counter and had Lu Yiyun order a batch of adhesive stickers. He had plans to follow in Reina and Karl's footsteps by labeling each fish tank so that the customers would be able to know what creature was living in the fish tank, what kind of feeding environment it needed, and the difficulty level of raising it, all without approaching the staff members for assistance.

It could save so much time for the staff; otherwise, it would be really annoying to have each customer coming forward with questions, and if that continued for some time, it would be hard for the staff to not lose their patience.

Zian had taken quite a few photos in Germany, so he sent the pictures that were related to the label design to Lu Yiyun and told her to forward it to the e-commerce seller.

Just as he finished telling Lu Yiyun what to do, the shop door opened and a person with gray hair strolled into the shop with a smile on his face. The grayish white hair wasn't the current trend of ”Grandma Gray” hair dye, but it was real gray hair.

Grandma Gu was dressed just like the last time they saw her; a pair of reading glasses hung on her chest, a few booklets were clamped under her arms, and a ”Neighborhood Committee Administration” red armband was on her arm.

The elderly were more physically weak. Zhang Zian had already changed into a jacket, but she was still wearing a down jacket––but that was normal since there was the saying, ”February and August, dress a mess.”

Today was Zhang Zian's first day back in the shop, so he knew that someone would definitely come over to look for him since the Berlin Film Festival was quite a sensation. No matter what people thought about Famous winning the Best Male Lead, at least its name was being spread around—whether they were in support of Famous or against it, they were all still spreading its name around.

”Hey, Grandma Gu! Please, take a seat! Wang Qian, bring over a chair for Grandma Gu!” Zian yelled out loudly.

Grandma Gu waved her hands and laughed. ”No need, no need. Grandma's just here to say a few words.”

Even though she said no, Wang Qian still brought over a chair and asked her to take a seat.

”Grandma Gu, I was prepared to thank the neighborhood committee for all the help and support over the years, but I was too nervous and forgot about it…” Zhang Zian explained. He thought that Grandma Gu was there to question him because he did not mention anything about the neighborhood committee during the award acceptance speech or when he was being interviewed.

”Cough!” Grandma Gu waved her hands. ”Don't mention about it. I just happened to take a few days off during that period and was away visiting my grandkids, but who knew that the newcomers in the committee would be so lost without me… Honestly speaking, running a shop by yourself is not easy. Grandma Gu is able to see all that and should provide you with more support, but the neighborhood committee needs to be impartial in our job and not biased, right?”

Zhang Zian stuck out his thumb. ”Grandma Gu, you said it so well! That is how it should be!”

With the elderly's special triviality, Grandma Gu went on with her small talk for some time. She asked if Zian was used to the food in Germany and if there were any difficulties in his shop operations. She also asked about when the film would start showing, saying that the neighborhood committee wanted to organize everyone to show some support. She also showed some concern about Zhang Zian's personal issues, hinting to him that it was still best to find a Chinese girl for marriage…

Everything went in Zhang Zian's left ear and out from his right ear; he was just casually entertaining her.

After all the small talk, Grandma Gu changed the subject and was about to mention her real business here.

”Zian, Grandma Gu is here today to let you know some inside information!” she said secretly, lowering her voice and looking to the left and right to ensure that there was nobody else around.

”Oh? What is it about, Grandma Gu? Did some lady fall for me?” Zhang Zian went along with her and lowered his voice too, so they looked like some underground gang meeting up.

”Well, not that. It's about the woman pacesetter program that we had you apply for.” Grandma Gu put on her reading glasses.

”It's the May Day Model Worker,” Zhang Zian corrected her.

Grandma Gu slapped her own thigh. ”Yes, the May Day Model Worker! This model worker will be selected by our Dongcheng district. Grandma here shall speak truthfully… Originally, your chance of winning wasn't big, but after you won the Bailin Film Festival award…”

”It's Berlin, not Bailin,” Zhang Zian corrected her again. ”I didn't win that award either––it was Famous who won the award.”

”Cough! Look at my memory. Grandma's too used to saying Zhang Baizhi!” She slapped her own thigh again and ignored the other half of what Zian said.

Zhang Zian could only laugh along.

”Ever since you got this… Berlin Film Festival award, Grandma heard that it has been confirmed—Dongcheng's district May Day Model Worker is definitely yours!” Grandma Gu confidently said.

However, Zhang Zian's reaction was not as ecstatic as she had expected it to be.

”Zian, why aren't you happy?” she asked.