Chapter 353: Chapter 319: The Buried Secret
Gu Qili held this heavy box in a daze; her intuition told her that there was an earth-shattering secret inside it, otherwise, Gu Dezhong wouldn’t have hidden it so well.
At that moment, her phone rang; it was Fan Bin informing her that someone was coming for an interview, asking her to come back.
As a result, the interviews went on all day, and the pile of documents on the table grew higher and higher.
"Meizi, call the next one." Gu Qili rubbed her temples, took a sip of water, her mouth non-stop talking all day, leaving her parched and tongue-tied.
"There’s no one else left." Meizi placed a bowl of noodles on the table, "Eat up, you haven’t had your lunch."
"Meizi, you’ve been working hard too. Where’s Uncle Fan?" Gu Qili picked up her chopsticks; she was truly starving and devoured her food without regard for her image.
"Uncle Fan went to the garden."
"Ah, it’s really nice having you two around, it saves me a lot of worry." Gu Qili quickly finished her bowl of noodles, just then someone knocked on the door in a rush: "Sorry, are you still interviewing? I’m late."
Gu Qili and Meizi both looked toward the door, the visitor dressed plainly, her face full of humility, she also smiled genuinely when she met Gu Qili’s gaze.
"Zhu Ping." Gu Qili stared for quite a while, "Why is it you?"
Zhu Ping asked timidly: "May I come in?"
Gu Qili set the noodle bowl aside, not understanding why she suddenly showed up; they had not been in contact for years.
Meizi, realizing that they were old acquaintances, picked up the empty bowl, greeted them, and left.
"Come in." She pointed to a chair in front of her, "Please sit."
Her feelings toward Zhu Ping were quite complicated. Although there had been hatred and disappointment, she was truly once a friend she had genuinely cared for. With so much time passed, her resentment had mostly faded, and Zhu Ping had paid a price for her actions—a year in prison was not long, but it was enough for her to reflect on herself.
Zhu Ping nervously fiddled with her bag strap, reminding Gu Qili of the somewhat timid yet righteous girl who had repeatedly stood up to protect her.
"Qili, I saw in the job market that your winery was hiring, so I came over. Could you give me a chance to make up for my past mistakes? Any job would be fine, even without salary. I just want to contribute whatever I can to your dream. Although I’m not outstanding, I promise to put my whole heart into the job, as long as you need me, I will not hesitate."
Zhu Ping spoke very excitedly, and after finishing, she looked at Gu Qili who was expressionless and lowered her head further: "Qili, I don’t ask for your forgiveness, but since I was released from prison I’ve been trying to find you to apologize in person, but they said you went to France, I thought I’d never be able to atone for my sins in this lifetime. Luckily, I saw the winery’s name at the job market, I knew for sure you must have come back, because the winery has always been your dream."
Zhu Ping said so much on her own, Gu Qili remained silent, making Zhu Ping feel like she was making a fool of herself. She also understood that it was because of her that Gu Qili got bitten by a snake. Although she didn’t know Luan Yi would act so viciously, being the cause made her equally culpable, and it was reasonable for Gu Qili not to forgive her.
"I’m sorry for bothering you." Zhu Ping grabbed her bag and stood up, bowing deeply: "Qili, you may not need me, but I still need to sincerely apologize for my foolishness before. I’m sorry."
Over the years, she had reflected and realized that she had lost a truly valuable friend, but regretfully, there’s no medicine for regret in this world, and they could never go back.
"Then I’ll leave, I wish you achieve your dreams soon." Zhu Ping’s eyes reddened, her exit somewhat awkward.
She hadn’t yet stepped out when she suddenly heard someone softly say from behind: "We have a vacancy for a winemaker’s assistant, can you do it?"
Zhu Ping couldn’t believe her ears at first, she turned her head, her surprise and excitement making her look as if she had won the lottery; she nodded vigorously like a pecking chick: "I can, I can do it, I can learn what I don’t know."
Zhu Ping, like her, had experience working in the French Restaurant, had a decent understanding of wine, and Zhu Ping, known for her hard-working and enduring nature, should be able to handle the challenging work of a winemaker’s assistant.
"Qili, do you still remember Kang Hongxiu?" Zhu Ping put down her bag, noticing the thick stack of resumes on her table, "She had a fallout with Manager Qi two years ago and hasn’t worked at the French Restaurant since then. I heard she’s not doing too well, if you have a suitable position, consider her—her character and ability are both good."