Chapter 675: Night Stroll in Huaihai Ancient City

"Is that normal?" Li Jia looked at me and asked.

"Yes, that's how it is among leaders; you give me face, I also give face. At that time Tian Shi gave Zhuang Shi face, and likewise Zhuang Shi gave Tian Shi face.

That's how it works, just like when we give others local specialties, they return even more; they can give us small favors. But there is no way to get greater benefits." I took a drag of my cigarette.

"Then what do we do next?" Li Jia asked again.

From now on, we just follow the normal procedure.

Tomorrow you should get in touch with Guo Ju, see what kind of person he is.

We shouldn't disturb Zhuang Shi in the near future.

Li Jia, I feel that Zhuang Shi is constrained in his own city, but once he's outside, he becomes relaxed.

So, do you see? His speech today was very constrained.

"What was it like drinking in Zaocheng that day? I trust you know it better than I do."

Li Jia nodded,

"Mr. Zhao, you're right. When I met Zhuang Shi today, it felt like our first meeting.

That time in Zaocheng, between him and me, if we went deeper, we might develop quickly. You understand what I mean."

"Of course I understand. Is this a common trait among men, that they become constrained when they're at home?

Because in Huaihai there are how many eyes watching him. A slight slip could cause a huge mistake. So in Huaihai, a story is unlikely to happen."

"Did we come to the wrong place then?" Li Jia asked.

"No, this is a normal course of interaction. Li Jia, I still say the same thing: everything must come slowly; haste can't eat hot tofu.

I'll explain the Tian Shi side.

As for you, newly appointed, wanting to light a fire to show Tian Shi, I understand your feeling. The more so, the more we must proceed slowly.

"As long as there's bait, can that fish still escape?" I said, looking at Li Jia.

"You mean I'm the bait," Li Jia retorted.

"No, the tourism project in Xue County is the bait," I said with a smile.

"Mr. Zhao, why am I willing to go out with you? You let me learn many things.

I've always admired you; your knowledge is truly vast," Li Jia praised me.

"Alright, Li Jia, tonight we should thoroughly examine the development situation of Huaihai Ancient City. Also point out their flaws; tomorrow when we meet Guo Ju, we need to give that guy a stern warning," I said.

"Okay, tonight we'll go to Huaihai Ancient City and take a good look," Li Jia said, standing up happily.

I also stood up and escorted Li Jia out the door.

Then I fell asleep inside the house.

That night Tian Shi arranged for Chief Ji to talk with me; I felt Tian Shi was too idealistic.

Huaihai City is so large, and Zhuang Shi is in that position; how could he care about a small matter like the development of the tourism project in Zaocheng?

Let him invest, pull him in.

Unlikely.

Someone like him is beyond cunning.

Don't be fooled by his outward agreement; inside he's completely rejecting.

The so‑called external inspection is just an excuse.

It was Li Jia's relentless pursuit that left him no choice but to meet us, as a way to repay a personal favor.

After this, it will be hard to find him again.

In fact, whether Zhuang Shi supports us or not won't affect my attitude toward doing this.

Zhuang Shi is only an external factor.

I am the internal factor.

As long as I want to do it, no one can stop me.

Regarding Zhuang Shi, we must take it slowly; to deal with someone like him, we need to use facts to compel him—small tricks won't work on him.

He must be a seasoned veteran with too much experience.

Until evening, Li Jia and I arranged to go out and tour Huaihai Ancient City.

Huaihai Ancient City was originally built in the Ming dynasty, expanded a second time in the Qing dynasty, and later destroyed in the flames of war.

Now only a section of Gucheng Qiang remains.

We left the guesthouse, rode a taxi straight to the Ancient City.

When the taxi driver heard we weren't from Huaihai City,

he grew a mischievous mind and deliberately took a detour.

Actually I know Huaihai to some extent; when I was with Xiao Long handling Niu Ju in Huaihai, I had driven through all of Huaihai's streets to get familiar with the city.

to prepare for an escape.

I saw the taxi's route was wrong.

I said nothing and let the taxi continue forward.

On this trip, the taxi earned over a hundred yuan extra.

How shady.

The real price from the Reception Center to the Ancient City is only about thirty yuan, but he charged 150 yuan.

I said nothing, took the receipt and got off.

Arriving near Huaihai's Ancient City,

we hadn't yet entered the city gate,

Li Jia and I were surrounded as people approached.

They all spoke Huaihai dialect,

They told us that if we gave them a little money, they had other passages and we wouldn't need to buy tickets.

Li Jia disagreed, wanting to shake them off.

But I thought, to really understand them, we had to go deeper.

We reached an agreement with a man in his thirties, slightly chubby.

We two gave him fifty yuan, and he could take us into the ancient city.

To save us fifty yuan on the ticket.

I and Li Jia followed that man in his thirties toward the dark part of the ancient city. Li Jia was a little worried,

She tightly gripped my arm.

We walked into an alley.

Upon reaching inside the alley,

I looked around,

this alley actually had no streetlights.

If someone followed us in, it would be very dangerous.

I was also a little worried.

I hurried to stay close to that man, afraid he had other intentions.

That man opened a door,

inside was a courtyard.

The man pointed to another door of the courtyard and said,

"You go in here and you can straight into the interior of the ancient city."

I said: "Can we really get in from here? Doesn't the ancient city know about this place?"

The man laughed and said: "Sir, you don't know, we were originally residents inside the ancient city, now it's been developed into an ancient city.

Our house is right next to the ancient city wall, damn it, they gave us too little compensation.

We can only do this, letting outsiders enter the ancient city through here.

They just turn a blind eye."

Hearing the man say that, I also felt relieved.

I took out a cigarette and gave it to the man,

"How many people go in from here? How many people do this line of work?"

"Every day, a dozen or so people enter the ancient city through me, and we also have thirty or forty people doing this." The man replied.

I nodded and said nothing more.

Then we walked into the courtyard,

the man opened another small door.

We indeed entered Huaihai Ancient City.

Seeing us enter the ancient city, the man quickly shut the door.

I led Li Jia from the small door into the ancient city.

Soon we arrived at the main thoroughfare of the ancient city.

The main road was paved with blue stone slabs; these slabs were uneven, clearly worn by time, giving a strong sense of historical vicissitude.

On both sides of the main road in the ancient city, shops were calling out for business.

The shops were all newly built imitation ancient structures.

Many were guesthouses, hotels, and shops selling tourist souvenirs.

However, there weren't many tourists inside the ancient city, making it seem cold and deserted.

Li Jia and I walked slowly, passing a shop selling fried dough; Li Jia wanted to eat fried dough stuffed with meat.

I walked up and took a look,

seeing that the fried dough stall was very dirty, and the meat's color also not good.

I quietly told Li Jia not to eat it, the meat's color was off.

Li Jia nodded in agreement.

Li Jia and I had just walked out of that shop,

we didn't expect that the shop owner would directly chase after us.