Chapter 1961

Zhao Desan listened to He Liping's words and pondered them carefully, feeling they made sense. In a unit like this, building connections was a sufficient but not necessary condition for climbing up. With more connections and better popularity, everything was easier to handle. It was just that at his current stage, perhaps his rank was still too low, and he hadn't reached the point of using a large amount of human resources. Once he reached a certain level, if his network wasn't wide, he really wouldn't be able to play in the officialdom. The former deputy director, Ma Debang, was a living example; it was precisely because his network wasn't wide that he was kicked out of the position of Deputy Director of the Provincial Construction Commission by Eunuch Zheng so easily.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Desan didn't speak, implicitly agreeing. He Liping then smiled gently, looked at him with a strange expression, changed the subject, and asked, "How did you handle Li Fang's matter? How did you get her to leave?"

Speaking of this, Zhao Desan felt angry and immediately became very agitated. "I shouldn't have agreed to Director Zheng's request. Now I'm caught in the middle and looked down upon by both sides. Director Zheng said the unit's finances couldn't pay it, but that IOU was written only after I got his permission, and it has my name and thumbprint on it. Li Fang just wants the hard-earned money that belongs to them; she doesn't care about any bullshit reasons. She bit onto me like a mad dog, and I had no choice. I had to write an IOU in my own name to send that shrew away."

Seeing Zhao Desan looking so exhausted by this matter, He Liping also felt it was a bit unfair to him. This matter originally had nothing to do with Zhao Desan, but now Eunuch Zheng had pushed it onto him, definitely wanting to fix him. He Liping was very clear about this, but the only thing she wasn't clear about was what ultimate goal the old guy wanted to achieve through this matter. She asked Zhao Desan, "Then you wrote an IOU, which means you've transferred this debt to yourself. What are you planning to do?"

"I promised to give her an answer within three days. If the unit can't resolve it within three days, I'll have to find a way to raise the money myself to pay her," Zhao Desan said with a sigh, looking heavy-hearted.

"You haven't been working for long; where would you get so much money? Besides, even if you had this money, you shouldn't be a sucker. I'll think of a way for you, talk to Old Zheng properly, and see if we can think of other ways." He Liping was truly thinking for Zhao Desan from the bottom of her heart.

Hearing He Liping say this, Zhao Desan shifted his gaze to her face, looked at her with gratitude, and said faintly, "Sister He, then I'll trouble you."

At this moment, He Liping was completely different from the woman who often pulled a long face and intended to establish her prestige when she first came to the unit. After more than half a year of adaptation, He Liping now started playing the emotional card to win over the subordinates in the unit. She became very kind and polite to everyone, and her attitude toward Zhao Desan changed from being high and mighty to being gentle and considerate.

Seeing Zhao Desan cast a grateful look at her, He Liping gave a faint smile and said, "What trouble is it? As long as you remember that Sister He helped you once when you become successful in the future, that's enough." The bigger reason why He Liping became so good to Zhao Desan was actually out of selfishness—she wanted to win over a few smart and capable subordinates in the unit to work for her wholeheartedly, so that she could sit in the position of the top leader in the future. And Zhao Desan's special interpersonal relationships, as well as the intimate relationship that had occurred between them, made He Liping value and cherish him even more.

Zhao Desan just smiled at her gratefully, without saying a word.

He Liping felt that she had stayed downstairs for long enough and was afraid the old guy would become suspicious again, so she said with a faint smile, "Remember, wait for Old Zheng after work. I have something to do, so I'll go back to the office first." As she said this, He Liping turned and walked out of Zhao Desan's office.

After watching He Liping walk up the stairs, Zhao Desan closed his office door, sat down again, and pondered why Eunuch Zheng would let him go to a social engagement with him tonight. Was it really just to have him act as a shield for drinking? If that was really the case, the old guy's attitude toward him was truly hard for Zhao Desan to figure out—sometimes good, sometimes bad. What kind of medicine was he selling in his gourd?

It turned out that Eunuch Zheng had another plan. Just over an hour ago, Liu Jianguo had suddenly called the old guy, saying that Ma Lan was setting up a table for dinner tonight and had invited many leaders from the province and the city to attend. Eunuch Zheng was indispensable, so he asked him to attend together. Given the face of Liu Jianguo, who was the Director of the Xijing Municipal Party Committee Office, Eunuch Zheng certainly agreed to the invitation readily. Besides, he also wanted to know how much face Ma Lan had and how many leaders from relevant units she could invite, and by the way, he could meet a few more influential people at the dinner party and build some connections.

But after finishing the call, the old guy suddenly remembered that the last time he accompanied the politically frustrated Li Chang-ping for a drink, Li Chang-ping had told Eunuch Zheng in detail about the process of the grudge between his wife and Zhao Desan after he got drunk. It was also from Li Chang-ping that he learned that Zhao Desan had had an extremely intimate relationship with Ma Lan, who had come to find him for business under Liu Jianguo's introduction. Therefore, the old guy thought of taking Zhao Desan along to this dinner party tonight to see the reactions of Ma Lan and Zhao Desan, deliberately trying to embarrass Zhao Desan. So, the old guy found a shield for drinking and asked He Liping to go down and give Zhao Desan a heads-up to wait after work, fearing he would leave early.

He Liping went back upstairs and knocked on Eunuch Zheng's door. As soon as she walked in, the old guy asked anxiously, "Liping, did you tell Comrade Xiao Zhao?"

"I told him," He Liping said, nodding.

"Then what did he say? Did he agree?" Old Zheng was afraid that Zhao Desan wouldn't give him face, and then his idea would fall through.

"He definitely agreed. It's his honor that you, Old Zheng, can take him out for a drink. How could he be so unappreciative and not agree?" He Liping flattered Eunuch Zheng.

Then she saw a strange smile appear on Eunuch Zheng's face. That smile looked very cunning, making He Liping feel that the old guy naming Zhao Desan to attend the social engagement definitely wasn't as simple as just blocking drinks. As for what the reason was, He Liping couldn't guess the old guy's mind for a while. Therefore, He Liping asked with a smile, "Old Zheng, why do you want Comrade Xiao Zhao to accompany you today? Aren't you and that brat not getting along very well?" He Liping tried to extract some secrets from Eunuch Zheng.

However, this old guy had become wary of He Liping after gradually noticing the secret, unseen relationship between He Liping and Zhao Desan. In the past, he would tell her everything, but now the old guy had a sense of proportion—he wouldn't hide what he should let her know, but he would never reveal a trace of what he shouldn't let her know.

"What's not getting along? Even if there was, that was in the past. As leaders, how many times a day do we have to be angered by people below us? We can't be angry with everyone. We have to be broad-minded. I didn't take it to heart at all," Eunuch Zheng said with a high-sounding smile. Seeing that He Liping's eyes still seemed a bit suspicious, he added, "I originally wanted you, Liping, to accompany me tonight, but you're a woman, and there have been too many social engagements lately. I'm afraid that if you drink too much as a woman, it won't be good for your health, so I let Comrade Xiao Zhao go with me. Look at our Construction Commission, such a large unit, only Comrade Xiao Zhao has a larger tolerance for alcohol. Who else can drink?"

He Liping blinked her eyes gently, feigned being very moved, and said with gratitude, "Old Zheng, you really know how to consider others. It's indeed true. I've been following you to social engagements every night lately. My tolerance for alcohol isn't good. Every night when I go back, I fall down and sleep. He wants to do that, but as soon as he touches me, I cover myself with the quilt. He's been having a cold war with me lately because of this!" He Liping talked and talked, and then led the topic to the relationship between herself and her husband.

It was indeed true. As a man, the thing he feared most was his woman becoming more and more powerful, especially a woman who was successful in her career. On one hand, her husband was happy, but on the other hand, he felt inferior because he was in a disadvantaged position. As a woman, He Liping was now a dignified Deputy Director of the Xijing Municipal Construction Commission, a deputy department-level figure, while her husband was only a chief physician at a hospital. Knowing that He Liping was in the Xijing Municipal Construction Commission and was helping Eunuch Zheng, the two had a special relationship that exceeded the normal working relationship, but he had no choice and could only turn a blind eye. For a long time, although he had been accustomed to such a life, He Liping would always think of her college days more than ten years ago in the dead of night. College life was a life that every person who had been to college would always miss in the long years to come. The love on campus was pure and without impurities. He Liping and her husband met in college, dated for several years, and it was not easy for them to come together and form a family after graduation. Therefore, whenever He Liping was quiet, once she thought of the past and those white-clad days, she would feel guilty toward her husband. After she entered the officialdom, her husband had always supported her silently behind her back. When he noticed that there was some improper relationship between her and her leader, he had always pretended not to know and gave He Liping opportunities again and again. As He Liping's time working at the Provincial Construction Commission grew longer, the old guy gradually lost the interest he had when she first came to the Provincial Construction Commission to call her to his office to 'do business' every day. Except for unavoidable social engagements, He Liping would try her best to go home on time to accompany her husband. But in the recent days, due to the land in the Chanba Development Zone, real estate developers in Xijing City had almost come out in full force, almost lining up to invite Eunuch Zheng to dinner. As the old guy's right-hand man and golden partner in work, He Liping also couldn't avoid going every night. Although she repeatedly stated at the dinner table that she wouldn't drink, she still drank a lot after a round. When she returned home, she was dizzy and fell asleep. Her husband, who hadn't been intimate for several days, touched He Liping, and she turned over and covered herself with the quilt to sleep soundly. Because of this, He Liping felt guilty toward her husband and had been thinking about compensating him. Tonight, Eunuch Zheng didn't ask her to follow him to social engagements, so He Liping planned to use this night to properly compensate her husband. ===== CHAPTER 1962 =====

Every night, it was unavoidable to go. Although she would repeatedly state at the dinner table that she couldn't drink, after a round, she would still end up drinking quite a bit. Once she returned home, she would be dizzy and fall straight to sleep. Having not been intimate with her husband for a few days, whenever he reached out to touch He Liping, she would turn over, cover herself with the quilt, and fall fast asleep. Because of this, He Liping felt a bit guilty toward her husband and had been thinking about compensating him. Tonight, Zheng Tulu happened not to call her to accompany him to any social engagements, so He Liping planned to use this evening to properly compensate her husband.