Chapter 3974

Secretary Jin smiled. While discussing calligraphy with Zhao Desan, they chatted idly. The whole morning passed by without them noticing. Near noon, Jin Lulu knocked on the study door from outside and said, "Dad, Zhao Desan, come out to eat!"

Secretary Jin put down his brush and said to Zhao Desan, "Let's go, Comrade Xiao Zhao. Let's go eat, and we can chat slowly while we eat."

Zhao Desan followed Secretary Jin to the dining room. When he arrived, he discovered that the marble dining table was already filled with a rich spread of food—chicken, duck, fish, meat, and all kinds of delicacies. What surprised Zhao Desan even more was that there was a bottle of Lafite red wine on the table, as well as a bottle of premium Wuliangye. Seeing this setup, Zhao Desan knew that Secretary Jin's family was treating him as an honored guest, which made him feel very flattered.

Seeing Zhao Desan's somewhat unbelievable expression, Jin Lulu gave him an angry, coquettish glare and scolded, "What are you still standing there stupidly for? Hurry up and sit!"

Zhao Desan then snapped out of it. After hurriedly inviting Jin's mother and Secretary Jin to sit down, he pulled out a chair and sat down himself.

Jin's mother opened the bottle of red wine, poured a little less than half a glass for everyone, and then said, "Old Jin, shall we have a drink together with Comrade Xiao Zhao and Lulu?"

Secretary Jin looked at Zhao Desan with a kind gaze and said with a smile, "Come, there are no outsiders today anyway, let's have a drink together as a family, shall we?" As he spoke, he raised his wine glass.

A family? Hearing Secretary Jin's words, Zhao Desan's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Jin Lulu saw what Zhao Desan was thinking and touched him gently. Zhao Desan then snapped out of it, hurriedly raised his glass to meet them, and smiled awkwardly. After the few of them each took a small sip of red wine and put down their glasses, Secretary Jin said to Zhao Desan with a smile, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, do you know why I invited you to be a guest at my house today?"

Zhao Desan had already guessed seven or eight parts of it in his heart, but he still shook his head, pretending to be ignorant, and smiled awkwardly, saying, "I don't know."

Secretary Jin smiled kindly and said, "The reason I invited you to be a guest at my house today is mainly for two reasons. One is that Lulu suddenly told me a while ago that you were injured and hospitalized because of the demolition. She said that some of the projects in the district are managed by investors who are very difficult to deal with, and she wanted me to come forward in the name of inspecting work to support your work and put some pressure on them. Originally, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to come forward. Comrade Xiao Zhao, you also know that I am the Provincial Party Secretary, and I am mainly responsible for the work of the provincial party committee and government affairs. These specific economic and social development tasks are specifically the responsibility of the provincial government. However, if I don't agree, someone will break off the father-daughter relationship with me..." Speaking of this, Secretary Jin looked at his precious daughter sitting beside him with a smile. Jin Lulu immediately glared at Secretary Jin shyly and complained coquettishly, "Dad, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Secretary Jin smiled and said, "I'm not talking nonsense. When I said I couldn't help with this, who was crying and making a scene in front of me, wanting to break off the relationship?"

Jin Lulu looked at Zhao Desan with an admiring gaze, which made Zhao Desan feel extremely uneasy.

Secretary Jin continued to say to Zhao Desan, "There's no way around it. I only have this one precious daughter, so I agreed to come forward to help you and support your work in the district. I'll arrange it recently to go to your district to take a look."

Hearing Secretary Jin say this, Zhao Desan couldn't help but be happy. He thought that as long as Secretary Jin went down to inspect the work and dampened the arrogance of the Lin Construction Group, his work as a Deputy District Mayor would be easier to do. He hurriedly looked at Secretary Jin with a grateful gaze, nodded with a smile, and said, "Thank you, Secretary Jin, for taking time out of your busy schedule to inspect the work and support my work."

Secretary Jin smiled at Zhao Desan with satisfaction and continued, "The second thing today is to talk about you and Lulu. As the saying goes, a man should marry when he is grown, and a woman should marry when she is grown. Comrade Xiao Zhao, you are not young anymore, and Lulu has also reached the age of marriage. If your affairs can be settled, let's settle them quickly. Don't you think so?"

Zhao Desan really didn't expect the second thing to be this. His heart skipped a beat again. This was something he had never even thought about. Suddenly being invited to Secretary Jin's house, sitting together with their family of three, and having it put on the table—Zhao Desan really didn't know how to answer for a moment. He smiled slightly awkwardly and was speechless for a while.

Seeing Zhao Desan's uncomfortable appearance, Jin's mother said gently, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, don't be nervous. Just treat it as your own home. Secretary Jin and I only have Lulu as a daughter. We both think you are a very good young man—smart, capable, and sensible. We like you very much. Treat us as your own parents, treat it as your own home, and relax..."

Zhao Desan smiled reluctantly. Knowing that he certainly couldn't disagree in front of Jin Lulu's parents, he used a delaying tactic and said, "Secretary Jin, Auntie Jin, the matter between Lulu and me is only a matter of time. I was thinking that we should interact more so she can understand me better. It won't be too late then."

Jin Lulu immediately followed up on Zhao Desan's words, glared at him, and said, "I don't understand you enough? Is there any other woman who understands you better than I do?"

Jin Lulu's words made Zhao Desan very awkward for a moment. Jin's mother scolded her precious daughter, "Lulu, what are you saying!"

Jin Lulu muttered in a low voice, "You only know how to favor outsiders! We don't even have a relationship yet, and you're already speaking for him!"

Secretary Jin laughed "Hehe" and said, "As for your affairs, we are not in a hurry. We are sitting together to have a meal today mainly to give you two young people a reminder. This society is very open now, and young people's thinking is very active. It's not like our time, which was very feudal. In this society, young people emphasize free love and freedom of marriage. You and Lulu met on your own and are also in a free-love relationship. As long as you don't have other thoughts now and you both like each other, then Lulu's lifelong event is something her mother and I won't worry about anymore. As for when you want to get married, you can just get married. We won't urge you on this matter."

Hearing Secretary Jin's words, Zhao Desan finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Secretary Jin didn't urge him, he could drag it out as much as possible. It was just that Jin Lulu seemed a bit unwilling at this time. She glared at Secretary Jin with complaint and muttered in a low voice, "And you said we would set the date today!"

Since the words had already reached this point, Zhao Desan naturally couldn't keep his head down. He hurriedly nodded with a smile, raised his wine glass, and said, "Secretary Jin, Auntie Jin, thank you for thinking so highly of me. I am sincere about Lulu. You can rest assured about this. I'll toast Secretary Jin and Auntie Jin."

Hearing Zhao Desan's words, Jin Lulu felt somewhat comforted, and her heart felt warm. She glanced at Zhao Desan ambiguously. After waiting for Zhao Desan to finish his toast, Jin Lulu raised a glass of red wine and toasted Zhao Desan. With her beautiful big eyes looking at Zhao Desan ambiguously, she smiled and said, "Zhao Desan, this young lady toasts you. Let's have one together!"

Zhao Desan smiled and raised his glass to have a drink with this wild little beauty. Jin's mother said to Zhao Desan with a smile, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, Lulu is a bit like a boy in character. She is usually careless and has a bad temper. You have to be more tolerant of her."

Zhao Desan hurriedly nodded and said, "Auntie, don't worry. I know this, and I will definitely be tolerant of her."

Jin Lulu followed up on Zhao Desan's words and became fierce again, saying fiercely, "If he isn't tolerant of me, I'll beat him to death!"

The group laughed out loud at Jin Lulu's antics. For a time, the whole house was filled with a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. The sumptuous lunch, which was quite rewarding for Zhao Desan, ended after Zhao Desan finished half a bottle of Wuliangye with Secretary Jin. Secretary Jin, with a glowing face, gave Zhao Desan many instructions on things to pay attention to. Those words were all the experience Secretary Jin had gained from being in the officialdom for so many years and being able to sit on the throne of Provincial Party Secretary all the way. Zhao Desan felt he had benefited a lot.

It wasn't until around two o'clock in the afternoon that Zhao Desan used the excuse that there was a meeting to be held in the district in the afternoon to leave Secretary Jin's house.

On the way back, Zhao Desan thought about his experience at Secretary Jin's house. He really didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. What was happy was that Secretary Jin's family treated him like their godson and had already identified him as their future son-in-law in their hearts. According to common sense, what young person in the officialdom wouldn't hope to climb up to a big leader? Being the son-in-law of a Provincial Party Secretary is probably a beautiful thing that many people would beg for. But for Zhao Desan, he didn't feel any excitement because of this. For Jin Lulu, it was more of a brother-sister relationship. The type of woman he liked wasn't like Jin Lulu. He liked mature women who were gentle, virtuous, intellectual, and understanding, not this kind of little girl who was careless and hadn't grown up yet.

However, fortunately, Secretary Jin and his wife were relatively open-minded people and didn't urge them on their affairs.

Zhao Desan drove back to the district. He didn't go to his unit but called Biaozi before arriving at the district to ask how Niuniu's schooling was going. Biaozi said disappointedly on the phone, "It didn't work out. They said it's not possible."

Zhao Desan hurriedly asked, "Why not?" Zhao Desan felt that his status was at least that of a Deputy District Mayor. Could it be that the principal of a Central Primary School wouldn't even give him this much face?