Chapter 4177: Asking for Directions by Throwing a Stone

Zhao De gently pushed open the office door and entered. A pungent, gamey odor immediately rushed toward his face, causing Zhao De's stomach to churn violently; he couldn't help but want to vomit. He forcibly held it back, swallowing it down. This feeling was truly worse than death.

Zhang Daquan was leaning back in his boss chair, savoring the recent pleasantries. Seeing that the person who had arrived was Zhao De, he was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "District Mayor Liu, what wind has blown you here?"

Zhao De smiled with a look of utmost respect and said, "Nothing much, just came over to see you, Secretary Zhang."

Zhang Daquan lit a cigarette and said with a lukewarm smile, "What is there to see about me!"

Zhao De smiled, walked forward, placed the gift he had brought on Zhang Daquan's desk, and said with a smile, "Secretary Zhang, I heard you like to drink cordyceps tea. This is top-grade cordyceps I specifically entrusted someone to buy for you."

Seeing the box of premium winter cordyceps that Zhao De had placed on the desk, the old man, who loved health preservation, had his eyes widen in surprise. He couldn't help but say, "District Mayor Liu! Your ability to get things done is truly extraordinary. Do you know how many people I've asked to find such good stuff? These good things are very rare now. Everyone says that what's sold on the market now is artificially cultivated and has no nutritional value, and the ones on the mountains have been picked clean. One look at this, and I know it's the real deal. Looking at this color, it should be from Qinghai, right?" As Zhang Daquan picked up a plump piece of cordyceps to examine it carefully, he raised his head to glance at Zhao De.

Zhao De took the opportunity to say, "Secretary Zhang is indeed an expert. I specifically entrusted a friend in Qinghai to go to the mountains and acquire this from Tibetan herdsmen."

Secretary Zhang closed the wooden box wrapped in red silk satin, smiled, handed Zhao De a cigarette, and said, "Hehe, Deputy District Mayor Liu, you must have spent quite a bit of money buying such good things!"

Zhao De said with a beaming smile, "Money is a small matter. As long as the goods are good and you like them, Secretary Zhang, that's all that matters!"

Secretary Zhang chuckled and hinted tactfully, "District Mayor Liu, money is no small matter. We are all leaders in government units; our daily behavior and conduct all relate to our own image and the image of our district committee and district government. This car-buying incident—although you weren't the one who bought it—caused a huge uproar online and has caused a certain negative impact on our district's image. District Mayor Liu, you must pay attention to your own influence in the future!"

Zhao De nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, Secretary Zhang is right. I will pay attention to this aspect. Speaking of this matter, I owe it to Secretary Zhang for helping me suppress it."

Secretary Zhang glanced at Zhao De with a strange look, smiled unhurriedly, and said, "Deputy District Mayor Liu, the goods are good, but as a leader in the discipline inspection department, you are making me knowingly commit a mistake. I cannot accept this!"

Zhao De knew this was just polite talk from Secretary Zhang. From the surprised expression in his eyes when he first saw the cordyceps in the box, Zhao De could tell that the old man actually liked this gift very much. It seemed that "catering to one's preferences" was a very useful magic weapon in officialdom. Zhao De then said politely, "Secretary Zhang, this isn't anything valuable, and it doesn't count as committing any mistake. Using it to brew tea is very good for health!"

After exchanging a few more polite words, Secretary Zhang stopped declining and said with a smile, "Hehe, Comrade Xiao Zhao, since you are so thoughtful, I will accept your kindness and stop declining. I'll take it. Now tell me, how should I thank you?"

Zhao De leaned over to light Zhang Daquan's cigarette and said with a beaming smile, "How would I dare to have Secretary Zhang thank me? It's just a small matter. As long as Secretary Zhang is satisfied, that's enough. If there is anything you need me, Comrade Xiao Zhao, to do in the future, just one phone call from you, and I will absolutely not say a second word!"

Zhao De's words were very clever. He didn't mention a single word about asking Secretary Zhang to let him off the hook, but between the lines, he revealed a meaning that Zhang Daquan understood perfectly. Zhang Daquan took a puff of his cigarette and laughed, "Haha, alright, Desan. I have a handle on some things. After all, you are a leader in our district; I certainly won't let you suffer a loss. You go back first, get your own work under control, and handle your relationships with others well. I have a handle on your situation. It's inevitable for young people to make some mistakes. As long as you learn your lesson and don't make any big mistakes in the future, it will be fine. Alright, you go back now!"

Secretary Zhang stood up to see him off. Zhao De hurriedly said, "Secretary Zhang, you don't need to come out. I won't disturb your work anymore, I'll head back." As he spoke, Zhao De retreated in a state of trepidation.

It really is true that a higher official can crush you; especially a department like the Discipline Inspection Commission, which holds the power to investigate the conduct and discipline of leaders in government units. If the discipline department says you have a problem, you have a problem; if they say you don't, you won't, because once a real investigation begins, there isn't a single official who is clean and free of corruption—there is only a difference in degree. Coming out of Zhang Daquan's office, Zhao De actually had a forehead full of sweat. After all, not being familiar with this head of the district Discipline Inspection Commission was one thing, but the other was that this old guy was in the same camp as Ju Weidong and Lin Dafa. Being able to bribe him for the time being was naturally a rare feat!

Having finally smoothed things over with Zhang Daquan, Zhao De finally let out a sigh of relief. One must enjoy life while one is successful. Having handled this thorny issue, before getting off work at noon, Zhao De called Liu Yue into his office and said that since he hadn't managed to treat her to dinner last night, he would treat her today. Liu Yue naturally agreed happily.

So at noon, Zhao De drove Liu Yue to a newly opened Western restaurant in the district. The environment in the restaurant was very good, with elegant saxophone music drifting softly. The restaurant was extremely quiet. Zhao De and Liu Yue sat opposite each other, ordered a bottle of red wine and a few Western-style dishes. As the two ate, they chatted. Zhao De was in a very good mood today, cracking jokes with Liu Yue from time to time, making Liu Yue giggle non-stop.

"Loving you is hard to say..." A pleasant ringtone suddenly broke the tranquility of the Western restaurant. Zhao De realized it was his phone ringing. He quickly took out his mobile phone and saw it was an unfamiliar number. Zhao De said to Liu Yue, "I'm going to take a call!"

"Mm." Liu Yue nodded. Zhao De stood up, took his phone, and went to the restaurant's restroom. Standing at the restroom entrance, he answered the call and asked suspiciously, "Hello! Who is this?"

"May I ask, are you Zhao De?" The person on the other end was a man.

"Yes, who are you?" Zhao De asked suspiciously, wondering if it was someone looking for him to handle business again. Ever since he became this deputy district mayor, there had been no shortage of people looking for him to get things done.

"It's me, Chen Gang, your old classmate! Haha, finally got in touch!"

"Chen Gang? Long time no see! How did you suddenly find me?" Zhao De also became excited. In the six or seven years since graduating from university, Zhao De hadn't been in contact with anyone except for Yang Meixia—and Yang Meixia wasn't even in their class. After six or seven years, suddenly getting in touch with Chen Gang, who had been in his dormitory, Zhao De was naturally very excited.

"Zhao De, it's like this. Tonight, Jiang Mengfei from our class is coming to Xijing from out of town, and I'm organizing a class reunion. It took a lot of effort to finally get in touch with you. How about it, are you in Xijing?" Chen Gang explained the reason for his call to Zhao De.

"I am." Zhao De said excitedly, "Where is the reunion?" The name Jiang Mengfei was all too familiar to Zhao De; she was a girl he had secretly loved during his university days, one could say she was his goddess back then. But at that time, due to his family's misfortune—his father in prison and his mother having passed away—he was not looked upon favorably by the proud Jiang Mengfei. Now, finally having the chance to see her, Zhao De felt he must attend this reunion, if for no other reason than to hold his head high in front of this former goddess.

"Then do you have time to come? It's at the Xijing Hotel near our university, at seven o'clock tonight. Don't be late!" Chen Gang said.

"Alright, see you tonight!" Zhao De said excitedly.

After finishing the call with his old classmate Chen Gang, Zhao De suddenly felt that after struggling in officialdom for six or seven years, he didn't seem to have a single true friend. University was the most unforgettable period of a person's life, and the friendship from that time was the purest and cleanest, unlike the so-called friends he had made at work, who were all about mutual exploitation; once there was no utility value, no one was willing to pay attention. In Zhao De's mind, Jiang Mengfei was still that tall, beautiful girl with jet-black, shiny hair who liked to wear black silk stockings. He couldn't wait for the reunion that evening.

Returning to his seat after the call, Liu Yue saw Zhao De lost in thought and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong? Is there something going on?"

Zhao De smiled, "Nothing, an old university classmate called. We haven't been in touch for six or seven years, and tonight there's a sudden class reunion, asking me to go over."

"What a coincidence, I just had dinner with an old classmate last night," Liu Yue said with a smile.

Zhao De said with a smile, "It is quite a coincidence."

After finishing lunch with Liu Yue and returning to the unit, Zhao De sat in his office and reminisced about his university life for a while. He didn't stay in the unit long before tucking his briefcase under his arm and leaving the office. He first returned to his rented apartment, picked out a set of clothes he had kept at the bottom of his trunk—a rain-colored shirt, a pair of straight-cut dress pants, a pair of leather shoes he hadn't worn many times, and a slim-fit jacket—dressing himself up to look extremely handsome. Because Zhao De was tall, wearing these clothes made him look very upright. Against the backdrop of that dark green jacket, his skin appeared very fair. After standing in front of the mirror to comb his hair and feeling very satisfied, Zhao De left the rented apartment and then drove to the place where Biaozi lived.

After entering Biaozi's rented apartment, because Biaozi hadn't returned from out of town yet and Gao Ying's son, Niuniu, was at school, only Gao Ying was home. Seeing that the person who arrived was Zhao De, a happy smile appeared on Gao Ying's face. It had been a while since she had seen this savior of hers, but seeing Zhao De dressed up so handsomely, Gao Ying couldn't help but ask curiously, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, why are you dressed so handsomely today?"