Chapter 961: Ill Intent

After finishing the wine, Zheng Tulu saw that Su Qing's expression was clearly not as cold as it had been just moments ago, so he immediately nodded with a chuckle and said, "Yes, yes." He hurriedly picked up the wine bottle, intending to pour more for Zhao De.

"Director Zheng, let me, let me," Zhao De said upon seeing this, quickly snatching the bottle from his hand.

Zheng Tulu insisted, "Xiao Zhao, it's all the same, let me, let me." No matter how Zhao De tried to snatch it, he couldn't get the bottle, so he hurriedly raised his glass with both hands and said eloquently, "Director Zheng, you are making me feel truly flattered."

In front of Su Qing, Zheng Tulu appeared exceptionally enthusiastic toward Zhao De, showing none of his usual leadership airs. After filling the glasses, he added more to his own, raised his cup, and said with a chuckle, "Xiao Zhao, come, let me have a drink with you. Regarding the Party School matter, I truly wanted you to go, but the other leaders at the meeting were in agreement, and I really couldn't make the decision on my own. I failed to secure this opportunity for you, but I will certainly secure the next one for you."

"Then I shall thank you in advance, Director Zheng. Cheers, Director Zheng." Zhao De smiled and took the initiative to reach out and clink his glass against his.

"Cheers, Xiao Zhao." In front of Su Qing, Zheng Tulu showed no airs toward Zhao De at all, drinking the wine in his glass with great heartiness.

Setting down his glass, Zheng Tulu said to Su Qing with a fawning smile, "Minister Su, thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to grace us with your presence for this simple meal today. Minister Su, please rest assured, as long as you have any arrangements in the future—for instance, regarding Xiao Zhao's promotion—I will certainly do my utmost. As for the Party School matter, I hope you, Minister, will be the bigger person and not take it to heart. I will definitely secure all future opportunities for Xiao Zhao."

Seeing that this old fellow Zheng Tulu was so afraid of her, Su Qing felt quite satisfied. She thought to herself, *If you knew it would come to this, why act that way in the first place? * In Su Qing's view, she didn't believe for a second that Zheng Tulu, as the Director of the Construction Bureau and Party Secretary, couldn't decide on a single spot for Party School training. This was clearly a case of him not taking her seriously, and now that he was afraid, he was begging and pleading to invite her to this meal. Thinking that since the old fellow's attitude toward admitting his mistake was so sincere, and he had said so many things beneficial to Zhao De's future, the anger in Su Qing's heart dissipated somewhat. She glanced at him with a calm expression and said, "Director Zheng, the fact that I could come to this meal today shows that I haven't taken it to heart. You are overthinking it. As long as I have your word today, Director Zheng, I am at ease. My cousin Xiao Zhao's future depends entirely on you, Director Zheng, and I certainly hope not to see such things happen again."

Zheng Tulu immediately smiled fawningly and promised, "Minister Su, please rest assured, such a thing will absolutely not happen again. Xiao Zhao's work ability is so outstanding; he will surely have a limitless future."

Seeing Zheng Tulu acting so fawning and obsequious like a dog in front of Sister Su, Zhao De felt quite satisfied. He thought, *Where did that high-and-mighty official air you use to throw your weight around at the bureau go? * While thinking this, he said modestly with a chuckle, "Director Zheng, you are too kind. If there is anything I am doing wrong in my work, I hope you will point it out so I can correct it, haha."

Su Qing glanced knowingly at Zhao De, who was excellent at reading the room, and continued, "That's right, Director Zheng, you must not indulge Xiao Zhao just for my sake. Just like the other leaders in your bureau think, Xiao Zhao has only been working for a short time; if there is anything he is not doing well, Director Zheng, you should point it out and let him correct his mistakes, not indulge him in making them. If you do that, I'm afraid that even if there are good opportunities, the other leaders in your bureau will have opinions and prejudices against him and oppose him."

Zheng Tulu looked at Zhao De with a smile and, in front of Su Qing, praised him incessantly: "Minister Su, you don't know, Xiao Zhao is indeed very capable, his work ability is outstanding. Among the new comrades who joined the bureau this year, he should be considered the most outstanding one."

Su Qing smiled faintly and asked deliberately, "By the way, isn't Director Zheng's daughter a colleague of Xiao Zhao's? She also joined the Construction Bureau this year. With a capable father like you, Xiao Zheng's work ability must be quite good too, right?"

Once upon a time, in order to arrange a political marriage, Zheng Tulu had specifically hosted a dinner, invited his daughter, and asked Su Qing and Zhao De to eat together, expressing his intentions at the table. Now that the matter had long since lost all hope, and after Zhao De and Zheng Tulu had a showdown, the old fellow had been secretly suppressing Zhao De. Now, at this apology dinner, as soon as Su Qing brought this up, Zheng Tulu's expression became extremely awkward. He chuckled and said, "Her work ability still needs improvement; compared to Xiao Zhao, she is far behind."

Su Qing smiled lightly and asked again, "By the way, does Ruru have a partner now?"

For Zheng Tulu, Su Qing was truly touching a sore spot, making his expression extremely awkward. He feigned calmness, chuckled, and said, "Not yet, not yet."

As soon as this was mentioned, Zhao De also felt a bit awkward, picking up food with his chopsticks on the side to hide his unnatural expression.

Su Qing said "Oh," and with a smile on her face, said, "Let the young people talk about it themselves now; let's not interfere. If they like each other, they stay together; if they don't, they separate. Young people today have very open minds; let us old antiques not interfere." ===== CHAPTER 962 =====