Chapter 2738

Tang Wenjuan also felt helpless; ever since she became Zhou Andong's secretary, neighbors and acquaintances had become much more polite when speaking to her. Meanwhile, relatives she had never met before—people so distant that not even eight poles could reach them—had all come out of the woodwork, just like the so-called great aunt and great uncle just now.

During this period, these so-called relatives had nearly worn down her doorstep, all with one goal: to get this brother, that sister, or even seven great aunts and eight great uncles hired at the wool factory, asking her to arrange it.

Fortunately, her parents and elder siblings were clear-headed and had sent those so-called relatives packing. As for the genuine relatives and friends, while there might have been some envy and backbiting, most were sincerely congratulatory, even inviting her whole family to dinner at their homes.

Thus, as Zhou Andong's secretary, Tang Wenjuan appeared glamorous—anyone wanting to see Zhou Andong had to get past her first. But sometimes she felt exhausted, not physically, but mentally.

"Let's go!" Zhou Andong said, then strode on toward the cafeteria.

Wang Wentian followed silently behind; she had held back tears during the earlier scene with the so-called great aunt and great uncle, but now tears welled in her eyes—not from resentment, but from emotion.

If this had happened to any other leader, her position as secretary would be untenable, possibly even costing her job at the secretary's office for life, with no hope of advancement.

Yet Zhou Andong neither blamed nor comforted her; he merely exchanged a few casual words, then acted as if nothing had happened. She didn't know that Factory Director Zhou felt the same way—except her distress came from a great aunt so distant that eight poles couldn't reach her, while his came from a close grandfather.

At the same time, Liu Yun, chief of the Qinghe Public Security Bureau, received a call from the wool factory's security office. He immediately spat out the two bites of steamed bun he had just taken, grabbed his coat, and headed out.

How dare someone cause trouble at the wool factory—it's as inappropriate as a longevity star hanging himself! Didn't they see that the bureau's former deputy chief, Huang Youmin, had been taken away and would never return?

Moreover, the petty thugs who had caused trouble at the wool factory gates a few days earlier were still locked in the warehouse. As he knew, after Shi Guojiang and Hu Daming were taken by the Discipline Inspection Commission, those who had been scheming behind the scenes had been scared stiff, already preparing to pay fines to bail out those hooligans.

Because they feared that if they didn't pay, they would anger Zhou Andong, prompting him to dig deeper and expose their soiled underpants. After all, Shi Guojiang and Hu Daming were already inside—if their leverage fell into Zhou Andong's hands, wouldn't they be squeezed until they pissed themselves?

Liu Yun rushed out of his office, summoned a few people, then left the building, got in his car, and sped straight to the wool factory. He couldn't afford to delay, since Zhou Andong himself had ordered strict punishment—how dare he linger?

When he arrived at the wool factory and saw that the troublemakers were two men and women in their fifties, he was stunned. At that age, dressed as they were, they didn't look wealthy or powerful—why would they come to cause trouble at the wool factory?

Wang Wentian shook hands with Liu Yun and explained the situation in detail: "Our factory director said that disturbing our factory's normal production order, spreading rumors and slander, and framing factory leaders must be severely punished."

"This is a serious matter," Liu Yun said, his expression instantly turning grave: "Spreading rumors and slander, framing leaders—this is a serious criminal offense."

Wang Wentian's mouth twitched, but his expression remained very solemn: "Whether it's criminal or civil, let your professionals decide—I'm just relaying what happened. Our factory director won't inquire into the process, but will demand a result."

"I understand!" Liu Yun waved at the officers behind him: "Take them away."

The man and woman were frightened upon seeing the police enter, and followed the officers out meekly. In fact, these two old-timers had come with impure motives, thinking that if their scheme failed, they could ruin Zhou Andong and Tang Wenjuan's reputations. They never imagined it would become this serious—that they would be arrested by police, possibly even face imprisonment.

"It's all your fault!" the woman shouted angrily at the man: "If it weren't for your terrible idea, we wouldn't have been caught by the police!"

The man replied unhappily: "You agreed to my terrible idea too—can I really be blamed for all of it?"

"If not you, then who?" the woman retorted, even more displeased: "Who knows what evil I did in my past life to end up married to you, this useless good-for-nothing?"

"I'm the useless one?" the man flared up: "If I were useless, you'd have starved to death by now—how else could you afford clothes worth two or three hundred, or shoes for one or two hundred?"

The woman was about to say more when Liu Yun cut her off coldly: "Enough. If you want to argue, wait until we get to the bureau—then you can go at it as you please."

Thus, the man and woman were taken back to the bureau by Liu Yun, while Wang Wentian and the others went to the cafeteria, since they were also hungry—if they didn't eat now, they'd have to wait until evening.

……………………

Around noon, Zhou Andong's car arrived at Xidajie in Ping'an Li; he got out. The weather was fine—clouds in the sky, breeze on the ground—refreshing, so he decided to take a walk.

Walking alone down the road, the music from a nearby record store drifted into his ears.

"Rain falls deep into the night, the silent second hand, in the darkness gently sensing resonance. Rain falls in waves, the falling second hand, like tidal waves occurring, fearless of cold rain and wind..."

Zhou Andong listened to the song, a smile appearing on his face. This song had been released in Xiangjiang two months ago, where it had become wildly popular. It was said that on various charts, it topped the list for as short as two weeks and as long as over a month, and now it had finally returned to popularity domestically.

More than ten minutes later, Zhou Andong reached Houhai, walking along the lake. Then he saw a man wearing a floral shirt, jeans, with a briefcase tucked under his arm, holding a big brother (mobile phone), walking with his buttocks swaying and shaking from side to side!

Even if Zhou Andong had his eyes closed, he could tell who that swaying figure was ahead, so he lifted his foot and kicked the man's buttocks, which were shaking vigorously.

"Oh damn!" the man, shaking his buttocks, performed a standard "falling wild goose on flat sand" move, face-planting onto the ground.

"Damn your grandfather!" the man shouted angrily, quickly scrambled up from the ground, turned around, and was about to yell when he saw it was Zhou Andong—his words caught hard in his throat.

"Dongzi, why did you suddenly come to Houhai?"

"I came specially to find you." Zhou Andong laughed: "Come on, let's talk in the car."

Zhang Zuo patted his buttocks, bent over to pick up his briefcase. As for the big brother, he gripped it tightly—didn't throw it away: "What's the matter? So mysterious, still have to talk in the car?"

Zhou Andong turned back, opened the car door, and got in. After Zhang Zuo got in, he didn't waste words, directly saying: "Do you know Yin Xuan?"

"Yin Xuan?" Zhang Zuo thought for a moment and said: "I've heard the name before—it sounds familiar, but I just can't recall who it is."