Chapter 2771

Zhou Andong put down the phone, pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, looked up at the time, and saw there was still over an hour until quitting time. He stood up, picked up the thermos to pour a cup of water, and at that moment the office door was knocked.

Zhou Andong did not stop his action, casually shouting: "Come in!"

The office door was pushed open, and Jiaoliwei walked in holding a box of tea: "Director, I brought this box of tea from my father-in-law's place last night. It's almost quitting time now, and there's nothing much to do, so I thought I'd bring it over for us to try together."

Zhou Andong's eyes flickered, and he timely showed a smile: "Comrade Jiaoliwei has arrived. How did you know I'm out of tea here?"

"Take a look!" Jiaoliwei laughed: "What a coincidence."

"Let me see what tea this is." Zhou Andong took the tea box—it was just an ordinary iron box with no writing on it. He opened the lid, and a wave of tea fragrance hit him: "Good tea!"

Jiaoliwei was not polite either, picking up a clean teacup on the tea table and saying: "Director, I know nothing about tea—everything tastes the same to me."

"I don't understand either." Zhou Andong pinched a bit of tea leaves with his fingers and put them into his own teacup, then returned the tea box to Jiaoliwei: "I just know that too much tea leaves make it bitter."

Jiaoliwei looked at Zhou Andong, and Zhou Andong also glanced at him. The two froze for a moment, then burst out laughing simultaneously.

"Two people who don't understand tea, yet we've been chatting about tea for half a day." Jiaoliwei laughed again.

Zhou Andong picked up the thermos again, first filling Jiaoliwei's teacup, then pouring his own: "Comrade Jiaoliwei, you didn't come today just to invite me for tea, did you?"

Jiaoliwei sighed: "During the tenure of Shi Guoqiang and Hu Daming, they monopolized the power of the woolen mill, bringing upon it a gloomy and corrupt atmosphere, while I was powerless."

Jiaoliwei held his teacup, blew on the floating tea leaves, then continued: "Since you took office, I have had hesitations and struggles, thinking about many things every day."

Zhou Andong asked with a smile: "What are you thinking about?"

"Everything." At this moment, Jiaoliwei looked as sincere as could be: "Thinking about Shi Guoqiang and Hu Daming's recklessness, thinking about the difficulties of the factory office school teachers' lives, thinking about where I should go from now on..."

Jiaoliwei said this, occasionally stealing glances at Zhou Andong's facial expression. But what disappointed him was that Zhou Andong's face bore only a smile, with no other expression, and he could see through everything.

Zhou Andong lowered his head and took a shallow sip of tea, a mocking expression flashing in his eyes.

"Director!" Jiaoliwei sighed again: "It's precisely because I think too much, hesitating and missing opportunity after opportunity to serve all the factory workers."

Last night, my father-in-law summoned me and gave me a scolding. He said, Director Zhou, you are a person of great ability and ambition, and your appointment as woolen mill director was made in a time of crisis.

For the sake of the stomachs of the forty thousand workers of the woolen mill, and also for the stability of forty thousand families. Yet I am still indulging in idle thoughts, plagued by gains and losses—truly, rotten wood cannot be carved.

Saying this, Jiaoliwei gave a bitter laugh: "This is not the first time my father-in-law has scolded me, but it is definitely the harshest. Last night I slept poorly, and I've been thinking about this matter—indeed, I am too hesitant."

Now the woolen mill reform is imminent. If I still harbor such hesitations, fearing this and that, disregarding the interests of the forty thousand workers, then I am unfit to sit in this position today.

"Comrade Jiaoliwei, seeking advantage and avoiding harm is human nature—I can understand that." Zhou Andong lowered his head and took another sip of tea, his smile unchanged: "These tea leaves are again too much."

"Director, I..." Jiaoliwei's words had just left his mouth when Zhou Andong interrupted him.

"Comrade Jiaoliwei!" Zhou Andong said with a smile: "I don't understand tea, just like you—whether good or bad, it all tastes the same when drunk. So, keeping it here would be wasteful; better to give it back to your father-in-law, who understands tea—only there can good tea reveal its value."

Jiaoliwei was stunned for a moment, his eyes turning gloomy, but his face showed nothing: "Director, then I'll take my leave first. I don't know if you have time tonight—we could find a quiet place to have a couple of drinks?"

"Today definitely won't work." Zhou Andong said regretfully: "Like this, I'll find a time these few days and notify you then."

"Okay!" Jiaoliwei nodded in agreement, picked up the tea box, and left.

Watching Jiaoliwei's figure disappear at the doorway, Zhou Andong let out a hey laugh: "Just one box of tea and you want to buy the chance to sit at the table for a meal—am I, Zhou Andong, really that cheap?"

………………

The sky was darkening, a red sun setting in the west, drifting clouds obscuring the red sun, casting a soft red glow that filled the horizon.

Near the Gulou, an inconspicuous small inn, Jiangzhou Criminal Investigation Brigade captain Xing Wenbin pushed open the door with a yawn, stepped out, and then stood aside to light a cigarette.

They had set off around seven o'clock the previous night, arrived in Jingcheng this morning. Then they found this inn, completed check-in, ate something, and afterward contacted the Xicheng Bureau to coordinate before all went to sleep.

Because there are too many people and too many distractions during the day, so going to find victims also has to be done at night—this saves a lot of trouble. Therefore, they slept all day.

Xing Wenbin's cigarette had just been lit when Puying Jing also came out. She had short hair, wore denim, and had police boots on her feet, looking very spirited and energetic. (Forgot this character? Refer back to chapter 463.)

This woman came to Xing Wenbin's side, rubbed her stomach: "Captain Xing, I'm hungry—let's hurry and find a place to eat."

Xing Wenbin turned his head to glance at the inn's door: "Have Xiao Guang and Da Yu gotten up yet?"

"They're up!" Puying Jing said weakly: "They'll be out soon."

As her words fell, over a dozen people walked out of the inn in succession, among them two women—all were criminal investigators from the Jiangzhou Criminal Investigation Brigade. They all wore plain clothes and drove vehicles with civilian license plates.

"They're all out!" Xing Wenbin glanced at the noodle shop diagonally opposite: "Let's go eat a bowl of noodles over there. After we finish, the brothers from the Xicheng Bureau should also arrive."

"Let's go, go, go!" Puying Jing greeted everyone—it was clear this woman was really hungry.

They had just reached the roadside when a white minivan suddenly stopped in front of them. The vehicle door opened, and Deputy Bureau Chief of the district, Yu Xiangjun, stepped out from the car.

His gaze swept over everyone's faces, immediately landing on Xing Wenbin's face, and he extended his hand: "Comrade Xing Wenbin, hello, I am Yu Xiangjun. You coming to Jingcheng on this trip is no easy feat, and yet you're staying in such a shabby little inn—truly, my hospitality has been inadequate."

Xing Wenbin shook hands with Yu Xiangjun, smiling: "Bureau Yu, you're being too polite. The environment here is actually quite good, and it's close to Gulou, making movement convenient."

Yu Xiangjun also didn't stand on ceremony: "You're thinking of going to eat, right? Come on, the food is already prepared."