Chapter 331: You're Not Fit to Appear

"Sss!" Lu Cheng was thinking, when he suddenly felt something was off.

"Hey Lao Wu, how did you know I'm going to be sheriff next year?"

"This matter is known by only a few people; apart from Lei Zhan Ge, the other team leaders don't know."

"Because whether the Snow Removal Machine Project succeeds is another matter, and before it succeeds, Lei Zhan Ge doesn't intend to announce it publicly."

"Wu Zhekun has even less reason to know."

"I heard it from your sister's letter."

"Oh, I see…" Lu Cheng seemed to recall that he had mentioned it to his sister in passing.

"Still not right!"

"What's not right?"

"You wrote letters with my sister, and everything you talked about was Ning Ning's business, so why did it turn to me?"

"Hehe, at first it was about Ning Ning, but after getting familiar, we also talk about other things."

"Oh?" Lu Cheng looked over: "What else did you talk about?"

"Ah?" Wu Zhekun was stunned: "What's up? Why are you interrogating me like a criminal?"

Lu Cheng pointed a finger: "I warn you, don't chat nonsense with my sister, okay."

"I... didn't, didn't, we only talked proper topics, why such a big reaction?" Wu Zhekun opened his mouth, quickly changing the subject.

"Look, don't go off-topic; what about Ding Yuanmin's matter?"

Lu Cheng kept driving: "Ding Yuanmin isn't making profit; this matter can be big or small, it depends on how we handle it. Frankly, we still need to find someone who can speak..."

If we let Fan Dashan interrogate, he'll definitely pin a smuggling felony on Ding Yuanmin.

And the longer Ding Yuanmin stays inside, the higher the risk of his mouth being pried open; who knows if Fan Dashan will resort to torture.

This guy will stop at nothing to become sheriff.

"How about this, Lao Lu, I thought about it; you still can't go directly, but my dad didn't come back for the New Year, so maybe ask my mom to think of a way."

"Ask your mom?"

"Right, my mom knows a leader in your department; let's see if that works, better than dragging you into it."

Given Wu Zhekun's family background, stepping in is no problem at all, but Lu Cheng still hesitated a bit.

"Is your mom willing to help?"

"Of course, my mom gets along especially well with Su Gugu."

In that case, Lu Cheng had no more reservations, stopped the car immediately; now there's no need to go find Captain Lei.

"You help Uncle Wei so much, how should I thank you?"

Wu Zhekun laughed: "Who helped you? I'm doing it for Su Gugu; I'm even afraid she'll run out of medicine later."

"Alright, it doesn't matter for whom; since I don't have to go directly, how about I treat you to breakfast? There's a meat bun shop near Lao Cheng Men that's especially fragrant."

Wu Zhekun's stomach was quite hungry, but he held back.

"Fine, another day. This can't be delayed; if Ding Yuanmin says the wrong thing in there, no one will help later, so I have to handle it right away."

Lu Cheng knew time was tight, so he didn't persist, and took Wu Zhekun to the Welfare Institute first, bringing Ning Ning out.

Afterwards the two went their separate ways; Lu Cheng returned home.

He originally planned to go to that Siheyuan and sleep directly, but now it's daytime, everyone is up, so he just napped here.

When he got home, having just finished breakfast, Chen Xianglan was tidying the dishes.

"Mom, is there any rice left?"

"San'er, why did you come back? I thought you had gone to stay over there; Mom will make it for you again."

Lu Cheng was drowsy: "No need to make it, I'll just eat whatever's left, I'm dead sleepy."

"You can't have leftovers; there's none left at all. Look how clean this plate is, I didn't even have to scrub it."

"You don't know, your sister-in-law's two older sisters are big eaters; look, your dad went out today to borrow grain tickets from a coworker."

Hearing Mom say that, Lu Cheng quickly looked toward the courtyard.

"Mom, lower your voice, don't let Bao Feng and Bao Yun Jie hear; they'd be embarrassed. If they go home and talk about my sister-in-law, what kind of in-laws are they, not even giving us enough food, then my older brother's face will look bad too."

Chen Xianglan laughed: "I know, I know, I'm telling you. They went to the Hu Tong Entrance to use the bathroom; wait, Mom will go make you food first."

Lu Cheng went to Xi Er Fang, still not knowing how the whole family squeezed in to sleep last night.

He opened the door, heat hit his face, and the coal stove inside was burning brightly.

Besides his sister, sister-in-law Yan Baoyue was also there.

"Sister-in-law, was last night's sleep okay?"

Yan Baoyue laid the child on the bed; they were noisy all night, only starting to sleep during the day.

"All good, the house is especially warm; last night I even told your older brother how much coal we need to burn, if it doesn't work we can stop, we're frost-resistant."

Lu Cheng lifted Qing'er nearby and laughed: "It's fine, sister-in-law, we have plenty of coal at home, no need to save. Capital City gets pretty cold at night; don't let my Qing'er freeze, right Qing'er, have you missed Uncle yet?"

Lu Ying was combing her hair in front of the dressing mirror, and added:

"She must be missing you; yesterday I held her while sleeping, and she woke up early wanting to find Uncle."

Lu Cheng pinched Qing'er's little cheek: "Is that so, Qing'er? Today Uncle will take you to eat something tasty; don't tell Grandma, let's go eat roast duck."

Qing'er giggled and nodded his little head.

"By the way Lu Cheng, we're planning to go to Tiananmen later; do you want to go?"

Before Lu Cheng could speak, Yan Baoyue said concernedly: "Don't let Lu Cheng go; he worked a night shift and is quite tired, let him sleep a bit."

"You see, sister-in-law still feels sorry for me. Sister-in-law, you finally came, why not go with us? Xiao Hui fell asleep, later I'll hold him while sleeping, and Mom is at home anyway."

Yan Baoyue thought for a moment: "I won't go, there's also Qing'er; two kids, Mom can't watch both."

Lu Ying stood up, hair tied: "It's fine, sister-in-law, Qing'er will go with me later; perfect, I'll find a little friend for her to play with."

Lu Cheng knew who the little friend his sister mentioned was: "Sis, are you going to see Ning Ning?"

"Yes, I'm planning to bring her back; she's not much older than Qing'er, so the two kids can have a companion."

"Then you shouldn't go; Wu Zhekun has already taken her home."

Lu Ying paused while fixing her hair: "He's back?"

"Yes, we just met at the train station."

"Oh, okay then."

Wu Zhekun took Ning Ning home, and Lu Ying felt relieved; she had previously promised that Ning Ning wouldn't spend the New Year at the Welfare Institute, so wherever she stays, Ning Ning can feel the warmth of a home.

This pitiful child will only be like a rootless wild grass, drifting through the world.

His sister and older brother took Bao Feng and the others out to play; his sister‑in‑law stayed behind, chatting with Mom in the Xi Er Fang room, while Lu Cheng napped in another room.

Because he kept thinking about Ding Yuanmin, his sleep was restless.

It wasn't until around noon that Wu Zhekun arrived in his jeep and stopped at the Hu Tong Entrance.