Chapter 399: Making Contact with County Magistrate Gao

Tang Ye sat in the car, currently examining that inkstone.

Cheng Lin said softly, "The craftsmanship is good, but this inkstone looks ordinary. Why not swap it for another?"

Tang Ye smiled, silently wiping the inkstone.

Following that, the inkstone revealed its true appearance.

A Mazi Pit gray-purple Duan inkstone!

At the top of the ink pool, blue-and-white patterns surrounded a "living eye" with red and yellow halos; amidst the cloud-pattern carvings, it looked just like a red sun leaping out of the sea waves, with two cranes gracefully flying past.

The back of the inkstone was carved with "Eastern Dawn Inkstone."

The inscription read "Monk of the Ink Sea."

Cheng Lin's eyes lit up, and she laughed at herself in surprise, "I misjudged it. The inkstone is designed very ingeniously!"

"Sister, among the Four Treasures of the Study, the inkstone is usually the most inconspicuous, but it is also the most expensive. A mid-Qing Dynasty Duan inkstone is worth at least fifty thousand. However, if Director Gao is an expert, he will definitely be able to tell it is exceptionally valuable. I don't know if he would be willing to accept it!"

Cheng Lin's lips curled into a smile, "Accepting gifts and giving gifts requires tailoring the approach to the person. If it were an ordinary person, given Director Gao's temperament, he would likely weigh things three times over even for a cigarette, and might not necessarily accept it. This item is not for Director Gao."

Tang Ye looked at Cheng Lin with some surprise, his fingertips rubbing the edge of the Duan inkstone, and asked with a smile, "Sister, you aren't planning to keep it for yourself, are you?"

"Don't ask so much!" Cheng Lin smiled confidently.

Tang Ye knew her background was unfathomable; rumors from the outside world had never ceased, yet Cheng Lin had always been very low-key.

Topics involving privacy like this were not convenient to pursue deeply.

Tang Ye chased the curious cat in his heart straight away!

……

As night fell, Tang Ye had just returned to the dormitory when he received a call from Zhao Bin.

Zhao Bin asked with a smile: "Is County Magistrate Tang free? We're three short of four. County Magistrate Gao asked me to check with you."

Tang Ye knew that many people in the Suiyuan officialdom were fond of this; since he was a newcomer, he had to get in touch with the local scene, so he followed the address to a hotel.

This hotel looked inconspicuous on the outside, but the interior decoration was very exquisite; in earlier years, it was directly managed by the Grain Bureau, but now it was outsourced to a private boss.

Pushing open the door to the private room, besides Zhao Bin, there sat a short, stout middle-aged man who carried an air of authority—it was Director Kong of the Grain Bureau.

Sitting diagonally beside him was a tall man, his posture revealing deliberate obsequiousness.

As soon as Tang Ye sat down, Zhao Bin leaned into his ear and whispered: "County Magistrate Gao will be here in a moment."

Tang Ye understood in his heart; this game was likely organized specifically by Gao Hong.

In the Suiyuan officialdom, Gao Hong's love for mahjong was an open secret, but very few people could play mahjong with Gao Hong.

When Gao Hong pushed the door and entered, that tall man sprang up as if he had springs installed, almost trotting to greet him.

Tang Ye still remembered that when he entered the door, this person hadn't even lifted his eyelids; this change in attitude, as if he were a different person, made Tang Ye's heart sink slightly.

Taking advantage of the time Gao Hong went to the restroom, the tall man followed him in with a briefcase tucked under his arm.

When he came back out, Tang Ye's sharp eyes noticed that the briefcase seemed a bit flatter. This inevitably led to speculation—that move just now, was it not stuffing something inside?

Sure enough, when Gao Hong came out again, his attitude was clearly different, and he pointed to the tall man to introduce him: "This is President Huang, who has strong financial backing and is planning to come to Suiyuan to invest. This is Tang Ye, the county magistrate who just arrived in our county not long ago, responsible for investment promotion."

The man called President Huang was full of astonishment and hurriedly reached out his hand: "So you are County Magistrate Tang! I have long admired you!"

It wasn't that he was being negligent; Tang Ye's overly youthful appearance made him mistake him for some leader's Secretary.

Now that he knew the other party was a newly appointed Standing Committee Member of the County Party Committee, besides feeling annoyed, he hurriedly tried to make up for his previous rudeness.

Tang Ye only said "the ignorant are not guilty," nodded faintly, and turned to go to the restroom.

Just as he was about to close the door, President Huang followed him in and, without a word, stuffed an envelope into his arms: "County Magistrate Tang, this is for tonight's tea money; please don't look down on it."

Tang Ye was startled, then pushed the envelope back: "I appreciate President Huang's intentions, but I absolutely cannot accept this money."

Huang Bingwen was stunned; he had assumed that giving money was a matter of course, and now he laughed awkwardly: "County Magistrate Tang, I will still need to rely on your care in Suiyuan in the future..."

"President Huang," Tang Ye said with a sincere tone, "If there is legitimate business that needs help, I will naturally do my best. But this money really does not conform to the rules; don't make it difficult for me."

Seeing that he was not just being polite, Huang Bingwen sheepishly took back the envelope, though he changed his tune: "Alright then, County Magistrate Tang, just speak up if you have anything in the future; I guarantee I will be there whenever you call."

After Huang Bingwen left, Tang Ye turned on the "faucet" and let the water run with a splash.

He secretly estimated in his heart: this envelope had to be at least twenty thousand yuan.

One game of mahjong was twenty thousand; ten games would be two hundred thousand!

This money came suspiciously, and he didn't know whose wool was being sheared.

He knew clearly that by refusing the money this time, Gao Hong would likely feel that he was "not on the same page."

But he understood even more that he must never be coerced by this kind of boundary-crossing social etiquette, and even more so, he must not ruin his future for petty gains.

The mahjong game didn't break up until midnight; with a hundred-yuan base bet, Tang Ye deliberately played terribly and lost over four thousand.

That was equivalent to two months of his salary.

If it weren't for the returns from his investments in Qin Ge years ago, this sum of money would have really made his heart ache.

Gao Hong won sixteen thousand, Director Kong lost over five thousand, and Zhao Bin lost over eight thousand, yet everyone had smiles on their faces.

Tang Ye thought about it carefully; the others looked like they had lost money, but in the end, they still had a surplus.

As for himself, he was the sucker.

However, after losing this time, Gao Hong probably wouldn't look for him again.

Tang Ye left.

Zhao Bin said softly to Gao Hong: "Tang Ye didn't take Old Huang's money; he has quite a lot of principles."

Gao Hong frowned: "Only after testing him do you know what kind of person he is. He is very young and also wants to achieve results in the officialdom. Therefore, he won't casually associate with businessmen of unknown origin. It can be seen that his psychological quality is very good. To be able to talk and laugh freely even after losing over four thousand—this kind of composure is very rare."

Tang Ye, who had returned to the dormitory, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Although four thousand-plus yuan was not a huge sum, it made him truly experience the "way of playing" in County Magistrate Gao's circle.

If it weren't for the support of investment income, an ordinary person could never afford to play with them on just a salary.

His act of refusing the money had presumably also cut off the possibility of joining the game next time.

But he knew clearly that there were some bottom lines that could not be crossed from the very first step.

At the same time, he had a brand-new understanding of Gao Hong.

Gao Hong was testing him through the mahjong game, but was he not also testing Gao Hong?

This person, Gao Hong, was not as simple as he had imagined.

Although Nie Kai had targeted him time and again, Gao Hong seemed to have been showing him goodwill all along.

Analyze calmly!

Those who bare their fangs at you are definitely not friends!

However, those who show you goodwill are not necessarily all friends either.

……

Friday.

Tang Ye drove Cheng Lin toward the Provincial Party Committee Compound.

Seeing that Tang Ye had an out-of-town license plate, the guard stopped them outside.

Cheng Lin then made a phone call, spoke a few words in a low voice to the person on the other end, and handed the phone to the guard.

After receiving the call, the guard's expression changed; he saluted Cheng Lin and then let them pass.

The car parked in a space at the entrance of Building No. 9, where a man who looked like a Secretary was waiting.

"Hello, I am Director Gao's Secretary, Xiao Zhang. Director Gao is waiting for you. Please follow me."

Cheng Lin walked side by side with Xiao Zhang, "Is Uncle Gao's schedule tight today?"

Xiao Zhang smiled and said, "Director Gao was originally going to Yanjing for a meeting today, but he changed his schedule for you."

From this one sentence, one could see the weight Cheng Lin held in Director Gao's heart.

Tang Ye was secretly delighted!

Director Gao had extremely strong decision-making power regarding the Hanxing Group project!

In this way, the success rate of obtaining this project would also increase significantly!