Chapter 187: Ambiguity Under the Dinner Table

Life is like a hall of mirrors, reflecting people until they are unrecognizable. Officialdom is like a file, filing people until they are smooth and slick. Many times, what you get isn't what you want, and many times, what you don't want quietly seeps into your life, making you unable to stop.

Thoughts are like chicken ribs: tasteless to eat, a pity to discard.

Carrying the materials Guan Peishan gave me, after getting off the bus in Hengyue City, I didn't know where to go.

Guan Peishan's thoughts could be understood even by a fool. Throwing me out to face Cousin-in-law He Zhi directly was to tell him that not everything Secretary He could do without scruples! From the moment Secretary He personally came forward to bury my father in the Chunshan County Martyrs Cemetery, Guan Peishan clearly knew that I, Chen Feng, was not simply a nephew in Secretary He's heart.

Grasping me was grasping Secretary He's throat. Once a person enters officialdom, their ass can never be wiped clean! Guan Peishan is well-versed in the rules of officialdom. I work under him, and my whole fate is under his control. Even if I were truly innocent, it would be easier for him to splash a basin of dirty water on me than to crush an ant.

A basin of dirty water can completely overturn a person's fate! As long as I get half a drop of dirty water on me, my official career will never see the light of day.

Standing for a while, I sorted out my thoughts and decided to go home to see my mother first.

After my father left, my mother was left alone to live a bitter life. Mother was born into a wealthy family, knew books and etiquette since childhood, learned good needlework in her youth, and was clever with her hands; embroidering a pair of mandarin ducks seemed to make them fly.

Mother marrying Father was also a coincidence of fate. By rights, Mother, who was literate and influenced by stories of talented scholars and beautiful women since childhood, must have had an ideal husband who was learned and talented. And my father, who never entered a school gate since childhood, only learned to recognize some characters by following the army, and could only read newspapers simply, without seeking deep understanding.

Moreover, my father came from the north and was only used to steamed buns and flour food; rice not only didn't fill him up, but eating too much made him bloated. My mother started learning to make steamed buns at twenty-four, and now, she could make steamed buns in all kinds of shapes, and they were plump and soft.

After my father and mother married, looking around, they found that the people around them were few and far between after more than ten years of war. Thus, a feeling of sharing the same fate grew from the bottom of their hearts, and they could never be separated again.

Father left, and Mother seemed to have her backbone pulled out, sighing all day long, never seeing a smile again. I once fantasized about taking Mother to Suxi Township, but Mother firmly refused. I understood Mother's meaning: every corner of our house retained Father's breath, and Mother was afraid that if she left and came back, she wouldn't be able to smell Father's breath, and she would be like a table that had fallen apart, never able to stand up again.

Accompanying Mother for an afternoon, in the evening, I called Huang Weiwei to tell her I had returned.

Not long after putting down the phone, I heard the sound of a car horn outside. I smiled apologetically at Mother, saying Huang Weiwei had come to the house.

Mother was unmoved, saying lightly, "Invite the girl in to sit for a while."

Mother was very surprised when Huang Weiwei held my father's spirit tablet and asked me. In these years, besides Xue Bing, I had brought Xi Meizhu and Pan Xiaoqin home. Even when my father was dying, Aunt had sent Jin Ling and Zhao Yu'er to my father's bedside. Women turned around in front of Mother like a revolving lantern, and Mother was already used to it.

"Don't invite her in?" I probed, Mother's mental state wasn't good, and my heart was like a overturned five-flavor bottle, mixed with five flavors.

"She held your father's spirit tablet, she's already a member of the Old Chen family. Returning to her own home, do we still need to be polite?" Mother's tone was light, but it contained more blame.

Huang Weiwei hadn't come to the house again after sending my father up the mountain, and Mother had resentment in her heart.

I smiled awkwardly, not daring to speak.

Mother saw I was sad and waved her hand, "Feng'er, you've grown up now, you're an official. In doing things, the first thing is to have a conscience. Your father and I, our whole lives, relied on conscience to do things. A person with a conscience can live comfortably. Our family isn't an official family; if we can't climb high, don't think of ways to find discomfort."

I understood Mother's meaning, and said with a bitter face, "Mother, I know."

Leaving the house, I saw Huang Weiwei sitting in the car, looking at me with a smile.

Pulling open the car door, I sat in the passenger seat and asked, "Where to?"

"Home." She started the car.

"My mother is still at home." I said, looking at her expression sideways.

Huang Weiwei suddenly seemed to understand something, her face red and white, and she hurriedly braked, "I have to go see your mother."

"Forget it." I said, "It's the same next time."

She hesitated, looking at me, "You won't be angry, right?"

I smiled, "Why would I be angry? Nothing."

She looked at me seriously, "Really nothing? Don't lie to me."

I nodded affirmatively, "Really nothing."

She said "Hmm," and said with infinite sadness, "I've thought about it; in the future, we'll live with your mother, we must be filial and let her spend her old age happily." She smiled, "While we're still free, I want to be happy; later, having children, supporting parents, there will be plenty to do." A flush of red flew onto her face, charming and cute.

I was deeply moved, reached out to hold her hand on the gear lever, squeezed it, and said, "I understand."

She smiled shyly and started the car again, "We'll eat at home tonight."

When the car arrived downstairs at her house, I saw Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi wearing an apron, busy in the kitchen with the nanny. Seeing me, she smiled kindly, "You're here."

I called out "Bureau Chief Chen" affectionately, and when she heard it, she deliberately straightened her face and said, "How are you calling me?"

I had to change my address, "Hello, Aunt."

She was full of spring breeze, shouting upstairs, "Old Huang, Weiwei and the others are back."

A sound of opening the door, Minister Huang Shan came downstairs wearing a casual robe, holding a copy of *Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance* in his hand.

I hurriedly greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Minister Huang."

Minister Huang looked me over, waved his hand with a smile, and said, "Sit."

A house full of warmth was a feeling I had long missed, and my eyes almost moistened.

"Little Chen, I heard you had some trouble this time." Minister Huang put the book on his knees, not looking at me.

I leaned forward and replied, "Nothing much. Secretary Guan looked for me yesterday and reached a conclusion; it was a mistake. It has nothing to do with me."

"Old Guan, he likes to make a mountain out of a molehill. For young cadres, we should take an attitude of education first; taking measures at every turn, how can it be conducive to the growth of young cadres?"

"Secretary Guan is doing it for our young cadres' own good." I said insincerely.

"This cadre management, you must not pull up seedlings to help them grow, you can't beat them to death with one stick. People's growth needs a process. You can't guarantee people won't make mistakes; people who don't make mistakes are saints. In five thousand years of China, even saints have times when they make mistakes."

I nodded and bowed, not daring to answer.

"When you are a cadre, you must be good at learning from experience and lessons, and be good at summarizing. Old Guan, he adheres to principles, knows how to do things, and is rational. However, he has a little bit of petty thoughts." He laughed loudly, patted his thigh, and blamed himself, "Look at me, why am I saying these things in front of you? It shouldn't be."

Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi came over with a tray, smiling, "Old Huang, this is at home, we are all family."

I nodded hurriedly to show agreement.

Minister Huang pointed to *Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance* and asked me, "Have you read it?"

I nodded, saying modestly, "I swallowed it whole when I was studying, not seeking deep understanding."

"Reading must be read into the inside; the attitude of not seeking deep understanding is wrong. Of course, for young people, reading such books is boring. However, if you understand this book, you will understand the prescription for governing the world."

"'When the King heard of his virtue, he was already dead.' Do you understand this sentence?" He asked me.

I said modestly, "I don't understand it very well; it seems to be saying that King Qin Yingzheng heard that Han Fei was a virtuous and talented person, so he wanted to meet him. But Li Si was jealous of Han Fei, so Yingzheng handed Han Fei to the judicial officials for punishment. Li Si sent someone to give poison to Han Fei, letting him commit suicide early. Han Fei tried to personally state his grievances to King Qin Yingzheng, but couldn't see the King. Soon after, King Qin Yingzheng regretted it a bit and sent someone to pardon Han Fei, but Han Fei was already dead."

Minister Huang nodded approvingly, "Hmm, explained very clearly. It seems you are a person who has read a few books. This way of doing things, you can't learn from the King of Qin, lest you regret it later. Don't you think? Weiwei."

Huang Weiwei sat close to her father, and hearing the question, she said coquettishly, "I don't want to know these pedantic things, it makes me dizzy."

Minister Huang laughed loudly, pointing his finger at his daughter's forehead, "You, besides having a little bit of vision, only have playing left."

Huang Weiwei looked at me, satisfaction written all over her face, "Dad, I'm your daughter. A tiger father has no dog daughter; you've selected cadres for a lifetime, your vision hasn't been wrong, I'm your daughter, how bad can my vision be?"

Minister Huang laughed self-confidently, saying, "I'm not a saint."

After chatting for a while, Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi shouted that dinner was ready, and they all went to the dining room.

Minister Huang let his wife take out a bottle of good wine he had treasured, saying that today he saw that I was a person worth his drink. After three cups of wine, Minister Huang said unhurriedly, "Little Chen, you came back this time, what are you doing?"

I told him about Guan Peishan wanting me to come back to report to Secretary He. Minister Huang pondered for a moment and nodded, "Old Guan, he is very meticulous. He wants to tell Secretary He that as long as he is in Chunshan County, you, Chen Feng, can be guaranteed smooth sailing."

Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi interrupted her husband, "At the dinner table at home, why talk about work."

Minister Huang seemed to be in a good mood, laughing, "Good, good, good, as soon as Old Chen opens her mouth, I know. Don't talk about it, don't talk about it, drink and eat."

My foot was stepped on under the table; I knew it was Huang Weiwei, and looking over, she was looking at me with a smile. Before I could recover, I felt a pair of small feet covering the top of my feet, slowly rubbing, seemingly wanting to rub out sparks.

I stole a glance at Minister Huang and the others; they didn't seem to feel anything at all. Suddenly, lust arose, and my hand slowly slipped down, touching her thigh.

Huang Weiwei's face turned red, and she withdrew her feet. She got up and said, "I'm full, you guys take your time."

Watching her walk upstairs gracefully, I immediately had the urge to follow her. ===== CHAPTER 188 =====