Chapter 216: Soft and Hard

Qian Youyu arrived as scheduled.

From the people he brought this time, it can be seen that he didn't come to grind his lips this time, but to implement something.

When Yuebai came to the office to call me, I was discussing Chen Meng and He Jiaxiao's love with Huang Weiwei.

Huang Weiwei stayed in the room for guests in the township for the last night. I didn't intend to let her stay alone. Huang Weiwei didn't seem to have any intention of resting alone. We two, one sitting on the bed and one sitting on the chair, looked at each other, the emotion was slightly turbulent, like fire and torch, adding a piece of firewood, could ignite the state of a raging fire.

Liu Hongyan came to my room at an inappropriate time, didn't knock on my door, and turned things over in the next room with a ping-pong sound. Occasionally, I heard her heavy breathing.

After Liu Hongyan went to the police station, this room was still left. Anyway, the township government is not short of such a room, and no one wants her to move away. After all, she was a former Youth League Committee Secretary, and her father was an old secretary. No matter how lacking in heart, she wouldn't be so lacking that she would let the wife of a township police station director move out of the small room that didn't play much role in the first place.

Huang Weiwei had sharp ears and heard the sound next door first, looking at me suspiciously.

Since Liu Hongyan got married, she rarely came here. The door that was locked all year round, the cracks in the door, had been sealed by spiders.

Could there be a thief next door? I opened the door with this idea, and when I went out, I saw Liu Hongyan lying by the bed, stretching her body to dig and touch something under the bed.

I knocked on the door, she turned her head back from under the bed when she heard the sound, sweat shining on the tip of her nose, seeing me, she smiled tenderly and said: "You are at home? I came to find something." 【216-1

"What are you looking for? Didn't Police Station Chief Hao come?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe, not wanting to go inside.

"Come in and sit for a while," she beckoned to me. "Hao Qiang received a call from the county bureau and went to the county for a meeting."

I pointed to my room and said, "I won't sit; there is a guest."

She pulled her body back from under the bed, patted the dust off her clothes, and asked in surprise, "What guest has come? Let me go see."

Without waiting for me to refuse, she walked straight into my room, spotted Huang Weiwei at a glance, walked over affectionately, hugged her shoulders, and said, "I know you, Huang Weiwei, right?"

Huang Weiwei nodded shyly in response, though she had no impression at all of this uninvited guest.

"Oh my, you can't even boil a little water?" Liu Hongyan shook the thermos and exclaimed with a fuss, "Men are all careless. My Hao Qiang is the same ghost of a man; if there's no hot water at home, he'd rather drink cold water than boil any. They are all incredibly lazy."

Huang Weiwei smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm not thirsty either."

"You have to drink water even if you aren't thirsty. They say women are made of water; without water, wouldn't the bones fall apart? How about I go fetch a pot for you?"

I declined her kind offer and invited her to sit down and talk.

Liu Hongyan ignored my invitation, shifted her gaze to the bed, sighed, and said, "If my room were clean, Weiwei could sleep in my bed. It's a pity the dust is too thick; no one has lived there for two years."

She talked to herself, which was a rare occurrence in the years I had known her.

Liu Hongyan stood leaning against the table, looked at us suspiciously, and joked, "You two aren't living together, are you?"

At her question, Huang Weiwei's face turned red in a flash, and she hurriedly waved her hands, saying, "No."

Liu Hongyan chuckled, thought for a moment as if something had occurred to her, and said with a sudden realization, "Aren't there guest rooms?"

After saying this nonsensical thing, she wiggled her hips, walked out of the room, and returned in a blink with a washbasin in her hands, which she handed to Huang Weiwei, saying, "The township is simple, so make do with this. Women need water at night; without a basin, how can it be convenient?"

I was left stunned by her, my mouth hanging open, not knowing what to say.

It was Huang Weiwei who politely took it, saying words of thanks. The two women chatted for a while, and Liu Hongyan said goodbye, saying it was too dark under the bed and she would just come find us during the day tomorrow.

Once Liu Hongyan left, Huang Weiwei insisted on moving to the guest room, and no matter how I coaxed her, she wouldn't change her mind.

Hearing that Qian Youyu had arrived, I stopped our discussion and followed Yue Bai toward her office.

Seeing me, Boss Qian stood up affectionately and hugged my waist to introduce me to the people who had come with him. This gesture of his made me very uncomfortable. Damn it, I am a Town Mayor, and being hugged and talked to by an upstart—where is my self-respect? Where is my dignity?

I calmly pried his hands off and smiled as I shook hands and greeted his companions.

"Little brother, long time no see, you're looking more spirited than ever." He looked me over with a grin and pointed to his companions, saying, "This is Town Mayor Chen, my brother. From now on, our Yuetang Village will have to rely on him for our livelihood."

The people accompanying him all bowed together to pay their respects.

"Little brother, I've come this time to finalize the water plant project. If we can't get it done today, I'll have to consider other options, so don't blame me."

I knew exactly how much Qian Youyu was worth and what he was thinking. Therefore, I didn't want to take his bait and let him explain himself.

"Do you know that Mao Shi Town is looking for me?" he bluffed, his confidence lacking.

"Why don't you go then?" I answered him with a smile, flicking the cigarette butt at my fingertips. "Can Mao Shi Town solve the household registration issue for your Yuetan Village?"

"Not for the time being." He answered quite bluntly, then thought for a moment and added, "Household registration is useless anyway; you can't eat it."

"Old Qian," I warned him earnestly, "Your ancestors were farmers, and you are a farmer too. Do you want your descendants to be farmers forever?"

Qian Youyu looked at me, his eyes unblinking: "I'll just buy a household registration. Simple!"

"You have money, so you can buy one, but there are over a thousand people in Yuetan Village. Are they all going to buy them?"

Questioned by me, he hesitated, touched his head, and muttered, "That's true. Without the land, having the status of a farmer is meaningless."

"Old Qian, I'm thinking about your future. If you change the status of all the men, women, and children in the village, their ID cards won't say 'So-and-so Village, So-and-so Production Team' anymore, but 'So-and-so Town, So-and-so Street.' It looks stylish and sounds comfortable, doesn't it?" I pressed a step further, leaving him no room to breathe.

"I am the only person who can help you now. If you buy household registrations for everyone in the village and spend all your money, what will you live on in the future? Therefore, coming to me is your only choice."

Qian Youyu was swayed by my talk, his eyes drifting. He stole a glance at Yue Bai and cracked his knuckles until they popped.

"Didn't I come?" He put on a different smile, turned to his companions, and barked, "Why aren't you offering a cigarette to Town Mayor Chen yet, you bunch of fools?"

Several cigarettes were offered at once. I took them one by one, holding one between my fingers and tucking one behind each ear. The look was absolutely ridiculous.

"The place where we're building the factory, there won't be any ancient tombs there, will there?" Qian Youyu asked me worriedly.

"Even if you want there to be, there won't be!" I said bluntly. "Do you think every time you dig a hoe into Laoyingzui, you'll find either treasure or cultural relics? Keep dreaming."

Qian Youyu smiled fawningly: "I was just afraid we couldn't afford the delay!"

"Build your factory with peace of mind. What you should worry about isn't what's underground, but the equipment and technical specifications." I gave him a reassurance: "Comrade Yue Bai will fully assist you in your work. She is the plenipotentiary representative of the Town Government!"

Qian Youyu gratefully held my hand, thanking me repeatedly, and said to his companions, "Remember, Comrade Yue Bai is the plenipotentiary representative sent by the Town Government to our factory. From now on, every word she says is an imperial decree! Understood?"

The group shouted in unison: "Understood."

Qian Youyu pointed at them one by one and scolded: "You people, whether you can become city dwellers depends on your own fortune. I'll build the factory for you and push the products to the market; keep your eyes open on how to proceed."

The group nodded busily. Qian Youyu wasn't finished and said, "Why didn't we go to Mao Shi Town, but had to come to Suxi? I tell you, this report was issued by authoritative experts from the province. Suxi's water is currently the best in the country, with the most minerals and the least pollution. Understand?"

"Understand," the group replied in unison again.

Qian Youyu, this big fish, had already been hooked by me. No matter how much ability he had, he couldn't break free.

I thought to myself and smiled knowingly. Yue Bai, who was beside me, tugged at the corner of my clothes and whispered, "Should we hold a ceremony for the signing?"

Qian Youyu spoke up first, saying loudly, "Yes, we must. Such a big event, how can we not hold a ceremony?"