Chapter 331: They are all sending money

Huang Qishan did not stop me from taking the envelope. He lowered his head, took a sip of wine, turned his head, and said to Zhu Hua Yu, "Hua Yu, let's go back."

Zhu Hua Yu stood up obediently and handed him his handbag. I had no time to ponder why Zhu Hua Yu had changed so quickly; only a short while ago, she had been gnashing her teeth over Huang Qishan's character, yet today she was as submissive as a young bride.

The envelope was very thin; it seemed to contain money.

I asked in surprise, "Deng Hanyu sent money?"

Huang Qishan gave a bitter smile. "He's not the only one." He took several more envelopes from his handbag and laid them out neatly on the table.

"Why so many?" I grew even more suspicious. Logically, there were only three of us in the county as pre-selected candidates; if money were to be sent, it should be the three of us sending it. Aside from me not sending any, only Deng Hanyu and Guo Wei had done so. Could it be that others were sending money too? What was the point of sending money for people who hadn't even made the pre-selection list?

"It's not that I'm lecturing you, Chen Feng, but in this society, information is your future. You didn't know, did you? In this selection, one can recommend others." Huang Qishan gathered the envelopes back into his handbag, patted it, and said, "Take care of yourself."

With that, he took Zhu Hua Yu and strode away.

The room fell silent; for a long time, no one spoke.

I slumped into my chair, feeling dejected. I could understand Deng Hanyu sending money; he was single-mindedly determined to climb the ladder. Besides, for him, this bit of money was worth more than anything if it could buy him the position of Deputy County Magistrate.

What I didn't understand was why Guo Wei would send money. He could be considered a man hand-picked by Secretary Chen, but the fatal point was, where would Guo Wei get so much money to send? Counting all the three-level cadres in the county, there were no fewer than five hundred people. Even if he sent fifty yuan per person, that would add up to over twenty thousand—an astronomical sum for people like us whose monthly salary was less than a hundred yuan.

With Huang Qishan revealing that others were also sending money, could it be that even more people were coveting the position of Deputy County Magistrate?

My head felt like it was about to explode, and a dull ache began to throb.

Xiao Mi, sitting across from me, said nonchalantly, "Brother Chen, don't think about it. If others are sending, we should send too. It's not like we don't have the money."

Her suggestion was met with approval from my Aunt, who immediately rolled up her sleeves and said, "Xiao Feng, you make a list, and we'll handle this."

My Uncle, however, strongly opposed it. He said, "Don't you know? This is vote-buying; it's a crime."

My Uncle came from a military background, so his ideological awareness was naturally different from ordinary people.

"What do you know? Do you think this is your military unit? This is the local government. The local government has its own rules. Besides, if others send money and it's not a crime, why would it be a crime for us?" My Aunt was dissatisfied with my Uncle's interference and immediately called Wu Qian over, asking, "How much cash do we have now?"

Wu Qian coughed and said softly, "Not much cash on hand. If you need it, we can just go to the bank and withdraw it."

My Aunt smiled. "Very well. Since we are going to send it, we must send it with an attitude of absolute victory. Qishan just said it was fifty yuan each, right? Let's just triple it and send one hundred and fifty yuan per person."

I hurriedly waved my hands to refuse, glaring at Xiao Mi. "You've come up with a terrible idea."

Xiao Mi had been smiling, but seeing my dark face, she quickly restrained her smile, turned away, and looked so aggrieved she nearly shed tears.

My Aunt scolded, "Xiao Feng, what is that attitude? Isn't Xiao Mi doing this for your own good?"

Engineer Gu chimed in with a fawning smile, "Yes, yes, Town Mayor Chen, everyone hopes you become the Deputy County Magistrate."

I said sternly, "Even if I want to be, I won't use such low-class tactics. What's the point of buying an official position with money?"

My Aunt countered, "Isn't that how society is now? Do you have to be so unconventional?" I smiled bitterly and said, "Aunt, if you want me to buy an official position with money, I'd rather not be one. Besides, do you really hope that after I become Deputy County Magistrate, people will point at my back and curse me?"

My Uncle immediately took over, saying, "I support Xiao Feng's idea. If we want to be officials, we should show real ability. An official supported by the common people is a good official."

My Aunt stopped speaking and just glared at me.

I gave a faint smile, turned to Xiao Mi, and said, "I'm sorry, Xiao Mi. My words were a bit harsh just now; don't mind it."

Xiao Mi gave a light smile, tilted her head to look at me, and said, "Is that your apology?"

"Of course it is," I said, reaching to pour her a drink.

Xiao Mi beamed and said, "Brother Chen, let me tell you, back in my hometown, you have to spend money just to become a village head."

I asked curiously, "Xiao Mi, where are you from?"

"Me? Actually, I'm just from your neighborhood." Xiao Mi smiled and didn't answer my question.

"Xiao Mi is from Guangdong. She graduated from the Hengyue City Institute of Technology, and I invited her here," my Aunt said with a smile. "Isn't she a good person?"

I said repeatedly, "Good, very good. How could my Aunt's judgment be wrong? Look at Miss Xiao Mi—she's beautiful and highly educated; how could she be wrong?"

My words made Xiao Mi laugh until she was radiant. She held the drink I poured, raised it to me, and said, "Come on, let's have one!"

"Good! Let's have one." I also raised my glass. With a beauty inviting me, why not?

After finishing the drink, everyone stopped talking about sending money and shifted the topic to the highway project.

This had nothing to do with me, so I was happy to drink and eat by myself.

My Aunt sat up straight, listening to Engineer Gu and the others report on their work. I caught a few sentences; it was nothing more than the fact that the heavy snow had blocked the mountains, and all construction had to stop. The workers were being arranged to go home for the New Year, and before the holiday, all wages had to be settled clearly.

Engineer Gu was responsible for the construction side. He brought up an engineering difficulty. It turned out that when they took the project, the geological survey data differed from the actual situation. Following the original construction plan would not only delay the completion time but, more importantly, require a high additional construction cost. In other words, at the current bid amount, not only would this project not make money, but it might also result in a huge loss.

This news shocked my Aunt, and even Wu Qian sobered up quite a bit; both raised their heads and stared at Engineer Gu.

Engineer Gu smiled unnaturally and explained the ins and outs. The reason was that the original geological survey said it was mud, but after stripping away less than a meter of mud, the inside was all stone—hard blue stone that was difficult to blast even with explosives.

For my Aunt, this was undoubtedly fatal bad news. She asked nervously, "Is there no way?"

Engineer Gu shook his head and said it wasn't that there was no way, but it would be labor-intensive and costly. According to the engineering earthwork calculation method, the price of stone work was more than three times that of earthwork.

My Aunt turned to me and said, "Xiao Feng, you are the major shareholder of the company. You tell me, what should we do?"

I looked at my Aunt blankly. Her sudden question left me at a loss.

"I don't understand this," I stammered.

"If you don't understand, someone else does," my Aunt said, staring at me with a half-smile.

"Who understands?" I asked, unable to think of anyone who could correspond to this.

"Actually, it doesn't matter if you understand or not. For this matter, we just have to add the project funds, right? Engineer Gu." My Aunt's faint smile left me baffled.

"Exactly, exactly," Engineer Gu said, always liking to repeat his words.

At this moment, Wu Qian said softly from the side, "If you find your girlfriend's mother, wouldn't that solve it?"

I suddenly realized, and even suspected that my Aunt and the others had a premeditated plan in calling me here.

I started to feel unhappy and flatly refused, saying, "If you want to find her, you go find her; it has nothing to do with me."

"Fine, fine, fine!" my Aunt said with a smile. "Our Xiao Feng won't go. I'll handle this matter myself. Anyway, work is stopped now. After the New Year, I'll think of a way."

Once Huang Qishan left, the seat next to me was empty. Xiao Mi came over with her wine glass, sat next to me, and picked up the bottle to pour me a drink.

I stopped her hand and said, "I'm starting to doubt if you're really from Guangdong. Are Guangdong people that good at drinking white spirits?"

Xiao Mi laughed loudly, "Today, I'll let you see a different kind of Guangdong person."

Da Shan, sitting across from me, wanted to say something but hesitated; he clearly didn't want Xiao Mi to drink with me.

I looked at Da Shan and said, "How about you join us?"

Da Shan smiled sheepishly, waved his hand to refuse, and said he was a driver and couldn't drink.

My Aunt saw that I seemed to be looking for a drunken state, so she stopped Xiao Mi and said, "Everyone stop drinking. Let's end it here for tonight. Tomorrow, everyone follow the original plan and act separately."

I didn't want to meddle in my Aunt's company affairs; her acting separately had nothing to do with me.

"Xiao Feng, a room has been opened for you. Here is paper and a pen; go back later and make a list. Don't think about being lazy; I'll be watching you." My Aunt commanded everyone calmly.

"Didn't we say we weren't doing this?" I felt very unhappy.

"I didn't say we were sending money. I have another use for the list." My Aunt interrupted me without ceremony.

The wine was finished, and everyone returned to their rooms.

I remembered I hadn't reported my safety to Huang Weiwei yet, so I hurriedly took out my phone to call.

Just as the call connected, I heard the door being knocked on loudly. Holding the phone, I shuffled over in my slippers and opened the door to find my Aunt with a serious face and Xiao Mi with a cheeky grin. ===== CHAPTER 332 =====