Chapter 396: Exquisite in all directions

Qian Youyu had long been waiting for our arrival. Now, he had changed into a pair of leather shoes and taken off his tie. His hair was covered with a layer of mousse, standing straight up like a hedgehog, looking very flamboyant. He had his clothes open, revealing the shirt inside, which was a bit wrinkled.

Seeing us approach, his face was full of smiles, and like a big leader, he shook hands with us one by one.

When he reached Deng Hanyu, he hesitated for a moment, a trace of awkwardness appeared on his face, but it vanished immediately.

"Boss Deng, you've come too," he greeted Deng Hanyu, his eyes not daring to look at him.

"Your mother's, I can't come?" Deng Hanyu shouted, "Old Qian, you son of a bitch, you've changed your bird gun for a cannon, found a good boss, and forgotten about me."

Qian Youyu laughed shamelessly, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Even if I, Old Qian, had great ability, could I fly out of Chunshan County? In Chunshan, aren't I always your subject?"

"You have great ability. Don't talk about just one Chunshan, even Hengyue City, in your eyes, Old Qian, what does it count for?" Deng Hanyu pressed step by step, teasing Qian Youyu with sarcastic words and a contemptuous expression.

Deng Hanyu had a bone-deep hatred for Qian Youyu. If Qian Youyu hadn't invested his money in my Suxi back then, his Chengguan Town would have undergone a earth-shaking change. With Deng Hanyu's ability and connections, creating a new city surpassing Suxi would have been easy.

Chengguan Town had the conditions of favorable timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony; my Suxi could not be mentioned in the same breath as him.

Qian Youyu investing in my Suxi, of course, had an inseparable relationship with me. I summarized it: the feelings between people cannot be explained in a single sentence. If you want people to follow you, first you must lower your status and let others feel that you are their brother.

I achieved this point, but Deng Hanyu couldn't. He always saw himself as a high-and-mighty leader, and in his eyes, Qian Youyu was just a farmer.

Deng Hanyu's teasing was ignored by Qian Youyu, who enthusiastically invited us inside to sit.

The place we arrived at was the new restaurant Qian Youyu invested in, five stories high. The first floor was a hotel, the second floor a teahouse, and everything above the third floor was guest rooms.

The building had already been completed and was undergoing exterior wall decoration.

The hall we went to was the lobby of Qian Youyu's future hotel.

The restaurant's kitchen had been renovated first, with complete facilities. One look and you could tell it was the result of guidance from an expert.

Several women wearing uniform attire saw us enter and all bowed together, saying, "Welcome." It instantly gave us a sense of being in a big-city hotel.

Just after sitting down, Yue Bai entered, followed by someone. With a face full of bristly whiskers, his footsteps rolled over like a rumble of thunder, straight and blunt.

I looked closely and was so shocked I almost jumped up.

The person who arrived was Liu Quan, my old Party Secretary from back then. He was also my benefactor who recognized my talent!

After not seeing him for a few years, he had aged a lot. Among his bristly whiskers, one could vaguely see a patch of white.

"Party Secretary Liu!" I stood up, calling him with an almost choked voice.

Liu Quan smiled faintly, cupped his hands in a salute to the surroundings, and said, "Sorry, I'm late."

I held his hand and looked him over. The vicissitudes of time had stripped away his strength; his face was withered, and his spirit was listless. Only his footsteps were as strong and powerful as they were back then.

Yue Bai supported Liu Quan's arm and invited him to sit.

Liu Quan looked at everyone at the table, narrowed his eyes, and smiled, "Team Leader Deng is here too, a noble person indeed."

Deng Hanyu and they were familiar; as colleagues for many years, how could they be strangers?

In the past, Chengguan Town and Suxi Township were always two extreme examples. Any good thing in Chengguan Town always took the lead, while Suxi Township had been at the bottom for many years.

Every time there was a meeting, when the county gave examples, they always talked about the two of them. The good example was undoubtedly Chengguan Town, and the poor performance was definitely Suxi Township, the eternal last place.

Even when sitting at a meeting or dinner, Chengguan Town was the leader, and Suxi Township could only humbly take the last seat.

Now, both of them had left their past positions. One was a Deputy Bureau Chief in the Agriculture Bureau without any real power, and the other was considered promoted to Deputy Team Leader of the Municipal Economic Leading Group.

Grassroots government, although not high in rank, all had real power. After going up, they looked glorious on the surface, but they didn't have a feather's worth of power in their hands; to do anything, they had to look at others' faces.

The two of them could be considered brothers who had shared hardships.

Liu Quan's pleasantries made Deng Hanyu somewhat unhappy. He immediately said, "Old Liu, aren't you in the Agriculture Bureau? Why did you run back to Suxi?"

Liu Quan laughed, "This place, Suxi, I've spent my whole life here, I have feelings for it. Besides, my home is in Suxi, am I not allowed to go home?"

Deng Hanyu followed with a laugh, "Home to visit relatives?"

"Not visiting anymore. I'm a city person now too. The whole family moved to the county. Who else is there to visit?" Liu Quan pulled out a chair and sat down, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a big gulp.

"Congratulations," Deng Hanyu also cupped his hands.

"Congratulations to you too," Liu Quan said faintly, then turned to ask me, "County Magistrate Chen, I heard from Little Liu that you have a big matter to handle this time you're back?"

I shook my head and said, "What big matter could there be? Don't listen to her nonsense. If there were a big matter, wouldn't I report it to you, elder?"

Liu Quan said, "What is County Magistrate Chen saying? You are the County Magistrate, why would you need to report to us?"

"You are my old leader."

"That's a thing of the past."

"As long as you were once, you will be forever," I said, raising my eyes to look at Yue Bai. Liu Quan's sudden appearance must have a reason.

Sure enough, before I could move my gaze away, Yue Bai immediately said, "County Magistrate Chen, I have a matter I want to request of you."

I said softly, "Let's hear it."

"I want to invite Party Secretary Liu back to Suxi."

I was startled, but my expression didn't change. I had now learned the ability to remain calm in the face of surprise.

Yue Bai suddenly wanted to invite Liu Quan back to Suxi—what was the purpose? Liu Quan was currently the Deputy Bureau Chief of the Agriculture Bureau; he hadn't retired yet. His returning to Suxi wasn't a question of whether to invite him or not, but a matter of cadre transfer.

The key was, what position would Liu Quan hold upon returning to Suxi?

He was the former Party Secretary of Suxi Township; now Suxi has been upgraded to a town, the Town Party Secretary is me, and the Town Mayor is you, Yue Bai. If Liu Quan comes back, what seat will he take?

Yue Bai saw me pondering without speaking and smiled, "Let's eat first. After eating, I will report to you privately."

"Good!" I said, calling Qian Youyu, "Old Qian, bring your wine."

Qian Youyu happily brought over a jar of old wine, opened the lid, and a rich fragrance instantly filled the entire hall.

"This wine has been buried underground for almost ten years. It has over thirty kinds of medicinal herbs soaking in it," Qian Youyu seemed to feel a pang of heartache, smacking his lips.

"Old Qian, you're reluctant, aren't you? If you're reluctant, why bring it out? What do you mean?" Deng Hanyu teased, "You old guy, you soaked so many herbs, can it even be drunk?"

"I guarantee it won't kill you," Yue Bai said, "Team Leader Deng, if you're afraid of death, don't drink it."

Deng Hanyu laughed loudly, "If the beautiful Town Mayor Liu doesn't want me to drink, I insist on drinking. If I die, it's Town Mayor Liu who killed me, you all have to stand up for me."

Everyone laughed and joked. Due to his physical condition, Hao Qiang couldn't drink. Except for him, everyone had a bowl of wine poured in front of them.

The wine was pale yellow, with a rich fragrance. A few bowls of wine were like a few bowls of sweet dew, hooking the deep-seated wine worms to crawl out from the throat.

Dishes were served one after another, all with excellent color, aroma, and taste.

Every time a dish was served, Qian Youyu would definitely introduce it. The dishes were not ordinary; not a single one was something seen commonly. After a few dishes, a large clay pot was brought up, and the misty fragrance drifted out from the cracks; before the lid was even opened, it already made people's mouths water.

"Everyone, this dish, men can eat, but women should eat less." Qian Youyu stood up again, and as soon as he spoke, he suddenly remembered that the whole table only had Yue Bai and Xuelai, and the others were all men, so he quickly stopped.

Deng Hanyu, however, wouldn't let it go and asked, "Old Qian, tell me, why can men eat it, but women should eat less? Is it boiled with Viagra?"

Qian Youyu's face turned red, and he smiled awkwardly, not daring to speak.

It was Yue Bai who took over and said, "I'll tell you, Team Leader Deng. This dish contains a few Chinese medicinal herbs that you men need. The main ingredient is still our Suxi specialty, called bamboo rat."

"Isn't that just a rat? Why can't women eat it?" Deng Hanyu said disdainfully, "Eating a rat, and you make it so mysterious, trying to scare people."

"Our rat is not a simple rat," Yue Bai said, "The scientific name is bamboo rat. Actually, it's not a real bamboo rat either. It's still different from the bamboo rats in other places."

"Where is it different?" Deng Hanyu was still pursuing the question.

"Where exactly it's different, after you finish eating, go ask Old Qian," Yue Bai said, blushing, and hurriedly picked up the wine to cover it up, saying, "Come, I'll toast all the leaders."

After drinking a round of wine, I felt a slight sense of intoxication rising to my head.

After drinking a few big bowls of bamboo rat soup, Deng Hanyu rubbed his stomach and refused to use his chopsticks again, shouting, "I'm bloated to death."

Everyone looked at his disheveled appearance and laughed together.

Deng Hanyu shouted at his driver, "Are you full? If you're full, we'll withdraw first."

After saying that, he didn't care about anything, swayed as he stood up, and wanted to leave.

The meal was almost finished, so I also stood up, feeling a bit dizzy, and before I had taken a few steps, I almost collapsed.

Xuelai came over to support me, looking back at Yue Bai with melancholy, calling, "Town Mayor Liu, Town Mayor Liu."

Yue Bai came over, looked at me, and said, "Maybe it's because you drank on an empty stomach, let County Magistrate Chen rest for a while."

"Where to?"

Yue Bai seemed to consider for a long time before saying, "How about this, Secretary Xiao Xue, I'll trouble you to help County Magistrate Chen to his office, and I'll go arrange for someone to send over some bedding." ===== CHAPTER 397 =====