Chapter 426: Wolf Smoke Everywhere

The Xinlinyin Restaurant was as crowded with guests as ever. After all, it was the only five-star hotel in Hengyue City, and those who came and went were all either wealthy or noble.

Even the nouveau riche Qian Youyu was not a regular at Xinlinyin. This could be seen from the way he entered the door with timid, hesitant steps.

Aside from Qian Youyu, everyone in this group was a country bumpkin from Suxi. Of course, Huang Weiwei and I were the exceptions.

Once they entered the resplendent lobby, they hardly dared to move their feet. Everyone's eyes darted around everywhere. The spotless marble floor could almost reflect a person's shadow.

Consequently, everyone looked down at their own shoes, and only when they saw that their shoe surfaces were also spotless would they let out a soft sigh of relief. If there were stains on their shoes, they wished they could hide their feet away. They walked with a guarded, bashful air, not daring to take large strides.

The Chinese restaurant at Xinlinyin was teeming with people. This place used to be Xuelai's base of operations.

As soon as Xinlinyin opened, she worked as the manager of the Chinese restaurant. Now that several batches of people had come and gone, and Xuelai had left just the same, I hardly recognized a single person in the current Xinlinyin.

The hostess at the entrance saw us come in and greeted us with a beaming smile, inviting us to take our seats.

The young girls who work as hostesses all have an eye for people. They can tell who is a big spender; after all, they have seen a lot.

Qian Youyu's nouveau riche image naturally led the hostess to treat him as a guest of honor.

We requested a private room, where the furnishings were even more luxurious than in the lobby. Even the cushions placed on the sofa had such a fluffy and soft appearance that one couldn't bear to press a backside onto them.

The hostess had just left when a waiter immediately entered. They bowed their waist to pour tea for us.

After taking a sip of tea, Qian Youyu loudly called for the waiter to order dishes. He opened his mouth and asked what the signature dishes of Xinlinyin were.

The waiter smiled sweetly, went out, and called in a girl who looked like a shift leader. As soon as she entered, she bloomed with a smile, revealing a set of clean, even teeth.

It turned out that in the old Xinlinyin, this was the job Xuelai did.

The shift leader came into the room to take the order, which indicated that the guests were relatively important. We were not important guests; what was important was the wealthy air Qian Youyu was projecting.

Sure enough, the shift leader walked straight to Qian Youyu's side, bent her waist, and asked with a smile: "Boss, what would you like to eat?"

Qian Youyu looked at the shift leader in astonishment and asked with a half-smile: "How did you know I was the boss?"

The shift leader smiled without answering, swept her eyes over us, and parted her red lips to say: "You are all bosses. However, you are the big boss."

Qian Youyu looked at us thoughtfully, then looked at himself, completely unable to fathom it.

The Chairman of the Town People's Congress said at the right moment: "This young girl has a sharp eye. You're right, this boss is indeed a big boss."

Qian Youyu still wanted to get to the bottom of it, so Huang Weiwei smiled and said: "Boss Qian, look for yourself; in this room full of people, who else is wearing a ring as big as yours?"

Everyone looked toward Qian Youyu's hand, and sure enough, on his left middle finger, there was a massive gold ring. Under the glow of the lights, the ring seemed to shine brilliantly.

Qian Youyu laughed in spite of himself, took off the ring, and said: "This isn't real; it's a fake I bought on the street."

The Chairman of the People's Congress took it to examine it seriously and said: "Regardless of whether it's real or fake, since Boss Qian says it's fake, just sell it to me for ten yuan."

As he said this, he went to put it on his finger. Qian Youyu was caught between laughter and tears, and since he couldn't very well reach out to snatch it back, he could only watch helplessly as the Chairman of the People's Congress put on the ring and examined it closely under the light.

After looking for a while, he didn't take it off. He left the waiting Qian Youyu aside and chuckled to himself.

Qian Youyu's ability to trim his sails to the wind was unmatched by others. Seeing that the Chairman of the People's Congress was fond of it, he simply said bluntly: "If you like it, I'll just give it to you."

The Chairman of the People's Congress laughed heartily, took off the ring, and tossed it to Qian Youyu, saying: "A gentleman does not take what others love. Look at how stingy you are, as if you're afraid I'd swallow it whole."

Everyone burst into laughter. Amidst the laughter, Qian Youyu carefully put the ring back on, stroked it meticulously, and said: "Order the food!"

The shift leader handed him a beautifully bound menu and held a pen, waiting for Qian Youyu to speak.

Qian Youyu didn't even look at it before handing the menu to me, his face crinkled into a smile as he said: "Leader, you order."

I didn't take the menu and said indifferently: "Just order anything."

The shift leader smiled, showing her teeth, and said: "Leader, we have everything here, except for a dish called 'anything'. Why don't you take a look at the menu first, and I'll come back in a moment?"

Qian Youyu said: "Why is it so troublesome? A leader's time is precious. How about this, you list all the signature dishes of your shop for us to hear."

The shift leader smiled: "The dishes in our shop are all signature dishes."

She then proceeded to rattle off a long list of dishes as if she were counting her family treasures, leaving us completely bewildered.

Seeing that such a small matter as ordering food could make everyone struggle, Huang Weiwei became annoyed. She reeled off a few dish names and said that since Boss Qian was paying for the meal tonight, we should make him feel the pinch.

Qian Youyu waved his hand generously and said: "It's fine. As long as everyone is happy, you can eat whatever you want."

Huang Weiwei asked with a half-smile: "Won't it hurt?"

"How could it?" Qian Youyu said, bulging his eyes: "I couldn't even invite the leader if I wanted to. Such a good opportunity, I, Old Qian, must cherish it."

Huang Weiwei ignored Qian Youyu's blustering show of bravado and whispered in my ear: "I heard there's a new signature dish here called raw monkey brains. Do you dare to eat it?"

I looked at her in astonishment, startled by her words.

Huang Weiwei smiled and said: "Scared? It's not like I'm asking you to actually eat it."

I understood her meaning even less and stood there with my mouth agape, unable to speak.

Huang Weiwei said to the shift leader: "Just go ahead and make the dishes I just ordered."

The shift leader asked: "What would you like to drink?"

"Moutai, of course." Qian Youyu was full of bravado and told us like an expert: "Moutai doesn't go to your head; no matter how much you drink, it doesn't hurt your body."

Once the shift leader left, the topic returned to the matter of the Qilin Villa.

The Chairman of the People's Congress had been singing the praises of the Qilin Villa's service, saying that in Hengyue City, one would be hard-pressed to find another place whose service could compare to it.

Aside from me, who had actually been there, the others had never truly experienced it; it was all hearsay.

"However, those are things for rich people to enjoy. People like us on fixed salaries don't have the qualifications to enjoy them." The Chairman of the People's Congress clearly didn't know that something had happened to the Qilin Villa. It seemed the news of the Qilin Villa being investigated hadn't spread in society yet.

I couldn't help but admire the Public Security Bureau for doing such a good job with their confidentiality.

The Deputy Town Mayor smiled and said: "Chairman, why don't we hold the celebration party at the Qilin Villa when Suxi officially moves? Shall we play at being rich people for once?"

Liu Yuebai looked displeased, tapped the coffee table, and said: "Everyone, let's talk about serious business. Don't spend all your time thinking about enjoyment."

Yuebai's words made everyone shut up. After all, she was the head of Suxi, second only to me. A single word from her could perhaps form a document. Therefore, many stories of impulsive decision-making came from this.

Among the cadres present, in terms of seniority, everyone was higher than Yuebai. Yuebai was a cadre who had joined halfway, but because she had ridden my rocket, she had soared ninety thousand miles up.

In officialdom, being one rank higher can crush a person! This is organizational discipline, and it is also an unspoken rule; no one can change it.

Without talking about the Qilin Villa, everyone felt they had nothing to say, and they all closed their eyes in silence. The air in the room felt somewhat stifling.

Qian Youyu was a person who couldn't stand loneliness. With everyone silent, it was as if a powder keg were buried in the room; everyone felt uneasy, yet no one could find a topic.

After a moment of silence, Qian Youyu seemed to suddenly recall something, and slapping his head, he called out: "Isn't the Suxi Youth League Committee Secretary, Xue, the manager here?"

This sentence that Qian Youyu blurted out was like a stone thrown into a calm pool, immediately causing a stir. Everyone looked at one another, not knowing how to continue the conversation.

It was Qian Youyu again, speaking as if he knew everything: "She must have someone backing her; otherwise, how could a hotel manager ever attain the position of a town's Youth League Committee Secretary?"

The Chairman of the People's Congress said skeptically: "That's true. This Secretary Xue didn't seem to go through the organizational procedures when she came to Suxi Town. Someone parachuted in—it's hard to understand."

Qian Youyu said with great interest: "To be a cadre nowadays, you still need to have someone in the imperial court. 'Without someone in the court, don't be an official'—the old saying is absolutely right."

I felt a wave of displeasure in my heart. Xuelai's appointment as the Youth League Committee Secretary in Suxi Town was my proposal at the County Party Committee Standing Committee meeting, promoted as a special talent in an exceptional case.

At the time, Liu Qimeng had even disagreed somewhat, thinking that this person I was strongly recommending had some unspeakable connection to me. I originally didn't want to say, but being forced into a corner, I had to bring up the connection to my cousin-in-law, He Zhi.

"County Magistrate Chen, you are the Secretary of Suxi, you should know." Qian Youyu no longer called me "little brother" now, calling me "Leader" with every breath.

My face darkened, and I said in a hoarse voice: "As an outsider, how are you more enthusiastic about organizational cadre matters than everyone else?"

Everyone could hear the subtext in my words, but Qian Youyu just happened not to, and he continued to dig for the truth, asking me: "Leader, tell me, if I spend some money to get a cadre position in Suxi Town, would that be possible?"

I was furious inside, but I couldn't show it, so I could only sneer and say: "Old Qian, a cadre position isn't something you can just buy with money; it requires multifaceted abilities. You're a construction contractor—even if you were made a cadre, tell me, what could you do?"

Qian Youyu, his heart set on it, laughed and said: "Leader, look at me, I'm responsible for the food, drink, and daily needs of hundreds of people in Yutang Village. I've been a village cadre in Yutang Village for nearly thirty years; at the end of the day, I'm a cadre of some size. I don't believe I couldn't be a good cadre."

I laughed out of extreme anger, picked up my teacup, took a fierce gulp, and said: "Old Qian, it's not that I don't consider you, a village official, a cadre, but the way you are now, if you want to advance, I'm afraid you'll have to go back to the furnace and be remade."

The others burst into loud laughter; they had all caught the mockery in my words. This time, Qian Youyu also understood the meaning and immediately said unhappily: "Actually, I was just saying it. If I really had to be a cadre, I wouldn't even want to be one. I think you people are eating your own food but worrying about everyone else's business. It's meaningless."

Yue Bai seemed very repulsed by Qian Youyu's words and frowned impatiently. Hearing him say this, she finally said loudly: "Old Qian, would you die if you didn't talk?"

Qian Youyu was startled upon hearing this and laughed sheepishly: "I was just joking."

"Is this something to joke about?"

"If I can't joke about it, then I won't. Let's eat and drink, shall we?" Qian Youyu stood up, walked to the door, and shouted loudly at the waiter who was standing by the door with arms crossed: "Why haven't the dishes been served yet?"

The waiter was full of apologies and said, bowing: "I'll go check for you."

Qian Youyu grabbed the waiter's arm and barked: "Trying to slip away?"

The waiter was startled by the sudden grabbing of their arm and said with a mournful face: "I'm going to go urge them for you."

Qian Youyu was covering up for himself; we all knew it, and we let him pick a fight with the waiter.

Finally, Yue Bai couldn't stand it anymore and said to Qian Youyu: "Old Qian, you're a grown man, why are you making things difficult for a young girl? Can you have some class?"

Qian Youyu's face turned purple-red. He let go of the waiter's arm, returned to the room, took out a deck of cards, and said: "Let's just play a few rounds."

The Chairman of the People's Congress had loved this hobby his whole life and immediately agreed. None of the others responded. After the two of them called out for a while and saw no one echoing them, they had to give up.

Just then, my phone rang; it was Zhu Hua Yu calling to say she had already met up with Yu Wei and was asking when I would return to Chunshan.

I said into the receiver: "I can't be sure for now. If you haven't eaten yet, come to Xinlinyin."

Zhu Hua Yu hesitated for a moment and said: "Boss, are you hosting others, or are others hosting you?"

I smiled and said: "It's neither me hosting others nor others hosting me. They are all cadres from Suxi Town; it would be good for you to come over and get to know them."

After hanging up on Zhu Hua Yu, I turned to Huang Weiwei and said: "My driver and the others are coming."

Huang Weiwei hesitated for a moment and said: "Tell them to sit outside."

I was a bit unhappy, so I stood up, walked outside, and called Yu Wei.

Yu Wei said on the phone: "Boss, I have new information regarding the Qilin Villa."

I said: "Come over first, we'll talk later."