Chapter 463

The club boss was waiting at the club; seeing us enter, he smiled, stood up, and shook hands with us one by one.

The club was built on the roof of a five-story building, accessible directly by elevator. Through the lights, one could vaguely see the swaying shadows of trees and smell the fragrance of flowers.

Outside the glass door, there were rockeries and winding paths. One could hear the sound of tinkling spring water, and see a stream of water, like white silk, pouring down from the top of the rockery. It fell into a huge blue-and-white porcelain-like basin.

The water fell continuously, but the water level in the basin didn't rise. I looked sideways and saw a thin tube at the bottom of the basin, sucking the falling water back up to the top of the rockery. Repeating this cycle, the sound of the water was like a zither, playing a refreshing melody day and night.

To build rockeries and pavilions on a roof, and to plant flowers and grass, how could an ordinary person manage that? And this place was in the provincial capital, where there were thousands of merchants, celebrities, and socialites. There were those who liked to stir up trouble, and those who liked to curry favor; who wouldn't be jealous?

Although the provincial capital was not under the feet of the Son of Heaven, it was still a fiefdom. Therefore, those who had such magical powers were either rich or noble!

After observing a little, I came to this conclusion.

The club boss was indeed refined, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. The hand he extended was fair and slender, just like a woman's fingers.

But when I shook it, I felt that his palm was fleshy, not bony, and had a hint of warmth, which made people feel relaxed.

He politely asked us to sit down and called the waiter to pour us tea.

He Jiaxiao was clearly not very familiar with him; from his looking around, I could feel that he, like me, was also entering this place for the first time.

This was a spacious hall, with a large glass lamp hanging from the middle of the room, the light pouring out from between the glass, shining like thousands of pearls.

The furniture in the room looked simple and unadorned. But there was a faint, lingering fragrance.

I carefully tapped the armrest of the chair and heard a few ethereal sounds. It was as if the sounds of nature from a thousand years ago had instantly cleansed the dust.

The club boss smiled and said, "These are all Hainan rosewood."

I was secretly shocked. It is said that there are thousands of types of rosewood in the world, but the best is only the yellow rosewood from Hainan. This wood grows very slowly, but its grain is the only natural treasure in the world. And Hainan yellow rosewood has a flowing, dark fragrance. This feature is something other yellow rosewoods can never hope for.

Hainan yellow rosewood was already used as a material for high-end furniture during the Tang Dynasty, and by the Song and Yuan periods, it was already as rare as morning stars. Therefore, those that exist in the world today can be counted on one's fingers.

On the surrounding walls hung famous calligraphy and paintings. There was actually a landscape painting from the Ming and Qing dynasties, with misty smoke and hidden mountains and water. An old man in a straw hat on the painting had a strange bone structure, as if he were about to walk down.

The club boss handed over his business card with both hands, his humble demeanor making me feel dazed.

I took it and examined it carefully. I discovered that the boss's surname was Xu, and his full name was Xu Mengda.

I suddenly remembered that the Propaganda Department Minister of Central Province was also surnamed Xu, so I tentatively asked, "What is the relationship between Minister Xu and Boss Xu?"

Xu Mengda smiled faintly without any concealment, "He is my father."

My head boomed, and I felt golden stars dancing before my eyes.

Xu Faming, the Minister of the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department of Central Province, was a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee. This person acted in a rough and bold manner, was upright and outspoken, and hated evil like an enemy. The legends about him among the people were enough to write a biography.

Years ago, he led a team to interview in a city below, and his car was blocked on a bridge over a river, completely jammed. When his car reached the blockage, he saw a luxury toll booth set up on the bridge, and all passing vehicles had to pay to cross.

He got out of the car to ask why it was blocking the road. The person in the toll booth saw a small old man and impatiently waved his hand, saying, "Go aside, don't disturb me collecting money."

Minister Xu didn't get angry, but asked with a smile, "Do you have a document for collecting fees?"

The person collecting fees shouted, "Whether we have a document or not is none of your business."

The secretary who followed him was just about to lose his temper, but the old man Xu stopped him, saying, "Blocking the road to collect fees without a document is illegal. Where did you get the guts to do this?"

The person collecting fees couldn't stand his muttering, came out of the booth, grabbed the old man Xu by the chest, and wanted to throw him to the side.

The old man Xu was caught off guard and hit his head on the railing, swelling up a big bump.

The old man Xu didn't get angry, but still touched the bump with a smile and got into the car. When he arrived in the city and called the mayor to ask, he learned that this toll booth was because the city owed a company money for road construction and couldn't pay it back. So they let them build a toll booth on the bridge, agreeing to collect for ten years, regardless of how much they collected, ten years was the limit.

Hearing this, the old man Xu was furious and scolded, "You dog officials, you don't think about paying back money when you spend it. When you don't have money to pay back, you take it out on the common people, the common people are suffering, and you are living in luxury. What use are you dog officials?"

He immediately called the Municipal Public Security Bureau, brought over several excavators, and with a rumble, they drove to the toll booth and dug it up with a bucket. He had all the people collecting fees arrested and taken to the Public Security Bureau for investigation and evidence collection one by one.

It turned out that the old man Xu had received a report beforehand saying that this toll booth was collecting fees indiscriminately. Regardless of who was coming or going, as long as they crossed the bridge, they had to pay. If they didn't pay, they would definitely be beaten. Many incidents of beating people had already occurred. For example, a moving company, a car moving things for people, crossed the bridge ten times, and had to pay every time. The driver muttered that crossing ten times a day cost more than the moving fee. So he refused to pay. The people in the toll booth immediately surrounded him and beat him up. The driver had nowhere to call for help, no way to vent his anger, and was chased by the people in the toll booth with nowhere to run, so he jumped into the river and gave his living life to the King of Hell.

The old man Xu tore down the toll booth, causing a huge uproar. It turned out that this fee collection had been agreed upon by the province.

The old man Xu slammed the table at the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee meeting and shouted, "If this case is not cleared, if this person is not removed, the heavens will be angry and the people will be resentful. If there is no place to reason, I will resign."

Afterwards, the mayor was dismissed, and the relevant personnel who beat and forced people to their deaths were sentenced to three to five years in prison.

I didn't expect such a grumpy old man to have such a refined son.

Xu Mengda didn't avoid his identity, which surprised me a little.

Xu Mengda seemed to see my confusion, pointed at He Jiaxiao, and said, "Little He called me and said you were from Hengyue City. I don't host guests for overnight stays here. But Little He said you were here for a murder case in Chunshan County. No matter how many rules I have, I can't block something that is a matter of life and death."

I said "Oh" and asked, "Mr. Xu, are you familiar with our Hengyue City?"

Xu Mengda smiled without answering, picked up the purple clay teapot in front of him, and took a light sip.

He Jiaxiao replied, "Brother Xu used to work in the government, he was a cadre in the Provincial Government Office. He has some impression of every place in the province."

My interest was piqued; since he came from within the system, we would naturally have common topics.

So I asked, "Mr. Xu, are you still in the government?"

Xu Mengda shook his head with a smile and sighed, "I am a person who is not suitable for living in a cage. I am a person who is used to freedom."

I was just about to speak when Xu Mengda interrupted me, "You don't have to call me Mr. this or Mr. that. We are of similar age, let's just call each other brothers."

I hurriedly waved my hand, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

Xu Mengda said sternly, "Brother, this is you being a stranger. Do you look down on me?"

Provoked by him, I hurriedly said, "Since Brother Xu doesn't mind, I couldn't ask for anything better. It's just that we are people from a small place, if there are any offensive words, please forgive me, Brother Xu."

Xu Mengda laughed loudly and said, "Being a stranger, being a stranger."

I looked around the club and didn't see a single guest besides a few waiters, so I asked suspiciously, "Brother Xu, is this not open for business?"

Xu Mengda smiled, "If it weren't open for business, wouldn't I starve to death? It's just that after hearing Little He's phone call, I drove the guests away."

Hearing this, I was stunned, feeling both grateful and terrified.

Xu Mengda comforted me, "Brother, you don't have to feel sorry. This is my one-third of an acre of land, everything is decided by me, Xu. Not doing business for one night won't affect me. Besides, not just anyone can come to my place."

He called the waiter over and instructed her to get a card.

Xu Mengda held a gold card and handed it to me, "Brother, we are people with fate, I give this card to you. In the future, when you come to the provincial capital, in this club of mine, you can do whatever you want."

I looked at the card in my hand, it was gold, with a number on it, and the word "VIP" engraved on it. It felt heavy in my hand, not light at all.

Xu Mengda said, "This card is pure gold. In this club of mine, there are only ten."

I felt like I was holding a piece of red-hot charcoal in my hand, sizzling as it burned.

How could I dare to accept such a valuable thing? So I hurriedly handed it back and said, "Brother Xu, this gift is too heavy. I cannot afford it, Brother."

Xu Mengda smiled generously and said, "If you want to talk about heavy, it is indeed heavy. This card must be held by the most honorable people. I have a member silver card here, you must have 500,000 to own it. That is to say, my place is membership-based, the status of members is not low, and the membership fee is at least 500,000 per year."

I dared not take it even more.

Xu Mengda put his hand on the back of my hand, stared into my eyes, and said, "Brother, I give it to you, you must accept it with peace of mind. Of course, I am not giving it to you for no reason."

"Does Brother Xu have any requirements?" I said half-seriously and half-jokingly, "I am a person who generally does not accept rewards without merit."

"Naturally, there will be places where you will be useful," Xu Mengda smiled, "With this card of mine, in all the clubs in the provincial capital, whether they are external or internal, you can not only consume without limit, but also prove your identity. When others see this card, it is equivalent to seeing me, Xu Mengda, in person."

This sudden pie falling from the sky hit me on the head, almost making me dizzy.

Seeing that I was still terrified, Xu Mengda said in a low voice, "Brother Chen, who are these two beauties...?"

I smiled, "One is my aunt, one is my wife."

Xu Mengda smiled lightly, "Brother Chen has good fortune."

We heard his words clearly, and when we looked at Huang Weiwei again, we found that the roots of her ears were completely red. And my aunt, who was sitting next to Huang Weiwei, turned a deaf ear to our conversation; she half-closed her eyes, as quiet as if she were asleep.

"You are all tired, go rest first. Tomorrow I will ask Brother Chen for advice," Xu Mengda stood up and said, "A spring night is worth a thousand gold, I want to help others achieve their beauty. Brother Chen, rest well."

There wasn't a hint of lewdness in his smile; instead, it was as warm as a spring breeze, making people feel extremely comfortable.

From the time we arrived at the club to the time Xu Mengda left, He Jiaxiao hadn't said more than three sentences.

However, I had a feeling that Xu Mengda seemed to know me very well. Without anyone introducing me, he actually knew my surname, and as soon as we met, he was so generous, giving me a gold card. He must have something he wants!

But what exactly is he asking for?

I am a cadre from a small place, not even worth a blade of grass in his eyes, does he need to do this?

The more I thought about it, the more scared I became, to the point that my back was soaked with a layer of cold sweat, and I was completely unaware of it.