Chapter 534: High Hopes

I didn't expect her to bite me, so I didn't have time to pull my hand back and was bitten squarely by her.

I didn't dare to move, letting her pearly teeth bite a string of tooth marks on the back of my hand.

She suddenly laughed and let go, saying, "Chen Feng, why didn't you dodge?"

I smiled and said, "You bit me, you must have pain. If biting me can alleviate the pain, what's the harm in biting me? Why should I dodge?"

A look of gratitude appeared on Gan Lu's face; she threw off the quilt, stood on the ground barefoot, and asked, "Are you calling me to get up?"

I nodded and smiled, "Secretary Chen of the Municipal Party Committee is coming. He wants to meet us tonight and listen to our work report."

Gan Lu said "Oh," and embarrassedly tidied her messy hair, her face revealing shyness again.

"You go out first, I'll wash up and come." She urged me to go out.

I deliberately teased her, "You wash yours, I won't peek."

This was naked teasing; could Gan Lu not hear it?

Actually, I was speaking unintentionally. After mixing in various situations for so many years, I hadn't learned anything else, but I had learned to put on airs and be oily-mouthed.

Gan Lu pushed me and said, "You won't be able to see even if you want to, you go out."

She pushed me out the door, and the lock clicked shut behind my back.

I shook my head and smiled bitterly, then went to Little Qiu's room.

Little Qiu was still seriously watching TV. He was a young man, after all; others were resting, only he hadn't been at peace since moving in. First, he was joking with the waitress, and after the waitress left, he turned on the TV and watched it all afternoon.

Although Little Qiu was a doctor, he didn't show it at all on the surface. Not only was there no scholarly air about him, but he also carried a trace of banditry, looking unruly.

I greeted him, "Little Qiu, not resting?"

Little Qiu looked at me with a smile and invited me to sit. He mysteriously lowered his voice and said, "Boss, Hengyue City must be very prosperous, right?"

I looked at him in astonishment, unable to adapt to this form of address for a moment.

Little Qiu clearly saw my astonishment. He still smiled and said, "I'm used to calling you Boss. Actually, you are our boss yourself. Research is your business, we are just foils. Besides, you are already the class monitor in the Party School training class, so being my boss is more than enough."

I laughed dumbly, "Why do I feel like you calling me this is like a person in the underworld!"

"We are all people in the underworld ourselves!" Little Qiu laughed proudly, "Where there are people, there is an underworld. The environment we are in is an underworld."

I exhorted him, "Don't call me that in the future."

Little Qiu touched the back of his head and asked, "Is there a problem with calling you that?"

"Of course!" I said earnestly, "We are all national cadres. Cadres must have their own image. We are different from social people."

Little Qiu stared at me in astonishment, looked for a long time, and laughed, "Hypocritical!"

I was almost blushing by what he said. In front of such a young boy without any schemes, I appeared old-fashioned.

Professor Luo happened to come out at this time, standing in the corridor and calling me.

I hurried out the door and stood accompanying Professor Luo.

Professor Luo was a highly respected person; he received a special allowance from the State Council. He had studied the three rural issues all his life, and his quote was, "Without commerce, there is no wealth; without industry, there is no strength; without agriculture, there is no stability."

I was deeply convinced the first time I heard his argument. Professor Luo's summary of his life was simply a golden rule. Indeed, in human society, all three are indispensable. But no matter what era, if agriculture is missing, the social foundation cannot be stable.

If the social foundation is not stable, talking about commerce and industry is just empty talk.

Little Qiu also came out; he looked at Gan Lu's door and asked me suspiciously, "Boss, didn't you call Sister Gan?"

I was about to answer when Gan Lu pushed the door and came out.

Gan Lu, standing in front of us, swept away the decadence just now, looking radiant and glowing.

Little Qiu praised, "Sister Gan is really beautiful!"

Gan Lu smiled shyly, looked at Little Qiu and said, "Little brat, what do you know."

Little Qiu shouted dissatisfiedly, "Who says I'm a little brat? I'm twenty-eight this year. Is it because I have a technique for staying young? Am I especially young?"

Gan Lu spat at him, "Proud, right? Little brat."

Little Qiu was scolded as a little brat by Gan Lu, and with a belly full of opinions with nowhere to vent, he had to stand aside and breathe roughly.

Just then, the comrade from the municipal party committee reception group came up and politely invited us to the banquet hall.

Arriving at the banquet hall, I found that no one was there yet. In the center of a magnificent hall stood a table that could seat more than twenty people. In the center of the table was a pot of white flowers; I paid special attention and saw they were real flowers.

"Secretary Chen will be here soon." The comrade from the reception office politely invited us to sit aside and drink tea.

Before we could sit down, the door of the hall opened, and then I saw Secretary Chen with white hair walking in.

Secretary Chen was followed by several people; I looked at them one by one and saw my cousin He Zhi, following Secretary Chen with a serious face.

I hurried to meet him, held Secretary Chen's hand tightly with both hands, and said, "Hello, Leader!"

Secretary Chen smiled cordially, stretched out his other hand and patted the back of my hand lightly, saying, "I know you. A cadre who went out from our Hengyue City."

Letting go of his hand, I began to introduce the people in our research team to him one by one.

First, naturally, I introduced Professor Luo. Secretary Chen was surprised when he heard this and said, "So you are Old Luo. Long admired, long admired!"

Professor Luo smiled reservedly, shook hands with Secretary Chen, and said, "Secretary Chen, I'm disturbing you this time."

Secretary Chen laughed heartily and said, "Brother, your words are slapping my face. You are here to seek welfare for the people; as long as it is for the welfare of the common people, it is the supreme matter. The common people are bitter, especially the peasant brothers; if we don't have an explanation in our generation, how can we be worthy of the honor of being a Communist Party member!"

Secretary Chen's words were full of emotion, and I was excited when I heard them.

Little Qiu also learned from me, holding Secretary Chen's hand with both hands, his eyes full of admiration.

Gan Lu shook hands naturally, exchanging pleasantries about disturbing Hengyue City.

Secretary Chen finished a round of handshakes, and next was my cousin.

My cousin didn't say much, but when shaking hands with me, he said, "Have time to go home and take a look."

After my cousin were the relevant units, as usual, the Agriculture Bureau, Forestry Bureau, and the Municipal Party Committee's Agricultural Reform Group, Three Rural Issues Office, etc.

The people who came were all heads of departments, so everyone in the hall was particularly cautious.

Originally, we were supposed to make a special report for such a report, but Secretary Chen was going to Beijing for a meeting tomorrow. So it was changed to the welcome banquet in the evening to conduct it together.

After the pleasantries, everyone took their seats as guests and hosts.

Suddenly, the door of the hall was pushed open, and then I saw a person with a murderous look on his face enter.

As soon as he entered the room, his face changed into a smiling face, and he hurried to Secretary Chen's side and said in a low voice, "Sorry, Secretary, something delayed me for a while."

Secretary Chen waved his hand and said, "Sit down."

After he sat down, Secretary Chen introduced, "This is our city's Public Security Bureau Chief, Wan Xiao. I invited him here today mainly because in the process of your research, he needs to provide escort."

Wan Xiao immediately stood up and said, "Secretary, rest assured, I guarantee to complete the task."

Everyone laughed together, and the air in the room swept away the dullness, becoming much livelier.

The dishes began to come up, and the waitress held a wine pot, preparing to pour wine for us.

I didn't see the wine bottle and didn't know what wine was in the white magnetic pot, until the wine was poured and placed in front of me, a mellow fragrance rushed to my nose, and I knew it was Moutai.

The first dish came up, a particularly huge basin; the basin was clearly ceramic and not a utensil for ordinary cooking. It was pitch black, with a lid on it, and the lid was also black. The whole thing looked like a lump of scorched mud.

Secretary Chen pointed to the big basin and said, "Little Chen, this is your credit!"

I didn't understand for a moment, looked at the big basin blankly, and asked suspiciously, "Secretary, does this basin have anything to do with me?"

Secretary Chen laughed, "It has nothing to do with you, but the things inside have something to do with you."

I was puzzled; what things inside had something to do with me? So I wanted to see it impatiently, but it wasn't good to be frivolous, so I had to accompany the secretary and smile.

The waitress came over and lifted the lid, a stream of white gas rose, curling and curling, and then a trace of fragrance entered my nostrils.

"This dish is the treasure of our Chunshan County special breeding farm, giant salamander." Secretary Chen introduced, his face full of confidence.

"Old Wan, is it illegal to eat this?" Secretary Chen didn't wait for everyone to exclaim, and turned to ask Wan Xiao.

Wan Xiao smiled stiffly, hesitating, "Breeding, of course it's not illegal."

My heart was beating like a drum; I had just come out of Chunshan County, and the giant salamander was something from the township where Mao Ping was. Did Mao Ping, this kid, start a breeding farm?

The waitress scooped a bowl of soup for everyone. The soup placed in front of me was pure white, like milk, like moonlight, and sticky, like mucus, like dust.

But smelling a fragrance, it circled the room, and before long, the whole hall was surrounded by this fragrance.

The soup hadn't been drunk yet, but the strong liquor came first.

Secretary Chen picked up the wine glass, stood up, and said, "Thank you all for coming from afar. From now on, you are not only my guests but also the guests of the seven million common people of Hengyue City. This glass of wine, I wish you smooth work."

He took the lead and drank it all, and we people had no choice but to rush to drink the wine in the glass, not daring to leave a drop.

It was the same old routine, Secretary Chen took the lead, three glasses without passing the post!

After three glasses of wine, my heart felt warm, and my back seemed to be a little itchy.

After Secretary Chen finished three glasses, he politely said goodbye and wanted to leave.

We hadn't reported yet!

I was a little anxious and said straightly, "Secretary, I want to report on work."

Secretary Chen waved his hand and said, "Don't be busy first, you work first, when you do it well, I'll listen."

He turned to my cousin and said, "Old He, this provincial research is not a simple local behavior, but a national total behavior. You must ensure that the research work is not hindered in any way, and the data investigated must be authentic and reliable!"

My cousin nodded seriously, "Secretary, rest assured."

Secretary Chen exhorted Bureau Chief Wan Xiao again, "Old Wan, your bureau's cars are convenient, I see, their investigation cars, just come out from your bureau. At the same time, you must do a good job in security, it's best to set up a small group to fully cooperate with this research."

Wan Xiao nodded busily, "I will definitely follow the Secretary's instructions."

Secretary Chen finally left; he didn't listen to a word of my report.

Secretary Chen didn't listen to my report; was he supporting or opposing? I had no idea in my heart for a moment.

Secretary Chen left, but my cousin and Wan Xiao didn't leave. The people at this table, under the instigation of several bureau chiefs, opened another bottle of wine.

Professor Luo couldn't hold his liquor long ago; his face had turned into a red cloth, and even his eyes were blurred. I saw him take off his glasses and wipe them several times.

Little Qiu was getting more excited as he drank, actually playing guessing games with a bureau chief next to him.

This kid had my style! I thought, a knowing smile appearing on my face.

Suddenly, I felt my foot being stepped on; I looked around, and saw Gan Lu with a face as bright as a peach blossom, staring straight at me with both eyes. ===== CHAPTER 535 =====