Chapter 681: Side-Attacking

Outside, the cold wind was biting; inside, it was as warm as spring. This is the difference between the North and the South.

Northern houses are equipped with heating, and even air conditioners are dual-purpose for cooling and heating. We in the South are different; not only is there no heating, but air conditioners are mostly single-cooling machines.

In a five-star hotel in Beijing, Li Mei's clothes were disheveled, her hair was messy, and her originally white face was dyed white and red by alcohol. The spring scenery before my eyes was heart-moving, but I couldn't have evil thoughts; instead, I felt pity, surging like sea waves one after another.

I didn't dare to look closely and hurriedly turned my face away, just meeting Xue Bing's gaze, so I smiled embarrassedly and said, "This little girl is really drunk."

Xue Bing smiled without a word, her face full of ambiguity, making me even more embarrassed.

I called Li Mei a few times, but she didn't respond, so I apologized to her, "It seems Xiao Li has to rest here with you."

Xue Bing waved her hand, "It's okay. If you have something to do, you can go first."

I had no choice but to go out. Just as I reached the hotel entrance, my mobile phone rang.

The call was from Gan Lu's friend. I didn't believe it and asked a few times. After confirming it was really Gan Lu's friend, my mood became excited, and I asked almost tremblingly, "Chief, what instructions do you have for me?"

The other party laughed and corrected me, "I'm not any Chief. If you have time, why don't we meet?"

This good news was no less than winning a big prize; I was not only excited but also inexplicably nervous.

After asking for the place agreed upon by the other party, I called a taxi and rushed over without stopping.

Gan Lu's friend asked to meet me in Sanlitun. This place is the embassy district, where there are more foreigners than Chinese. Sanlitun is a bar street, and it is said that all the prosperity in the world can be seen here. To put it bluntly, it's a money-burning vault; if you don't have much silver, it's best to stay away.

But since he asked me to go, I couldn't not go. Not going would make me seem insincere and petty. People who handle big things don't care about small details; even if it doesn't work out, I must go. After all, he is Gan Lu's friend.

According to the agreement, I found a bar he specified.

The bar wasn't big, and the ceiling was so low that one could touch the eaves at will.

In a dark little private room, I met Gan Lu's friend.

His name was Ouyang Qiu, a man in his forties, very well-maintained, white and fat, very wealthy. He combed his hair back, his eyes were bright, and seeing me enter, he reached out to shake my hand.

His palm was thick and warm, making people feel very comfortable.

After a few pleasantries, he stared at me, suddenly smiled, and said, "Gan Lu was right, you are a person worth knowing."

I was a bit flattered and said humbly, "Thank you, Chief."

He smiled slightly, signaled me to drink tea, pondered for a while, and said, "Drink some coffee, how about it?"

I nodded; drinking tea or coffee was the same to me.

Tea is Chinese culture, broad and profound. Coffee is foreign culture, only good for novelty and fashion.

Ouyang Qiu was a cadre of a certain department, belonging to the same level as me. But he was a capital official, and his starting point was higher than mine. Looking at him, I had to look up; looking at me, he was looking down, at most looking straight.

In the vast Beijing, Ouyang Qiu was just a grain of sand in the sea. But this grain of sand was crucial to me.

In Beijing, he knew countless people. And I, looked around and had no relatives. Although we were cadres of the same level, the weight could be judged at a glance.

I calmed down and stated the purpose of my coming.

He nodded slightly, not expressing his attitude.

After sitting for a while, he began to tell me a story.

He said he had a friend who also handled things for people from the province below, making him feel as uncomfortable as sitting on a fire pit whenever he saw people from below now. Whether they were Southerners or Northerners, Chinese people were all the same, with heavy schemes.

I smiled noncommittally. Ouyang Qiu suddenly told a story; I knew he must be hinting at something to me.

Sure enough, he said, a Northerner came to find his friend to handle a project, approving a project about cars. He said as long as the matter was handled well, he would definitely send a small car to him.

The person who handled the matter really didn't break his promise afterward and really sent a small car over. What made his friend depressed and puzzled was that the small car actually had their local license plate.

He laughed, "Look, working in Beijing, driving a car with an out-of-town license plate in and out, what would others think? How would they look at it? Isn't this telling others that there is no silver three hundred taels here?"

I laughed, "That's indeed true."

Ouyang Qiu smiled faintly and asked, "Do you know what the feeling of thorns on your back is?"

I shook my head and said, "I really haven't felt it yet."

"I tell you," Ouyang Qiu said seriously, "It's a feeling of wanting to die."

I looked at him in astonishment. He laughed out loud, picked up the coffee and took a sip, saying, "You will have this feeling one day."

I smiled lightly, thinking in my heart, I am selfless in this life, so I am not afraid of the eyes of thousands of needles behind my back looking at me.

"And then?" I asked curiously.

"What else is there?" Ouyang Qiu patted his knees gently and said, "Return the car, don't want it."

"They didn't solve it later?"

"Solve what? You returned it yourself, and you can't blame others. Besides, the matter was handled well, and they didn't need to beg you anymore, so just pretend nothing happened."

I sighed long and sighed, "This Northerner is not authentic."

Ouyang Qiu stared at me and smiled strangely, saying, "At first I also felt that Northerners were stingy and killed the donkey after the mill. Southerners are rich and should be different."

"Exactly," I laughed confidently, "We Southerners pay attention to loyalty. Knowing the truth of not forgetting the digger when drinking water, we will definitely not do such a thing."

"Not necessarily," Ouyang Qiu looked at me and said, "Let me tell you another story, still about my friend."

I said happily, "Great, Chief Ouyang's story is very beneficial."

"Listen before you speak," Ouyang Qiu picked up the spoon, carefully stirred the coffee in the cup, frowned and thought for a while, and said, "The taste of this coffee is too bitter, add some sugar."

He added two cubes of sugar and asked me, "Do you want some?"

I shook my head and said, "I like the bitter taste."

Ouyang Qiu didn't force me anymore. He stirred the coffee slowly and said, "Reasonably speaking, you Southerners have seen more of the world than Northerners. Since the Ming Dynasty opened the sea ban, Southerners have drifted across the sea, and wherever there are people in the world, there are Southerners. Anyone who has seen the world should be generous. But the fact is not so. I guess it might have something to do with the different water in your South. The water in the South has spirituality, so the people who drink it also become much more refined."

I didn't understand what Ouyang Qiu wanted to say and asked, "Chief Ouyang, are you a Southerner or a Northerner?"

Ouyang Qiu smiled faintly, "I am neither a Southerner nor a Northerner. I am a Central Plains person."

My heart paused, thinking, Grandma's, aren't you just a Henan person? According to the Yangtze River, Henan belongs to Northerners; according to the Yellow River, it is a Southerner.

"Let me tell you the story," Ouyang Qiu interrupted my thoughts and said, "The protagonist of this story is a Southern Cantonese person. He had a real estate project in his hand. The government plan was industrial land, but he insisted on changing it to commercial land, built more than a dozen residential buildings, sold half of them, but couldn't get the property rights certificate. The province sent a working group, determined not to let it be handled, so he had to run to Beijing to beg for help."

"Did he find someone?" I asked nervously.

"Of course. What kind of place is Beijing? Within the world, there is no king's land. If Beijing wants to intervene in local affairs, no one dares to top it."

"Was it handled?"

"Handled. At that time, the person who begged for help promised my friend a house. Afterward, he really gave a house, and the decoration and everything were handled properly. That year, during the New Year, my friend took his whole family to the new house to spend the New Year. After all, the climate in the South is good, and winter is not cold."

"So, we Southerners are still worth making friends with," I said with a smile.

"That's not wrong. The problem is, my friend got up the next morning and went to the balcony to move around. He saw his leading superior standing on the balcony next door and was so scared that he almost peed. Fortunately, the superior didn't see him. He hurriedly turned around and entered the house, and the whole family didn't dare to go out. In the evening, he took his family back to Beijing in a gray manner and never dared to go again."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Think about it, the leading superior lived next door. How did his house come about? Everyone knows you are helping people. He can say his house was bought, what about your house?"

I asked suspiciously, "Can't he say he bought it himself?"

"This can only deceive ghosts," Ouyang Qiu laughed, "My friend even suspected that this person was intentional. How could he put the house with the superior?"

"That's true," I said as if suddenly enlightened, "This person didn't consider the problem carefully."

"It's not that he didn't consider it carefully; this is a conspiracy," Ouyang Qiu said indignantly, "It just shows one problem: you Southerners are more ruthless."

After listening to the two stories, I had a bottom in my heart. The protagonists of the two stories Ouyang Qiu told were definitely not his friends, but himself. He borrowed other people's names to tell these two stories, seemingly reminding me of something.

Suddenly a flash of inspiration, I immediately understood.

I said, "I think, asking for help, not only needs sincerity but also morality. In this day and age, nothing is better than cash. With money, what can't you buy? Don't you think so?"

Ouyang Qiu looked at me appreciatively and said thoughtfully, "Gan Lu said you are a person who cares about the overall situation and understands the general situation. Why do I suddenly feel that you are not only the advantages she said but also the insidious that makes people afraid."

I waved my hands and said, "Chief, whether I am reliable or not, you will know afterward."

Ouyang Qiu smiled without a word. After a cup of coffee, he asked me casually, "Where are your project materials?" ===== CHAPTER 682 =====