Chapter 690: The Mayor

In half a month, Zhu Hua Yu had actually stirred up a fervent "Home for the New Year" craze along the coast of Guangdong.

Not only did she complete the task of visiting everyone on the list I gave her, but she also drew inferences about other cases, fully utilizing the advantage of her brother being the Chamber of Commerce president to sweep in a bunch of bosses who weren't originally on the list.

With such good news, I couldn't bring myself to be happy at all. My reaction was keenly captured by Zhu Hua Yu; after she finished her report, she asked me softly, "What's wrong? Not happy?"

I hurriedly denied it, saying, "No, I'm happy."

"Did that little girl Li Mei make you angry?" she asked with a grin.

"No, it's not her."

"If it's not her, could it be me?"

"It's not you either."

"Then who else could it be? It wouldn't be Teacher Xue, would it?" Zhu Hua Yu said, "How did Teacher Xue make you angry?"

"She's gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" she asked in surprise, then laughed and said, "Where could she possibly go? She went out for a walk, and you're angry just because you didn't see her for a moment?"

I sighed and said, "Hua Yu, it's not what you think. Teacher Xue won't be going back to Hengyue City, nor will she return to Central Province. In other words, she didn't just leave us; she left everyone. She has vanished."

"Why?" Zhu Hua Yu was clearly startled. Everyone knew that Xue Bing had been sent by Xu Mengda to assist me in handling the upgrading of the Industrial Park. Xue Bing was not one of our Industrial Park people; she was someone who already belonged to another, the person of Xu Mengda, the boss of Central Province's largest advertising company, and the daughter-in-law of the Central Province Propaganda Department Minister.

Her disappearance would not only stir up a whirlwind in Hengyue City, but it would certainly not be calm in Central Province either.

"What should we do?" Zhu Hua Yu asked me repeatedly.

"What else can we do? Leave it to fate!" I glanced at Li Mei, who was standing behind me smiling secretly, and a multitude of complex emotions surged in my heart.

Li Mei's secret smile seemed to indicate that she had known about this all along. She had been deliberately hiding it from me.

"Is the matter handled?"

"It's handled," I said. "We are preparing to go back tonight. Hua Yu, what about you all?"

"We're going back tomorrow, too," Zhu Hua Yu sighed and said, "Don't be anxious, we'll think of a way when we get back."

After hanging up the phone, I went to the office of the Director of the Beijing Office to thank him for his care during this period and presented him with a piece of calligraphy given to me by Quan Bi.

I didn't dare call Xu Mengda. In the soft-sleeper carriage, I only told Aunt about it.

Aunt remained silent until I was about to hang up the phone, when she finally said, "It wasn't you who made her leave; this matter isn't your fault."

My mood was unsettled, and I had almost no desire to speak throughout the journey. Li Mei tried to tease me into talking several times, but I only gave a faint smile and looked out the window.

When the train arrived in Hengyue City and the doors opened, I was given a huge fright.

On the platform, two rows of gongs and drums were neatly arranged, decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. As soon as they saw me, the gongs and drums immediately thundered.

Just as I was still reeling from the shock, the Mayor led a large group of people up to me, shaking my hand enthusiastically and saying, "Welcome back, hero!"

I was flattered and humbled; such treatment was only reserved for heroes. I was no hero; I was just an ordinary cadre. How could I have the virtue and ability to have the Mayor personally come to the train station to pick me up? Besides, I hadn't told anyone the specific time of my return; how could the Mayor have accurately waited at the station to meet me?

I turned to look at Li Mei and found her pursing her lips in a secret smile. This little girl had been smiling secretly for days, making my skin crawl. Now was not the time to assign blame; I had to handle the situation at hand first.

The welcome banquet was held at the Linyin Hotel, with all four major committees of Hengyue City present. Municipal Party Committee Secretary Chen made an exceptional appearance and spoke a few words at the banquet.

It was no wonder the Mayor was making such a big fuss. Since the founding of Hengyue City, apart from some national-level projects in the 1950s, it had remained obscure for decades. Since the Reform and Opening-up, the national-level Industrial Park approval I brought back was a major task for Hengyue City, a milestone achievement.

The banquet was grand and enthusiastic, with everyone beaming with smiles. It seemed that with a national-level project, everything would become wonderful.

After the heads of the four major committees toasted with me, people from other bureaus and commissions began to come over one after another to toast me.

I was the protagonist of this banquet, the hero who deserved the credit!

These were the words the Mayor had said in his toast, so everyone who came to clink glasses with me would generously say, "Hero, I'll finish mine, you drink as you please."

Even if I drank as I pleased, I still had to wet my lips. Moreover, I never cheated or slacked off when drinking. Most people in the bureaucracy aged before their time, with heads full of white hair. Unlike me, a cadre who crawled out of the mud, even through all the hardships and difficulties, I always maintained the true color of the mud.

The Hengyue City Industrial Park becoming a national-level park was a first for Hengyue City and the only one in Central Province. As everyone knows, being "national-level" means not only strong policy support but also very powerful economic backing.

First is the allocation of supporting funds; after all, it's national-level, a grand gesture. Then, in terms of land fees, tax exemptions, and the like, there would be special privileges very different from ordinary development zones.

As the banquet neared its end, Chen Meng appeared by my side, I don't know when.

Chen Meng's appearance was not surprising at all; she was the Chief Reporter for the Hengyue Daily, and she would certainly appear for such a big event.

I was already slightly tipsy from the continuous toasting, and when I looked at people, I actually saw double.

"Chen Feng, you're proud, aren't you!" Chen Meng called me by my full name, looking at me with a smile.

"I wouldn't dare," I waved my hands, my tongue thick, and said, "I still need you, Chief Reporter Chen, to say a few more good words in the media."

"If I say any more good words for you, wouldn't you be going to heaven?" Chen Meng's words made everyone laugh.

"It's not me going to heaven, it's Hengyue City's industry going to heaven," I smacked my lips and said, "Though I can't say it's going to heaven, it's completing a mission. History has entrusted us with a mission, and we must complete it."

"Your theory is getting better and better," Chen Meng said softly. "Excuse me, let's gather again when there's time."

Once Chen Meng left, some people began to discuss that such an ice beauty, even though she was sharp-tongued in front of me, still had a bit of human warmth. If she spoke to others, three sentences could choke them to death.

I just smiled and ignored their discussion.

Chen Meng was a famous cold beauty in Hengyue City; not only was she beautiful, but she also wrote excellent articles. More importantly, she had a father who was the Municipal Party Committee Secretary. Who would dare provoke such a woman? Only someone like He Jiaxiao, who feared nothing, could have accidentally brought her under his command; if it were me, we would have parted ways long ago.

The banquet was nearing its end, and the Mayor had already led the four major committees to withdraw. The remaining heads of the bureaus and commissions were also preparing to call it a day after exchanging greetings. Just then, there was a sudden commotion at the door.

I looked over, and my hands and feet suddenly turned cold. ===== CHAPTER 691 =====