On November 22, the new "bid winner" Xue Sheng returned from Beijing with a full load. Zuo Jing, member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangdong Provincial Party Committee and a senior official in Lingyang City, held a celebratory reception at the Sands International Hotel in the center of Lingyang City. Many business and political celebrities were invited to attend. After receiving Zuo Jing's call, Wen Liang was unable to refuse, so he had to put down the heavy workload and drove to Lingyang.
Sands International is Luo Yun's property. From this, we can see that after Zuo Jing's last attempt to test the waters, he had already realized that now was not the right time to touch the Luo family, so at least on the surface he resumed normal interactions with Luo Yun. As for what he was thinking in his heart, that was not something that outsiders could tell.
There was a small incident when he entered the door. The staff member who was responsible for guiding and arranging at the door saw that Wen Liang was young and his image was too different from the officials and entrepreneurs around him who were bloated. He thought he was an ordinary guest who came to eat and stay. On the grounds that the hotel was not open to the public tonight, he politely asked him to go somewhere else. In the end, it was Wen Liang who called Wang Ziqiang and asked this secretary to personally go to the lobby to greet him. The man who had stopped Wen Liang before was so frightened when he saw Wang Ziqiang coming in person that his face turned pale and he couldn't say a word. Wen Liang thought that Luo Yun had deliberately sent someone to embarrass him, but he thought it was not so boring. Besides, few people knew that he was attending this cocktail party, so he smiled and didn't pursue it.
When going upstairs, Wang Ziqiang was afraid that Wen Liang would be unhappy, so he kept criticizing himself. Wen Liang pretended to be angry and said, "Brother Wang, if you continue to be so polite, I will turn around and leave..."
"No, please don't!" Wang Ziqiang smiled brightly at the word "Brother Wang". He took Wen Liang's hand and walked towards the elevator, saying, "You are the secretary's honored guest. If you really leave and the secretary gets angry, my frail body won't be able to withstand it."
The last time Wen Liang met Wang Ziqiang, this man was very cautious and tentative in his words. But this time he was able to let go and make a joke. It seemed that he had done a lot of homework during this period. Hearing his words, he smiled and walked into the elevator with him.
Just as he was about to press the button, two more people came into the elevator, a man and a woman. Wen Liang didn't recognize the man, who was about 40 years old, with thick hair coated with thick hairspray, a suit and leather shoes, and his hands behind his back. He looked like an official, but he looked a bit like a monkey in a crown. As for the woman, she was an old acquaintance of Wen Liang. It turned out to be Tang Ye from the provincial newspaper. She was wearing a light white professional suit, which outlined her graceful waist. Thick black pantyhose perfectly showed her straight legs. Her long black hair was tied into a simple bun. Her jade-like clear and transparent face was filled with an impeccable smile. Only Wen Liang could see a hint of teasing and playfulness in her black eyes!
Wang Ziqiang was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting to see these two people in the elevator, but he reacted immediately, stretched out his hand, and said, "Minister Liu, why did you come up by yourself? Mayor Changming didn't accompany you?"
"You guys in Lingyang have a lot of things to do, how dare I delay Mayor Yi's official duties? What were you busy with, Wang Ziqiang? There was no one at the gate."
Minister Liu spoke in a sarcastic tone, his eyes swept across Wen Liang who was standing behind Wang Ziqiang, and he sneered coldly. The meaning was very clear, you didn't come to pick me up, but picked him up instead, do you look down on me
Wang Ziqiang smiled and said, "I wanted to pick you up, but Secretary Zuo couldn't leave, so I just made time to come. If I had known that Mayor Changming wasn't accompanying you, I would have waited at the door even if I had to bear the risk of Secretary Zuo scolding me!"
Wen Liang couldn't help but smile. Wang Ziqiang seemed respectful, but in fact he didn't give him any face. He directly used Zuo Jing to shut him up. Officialdom has always been particular about the skill of appearance. Even if they are sworn enemies behind the scenes, they rarely make such naked jokes in front of each other. It can be seen how annoying this Minister Liu, who has no idea where he came from, is. No wonder the deputy mayor of Lingyang, Yi Changming, who is in charge of publicity, disappeared halfway.
Minister Liu snorted again, but stopped whining. Wang Ziqiang turned to Tang Ye, his smile looking much more sincere, and said, "Director Tang, the last time I saw you was when Luojiang Development Zone was completed. I didn't expect to see you again tonight."
"What's the matter? Director Wang doesn't welcome me?" Tang Ye acted angry, but the charm between his eyebrows made people's hearts beat fast.
Wang Ziqiang's heart warmed up, and he blurted out, "How could that be?" As soon as he said it, he realized that it was inappropriate, and hurriedly said, "Secretary Zuo often mentioned Director Tang, saying that the editorials and character reports you wrote are unmatched in Jiangdong Province. I have also read them and sincerely admire them!"
Tang Ye smiled slightly and said, "Director Wang is too modest. I have heard of Lingyang's reputation as a pen even in Guanshan. Secretary Zuo's recent article on the pros and cons of the location of the crude oil terminal was highly praised by everyone..."
Wang Ziqiang had worked through three nights to finish this manuscript according to Zuo Jing's instructions. Tang Ye's words just hit the spot, and he said happily, "Thank you, thank you!"
Minister Liu, who was standing by, probably felt that he was being ignored, so he interrupted and said, "Xiao Wang, why don't you introduce who this person next to you is?"
Just then the elevator reached the second floor. As soon as the door opened, Wen Liang walked out without giving Wang Ziqiang a chance to introduce himself. Minister Liu was stunned and embarrassed. He said angrily, "What kind of quality is this!"
Wang Ziqiang smoothed things over and followed Wen Liang's figure. Tang Ye also smiled and said, "Minister Liu, please do as you please. I'm going to meet some friends!"
"Okay, okay, you go do your thing, go do your thing!" Minister Liu didn't dare to be arrogant at all. He must have known Tang Ye's background. This kind of person bullies the good and is afraid of the evil. What's more, he holds a high position and does nothing but eat and drink. It's really disgusting.
Wang Ziqiang caught up with Wen Liang and took a careful look at him. He believed that as a secretary for many years, his ability to read people's expressions was much better than his ability to write articles. However, facing this young man, it was as if he had encountered a mountain surrounded by black fog, which was completely unpredictable.
After a moment of silence, Wang Ziqiang decided to take the initiative to explain, saying: "Premier Wen, the man just now was Deputy Minister Liu of the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department..."
Even the word "deputy" was mentioned in the introduction, so it was clear that this deputy minister must not have any real power. Wen Liang smiled and interrupted him, saying, "I am not from your official circles, so I don't need to know about ministers or not. Brother Wang, you go and do your work, I will take care of myself, don't worry, I won't starve with all these things on the table."
At this time, the magnificent banquet hall was crowded with people, laughing and talking, and it was already very lively. The big names who usually only appeared on TV or in rumors gathered together like they were free, and in the middle of these people stood Zuo Jing and tonight's protagonist Xue Sheng. Wen Liang would not choose this time to go over and say hello.
Wang Ziqiang followed his gaze, nodded in understanding, and said, "Then I'll go report to the secretary first, and come back to accompany you later."
After Wang Ziqiang left, Wen Liang looked around and didn't see any familiar faces. She didn't know where Tang Ye had gone, but she had a wide circle of friends and it was understandable that she had many social engagements. She couldn't help but regret not letting Chang Cheng come up with her. With that funny guy around, at least she wouldn't be bored.
After staying for a while, Wen Liang picked up a glass of wine and went to the balcony outside to enjoy the fresh air. Less than two minutes later, he heard someone behind him say, "Drinking alone?"
Wen Liang didn't look back, and smiled: "You are ugly, of course you are alone, unlike beautiful women who are popular everywhere they go!"
It was Tang Ye who came. She walked to Wen Liang, leaned forward slightly, and pressed against the railing. The shape of her chest became more and more perfect. She turned her head and smiled: "I didn't expect to meet you here, but when I think about it, it's not too surprising..."
This was a tease about his deep connection with the Zuo family. Wen Liang shook his wine glass and said with a smile, "I can't refuse such a kind invitation, so I have to come. But why are you here too? Did Zuo Jing personally send you the invitation?"
"I don't have that much face. The invitation was for our editor-in-chief, but he happened to be in Beijing for a meeting, so he asked me to represent him and attend. It's like a free meal and a public travel!"
Getting rid of the heavy past, Tang Ye's words were actually quite interesting. Wen Liang suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, I met Chen Yurui and Zhuo Mingjing in Qingzhou last week..."
Tang Ye burst out laughing and said, "I heard from Ming Jing that someone was so scared that he ran away and even lost one of his shoes..."
Wen Liang was also helpless and said, "It's my bad luck to meet these two shrews."
Tang Ye smiled as he stood up, turned around and leaned against the railing, staring into the hall. He said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "The province has basically agreed that Lingyang should raise funds to build a crude oil terminal. Guanshan will not be included in the plan for the time being. Many people are very unhappy..."
Among these "many people", Gu Shitong was the first to be affected, followed by Chen Zongzhi, and then Zhuo Yihua. Zhuang Shaoxuan might also be a little unhappy, but his mind was not limited, so even if he was unhappy, it was very limited. Wen Liang would be very happy to make these people unhappy, so he was happy to learn more about it and asked, "When did you make the decision?"
"The Standing Committee just discussed and passed it last night, and it has not been announced to the public yet. No more than 20 people know about it now!"
A gentle gaze passed through the crowd and fell on Zuo Jing's smiling face. No wonder he called him again and again to invite him to attend the cocktail party tonight. It turned out that his real intention was not to drink, but to think about Hengsha Mining far away in Shahe.
"Dear leaders, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening..."
A deep voice sounded, and a tall, handsome middle-aged man walked to the stage. The well-dressed people below the stage slowly gathered together.
Wen Liang was surprised and asked, "Who is this?"
"Dou Wenbo!"
"Oh, so this is Lingyang Mayor Dou Wenbo!"
Wen Liang's mind flashed back to the Dou Xiao whom he met on the Qingshan Mountain. He was reckless, impulsive, and a fool. Even his appearance was far from that of the powerful Dou Wenbo in front of him.
You didn't pick it up, did you
Uncle Wen chuckled, and his expression was so vulgar! (To be continued)