171: Chapter 171 An Unexpected Encounter with an Old Classmate

Zhu Qingxi, sitting in the passenger seat, asked, "Brother Chuan, what's wrong?"

Qin Chuan replied, "I saw an acquaintance."

He drove over, rolled down the window, and called out loudly and happily, "Lin Jiang, is it really you!"

This was his high school classmate, the kind with whom he had a very good relationship.

Lin Jiang looked pleasantly surprised. "Qin Chuan, you're back too! That's great!"

Having not seen each other for many years, it felt like they had so much to say. Qin Chuan simply parked the car and said, "Have you eaten yet? Let's sit down and chat while we eat."

"Sure, it's my treat. There's a nice restaurant not far from here." Lin Jiang's gaze fell on Zhu Qingxi, and he said enviously, "You've done well for yourself, finding such a beautiful girlfriend. You're a real winner in life."

Zhu Qingxi replied with grace, "Hello, I'm Zhu Qingxi, Brother Chuan's girlfriend."

"Hello, hello." Lin Jiang introduced himself, "I'm Qin Chuan's high school classmate. My name is Lin Jiang."

The three of them found a spot to sit in the restaurant and ordered a few dishes. Lin Jiang suggested, "Qin Chuan, how about we have a drink?"

"Sure. I have some liquor in my car; I'll go get it."

It wasn't far, just one or two hundred meters away. Zhu Qingxi offered, "You two keep chatting, I'll go get the liquor."

Soon, a bottle of moutai was brought over.

Lin Jiang's eyes lit up. "Qin Chuan, it looks like you're doing well for yourself. Such good liquor! I'm in for a treat today."

Qin Chuan smiled, opened the bottle, and poured two large glasses. "There's plenty of liquor today; I have several more bottles in the trunk of my car."

The two of them drank and ate while chatting happily. They were very in sync and got along well, as if they had returned to their high school days.

Zhu Qingxi mainly acted as an audience, listening to them chat about interesting stories from high school. When she heard something funny, she would smile sweetly.

After chatting for a while, Lin Jiang changed the subject. "Qin Chuan, how did you know about Teacher Zhang's birthday banquet tomorrow? Who told you?"

Qin Chuan was slightly stunned. Was it such a coincidence?

He really hadn't known about it.

Lin Jiang said, "Teacher Zhang is celebrating his sixtieth birthday tomorrow and is officially retiring. He's holding a birthday banquet at the Wanshun Hotel. Many people from our class are going to attend, especially Jin Rifei, who has been showing off among the classmates for a while now, saying he's going too."

Qin Chuan had been working in Handong Province and was busy with the Toxic Milk Powder Incident beforehand, so he really didn't know. This time, he just happened to be back.

Lin Jiang's high school grades were average. He practiced sports and was admitted to a sports college. After graduation, he returned to the school to become a physical education teacher.

Because he had always been in Wanshun County and at the school, he was quite clear about many situations.

"Qin Chuan, are you going to attend tomorrow?"

"I'm going," Qin Chuan said. "Teacher Zhang was our high school homeroom teacher and treated us all well. Since I happen to be back, I definitely have to go and offer my congratulations."

Lin Jiang warned him with some concern, "Then you need to be careful. Jin Rifei is not simple nowadays; he has quite a lot of influence."

Jin Rifei, heh.

Qin Chuan didn't take him seriously at all. If he really came looking for trouble, he would give him a good thrashing.

This Jin Rifei was no good bird.

He was a bad seed back in high school—his grades were trash, and he did plenty of things like smoking, drinking, fighting, and harassing female classmates. Because his family was rich, these things were suppressed, and the school turned a blind eye.

The school beauty in high school was named Xiao Chuyi.

She liked Qin Chuan and had expressed that sentiment. Jin Rifei had been pursuing Xiao Chuyi, but she wouldn't even give him the time of day.

Because of this, Jin Rifei was mad with jealousy toward Qin Chuan, constantly picking fights and pulling all sorts of petty tricks. If it weren't for Qin Chuan's good grades—he was always the top student in the school—and the protection of the teachers, he probably would have really been forced to drop out by Jin Rifei.

From what Lin Jiang said, Jin Rifei was doing well for himself now.

His family was already quite wealthy, and now they were even more prosperous. His father had contracted a large amount of earthwork projects and owned over a dozen dump trucks, as well as several oil tankers.

A famous cooking oil group had built a large factory in Wanshun County to produce cooking oil. Jin Rifei's family's oil tankers often helped this factory transport cooking oil, and sometimes they also transported gasoline, diesel, and the like for gas stations and oil companies.

In any case, their business was very busy, and they made a fortune every month.

After learning about this situation from Lin Jiang, Qin Chuan said with some concern, "It's not good for oil tankers to transport both cooking oil and gasoline/diesel, is it?"

Lin Jiang said, "As far as I know, Jin Rifei and his people have always done this. Sometimes, they go straight to the cooking oil factory to transport cooking oil right after finishing a delivery of diesel; they don't care about that at all."

Hearing this, Qin Chuan shook his head slightly.

He thought to himself whether such a situation existed in Jianning City and decided to make a call to inquire about it after the meal.

This was simply absurd.

How could oil tankers be used interchangeably for chemical oils like gasoline and diesel and for cooking oil? Even if they were cleaned, it wouldn't be acceptable; they must be dedicated vehicles.

The meal lasted for over an hour, and the bottle of moutai was finished completely.

Qin Chuan suggested getting another bottle, but Lin Jiang waved his hand quickly. If he drank any more, he would really be drunk; he already had a bit of a buzz.

Lin Jiang was a good guy and insisted on paying the bill, but when he called the waiter over to settle up, he was told that it had already been paid.

Zhu Qingxi had paid the bill early on.

Walking out of the restaurant, Qin Chuan waved and said, "Linzi, see you tomorrow then."

"Alright, see you tomorrow at the Wanshun Hotel!"

Qin Chuan opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. He didn't drive after drinking; he was a civil servant, and this rule could not be broken.

Zhu Qingxi was driving. "Brother Chuan, where are we staying tonight?"

Qin Chuan said, "We're staying at the Wanshun Hotel tonight. Let me navigate for you."

Back when he was studying at County No. 1 High School, Qin Chuan knew that the best and most luxurious hotel in the whole county was the Wanshun Hotel.

At that time, he had even thought that in the future, when he had money, he would definitely stay there for a night. He hadn't expected that the wish from back then would be realized so quickly.

The Wanshun Hotel was indeed the best hotel in the county. Back then, he felt he needed to look up to it, but now that his status was different and his perspective was higher, he felt it was just average—four stars at most.

But for a small county town, it was the most luxurious hotel. Next to it were the compounds of the County Party Committee and the County Government, and it also doubled as the County Party Committee Guest House, hosting some of the government's receptions.

It was quite large. Facing the street was a twelve or thirteen-story building, which was the main body of the hotel. Behind it was a large courtyard planted with flowers, grass, and trees. Further back was another five or six-story building, which was used by the government for receptions and was generally not open to the public.

Qin Chuan booked a suite on the eleventh floor. After completing the check-in procedures, he took Zhu Qingxi and their luggage and walked into the elevator.

Without him noticing, his back as he entered the elevator was seen by a beautiful woman.