496: Chapter 496 Returning to Wanshun County

The two chatted for a while, and the conversation turned to Wanshun County.

Qin Chuan asked with concern, "Lin Jiang, how have you all been lately?"

"I'm doing fine, same as usual, it's just..."

After a slight hesitation, he continued, "It's just that Xiao Chuyi's situation is a bit difficult. She is being squeezed out everywhere in the County Party Committee Office. A few days ago, I had dinner and drinks with her, and she was clearly trying to drown her sorrows in alcohol. If I hadn't been there to persuade her, she probably would have gotten drunk."

It had been a long time since he had been in contact with Xiao Chuyi.

Since leaving Wanshun County, Qin Chuan had not proactively contacted her. Occasionally, Xiao Chuyi would call Qin Chuan, but in the last year or two, the frequency had decreased, so he didn't know much about her situation.

However, he had always assumed that Xiao Chuyi should be doing quite well for herself.

On one hand, she was his high school classmate, a relationship that many in the Wanshun County officialdom knew about. On the other hand, she was beautiful, which usually made navigating the officialdom a bit easier.

He hadn't expected that she would actually be in such a difficult position.

Lin Jiang said, "The current County Party Secretary of Wanshun County is Secretary Xie Lizhi. Xiao Chuyi told me that Secretary Xie Lizhi has made several hints, but Xiao Chuyi ignored them. Consequently, she has been gradually suppressed and given a hard time. Fortunately, County Magistrate Director Hu Bing has been looking out for her; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to stay on."

County Magistrate Director Hu Bing was none other than Director Hu Bing. When Qin Chuan was the County Party Secretary of Wanshun County, Director Hu Bing was the Director of the County Committee Office. Later, he served as the Deputy County Party Secretary of Wanshun County, the third-in-command, and is now the County Magistrate.

Secretary Xie Lizhi was not a local cadre of Wanshun County but had been parachuted in from the provincial capital. He had only been in Wanshun County for about a year.

Thanks to the foundation laid by Qin Chuan back in the day, Wanshun County had a solid foundation and great strength. The position of County Party Secretary was elevated to the deputy-bureau level, and it was also a member of the Ningzhou Municipal Standing Committee.

Qin Chuan's expression gradually turned cold. This Secretary Xie Lizhi was completely disregarding him.

Lin Jiang suggested, "Brother Chuan, your university will have summer break, right? When you have time, come visit Wanshun County and see everyone."

It had been a long time since he had returned to Wanshun County, where he had many of his former subordinates. Qin Chuan said, "Hmm, when I have time, I will go back and take a look."

The two chatted on the phone for about ten minutes. After hanging up, Qin Chuan suddenly felt the urge to call Xiao Chuyi and ask about her situation with concern, but he ultimately restrained himself.

She had feelings for Qin Chuan; she had a crush on him back in high school. Now in her thirties, she was still unmarried and had always kept a place for Qin Chuan in her heart.

Qin Chuan had never given her any hope, aiming to make her give up and find a good man to marry. He hadn't expected her to be so deeply attached, suffering from unrequited love to this day.

Sigh...

Qin Chuan sighed softly, and in the end, he did not make the call.

The centennial celebration of Jiangnan University had remained a hot topic for a long time.

Time quickly arrived at June, and Jiangnan University ushered in the graduation season. Students taking graduation photos could always be seen on campus.

Entering July, the university campus became much quieter because the summer vacation had officially begun, and all faculty and staff had started their summer break.

As a university leader, he also had a summer vacation, but he needed to take turns on duty. During the nearly two-month summer break, besides the ten-plus days of duty, most of the time was very free.

Once summer vacation started, Qin Chuan first returned to Beijing for a few days. Then, on Tuesday, July 9th, Qin Chuan arrived in Wanshun County alone and kept a low profile.

He first went to Furong City, the provincial capital of Jiangnan Province, and then took the high-speed rail to Wanshun County. He didn't alert anyone, only informing Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang drove his BYD to the high-speed rail station to welcome him.

"Brother Chuan, it's been at least two years since you've been to Wanshun County, right?"

"It's been more than two years." Sitting in the car and looking outside through the window, Qin Chuan said, "In two years, Wanshun County has changed so much."

"Wanshun County being able to develop so quickly is all thanks to the solid foundation you laid back then, Brother Chuan. The subsequent leaders just needed to rest on their laurels."

Qin Chuan smiled and did not refute it; the actual situation was indeed so.

The car drove for a while, and suddenly, Qin Chuan paused in surprise, seeing a very large building with a very high level of construction.

"Lin Jiang, what is that place? I remember there wasn't such a building before."

Lin Jiang introduced, "That is the International Conference Center. I heard it cost 2.65 billion to build. It's a vanity project that Secretary Xie Lizhi pushed through after taking charge of Wanshun County."

Hearing this, Qin Chuan's expression darkened slightly.

Damn it. Although Wanshun County has money, it shouldn't be wasted like this. In a county town, building such a huge conference center at a cost of 2.65 billion—was his brain squeezed by a door panel?

Without needing to go inside, one could tell that it was built with extreme luxury. The materials used must have been very high-end; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so terrifyingly expensive at 2.65 billion.

"Brother Chuan, do you want to go take a look?"

Qin Chuan waved his hand and said, "No, I'm not interested."

Going to see it would only ruin his mood.

Because it was nearing noon, Lin Jiang suggested, "Brother Chuan, shall we go eat now? What do you think?"

Qin Chuan nodded, "Find a place and just have a casual meal. You have class in the afternoon, right? Don't worry about me; I'll just walk around and take a look."

Lin Jiang said, "It's fine, I took the afternoon off. Today's task is to accompany you the whole time."

The two found a decent restaurant and sat down. When preparing to order, Lin Jiang suggested, "Brother Chuan, let's call Xiao Chuyi over too. It'll be livelier with more people. If she knows you came to Wanshun County, she'll probably be over the moon."

After a slight hesitation, Qin Chuan nodded.

She would find out sooner or later that he had come to Wanshun County. Since that was the case, there was no harm in calling her over to eat together now.

Having received permission, Lin Jiang immediately took out his phone and called, "Beauty Xiao, let's eat lunch together. Do you have time?"

"Lin Jiang, if we eat lunch together, aren't you afraid your wife will get jealous?"

"Are you really not coming? Don't regret it then."

"If you have something to say, just say it. I hate people who are secretive."

"Then hurry over. Brother Chuan arrived in our Wanshun County today. I just drove to the high-speed rail station to pick him up. We are at Lao Liu Restaurant, waiting for you."

"Really? Don't lie to me."

On the phone, Xiao Chuyi's voice was clearly excited and surprised. Then, she eagerly said, "I'm coming right away! Wait for me!"

In less than five minutes, Xiao Chuyi arrived.

She was still very beautiful, her face full of collagen. Despite being thirty-three or thirty-four years old, she looked only about twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

The moment she saw Qin Chuan, her eyes lit up.

"Brother Chuan, it's really you!"

Qin Chuan smiled slightly, "Hmm, the university is on summer break, so I came back to Wanshun County to take a look. Please sit down. What would you like to eat? Feel free to order more dishes."

She took the menu, ordered two dishes she liked, and then, her entire gaze remained on Qin Chuan, the kind that simply couldn't look away.