45: Chapter 45 Qiao Yan'er's Private Affairs

Just as the manager was feeling troubled, a middle-aged man walked in from outside. He was about 1.76 meters tall, wearing a polo shirt and dress trousers. He looked clean and fair-skinned, wearing black-rimmed glasses, resembling a teacher or a scholar.

He was Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner's only uncle, Yin Guo.

Yin Guo cast an unfriendly glance at Zhang Huaijing, but when he looked at Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner, his face was already wreathed in smiles: "Yaner, I'm dining here with some friends, and since I saw you here too, I just went ahead and settled the bill."

"I don't need you to pay for my meal," Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner said coldly, pointing at the manager. "I've already given you the money. Whether you return it to him or not is your business."

"Alright, alright, you settle it, you settle it." Yin Guo sighed, appearing very humble. His gaze shifted to Zhang Huaijing again, and he asked, "Yaner, who is this handsome man?"

"Is that any of your business?"

"Your boyfriend?" Yin Guo's expression dimmed, and he seemed a bit nervous.

Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner glared at him and said: "What nonsense are you talking about! This is my supervisor, Secretary Zhang from the Municipal Party Committee."

Yin Guo was stunned for a moment, then immediately relaxed. He respectfully raised his glass, intending to offer a toast.

Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner shot him a sharp look and said: "No need. We're finished. Secretary Zhang, let's go." As she spoke, she gently tapped Zhang Huaijing, and the two stood up and left the private room.

Yin Guo followed them out awkwardly, smiling and bowing. He chased after them a few steps, eagerly advising: "Yaner, you've been drinking, make sure you don't drive."

Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner ignored him and walked out of the restaurant without looking back.

Once on the street, Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner was in low spirits, her expression gloomy. Because she had drunk too much, she was unsteady on her feet, and several times she nearly fell into Zhang Huaijing's arms, but he caught her each time.

"Is he your biological uncle?" Zhang Huaijing asked.

"Yes. My mother and her siblings are seven in total, and he is the only male. He currently works as a teacher at Haizhou Normal University."

"Why are you so cold towards your uncle?"

Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner stopped, turned her face away, and looked at the sea not far away. The sea breeze, carrying a salty scent, blew against her face, disheveling her tea-brown dyed long hair again and again. She kept tucking her hair back.

Zhang Huaijing felt that there was a story behind this, and it might have touched upon her painful memories, so he stopped talking and silently accompanied her in the sea breeze.

After a long while, she turned her face back. Her eyes were filled with tears, looking pitiful, yet also full of resentment.

"What's wrong?"

"He is a beast, he doesn't deserve to be my uncle!"

Zhang Huaijing looked at her in surprise, his eyes filled with confusion.

She wiped away her tears and forced a smile: "I'm sorry, I lost my composure. It's nothing, let's take a walk by the seaside."

The two walked silently along the seaside boardwalk for a few minutes. Eventually, Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner couldn't help it. She touched his arm and turned to look at him, asking: "Secretary, do you really want to know?"

Zhang Huaijing didn't really want to know about their family's messy affairs, but since she asked, he couldn't say "I don't want to know," so he just looked at her without speaking.

Her face flushed for no reason, and she said somewhat embarrassedly: "Maybe later. When the time is right, I will tell you everything."

She said it a bit shyly, yet with a touch of allure. This made him feel that what she would tell him later must be very private.

After walking for over ten minutes, Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner's mood returned to normal.

The two eventually wandered near the Ancient County Government Office. It had long been fenced off, and a construction team was working, but the ancient building in the middle, a ruin of broken walls, was still preserved.

"Look, Shen Meizhu has already started building, and the foundation has been laid. The teachers from the Archaeological Research Institute won't let them touch the middle part, and it's been escalated to the mayor. The mayor said he would invite a professional testing team to come and test again to see if there are any cultural relics underground. If there aren't, then they can demolish it and build a commercial center."

"Do you think there are any cultural relics?"

Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner thought for a moment and said: "I don't know either. However, when I was in school, I heard an archaeological expert say that some Ancient County Government Offices would throw expired or useless files and documents into abandoned wells. Sometimes, when war broke out and the city couldn't be defended, they would do the same. I don't know if there's anything in the old well of our Ancient County Government Office."

"Then why don't you just dig it up and see?"

Deputy Secretary Qiao Yaner gave a small hum and said: "If only it were that simple. Those ancient wells are at least five or six hundred years old. They have long since dried up and are filled with dirt, with only the top exposed, about half a meter high. The key is that Shen Meizhu won't allow it. If they really dig up cultural relics and the ancient well becomes a cultural relic site, she won't be able to build her commercial center."

"So, the key lies in the mayor's attitude."

"Correct."

"Ask your father to talk to the mayor; they have a good relationship," Zhang Huaijing said tentatively.

"I've begged my father. He won't do anything. He said that him trying to persuade them would be like drying a quilt under the moonlight—a waste of effort."

At 10:00 PM, Zhang Huaijing returned to the hotel. He saw Secretary Chen Ran pacing in the lobby. Seeing his leader return, he hurried up to greet him: "Secretary, you're back?"

"Have you been waiting for me the whole time?"

Secretary Chen Ran was just about to say yes, but changed his words: "No, no, I just arrived as well."

Zhang Huaijing smiled with satisfaction: "What's the matter?"

This kid was making rapid progress and knew how to speak now. If you say you've been waiting the whole time, wouldn't that put pressure on the leader and make the leader feel guilty? In Chinese social interactions, a white lie often represents emotional intelligence.

"The Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee meeting will be held tomorrow at 10:00 AM. I've brought you the meeting notice, agenda, and materials." Secretary Chen Ran held a document bag in his hand.

Zhang Huaijing uttered an "oh," nodded, and continued walking forward.

This was another moment to test the Secretary. Since the leader hadn't given clear instructions, should you give the document bag to the leader and watch them take the elevator, or should you hold the document bag yourself and follow the leader up?

Secretary Chen Ran chose the latter. He silently followed behind the leader, helped the leader press the elevator button, and went up to the third-floor suite.

Zhang Huaijing took out his room card and opened the door. Secretary Chen Ran followed him in, handed the documents to the leader immediately, and then went to boil water to make tea.

Zhang Huaijing changed into his slippers and sat on the sofa to read the materials. He finished reading them very quickly. The first agenda item was to convey, study, and implement the spirit of the * *, and the second agenda item was to study the construction plan for the Chao River Bridge.

The other agenda items were basically routine work and didn't require any special preparation.

Secretary Chen Ran knew that whether the new plan for the Chao River Bridge passed tomorrow was of great importance, so he specifically came overnight to submit the materials so that the leader could be prepared in advance.

Watching him busy himself, Zhang Huaijing thought to himself, this new Secretary feels pretty good, at least he's more steady than Secretary Jiang Tao.

He put down the documents and said: "Little Chen, I see you are from Wanghai County. Do you know that Cui... Cui what's-his-name? The civil servant who passed away in a car accident not long ago?"

"Cui Liming. I know him; we were in the same high school." Secretary Chen Ran's expression immediately became serious and a bit sorrowful.

"Were you close?"

"Yes, we were good friends."

Zhang Huaijing said calmly: "It's a great pity. I heard about his situation. When I went to Wanghai County for research, I visited his father. He is a retired soldier and a veteran Party member with thirty-six years of Party membership."

"Thank you, Secretary. The Cui family, including me, are all very grateful to you."

Zhang Huaijing smiled and waved his hand: "That's not what I meant. I want to ask you, are you also familiar with Lu Waner?"