52: Chapter 52 The Persuader

Afterwards, Zhang Huaijing invited Gao Qing to dinner, and Gao Qing readily agreed.

The dinner was arranged at Haizhou Hotel.

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Huaijing had received many red envelopes, cigarettes, and alcohol; both the hotel and his office were piled full, so he had Secretary Chen Ran bring six cartons of Soft Chunghwa cigarettes and a few bottles of Moutai liquor to have on hand.

At seven o'clock, Gao Qing pushed the door open and entered, followed by two men in their forties or fifties.

"Let me introduce you; this is Secretary Zhang," Gao Qing introduced loudly. "These two are my good friends. This is Archaeology Expert Liu Jiye, and this is Associate Professor Li Shouren from the History Department of Haizhou Normal University."

Liu Jiye was thin and short with sparse hair and a slovenly appearance; his teeth looked a bit dark when he smiled. Associate Professor Li Shouren wore thick glasses, was a large man with a dark, ruddy complexion, and was dressed simply.

Zhang Huaijing stood up to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with both of them.

"Secretary, these two friends of mine have long admired you and have wanted to visit you for a while, but you are so busy with a thousand tasks that you are never seen, and your Secretary always says you have no time. It just so happened that I had a dinner scheduled with them tonight, and then your call came in, so I brought them along. Secretary, you don't mind, do you?"

Since they were already brought here, could he really chase them away to their faces? Zhang Huaijing smiled and said, "Not at all, I am honored."

Gao Qing was still the same, doing things his own way without much regard for others' feelings. You should have told me someone else was coming when you called this afternoon; matters regarding the report cannot be discussed in front of outsiders.

Including Secretary Chen Ran, there were five people at the dinner.

After three rounds of drinks, with the alcohol warming their spirits, the conversation began to flow.

Liu Jiye said with deep distress, "Secretary Zhang, you don't know, for us old men who view cultural relics as our lives, the most painful thing is that Haizhou doesn't even have a single national first-class cultural relic, let alone cultural relics that cannot be exhibited abroad. For Haizhou, with a population of four million and a three-thousand-year history of city establishment, what a disgraceful thing this is."

Gao Qing patted his back and said, "Comrade Liu, don't beat around the bush. If you have any demands, just tell my old classmate directly."

Liu Jiye said, "There are two reasons: First, the government does not attach importance to it and has not invested enough manpower and financial resources in archaeological excavation and private collection; second, there is serious destruction. Look at the Ancient County Government Office, a county government office from the Yuan Dynasty; it has at least a thousand years of history, right? It was torn down and destroyed by the Red Guards during the special period. Even if we didn't renovate it, that would be one thing, but now they've sold the land to developers to build commercial housing. This is an encroachment on culture; it is an insult! Secretary Zhang, you are an intellectual; you must do something about this."

Associate Professor Li Shouren of the History Department chimed in, "According to my speculation, there are some precious cultural relics buried in the nine wells. There are records of Ancient County Government Offices throwing discarded bamboo slips, official documents, writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and even letters into abandoned wells. Don't look at it as just a Yuan Dynasty county government office; what might be preserved there could be bamboo slips and materials from the Qin Dynasty or even earlier."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Huaijing was startled and asked, "If that is the case, how did it pass the evaluation during the project's environmental impact assessment?"

"We appealed everywhere, but it was useless. The Cultural Bureau only listens to the leaders, and the leaders are in cahoots with the developers. The developers won't let us conduct rescue excavations; there's nothing we can do." After finishing, Liu Jiye sighed heavily, picked up his glass, and poured the drink forcefully down his throat.

Zhang Huaijing said, "Since administrative channels aren't working, haven't you thought of other methods? What about proposals? Have you tried finding the Provincial Department of Culture, provincial cultural relic and archaeological institutions, etc.?"

Liu Jiye waved his hand and sighed, "Tried it, tried it all. Proposals have been submitted year after year, and every year it's just a formality. People from the Provincial Department and the Provincial Archaeological Research Institute also came to look and agreed that there are cultural relics in the ancient wells, but they also have to watch the city leaders' expressions. Besides, the land has already been sold, and the developers adamantly refuse to let us excavate. We can't just force it, right? That Shen Meizhu, don't let her gentle and beautiful appearance fool you; when she gets fierce, she's a tigress, and she has a gang of thugs under her. It's truly a case of scholars meeting soldiers—you can't reason with them."

"Secretary Zhang, you are the third-in-command of the Municipal Party Committee. Could you step in and communicate with Mayor Niu? If that land is turned into a shopping mall, it will never be possible to excavate again. If there really are cultural relics from the Qin and Han Dynasties, they will have to sleep forever underground. It's such a pity, such a pity!" After saying this, Li Shouren's eyes turned red, and tears almost fell.

"Without solid evidence to prove there are cultural relics in the wells, it is indeed difficult to handle," Zhang Huaijing said, frowning, without committing himself.

The relatively calm Li Shouren felt disappointed; he said nothing and silently drank a glass of wine.

Gao Qing sighed with a look of sorrow, "This is the tragedy of intellectuals. I am reminded of Jia Yi of the Western Han Dynasty... Alas, let's drink."

Seeing that Zhang Huaijing still refused to give a definite answer, the three of them were unhappy but couldn't say anything. After all, he was the Deputy Secretary, not in charge of cultural work, and he was new here; it was understandable that he wouldn't want to offend the Mayor.

Consequently, the dinner became rather dull and flavorless, and it ended before nine o'clock.

Before leaving, Secretary Chen Ran distributed two cartons of Soft Chunghwa cigarettes to each of the three men.

Gao Qing firmly refused, but since his two friends both accepted, he accepted as well.

The three were flattered and kept saying thank you. Other leaders usually received gifts from subordinates, but this leader was giving gifts.

At this moment, Zhang Huaijing called out to stop Gao Qing, letting Liu Jiye and Li Shouren leave first.

Gao Qing was about sixty or seventy percent drunk and said with a grin, "Old classmate, what other instructions do you have?"

"These two bottles of liquor are for you." Zhang Huaijing placed a black bag into his hand, which contained two unopened bottles of Moutai liquor.

"What are you doing? First treating me to dinner, then giving cigarettes and alcohol—bribing me?" Gao Qing said with a tipsy look.

Zhang Huaijing nodded, "Yes, bribing you."

He walked over, closed the door, helped Gao Qing sit down, and continued, "I originally invited you alone for a drink tonight. You brought two friends, so there were some things I couldn't say."

"I knew it; the drunkard's heart is not in the cup. Speak, is it about my report on Niu Panlong's vote-buying?"

"It seems you aren't drunk after all." Zhang Huaijing laughed out loud.

Gao Qing snorted and said, "You don't help us intellectuals protect cultural relics, but instead, you act as a lobbyist for Niu Panlong? In this world, to use a common saying: it's like the century eggs from Wang Siniang's house; they change whenever they want."

"Take my advice: if you cannot tolerate small things, you will spoil great plans. Just let it go."

"No! He became Mayor through improper means. If he worked properly and did a few things to benefit the people and benefit Haizhou, that would be one thing, but look at what he is doing? Acting against the tide!" Gao Qing waved his hand and said angrily, "He proposed the Old Street renovation, and then gave the project to Shen Meizhu. The two of them are corrupt and immoral, destroying cultural relics and obstructing excavations; they are sinners of history!"

Zhang Huaijing waited for him to finish venting his temper and patiently advised, "Gao Qing, this time, no matter how you report or complain, you won't be able to topple Niu Panlong. It will only backfire on you, and you will be retaliated against; it's not worth the loss."

"I am not afraid of retaliation..."

"And your family? Are they not afraid?" He was not fear-mongering; just thinking of the fate of Cui Liming was enough to know.