Afternoon, 5 pm.
Family quarters, Old Yang's house.
Dong Xuebing is playing with his daughter in his room. Ring … ring … ring … ring … Dong Xuebing's phone rang. It's a number he did not save.
"Hello, I'm Dong Xuebing." Dong Xuebing answered.
"Xuebing, I'm Hou Qing." A woman's voice is on the other end.
Dong Xuebing laughed. "Sister Hou, is this your number?"
"It's mine. Haha … I had searched for a long time before I got your number." Hou Qing replied.
Dong Xuebing replied. "Oh, I forgot to save it for you. Oh, I still have not thanked you for helping me in the afternoon."
Hou Qing laughed. "I did not help much, and I don't deserve your thanks."
Dong Xuebing replied. "You had helped me by not asking the police to arrest them. If not, I will not know what to do if there is a conflict."
"I also don't want them to be rebuffed. Our officers are no match for you. Even if they send a team of officers to arrest you, they will be asking for trouble. "
"Don't mind me. I am not that powerful."
"Don't be so humble. I had witnessed your fighting prowess."
"Oh, why are you looking for me?"
"Nothing much. Are you free later? Let's have dinner together? "
"Err …" Dong Xuebing looks around. "I had planned to have dinner at home …"
Hou Qing continued. "You should be going back to work tomorrow. It's not easy for me to come here, so I can't let go of this opportunity. Are you not going to give me this little bit of face? "
Dong Xuebing smiled. "Err … alright. Where is the place?"
Hou Qing gave Dong Xuebing an address. "6 pm. See you there?"
"Ok. I will be there on time."
"Ok. Let's talk when we meet."
After hanging up, Dong Xuebing looked at his mother and Yang Zhaode, who are picking vegetables in the living room. He smiled embarrassedly. "Uncle Yang, Mum, I need to go out tonight."
Luan Xiaoping looks at Dong Xuebing. "Who are you going out with?"
Dong Xuebing replied. "Hou Qing, Lui An City's Public Security Deputy Bureau Chief."
Yang Zhaode laughed. "Xiao Bing, you are quite popular. You know someone in our city? I know Xiao Hou. He's a very capable cadre. "
Dong Xuebing explained. "I got to know her during a mission. It's quite funny. At that time, both of us were undercover agents investigating the Provincial Museum's burglary case. After that, Sister Hou was exposed, and I was the one who saved her. That's how we became friends." From a certain point of view, no relationship could be more reliable than one bound by benefits, but a friendship that had been through life and death was always more real than an exchange of benefits.
Yang Zhaode nodded slightly. "It's always good to expand your network."
"Then I will not be having dinner at home tonight?" Dong Xuebing asked.
Luan Xiaoping was a little unhappy. "I don't see you usually so busy. Why are you so busy during the New Year? You can't even have a proper meal at home? "
Dong Xuebing knew his mother is missing him. He had not seen her for a long time, and now that he is back, she must want him to accompany her.
"This …" Dong Xuebing scratched his head.
Yang Zhaode tried to persuade him, "Let the child go. With his current rank and position, he'll have plenty of social engagements. It's not too much for him to have social engagements every day. His position is already here, and he can't run away. "
Luan Xiaoping replied. "He doesn't have any social engagements in the past."
Yang Zhaode was stunned. "Xiao Bing doesn't have any social engagements?"
Dong Xuebing laughed. "I don't have many."
"How is this possible?" Yang Zhaode was surprised. "When I was your age, I had not had dinner at home. It's normal for me to have dinner with businessmen, colleagues, and leaders. This is part of my job. Don't you have dinner with them? "
Dong Xuebing was speechless and doesn't know what to say.
Luan Xiaoping helped Dong Xuebing. "When he was working in Beijing State Security, he had offended Chief Zhen. When he was working in Yan Tai County, he had arrested the County's Party Secretary's relative and angered him. After that, he went to Nanshan District and caused trouble for the District's Party Secretary. Now, he is in Fen Zhou City and had offended the City's Party Secretary because of Yunxuan. Who dares to invite Xiao Bing out for dinner? Other than a few of his close colleagues, no one dares to approach him. "
What Luan Xiaoping said was the truth. This was also the reason why Dong Xuebing had nothing to do at home. He had offended too many people, and all of them were higher-ranked leaders. That's why everyone had to think twice before interacting with Dong Xuebing. The result was that they would not get close to him. This was to prevent the higher-ups from misunderstandings. That's why after Dong Xuebing entered the government service, other than a few people, he was not very popular. He had enemies everywhere.
But Dong Xuebing does not want to admit it because he does not want to show his face.
Yang Zhaode heard what Dong Xuebing said and laughed. "Xiao Bing is not an ordinary person. Even when he is surrounded by enemies, he can still rise to the top. From this angle, we can see how capable he is. His future is limitless."
Luan Xiaoping pouted. "You are always going along with what he says. Hmph!"
But Dong Xuebing is not Yang Zhaode's biological son, and Old Yang cannot criticize him every day. It will only backfire. Old Yang knows when to stop.
Dong Xuebing doesn't like to hear that. "Mum, can you stop insulting me?"
"You can do this, and you don't want me to talk about it? Have you seen any government official offending more people than you? Count yourself, how many people have you offended since you became a government official? More than a few hundred! All government officials are harmonious. What do you mean by not taking the usual route? You are clearly stirring up trouble. "Luan Xiaoping stared at him." I can't control you. Go ahead. What time will you be back tonight? "Dong Xuebing asked.
Dong Xuebing replied. "I don't know. We will talk about it later."
Dong Xuebing's mother must be angry with what happened downstairs in the afternoon, and Dong Xuebing does not dare to argue with her.
At times like this, Yang Zhaode is always on Dong Xuebing's side. He immediately changed the topic and reminded Dong Xuebing. "Xiao Hou is a late bloomer and was only promoted in the past two years. You should not underestimate people like her. You should get to know her better."
Dong Xuebing nodded. "Yes, Uncle Yang. Do you want me to ask her to come over to your place for dinner? Let's have dinner together? "
Yang Zhaode laughed. "Ok. I also want to talk to her. I had seen Xiao Hou's file, and she is not bad. Her background is clean."
Dong Xuebing knew what Yang Zhaode meant. Clean background? That means there is no one in the government, and Old Yang is trying to pull Hou Qing over to his side. Old Yang and his mother had just moved to Lui 'an City not long ago, and it's better to have more help. With Dong Xuebing's relationship with Hou Qing, it should be easier. Old Yang wants Dong Xuebing to be his go-between, and Dong Xuebing is willing to help.
… …
6 pm.
A restaurant in Lui 'an City.
When Dong Xuebing arrived, Hou Qing was waiting for him at the entrance. Hou Qing had changed out of her police uniform and is wearing a trench coat and trousers.
Now, Hou Qing is one rank higher than Dong Xuebing and is much older than him. If Hou Qing had arrived earlier, she should have waited for Dong Xuebing in the restaurant and not come out to greet him. She should know about Dong Xuebing's relationship with Old Yang. That's right. Everyone in the quarters saw what happened in the afternoon. Even if Hou Qing had left, someone should have told her about it.
"Sister Hou."
"You are here?"
"You must have waited for a long time."
"No. I had just arrived."
"Shall we go in? It's my treat today. "
"Let's wait for someone. Eh? Someone is here."
Dong Xuebing was surprised. Someone is here? Dong Xuebing looked at a car parked by the roadside. Huh? Isn't that Deputy Mayor Zhou, whom he had met in the afternoon? Two other people alighted from the car. Dong Xuebing had not seen them before, and they should be Lui 'an City's leaders.
Deputy Mayor Zhou alighted from the car and smiled at Dong Xuebing. "Xiao Dong, you are here?"
"Mayor Zhou." Dong Xuebing greeted him.
Hou Qing introduced the other two people to Dong Xuebing. "This is Chief Liu from the Finance Department, and this is Director Li from the Court." She turned to Dong Xuebing. "This is Chief Dong."
Dong Xuebing knew these two should be the deputy head of the department.
Chief Liu immediately shook Dong Xuebing's hand. "Chief Dong, nice to meet you."
Dong Xuebing smiled. "Don't say this. I am not famous. Even if I have a bad reputation, it is infamy."
Hou Qing laughed when she heard what Dong Xuebing said. She was amused by Dong Xuebing and thought to herself that Dong Xuebing knows his place.
But Hou Qing is close to Dong Xuebing, and she can do whatever she wants with Dong Xuebing. But Chief Liu and Director Li cannot. "How can that be? Chief Dong, you are too humble. Our court had organized a few days of lessons on how you risked your life to save others during the earthquake."
This is not flattery.
When Dong Xuebing was buried under the rubble, everyone thought he was dead. Many government departments organized a study session for them to learn from him. But Dong Xuebing suddenly "came back to life," and the study session was stopped.
Everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while before entering the restaurant.
Deputy Mayor Zhou is the highest-ranking official and is seated at the head of the table.
But when the dinner started, Dong Xuebing noticed he is the center of attention. Deputy Mayor Zhou took a call and left, leaving Chief Liu and Director Li to treat Dong Xuebing warmly. Hou Qing also drinks with Dong Xuebing. After a while, the VIP room's door opened, and a few other government officials who were having dinner next to Dong Xuebing came over to toast him.
Dong Xuebing is not used to this scene. Sigh … how long has it been since he had such a social gathering?
In the places where Dong Xuebing worked, many government officials will avoid him when they see him having dinner. It's been a while since Dong Xuebing was surrounded by people.
Of course, Dong Xuebing knows this is because of Old Yang.
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