While Min Yonggui and Li Zhangzhou were plotting, Lu Tao was sitting on a chair in the duty room, being interrogated by Wu Manping.
Before the interrogation began, Wu Manping looked at Lu Tao from head to toe with a sullen face, not saying a word for a long time.
This kind of judgmental and critical gaze made Lu Tao feel very uncomfortable. However, considering that she was Chen Pei's mother, his elder, and that she had helped him earlier, he suppressed the displeasure in his heart and lowered his eyes, allowing her gaze to roam over his body ….
Chen Pei knew that Lu Tao was proud and could not stand her mother's scrutinizing gaze, so she reminded her mother in a reproachful tone, "Mom, if you have something to say, say it quickly! Lu Tao is still injured, and the ambulance is still waiting outside. Lu Tao and I still have to go to the hospital for treatment after you're done! "
Only then did Wu Manping shift her gaze away from Lu Tao and get straight to the point. "Little Lu, where is your hometown? What do your parents do? Do you have any siblings? "
Lu Tao answered sullenly, "My hometown is Huaisha City's Qingxi County. My parents are farmers, and my father passed away more than 20 years ago. I have an older sister who is already married and working with my brother-in-law in Guangdong. My mother is living with my sister now."
Wu Manping's expression turned even uglier when she heard that his parents were farmers, and that his father had passed away more than 20 years ago. She looked at Chen Pei with a reproachful gaze and asked in a condescending tone, "According to Chen Pei, you are now a cadre in Songshan City's Taolin County Local Taxation Bureau. What position do you hold in the local tax bureau? Are you a middle-level cadre in your bureau? "
Lu Tao listened as her interrogation became more and more detailed, and her tone became more and more aggressive. He knew that she had mistakenly thought that he was dating Chen Pei, and that she was obviously very dissatisfied with her 'future sons-in-law', which was why she was using such a tone to get to the bottom of things. He couldn't help but feel angry, so he looked up and stared straight at Wu Manping as he answered stiffly, "Auntie, I am now a very ordinary member of the Taolin County Local Taxation Bureau. I used to work in the Inspection Bureau, but because I made a mistake not long ago, I was given a demerit and was removed from my post. I am now a member of our county's task force, and I am stationed in a small village to help out."
Lu Tao originally didn't plan on telling Chen Pei about his punishment, but when he saw Wu Manping continuously interrogate him, he felt a little angry. He might as well just tell her directly that he was punished at the bureau. He wanted her to be completely disappointed in him and quickly end this conversation that made him feel like there was a thorn in his back …
Chen Pei was shocked when she heard that Lu was being punished, and looked to to her, to see that he was serious and didn't seem to be joking or deliberately to toe, and didn't seem to be deliberately angry... so she angrily asked anxiously, she asked asked asked anxiously, "to, what did you say say say?? What mistake did you make? The last time I went to your unit, didn't you tell me that you'd just participated in the competition for a middle management position in your bureau? At the time, you said that the chances of success were very high, so why did you suddenly get punished? Did one of your competitors set you up? "
Lu Tao shook his head and said, "It's a long story. I was indeed set up by someone, but the person who set me up wasn't someone from the bureau, but a taxpayer. The process is very complicated, I'll explain it to you when I have time! "
When Wu Manping heard that Lu Tao was actually a problematic manager who had been punished, her originally calm face became even more unsightly. She had no interest in questioning Lu Tao about anything else, so she stood up and grabbed Chen Pei's hand. As she walked out of the on-call room, she said angrily, "Peipei, come out with me for a bit, I have something to ask you!"
Chen Pei was dragged out of the on-call room against her will, and walked ten or so meters to the right until they came to a turn.
Wu Manping asked in a very strict tone, "Peipei, what's your relationship with Little Lu? Do you like him a lot? "
Chen Pei answered calmly, "Yes, I like him a lot. I've liked him since I was in university. Mom, I can tell you something from the bottom of my heart: Lu Tao is my first love, and the man I want to marry the most. I also want to remind you of one thing: Don't take it for granted that Lu Tao has taken a fancy to my identity as the daughter of the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee. He wants to climb up the social ladder, so he's pursuing me. The truth is the opposite: I'm the one who's pursuing Lu Tao, but he doesn't like me very much — "
When Wu Manping heard this, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Her face flushed red with anger as she scolded, "Peipei, is there something wrong with your head? You have so many outstanding young men pursuing you, but you don't like any of them. You even told me and your dad that you don't want to date or get married for the time being. We also believed your nonsense, but we didn't expect you to take a fancy to such a rash, rustic country bumpkin. He's even a problematic cadre who made a mistake and was punished. Are you deliberately trying to anger me and your dad to death? "
When Chen Pei heard her mother call Lu Tao a "country bumpkin", her face darkened and she said, "Mom, what right do you have to call Lu Tao a country bumpkin? He's the same as me, a university student at the Zhongnan School of Finance and Economics. He's well-versed in both the pen and the sword, and his abilities are outstanding. What's the point of belittling him like this? Besides, aren't my grandparents from the countryside? Now that you're disdaining Lu Tao because he's from a farmer's background, have you forgotten your roots? "
Chen Pei didn't talk back to her parents easily, but when it came to something she was certain about, she would be abnormally stubborn. Even her father, Chen Dengfeng, couldn't persuade her. And Lu Tao was the person Chen Pei liked and admired the most. He was also where her principles and bottom line lay in her heart. So when she heard her mother slander him with such unpleasant words, she couldn't help but throw a tantrum and talk back to her mother …
Wu Manping knew that her daughter was usually quiet and didn't get angry easily, but once she got angry, even her father would be a little busy. She could only sigh and say, "Peipei, I've worried so much for you, but you don't appreciate it at all. As the saying goes, 'A grown girl can't be kept at home'. Since you've taken a fancy to that boy with the surname Lu, I can't stop you, but I still have to give you a piece of advice: A man is afraid of entering the wrong profession, a woman is afraid of marrying the wrong man! As a girl, you must be very careful when it comes to matters of love and marriage. Once you marry the wrong person, it will ruin your lifetime of happiness.
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