At a quarter past twelve, Song Chaoyang and the other two walked out. He and Du Minsheng looked calm. Zheng Yuanfang's face was a little red, and his expression was unnatural, as if he had just been criticized.
It was time for lunch. Luo Dawei had been waiting outside for a long time. When he saw Song Chaoyang and the others, he immediately invited them to lunch. There was no cafeteria in Jiupo Town's government office. The local officials ate at a few restaurants in town. After a long time of persistence, they even found a designated restaurant. This banquet for the city officials was to go to that designated restaurant.
Song Chaoyang did not have any opinions about the meal. He only said that they should not be extravagant and wasteful.
A group of more than ten people walked out of the compound and headed to the designated restaurant. The restaurant was not far away. It was about fifty meters diagonally opposite the town office's compound. They arrived after a few steps.
It was time for lunch, but this restaurant called "Jiupo's First Restaurant" was deserted. There was not a single guest. Although there was not a single guest, the restaurant owner and the waiters in the restaurant respectfully waited at the entrance. They were divided into two rows and solemnly welcomed the arrival of the leaders.
Li Rui understood at a glance. It was not that there were no guests in this restaurant, but that the town government had sent people to reserve the entire place. They did not allow outsiders to disturb the city officials.
Song Chaoyang did not say anything about this and walked straight into the private room. Du Minsheng followed behind. Zheng Yuanfang, Luo Dawei, and the heads of the county people's congress and the CPPCC followed him in. The other members of the county committee stayed outside.
This was the first time Li Rui accompanied Song Chaoyang for a meal on official business. He did not know if he should accompany him to the table. It was reasonable to say that the people who were eating with him today were not high-ranking people. He should be able to sit with them, but to be cautious, he did not take the initiative to sit with them. The boss had Du Minsheng, the head of the Municipal Party Committee, beside him, so he did not need him. Therefore, he also stayed outside.
The Deputy Secretary of the Shuanghe County Committee who stayed outside was the leader. This person was called Fang Qingyun. When he saw Li Rui alone, he quickly went forward to invite him. Li Rui nodded with a smile and followed them into another private room.
As soon as they sat down, the waiters began to serve the dishes. Delicacies from the mountains, game, and local delicacies were served one after another as if they were treasures. Soon, the table was filled, and the aroma assailed their nostrils, making them drool.
The waiter also served the drinks. Fang Qingyun politely asked Li Rui if he wanted to drink. Li Rui remembered that he still had to accompany Song Chaoyang to visit the local victims in the afternoon. It would be terrible if the smell of alcohol filled the air. He tactfully declined. Fang Qingyun didn't insist. She asked the waiter to take the wine away, and everyone started to eat and drink.
After the meal, everyone returned to the courtyard of the Town Hall to rest. At around one o 'clock, Song Chaoyang set off for Xishan Village again to visit the victims of the disaster. Xishan Village was the village that suffered the most in Jiupo Town, so naturally, there was a greater significance in consoling the victims here. The county had already arranged everything, and all the procedures had to be followed step by step.
When Song Chaoyang gave a heart-warming speech, a man and a woman suddenly appeared in the crowd. The man was in his thirties. He carried a camera on his shoulder and aimed it at Song Chaoyang. The woman next to him was in her twenties. She had a slender figure and picturesque features. She was a great beauty. She was holding a black box that had both a microphone and a recording function. There was a two-inch-long microphone at the front of the box. The two of them suddenly emerged from the crowd and attracted a lot of attention.
Li Rui also noticed them. At first, he thought that they were local TV reporters from Shuanghe County, so he didn't take them seriously. He didn't even look at them.
But who knew that the beautiful woman suddenly raised her left hand and asked loudly, "Song Shuji, can I ask you two questions?"
At that time, the hundreds and thousands of people present were all silent. Only Song Chaoyang was giving a condolence speech. The woman's sudden interruption was immediately heard by most people and interrupted Song Chaoyang's speech. Everyone's eyes were focused on the beautiful woman's head.
As the saying goes, if the lord worries, the minister will be humiliated, and if the lord is humiliated, the minister will die. His boss was in the middle of a speech and was suddenly interrupted. Li Rui felt deeply humiliated. On the one hand, he was angry at the local officials of Shuanghe County for not maintaining order at the scene. On the other hand, he hated the ignorant girl. As a reporter, didn't she know that she shouldn't interrupt others when they were talking? Was this the quality of a reporter?
He first looked at Luo Dawei and found that Luo Dawei was also a little flustered. He was puzzled. Was this female reporter not from Shuanghe County's TV station? He then turned his gaze to the female reporter. It was fine if he didn't look at her directly, but when he did, he was instantly stunned.
Why did this female reporter look so familiar? Her figure was elegant, her appearance was beautiful, and he seemed to have seen her not long ago … Where had he seen her before? Eh, he seemed to have seen her yesterday. But when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't remember.
Li Rui racked his brains to think. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Luo Dawei had already sent someone to stop the female reporter.
However, Song Chaoyang also spoke at this time, "Sure, go ahead and ask." His tone was very calm, as if there was no hint of anger in it. Of course, as an official at his level, he wouldn't easily show his emotions.
When the staff sent by Luo Dawei heard Song Chaoyang's words, they didn't dare to stop the female reporter. They just stood by her side, ready to chase her out at any time.
"Ah, I remember now …" Li Rui finally recalled the female reporter's image from his memory. What female reporter? Wasn't this beautiful woman the old couple that he and Yuan Jingjing had rescued when they came to Jiupo Town to check on the flood measures? He still remembered this beautiful woman's name. It seemed that the old handsome guy called her Ah Bing … But how was this Ah Bing a female reporter? In the past, she was just an unruly and cute young lady. Today, she had become a reporter. Wasn't her change too big? Also, where did she come from? He remembered that on this trip to the disaster area, the city didn't arrange for a TV station reporter to accompany him. From the expressions of Luo Dawei and the others, she wasn't from the Shuanghe County TV station. She wasn't even from the city or county level. Could it be … could it be from the province?
He suddenly thought of the miraculous situation he had encountered after saving the old couple, and his mood suddenly became excited. Right, he was wondering how he got promoted. Maybe it had something to do with the old handsome guy. Today, he met his wife, who was also an old acquaintance. Why not ask her about it?
However, now was obviously not a good time to meet her because she was asking Song Chaoyang questions. It was better to wait for her to stop. Also, it was really puzzling. Why did she suddenly ask Song Chaoyang questions? Looking at the faint smile on her face, it seemed like she didn't come with good intentions. What was going on?
While he was scratching his head in confusion, Ah Bing had already started asking questions. Her first question was very sharp and aggressive. "Song Chaoyang, as far as I know, you just came to Qingyang City to be the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, but you came to the disaster area to comfort the victims. Aren't you worried that people will misunderstand it as a political show?"
This question was thrown out in front of so many victims, so the leaders of the city and county level were very angry.
Luo Dawei probably thought that someone was deliberately trying to undermine him. He was so angry that his face turned red. He called another person over and whispered something in his ear. That person angrily walked over to Ah Bing.
Zheng Yuanfang, the Secretary of the county party committee, didn't look good either. He looked at Ah Bing with a gloomy face.
Even Du Minsheng, who was the calmest, slightly curled the corners of his mouth.
Li Rui was so angry that he stomped his feet. He thought to himself, Ah Bing, Ah Bing, no matter what, I saved your life. It doesn't matter if you don't repay me, but you can't come to undermine my boss. Ah, ah, ah, but how should I explain it to you?
Song Chaoyang was not angry. He smiled and asked, "Female comrade, if I wanted to do a political show, would I not bring people from the Municipal Party Committee's publicity department, the Municipal TV station, and the Municipal Newspaper to the disaster area?"
Li Rui was relieved to see that Song Chaoyang was witty and humorous. He easily answered the question.
Ah Bing smiled after hearing his answer. She wanted to ask again, but was stopped by the people sent by Luo Dawei.
Song Chaoyang saw this and said generously, "She still has one more question. Let her finish."
Ah Bing smiled and said, "Song Shuji is very bold. It would be impolite of me to refuse. The flood this time had a great impact on the people of Jiupo Town. May I ask how the disaster victims were settled? "
Li Rui frowned. This question was the best answer for Song Chaoyang, because he had already learned the details from Li Yulan. But the scary thing was that Ah Bing only asked two questions. The first question was so sharp, so the second question could not be so simple. She might have found something wrong with the place where she was now, so she asked this question. Song Chaoyang's answer would not easily satisfy her. It might even make him fall into a deeper trap.
Song Chaoyang replied, "Your question is very good. First of all, I have a rough understanding of the flood situation in Shuanghe County today … "Ah Bing interrupted and asked," Can I understand that you are trying to absolve yourself in advance? " Song Chaoyang said unhurriedly, "This is your third question, right? But I'm also willing to answer you. This is not an absolution, and I don't need to absolve myself. The reason why I said this is because my understanding of the disaster area is not very detailed. I'm afraid that my answer will not satisfy you. In addition, according to what you said just now, if there is a problem with the resettlement of the people in the disaster area, the governments of Qingyang City and Shuanghe County will not shirk responsibility. They will bravely bear the responsibility. Ah Bing nodded and said, "Please continue."
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