Status Quo

  It was almost time to get off work when Zhou made a phone call and said, "Dong Ge, let's have dinner together tonight."

  Han Dong smiled and said, "Tomorrow is Sunday, aren't you going back?" Hua Xia Country only implemented the five-day workweek after May 1st, 1995, and now they work six days a week, with Sundays off. Zhou Zhengjia usually goes back on Saturday afternoons when he's in Rongzhou City.

  "There's nothing to do even if I go back. Besides, Brother Dong, you're alone here and feeling lonely, so I have to stay and keep you company." Zhou said with a smile on the phone.

  For the past month, Han Dong and Zhou Zheng had dinner together several times, and the two got along quite well. Zhou Zheng looked chubby with a smile on his face all the time, but in fact, he was a meticulous guy. He admired Han Dong's skills very much and always asked Han Dong to teach him some moves. Han Dong casually gave him some pointers, telling him a few simple ways to build up his body and strength, which seemed to have a good effect according to what he said.

  "Go away, I'd rather be lonely than have you accompany me." Han Dong smiled and said, "I'll treat tonight."

  Zhou Zheng didn't decline at all and smiled: "That's great, I'll just eat more then. Who made your rank higher than mine?"

  After finishing the call with Zhou Zheng, Han Dong thought for a moment and dialed Chen Minxuan's phone number. "Director Chen, are you free tonight?"

  "How about it, want another two cups?" Chen Minxuan laughed and said.

  "Who dares to drink with Director Chen anymore? I just wanted to come out and sit for a bit."

  As soon as Han Dong mentions drinking, he gets a headache. His alcohol tolerance is not on the same level as Chen Minxuan's. Last time they drank together, Chen Minxuan had one cup and Han Dong had half a cup, but Chen Minxuan was fine while Han Dong passed out at the table and had a headache all day the next day.

  Chen Minxuan burst out laughing, "Alright, where are we going today?"

  Han Dong said: "Let's go to Binjiang Fish Village, the taste there is not bad." After a month, he was almost used to the spicy flavor here.

  Han Dong wanted to invite Chen Minxuan out to get together, firstly to get in touch with his feelings and secondly to understand the situation of the county committee from him, striving to find a breakthrough for changing the current situation.

  At this time, Zou Gang knocked on the door and came in, smiling and saying: "Director, are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you out for dinner." Now his position at the Statistics Bureau was much higher than before. Although he was still the deputy director of the office, he was more impressive than Zhao Ren Shun, the director.

  Since then, Zhao Renshun has been very low-key, basically handing over all the work in the office to Zou Gang. He goes to and from work on time every day and doesn't even talk much anymore. Zou Gang knows that all this is thanks to Han Dong, so he wants to do everything possible to get along with Han Dong.

  "Tonight is not possible, I've already made an appointment with someone else. How about in a few days?" Zhou Gang had invited him several times, but Han Dong hadn't agreed yet. However, considering his sincerity, Han Dong decided to give him a chance to treat himself to dinner sometime.

  Watching Zou Gang walk out with a slightly disappointed look, Han Dong thought to himself: "Actually being a leader is not easy either, using subordinates well is not an easy thing."

  After getting off work, Han Dong hailed a pedicab at the entrance of the Statistics Bureau and went straight to Binjiang Fish Village. From afar, he saw Zhou Zheng's stout body stuck in front of the fish village gate, chatting and laughing with the welcoming little sister.

  After paying for the taxi fare, Han Dong walked over and slapped Zhou Zheng's shoulder hard.

  Zhou Zheng quickly turned around and saw that it was Han Dong, then he sneered: "Dong Ge, you want to rob me of my wealth and take my life?"

  Han Dong said in a bad tone: "What wealth do you have? I'm looking at whether your soul is still there or not!"

  "Huh? How could I not be here?" Zhou Zheng chuckled twice, "Then shall we go in now?"

  Han Dongdao said: "Wait a moment, Chen's troops will also arrive."

  "Ah——" Zhou Zheng suddenly had a bitter smile on his face and said gloomily: "Tonight, I'll have to sleep on my side again."

  Although Zhou Zheng's drinking capacity is much less than Han Dong, compared to Chen Minxuan, it is still far from enough. Every time he gets drunk and stumbles back. So as soon as he heard that Chen Minxuan was coming, he cried out in distress. Who made him the lowest among the three? How can he escape drinking?

  Han Dongdao said: "It's okay, just drink a little less today."

  Zhou Zheng's eyes narrowed suddenly, and he asked, "Something happened?"

  Han Dong smiled slightly, this kid is indeed a cop, his ability to observe and listen is not bad. At this time, a rickshaw stopped at the entrance of Yuzhuang, Chen Minxuan got off from it, saw Han Dong and Zhou Zheng standing at the door, and said with a smile: "You two are quite enthusiastic."

  "Of course, food is heaven for the common people. Eating and drinking are the most important things in life."

  Chen Minxuan rubbed his hands together and said, "Not bad, tonight we must have a good drink."

  Zhou's face turned pale, and he silently cursed himself for speaking out of turn. He quickly waved his hand and forced a smile, saying: "Ah, Director Chen, please come in. Dong Ge has something to discuss with you tonight."

  "Really?" Chen Minxuan looked at Han Dong with doubt.

  Han Dong smiled and said, "Nothing much, just wanted to have a chat with Director Chen."

  "It's been a long time since we had a good chat." Chen Minxuan said as he walked into the private room, "This winter is particularly cold."

  "Is the spring far behind when winter comes?"

  Chen Minxuan burst out laughing, "Xiao Dong, you're quite open-minded."

  After entering the private room, Chen Minxuan said: "The current situation of Fuyi is a bit subtle."

  He had been in the organization department for over a decade, and as soon as he heard the tone of the conversation, he knew what was going on. He understood why Han Dong had come to find him, so he directly told him about the situation. "Have you seen today's Rongzhou Daily? Be cautious, don't be impatient. I heard that some leaders have proposed to launch a county-wide university study, strengthen the ideological education of cadres throughout the county, and prevent adventurism."

  Han Dongtao said: "How can this be? Reform and opening up is not a Great Leap Forward."

  Zhou was opening a wine bottle on the side, laughing and saying: "I think this is probably another fight between gods."

  Chen Min nodded and said, "That's right. I heard that Fang County Magistrate agrees to go all out for such a big study, but Huang Secretary has always disagreed, saying that this will undermine the good momentum of Fu Yi County's reform. So far, no Standing Committee meeting has been convened. But I think Fang County Magistrate won't give up easily, and the wind direction in the city is also favorable to him, so he will definitely take advantage of this opportunity to make a move."

  His words were very thorough, and the reformist faction led by Secretary Huang Wen-yun of Fuyi County, and the conservative faction led by Fang Zhong, began a new round of clashes and confrontations in this great debate.

  "Shen Congfei and Huang Wenyun have a good relationship, so he should also support the reform." Han Dong thought to himself, "Maybe I can take this opportunity to improve my relationship with him. In the future, I will still be working in Fuyi, and it's very important to get the support of a standing committee member."