Volume 1: Director of Public Security Chapter 36: Talented Scholar and Beautiful Lady

  Although he was caught in a "speculative" scandal and was terrified afterwards, Wandewu's idea of making big business and getting rich never stopped.

  Three months ago, Wan Dewu rented this place to open a music tea house. Of course, it was impossible to invite singers, so they could only play music with a tape recorder. At the same time, there were accompaniment tapes, and microphones and small speakers were also provided for customers to sing and have fun.

  The central location of the tea house is actually a dance floor, which is considered illegal. Currently, there is no clear statement from the authorities regarding business-oriented song and dance halls. Although Wushan, as a coastal open city, is more relaxed, it has not been completely opened up, and approvals are very strict. Wandquan's business license states "Music Tea House", but now that it has the function of a song and dance hall, it is naturally in violation of regulations.

  However, Wan Dewu and the former and current directors of the border defense office, Tan Qiang, are quite familiar with each other. The two directors turned a blind eye, but unexpectedly, they ran into Lu Ju today. Lu Zhengwei, the director of the Public Security Bureau, is someone Wan Dewu knows well, and he is grateful to him, but also extremely fearful.

  Wan Dewu had actually been found by Tang Qiang, who asked him to rectify within a time limit. However, Wan Dewu is now busy and the central government's policy has relaxed, no longer strictly cracking down on speculation and profiteering, especially in Wushan, where the crackdown was just for show. Wan Dewu had already registered a trading company and has been busy with that recently.

  Tan Suoer is good at talking, and Wan Dewu's plan is to come back and flatter, to muddle through the matter of the song and dance hall. Anyway, now it's open and lively, policies change with each passing day, many things that were illegal yesterday are legal today. Especially in Wushan, the municipal party committee has issued documents one after another, requiring law enforcement departments to support and protect new things, and to be tolerant of new economic activities. So, business premises are usually taken care of. The current social environment has undergone tremendous changes, it's like heaven and earth compared to four months ago when Wan Dewu was caught by the crackdown office.

  So the music tea house renovation thing, Wan Dewu didn't really care about it at first, but unexpectedly, he had just returned yesterday and today he encountered the intimidating Lu Ju, of course, that one face with a bad smile Du Su'er also made his legs tremble.

  Lu Zhong smiled and beckoned: "Old Wan, come sit here, let's chat. I heard you've been busy with your trading company. So this music teahouse is also yours?"

  Wan Dewu couldn't help it, accompanied by a smile, carefully approached and called out "Director Lu", then didn't dare to speak much.

  Tan Qiang secretly laughed in his heart, thinking: Old Wan, you dare to fool me? Every day you play tricks on me, but now what? Seeing Director Lu, you immediately become a grandson?

  Lu Zhong asked him about his trading company, and heard that Wan Dewu had just imported a batch of bicycles from Tianjin and signed a contract with the department store to act as an agent for sales. He nodded slightly and said: "Nowadays, it's profitable to do whatever, but Old Wan, when the funds are abundant in the future, we should think about doing something substantial, that's the industry that benefits both the country and the people."

  Wan Dequan nodded repeatedly, seeing Lu Zhong turn his head to talk to someone else, he finally felt relieved, and soon he became a waiter pouring tea and wine on the table.

  Just as everyone was chatting and laughing, the music suddenly stopped. It turned out that two customers had come in from outside at some point and signaled to the small waiter at the bar counter to turn off the stereo.

  "What a broken place is this?" The customer walking in front was a young man in his early twenties, with shiny hair, double-breasted suit and trousers, black leather shoes, and a slightly different accent from Guangning dialect, which was the Ushan dialect. At first glance, it was clear that he came from Ushan City.

  From a few years ago when liberal reformers among the central leaders began to wear Western suits and appear in public, to last year when the secretary of the Central Secretariat wrote to the Ministry of Light Industry, "promoting the wearing of Western suits, two-piece dresses, skirts, and cheongsam", the Western suit craze quickly swept across China, and this year's Western suit market has even seen a shortage of supply.

  Suits are considered fashionable and stylish by many people, while Lenin suits and military-style clothing like Lu Zhong's naturally represent being out of date.

  So the city men in suits looked at Lu Zhen's table with disdain, clearly saying: a group of country bumpkins.

  "Hey, who's in charge here?" the man in the suit asked condescendingly.

  Wan Dewu looked at Lu Zhong's eyes and quickly stood up with a smile, "Two gentlemen, I am the owner of this small shop. What can I do for you?" As a businessman, being friendly brings wealth, no matter what, customers are always right, and they must be greeted with a smile. Even if it were someone ten times more annoying, Wan Dewu had seen them before and would still treat them with courtesy.

  When Wan De Wu called himself "Mister" instead of "Comrade", the suited man nodded his head in satisfaction, and asked: "Do you have a backing track? Can you sing?"

  "Yes, yes, yes, we have Hong Kong and Taiwan ones, popular songs too." Wan Dequan said with a wink at the young waiter, "Little Red, bring out the tapes, let this gentleman take a look."

  The man in the suit waved his hand and said, "Never mind, just find me that wine seller, I'll holler a couple of times and slip away."

  Behind the man in the suit, there was another young guy with a face full of acne, who didn't like to talk much, but his eyes kept glancing at Lu Zhong's table, or rather, it seemed like he was glancing at Wei Xiangxiu.

  Wei Xiangxiu felt displeased in her heart, fiercely staring at him with a stern gaze. The pockmarked man was so scared that he quickly looked away. If it weren't for the fact that he was a very confident man, he wouldn't have dared to make eye contact with Wei Xiangxiu, this beautiful woman who exuded strong seductive charm.

  The man in the suit then called Wandewu to bring all the beer and snacks he wanted to the table next to Lu Zhong's, the pockmarked man walked over with his head down and sat down, but didn't dare to look this way at Weixiangxiu.

  The music started quickly, the man in the suit grabbed the microphone and struck a pose, exchanging left and right. Tan Qiang couldn't help but laugh, and directly sprayed out a mouthful of beer.

  The suit man's vocal cords are also good, and he has modified some of the tunes himself, with a unique flavor. It seems that he is quite talented.

  The suit man finished singing, and the pimple-faced man applauded loudly, shouting "bravo", apparently playing a similar role as his sidekick.

  The man in the suit walked back to his seat with a pleased smile, but then took two more steps and came over to Lu Zhong's table. He stretched out his hand to Wei Xiangxiu and smiled elegantly, "Miss, may I have the pleasure of making your acquaintance? My name is Ma Wenge, from Wushi City." He added, "Please don't misunderstand me, Miss. I'm not a hooligan. I teach music and have composed several songs. The city is preparing for the 35th anniversary celebration of National Day, and one of my songs will be performed."

  The man in the suit paused for a moment and continued: "I noticed you from outside just now, I really want to be friends with you. If I hadn't seen you, I wouldn't have come in. And I'm not as superficial as you think, because the music tea house in Wushan has a great environment, I was only surprised when I first came in. I..."

  Wei Xiangxiu wasn't interested in listening to his lengthy speech, and she impatiently interrupted his chatter: "I'm not interested in being friends with you." She was still worried about the house, why would she care about this two hundred and fifty who suddenly appeared out of nowhere? At first glance, he looked like a city-bred greenhouse kid, maybe he had some talent? But what could he possibly understand?

  The man in the suit awkwardly withdrew his hand, but kindly reminded Wei Xiangxiu: "Miss, you'd better button up your clothes, I just saw outside that..."

  Because of the heat, Wei Xiang's light blue denim jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a tight-fitting white tank top underneath. Her ample breasts seemed to be straining to break free from their restraints, enticing onlookers to nosebleeds.

  Before the man in the suit finished speaking, Wei Xiangxiu blew up and scolded: "Are you sick?" What kind of psycho popped out to ruin a good thing for the young lady? Originally, wasn't it all for Lü Zhēn's sake anyway?

  The man in the suit got a bloody nose and sulkily returned to his table.

  Wei Xiangxiu now has only a small cowhide jacket buttoned up, tightly tied around her upper body, but even more so with a youthful beauty.

  "Lu Bureau, I didn't know you could sing too. Let me sing a song?" Wei Xiangxiu smiled and stood up.

  Tan Qiang immediately applauded and cheered beside him.

  Wei Xiang walked into the dance pool with a gentle and elegant demeanor, whispered a few words to the waiter, and when the music started, she held the microphone handed over by the waiter with both hands and said in a clear and dignified tone: "I'd like to dedicate this sweet song to my leader, Mr. Lu Zheng, wishing him a bountiful harvest in both love and career." She spoke in a Hong Kong-Taiwan accent, which not only didn't make her sound frivolous but also made her voice sound more charming and melodious, like the song of an oriole.

  Tan Qiang, Jiao Ye and Du Xiaohu all cheered loudly. Wang Yuguo glanced at Lu Zhong's face, seeing that Lu Zhong was smiling very harmoniously, and then followed with applause.

  "My smile is as sweet as honey, like a flower blooming in the spring breeze, blooming in the spring breeze..."

  Can't help but say, Wei Xiangxiu's voice is sweet, and her little movements are even sweeter. Every gesture, every glance, and every smile is full of charm.

  After she finished singing a song, Tan Qiang and others applauded even more enthusiastically. If it weren't for the fact that they still felt their current behavior was somewhat tainted with capitalist corruption, they might have even whistled.

  Wei Xiangxiu smiled and walked down from the stage, then picked up her wine glass and said to Lu Zhong: "Boss, let me toast you another cup."

  Lu Zhong smiled and waved his hand, saying: "You've had a lot to drink today, stop drinking."

  Wei Xiangxiu responded with a gentle "hmm" and obediently sat back down.

  The man in a suit at the next table looked both envious and resentful, his eyes blazing with anger, listening to what seemed like the person next door...

  What kind of leader or director is this rough man with a handful of silkworms? It's simply ridiculous, even the slightest bit of power in rural areas makes someone a leader.

  This girl is also a sycophant and not a good thing at all. She has blinded me with her appearance.

  The man in the suit got angrier and angrier, and his demeanor became less refined. He suddenly shouted at Wei Xiangxiu's table: "Miss, do you want to go to Wushan City? As long as you come over and finish this cup of wine, I'll transfer your household registration to Wushan! I won't go back on my word!" He pointed to the full cup of beer he had just poured. Afraid that Wei Xiangxiu still wouldn't believe him, he added: "The police station is right next door, if you don't believe me, come with me inside and I'll call your county to see if I have the ability?"

  Facing a group of country bumpkins, the suit man doesn't have many worries now. The urban-rural gap is particularly large, and from the bottom of his heart, he doesn't take these rustic people seriously. What's so attractive about the household registration in the city? He doesn't believe that he can't handle this extremely sweet and beautiful young thing today.

  Wei Xiangxiu was polite to Lu Zhong, but that didn't mean she was gentle. Even when facing Wang Yuguang, she didn't have a good expression, let alone in Guangning's one mu and three fen of land, would she care about an outsider? What about city people? She wasn't someone who hadn't studied in the city before, as long as they were men, they all had the same moral character.

  In front of Lu Zhong, being asked like this, it's as if she was really worthless. Wei Xiangxiu is so angry, she knows that in any man's eyes, a worthless woman is not valuable at all.

  "You must have run out of Qinglong Mountain! Stinky hooligan!" Wei Xiangxiu picked up her wine glass and splashed a full cup of beer on the man's face in a suit. If it weren't for pretending to be a weak woman in front of Lu Zhong, she might have slapped him with a slap. Female public security, isn't that also public security? Having been in this kind of institution for a long time, more or less will be tainted with some violent tendencies. Wei Xiangxiu used to be on the front line and was transferred to the office to do clerical work only last year.

  The man in the suit was splashed with wine all over his face and body, stunned for a moment before shouting and jumping up, flailing at the wine on his clothes, while his entourage rushed to help.

  "You, you, you guys wait..." The man in the suit pointed at Lu Zhui's table, after a long time, he managed to squeeze out these words. He didn't dare to make a move, looking at the rustic faces of this group, they were definitely all born with bad tempers, not one of them was a good egg.

  The man in the suit left hastily with his entourage after dropping this sentence.

  "What nonsense!"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Xiangxiu sister is so majestic and domineering!"

  Wang Yuguo and others finally burst out laughing.

  "Alright, I think it's time for us to leave!" Lu Zhong looked at his watch, it was already past 9 o'clock.

  Everyone got up. Wang Yuguo and Du Xiaohu rushed to pay the bill. Lu Zhong said, "Let Tiger pay." If Wang Yuguo paid for it, it would certainly be included in the public account again.

  Wan Dewu, however, kept saying that he was treating them to dinner, and although Lu Zhong frowned, he refused to take the money from Du Xiaohu's hand. He believed that one should not hit a smiling face or scold someone who gives gifts, so if he didn't accept the money, it wouldn't end badly in the end.

  Just as things were getting chaotic, someone outside suddenly shouted: "Who poured water on my Cultural Revolution brother?! Here?!" Amidst the chaotic footsteps, seven or eight people rushed in, led by a burly man, with Pimple Face following behind him, pointing at Lu Zheng and several others and shouting loudly: "It's them, it's them!" The expression was exactly like that of someone who had found their organization's lackey.

  "Damn it, hit me!" The leading strong man drew his hand and the people behind him rushed up.

  They hadn't run two steps when this group of people suddenly slammed on the brakes like a paused movie screen. Du Xiaohu and Tan Qiang both drew out their guns, with Du Xiaohu following police protocol, his gun pointed at the sky, while Tan Qiang's dark muzzle was directly aimed at the leading burly man.

  Nowadays, all police station directors in the public security system are equipped with guns and usually carry them with them at all times. Du Xiaohu and Tan Qiang were both from a military background and were very fond of firearms, especially Du Xiaohu, who had been inseparable from his gun since the battle with the Industrial and Commercial Law Enforcement Team; previously he used Lu Zheng's, but now it was his own assigned firearm.

  Seeing the spiritual quality and appearance of the other party, it seems that they are not ordinary people. Moreover, there is Lu Bureau on this side, as well as female comrades, Wang Yuguo and Xiao Jiao, who do not seem to be the type to fight. Therefore, Tan Qiang and Du Xiaohu simultaneously had the same idea, pulling out their guns, although both of them were itching all over and wanted to have a fight with these people.

  "What are you doing?" Facing the muzzle of the black hole gun, the leader of the burly man's forehead was slightly sweating, but he still pretended to be calm.

  The man in the suit's sidekick, Ah Mai, had already let out a loud "Ah", covering his head and squatting on the ground.

  "Mind your own business!" Tan Qiang said as he pulled out a police whistle from his pocket and blew it.

  Seeing Tan Qiang holding the police whistle, the burly man leading the group seemed to let out a sigh of relief and said: "Are you from the criminal police team or the border defense station? I am Wang Shengjun, the captain of the Qinglong Joint Defense Security Brigade. We are all members of the Qinglong Joint Defense Team, and we are here for military training exercises. Put down your guns quickly! Don't make things bigger!" As he spoke later, his tone became even more relaxed, with a hint of threat.

  "Shut up and squat down!" Tan Qiang didn't bother with him, took two steps forward, and kicked the big man's knee. The big man stumbled and almost fell to his knees. "Squat down!" Tan Qiang turned the muzzle of his gun in a circle, and those militia members, mostly recruited civilians or street thugs, although they had received training before, had never seen such an array? As soon as Tan Qiang's pistol made a turn, they all covered their heads with both hands and squatted on the ground.

  At this time, the sound of neat footsteps came from outside, and five or six armed police in green uniforms rushed in with five or six semi-automatic rifles, all with shiny bayonets. In a peaceful era, it was terrifying to see them.

  Lu Zhong and Du Xiaohu saw what seemed like a born-to-kill rifle, but in their hearts, they had a different taste.

  One of the rifle-wielding police officers picked up an individual and threw him to the ground, asking "Director, does this guy have a share too?"

  The one who was thrown to the ground was the man in the suit, he was almost frightened silly. The talented city man, in front of this group of rough soldiers, was so scared that he trembled with fear, and felt a heat in his lower body, but it turned out to be urinary incontinence, and he urinated.

  He originally wanted to watch the excitement outside, but unexpectedly saw the people inside the house suddenly move their guns, scaring him so much that he wanted to run away, but his legs went soft. Then, a group of soldiers with shiny bayonets rushed in and caught him red-handed.

  The burly man who called Wang Shengjun, although kicked a few times, was somewhat stubborn and unwilling to kneel down. He looked at Tan Qiang with disdain and pointed at the man in the suit, Ma Wenge, saying: "You can't be police from Guangning, right? He's the son of your county party committee deputy secretary, Ma Weiguo! If his grandfather finds out, I'm afraid you'll all be scared to death. Put away your guns quickly!" As he spoke, he tried to stand up again and was immediately slapped on the back of the head by a People's Armed Police officer: "Squat down!" The slap made him see stars and almost fall over.

  Tan Qiang snorted: "What's with this 'young master' nonsense? Stop spouting that bourgeois stuff!" As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily shifted to Lu Zhong. He hadn't expected this live treasure of a "genius" to be Secretary Ma's son - but now he didn't know how to wrap things up.

  Ma Wenge heard Wang Shengjun's words and finally came to his senses, shouting: "My dad is Ma Weiguo, do you know him?" He and the pimple-faced boy were classmates who came to play at the Golden Coast, but they met their childhood friend Wang Shengjun, who all grew up in a big courtyard in Wushan, and had a good relationship.

  Ma Wenge and Pimpled Man were originally going to have dinner at a small restaurant with Wang Shengjun, but they ran into Wei Xiangxiu outside. Ma Wenge had a crush on her and came over to flirt, after getting beaten up, he went to the small restaurant to get help. Wang Shengjun and his gang hadn't finished eating yet, so they naturally came to help out.

  But unexpectedly, the person who was called to vent his anger encountered such a scene, Ma Wenge's bitter gallbladder almost burst, now he only knew to say repeatedly: "My dad is Ma Weiguo, my dad is Ma Weiguo..."

  Lu Zhong took two steps forward, kicked him to the ground with a loud thud, and cursed: "Your dad is still Qiu Dahe!" This gangster-like and overbearing behavior was naturally for Tan Qiang, Wang Yuguo and others to see.

  Even if these people are released now, the hatred has already been passed down. Ma Weiguo will not say that he is good himself. Since this is the case, it's better to let his subordinates know that in Guangning, whoever loves whom doesn't matter to him at all. Only when his subordinates have confidence in themselves can they afford to challenge Ma Weiguo.

  I originally wanted to ease relations with Ma Weiguo, but now that this has happened, everything is pointless. The "genius" can only deceive people on the surface, and must be Ma Weiguo's treasured darling.

  "Hooligans gathering to make trouble! Take them all away!" As he spoke, Lu Zhong kicked Ma Wenge again. Wang Yuguo watched with a click of his tongue, Director Lu, you're too overbearing!

  Tan Qiang waved his hand, "Didn't you hear what Director Lu said?" His armed police officers immediately swarmed up and efficiently put handcuffs on these people. There were not enough handcuffs, so they had to use one pair for every two people.

  Wang Shengjun was also stunned. He and his fellow militiamen had sneaked out by climbing over the wall, as they were not allowed to go out during military training according to regulations.

  What's even more unexpected is that Ma Weiguo's son doesn't care at all. When he thinks of the silly big guy's nickname for young people, Wang Shengjun suddenly looks up and asks: "Director Lu Director Lu? Are you..."

  Lu Zhong also ignored him and whispered a few words in Tan Qiang's ear, then walked away with Wang Yuguo, Jiao Ke, and Wei Xiangxiu.