I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 7 "How about we play a little game with some prizes?"

After walking out of the gate and turning the intersection, Zhao Wenjun walked for a few more minutes and stopped in front of a restaurant.

"It's here. The appearance doesn't look that great, but the food tastes good, especially our Nanxin specialties. Sometimes I come here to order some dishes and have a couple of drinks." After saying that, Zhao Wenjun walked into the restaurant.

A lady boss in her thirties came up to him immediately. She seemed to know Zhao Wenjun and greeted him with a smile, "President Zhao, would you like to have dinner? Or the usual three dishes?"

“Well, add two more dishes, and I have a colleague, so let’s open a private room.

"okay."

The boss led the two into a private room and then went about his business.

The dishes arrived quickly: stir-fried clams, cabbage, and jellyfish heads with edamame, along with braised wolf pheasant chicken and braised razor clams from Hong Kong. It seemed the latter two main dishes were last-minute additions. Of course, the local favorite, Hualu Shao, was also a must-try.

The two of them ate and chatted. After a few drinks, Zhao Wenjun filled Fang Qingye's glass again and suddenly said:

"Xiao Fang, you're quite impressive. You actually saw through the mystery of the Tenglong Industrial theft case at a glance."

"President Zhao, what do you mean?" Fang Qingye put down his chopsticks, a look of astonishment on his face: "I know nothing about this whole thing.

"Let's be frank. Xia He reported to Secretary Liu that you gave an example that night. This example is exactly the same as the Tenglong case. Do you think it's still an example?!" Zhao Wenjun sneered.

Fang Qingye just smiled and picked up the chopsticks to pick up a piece of food.

"Xiao Fang, why do you want to help Xia He? I think it's not just because you are alumni?" Zhao Wenjun asked again.

Fang Qingye still didn't say anything.

Zhao Wenjun didn't ask any further questions. He picked up his wine glass and drank it all. Suddenly, he opened the door of the private room and shouted towards the bar, "Boss, do you have a Xinhua Dictionary?"

The proprietress obviously didn't understand why Zhao Wenjun suddenly wanted a dictionary. She was stunned for a moment before she replied with a smile, "I think there is one. I'll get it for you."

A few minutes later, the proprietress returned and handed Zhao Wenjun an old-looking dictionary.

"I couldn't find one for the kids, but I found one I used when I was in school. It's a bit worn out, though. President Zhao, do you think it's okay?"

"Very good. If it's a new one, I'm afraid I can't use it." Zhao Wenjun took the dictionary with a smile and handed it to Fang Qingye.

Fang Qingye was puzzled and didn't know what the other party was going to do.

"How about we play a little game with some prizes?"

"What game?" Fang Qingye was secretly alert in his heart, but his expression remained calm.

"Take this dictionary, open any page, tell me the page number and the number of the word from the beginning, and I will tell you what the word is."

what?
Fang Qingye suddenly thought of the scene in the movie "Chinese Partners" where Cheng Dongqing memorized the entire English dictionary on the plane and turned the situation around during the negotiations. He was shocked when he saw it.

Could it be that Zhao Wenjun also has this ability?

"Then what prize are you talking about?" Fang Qingye asked cautiously again.

"If I win, this meal is yours to treat me."

"What if you lose?" Fang Qingye asked.

"Then I will tell Xia He a secret that no one knows about." Zhao Wenjun smiled mysteriously.

"Okay." Fang Qingye picked up the dictionary and randomly opened a page. He looked at it and asked, "Page 120, the first word on the upper left."

"The calyx is the small green piece at the bottom of the petals." It's correct!

Fang Qingye flipped back a few pages: "Page 147, on the right, the third word from the bottom."

Zhao Wenjun thought for a moment before answering, "It should be sweet, the sweetness that comes after suffering."

"I admire you! I lost!" Fang Qingye put down the dictionary and gave a thumbs-up: "President Zhao, you are really good at memorizing dictionaries. You have a lot of skills!"

"Haha, it's all hard work. I was born in the 1960s and grew up in the countryside. My family was poor at that time, so I studied for a few years. After the reform and opening up, I went to the city to work for a while, helping people burn boilers. There was no entertainment at the time, and I couldn't afford to buy books. I happened to pick up a dictionary and started reading it when I had nothing to do." Zhao Wenjun took another sip of wine and slowly talked about his past.

"At that time, the boiler was burning all day long. At night, the boiler room had electricity, so I would study day and night. I was just a farmer's child, with no support or background. If I wanted to have a bright future, how could I not study?"

"Then the bank recruited temporary workers. I thought boilermanship had no future, so I took the exam. To my surprise, I was admitted, but I ended up sweeping the floor at the bank."

"I saw the tellers at the bank wearing uniforms, enjoying a good environment and high salaries. I was so envious that I studied accounting and how to use an abacus. Eventually I became a teller, then went out for further studies and gradually worked my way up to my current position."

Fang Qingye had never heard of these stories before, and now that Zhao Wenjun had told them, he was also surprised and said sincerely:

"President Zhao, you are so inspiring. I admire you very much."

Zhao Wenjun smiled and continued with his topic.

"I know I'm a country kid, so I don't have high expectations. Being able to be a branch president is a great honor for my family. The old president is retiring soon, and this position is mine. I was so close to taking it, but suddenly Xia He was transferred in, as if to take over. I didn't say anything on the surface, but I was very dissatisfied inside."

"Is it because she's a graduate student, young and beautiful, with connections, while I only had an elementary school education, no background, and no education, that I'm at their mercy? Xiao Fang, you can go to the bank or even the city to ask, what's my work ability like?! Is it worse than Xia He's?!"

Zhao Wenjun's voice was a little loud, which alarmed the proprietress outside. She came in to take a look and then went back.

Fang Qingye listened and said slowly: "You can compete fairly with President Xia."

"Fair competition? Xiao Fang, you're too naive." Zhao Wenjun sneered and continued:

"You know what? When Xia He was first transferred here, she was ranked behind me in the bank's leadership. But not long after, the old president suddenly applied to the higher-ups, saying he was in poor health and needed to stay home to recuperate. The higher-ups immediately approved it and let Xia He take charge of the bank's work temporarily! Tell me, how can I compete fairly?!"

Fang Qingye didn't say anything and fell into silence.

"At that time I knew that I had to resort to extraordinary means to achieve my goal." A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Zhao Wenjun's eyes.

"So you're going to use the theft of Tenglong Industrial's deposits to fan the flames and make things worse?"

"Yes, that's what I thought. The bigger the incident becomes, the more passive Xia He, who is in charge of the work, will become. This way, I will have more chances." Zhao Wenjun smiled.

"Actually, I discovered the trickery in the Tenglong Industrial incident three months ago, and I knew it was someone inside the company who was causing trouble, so I thought of using this to set up a scheme."

"But it's still a little early. If the truth is exposed too early, it will be meaningless. So I pretended not to know and waited for this moment to be exposed. I also found Tenglong's boss Qian for advice to muddy the waters and increase the difficulty of the investigation."

A hint of pride appeared on Zhao Wenjun's face.

"Boss Qian, will you listen to me?" Fang Qingye interrupted.

"Boss Qian is my friend, and we often drink together. Besides, if he doesn't listen, will he still want a loan?" Zhao Wenjun replied indifferently.

After hearing this, Fang Qingye silently picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

"But when I was about to succeed, you intervened and made me fail. Let me ask you, what benefit did Xia He give you?!"

(End of this chapter)