Family connections: From special recruitment by the county committee to the pinnacle of power

Xu Hansheng gave a cold laugh and was about to press the call button.

Seeing that Xu Hansheng was really going to call the police, Su Qing didn't dare to make a scene any longer. She could only pull Zhou Shujuan aside and say to Xu Hansheng, "Xu Hansheng, you just wait!"

After saying that, she grabbed Zhou Shujuan's sleeve and fled in panic.

As Zhou Shujuan walked, she asked in confusion, "Daughter, we haven't even gotten the money yet, why are we leaving already? Didn't you say that as long as we made a scene, they would definitely give us the money?"

Upon hearing this, the onlookers burst into laughter.

Su Qing blushed deeply and said to Zhou Shujuan, "Oh, Mom, stop talking, let's go home!"

Xu Hansheng, hands in his pockets, looked at Zhou Shujuan, who hadn't even reached the door yet, and said, "Want to know why? If I call the police, your daughter won't have to go to work at the health bureau anymore!"

After saying that, Xu Hansheng didn't bother with the mother and daughter anymore. He turned to the crowd around him and said, "Since you all saw this and laughed, here's the deal: everyone here will get a 30% discount."

Upon hearing this, many people gave Xu Hansheng a thumbs up.

Li Xiuru pursed her lips and didn't say much. Only after they returned upstairs did she say to Xu Hansheng, "Why did you give them a 30% discount? How are we supposed to make a profit then?"

Xu Hansheng smiled and said to Li Xiuru, "Mom, this matter will definitely get out today. If we give them a 30% discount, we'll break even at most, we won't lose money. As the saying goes, 'He who eats another's bread sings his praises.' Since they've taken our benefits, they won't say anything bad about us, they'll only gossip about Zhou Shujuan and her daughter."

"I didn't spend a penny, got a free job, and preserved my reputation—why not? If I don't plan to work for the county government, reputation doesn't matter. But if I want to pursue a career in politics, I have to cherish my reputation!"

Oh!

Li Xiuru nodded and said, "Okay, whatever you say. What would you like to eat tonight? I'll have the kitchen make it for you."

Xu Hansheng casually ordered two dishes, and then asked the house waiter to go to the stationery store and buy a chess set.

While eating, Xu Hansheng laid out the newly learned chess endgame puzzle. Practice makes perfect; he had to master the puzzle and be able to play it at will before meeting Tan Zhifei.

Otherwise, you'd have wasted an entire afternoon's effort and the 3,000 yuan "apprenticeship" fee.

……

The next morning at nine o'clock, Li Xiuru got up early and took the Audi she had just bought for Xu Hansheng. After picking up Jiang Yuling, they headed towards Qingshan City.

The two sisters spent the whole day shopping in various shopping malls and pedestrian streets in Qingshan City. Li Xiuru bought herself a trendy outfit and Jiang Yuling a wool coat.

At first, Jiang Yuling hesitated, but after Li Xiuru's repeated persuasion, she finally accepted it.

Seeing that it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon, Li Xiuru followed Xu Hansheng's arrangement and said to Jiang Yuling, "Why don't you call your husband, Lao Tan? We won't buy him clothes, but we should at least make a phone call. We probably won't get back until around six o'clock. Let's have dinner at our restaurant tonight."

"Even if your husband Tan doesn't want to come to eat, you should at least let him know he's safe, right?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuling nodded repeatedly and hurriedly took out her phone from her pocket. Looking down, she realized that her phone had automatically shut down again, and no matter how she pressed the buttons, there was no response.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Jiang Yuling holding the phone, pressing buttons repeatedly with a deep frown, Li Xiuru stepped forward and asked with concern.

"fine……"

Jiang Yuling pursed her lips, somewhat embarrassed to speak, and said, "My phone seems to be out of battery. Maybe I shouldn't go out for dinner and will just go straight home in a bit."

These old-fashioned Philips telephones have been abandoned for a long time, but what could they do when their family was struggling financially?

Tan Zhifei works in a government department and should have bought a phone worth around 1,000 yuan, but he couldn't afford to buy a second one, so he spent 150 yuan to buy an old Philips phone at the second-hand market.

In any case, this is still a telephone; it can make and receive calls and send text messages.

But recently, perhaps due to severe battery aging, it has been shutting down automatically frequently. And this time, having lost so much face in front of Li Xiuru, Jiang Yuling wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"Forget it, stop pressing it. I'll give you my spare phone."

As Li Xiuru spoke, she took out a Nokia 9500 from her bag, snatched Jiang Yuling's phone, removed the SIM card, installed it, and then turned on the phone and handed it to Jiang Yuling.

"Oh dear, this won't do! I can't accept any more of your things!"

Jiang Yuling hurriedly declined, but Li Xiuru didn't give her a chance to back out and threw the old Philips phone into the trash can.

"Yuling, we've known each other for so many years, why are you being so polite with me? Besides, you spent the whole day with me in this cold weather, isn't that enough to cover the cost of a phone call?"

Li Xiuru feigned anger and said, "Anyway, you've already thrown away that phone. If you don't take it back, it means you don't consider me a friend! Come on, let's go back to the car and talk!"

As they were talking, Li Xiuru pulled Jiang Yuling into the car.

With the warm breeze blowing, Jiang Yuling touched her slightly dry face and said shyly, "Xiuru, I really don't know what to say..."

Li Xiuru smiled and said, "Why are you being so polite with me? Go and call your husband, Lao Tan, so he won't worry about you."

Jiang Yuling nodded, deeply moved, and then made a phone call to Tan Zhifei.

As expected, just as Xu Hansheng had said, Tan Zhifei directly rejected Li Xiuru's invitation. However, Li Xiuru did not insist, which was to be expected.

Throughout the journey, Li Xiuru kept reminding Lao Chen to drive steadily. Lao Chen naturally understood what Li Xiuru meant and intentionally slowed down.

The car finally stopped in front of Hongyunlai Restaurant at 6:30 p.m.

At Li Xiuru's repeated invitation, Jiang Yuling had no choice but to get out of the car with her. The two sisters pushed open the door of the restaurant and went straight to a private room that had been prepared in advance on the second floor.

"Today, it's just the two of us sisters. I've already asked the kitchen to prepare dinner. I really need to thank you properly."

Li Xiuru said.

"Oh dear, how could I accept this? Besides, it's so late. Let's call Weidong and Hansheng over for dinner. They're probably waiting for you to come back."

How could Jiang Yuling possibly allow herself and Li Xiuru to enjoy the meal all to themselves?

Li Xiuru pretended to make excuses for a few moments before stepping up to the fourth floor and calling over Xu Weidong and his son Xu Hansheng.

Upon entering the private room, Xu Hansheng warmly greeted Jiang Yuling, saying, "Aunt Jiang, you've arrived?"

After saying that, he stepped forward and poured Jiang Yuling a cup of hot tea, saying, "It's really cold today, Aunt Jiang, have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up."

Just as Jiang Yuling took the teacup, Xu Hansheng's phone rang. Jiang Yuling was stunned to see Xu Hansheng pull out a phone from his pocket that was exactly the same as the one Li Xiuru had given her.

"Who is it? Why are they calling you at this hour?" Li Xiuru asked instinctively.