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

Zhang Chenguang also looked at Xu He with a surprised expression. After a full three seconds, Zhang Chenguang suddenly laughed.

Xu Hansheng frowned, coughed lightly, and said, "Comrade Xu He, you may not know this, but these yellow mushrooms become less fresh and tender when they get too big."

After saying that, Xu Hansheng looked at Zhang Chenguang and the others, and said with a smile, "I'm not afraid to tell you this, Secretary Zhang, but my family owns a restaurant."

"Hongyunlai is our family restaurant. When I was in school, I often helped my parents in the kitchen. Our head chef, Chef Lin, once made a similar dish."

"It remains vivid in my memory to this day."

At this point, Xu Hansheng picked up a small mushroom cap about two centimeters long, put it in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and then suddenly opened his eyes and laughed loudly, "It's really good! Old Lin didn't lie to me. The smaller the mushroom, the fresher it is when eaten cold."

"It's a pity. Mushrooms this good, so uniform, and no more than three centimeters in size are very hard to find. Even forest rangers working in the forestry industry can't dry more than a few kilograms a year."

"Our restaurant would also like to introduce this dish, but all year round, even with buying and picking our own, we can only harvest a pound or two at most, which is not as good as this. We can't even eat enough for ourselves."

"I really want to thank Secretary Zhang today for his kindness and sincerity. On behalf of all the comrades in the County Party Committee Research Office, I would like to raise a glass to Secretary Zhang."

After listening to Xu Hansheng finish speaking, Zhang Chenguang laughed and nodded, then picked up his wine glass and clinked glasses with Xu Hansheng.

Zhao Dongxu blinked, stood up, picked up two mushrooms, put them in his mouth, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "They're really chewy and smooth."

Xu Hansheng smiled faintly and said, "Of course. After picking these small mushrooms, we have to sort them by hand, picking out the grass and twigs inside, and also picking out the ones that are not good in appearance or not fresh."

"Then dry it in the sun with a sand net. When you want to eat it, blanch it in boiling water to remove the fishy smell and achieve the current taste."

"Putting everything else aside, this effort alone shows Secretary Zhang's good intentions."

Zhang Chenguang smiled and nodded, then said to Xu Hansheng, "Section Chief Xu, before you leave, I'll have the kitchen bring you some extra so your uncle and aunt can have a taste!"

Xu Hansheng hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Secretary Zhang, how can this be done?"

"If Section Chief Xu considers me a friend, then take this." After saying this, Zhang Chenguang raised his glass again and toasted with Xu Hansheng.

The awkwardness from just now was quickly resolved by Xu Hansheng, Zhao Dongxu, and the others, who kept talking to each other.

However, Xu He, sitting at the end of the table, was in an even more awkward position.

Did he actually have malicious intent?

There isn't one at all.

He just wanted to take this opportunity to get closer to Zhang Chenguang, but instead he offended Zhang Chenguang.

Throughout the entire dinner, Zhang Chenguang didn't even glance at him a second time. Even Liu Xiaoguang, who had been very enthusiastic towards him just moments before, now clearly kept his distance from him.

Only after the dinner ended did Xu Hansheng say to Zhang Chenguang, "Secretary Zhang, thank you and the comrades from Longping Town for your warm hospitality."

"Everyone had a few too many drinks today, so let's put the research work on hold for now. I'll have Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhao come over tomorrow. I'll be sure to trouble you leaders then."

As he spoke, Xu Hansheng glanced at the leaders from various departments who were sitting with him.

Zhang Chenguang patted Xu Hansheng on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, even if Section Chief Xu doesn't come in person, the entire Longping Town must cooperate with Section Chief Xu and these comrades."

After thanking him repeatedly, Xu Hansheng said to Wang Yu, Zhao Dongxu and the others, "Pack your things and go back early today. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to go to the office every morning. Just come directly to Longping Town. I will notify you if there are any special circumstances."

Wang Yu and Zhao Dongxu nodded, then quickly walked back to the conference room, bringing out the two of them, as well as Chen Ling's backpack.

After Zhao Dongxu and the others got into the car, Xu Hansheng also came to the passenger door, grabbed Zhang Chenguang's hand, and said drunkenly, "Secretary Zhang, we must go to the county another day, we won't leave until we're drunk."

"As for where to stay, Zhang Shouji, you don't need to worry. I have plenty of space at home. I hit it off with Secretary Zhang right away. If he doesn't give me the opportunity to be a good host, then he doesn't consider me a friend."

Zhang Chenguang nodded repeatedly, saying, "Definitely, definitely."

Then, together with Dai Wenjie, they helped Xu Hansheng into the car, and then reminded the driver, Lao Chen, to be careful while driving.

Old Chen nodded, started the car, and headed towards the central town of Yutong County.

Only after everyone had seen Xu Hansheng off did Xu He quickly approach Liu Xiaoguang and say, "Director Liu, look at me..."

Liu Xiaoguang smiled faintly and said, "Director Xu, I understand your situation. However, as you can see, the town leaders just saw off the county officials, and they might have a meeting soon. Also, our land office has several specific projects that require on-site investigation. How about this, I'll definitely get it done for you tomorrow morning!"

After saying that, before Xu He could speak, Liu Xiaoguang turned around and walked back to the town government's office building.

……

On the other side, as soon as the truck drove out of Longping Town, Xu Hansheng, who had been drunk just moments before, instantly sobered up.

With his alcohol tolerance, he could drink three more bottles and still not get drunk.

He was just faking it so he could leave Longping Town as soon as possible.

Seeing that Xu Hansheng had sat up straight and was no longer drunk, Wang Yu and Zhao Dongxu were both shocked.

Xu Hansheng drank quite a bit today, at least a bottle of Moutai!

He's actually alright?

His alcohol tolerance is the best among them!

"Section Chief Xu, are you alright?"

Zhao Dongxu quickly unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and handed it over, smiling as he said, "I thought you were drunk, so I didn't dare to bother you. Here, have some water."

Xu Hansheng took the bottled water, took a sip, and then said to Wang Yu, "Comrade Wang Yu, starting tomorrow, under the pretext of data calibration, have the land bureau staff cooperate with you to re-survey the data. The data provided by Longping Town will not be used!"

"But don't say it outright, that would be too hurtful."

Wang Yu nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, Section Chief Xu."

Then, Xu Hansheng said to Zhao Dongxu, "It's the same for the health department you're in charge of. After collecting your own research data, just pretend to copy it down."

"No matter what, Secretary Zhang of Longping Town sacrificed so much time and organized so much manpower and resources to cooperate with us out of support for our work."

"Uniting with comrades in the townships below is also an important part of serving the leadership."

Zhao Dongxu and Wang Yu nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, Section Chief Xu, we understand."

Beside her, Chen Ling, who had been looking at the scenery, stared at Xu Hansheng for a long time with a complicated expression. From arriving in Longping Town to Xu Hansheng's series of actions just now, everything had surprised Chen Ling.

Is Xu Hansheng really a recent graduate?

No, when I get back, I have to ask Tang Bing what kind of person this Xu Hansheng is.