Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

After hanging up the phone, Qi Tongwei got up and poured Zhang Guozhong another glass of water.

He put down the thermos, handed Zhang Guozhong a cigarette, and said with a smile.

"Let's chat a little longer, we'll go over when all the dishes are ready."

Even though not all the dishes were served, they could just chat anyway, so it didn't matter where they chatted. Zhang Guozhong didn't refuse.

As their conversation deepened, Zhang Guozhong gained a new understanding of Qi Tongwei.

He felt that this county party secretary was different; he understood the oil fields and the hardships faced by oil workers.

He could even recite a rhyme that only old-timers in the oil industry would understand: "The sky is my house, the earth is my bed, a mouthful of steamed bun and half a mouthful of sand."

Zhang Guozhong was secretly surprised; he had seen plenty of local officials who took bribes and demanded favors.

People like Qi Tongwei can genuinely discuss oilfield-local cooperation and how to support oilfield production.

This was truly the first time he had ever seen it.

When he learned that Qi Tongwei was a top student from Handong University and a cadre who voluntarily came to the western border region to support the development of the border areas, his impression of Qi Tongwei completely changed.

In his heart, Qi Tongwei was a good cadre with ideals, aspirations, and a heart for the people.

But he never expected that this good cadre, who was dedicated to serving the people, would be more ruthless than anyone else when it came to sucking blood.

If others are sucking the blood from the oil field, then Qi Tongwei is the one who extracts it, extracts it with a pipe.

The two chatted for another ten minutes or so, smoked two cigarettes, and then Zalta arrived.

He knocked gently on the door and whispered a reminder.

"Secretary Qi, the meal is ready. County Chief Zhang is waiting for you two in the small canteen."

Qi Tongwei nodded and patted Zhang Guozhong's hand with a smile.

"Brother Zhang, let's go. Let's try Fu Yuan's 'secret recipe,' it's just as good as any restaurant outside..."

As they chatted and laughed, the two arrived at the small canteen, where Zhang Wei immediately stood up with a smile to greet them.

Zhang Guozhong shook hands with Zhang Wei, glanced at the table, and was taken aback.

To exaggerate a bit, he even felt somewhat flattered.

In his mind, being invited to entertain guests within the county meant only four or five casual meals.

But this banquet was different; there were twelve dishes laid out on the table.

Of course, it's not all hot dishes; it consists of four dry dishes, four cold dishes, and four hot dishes.

Dried fruits are nothing special and can be found everywhere, but there's a certain art to it starting with the four cold dishes.

The cold dish of smoked horse meat alone is enough to show Qi Tongwei's sincerity.

This is something you don't usually eat at banquets; it's only served on special occasions like celebratory events.

Although Zhang Guozhong is also at the division level, he is, after all, a state-owned enterprise cadre.

There is still a difference between state-owned enterprise cadres and government cadres; in meetings, they should sit at the back.

He was quite surprised that Qi Tongwei was personally treating him with such high standards.

Seeing Zhang Guozhong's expression, Qi Tongwei felt much more at ease.

He knew that his efforts had not been in vain.

He achieved his goal, and Zhang Guozhong felt the sincerity.

Without any hesitation, he plopped down in the host's seat and patted the seat of honor.

"Brother Zhang, come sit here, let's get to know each other better."

There were only four people in total, so sitting there didn't create any sense of intimacy. Qi Tongwei was simply trying to give Zhang Guozhong a way out.

Zhang Guozhong grinned, his face slightly flushed, and replied with a smile.

"Then I won't be polite."

After arranging things for Zhang Guozhong, Qi Tongwei pointed to the seat of the deputy host and looked at Zhang Wei.

"Zhang County Magistrate, I can't hold my liquor. You'll have to do a good job as my co-host today."

With Zharta present, Qi Tongwei deliberately had Zhang Wei sit as the second-in-command.

Zhang Wei frowned slightly, but couldn't refuse, so he smiled awkwardly.

"Alright, Director Zhang, it's been a long time since we've had a drink. Let's have a good drink today..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Qi Tongwei's voice rang out.

"Wait a minute, didn't you just attend an oilfield reception? Wasn't it the Beitai Oilfield?"

Zhang Wei was taken aback, realizing he had misspoke, and quickly tried to make amends.

"Ah, it's not Taipei, it's not Taipei."

Qi Tongwei chuckled inwardly but didn't say anything, muttering something under his breath.

"Why would people from Karamay travel all this way for nothing..."

Seeing Zhang Wei's awkward smile, he secretly grumbled to himself.

"A higher rank can crush you," they say. If they don't even understand this principle, I don't know how they got to where they are today.

After Qi Tongwei finished arranging the seats, Zharta bent down and asked softly.

"Secretary Qi, would you like to drink Moutai or Wuliangye?"

Qi Tongwei grinned and replied with a smile.

"We won't drink any of that. But when we get to Bianxi, we'll drink Yili Special."

"No, I don't want the large-sized Laojiao, give me two cases of the small-sized Laojiao first."

It wasn't that Qi Tongwei didn't want to drink Moutai; he simply didn't dare to.

In the 90s, eight out of ten bottles of Moutai were not produced in Guizhou.

Zarta was very perceptive and provided excellent service, pouring drinks for the group in turn.

While pouring the wine, Qi Tongwei and Zhang Guozhong chatted about everyday things.

"Hey, Brother Zhang, are you from Shandong?"

Zhang Guozhong was taken aback, then smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I came here from Shengli Oilfield."

Qi Tongwei clapped his hands with a smile, speaking with great enthusiasm.

"Alright, let's drink according to Shandong custom today. How about 321?"

Zhang Guozhong, having been praised so highly by him, naturally wouldn't object and readily agreed.

The drinking party officially began, with Qi Tongwei taking the lead in bringing out the drinks.

He raised his wine glass and gave Zhang Wei a raised eyebrow.

"Zhang County Magistrate, let's have a welcome drink first."

"Let's welcome Brother Zhang to Fuyuan to build a beautiful western border region..."

Qi Tongwei is more than a decade younger than Zhang Guozhong, so calling him "brother" is perfectly appropriate.

But Zhang Wei is older than Zhang Guozhong, so calling him "brother" is clearly a disadvantage for him.

Since Qi Tongwei had said that, he couldn't refute it and just smiled awkwardly.

"Welcome, Director Zhang, to Fuyuan... Welcome..."

After finishing the three drinks, Qi Tongwei and Zhang Wei clinked glasses and handed over command.

He raised an eyebrow at Zhang Wei and made a joke.

"Drinking capacity reflects courage, drinking style reflects character, and the bottle one drinks reflects skill..."

"Zhang County, it's up to you... Don't embarrass Fuyuan."

Zhang Wei grinned, knowing he had been lifted up.

However, he wasn't intimidated; he was confident in his alcohol tolerance.

The so-called "three-two-one" actually means three sips for the first cup, two sips for the second cup, and then downing it in one gulp.

Zhang Wei is also a veteran cadre who has been exposed to alcohol for a long time, and he speaks his toast very fluently.

Soon, after finishing the three glasses of wine, everyone was quite tipsy.

Qi Tongwei observed secretly.

He noticed that Zhang Wei and Zhang Guozhong were both speaking with their tongues out and their eyes were unfocused.

He thought to himself, "It's about time; it's time to get down to business."

He held a wine glass in one hand and put his arm around Zhang Guozhong's shoulder with the other, asking with a smile.

"Brother Zhang, isn't Xiao Qi a good friend?"

Zhang Guozhong tilted his head back and clinked glasses with him.

"That's...that's a good friend, you're a good brother."

Qi Tongwei didn't hesitate, tilting his head back. "Cheers!"

After putting down his wine glass, Qi Tongwei pulled Zhang Guozhong aside and poured out his grievances.

"Alas, Fuyuan is too poor; it doesn't even have a decent road."

"It's tough on you, brother. It's so inconvenient for the oil truck to come and go."

"If I had money, I would build a road for you immediately, just for oil trucks to run on."

Zhang Guozhong was already quite drunk.

Seeing how righteous Qi Tongwei was, he patted his chest and made a promise.

"Then fix it, no, it's just money, you help me... I, I'll help you. I'll pay for it..."

Qi Tongwei grabbed him and said with a smile.

"Then it's a deal."

Without waiting for Zhang Guozhong's reply, he picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"Brother, we can't go back on our word. I'll drink this one down, you can drink as you like."

Setting down his wine glass, Qi Tongwei smiled and looked at Zhang Wei.

"Zhang County Magistrate, who's the right person to be in charge of building roads in the oil field?"

Zhang Wei wasn't drunk, but his speech was somewhat slurred and his reactions were rather slow.

When Qi Tongwei asked him a question, he blurted it out without thinking.

"Gao, Gao Gui. The oil field is being repaired...the road is being repaired, so of course he should be in charge."

"He's in charge of oilfield relations... so it's his responsibility..."

Qi Tongwei smiled and nodded, then clinked glasses with him.

"Okay, let's have a meeting tomorrow to finalize this."