"How did you get here?" Chen Dan sat in the car, looking at Shen Hua with surprise and delight.

  "My cousin is bored, dragging me around everywhere. I thought that instead of letting her bother others elsewhere, it's better to let you and Xiao Li accompany her, so I can have some peace..."

  "Can you get around in the town?" Chen Dan was surprised, Shen Hua is the party secretary, didn't hear that the party secretary can still wander around on New Year's Day, let alone the town is still busy with post-disaster relief work, Shen Hua is the number one person, he should be even busier. Then she saw the scar on Shen Hua's forehead and asked, "How did you get a cut on your forehead?"

  "It's nothing, just a scratch." Shen Huai said lightly.

  "It's nothing, just fell down the stairs from the town government building, had a high fever of 40 degrees, and was rushed to the hospital after fainting. Oh right, you called yesterday, we were all at the hospital having reunion dinner with him..." Sun Yalin was very uncooperative, and in just a few words, she completely sold Shen Hua out.

  Shen Huai slammed on the steering wheel, heading straight for a utility pole by the side of the road; Sun Ya Lin raised her hands and closed her mouth, begging for mercy, indicating that she wouldn't utter another word to betray him.

  Shen Huai didn't even have time to scold Sun Ya Lin, seeing Chen Dan's eyes turn red, he quickly explained: "Really nothing serious, just walked down the stairs and tripped, got a bit of a cold, they exaggerated that I had to be hospitalized, look at me now, aren't I fine?"

  Chen Dan didn't make a sound, and Shen Huai said again: "You mustn't cry, or else when we get to your house later, I don't know how you'll bully me!"

  "Who wants to cry; how's your body, who cares about you?" Chen Dan said with red eyes, and let Shen Hui stop the car by the side of the road. "I don't want you to go to my house either, just park the car here, I'll take Little Li in to pack up some things, and we'll head back to Mei Xi together..."

  Shen Hua let out a soft sigh, not wanting to disobey Chen Dan's unwillingness for him to meet her family members. He stopped the car by the side of the road and watched as Chen Dan and Xiao Li walked along the small path towards the village.

  Sun Ya Lin looked at Shen Huan with confusion and doubt: "You can't really have feelings for her, can you? You should know that whether it's the Sun family or the Song family, those who think they can talk to her and those who actually can, all have a kind of pathological control over her." Seeing Chen Tong riding his motorcycle from behind, he didn't say anything else.

  Shen Huai patted his pocket, realizing he had forgotten to bring cigarettes. He took one from Chen Tong and said, "Have some self-respect, don't always fight with those street rascals, it's beneath you!"

  Sun Yalin gave him a white eye and said, "Hey, wasn't it you who got off the bus and slapped someone twice just now? Don't be so serious about teaching people, okay?"

  "I told Chen Tong that even when fighting, one must have a strategy. If you're not confident of winning, you must hold back and not take action. Giving others an advantage, being insulted a couple of times is nothing, a real man doesn't take immediate losses, or else he'll regret it later. Look at me, even if I couldn't intimidate those few young thugs, before taking action, I would first make sure to have someone who can fight by my side..."

  Sun Yalin gave Shen Huan a "I knew you didn't have good intentions" look, gazing at the rural scenery outside the window, and ignoring whatever Shen Huan was saying to Chen Tong. After a while, Chen Dan and Xiao Li carried several packages out from the village head, with Jinzi, wearing a light golden fur coat, running happily back and forth in the wheat field.

  Shen Hua got out of the car and tossed the keys to Chen Tong: "You drive, feel what it's like to hold the steering wheel of a two-million-dollar car. After driving this car, you'll know how much your status will drop if you still hang out with those hoodlums on the street. In the future, no matter what you want to achieve, attitude is key..."

  Chen Tong was no longer angry about what had just happened, took the car key, and said with a mixture of excitement and nervousness: "If this car gets scratched or bumped, I really can't afford to pay for repairs..."

  "Don't worry about it..." Shen Huai said with a smile, telling Chen Tong to drive safely. He straddled the motorcycle and took the heavy helmet from Chen Tong's hands.

  "It's a pity I saw it, so I won't sit either," Sun Yalin got off the car and sat on the back seat of the motorcycle, holding Shen Hua's waist from behind, and said to Chen Tong and Chen Dan through the window, "See who arrives at Meixi Town first..."

  Shen Huai had never held Sun Ya Lin so tightly before, even with thick winter clothes on, he could feel her full chest pressed against his back. He didn't expect her breasts to be that big, but he knew Sun Ya Lin was putting on a show for Chen Dan's benefit. Struggling free, he turned around and said: "Sorry, I'm not interested in women who like women..."

  "You've got a good deal, are you still pretending to be clever?" Sun Yalin's hands relaxed slightly, so that Shen Hua couldn't feel her chest being pressed too tightly.

  Shen Huai looked at Chen Tong's absolutely beautiful face stuck to the car window, with a faint and gentle smile. He couldn't kick Sun Ya Lin off the back seat of the motorcycle, so he could only smile helplessly, start the motorcycle, and drive with Chen Tong, one in front of the other, rushing back to Meixi Town.

  **************

  Chen Tong is to return directly to the steel mill for normal shift work; the town government and the steel mill's duty officer have already arranged for someone else to take over, Shen Huai doesn't want to disturb the New Year's gift-giving and door-wishing, so he will live in the old house with Chen Dan and Xiao Li.

  On the second day of the new year, Ge Yongqiu represented the county to come to Meixi for New Year's greetings. Shen Huai also pretended to be ill and did not go out until the fourth day of the new year. Chen Dan was preparing for the hotel's business after the holiday, so they all returned to town together.

  Shen Huai had fallen ill the year before, it was just exhaustion plus a large basin of foot-washing water poured over his head and he couldn't hold on, after staying in the hospital for one night he recovered. At the old house, although Chen Dan insisted on sleeping with Xiao Li at night, when Xiao Li went out to play with her classmates, she didn't refuse to be intimate with Shen Huai. However, the old house hadn't been renovated yet, it was cold and freezing, there was no air conditioning or heating, Shen Huai had nothing to do, after one passionate encounter with Chen Dan he collapsed on the bed, didn't pay attention to keeping warm in time and caught a chill...

  At the beginning of the year, on the fourth day, Sun Yalin also moved back to Zhujiang Hotel from the city. Seeing Chen Dan's uncomfortable appearance with a cold, she asked: "You rushed back to Meixi to take care of the patient, how did you get sick yourself?"

  Shen Huai sat aside and laughed strangely, Chen Dan blushed and pinched him; Shen Huai hurriedly escaped to the town government.

  Liu Weiguo, dressed in a suit, walked over and Shen Hua also came over, calling out: "Old Liu, today is the official start of work, right?"

  Liu Weiguo looked at Shen Hua and said awkwardly, "I just arrived in town and was about to report to you, Secretary Shen. I only found out that you had fallen ill before the New Year; during the Spring Festival, I took my wife back to our hometown and didn't even come to pay my respects..."

  "There's nothing, I'm just making excuses to slack off, but this can't be said honestly to He Zhenchang and the others," Shen Hui smiled, telling Liu Weiguo not to take such a small matter to heart.

  Liu Weiguo was transferred to Meixi Town Police Station as the director, which was something that had started before Tan Xueping's attitude changed. Even though Quan Xuetao later became more reserved in his attitude towards Shen Hua, Liu Weiguo's transfer work did not stop.

  Liu Weiguo's hometown is in Heyang, and he hasn't returned home for the New Year in a few years. This time, taking advantage of the gap in his work transfer, he brought his wife and children back to his hometown to visit his parents. Shen Hua thought he would spend a few more days before officially reporting to Meixi Town.

  Although Shen Hua wanted to have a good talk with Liu Weiguo about the security work in Meixi Town, on the first day of his return to the office after the New Year, He Qing She, Li Feng, Huang Xinliang and Guo Quan also came over to greet him. In addition, some things had accumulated during the New Year holiday, so his morning time was fragmented.

  Shen Hua had no choice but to let Liu Weiguo first go and communicate with Vice Secretary Li Feng, who was in charge of comprehensive governance, to deal with the things on his hands.

  At noon, when it was almost time for lunch, Huang Xinliang brought Zhu Li over to discuss the work of transforming the weaving and dyeing factory's workshop into a transitional house.

  The renovation project of the weaving and dyeing factory's workshop transitional house, two small contractors Yang Guirong and Bai Jiang, both voluntarily withdrew. After inquiring, Shen Huai only knew that Yang Guirong and Bai Jiang were actually apprentices brought out by Zhu Li. After the town construction station was dissolved, Zhu Li was plagued by debt and had no ability to maintain his original team, so each of them took a team to take on projects...

  Since Sun Ya Lin jumped out to intervene, Shen Huai knew that he and Zhu Yi's matter couldn't be hidden from Zhu Li, but didn't know if Zhu Yi would tell her father everything.

  Shen Huai couldn't read anything from Zhu Li's face, so he stood up from behind his desk and invited Zhu Li to come in and sit down. He said to Huang Xinliang, "You go to the cafeteria and bring some food back, we'll ask Manager Zhu to have a simple lunch in my office, after lunch it will be more convenient to discuss work..."

  There were two secretaries in the party and government office, but Huang Xinliang still followed Shen Hua's instructions and personally ran to the cafeteria in the backyard to fetch food, without asking Shen Hua why he didn't take Zhu Li directly to the cafeteria in the backyard for a working meal.

  Shen Hua handed over the daily work of managing assets to Guo Quan, and after the New Year, he asked Huang Xinliang to move his office to the third floor, which was originally Du Jian's office.

  Shen Hua didn't know until later that although the office building was an old one built in the mid-80s, this particular office had been renovated by Zhu Li himself, who had put a lot of effort into it.

  Looking at Zhu Li sitting down and still sizing up the office, Shen Hui thought he must have complex feelings about this office. He smiled and said: "Director Du has been transferred to the county. I didn't want to move in originally, but thinking that leaving it empty would be a waste, I'll ask you to help me partition off a reception room another day. It's too spacious for one person to occupy such a large office..."

  "Director Shen's place is always bustling with people, so it needs to be spacious. The reception room can be a separate room," Zhu Li said, his smile was warm and shallow, but his heart was turbulent. He didn't ask his daughter about her emotional entanglement with Shen Li, but as a father, he was still perceptive, at least able to see that his daughter hadn't walked out of the emotional turmoil from a year ago, which made his impression of Shen Hua complex and intertwined...

  After a while, He Qing Society brought in a document and said: "Zhu Baozi you are here just right, that proof material of yours is still short of one signature from Secretary Shen..."

  Shen Hua handed over the documents, which were proof of the arrears owed to Zhu Li for the construction project in the town. Zhu Li wanted to use the debt as collateral to borrow a corresponding amount from the Industry and Commerce Bank, and this document was indispensable.

  This certificate is signed by He Qing Society and stamped by the government and finance department.

  He Qing brought it over, possibly out of respect for Shen Huai as the number one in charge, and also because the form of debt mortgage and actual repayment by the bank on behalf of the town seemed more reasonable. However, there was no precedent before this. The bureaucratic system tends to be conservative, and things without precedent are not dared to be tried lightly by anyone. The vast majority of officials have a mindset of "not seeking merit, but seeking no fault", and He Qing is no exception.

  Shen Huai didn't say anything, picked up the pen to test if there was any ink, and then directly signed it over to He Qing She, asking him to help Zhu Li prepare all the other materials.

  Zhu Li looked at Shen Huan sitting at the public desk signing with a complicated mood. He Qing saw Zhu Li and thought to himself: Shen Huan took such a big responsibility, solving his problem once and for all, why didn't he react more strongly?