Chapter 17: Husband and Wife Conflict

  Tan Qiping put down the phone and was still pondering over Song Qiaosheng's tone towards Shen Huai, his nephew.

  Looking out of the window, I happened to see Shen Huan wearing a coat leaving Building No. 1 and walking towards the parking lot by the lake, but I don't know what he's going there for.

  Shen Huai intentionally helped Wu Haifeng turn around, and Tan Qiping guessed that he still wanted to stay in Donghua, but at the same time felt a bit strange...

  Tan Qiping only then remembered that he had not asked Shen Hua's age, but looking at his appearance, he was at most 24 or 25 years old, still very young. He thought to himself that with such a background, it would be best for him to hang out in the central ministry for a few years.

  Even if they have ambitions for an official career, it would be better for them to wait until they are around thirty years old and have been promoted to a mid-level position before considering going to the provinces to make a name for themselves.

  After Chen Mingde's death, Shen Hua, although he was very mature in his dealings with people and things, was still young and inexperienced. Now, being left alone at Donghua University couldn't be a good thing for his future development.

  Tan Qiping originally wanted to have a deeper conversation with Shen Hua, but then he thought about Song Qiaosheng's seemingly cold attitude towards Shen Hua on the phone earlier and hesitated.

  Mr. Song is eighty-three this year, and in the future, the Song family will still be led by Song Qiaosheng.

  If Shen Huai can't win Song Qiaosheng's favor, he may be marginalized in the Song family in the future. Tan Qiping couldn't help but think: if he actively supported a marginalized member of the Song family, how would Song Qiaosheng view him?

  Gao Tianhe delayed Wu Haifeng for a while in Building 6, and then pretended to comfort Chen Mingde's loved one with a lot of words before he could leave and return to his exclusive Building 2.

  The dozen or so small Western-style houses behind the main building of Nanyuan, stood like a row of "traveling palaces" in the quiet night.

  Gao Tianhe returned to his room, closed the window tightly, pulled the curtains together, and panted as he loosened the collar that was almost choking him.

  Before long, a knock at the door sounded, and Gao Tianhe said in a deep voice: "Come in!"

  Ge Yongqiu carefully pushed open the door and came in.

  Gao Tianhe suppressed his anger, waiting for Ge Yongqiu to close the door before slapping the table and asking loudly: "Tell me, what's going on?"

  Ge Yongqiu said with a sob: "It's really that little beast Shen Huai who has been talking nonsense. I didn't say half a word to him, even if it was from the municipal government, it was still Zhou Yu who came with him; besides, what happened this morning, Mayor Gao, you also know, his punches were like hitting my face..."

  "Lend you some guts, I reckon you don't dare," Gao Tianhe sat down, leaning against the back of the chair, narrowing his eyes at Ge Yongqiu. He didn't think Ge Yongqiu would betray him either, and asked, "Think about it, is there anywhere that's gone wrong?"

  "I'm afraid I'm not careful enough," Ge Yongqiu thought of several doubts, but he wouldn't admit in front of Gao Tianhe that he was careless - losing Gao Tianhe's trust was something he couldn't bear. "Maybe when Secretary Wu rushed Shen Hua away, Peng Yong hastily wanted to link Chen Mingde's death to that matter, and have Shen Hua hear some suspiciousness from just a few words... But Shen Hua doesn't seem like someone with brains!"

  Ge Yongqiu thought to himself: Peng Yong, you're doomed anyway, don't blame me for adding insult to injury.

  "Perhaps I underestimated Shen Hua earlier," Gao Tianhe furrowed his brow and said thoughtfully, "or perhaps Zhou Yu said something unnecessary."

  "If there's anything extra to say, it can only be what Zhou Yu said to him," Ge Yongqiu said in a tone that followed Gao Tianhe's, "but Zhou Yu wouldn't have known the details either..."

  "Zhou Yu may not necessarily be able to see through," Gao Tianhe furrowed his brow, telling Ge Yongqiu to conceal some of the truth, and there were many crucial points that made him think unclearly. "Even if Zhou Yu saw through, he would remind Wu's surname more, and wouldn't turn around to arrange Wu's surname..."

  "What should we do now?" Ge Yongqiu asked cautiously.

  "It's not necessarily a bad thing," said Gao Tianhe, frowning. "No matter how the whole thing is handled, it can't be dragged to our heads, after all, Wu Haifeng was vague with the province. Even if Wu Haifeng hates us, it doesn't matter. The key is still to see how the province views the whole thing..."

  Ge Yongqiu thought for a moment and said, "Right, the province will seriously deal with this matter, it's possible that Wu Haifeng, the municipal party secretary, will be removed from his position; but Tan Qiping just now seemed to want to ask Shen Huai alone, I'm afraid they'll find out something..."

  "Even if Shen Hua is clever and notices some clues, what good would it do for him to report to Tan Qiping? Besides, the provincial government wouldn't want things to get more complicated, so don't worry about it. Just make sure your mouth is shut tight," Gao Tianhe shook his head, indicating to Ge Yongqiu not to worry too much, and continued, "Although Wu Haifeng asked you to write a self-criticism, he can't directly fire you yet. As for Peng Yong's side, please help me smooth things over for now, I'll make arrangements later. This matter cannot have any more leaks."

  "Then Shen Hua..."

  "Don't bother about it for now, let's talk about it after the event has passed." Gaotianhe said, waving his hand to let Ge Yongqiu leave, then sank into the sofa with his eyes closed.

  Shen Hua is such a figure, if he leaves Donghua, there's nothing to be done about it; if he stays at Donghua, for now, let him sit on the bench for a few years. After all, there are still some things that can't be seen through, and acting rashly isn't his style. This time, if Chen Mingde hadn't been in a hurry to take action against the municipal steel factory, he wouldn't have taken such a risk...

  Shen Hua took a cigarette from the car and walked onto the waterfront platform by the lake, lighting one up.

  Shen Hua found himself standing here, still visible to the people in the small building; he didn't like standing in a conspicuous place where others could observe him, so he walked a few steps east into the water pine forest and crouched in the shadow by the lake, smoking while gazing at the dark reflections of the trees sinking into the lake.

  Across from Cuizhu Lake is the downtown area of Donghua City.

  Apart from the TV tower which was outlined by a string of lights, other places had largely fallen into silent darkness, with no signs of prosperity.

  Don't mention the impression of overseas prosperous cities that Shen Hua left in his memory fragments, he has also run to many places all over the country in recent years, making him deeply feel the backward development of Donghua City.

  Donghua City is also a coastal city adjacent to the sea and one of the earliest open coastal cities.

  Three districts and six counties have a population of 7 million, with abundant human resources and educational resources.

  In the early and mid-1980s, Donghua's industrial foundation was still among the top three in the province, with several pillar enterprises engaged in steel smelting, shipbuilding, and machinery manufacturing.

  However, entering the 1990s, with several pillar state-owned enterprises rapidly declining, and private economy not becoming active, Donghua's economy was left behind by other cities.

  The municipal steel plant was a typical example, when it was profitable, its annual profit exceeded 300 million, which was almost equivalent to one-tenth of the local finance of Donghua City at that time; now under the hands of people like Gu Tong, it has become such a mess.

  Across from Cuizhu Lake is the Tianheng Building, which was invested in and constructed by the Municipal Steel Factory.

  In 1990, when the project was launched, the city steel factory claimed to have invested two hundred million yuan to build the first skyscraper over a hundred meters in Donghua City. However, it didn't occur to them that just as the foundation of Tianheng Building had been laid, the city steel factory fell into financial difficulties and couldn't withdraw large sums of money for construction anymore.

  It took three years, and also under the repeated urging of the municipal party committee and government, Tianheng Building was finally capped with difficulty, but the subsequent project had no funds to invest, and it has been stagnant for almost half a year.

  As night fell, the Tianheng Building was a vast and dark expanse, without a single glimmer of light. It seemed as though the heart of Donghua City had been gouged out, leaving behind an ugly scar that pierced through the entire city.

  It's not just the municipal steel plant, but the overall decline of all Donghua's state-owned enterprises and the severe economic stagnation. Shen Hua, who was in the midst of it all, saw more clearly than anyone else, thought more thoroughly than anyone else, and even now, thinking back on it still makes one feel heartbroken.

  "Something big happened in the city, and Secretary Wu is also very passive. Now Secretary Wu has asked me to accompany Mayor Chen's wife, hoping that there will be a chance for redemption. Besides, there are no other female comrades in the city, what can I do?"

  Shen Huai gazed at Cui Hu under the night sky, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard Zhou Yu's voice coming from outside.

  Shen Huai looked out towards the woods and saw Zhou Yu holding a mobile phone, talking to someone while walking quickly towards the lake. Her expression seemed quite annoyed, and from what she could hear, it sounded like she was arguing with her husband: "Please don't be unreasonable, I'm really working. If you don't believe me, come to Nan Garden to see for yourself. It's not that I'm angry with you, how do you want me to explain?"

  Shen Huai thought: Could it be that Zhou Yu's husband suspected her of being unfaithful because she didn't return home so late?

  It's no wonder, Zhou Yu's husband, although paralyzed in bed, still has a mind that prevents thieves. How could he not understand that when Zhou Yu is in her prime, she would be a tender and beautiful piece of meat in the eyes of other men?

  Although Zhou Yu relied on her own background and was not afraid of others' implicit rules, who can guarantee that Zhou Yu could endure the loneliness of being a widow and not find a lover to comfort her soul?

  Shen Huai originally wanted to remind Zhou Yu, but after hearing her private argument with her husband, she hesitated about whether or not to let Zhou Yu know that he was eavesdropping.

  Before Shen Huan could react, Zhou Yu, who was arguing with her husband on the phone and feeling anxious, also walked towards the water pine forest, calling out to Shen Huan without stopping.

  "Ahem!" Shen Huan cleared his throat softly, reminding Zhou Yu that he was in the woods.

  However, Zhou Yu was still explaining to her husband why she couldn't go back tonight and didn't notice Shen Huai's presence.

  Shen Huai stood up and greeted Zhou Yu: "Secretary Zhou, you're also out for a breath of fresh air!"

  Zhou Yu never thought that there was someone in the cypress forest, and she followed her husband's suspiciousness with excessive sensitivity and anger, but couldn't let others hear or see it. She wanted to rush into the forest and have a good fight with her husband, and only when she reached Shen Huai did she suddenly realize that a black shadow was standing in front of her, almost touching the tip of her nose.

  "Ah!" Zhou Yu screamed and then threw the "big brother" in his hand at the black shadow's face, tripped him with one foot, and his body rushed forward.

  Shen Huai was also extremely unlucky, his forehead got hit hard, and when Zhou Yu fell, his hand pressed on Shen's chest, causing him to lose balance and fall straight backwards.

  Shen Huai subconsciously wanted to grab onto something, but only managed to grab onto Zhou Yu's arm that was propped up against his chest. He pulled Zhou Yu directly into his embrace, and the two of them rolled around hugging each other.