Volume 1 Chapter 53: When Night Falls and Emotions are Confused

  Stock up on chapters, explode around dawn, tomorrow update three or four chapters, depending on how powerful the red tickets from brothers are.

  After having something to eat at the reception station, Shen Hua asked Yang Haipeng to drive and send Xiong Wenbin, Zhao Dong and others back to the city. Seeing that the car had gone up and down Meishan Highway, Shen Hua and Chen Dan walked back.

  "Secretary Shen should go back to his room and rest; I don't know if Little Qian is still waiting by the door at this hour..." Chen Dan said.

  "I'll send you back to the dormitory first, and then I'll come back to knock on the door of the guest room department." Shen Huai asked Chen Dan, knowing that the guest rooms at the reception station were almost empty, and Chen Dan could choose a room to sleep in. But he was worried about Little Li sleeping alone in the dormitory, which was inexplicable and unnecessary worry. He thought about sending Chen Dan back to the dormitory first.

  The dormitory in the town was located in a dilapidated neighborhood near the steel mill. It was quiet and dark at night, with no streetlights in the entire town. Shen Hua couldn't bear to let Chen Dan walk back alone on the deserted road at night.

  "The dormitory in the town, and also the empty house, are all tidy. The bedding is also ready-made. Previously, a deputy town head who was on a temporary assignment lived there for a while. If Secretary Shen doesn't mind, he can sleep there too." Chen Dan said.

  "That's it, I'll just make do with a night's sleep." Shen Huai said.

  It's deep in the night, with a faint starlight shining down. The houses on both sides of the alley are all dark and silent, except for a few families that still haven't gone to bed and have their lights on.

  The alleys in the residential area were narrow, and Shen Hua and Chen Dan walked past, causing dogs to bark and cats to meow, also startling countless families' beautiful dreams.

  The road was paved with coal cinder, and it was still a bit rough on the feet when walking, but it was much better than the muddy roads in the countryside.

  Mei Creek Town is a large town with a population of nearly 50,000 people. The residents are mainly concentrated in the old street of Mei Creek and the lower reaches of the Mei River, divided into two residential committees. Most of them live in old brick-tile houses that have been around for some years, while only a few families have demolished their old houses to build new ones.

  The dormitory building in the town was also a batch of brick and tile houses built on the south side of Meixi Old Street in the 1960s and 1970s, which were allocated to cadres who came to work in the town. When a cadre was transferred from Meixi, the house would be taken back and left for the next cadre who came to work in Meixi.

  The overall living conditions are not very good, but the town invests some funds to repair houses and alleys, which are relatively clean and tidy. Since many town officials live here, the surrounding sanitary environment and public security are better than elsewhere.

  Chen Dan stopped in front; Shen Huai was thinking about something and didn't hold back his feet, sticking to Chen Dan's body before realizing where he was.

  The sudden closeness made Chen Dan's heart skip a beat.

  This sudden palpitation, as if it were an unfamiliar emotion, made her inexplicably anxious, like a cat jumping out, and her heart pounding.

  Shen Huai hadn't even had time to react when Chen Dan suddenly jumped back in fright, thinking she had misunderstood him as trying to take advantage of her.

  The tip of her nose still had a lingering fragrance, and the softness that touched it made people reminisce. Shen Huai knew that Chen Dan was an enchanting woman, and he was also afraid of scaring her off. He explained: "Have we arrived at our destination? I'm still thinking about things..."

  Chen Dan nodded "uh-huh" with her head down, her face inexplicably burning fiercely. The sudden panic was an experience she had never had before, and it made her feel like a sensitive girl who didn't know how to handle it. She worried that Shen Hua would misunderstand her actions, but couldn't explain that she wasn't trying to avoid him when she jumped back. Instead, she said in a low voice, "Secretary Shen, wait for me for a moment, I'll get you the key and some hot water for washing up..."

  Chen Dan nervously took the key to open the door, but it didn't go in several times; after entering the house, she leaned against the door and touched her chest, which was still pounding wildly. In her heart, she scolded herself: What's wrong with me, I just bumped into him a little?

  "Dan Jie?" Little Li asked inquiringly as she turned on the light in the inner room.

  "Ah, it's me," Chen Dan replied. The goldfish darted out of the dark corner and licked her hand. Only then did Chen Dan turn on the light in the outer room and say to Little Li inside, "Go back to sleep. Secretary Shen is staying in the house next door tonight. I'm just coming over to get the key and take a thermos of hot water over to him..."

  She turned around and Jinzi lifted her paw to press the door handle, opened the door, and happily slipped to Shen Huai's side.

  The light spilled out, and Chen Dan saw Shen Huan sitting on the concrete steps in front of the door, looking at a patchwork of houses to the south. At this time, he opened his arms and let Jinzi drill into his armpit to play, his face exaggeratedly turned to one side, not letting Jinzi lick him with a deadpan expression.

  "Come back, Golden!" Chen Danjiao scolded, trying to call Golden back. Golden withdrew its head from Shen Huai's armpit, tilted its dog head and looked at Chen Dan standing in the doorway with two eyes, wagged its tail twice, and then ran off in circles in the small alley...

  Shen Huai turned around and saw Chen Dan standing at the door with her back to the light. Her figure was not as full as Zhou Yu's, but she was slender and elegant, wearing a half-embroidered skirt and long pants that gathered at the ankle, with the hem of her dress just reaching her hips, making the curve between her waist and hips seem both hidden and revealed. Standing there, she had an indescribable quiet elegance.

  "Is it done?" Shen Huan asked.

  "Ah," Chen Dan finally realized that she had been standing behind the door for a while, calming her nervousness. She stuck out her tongue and said, "Secretary Shen, wait a moment..."

  Looking at Chen Dan sticking out her tongue, Shen Huan suddenly remembered that Chen Dan was only 22 years old this year. He thought to himself that if she had a better family background, she might still be enjoying the carefree days of youth on campus.

  It was also Chen Dan's experience that made Shen Hua even more afraid to abandon Little Li.

  He leaned in to listen to Chen Dan talking to Little Li, who was still sleepy, in the room. After a while, Chen Dan went into the inner room and disappeared from view. Shen Hua turned around and followed Jinzi as they frolicked in the small alleyway, looking up at the row of houses in front of him.

  In front of Zhen dormitory, there is a residential area for steel plant workers distributed on both sides of Gangchang Road.

  The history of Meixi Iron and Steel Plant dates back to the early 1960s, when large-scale steel production began. Before the mid-1980s, the plant was small in scale, with an annual output of only a few hundred or thousand tons of steel, which was a traditional high-energy-consuming small factory. However, it also laid some industrial foundation for Meixi Town and accumulated some strength.

  In the mid-1980s, the central government supported the development of township enterprises. Mei Xi Steel Factory, with the support of county and city governments as well as banks, was able to rapidly expand its scale, and the number of employees grew from over a hundred to over eight hundred people.

  Such a large workforce would be considered a major enterprise even in East Asia.

  It's just a pity that the scale of Meixi Steel Plant can be said to be completely supported by bank loans, especially since the large-scale expansion, the number of profitable months can be counted on one hand.

  Mei Creek Steel Plant does not have the financial ability to solve the housing problem for all employees.

  Although two three-story staff buildings were built on the south side of Gangchang Road in the late 1980s, except for the allocation to the factory leaders, only 20 rooms were squeezed out and used as collective dormitories for young workers. Many employees were farmers from nearby villages, but in the early days, there were more than a hundred employees who were also among the earliest residents of Meixi Town, most of whom built houses on both sides of Gangchang Road. Over the past 30 years, the steel plant has also built some residential buildings sporadically on both sides of Gangchang Road and allocated them to some cadres.

  Overall, the steel plant workers' residential area unfolding before Shen Hua's eyes looked disordered and dilapidated, not much better than the shantytowns around the city's steel plants.

  "Secretary Shen, okay," Chen Dan said with a sigh, carrying the hot water bottle, washcloths and basin, "I didn't even prepare new towels. If you don't mind using mine, Secretary Shen..."

  The light in the room was not turned off, and it shone through the thin curtains. Shen Hua looked at Chen Dan's big, watery eyes and thought that he could use a towel to indirectly touch her, and his heart also had some romantic thoughts. He took over the thermos and said, "I'm not so fragile..."

  It seemed like she could guess Shen Hua's thoughts, Chen Dan's face turned hot, thinking that the towel Shen Hua used must be thrown away. To ease the awkwardness between them, she said: "About Chen Tong's matter, I haven't thanked Secretary Shen yet?"

  "What's there to thank me for? I'm still letting Chen Tong be an ordinary worker. I thought you'd blame me instead?" Shen Huai said with a smile.

  "I'm not that unaware of what's good for me," Chen Dan looked up at Shen Hui, whose sharp facial features were accentuated by the faint light. She thought to herself that this face should be able to captivate many young girls, yet she found it strange that she hadn't been charmed by him when they first met. Looking down again, staring at her toes, she said, "Chen Tong's temperament hasn't settled down yet, and he's very unreliable in his work, so he needs even more training on the shop floor. Secretary Shen, you must be genuinely thinking of Chen Tong's well-being to have arranged things this way..."

  "Getting power too early or too easily will only lead to one's downfall. Those arrogant and lawless rich kids in Donghua City are no exception. They are so arrogant, so unaware of their own limitations, that they can only dig their own graves deeper. Whether it is justice or hidden enemies, whoever seizes the opportunity to give them a slap on the head will be able to knock them down forever."

  Shen Huai let out a soft sigh and said, "

  "Although it's possible to directly transfer Chen Tong to work by my side, making his work and life immediately brighten up, but if I really want him to have a better development in life, doing so wouldn't be good. After all, I regard Xiao Li and Chen Tong as my own sister and brother..."

  Shen Huai's words slipped out of his mouth, and he regretted it immediately. He had spoken from the heart, but he also knew that to others, his words sounded frivolous: "You've only met Xiao Li and Chen Tong a few times, what qualifications do you have to treat them like your younger siblings?"

  Shen Huai saw Chen Dan lower her head even more severely on one side and knew she was thinking crookedly, but couldn't explain it.

  Chen Dan saw Shen Huan speak so bluntly, but somehow didn't feel disgusted, and secretly asked herself: What's going on today? Clearly knowing that the man in front of her was a philanderer, why was she still confused by his words? She also thought that maybe it was because of power, just as he said, power always makes people lose their way.

  Power, apart from bringing many benefits and a superior status, Chen Dan also knew that it could bring her the sense of security she had always yearned for. Today, when worrying about Shen Hua's fate, upon learning that even the mayor was forced to bail out Shen Hua, didn't she suddenly feel an uncontrollable excitement?

  Seeing those town leaders who usually show off their power and prestige, being like eggplants hit by frost, isn't it also a relief and a pleasure for them inside?

  They say power is like a drug, once you get hooked, it makes you feel both ecstatic and desperate at the same time, yet impossible to quit.

  Chen Dan analyzed her own heart like this, and felt that her own heart was so unbearable. She helped Shen Huai open the door, put the towel on the table, and left with a somewhat melancholy expression.

  Shen Huai didn't know what Chen Dan was thinking, but seeing her leave with a somewhat unhappy expression, he thought his words had startled her. He also secretly warned himself: even if he wanted to make a move, he should put more thought into it; being too explicit would probably lead people to think he was just playing with her...

  Pick up the two towels on the table, and they have the same fragrance as Chen Dan's body. However, I got a headache again and forgot to ask Chen Dan which one is for the face and which one is for the feet...