Volume 1 Chapter 64 Hard to Swallow

  I know some brothers are waiting to get fat, but isn't it better to collect them first? Don't forget about this book when you look back.

  Shen Hua walked over, Shao Zheng and Chen Tong were leaning against the car head smoking. He tightened the leather collar around Jinzi's neck to prevent it from wandering on the highway. He took a cigarette from Shao Zheng's hand and lit it up, asking Chen Tong: "How did you rush over here?"

  "My sister sent someone to tell me that you lost the things in the old house, I didn't dare to come and find you about this matter, so I rode a bike over here to see what's going on. I didn't expect you and my sister to have arrived first..." Chen Tong still thought Shen Hua had arrived with his sister.

  "Your sister didn't tell me, I just happened to come over to get something." Shen Huan knew Chen Dan's temperament and thought that if she could have taken the initiative to tell him first, she wouldn't have had to suffer this injustice. He opened the car door and casually threw the Maitreya Buddha carved by Old Huang Yang into the car, wrapped in newspaper.

  Xiao Li calmed down and sat in the car, her pale face stained with tears. Seeing Shen Hui arrive so quickly, she worriedly said: "Everything was thrown into the yard, what to do?"

  "It's nothing, since they can throw all these things away, they can naturally bring them back to me one by one." Shen Huai was also annoyed by this broken matter, but at this time he just smiled and told Xiao Li to be relieved. Anyway, he had changed his identity, so he didn't need to care about these relatives, and even if he stepped on their toes again, no one would say that he wasn't being considerate of relationships.

  Chen Dan just sat in the car, covering her face with both hands and sobbing, unable to face the embarrassment at this time. Shen Hua also didn't know what to say that would make her feel better, so he called Jinzi over to get on the bus and sit between Chen Dan and Little Li.

  Shen Hua waved his hand and asked Shao Zheng to drive them back to the town. Chen Tong rode a bicycle behind them.

  The car stopped at the entrance of the alley, and Chen Dan and Xiao Li got out of the car and went in directly.

  "You go back directly, I still need to use the car." Shen Huan sent Shao Zheng back directly and sat in the car for a while. Feeling that Chen Dan's mood was very bad, he couldn't rest assured, so he got out of the car and went into the alley to knock on the door.

  Chen Dan opened the door and handed Shen Hua a bundle of money at the entrance.

  "What do you mean by this?" Seeing Chen Dan wanting to clear the boundary with himself, Shen Huai felt a lump in his throat. When he saw Chen Tong riding his bike to the entrance of the alley, he didn't want Chen Tong and Xiao Li to hear some things, so he said to Chen Dan: "You come with me, there are some things you need to tell me clearly..."

  Shen Hua turned around and knocked on the door of his own house, letting Chen Dan in. After closing the door, he asked: "What's the meaning of this money?"

  "Secretary Shen, you don't need to live in the old house either. If I accept this money with Xiao Li, it won't be good for your reputation..." Chen Dan didn't raise her head to look at Shen Hua, but instead stared at the tip of her shoes.

  "What is a good influence, what is a bad influence," Shen Hua looked at Chen Dan, who was rarely seen crying in front of others, her red and swollen eyes made her look even more beautiful, with an added touch of pitiful charm. He restrained the urge to pull her into his arms, and said with a straight face

  "Should I just watch as Xiao Li is bullied by the steel factory and can't even get a penny in compensation? Should I just watch as Xiao Li's house is taken over by others for nothing? Should I just watch as Xiao Li's grades are all messed up, maybe not even graduating from high school? Should I just watch as Chen Tong gets into fights with the neighborhood watch on the streets, watching him become a street thug step by step? Should I just watch as you're bullied by others, watching you struggle to take care of Xiao Li and Chen Tong, and think that it has nothing to do with me?"

  The already cracked shell was shattered by Shen Hua's words, and Chen Dan's fragile and sensitive heart was exposed. She couldn't hold back her emotions, and tears streamed out again, with clear teardrops hanging on her pale cheeks.

  Shen Huai said, "I'm a straightforward person, I don't care what others say behind my back; if you think being close to me is not good for you, just say it..."

  Chen Dan looked up and asked Shen Huai: "Is it that I'm too useless? Xiao Li and Chen Tong, I couldn't take care of either of them..."

  Shen Huai reached out and pulled Chen Dan into his arms, placing his hand on her soft waist, saying: "It's not that you're useless, it's just that this society is too realistic, too cruel. Let me help take care of Little Li and Chen Tong with you, okay?"

  Chen Dani leaned into Shen Huai's arms, her arm bent and propped against his chest. Neither drawing closer nor struggling to leave, she savored the feeling of Shen Huai's hands on her waist, a sensation that had never happened before, leaving her helplessly enchanted.

  Shen Huai looked at Chen Dan's face, still with tears on it, her eyes slightly closed, the long and curled eyelashes trembling lightly, under the straight nose bridge, her lips were rosy red, he couldn't help but lower his head and gently kiss her.

  Just as their lips touched, Chen Dan suddenly opened her eyes wide awake, not struggling to get away, but just staring at Shen Hua, making Shen Hua feel embarrassed and unable to continue kissing.

  As Chen Dan's gaze fell, looking at his hand, Shen Huai, even if he wanted to continue feeling the softness and elasticity of her waist, could only awkwardly let go of his hand.

  Shen Huai rubbed his nose and said, "I have something to do in the city later, so I won't be having dinner with you all tonight. Xiao Li, Chen Tong, and you, if anything happens, I won't just stand by and do nothing; if there's anything, don't try to handle it alone either, got it?"

  "Understood," Chen Dan replied with a lowered head, still somewhat unaccustomed to the change in her relationship with Shen Hua being so intimate. As Shen Hua was about to leave, she added another sentence, "If you say these things without thinking of anything indecent in your heart, that would be even better..."

  Shen Huai tripped on the doorstep and almost fell out, but he didn't look back and slipped out of the alley. However, when he heard Chen Dan laughing behind him, his heart also relaxed, and he no longer felt distressed about what happened today.

  Shen Hua drove to Cuizhou Lake and arrived as night was falling.

  Donghua local finances are in trouble again, but officials' enjoyment is not lagging behind.

  Unlike the dilapidated tube-shaped buildings, the Beige Community in the northeast corner of Cuizhu Lake is a well-planned architectural complex. This is where the main officials of the municipal party committee and government, as well as their families, are concentrated.

  In 1990, a garden-style community was built on a vacant lot by the side of Cuizhu Lake, which is more luxurious and magnificent than most residential areas in the city. The exterior walls of the buildings are all decorated with dark red decorative tiles, and the community is also surrounded by bamboo trees and streams.

  Beigong Xiaoqu was the top residential area in Donghua City in 1993, and only officials from the municipal party committee and government, as well as families with some influence in Donghua, could move in.

  Apart from the 16-17 multi-storey buildings, in the innermost part of the community with the best scenery and view, there are 12 villas that only members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee are qualified to be allocated.

  Entering from the main gate of the residential area, there is another inner gate to enter the villa area, and the guards are even more stringent than those in Shen Huai's memory of the ministerial compound. Under the emperor's feet, high-ranking officials still need to be restrained, but when they arrive at a local place, where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, even if the treatment they enjoy is somewhat excessive, no one will say anything.

  Blocked outside the second gate, Shen Hui could only make a phone call to let someone come out and pick him up.

  Shen Hua parked his car where the guard instructed him to, and after a moment, he saw Zhou Ming and Xiong Danni walking out from inside, waving at Shen Hua.

  Seeing someone coming to pick him up, the guard didn't stop him anymore. Shen Hua walked in and asked Zhou Ming: "Has Secretary Tan moved into his new residence?"

  "Just got back, and I was just asking about you, how come it's so late?" Zhou Ming asked, seeing Shen Hua holding a newspaper wrapped around something in his hand, knowing it should be a gift for Tan Qiping, but didn't ask what it was.

  "Something's come up, I'm running a bit late," Shen Huan said, and then walked in with Zhou Ming and Xiong Daini. Zhou Ming was enthusiastically introducing which house belonged to Wu Haifeng and which one belonged to Gao Tianhe.

  Chen Mingde did not move in at first, but lived in Nanyuan on the other side of the lake. Shen Hua had hardly ever come in - after all, even the imperial family used to come and go freely back then, so why would Shen Hua care about such a small scene? Zhou Ming was willing to say that he just listened quietly.

  Entering the building, I saw Xiong Wenbin's lover Bai Suimei sitting with two middle-aged women chatting.

  One of them looked familiar and should be the lover of a certain leader in Donghua City, but couldn't remember the specific name, thinking that she would come over to chat.

  The middle-aged woman sitting in the middle, with fair skin and a somewhat rich appearance, wearing embroidered edge clothes, looked a bit wealthy. Shen Hua guessed she was Tan Qiping's lover and walked over to ask: "Are you Aunt Chen?"

  The middle-aged woman looked up at Shen Huan with a puzzled expression.

  "Xiao Shen often harasses Secretary Tan with phone calls, and also often harasses you, Aunt Chen. Today I came to apologize to you, Aunt Chen." Shen Hua said with a smile.

  Shen Hua and Tan Qiping's lover Chen Sujuan surprisingly had never met before, which made Zhou Ming standing beside them very surprised. He thought to himself that Shen Hua used to be in the provincial government, it seems his relationship with Secretary Tan was quite ordinary.

  Shen Hua had never had the opportunity to meet Tan Qiping's lover, Chen Sujuan, before. When he was in the province, he didn't even know that Song's family had a relationship with Tan Qiping, the deputy director of the provincial organization department, so there was no way to contact him. Last time, when Shen Hua went to the provincial city with Xiong Wenbin to see Tan Qiping, they met in the office and then had dinner at a hotel, after which they rushed back to Donghua overnight, without having the opportunity to visit Tan Qiping's home.

  "Oh, I was wondering why the voice sounded so familiar. Old Tan often mentions you," Chen Sujuan naturally heard her husband mention that Shen Huai was the son of Song Jia's old three Song Bing Sheng, even if she hadn't seen him before, she treated him as a family member, stood up, smiled and shook hands with Shen Huai, and said, "Old Tan is in the study room, you go find him to talk, don't mind us chatting outside..."

  "Unless you're going to sink in the river, you go first and tell Secretary Tan, I'll go with Xiong Ni to the kitchen to see if there's anything that needs help." Zhou Ming said.

  Shen Hua guessed that Zhou Ming was also forced to be the deputy, and even if Xiong Wenbin was anxious, he wouldn't rush to recommend his son-in-law on Tan Qiping's first day in office.

  Anyway, for the sake of Xiong Wenbin's face, Shen Huai didn't want to make Zhou Ming too embarrassed, so he said: "Let's go in together, the work in the kitchen will be left to Sister Danni..."

  Xiong Danni smiled with a hint of sarcasm. Among them, he was the youngest, Zhou Ming was already 29 years old, Xiong Danni was 25, six years older than her younger sister, and one year older than Shen Huai.

  Her father didn't let Zhou Ming follow them into the study to join in the fun, but instead had Zhou Ming stay in the kitchen to help the women with their work. Xiong Danni was already feeling a bit indignant on Zhou Ming's behalf. However, there was nothing she could do about it; she was afraid that if she wasn't careful, someone in the house would become unhappy, and all her previous efforts would be wasted.

  Listening to Shen Hua pulling Zhou Ming into the study, he was still smiling and calling her sister. Xiong Danni also smiled in response: "I'm just a commoner, I don't deserve to be called Secretary Shen's sister..."

  "Got it, got a slap in the face." Shen Huan burst out laughing and followed Zhou Ming to the study room around the corner.