Chapter 48: Sudden Wind and Rain
A three-storey villa with golden and blue hues, a swimming pool of azure water, soft and lush green grass, in the distance, the dazzling night view of Victoria Harbour is faintly visible.
Only by being in the midst of it can one understand why luxury homes in Mid-Levels are so sought after by the wealthy in Hong Kong, and have almost become a dividing line between high society and ordinary rich people.
In a dazzling array of dishes in the small banquet hall, Zhu Wen hosted Wang Husheng, Lu Zhong and Gao Yanyan.
The dishes are all Shanghai home cooking, which makes the chef's skills even more evident. A simple garlic and lettuce dish, the garlic's flavor, the texture of the lettuce, as soon as it enters your mouth, you can clearly feel the difference from restaurants outside.
The congratulatory words were all there, and the three madams were present, making Gao Yan's tongue tremble secretly.
Hong Kong only began to implement the Marriage (Amendment) Ordinance 1970 in 1971, ending the era when Hong Kong men could take concubines and divorce their wives according to the Qing Code, abolishing the system of taking concubines and adopting monogamy.
But concubines before 1971 were still recognized as legal wives under the 1930 Marriage Act.
These three ladies are all lawful wives of Chow Man-sang who are protected by Hong Kong law.
Three ladies, Mrs. Xu and her companions, were half-elderly but still retained their elegance; with every gesture and movement, soft words and gentle tone, one could faintly discern the beauty they possessed in their youth.
At mealtime, the second and third madams withdrew, leaving only the first madam to accompany the guests for dinner, as it was customary for her to handle social etiquette. If today wasn't a special occasion where Zhu Wen was visiting with his childhood friend, the three madams wouldn't have appeared together at the same time. In fact, in recent years, it had become rare to see all three madams together in public.
Lu Zhong didn't say much, just listened as Zhu Wensheng and Wang Husheng reminisced about their tumultuous past years.
It was Gao Yanyan who occasionally interjected, steering the conversation towards Wushan's development. Fortunately, Zhu Wenxuan didn't seem to mind and even asked with interest about Wushan's situation.
Gao Yanyan naturally boasted, exaggerating the prospects of Wushan High-tech Development Zone to be incredibly promising. The flash of wisdom in Zhu Wen's eyes made Lu Zhong understand that Gao Yanyan's little thoughts would definitely not escape Zhu Wen's notice.
But the congratulatory words were the same, and he just smiled and listened, without showing any dissatisfaction because of this yellow-haired girl's boldness in front of him.
Lu Zhong couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that Wu Wen Tong was indeed well-bred and had a good temperament.
It turns out that in the previous life, Lu Zhong had dealings with the Zhu family in the business world. The main person he dealt with was the representative sent by the Zhu family to develop the mainland market, the eldest son of the Zhu family, Zhu Mingze.
The result is self-evident. Lu Zhong, who exuded a dark aura from his bones in his past life, took advantage of the home court to almost skin and swallow Zhu Mingze alive.
Even more so, Lu Zhong also possessed Zhu Mingze's third-rate mistress, just to satisfy the glory of thoroughly defeating the young master of the Zhu family.
Mingze is actually a very kind person, now thinking about it again, I really owe him an apology.
In my past life, I was harmed by others, but at the same time, I also harmed many people.
So now reborn, if not necessary, it's not necessarily to avenge the hatred of past life, after all, these deep hatreds have not occurred in this life.
To avoid another tragedy for myself and my family, I should work hard to contribute to the rise of my family.
So Gao Zhikai and Yang Chaoyang, although they are detested in the heart, have never been taken as objects of revenge.
It seems that the hatred between myself and them is a grudge that spans nine lifetimes, destined to be so. Even if I were to be reborn, it would be impossible to resolve. Perhaps, in the end, it will still result in one of us killing the other.
So what about Ming Ze? Will he still become his own rival in this life?
I hope there will be some change. In the previous life, I have already made him miserable enough. In this life, I'm afraid he has no chance of winning. Bullying such an honest person is really meaningless.
"Mr. Lu, why haven't you said a word?" Zhu Wensong's gaze suddenly fell on Lu Zhong.
Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Today I came, I brought a pair of ears and a pair of eyes. The chairman's words are profound and meaningful, they must enlighten me. In front of you, I'd better be humble and speak less."
Zhu Wen looked deeply at Lu Zhong, but couldn't tell what this young man was thinking. Moreover, he didn't know why, but he felt that this young man seemed to be a worthy opponent rather than some local young official coming to pay respects.
Wen Tong shook his head, feeling puzzled in his heart. Could it be that he had really grown old? The hallucinations he had been having recently were indeed getting more and more frequent.
……
On the way back from Zhu's mansion around 10 pm, Gao Yanyan was extremely excited in the Lincoln car, discussing the luxury of the Zhu family.
A woman, no matter what position she is in, is still a woman.
Wang Husheng was still immersed in the nostalgia of his youthful years, stroking a yellowed photo and muttering to himself. This photo was given to him by Zhu Wensong, a group shot of big and small children in a Shanghai alley, among whom one person was Wang Husheng.
Lu Zhong smiled in response to Gao Yanyan's excited chatter, so as not to make herself too boring.
Gao Yan had enough reason to be excited, as at the dinner table, Zhu Wensong promised that he would come to invest in Wushan, and his eldest son Zhu Mingze would also go to Wushan soon for investigation and market evaluation. At the same time, Zhu Wensong verbally promised to invest in building a high-speed road between Beijing and Wushan, as for the specific details, it needs to be coordinated with relevant central departments.
Lu Zhongzuo was polishing the congratulatory text, it seems that inviting Wang Husheng is not just a simple reunion of old friends, but mainly to prepare for Huanghe Industrial's entry into the inland market, and to test the waters to see how the inland authorities will respond.
Back at the hotel, the three of them parted ways in the lobby. Wang Huisheng and Gao Yanyan returned to their room, while Lu Zhong went to have a cup of coffee.
Deng Lu Zhuo sat in the elevator and arrived at the 12th floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, he saw Chen San Shui standing outside, pacing anxiously.
"Director, I have something to tell you." Chen San Shui hastily came forward.
Lu Zhong hummed and said: "Speak."
"Still, let's go back to the room." Chen San Shui looked at the corridor where people were walking from time to time, and hesitated slightly.
Lu Zhong nodded and walked back to his room.
In Room 5, the smell of smoke had almost dissipated. This was a standard room with two beds, snow-white sheets and light blue carpet, looking very clean and simple. Lu Zhong and Chen San Shui lived in this room together.
"Just now, He Hongmei called and asked for you..." Chen San Shui said in a low voice with some anxiety as soon as he entered the room.
"What? Qingtian has been released?" Lu Zhong asked. Before leaving Wushan, the Municipal Bureau had already received news that Zhang Qingtian's case was basically identified as a frame-up, and Niu Wu was formally arrested on multiple charges.
"She didn't say that, she just told me to tell you that the Central Investigation Team has arrived and Director Yu Gong has been suspended. The central government will continue to investigate his alleged illegal activities." Although Chen San Shui was repeating He Hongmei's words, he couldn't help but feel a shiver when he mentioned Director Yu Gong being suspended. This is the way of officialdom - no matter how powerful you once were, as soon as you are ruthlessly eliminated, your fate can change in an instant.
Moreover, Chen San Shui clearly knew that Director Lu's backer was Director Yu Gong. In official circles, things are always pulled out with the mud, and if Director Yu Gong fell, then Director Lu would be in an awkward position.
Lu Zhong was stunned for a moment, "Director Yu Gong has been suspended from duty?"
Chen San Shui nodded affirmatively, "Yes, He Hongmei said it very clearly over the phone, it's not fake."
Lu Zhong furrowed his brow and said: "How can you say these things over the phone? Wasn't our security and confidentiality training for nothing?"
Chen San muttered under his breath: "Anyway, it will be reported sooner or later."
"Haven't you seen the news yet? If He Hongmei calls again, tell her not to mention these things." Lu Zhong waved his hand, "Take a bath and go to sleep!" He turned around and entered the bathroom.
Chen San let out a deep sigh. Although Director Lu seemed fine on the surface, he was afraid that this time would be especially troublesome.
But thinking about it, this doesn't seem to be one's own business either, it's just that someone else is leading oneself instead, the only fear is that oneself won't be so obedient.
……
The next day, Lu Zhong could feel a subtle change in the attitude of some cadres towards him. It seemed that not only he himself knew, but also those who should know had already learned about Director Yu's trouble.
Lu Zhong remained silent and no longer chatted casually with other cadres as he used to. His identity was sensitive, so he had to avoid suspicion.
He silently performed his duties as the deputy head of the delegation, holding various promotional meetings and press conferences, visiting Hong Kong's wealthy businessmen, responding to all kinds of media...
The political situation in Wuyue Mountain, however, has caught the attention of Hong Kong media. Firstly, the mainland government delegation that is currently conducting a high-profile promotion campaign in Hong Kong comes from Wuyue Mountain; secondly, the direct intervention by the central government in reshaping the power structure at the municipal level was last seen in Shenzhen.
Lu Zhong, through Hong Kong media, is aware of the changes in Wushan's political climate.
Municipal Party Secretary Duan Zhongcheng has been temporarily relieved of his duties, to be reassigned elsewhere; Mayor Huang Mintai has been transferred to serve as Deputy Director of the Agriculture Department in a remote northwestern province.
The pattern of Wushan City's three-horse carriage has completely become history.
The Central Organization Department directly appointed Duan Zhongyuan, the former Director of the Regional Economic Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, as a member, standing committee member and secretary of the Wuxi Municipal Committee, and nominated him as a candidate for mayor.
The Hong Kong media's interpretation is that the central government has high hopes for the development of Wushan High-tech Development Zone and Wushan, and is extremely dissatisfied with the intense power struggle in Wushan. They do not want the future development of Wushan to be affected by personnel changes, so they are borrowing from Shenzhen's political model a few years ago, appointing an outstanding cadre to take charge of both party and government affairs, using absolute power to sort out various relationships for Wushan's development and lay the foundation.
The day before the Wushan economic and trade delegation left Hong Kong, the Hong Kong media reported again that the Wushan City Advisory Committee was disbanded by the central government. It is said that this is because the central government has taken a stand, believing that the existence of advisory committees in special economic development zones is more harmful than beneficial, resulting in the abolition of the Wushan City Advisory Committee. The original members of the Wushan City Advisory Committee have entered the provincial advisory committee as members, while the original members of the Wushan City Advisory Committee have been properly arranged by the old cadres bureau of the Wushan Municipal Party Committee.
When Chen San Shui saw this news, he couldn't describe his emotions. Yu Gong Director was overthrown, and the Municipal Commission was also abolished. This is simply the most ruthless blow to Lu Zhong Director, because Lu Zhong Director came from the Municipal Commission, and it's said that many old cadres had high hopes for him. This was also Lu Zhong Director's most valuable network of relationships, but now everything is gone.
Even Chen San Shui deliberately kept a distance from Lu Zhong, not for any other reason, but because he was afraid that when facing Director Lu Zhong, he would involuntarily reveal sympathetic eyes, which was probably what Director Lu Zhong least wanted to see now.
