"Isn't that just sophistry?"

Xu Weiguo pointed at the wooden box and retorted, "Who said you have no interests? The ledgers you hold are enough to make them obey you from now on."

Fang Hui calmly retorted, "But my rank and salary haven't changed at all, have they?"

"You're different. There's a difference of more than ten yuan in salary between a bureau chief and a deputy bureau chief, right?"

Xu Weiguo: I disagree, but I can't refute it...

Unable to persuade Fang Hui, Xu Weiguo had no choice but to take the account book and deliver it to Zhang Jianhong.

Whether it was intentional or not, this ledger clearly didn't need to be sent over immediately, but Xu Weiguo just didn't expect it, and Fang Hui didn't remind him either.

...

After being woken up by the knocking, Zhang Jianhong glanced at his watch and couldn't help but utter a few words about traditional Chinese culture.

As he left, he kept muttering, "Who the hell is crazy to come knocking on the door at two in the morning!"

Upon opening the door and finding Xu Weiguo there, he frowned and asked, "Deputy Director Xu, you don't regret selling Xu Weimin's house to me, and you've come to settle accounts with me in the middle of the night, do you?"

Xu Weiguo yawned and replied, "How could that be? Since I promised to give it to you, I won't go back on my word."

"So what are you doing here now? It's 2 a.m., not 2 p.m..."

"Let's go in first and talk about it then. Let's go in first."

Xu Weiguo felt that this matter was quite important and it was better not to talk about it outside.

Of course, most importantly, he had something urgent to attend to.

After Xu Weiguo entered, he asked anxiously, "Where is your toilet? Let me use the toilet first!"

Zhang Jianhong pointed him in a direction with a blank expression.

Whew~

Xu Weiguo felt much better after coming out of the toilet.

He casually tossed the ledger to Zhang Jianhong: "We just found this at Xu Weimin's house. Take a look and decide what to do with it."

"What is that?"

Zhang Jianhong looked at the unremarkable notebook and curiously opened it to take a look.

It wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't looked, but once he did, Zhang Jianhong's face turned black.

If the ledger only contained records of their transaction amounts, Zhang Jianhong wouldn't be so nervous.

After all, there's no signature on it, so he could easily deny it.

The reason he looked stern was that Xu Weimin not only recorded the amount, but also the time and place of the transaction, as well as the details of the goods traded!

If Xu Weiguo hadn't obtained this ledger today, it would have been incredibly easy for anyone else to use it to take them all down.

At that point, no additional evidence will be needed, because if you're caught at the scene, everything will be readily available evidence.

Zhang Jianhong closed the ledger with a stern face and said solemnly, "Thanks, I owe you a favor."

"If you need any help in the future, just let me know. As long as it's within my power, I'll help you."

Xu Weiguo was delighted. Although he didn't need Zhang Jianhong's help right now, who would complain about having too many favors?

I made the trip and gained a favor, so it was a pretty good deal: "Okay, I'll remember that."

"It's getting late... um, it's quite early, so I'll head back now."

Zhang Jianhong nodded, and after seeing him out, he suddenly said, "But I'm a little curious."

Xu Weiguo, who was about to leave, asked, "What are you curious about?"

Zhang Jianhong smiled maliciously: "I'm curious why you didn't send it over another day, why did you have to send it over now?"

"This ledger isn't going anywhere, right?"

After saying that, Zhang Jianhong didn't wait for his reply and closed the door directly.

Xu Weiguo was left standing there, stunned, repeatedly asking himself: "That's right! Why didn't he send it over another day?"

The ledger won't run away, and neither will Zhang Jianhong!

......

When Huang Qinqin was eating breakfast, she didn't see Xu Weiguo, so she asked Zhang Yumei, "Mom, why don't I see Dad?"

"Dad went out last night and hasn't come back yet?"

Zhang Yumei paused in her act of stuffing an egg into her mouth: "Hiss, right, he didn't come back last night?"

Then she thought back and realized something was wrong; the front door had been locked from the inside this morning.

That means Xu Weiguo went home last night. Zhang Yumei put down the eggs and said in a low voice, "Well, he should be back. I'll go to the guest room to look for him."

After saying that, he hurriedly got up and walked towards the guest room.

Pushing open the door to one of the guest rooms, Zhang Yumei indeed saw Xu Weiguo fast asleep.

She went up to him and gently nudged him, feeling incredibly touched. He must have been afraid of waking her up, which was why he went to sleep in the guest room.

After being woken up by her, Xu Weiguo asked sleepily, "Wife, why did you lock the door last night?"

"It made it impossible for me to get in. I wanted to knock on the door but was afraid of waking Junhui's wife. I had no choice but to make do in the guest room for the night."

Zhang Yumei: It turns out she was just being delusional...

He said impatiently, "I locked the door when I got up to use the bathroom last night! Get up and eat breakfast, the whole family is waiting for you!"

"Seriously, someone this old still sleeps in late, they don't act like an elder at all!"

Xu Weiguo found her somewhat puzzling. He didn't get home until almost 4 a.m. this morning, and it was only a little past 7 a.m. now. Why was she sleeping in?

However, remembering that Zhang Yumei said the whole family was waiting for him to have breakfast, he still quickly got up.

He felt a warm feeling in his heart. Although Zhang Yumei scolded him, she still cared about him.

And so, she even waited for him to have breakfast together.

After Xu Weiguo finished washing up, he looked at the dishes on the dining table and asked blankly, "Didn't you say that everyone in the family was waiting for me to have breakfast?"

Zhang Yumei said matter-of-factly, "Yes, there's still a little bit left for you."

"I'm waiting for you to eat, not for us to eat together, so there's nothing wrong with that."

"Oh, by the way, remember to wash the dishes after you finish eating before you go to work. Fang and I are going out to buy groceries."

After Zhang Yumei finished speaking, she and Xu Fang went out together, leaving Xu Weiguo alone with a pile of bowls and chopsticks.

And the breakfast that Zhang Yumei 'specially' left for him—half an egg and a bowl of white porridge.

This is the one Zhang Yumei took a bite of when she went in to call Xu Weiguo.

Because after she came out, she felt that it was unhygienic to just leave it on the table after biting it open, so she left it for Xu Weiguo.

What can Xu Weiguo do?

He still had to eat breakfast, so he ate the white porridge and the egg along with the pickled vegetables Huang Qinqin had brought back.

After finishing my meal, I dragged myself, still feeling quite hungry, to wash the dishes.

As I was leaving, I reached into my pocket and looked at my 'huge sum of money'.

I've decided not to buy anything to eat; I'll just go find Fang Hui and have breakfast with him later.