That's not appropriate, but it's also inappropriate for Li Xiuyuan to call him "Old Lu" or "Zhenhai." Calling him "Secretary Lu" is the most suitable way to address him by his title.

Wang Zhitao and Lu Ting chatted with Li Xiuyuan for a while, and then the food in the kitchen was ready. After everyone sat down at the table, they poured some wine, and Li Xiuyuan tasted the dishes made by Lu Zhenhai and praised them again.

While praising Lu Zhenhai's cooking, Wang Zhitao chimed in, "Yeah, I think if Uncle opened a restaurant, it would definitely be a huge success."

Wang Zhitao meant to praise Lu Zhenhai's cooking skills, but the praise was a bit unpleasant to hear. Lu Zhenhai gave up his good position as deputy secretary to open a restaurant. Wasn't that insulting?

It's acceptable to praise ordinary people in this way, but it's inappropriate to praise someone who is a leader.

Li Xiuyuan glanced at Wang Zhitao; this really was a greenhorn son-in-law.

Fortunately, Lu Zhenhai didn't care at all, and even went along with Wang Zhitao's words, saying, "Haha, when I was young, I really thought about it. Back then we were poor and couldn't even get enough to eat. I just thought about when I would be able to eat my fill. Xiuyuan, you know, I met Old Zhou from Meilin Village because he had a friend who was in charge of the school cafeteria and took care of me. That's how we became acquainted..."

“Yes, life was tough back then, Secretary Lu. It wasn’t easy for you in your time. Compared to today, we are much happier.” Li Xiuyuan nodded. He was definitely not going to continue the topic of opening a restaurant, regardless of whether Lu Zhenhai genuinely didn’t care.

To say that someone as dignified as the deputy secretary of a town's Party committee would be better off opening a restaurant and becoming a chef is not a compliment.

"Yes, we are much happier now. Putting everything else aside, everyone can eat their fill and no one has to worry about filling their stomachs."

"Come on, Secretary Lu, let's drink to happiness. You've worked hard tonight, cooking for us yourself. It's an honor." Li Xiuyuan raised his glass, and Lu Zhenhai smiled broadly at his words.

Although he certainly wouldn't want his daughter to be with someone like Li Xiuyuan, as the risks were too great, he had to admit that they were both young people, and Li Xiuyuan's words were much more agreeable than those of his son-in-law, Wang Zhitao.

No wonder he became the deputy mayor at such a young age.

After putting down his wine glass, Li Xiuyuan changed the subject and said, "Secretary Lu, everyone can eat their fill today, but some people are eating too much. The country's policies are good, intended to enable people to live a good life, but some people are not only eating their fill, but also too greedy. Take the Tian Zhijun brothers for example, they dared to pocket more than a million yuan of project funds."

Less than a tenth of the funds are actually used for engineering projects. The country's policies are good, aiming to ensure everyone has enough to eat and can live a good life, but they are only concerned with their own well-being. Today's happy life is hard-won, yet some people keep trying to destroy it..."

Li Xiuyuan used this topic to test Lu Zhenhai, which was also the theme of the dinner party that evening. On some issues, the two of them had to be on the same page in order to advance and retreat together.

Moreover, starting with the topic of the Tian brothers is the best entry point.

Since the nature of the Tian Zhijun brothers' case has already been established, criticizing them as a negative example is politically correct.

If Li Xiuyuan had directly accused Zhang Xingguo, Lu Zhenhai might not have responded. However, with Tian Zhijun and his brother as the starting point, Lu Zhenhai had no reason not to follow suit.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhenhai glanced at Li Xiuyuan without showing any emotion. Although he was prepared for what Li Xiuyuan wanted to talk about tonight, he was still somewhat surprised that Li Xiuyuan would start by using the topic of "eating enough or not" to get to the point.

However, Lu Zhenhai nodded and followed: "Yes, today's happy life is hard-won, it was bought with the blood and sweat of many predecessors, and we will never allow some scoundrels to ruin this great situation."