0094 103 Qingjinke

"Secretary Hu, what does this mean?"

Zhou Xiye raised her hand to brush her hair aside, raindrops splashing on her face. She squinted at Hu Rui.

Hu Rui shook his head, holding up his umbrella. "Secretary Zhou, that wasn't my intention." As he finished speaking, he stepped aside, and a group of people, holding umbrellas, slowly dispersed. A thin figure appeared before them and slowly walked out from the crowd.

Judging from his eyes, the man was intelligent and sharp; from his appearance, Zhou Xiye couldn't tell his age. Right now, she had no time to judge his age. Was Ye Rouxin dead or not? How did she die? Zhou Xiye was panicked, her thoughts in turmoil.

Raindrops pelted her face, and the smell of damp earth, captured by the rain, wafted into her nose, sticky and making her uncomfortable.

"Hello, my name is Li Mingzhe."

Zhou Xiye nodded, raindrops pattering against her face, obscuring the person's features. Li Mingzhe smiled, offered his umbrella, and shielded Zhou Xiye from the rain.

“You may not know me, but I know you. Because of your sudden arrival, I have lost a good friend and my best partner.”

Zhou Xiye looked up and met Li Mingzhe's gaze. "Are you the boss here?" Her face was deathly pale, and she forced a smile that resembled a vengeful ghost. "I know every place has its local bullies, but I didn't realize you were so arrogant. Going straight for the municipal party secretary is just too presumptuous."

Li Mingzhe smiled elegantly, "The reason is very simple..." He didn't say anything, just smiled slightly.

Zhou Xiye continued, "Because I'm weak. First, I have no powerful backing me. Second, I'm a woman, and a woman younger than all of you, so you look down on me."

Li Mingzhe nodded, looking at Zhou Xiye with considerable admiration. "That's right. Secretary Zhou, you're very smart. I know that perhaps your arrival here has nothing to do with you, and you didn't use any means. But I only look at the results—my friend lost his family because of you, his wife and children were torn apart. You disrupted the order here, the order I built with my own hands."

Zhou Xiye shook his head, finding it laughable. "No, you're afraid of me. You want to strike first, give me a hard time, and make me submit. Using force first and then trying to appease me isn't very smart."

Li Zheming was a little curious and stepped forward. "Oh? What do you mean? Can you explain it again?"

“Li Mingzhe, Mr. Li, I’m here to get my work done, not to make enemies of you. One friend may leave, but new friends will appear, won’t they?”

Li Mingzhe had his other hand in his pocket, pondering Zhou Xiye's words, "You want to be friends with me?"

"This is the best choice, the best choice for me. And the best choice for you as well."

Upon hearing this, Li Zheming nodded, then turned and smiled at the people around him, saying, "See? This is the awareness of people from the capital. Cooperation is above all else, interests are above all else, friends..." Li Zheming turned to look at Zhou Xiye, his face devoid of any smile, his tone light, accompanied by the falling rain, "Friends are nothing."

He didn't vent his anger; instead, he tilted his head and gestured for the person next to him to move forward.

The man raised his hand to hit Zhou Xiye.

The two were standing very close, but Zhou Xiye was not unaware of what was happening. However, she was in a state of confusion and dodged the man's attack. She stumbled backward, tripped over a pebble, and fell onto the car.

Li Zheming looked at her with even greater surprise. "My God, you actually dared to hide?" he laughed.

The next second, the person in front of Zhou Xiye raised his foot and kicked her. Normally, Zhou Xiye might have been evenly matched with him, but at this moment, Zhou Xiye's defense mechanism was almost zero.

He was knocked to the ground by Li Zheming in just a few moves.

Throughout the entire process, Zhou Xiye could only feel pain. She was unable to think, unable to resist, and the pain permeated her entire body.

The stone was hard, and it hurt when I kicked it. The taste of blood and rain mixed together and spread in my mouth.

Li Mingzhe walked up to Zhou Xiye, squatted down, grabbed her hair, and forced her to look him in the eye.

"Zhou Xiye, Secretary Zhou."

Zhou Xiye looked at Li Mingzhe calmly, her eyes resolute. For a moment, she had murderous intent, but there were too many people around, and she was all alone. If she was not careful, she might perish together with him.

“I’m doing this for my friend,” he said with a gentle smile. “Let’s go to the Taoist temple to take shelter from the rain and talk about our cooperation.”

Li Mingzhe, with an elegant demeanor, had the Taoist priest bring out a robe for Zhou Xiye to drape over his shoulders.

A bowl of hot tea and a snack.

The rain outside the round wooden window formed streaks in the air, its scent fresh yet carrying the smell of earth.

Zhou Xiye raised his hand, his arm aching slightly. He picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and felt the heat flow into his stomach.

"This is the best Da Hong Pao, Secretary Zhou. You should know that there is only one genuine Da Hong Pao tree. The one you just drank was picked from the mother tree. How did it taste?"

Zhou Xiye had a scar on her cheek, and she didn't want to make any expression. "I don't know anything about tea."

Li Zheming took a sip himself, shook his head upon hearing Zhou Xiye's words, and raised his hand to nod, "Then you've come to the right place, Kunming. The tea here is excellent."

As the light brightened, Zhou Xiye finally had a chance to examine Li Mingzhe's face closely. She hadn't noticed or seen this man's name when she researched the organizational structure in Kunming. This was the person hidden behind the list, an unseen force.

Looking at his face, he has a thin face, light eyebrows, and phoenix eyes, giving him a scholarly and elegant air. The gray shirt he is wearing is of very good quality, and his lips are prominent and sharp.

Judging from his eyebrows and eyes, this man is shrewd and calculating, refined and elegant. But his lips add a touch of sensuality.

Zhou Xiye estimated that this person must be at least forty years old.

"From now on, I hope Mr. Li can be my guide."

Li Zheming was pleased to hear this. He put down his teacup and said, "You really don't understand me." Li Zheming looked at Zhou Xiye with the air of a superior, arrogant yet with a touch of benevolence.

"I have no interest in introducing myself. You'll find out who I am and what influence I have here once you start working here."

Zhou Xiye nodded. "What are your requirements?"

Li Zheming nodded. "A request? Not really. Secretary Hu has helped me a lot; he's always been my friend."

"I see."

Li Zheming liked dealing with intelligent people who understood things quickly and only spoke three-tenths of what they knew, leaving the remaining seven-tenths to themselves. He leaned back, raised his hand, poured himself a cup of tea, and poured one for Zhou Xiye as well. "Since Secretary Zhou wants to be friends with me, I am sincere."

“Mr. Li, I’m new to this place and don’t know anyone here, so naturally I need friends to help me understand the environment and get started on my work more quickly and effectively. Friendships are about mutual help, so how can I help you?”

Li Zheming was slightly startled. It was rare to see someone so young and so worldly-wise. Moreover, someone who had come from the capital and was not arrogant at all. He wondered if Zhou Xiye had become so easy to manipulate after being intimidated by his presence?

Or was it just a temporary compromise on her part?

Looking at the woman's injuries, the bloodstains in her hair mixed with rainwater, left a mark. Li Zheming was horrified by his own thoughts. A woman, a woman without any power, had come all the way from Beijing to Kunming. Didn't those old foxes know that this was a den of thieves and tigers?

They're clearly here to die.

Is it possible to compromise and still achieve great things?

Li Zheming chuckled at his own thoughts. A woman will always be a woman; a little teasing, a little intimidation, and she'll show weakness. What good is giving her power? Would she even use it?

“How could Secretary Zhou possibly help me? I’m not very capable, but I’ve prepared a big gift for you,” Li Zheming said, picking up his phone and dialing a number. “Come on over.”

Zhou Xiye's eyes were fixed on the hand holding the phone. He watched as the man put the phone down, the door opened, and a group of people walked in.

Everyone has a suitcase in their hand.

Li Zheming clapped his hands, placed the box on the ground, and opened it deftly.

Pink banknotes, with a pleasant fragrance.

"Secretary Zhou, this is my sincerity. I'm not that rude. Are you satisfied?"

Zhou Xiye glanced at the money, then turned to look at Li Zheming. He smiled, dipped his finger in the tea in his cup, and wrote "five million" on the table. Almost instantly, Zhou Xiye understood that she had to accept the money.

But things couldn't be like that. Zhou Xiye also dipped his finger in the tea and wrote three words on the table: "Ten Million".

Li Mingzhe smiled upon seeing this and nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, I'll send you the rest of the tea later. Please wait a few more days." After saying that, his phone screen lit up again. After looking at it, he said, "Your new car has arrived, a Hongqi L5, the most prestigious sedan. Wouldn't you like to give it a try?"

Zhou Xiye nodded. "Can you let it go?"

Before Li Mingzhe could finish speaking, someone else walked in through the door, walked to Li Mingzhe's side, and leaned down to say a few words.

"Let him wait."

After everyone left, Li Mingzhe asked in a very refined manner, "I have another question for you. You and Mayor Ling are both from Beijing. Do you know each other?"

"I've heard of him. Mayor Ling was once the Party Secretary of Beijing. Everyone knows his name."

"So now that you're her superior, Secretary Zhou, what are your thoughts?"

Zhou Xiye finally laughed, "I haven't experienced it yet, but just thinking about it, I know that having Ling Xingzhi as my subordinate is a very comfortable thing."

Li Mingzhe nodded. "My subordinate said that Mayor Ling is also outside the Taoist temple. He wants to see you. Would you be willing?"

Ling Xingzhi is here too? Zhou Xiye lowered his eyes. "What's he doing here?"

"Perhaps, they were also seeking shelter from the rain?"

Zhou Xiye pulled his clothes tighter. "Let's go, let's go meet him."

When Ling Xingzhi first saw the injured Zhou Xiye, his smile froze. He stood under the umbrella, unsure whether to move forward or backward.

"Mayor Ling, this is Li Mingzhe, Lao Li, a new friend of mine. Please introduce him to me as well," Zhou Xiye introduced casually. Upon hearing her words, Ling Xingzhi smiled and stepped forward to Li Mingzhe's side. "Hello, Ling Xingzhi."

Li Mingzhe enjoyed this feeling. He grasped Ling Xingzhi's hand and said, "I don't deserve such praise. Mayor Ling, I am Li Mingzhe. Just call me Lao Li."

The two let go of each other's hands, and Li Mingzhe turned to look at Zhou Xiye. "Secretary Zhou insisted on going hiking just now. It was raining and the road was slippery, so he accidentally fell down the mountain. It just so happened that I was also in the mountains. What a coincidence! I brought people to pick up Secretary Zhou."

Zhou Xiye smiled but didn't say anything.

Ling Xingzhi knew, of course, that this was nonsense, but he couldn't afford to break off relations. "Which mountain is it that Secretary Zhou is so concerned about? The weather is so bad, yet he still insists on climbing it."

“It’s already crashed, it’ll be fine in a couple of days,” Zhou Xiye said as he saw his car. “It’s getting late, let’s call it a day.”

Zhou Xiye walked up the steps, and Li Wei stood beside the car and opened the car door.

Just as Ling Xingzhi was about to leave, he suddenly saw Hu Rui. His eyes lit up, and he greeted him with a smile, "Deputy Secretary Hu! I was planning to visit you today, but I didn't expect to find you here. If you have time, would you like to have a couple of drinks?"

Hu Rui smiled and nodded. He liked this kind of friend; he was approachable.

Zhou Xiye got into the car but didn't immediately tell the driver to start. After watching Ling Xingzhi finish exchanging pleasantries outside the window, Zhou Xiye spoke up, "Drive the car to Ling Xingzhi's side."

"Mayor Ling?"

Zhou Xiye hummed in agreement, and the car started moving, turning a corner to block Ling Xingzhi's path.

He smiled and opened the car door. Seeing the person driving, he thought for a moment and said, "Secretary Zhou, my secretary, Li Qingshan, came with me."

"Xiao Li, get out of the car."

Li Wei hesitated for a few seconds, then got out of the car, and Li Qingshan got in.

The car sped away from the foot of the mountain, and Zhou Xiye and Ling Xingzhi finally took off their masks.

“Ling Xingzhi, I’m going to Paris tonight. Things here are much more complicated than I thought. You stay here and keep an eye on things for me, especially to find out who Li Mingzhe is. Hu Rui is also his top rank. You must have noticed that he’s not important. While I’m away these days, whatever he says goes.”

Ling Xingzhi listened to Zhou Xiye's words with a sullen face, took a deep breath, and turned his head slightly to look at Zhou Xiye.

Did they hit you? Does it hurt?

Zhou Xiye didn't have time to think about that. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "To the airport."

Ling Xingzhi didn't ask any more questions. He turned his head to look out the window, where rain was hitting the glass. "His secretary and driver are his people."

"that's all."