"Minqiang, didn't your comrade say he would send a car to take us to Bicheng today?"
Why are they taking us to the provincial party committee compound now?
As Chen Juan watched the military green pickup truck take them into the city of Qian Province, and looking at the bare sycamore trees on both sides of the road, she felt uneasy.
There was nothing she could do; in recent years, many people around her had been suddenly taken away for investigation, and her heart had become sensitive as a result.
"Dr. Chen, Secretary Li is hosting a dinner party at his home today and asked me to bring you and Commander Ruan along. After dinner, I will take you to Bicheng tomorrow."
Upon hearing Chen Juan's concerns, the driver of the pickup truck immediately began to explain.
Anyone who becomes a driver for a high-ranking leader possesses an exceptional ability to read between the lines and understand the leader's thoughts.
Hearing the driver's explanation, Chen Juan felt a little more at ease.
Ruan Minqiang gently patted Chen Juan's left hand, which was resting on her knee, offering her silent comfort with his eyes.
He thought to himself: Maybe Old Li is preparing a welcome banquet for me!
The car climbed a steep slope and drove into the provincial party committee compound, stopping in front of a three-story building.
As soon as the car stopped, Li Yaohua, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, got out and opened the car door for Ruan Minqiang with a smile.
"Oh, Lao Ruan, it's been over ten years since we last met. We've both grown old."
Seeing that his former comrade-in-arms now had some gray hair at his temples, Ruan Minqiang felt a pang of emotion.
"Yes, I can't believe it's been more than ten years in the blink of an eye. We've all become old men."
"Oh, you must be my sister-in-law. I am Zhou Hui, the wife of Comrade Li Yaohua."
A woman dressed in a Lenin suit, looking neat and tidy, came out and warmly greeted Chen Juan.
When Chen Juan saw Li Yaohua and his wife, all her worries vanished.
She readily extended her hand and shook Zhou Hui's hand: "Hello, sister-in-law, my name is Chen Juan, and I am Comrade Ruan Minqiang's wife."
Seeing the two women standing together exchanging pleasantries, Li Yaohua gestured for people to come inside:
"Come on, let's go inside and talk."
As they walked, Li Yaohua explained to Ruan Minqiang, "Old Ruan, I've been busy with work lately. I just had a last-minute meeting. I have two guests here today, and I'll introduce them to you later."
As soon as he finished speaking, he walked into the living room.
Two men were sitting on a sofa covered with a white lace cover.
An older man, who looked to be around forty, with a square face and wearing black-rimmed glasses, leaned slightly toward the younger man and seemed to be saying something.
The other one was younger, around twenty years old, with a handsome face beneath thick hair. His features were well-defined, and his deep eyes were fixed on the middle-aged man. He seemed to be thinking about something, and his thick, dark eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
Upon hearing someone enter, the young man immediately raised his head, and his imposing face instantly came into view.
The moment Chen Juan looked at him, she was drawn to this strong and masculine young man.
"Come, let me introduce you. This is my comrade-in-arms, Ruan Minqiang, and his wife, Chen Juan."
After introducing Mr. and Mrs. Ruan Minqiang, he pointed to two other people and began to introduce them:
"This is Comrade Chen Jiefang, the director of our provincial Chinese medicine factory."
This is our future deputy factory director, Comrade Zhou Jingyun.
Hello, hello.
"Hello!"
...
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Director Chen of the Provincial Pharmaceutical Factory addressed Li Yaohua: "Secretary Li, the factory's secretary just called you and said that the experimental results for that Miao medicine formula have been completed, and Jingyun and I are waiting to go back and check the results."
We were thinking of going back to check it out immediately, and then we could schedule a meeting with William this afternoon to finalize the joint venture factory deal as soon as possible.
After looking at the Ruan couple with some embarrassment, Director Chen continued, "Commander Ruan, Dr. Chen, I'm sorry, I'll treat you to a meal another time. Please excuse me for now."
Zhou Jingyun also sincerely apologized to the two of them and said that he would entertain the Ruan family couple in a while.
The Ruan couple and the two men were meeting for the first time and had no prior acquaintance. Seeing this, they quickly spoke up:
"Official business is important, official business is important."
Even Li Yaohua urged the two to leave quickly. After all, if his jurisdiction could really establish a joint venture with a well-known overseas pharmaceutical company during his tenure as provincial party secretary, that would be a great achievement, and he might even be able to climb the ranks.
After the two left, Li Yaohua explained with a smile: "As you all know, Qian Province is located in the southwest, with many hills, uneven terrain, inconvenient transportation, and an underdeveloped economy. It's not easy for me, as the provincial party secretary, to achieve anything."
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to meet Zhou Jingyun.
Don't underestimate him just because he's from a rural area; he managed to bring in a well-known foreign pharmaceutical company to the province through his own efforts, and they're planning to jointly establish a pharmaceutical factory in Qianjiang with the provincial traditional Chinese medicine factory.
Although Ruan Minqiang had not transferred to civilian work and had no experience in politics, he knew that if this matter succeeded, his old comrade-in-arms would have a bright future!
However, since they were both soldiers, they were used to keeping things secret and wouldn't ask much about each other's work.
Instead, he laughed it off and said, "So what if you're from the countryside?"
Weren't our ancestors from rural areas a few generations ago?
Besides, isn't that kid named Zhou Jingyun?
I think he's quite good-looking, with a decent appearance, a tall and upright figure, and an upright demeanor—a good candidate for soldier.
When Chen Juan heard her husband bring up the military whenever he praised someone, she teased him, "You just can't change your nature. As soon as you see someone with good conditions, you want to persuade them to join the army."
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