0056 61 Love and Care Congee Shop
Two weeks from now is Lunar New Year's Eve. Red lanterns are hung along the roadside, and the shops are filled with festive cheer, playing songs like "Gong Xi Fa Cai" and "Chinese New Year." Everyone wears a joyful smile, and the ground is covered with a layer of white snow.
Zhou Xiye stood in front of the mirror, straightened his clothes, and was about to bend down to put on his shoes when the doorbell suddenly rang.
As she opened the door, a long-unseen face appeared before her. Without saying a word, Zhou Xiye was about to close the door.
"Zhou Xiye!" Yi Chenling shouted through gritted teeth, raising his hand to grab the door. Although there is a difference in strength between men and women, for Yi Chenling, a sickly person who doesn't usually exercise much, Zhou Xiye's strength was enough to contend with him.
"If you don't let me in, I'll shout from inside the building that you have a boyfriend and that you slept with me!"
Zhou Xiye paused for a moment, and Yi Chenling thought Zhou Xiye was about to open the door, so he loosened his grip.
The next second, Zhou Xiye slammed the door shut, trapping Yi Chenling's hand. He quickly pulled it away, gasped, and gritted his teeth as Zhou Xiye shut the door out.
Zhou Xiye went back to put on her shoes, when a rapid, drum-like knocking sounded at the door. "You crazy woman! You have a boyfriend and you still cheated on me! How can there be such a disgusting woman in the world! Does your boyfriend even know what it's like when you orgasm under me?!"
Zhou Xiye seemed oblivious to Yi Chenling's shouts outside the door. She leisurely pulled a lipstick from the vanity, leaned closer to the mirror, and began applying it, bit by bit. The shouts and knocking outside gradually subsided. Once her makeup was done and she felt satisfied, Zhou Xiye put on her coat and opened the door.
Yi Chenling squatted by Zhou Xiye's door, looking up at her as she walked out. Zhou Xiye looked down at Yi Chenling, and the two exchanged a glance.
"Bang—"
Zhou Xiye turned around and closed the door, as if she hadn't seen him, and walked to the elevator in her not-so-high heels.
Yi Chenling hurriedly stood up and followed, "Aren't you working at the Beijing Liaison Office? I came to look for you a few days ago, why weren't you home? Where did you go? I finally got to come out, and this is how you treat me?"
The elevator doors opened, and Zhou Xiye stepped inside, followed by Yi Chenling.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Yi Chenling stood in front of her.
Zhou Xiye sighed deeply, "What exactly do you want to do?"
"I've been looking for you these past few days."
Yi Chenling's expression was serious and focused; he seemed genuinely devoted. Zhou Xiye chuckled, "I bet you came to see me because you knew I was safe and sound and hadn't ended up in jail, right?"
"..."
Zhou Xiye pouted, "Yi Chenling, I don't have time to play games with you, can you please stop bothering me?"
"You have another man?"
Zhou Xiye laughed loudly, "What, you're going to kill my other men?"
Yi Chenling frowned as he looked at her.
"Ling Xingzhi, I've slept with him many times, go and kill him!"
The elevator slowly came to a stop. Zhou Xiye stepped aside and walked out, while Yi Chenling paused for a moment before following suit.
The two arrived at the parking lot. Zhou Xiye got into the driver's seat, and Yi Chenling glanced at the license plate, which started with BB, before getting into the passenger seat.
"You went to Tibet without telling me. I spent several days at the Beijing Liaison Office. I thought they were lying to me because they said you were transferred, but I didn't expect you really were transferred."
Zhou Xiye hummed in agreement, turned the steering wheel, and drove out of the underground parking garage.
After a long while, the car entered the elevated highway. Yi Chengling looked at the scenery outside the car and slowly asked, "Why are you ignoring me?" He turned to look at Zhou Xiye, "You need to explain clearly what happened."
Zhou Xiye shrugged. "Do I need a reason if I'm tired of sleeping with someone?"
The car stopped at a red light, and Zhou Xiye began to explain, "Yi Chenling, let me talk to you properly. I don't want to fight. Listen carefully: whether you wanted to use me to connect your father with Minister Ye, or you wanted to sleep with me, you've achieved your goal. Minister Ye has already pleaded for your father; otherwise, the feud between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance wouldn't have ended so easily. As for me, I've had enough of playing with you and don't want to continue."
A car behind them beeped. Zhou Xiye glanced at the traffic light, then stepped on the gas, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and gesturing in the air with the other. "If you want to talk about Guizhou, I know. The government said they can't repay the debt, and the Ministry of Finance will definitely work with the central bank to solve this problem. Coming to me won't help. And then what? Selling your body and exchanging sex for resources is extremely foolish. Whether you're male or female, beauty fades and love comes later. You should understand that."
Zhou Xiye talked a lot, and his mouth was a little dry.
Yi Chenling nodded, looking pleased, but his words were utterly rebellious: "But isn't that exactly what you're all for? If I didn't sleep with you, would you have spoken up for my dad in front of Minister Ye?"
Zhou Xiye rolled his eyes almost simultaneously.
"That's because cooperation will bring more benefits. The National People's Congress is about to convene this year. Behave yourself, for your own sake and for your father's sake."
She quickly arrived at the restaurant Lu Daiyuan had booked. Zhou Xiye thought for a moment, then drove the car into the underground parking garage. "What brings you here this time?"
Yi Chenling understood that this woman was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, and lying to her would not end well. So he told the truth: "I did hear about your ordeal and came to mock you, to see if you needed saving." Yi Chenling gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Zhou Xiye completely understood why Yi Chenling had come to see her—to mock and belittle her, after all, he had been her defeated opponent before. Zhou Xiye smiled and shook her head, parking the car. She unbuckled her seatbelt, "I have no feelings for you right now, you'd better..."
Before she could finish speaking, Yi Chenling took Zhou Xiye's hand and placed it on his crotch, where his penis was already erect.
Zhou Xiye took a deep breath, not bothering to hide it, and opened his hand to grasp the erect penis, feeling its hardness. Zhou Xiye then withdrew his hand. "I have something to do today, I'm busy right now," he said, pushing open the car door. "You stay here quietly and wait for me to come back."
After saying that, he got out, closed the car door, and locked the car.
Yi Chenling tapped on the car window, and Zhou Xiye waved her car keys in front of him. Yi Chenling frowned, gave her the middle finger, but Zhou Xiye didn't care and turned to leave.
Lu Daiyuan's dinner party was attended by many people. Zhou Xiye secretly observed them and divided them into two categories: one was his colleagues, who had all risen from the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai area, and the other was people who wanted to get close to him, including Zhou Xiye himself.
Zhou Xiye didn't think she was trying to get close to him, but Lu Daiyuan and the others certainly did, and she gladly accepted that assessment.
Since ancient times, banquets have been of great importance. Whether it's the "Feast at Hongmen" or the "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors," the back-and-forth exchanges and brilliant strategies at banquets are always talked about with great interest. For businessmen, banquets are about building relationships, while for politicians, they are political stages for showcasing their talents.
Therefore, seating arrangements at a dinner party, who sits where, and who sits next to whom are very important. These days, even celebrities attending a gala require careful seating arrangements by the organizers, let alone dinner parties, which are the stage for most politicians who can turn the tide of events. Seating is crucial.
Lu Daiyuan did not sit in the main seat, but rather in the invited seating area. The main seat was for the person paying the bill, which was the furthest center seat from the entrance. Opposite the main seat was Lu Daiyuan's secretary, and to the secretary's left was the invited seating area, where Lu Daiyuan was seated.
Zhou Xiye was the last to sit down. She sat diagonally opposite Lu Daiyuan, which was also the least important position.
Lu Daiyuan ordered the dishes himself, including several dishes from both the north and south, catering to everyone. Afterwards, the people at the dinner introduced themselves in turn, with the honored guests introduced by the person in the host's seat, and those who were close to Lu Daiyuan introduced by him.
He introduced Zhou Xiye, saying, "This is Zhou Xiye, a fellow student of Tsinghua University with me, so we're alumni." He didn't elaborate further, leaving out details like where he worked or what he did. The others smiled, already realizing this wasn't an important person.
At this dinner, Zhou Xiye really had no say. Lu Daiyuan had already adopted the air of someone taking office, with each of them practically owning a bottle of Moutai and Wuliangye.
People come and go, and it's nothing more than asking everyone what they've been up to lately and what problems they've encountered—it's all just appetizers.
After a few rounds of drinks, the real protagonist of the dinner party finally made his appearance.
"The Two Sessions are about to begin, and I've been quite busy lately. Even eating a meal is a rushed affair."
As soon as Lu Daiyuan finished speaking, Zhou Xiye noticed that everyone at the table put down their wine glasses and chopsticks and turned their gazes toward Lu Daiyuan.
"Secretary Lu, it's alright if you're busy, but please take good care of yourself!"
Lu Daiyuan put down his chopsticks, sighed, and shook his head. "Actually, the Two Sessions aren't too busy. It's just that now, with the Lunar New Year approaching, everyone likes their wallets to be bulging..." Lu Daiyuan frowned. "You all know about what's happening in Guizhou, right? The local government has run into problems with its local debt, and the central government can't spare the funds... In previous years, transfer payments were sufficient, but now that the pandemic has hit, the central government can't provide 70% of the funds all at once..."
The subtext is that local debt requires local subsidies.
“Alibaba’s market value is already in the hundreds of billions, Zhejiang only needs Hangzhou!” The person in the main seat said with a smile. The others were stunned for a moment, but they all nodded in agreement. “That’s right, Jack Ma is rich, and sometimes companies must play a certain social responsibility and social value.”
Zhou Xiye's eyes were opened.
The government has no money, but businesses do. When funds are needed, money is taken from businesses. This money is then given to the government to serve the people, giving both the government and businesses a good reputation. However, forced sales are unacceptable. This situation is remarkably similar to when Wang Jianguo initially didn't want to invest in an entertainment plaza in Langfang, but was eventually forced to open it after being invited several times by the municipal party secretary.
Zhou Xiye couldn't say whether the matter was good or bad.
While everyone was talking about this, the man next to him turned to Zhou Xiye and asked, "Where does Xiao Zhou work?"
"The Central Military Commission."
The man raised an eyebrow, his smile now tinged with a hint of offense.
“That’s fine,” he said, placing his hand on Zhou Xiye’s leg. Zhou Xiye frowned at him. She knew the man’s identity and status, and even his appearance was outstanding, but that was not a reason for him to sexually harass her. “Why are you wearing a suit when you come to eat? You’re making such a serious face.”
Zhou Xiye pushed his hand away and tilted her leg to the other side, "No matter how casual the meal is, you still have to wear clothes, right?"
The man muttered, "Young girls look so pretty in dresses, who would like someone dressed like this..."
"I like."
Zhou Xiye replied, and the man opened his mouth, looked at Zhou Xiye, and suddenly laughed, "A while ago, a little girl from the Beijing Film Academy came to me for help. She was quite pretty, a young and beautiful girl. There are so many of those in Beijing. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to debut, so she ran into me... What do you do at the Central Military Commission? I've never heard of you."
"He was just a lecturer in charge of military theory."
The man nodded. "Have you ever thought about moving up in the ranks?"
Zhou Xiye nodded.
The man was satisfied. He put his hand on the back of Zhou Xiye's chair and leaned over. "After dinner, I'll take you home."
Zhou Xiye didn't say anything, but moved her body forward a little.
Lu Daiyuan smiled when he saw her actions. "Xiao Zhou, do you have any ideas? Do you want to provide funds directly from local financing platforms, or from companies to help them overcome their difficulties?"
The person sitting next to Zhou Xiye withdrew their hand and turned to look at her.
Zhou Xiye shook his head. "I don't know either, but have you heard the story of the charity porridge shop?"
Lu Daiyuan suddenly became interested, "Oh? A charity porridge shop, tell me about it!"
Zhou Xiye was not intimidated and spoke eloquently under the gaze of many bigwigs.
"Everyone knows that in Chinese history, the Five Barbarian Invasions and the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties were periods of war and chaos, with various lords declaring themselves kings. Today you draw a piece of land, and the people will follow you and kneel down to worship you as their king. Of course, if you fail tomorrow and the people go hungry, not only will the enemy come to attack you, but the people will also open the city gates to welcome the enemy army... This is common. From the perspective of the people, it's just that they will follow whoever has food. Self-interest comes first, which is very normal."
"The story of the Love Porridge Shop takes place after the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang and changed its surname to Yuan. At that time, the Northern Wei Dynasty was also running out of luck and was torn apart by the provocation of a few thieves. However, there was a small country located in Pingcheng, the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Northern Wei royal family and the illegitimate son of Empress Dowager Feng. In short, it established a separate country, and the people were displaced. They found that the monarch of this place was good and that they could eat without working or paying taxes, so they all went there."
"When you become a local lord, it's actually quite similar to running a company. You don't need the people to work or pay taxes, so how can there be money in the national treasury? It's a sad story. At that time, the earth was acting up and there were natural disasters. All the crops died, and even the cattle and horses died because they didn't have water. But strangely enough, the imperial court still had food to eat and gave the people rice porridge."
"Everyone was happy. Look, there was a natural disaster, but the imperial court gave us porridge. This was a good deed, a great good deed. Word spread quickly, and other lords heard about it, as did people in other places. Then some people went there out of curiosity. But what happened? One person took a sip of the porridge, threw it on the ground, and cursed, 'This porridge is a specialty of our country! How could it appear in this desolate wilderness?' Everyone was furious when they heard this, and more and more people came, hurling all sorts of insults at us..."
"In the end, the locals discovered that the porridge was actually borrowed from other vassal states by the imperial court to save lives."
But the fire was too strong to be extinguished; "The emperor of this dynasty is a complete incompetent!"
"Why not pray to the gods instead of borrowing grain from other vassal states!"
"Liar! Big liar! He tricked me into eating food from another country... for free? So what if it's free! Does that mean we can't criticize the government for making mistakes?!"
"In other words, the imperial court was actually out of grain, but to save the people, it borrowed grain from outside. When the people discovered this, they cursed the ruler, calling him a coward and a useless piece of trash. So these already malnourished people packed their belongings and migrated to places free from natural disasters. On the way, most of them starved to death. This vassal state, too, suffered from its depleted treasury due to the people's departure, and withered away, disappearing without a trace. The enemy state killed two birds with one stone, doing a good deed by destroying the small state."
After the long speech, the people at the table looked at each other but remained silent.
Lu Daiyuan nodded. "Then what's the solution?"
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