The farce finally came to an end, and the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle gradually dispersed, leaving only a handful of the parties involved.
Seeing Qian Youde turn and leave dejectedly, Xiao Weiguo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He carefully led He Ye and slowly walked to Old Master Bai's side.
"Grandpa, come here, let me introduce you. This young lady is my wife Liu Ye's cousin. Her name is He Ye, and she is currently a sophomore at XX University in Shanghai."
Xiao Weiguo smiled and spoke gently. Then, he turned to He Ye and whispered instructions.
"He Ye, quickly call him Grandpa. If it weren't for his help just now, we probably wouldn't have been able to get out of this trouble smoothly."
Upon hearing Xiao Weiguo's words, He Ye was no longer as fearful and uneasy as before.
With Xiao Weiguo by her side, she felt incredibly at ease, as if she had a solid mountain supporting her.
What reassured her even more was the man standing beside her, whose face remained as still as an iceberg. Although he was taciturn, the calm demeanor he exuded made people feel inexplicably reliable.
Then, He Ye's face blossomed into a bright smile like spring flowers. She gently bowed to Old Master Bai Zhenxuan and then sweetly said in a clear and melodious voice.
"Hello Grandpa! My name is He Ye, and I'm Xiao Weiguo's sister-in-law. I hope you'll take good care of me in the future!"
Bai Zhenxuan stood there calmly, raising one hand slightly and slowly putting it behind his back, while gently stroking his white beard with the other hand. His eyes were sharp as he carefully examined He Ye from head to toe.
After a long while, Bai Zhenxuan nodded slightly, satisfied, and said softly.
"Hmm, not bad! This little girl is really pretty and charming, truly lovable!"
As he spoke, a kind smile appeared on his face.
Immediately afterwards, Bai Zhenxuan earnestly instructed He Ye.
"My child, you must study hard, for knowledge is power! The prosperity of our country in the future depends on your generation! So, you must not neglect your studies and must strive for excellence!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, He Ye stepped back slightly, and Xiao Weiguo went up to support the old man's arm.
"Grandpa, who was that Minister Qian just now?"
In that brief conversation, Xiao Weiguo, with his keen insight and meticulous mind, easily grasped the key information.
The minister surnamed Qian seemed to have been one of the old man's men in the past, but for some unknown reason he made a mistake and was eventually expelled from Jiaonan City by the old man.
Unable to suppress his burning curiosity, Xiao Weiguo finally couldn't resist asking the old man for details.
The old man frowned slightly, let out a long sigh, and then slowly spoke.
"Sigh... To be honest, what he did back then wasn't some earth-shattering crime, otherwise, given my style of doing things, I certainly wouldn't have let him off so easily."
Back then, I was the mayor of Jiaonan City, and he was my personal secretary.
He should have been diligent and honest in fulfilling his duties, but who would have thought that he would accept bribes to handle matters that were originally within the scope of his job responsibilities?
To be honest, he handled the matter perfectly well; the real problem lies precisely in the act of accepting the money.
After the scandal came to light, an investigation revealed that the amount of money he had received was not particularly large.
At the time, considering his abilities and talents, I felt sorry for him and only gave him a severe reprimand within the government, ordered him to return all the money he had received, and forced him to leave the Jiaonan Municipal Government. I did not take any legal action to pursue the matter further.
In this way, he finally escaped a prison sentence.
To my utter surprise, upon meeting him here today, I am astonished to find that he is actually working for Japan. This truly disappoints me!
After listening to the old man's detailed explanation, Xiao Weiguo suddenly realized the intricate relationship between the two.
However, since this matter involves the official level, Xiao Weiguo was well aware of the stakes involved and naturally dared not make any comments or say anything out of turn.
So, he had a sudden inspiration, quickly changed the subject, and enthusiastically made a suggestion.
"Oh dear! We've been strolling around all morning without realizing it! Look at the time, it's getting late! How about we quickly find a place to satisfy our hunger? We just happened to run into He Ye, so I'll treat everyone to a sumptuous meal. What do you all think?"
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"Haha, not bad, not bad! Since that's the case, then this old man will go all out and splurge today, and enjoy himself with you young people, and have a meal with you big spenders."
Besides, Southern cuisine is known for its exquisite details. Having come all this way, it would be a real shame not to take the opportunity to sample it!
Upon hearing this, He Ye became as excited as a joyful little bird, waving her arms and legs.
Although her family was relatively well-off, living in the bustling and expensive city of Shanghai meant that her meager monthly allowance was simply a drop in the ocean.
She could manage eating at the school cafeteria on ordinary days, but when it came to those luxuriously decorated and expensive high-end restaurants, they were simply an unattainable dream for her.
Now that a wealthy man of Xiao Weiguo's caliber has offered to treat her to a nice meal, how could she easily miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
Xiao Weiguo lacked everything except money; a meal meant nothing to him.
Thinking of this, He Ye quickly raised her delicate, fair hands high and eagerly shouted:
"Brother, brother, brother, I know where to find good food. I'll take you there."
Xiao Weiguo looked at her with a smile and readily agreed.
"Alright, you're practically a host, so you'll be our guide today."
He Ye lowered his hand with satisfaction, then seemed to suddenly remember something and looked back at Jiao Bai.
He still had that indifferent expression and seemed to be doing nothing.
When no one was looking, she lightly touched Jiao Bai with her arm.
"Hey, tell me what you like to eat, and I'll take you there."
Jiao Bai looked at her, puzzled, not understanding why she was asking him alone.
You really don't know any manners, not going to ask Grandpa and your older brother there.
Because of this, he replied in a lukewarm manner.
"Anything is fine."
The two abrupt words almost choked He Ye ( *⊙~⊙).
He had no choice but to turn around dejectedly and say to Xiao Weiguo and the old man.
"Everyone, follow me."
All of this could not escape the sharp eyes of Xiao Weiguo and the worldly-wise Bai Zhenxuan.
The two looked at each other and almost simultaneously uttered two words.
"fool!"
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