Chapter 123 Mother Tree's Red Robe
As he spoke, he deftly pulled out a pen and paper from his briefcase, quickly scribbled down a phone number, and shoved it into Lin Baozhu's hand. "Here! This is my direct line. Whenever you get tired of working in the county and want to find a wider world to showcase your talents, call me anytime! The city bureau's doors are always open for you!"
His gaze swept over Qin Haifeng beside him, and as if he had just remembered, he immediately smiled and handed over another note: "Of course! And Comrade Qin Haifeng too! You two are a golden duo, and the Municipal Bureau will warmly welcome you! Salary and future prospects are all negotiable!" This attitude clearly showed that he regarded the two as hot commodities that he urgently needed to recruit.
Lin Baozhu held the still-ink-stained note in her hand, listening to the other party's endless spiel about the city bureau's grand schemes. She wore a polite smile, but inwardly she was a little anxious: All that fancy talk, what about the most important one thousand yuan? Leader, are you just too forgetful?
Seeing that the city bureau chief seemed to be taking his leave, Lin Baozhu finally couldn't hold back any longer. She took a small step forward, her smile unchanged, but her voice rose slightly, carrying a perfectly timed "reminder":
“Director, you see… we’ve found this person and handed him over to the military safely.” She paused, her eyes sparkling as she looked directly at the other person, adding meaningfully, “You mentioned before… that ‘special reward’ that you can get for finding the person, hehe, I wonder when we can cash it in?” She emphasized the words “special reward”.
"Huh? Oh!" The city bureau chief was taken aback by her blunt request for a reward, but he quickly realized what she meant and, instead of being annoyed, burst into a hearty laugh! The laughter was full of genuine ease and pleasure; those who could be rewarded with money were the easiest to deal with!
"Hahaha! Look at my memory! Don't worry, don't worry!" He nodded repeatedly. "As soon as we get back to the Municipal Bureau, we'll go through the procedures immediately! You won't be shortchanged on this merit and bonus!" He patted his chest to assure them.
Having resolved his pressing matter, the city bureau chief clearly had no intention of lingering any longer. He turned to Director Zhuang, conveying the satisfaction and guidance of a superior to a subordinate: "Director Zhuang, your office is truly full of hidden talents! These two comrades did an excellent job! For next month's work meeting summary, you'd better prepare well and present this report card clearly and conspicuously, so as to encourage others!" These words were both an affirmation and an implication for Director Zhuang's future prospects.
Director Zhuang's barely suppressed smile could no longer be contained; his mouth stretched almost to his ears! He quickly composed himself, bowing slightly and warmly grasping the city bureau chief's hands, his tone utterly sincere and humble: "You flatter me, leader! You flatter me! It's all thanks to your effective leadership and foresight that we've been guided! Without your guidance and the city bureau's strong support, how could our county bureau have achieved even this small success? It's all thanks to your cultivation! It's all thanks to the city bureau leaders!" His flattery was both natural and resounding.
Lin Baozhu was amazed. Look at how Director Zhuang flattered her, so smoothly and effortlessly. She couldn't even catch up with his flattery!
The city bureau chief laughed and patted Director Zhuang on the shoulder: "You're still young, keep up the good work."
After seeing off the city bureau leaders, Lin Baozhu smiled and squinted as she approached Director Zhuang: "Director Zhuang, we've really exceeded our mission this time. Not only did we rescue more than a dozen abducted women, but we also raided a bandit hideout. What do you think of the reward..."
"Haha, don't worry!" Director Zhuang waved his hand. "Since the city has allocated one thousand, our county will also contribute one thousand! You have made a great contribution this time and must be rewarded handsomely!"
Lin Baozhu coughed lightly and lowered her voice, saying, "We found hundreds of boxes of antiques and bundles of RMB 10,000 in the cave where the bandits were hiding. It's worth at least tens of thousands! There are soldiers guarding it there now. Chief, Qin Haifeng and I are both from our bureau. This is an incredible fortune..."
Upon hearing this, Director Zhuang's breathing quickened, and his fingers unconsciously tapped on the table. While the embezzled funds would certainly be turned over to the national treasury, the unclaimed items… there was a lot of room for manipulation there.
"Comrade Baozhu, has everything been counted?"
"Everything is registered. Although the items can't be moved, just solving this major case involving hundreds of thousands of yuan, plus those antiques worth millions..."
Director Zhuang suddenly stood up: "I'll go and negotiate with the military right away!"
He softened his tone, saying, "You've all been up all night, haven't you? Have some tea and rest." He bent down and reached into the deepest part of the cabinet, carefully taking out a tea canister and opening it gently—
“This is the original Da Hong Pao tea tree, my treasured possession. I wouldn’t even take it out when my father-in-law comes to visit.”
Director Zhuang weighed the delicate little porcelain jar, barely larger than a snuff bottle, in his hand with a pained expression, as if weighing his own precious treasure. He took a deep breath, as if making a great decision, before forcing a smile and inviting them, "Baozhu, Haifeng, come and sit down! Today I'll show you what truly good tea is!"
Lin Baozhu was secretly astonished. It was already rare for the bureau chief to personally brew tea, but he used the legendary top-grade Da Hong Pao! In her time, this stuff was a rare treasure auctioned by the gram; she remembered that a pound of it had once fetched a record price of 52 million! Good heavens, today's cup of tea wasn't just tea; it was practically a flowing mountain of gold and silver!
Her eyes widened, fixed on Director Zhuang's every move. She watched as he sparingly plucked three or four tiny tea leaves from the small porcelain jar with the tip of his fingernail—the amount was so small that Lin Baozhu felt she'd need a microscope to see the texture! This meager amount of "tea dregs" was carefully tossed into a lustrous, polished white porcelain cup. She couldn't help but think to herself: "This little bit of stuff, can it even taste good? It's probably just for psychological comfort, isn't it?"
But then I thought about it again. Director Zhuang's jar only contained a tiny pinch, no bigger than a fingernail, which he treasured like his lifeblood. To offer such a small amount of "Maojian" tea as a treat—wow, this is unprecedented, the absolute best of the best! It seems the contribution she made this time was truly significant.
"Come, come, have a taste!" Director Zhuang personally picked up the thermos, poured in hot water, and the few "precious" tea leaves lazily floated and unfurled at the bottom of the cup. The tea remained clear and almost transparent, only tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible amber hue. "Try it, how does it taste?" Director Zhuang asked expectantly.
Lin Baozhu picked up the "priceless" glass of water, brought it to her lips, and took an extremely subtle sip. An extremely faint, yet exceptionally clear and pure tea fragrance wafted out. If it weren't for her exceptional senses, the taste would be so faint as to be almost negligible; an ordinary person probably wouldn't even be able to taste the water.
After drinking their fill of expensive water, Lin Baozhu and Qin Haifeng exchanged a knowing glance and then got up to say goodbye.
"Director, aren't you going to a meeting with the military to negotiate terms?" Lin Baozhu thoughtfully reminded him, "We won't bother you any longer while you're on your business."
She knew perfectly well that although the bureau chief was chatting and laughing with them on the surface, he was probably burning with anxiety inside, eager to go to the military base to negotiate with them.
Director Zhuang quickly stood up, forcing a polite smile to persuade him to stay: "Hey! Didn't we agree to have lunch together? Um... um, no rush! We can go after lunch!" His tone was clearly a little hesitant.
Qin Haifeng put down his almost untouched teacup, his tone calm and firm: "Director, we can eat anytime. I do have some urgent official business to attend to, and it can't be delayed."
He wasn't lying; he needed to go back to his unit...
Lin Baozhu yawned slightly, rubbed her eyes, and spoke with undisguised weariness and frankness:
"Director, I just want to go home and sleep! I haven't slept a wink all night, and if I don't catch up on my sleep soon, I could fall asleep standing up."
She needs to be well-rested, as she has to meet with the black market manager that evening and needs to plan ahead what "hard currency" she will sell!
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