Restarting life by going to the countryside to support medical work

Chapter 596 Plot?

“There are indeed other reasons.” Chen Xiangtian nodded and said, “Actually, the reason I invited Director Li here is partly because the privacy here is better, and partly because I was asked to do it by someone.”

Entrusted by someone?
Li Yancheng raised an eyebrow but remained silent, simply looking at the eldest son of the Chen family and quietly waiting for him to continue.

Chen Xiangtian didn't pretend to be mysterious and immediately said, "The person who asked me to do this is the owner of this teahouse, Tong Xiurong. She has always wanted to get to know you, Director Li, but she has never been able to find a suitable opportunity. She has long admired you and hopes that you can give her a chance."

"know me?"

Although Li Yancheng had already guessed that it was this woman before the eldest son of the Chen family said that name, he was still somewhat surprised after it was confirmed.

In reality, he is a very boring person who doesn't like socializing. Apart from his childhood friend Jin Zhihai and a few old classmates like Zhu Yongyang, the only other friends he keeps in touch with are like-minded people like Su Xiaotong.

Then there are the others, people with whom you have only a casual relationship, people you can chat with briefly when you meet, but you don't have any deep friendships.

He doesn't dislike socializing; he's just lazy.

He used to work in the Social Affairs Bureau, where there were many things that needed to be kept confidential, both at work and in his personal life. There was even a period when he didn't dare to go out with his wife and children, for fear of bringing them danger.

Look, you can't even go out with your wife and kids, let alone add friends.

Besides, he himself is well aware that people who want to get close to him all have ulterior motives, some good and some bad. He doesn't have the time to distinguish them one by one, so he simply doesn't make friends.

Now that he heard the eldest son of the Chen family say that Tong Xiurong wanted to get to know him, he knew that this woman also had ulterior motives. As for what those motives were, he thought of the rumor he had heard.

Although he wouldn't make a judgment about someone based on hearsay, there's no smoke without fire. If such rumors are circulating, it means that even if this place isn't a den of iniquity, something must have happened that could lead to misunderstandings.

"What's so special about me? I'm just an ordinary person with a head on my shoulders."

"Hehe, Director Li, you're being modest. That's right, we're all just ordinary people with one head and two eyes, but you are the most promising ordinary person in Beijing. That is, you have a very regular life and work, and because of your special status, you need to be careful about the impact of your daily activities, so you don't go out much."

Actually, many people in Beijing would like to get to know you, and ideally become friends. You might even be able to help each other out in the future.

Li Yancheng knew that there were now some relatively secluded dance halls in Beijing. These were places where some rich kids would rent a club from a certain organization, make some simple renovations, and add some smuggled audio equipment from Hong Kong for everyone's leisure and entertainment.

Of course, not just anyone can enter such a place. Without considerable connections or status, even if you pay money, they might not let you in.

Those who can get in must at least have elders in their families who are at the same level as Chen Xiangtian.

Take this eldest son of the Chen family, for example. His son is nineteen years old this year and spends all his time hanging out with that group of people. Some of these people are second-generation members of their families, while others are third-generation members like the eldest son of the Chen family. Anyway, they are not related by blood. As long as you keep an eye on them, you don't have to worry about messing up the generational order when they hang out together.

For these second-generation kids who just drift through life, if they could get to know someone like Li Yancheng and maintain a good relationship with him, their elders would pay them much more attention.

Therefore, many people do try to establish connections by passing on messages through various channels or by deliberately creating opportunities to bump into each other, hoping to build a relationship. Unfortunately, such opportunities are rare.

Li Yancheng never expected that Chen Xiangtian had invited him here today for this reason.

He smiled and shook his head: "I'm just a newly promoted deputy director of the Public Security Bureau. What good would it do to know me? But since I'm here, it's only right that I meet the host. Director Chen, do you see if Comrade Tong Xiurong is available? If she is, we can have a chat."

There's nothing wrong with meeting her, especially since she's a stunningly beautiful young woman with a gorgeous face and figure.

He wanted to see what this woman really wanted to achieve by getting to know him.

But when Tong Xiurong appeared in a cheongsam, even Li Yancheng was a little unsettled.

It has to be said that Chinese women wearing cheongsams, especially those with good figures, are truly beautiful and absolutely eye-catching. If Tong Xiurong, with her curvaceous figure and long legs, dared to walk around the street in a cheongsam, she would definitely turn heads, regardless of age or gender.

Li Yancheng looked Tong Xiurong up and down with admiration until she took out a tea set and sat down opposite him. Only then did he realize that something was wrong.

Where is Director Chen?

"Brother Chen left first. He asked me to convey his apologies to Director Li. He said he now needs to seize every moment to handle the task that Director Li assigned to him."

Haha! I don't believe you for a second!
Seeing that the woman was about to make tea again, Li Yancheng stopped her.

"Uh... Comrade Tong Xiurong, there's no need to brew tea. I like this flower tea quite well. Director Chen just told me that you wanted to get to know me. Is there something you need?"

Hearing Li Yancheng say that there was no need to make tea, Tong Xiurong didn't insist anymore. She poured herself a glass of plain water, took a small sip, put down the glass, flicked her hair, and then smiled as she spoke.

"Director Li, you are a very popular figure in Beijing now. There are many people who don't want to get to know you."

"Hotly sought after? That's a huge exaggeration. Beijing may lack many things, but someone of my caliber could easily knock down one or two with a single brick."

"But none of them are as young as you, reaching this position before the age of forty. Apart from right after liberation, I really can't think of anyone else."

This woman is indeed a beauty; every smile, every gesture, every casual movement exudes charm.

If it weren't for the fact that he already had an even more stunning beauty at home to choose from, Li Yancheng would have doubted whether he would have fallen for her charms if he spent more time with her.

He didn't continue following her words, but just looked at those big, expressive eyes with a smile, waiting for her to continue.

Li Yancheng himself was unaware of this. Over the years, he had become accustomed to dealing with all sorts of criminals, and his gaze was very aggressive. Even though he had a smile on his face and looked very amiable, Tong Xiurong still felt uneasy.

When she realized that her beauty, which she was so proud of, meant nothing to this man, she immediately adjusted her strategy.

She suppressed the charm she had been deliberately exuding and said calmly, "Director Li, to be honest, the reason I asked Brother Chen to invite you to my place is because I have a favor to ask."

"Tell me."

"I wonder if Director Li has heard of my place before?"

“I have indeed heard of it. I heard from others that Huang’s widow opened a teahouse near Qianmen, which is very private.”

"You must have heard of others, right?"

What does this woman want to do?
Seeing that Tong Xiurong had taken the initiative to bring up this topic, Li Yancheng was slightly taken aback. He was curious about what this woman was thinking.

"I have indeed heard some unpleasant rumors, but rumors are just rumors. Even if the police want to arrest someone, they need evidence. I won't easily believe those rumors."

"Thank you for your frankness, Director Li. I know that what's being said outside isn't anything good; they're practically saying outright that I'm running a 'sex business' here."

The reason I wanted to get to know Director Li is because of this matter.

"There's no smoke without fire. What exactly happened here that led people to spread rumors that this place is a den of iniquity?"

Li Yancheng turned his head and looked around. Judging from the simple style of the place, he couldn't tell anything special. Opening a teahouse here, with a separate courtyard, and once the gate is closed, no matter what you do in the courtyard, as long as you don't make too much noise, outsiders will have no way of knowing. The privacy is indeed quite good.

The downside is that you can't drive right up to the entrance; you have to walk several dozen meters from the alley entrance, and you're very likely to run into someone you know.

Of course, if you don't intend to do anything shady, running into acquaintances is fine. But the problem is, some people come here precisely for privacy. If they run into acquaintances in the alley, what privacy is left? However, through this, Li Yancheng did figure out what to do with the large courtyard he had just bought.

Private club!

That courtyard doesn't have the problem of cars not being able to drive in. The road in front is wide enough for two cars to pass each other without any problem. Moreover, he has specially planned several separate garages. Cars can drive directly into the garages, and people can enter the courtyard from the garages after getting out of the car, without having to go through the main gate at all.

The idea was good, but he couldn't run it, so he abandoned it as soon as it came to mind.

It would take at least three years to completely renovate that courtyard. As for the budget, Lao Guan and his brothers looked at the courtyard several times but couldn't come up with an estimate because Li Yancheng insisted on using the best materials for everything.

Ultimately, having no other choice, the Guan brothers could only make design drawings first, and wait for the head of the household, Li Yancheng, to be satisfied before starting construction, and then proceed as they went.

The Guan brothers knew that the host family wasn't stingy and wasn't short of money, so they dared to go all out.

Guan Wanchang, the eldest son of the Guan family, is preparing to make this courtyard his final masterpiece. He has already started contacting his old connections to procure valuable timber.

After hearing Li Yancheng's question, Tong Xiurong remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Actually, the reason why there are such rumors outside is largely because I offended someone. It's not like just anyone can come here. Let me put it this way, either you or an elder in your family, or at least someone of the same rank as Brother Chen, can come."

Because of this, I turned down many people, and some of them held a grudge against me and said hurtful things about me behind my back.

"Hehe, those people probably came here with ulterior motives. You rejected them, so of course they'll say the grapes are sour when they leave."

???

Tong Xiurong was taken aback by these words. Just as she was about to ask him what he meant, she saw the meaningful look in Li Yancheng's eyes and instantly understood what he meant.

Swish!
After figuring out what those words meant, the woman's pretty face instantly turned bright red.

Of course she knew why those people wanted to come here—it was all about getting her.

She also knew that as a widow, it was virtually impossible for her to remarry a man from a similar family background, unless he was much older than her.

In the past two years, it's not that no one has introduced her to potential partners, but she has a problem. In modern terms, she's a looks-obsessed person. If a man doesn't meet her aesthetic standards, she'll feel a physical aversion to him. If she were to live with a man she doesn't even want to touch, she thinks she'd go crazy.

But she wasn't a woman who liked to live a quiet life. This restlessness didn't refer to her private life, but rather to her desire to climb the social ladder and have power.

She set up this teahouse to build her own network of contacts and pave the way for her career.

But for a woman, especially a beautiful widow, it's not so easy to achieve anything.

See, let alone getting anything done, she only rejected a few people, and all sorts of rumors are already flying around. If she really gets promoted in the future, who knows what kind of gossip will be spread about her.

No, that's wrong. It should be that there was no future for her at all, because the leaders didn't dare to promote her. Everyone was afraid of becoming another subject of gossip.

Having figured all this out, Tong Xiurong became somewhat anxious. She had no choice but to abandon her plan to rely on herself and prepare to find someone to depend on.

But finding a suitable person to rely on isn't easy, not to mention she's unwilling to compromise herself.

She used drinking water to cover up her embarrassment, and only put down the water glass when she felt that her face was no longer so hot.

"Director Li, you're right, that's certainly one of the reasons. But I won't shirk my responsibility either. The fact that the rumors are circulating outside is partly due to my actions."

Ok?
Just as she finished speaking, she noticed that Li Yancheng's gaze towards her had changed. She suddenly realized that she might have said something wrong and caused the man opposite her to misunderstand. She hurriedly waved her hand and explained.

"It's not what you think. I have my reasons for what I said. As the owner of this teahouse, I couldn't stop some people from causing trouble here."

Some of the rumors circulating outside are true. For a period of time, this place did resemble a brothel. When I realized that the rumors had spread, I immediately tried to stop them from continuing their misconduct here, but it was too late.

Director Li, I can assure you that the rumors circulating outside about me having women or even men doing that kind of business here are all nonsense. The truth is that those people all brought them here themselves.

"Think about it, I'm a woman, I've only been back in Beijing for three years, and I have no one to rely on. Even if I wanted to make that kind of ill-gotten gain, I'd need connections, wouldn't I? That kind of business isn't something just anyone can do; I certainly don't have that ability."

If she wanted to be with the man opposite her, she couldn't let him misunderstand her as the kind of woman who was promiscuous. Although she was ambitious, she had never gone so far as to use her body to exchange for benefits.

Upon hearing this, Li Yancheng smiled faintly.

He had his doubts when he first heard the rumor, but the rumors were so detailed and convincing, and some of the people who frequented the place did indeed have a rather promiscuous lifestyle, engaging in casual sex with both men and women, which made it hard not to believe.

It seems that those rumors were just falsehoods, and it's more likely that someone wanted to trip up this woman, even if their methods were a bit underhanded.

If a woman gets involved in such rumors, especially if it's said that she's involved in shady dealings, her life is ruined. No respectable person will dare to associate with her again.

Thinking of this, Li Yancheng frowned almost imperceptibly. He was always extremely careful in his actions, but he never expected that he would still be outmaneuvered by Chen Xiangtian and this woman.

The moment the news of his presence here gets out, it will inevitably cause a huge uproar.

"So, you asked Chen Xiangtian to plot against me? Comrade Tong Xiurong is truly cunning."

Swish!
The woman's expression changed again, but this time it wasn't from shyness, but from fear; her face had turned deathly pale.

She understood what Li Yancheng meant by those words.

"Director Li, please don't..."

"Don't misunderstand?" Before the woman could finish speaking, Li Yancheng interrupted, "Hehe, I wish I didn't misunderstand, but what the two of you did makes it hard for me not to overthink it."

"Director Li, I know you won't believe me no matter what I say now, but I still want to say that I really didn't have any ulterior motives towards you."

Tong Xiurong tried her best to defend herself.

She really didn't think that much about it. She even wanted to submit to this man, so why would she deliberately scheme against him? That would be courting death.

Seeing the woman's face turn pale with fear and anxiety, Li Yancheng twitched the corner of his mouth, not saying whether he believed her or not, but instead asked.

"Let's put aside the misunderstanding for now. You said you asked Chen Xiangtian to invite me here because you wanted to get to know me. Well, now that we've met, what's next? What do you plan to do after getting to know me?"
You don't expect me to clear your name outside, do you? That's impossible. Even if I were the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, I couldn't silence public opinion.

"I……"

How should she put it? Should she just say, "I want to give myself to you"? How could she possibly say that so bluntly?

But she also knew that this might be the only chance she had, and if she missed it, it would be even more difficult for her to see him again.

So, gritting her teeth and suppressing the shame in her heart, she said, "Director Li, I know that I can't compare to your husband in terms of looks or family background, but I..."

(End of this chapter)