Courtyard House: I, the eldest son of the Jia family, have returned from the battlefield.

With you here to keep things under control, I feel at ease.

Jia Dongming tapped the table lightly, a hint of amusement in his voice: "We've worked together for so many years, why does Director Li have to beat around the bush? Who exactly is in charge of the winter affairs that requires my presence?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

When he spoke again, Li Huaide's voice betrayed a hint of embarrassment: "As expected, I couldn't hide it from you... It was Director Ruan of the Municipal Government Office who specifically instructed me to invite you to come along."

Director Ruan? Jia Dongming couldn't recall the name.

Why would an official with whom he had no dealings invite him through Li Huaide? He gazed at the twilight gradually settling outside the window, his fingers unconsciously tracing the hard edges of his briefcase.

Many thoughts raced through Jia Dongming's mind. With a somewhat puzzled look, he asked, "Director Li, I've never even met this Director Ruan. Since he's inviting you to dinner, why did he specifically ask you to bring me along? What's even stranger is, how did he know I'm acquainted with you?"

This question not only troubled Jia Dongming, but also puzzled Li Huaide.

Ultimately, he and Director Ruan were merely casual acquaintances. The fact that the latter suddenly invited him to a banquet and specifically requested that Jia Dongming accompany him was truly perplexing.

Faced with Jia Dongming's doubts, Li Huaide did not hide anything and answered frankly: "Director Jia, Director Ruan used to work in the grain system. I met him a few times due to official business, but we never met in private."

He suddenly invited the two of us out today, and to be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Upon hearing that Director Ruan had previously worked in the grain department, Jia Dongming's eyes lit up, and he vaguely guessed the purpose of the meal.

Thinking of the old case he was currently investigating, he glanced at his briefcase, smiled slightly, and asked, "Director Li, did Director Ruan say where he'll be entertaining us tonight?"

When Li Huaide first mentioned that someone would be doing winter solstice that night, Mingming noticed that Jia Dongming's attitude was somewhat reluctant. But now that he suddenly became cheerful, Li Huaide was caught off guard.

However, when Director Ruan called, he repeatedly instructed that Jia Dongming must be invited. Since the other party was now willing to accept the invitation, Li Huaide no longer thought about the reason for his change of attitude and hurriedly replied with a smile: "Director Jia, I will come to pick you up at 5:30 in the evening."

Let's ride in my car to the Emei Restaurant.

Upon hearing the time, Jia Dongming nodded and smiled, "Alright, Director Li, I'll wait for you in front of the security office building at 5:30."

After hanging up the phone, Jia Dongming put the receiver back on the table, took the ledger out of his briefcase again, and carefully flipped through it page by page.

Before long, his gaze fell on a record marked with pinyin.

The record clearly states that the person referred to by this code name received more than 10,000 yuan in cash from Liu Jiangping over the years, along with 23 small gold bars.

Staring at this record, Jia Dongming's heart began to stir—this person who appeared under a code name was very likely Director Ruan, who would be making winter dinner tonight.

If his speculation is correct, then in this ledger, the amount involved by Director Ruan can only rank second.

At the top of the list is another mysterious figure whose name is replaced by pinyin, and this person is very likely the real mastermind behind the entire case.

With this speculation, Jia Dongming finally felt a sense of clarity regarding the long-delayed case, and at the same time, he felt a deeper meaning and anticipation for tonight's dinner party.

At 5:30 p.m., Jia Dongming finished his work and hurriedly arrived at the security building after a quick tidying up.

He immediately spotted the jeep parked in front of the building, with Li Huaide in the passenger seat waving at him with a big smile.

Jia Dongming quickly stepped forward, opened the car door, and got in. He smiled apologetically and said, "Director Li, I got so busy that I forgot the time. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Li Huaide waved his hand and said amicably, "Director Jia, you're too kind. We've only been here a short time."

The car drove away from the steel rolling mill amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Qin Huairu, who was about to leave work, saw this scene and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Judging from this, Brother Dongming won't be coming home for dinner again tonight."

Why do these leaders always have dinner parties every other day?

About half an hour later, the jeep stopped in front of the Emei Restaurant.

Li Huaide spotted the middle-aged man standing at the door, quickly got out of the car, and hurried forward to greet him: "Director He! Thank you for waiting."

Director He smiled and shook hands with Li Huaide, saying warmly, "Director Li, you're too kind."

Director Ruan has invited quite a few guests tonight, and they're waiting for you two inside right now.

Li Huaide immediately stepped aside to introduce him: "Director He, let me introduce you. This is Director Jia Dongming of the Security Department of our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

As Director Ruan's correspondent, Director He did not know why Director Ruan invited both Li Huaide and Jia Dongming at the same time, but he understood that Director Ruan really wanted to see Jia Dongming. He invited Li Huaide only because he had no dealings with Jia Dongming and was using this relationship to make the invitation on his behalf.

Upon learning that the person before him was Jia Dongming, whom Director Ruan had specially invited, Director He immediately extended both hands and greeted him warmly: "Director Jia! I've long admired your name, and today I'm finally meeting you in person."

Feeling the other person's enthusiasm, Jia Dongming quickly reached out to shake hands and said humbly, "You're too kind."

We're just doing our job of ensuring safety in the factory area; how can we compare to a city leader like you?

Jia Dongming's flattery made Director He beam with joy. He bowed repeatedly and invited Li Huaide and Jia Dongming inside: "Director Li, Director Jia, Director Ruan is already waiting inside. Please come in."

The two followed He Chang through the corridor and stopped in front of a carved wooden door.

Inside, there was a cacophony of voices, and one could faintly hear the clinking of glasses and laughter.

Director He listened intently, knocked twice on the door, then pushed it open halfway and bowed to the middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit sitting in the main seat, saying, "Director, Factory Director Li and Section Chief Jia have arrived."

Director Ruan looked up at the sound and his gaze fell on the two people at the door. He immediately got up and came forward to greet them with a warm smile: "Director Li, Director Jia, we've been waiting for you. Please take a seat."

After the two sat down, Director Ruan waved to Director He and said, "Xiao He, everyone's here. Let the kitchen start preparing the dishes."

He Chuzhang responded and left the room.

Director Ruan then turned to the people at the table, cleared his throat and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce you—this is Li Huaide, the deputy director of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill who is in charge of logistics; this is Comrade Jia Dongming, the captain of the Second Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and the director of the Security Department of the Steel Rolling Mill."

After saying this, he turned to Li and Jia and introduced the guests at the table in turn: "This is Chen Anbo, Deputy Director of the Municipal Grain Bureau; this is Li Xianping, Deputy Director of the Commerce Bureau; and this is…"

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone sat down again.

Director Ruan personally poured Li Huaide a cup of tea before speaking slowly, "Director Li, the reason I invited you and Director Jia here today is because we have a difficult problem and would like to ask the steel rolling mill for help."

A hint of doubt flashed across Li Huaide's eyes, but he quickly put on a respectful smile: "Director Ruan, you flatter me."

Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything. I'll do my best to help if the factory can.

Upon hearing this, Director Ruan relaxed his brows and leaned forward slightly: "Director Li is in charge of logistics, so he must know just how tight the housing situation is in Beijing right now."

To address the housing difficulties faced by government officials, the city plans to build several tenement buildings.

But right now, the most needed material is steel bars—the quota allocated by the state is far from enough.

I was thinking, could we coordinate a batch of unplanned materials from the steel rolling mill?

Sitting to the side, Jia Dongming listened silently, and the vague guess in his heart resurfaced.

He had initially thought this meal had a deeper meaning, but now he was unsure.

After hearing the reason, Li Huaide secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his tone became more relaxed: "The factory does indeed have some surplus quotas."

If the shortfall isn't too large, I could try to adjust the allocation.

As they were talking, Director He led the waiters in one after another, and various dishes were served one after another.

Director Ruan smiled and picked up his chopsticks: "The food is here, let's eat and talk."

After everyone's glasses were filled with wine, Director Ruan was the first to raise his glass and stand up: "It's a rare opportunity for us to gather here today; it's all fate."

Let's drink this first cup together.

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank it all, then personally refilled Li Huaide's glass before lowering his voice and saying, "Director Li, I feel at ease knowing you said that."

We're short about forty or fifty tons here, you see..."

Li Huaide pondered for a moment.

The factory's inventory was more than enough to handle this amount, but he looked troubled: "Director Ruan, as you know, I can't make decisions about the factory all by myself."

How about this—I'll order fifteen tons first, and then try to get another fifteen tons after the New Year. What do you think?

Instead of haggling, Director Ruan smiled and said, "Building a building is a long-term project. With these 30 tons as a base, the Housing Management Office can build at least one more building, which will temporarily relieve the city's urgent needs."

At this moment, Chen Anbo, who was sitting next to Jia Dongming, suddenly raised his wine glass and leaned closer, a warm smile spreading across his face: "Director Jia, I'd like to toast you."

It is truly an honor to meet you today.

Jia Dongming's wine glass lightly touched the one in Chen Anbo's hand, producing a soft, crisp sound.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Director Chen, I originally planned to visit your bureau the day after tomorrow, but I didn't expect to run into you here first."

Chen Anbo raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing just the right amount of surprise: "Director Jia is coming to the Grain Bureau? If there's anything I can do to help, please feel free to speak up."

A slight smile played on Jia Dongming's lips, but his gaze seemed to casually sweep over Director Ruan, who was talking quietly with Li Huaide, before he slowly said, "It's about the case at the district grain station."

Director Chen must have already heard about it.

"The case involving the district grain station?"

Chen Anbo's expression suddenly changed, and he lowered his voice, "Director Jia... could it be that you are personally overseeing Liu Jiangping's case?"

"Xiao Chen,"

Director Ruan suddenly stopped talking, turned around, and asked with a tone of concern and doubt like an elder, "Liu Jiangping? What happened at the district grain station?"

Chen Anbo immediately stepped aside and respectfully replied, "Director Ruan, Liu Jiangping is the deputy director of the district grain station."

I heard... his whole family of five was murdered last night.

The brutality of the attack was truly appalling.

Upon hearing this, Director Ruan's face showed a genuine surprise, before he fell into recollection: "Liu Jiangping... I remember him."

Years ago, when I worked at the grain bureau, he was an accountant.

"How could he have become the deputy station chief in just a few years, and then gotten himself into such a mess that could wipe out his entire family?"

He sighed, turned his gaze to Jia Dongming, and his tone became serious and polite: "Director Jia, you are the head of the Second Criminal Investigation Team of the Municipal Bureau. What exactly is the situation in this case? The perpetrator's methods are so cruel."

Of course, if it involves classified information, then pretend I never asked.

When Director Ruan and Li Huaide discussed the allocation of steel earlier, Jia Dongming's vague suspicions had wavered somewhat.

This question, however, made a clear mark on his mind—this Director Ruan was probably one of the names that were vaguely mentioned in the ledger.

Today's banquet is ostensibly to entertain Li Huaide, but in reality, it's to probe Jia Dongming's true strength and weaknesses.

Jia Dongming had already planned to use this as a pretext, which is why he came with Li Huaide.

At this moment, when faced with Director Ruan's seemingly casual question, a layer of troubled gloom appeared on his face at just the right moment.

"Director Jia,"

Li Huaide interjected, his brow furrowed, "The murder case in Mao'er Hutong a few days ago hasn't been solved yet, and now there's another one... Could it be the work of the same group?"

Jia Dongming's gaze slowly swept over the three faces with different expressions at the table. After a struggle, he finally sighed as if he had compromised: "According to the rules, the details of the case should not be leaked."

But since you are all within the system and know your place, I will only give a general overview.

He paused for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts, before saying in a deep voice, "This matter begins with the discovery of an unidentified male corpse in the district."

"The branch office received a report from the police station and rushed to the scene."

Beside the body, an old briefcase was found.

Jia Dongming spoke slowly but clearly, “Inside the bag, besides a work ID and an account book, there were also seven gleaming gold bars.”

"Work permit..."