Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 163 Huang Laowu (It's so annoying for a bored person to look for books to read +8)

Li Wen came out carrying a bowl of noodles and asked, "Whose noodles are these?"

Xiao Wei pointed at Lao Hou and said, "His." Li Wen placed the noodles in front of Lao Hou and asked, "Want some garlic?"

Old Hou picked up his chopsticks and rummaged through the noodles in his bowl, saying, "No, my stomach can't handle it." He slurped them down, nodding between chews and mumbling, "Hmm, not bad, tastes pretty good." Slurp... "Wow, satisfying, handmade noodles." Slurp...

As soon as the door opened, Xia Maosheng and Li Xing rushed in, hissing and laughing. Li Xing was wearing a police uniform today, but the police uniforms of this era were really ugly and didn't look impressive at all.

Li Xing pounced on the radiator, took off his hat, and grimaced. Xia Maosheng rushed over to Xiao Wei: "Xiao Wei, look, what's this?" He was holding two small black notebooks and shaking them, smiling broadly.

Xiao Wei glanced at it and asked, "Huh?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Hillbilly. Your driver's license is ready. This one is yours, and this one is mine. Chen Hui will teach us to drive tomorrow."

Xiao Wei took the driver's license, flipped it open, and said to Li Xing, "Thanks, bro." Li Xing walked over, holding his hat, and said, "No need to thank me, just treat me to a meal." He then turned and glanced at Lao Wu and the others.

Xiao Wei asked, "Why are you dressed like that today?"

Li Xing said, "He took it out for training and didn't go back to change. Have Director Zhang and the others arrived? Didn't they book a table here today?"

Xiao Wei handed his driver's license to Xiao Hong and said, "No, just the Labor Bureau and Jian'an came. Oh, right, Brother Xiao gave me the check, and I had Hongliang and Gengsheng go and collect it."

Li Xing laughed and said, "I scared Director Zhang to death yesterday, so I'm here today to apologize to you. That's the gist of it. You all know what I mean, haha. Police officers don't often have to pay for their own meals."

A car horn blared at the door, and seven or eight people burst in. Xiao Wei stood up to greet them: "Uncle Liu, what brings you here so late? Everything's ready upstairs, come up and have a cup of hot water, the food will be served soon. What kind of wine would you like?"

It was Minister Liu from the Publicity Department who arrived. Chong Xiaowei nodded and turned to ask the people next to him, "What would you like to drink?" The group walked inside.

The man next to him, who was in his fifties and balding, said, "Anything is fine, just don't get a high prescription. I have a meeting this afternoon."

Minister Liu said to Xiao Wei, "Bring over two bottles of Wuliangye. Who else is upstairs?"

Xiao Wei asked Xia Maosheng to get the wine, and then accompanied him upstairs, saying, "Manager Liu from Jian'an is here, and there's a table at the Labor Bureau, but Uncle Wang isn't here; Sister Li from the office is."

Minister Liu nodded and said, "Alright then, Old Liu will treat us to this table today. This is his territory." The others who came together laughed.

Going upstairs to the private room, Xiao Wei poured hot water for everyone, and Xia Maosheng also brought in the wine, which was bought fresh from the side store. These days, the side store items are generally authentic and not expensive.

Li Wen brought in a basin of hot water. Minister Liu and the others washed their hands, sat down to talk, and then Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng came out, toasted the Labor Bureau, said a few words to Lao Liu, and then went downstairs.

Downstairs, Chen Hui, who had disappeared for half a day, was talking to Li Xing. Xiao Wei asked, "You came and then vanished. Where did you go?"

Chen Hui waved his hand and said, "Go to the boiler room in the back and roast some potatoes and sweet potatoes." Only then did Xiao Wei see that there were several roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes on the table. Chen Hui was holding a sweet potato and eating it, while Xiao Hong was peeling potatoes and blowing on her hands from time to time because they were hot.

Just as the two men reached the table, Director Zhang, Political Commissar Wei, and four others walked in. The two men turned around to greet them.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Wei. I'm sorry, brothers, the private rooms are full again. You'll have to make do with the outside." Xiao Wei walked over and began to apologize. Director Zhang said, "You don't have enough private rooms. Get two more. Come on, let me introduce you. This is Director Ge from our branch office, this is Section Chief Liu from the personnel department, Director Ge, Section Chief Liu, this is the boss, this is Zhang Wei, and this is Xia Maosheng."

The four people shook hands and walked inside together.

Xiao Wei said, "Let's go upstairs, it's warmer upstairs than downstairs." The door on the first floor was always open, and it was indeed much colder than upstairs.

Director Ge asked, "Who's upstairs?"

Xiao Wei said, "Manager Liu from Jian'an, Sister Li from the Labor Bureau office, and Minister Liu from the Publicity Department, that's three tables."

Director Ge said to Director Zhang, "Let's go upstairs. I'll take you to offer a toast in a bit." The group went upstairs, and Xiao Wei accompanied them, pouring hot water and getting the drinks. Li Wen brought hot water for everyone to wash their hands. That's how it is in restaurants; you have to smile and say nice things to everyone who comes, repeating this process over and over again.

After washing their hands, the group sat down for a drink of water. Director Ge said to Xiao Wei, "Boss Zhang, go ahead and get busy. You don't need to keep us company." Xiao Wei apologized and went downstairs. It was all about mutual respect; everyone knew the situation. It seemed that Director Zhang was Director Ge's confidant. He was leading them over to get acquainted with the people. There were a few powerful figures in the area; if they didn't get to know them quickly, they might run into them later and it would be too late to cry.

Downstairs, Li Xing was also eating a sweet potato. Xiao Wei asked, "Why don't you go upstairs and have a drink?"

Li Xing said, "Can't you see the branch office boss is here? I don't know them well, what's the point of going up to them? After the meal, just cook me some dumplings and give me a bite." He took a big bite of sweet potato, hissing and moving his mouth quickly as it was hot, looking completely satisfied.

Xiao Wei said, "Just eat this, it'll fill you up."

Li Xing mumbled, "No, I ate too much, I'm farting." Then everyone heard a "bu'er~" sound coming from behind Chen Hui, and they burst into laughter.

Li Wen placed the cabbage and tofu stew on the table next to Lao Wu and the others, saying, "Fifth Brother, the dishes are all ready. Please enjoy your drink."

The fifth brother, no longer flustered, asked in a low voice, "Hey girl, what's your boss like? He's pretty tough."

Li Wen glanced at the group of people laughing over there and said softly, "I don't know them. I didn't know them before. The mayor even came to the opening yesterday."

The fifth brother asked, "Is this a contracted project? I remember this place belongs to the construction company."

Li Wen nodded and said, "Yes, it's a lease, for nine years. This whole area, including the grain depot behind it, has been leased."

The fifth brother asked, "How much did it cost to pack? Do you know?"

Li Wen said, "They only paid the salaries for about ten of us, and that's all the money they gave us."

Old Wu turned to Hei Zi and said, "Damn it, I'd offer anything like that. These days, it's all about connections. We ordinary folks get nothing." Old Hou whispered, "Shut up, drink your wine. Stop babbling and people will hear you. You think you can afford to mess with them?"

Li Wen chuckled and said, "You guys eat, I'm going to get back to work." She swayed her hips as she went to the kitchen.

Xiao Wei glanced at Li Wen but didn't say anything.

(End of this chapter)