Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

As Chen Ping listened, although he couldn't fully empathize with their plight, he understood the hardships these people had endured back then.

Old Song's expression was also very heavy. He then picked up a glass of wine and slowly poured it onto the ground.

Chen Ping knew that Old Song was thinking of his fallen comrades and was toasting them.

Li Jizhong did the same, picking up a glass of wine and spilling it on the ground.

And so, Chen Ping listened to the two of them reminiscing about the past, occasionally chiming in, but he never found an opportunity to talk about Su Meng.

Chen Ping's anxiety grew heavier and heavier.

Several times he tried to steer the conversation away from Old Song picking up food, but each time he opened his mouth, the topic would veer off to something else.

Mr. Song and Mr. Li were engrossed in their conversation, treating the meal as a private get-together, and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"Alright, that's enough for today. I need to go see an old friend," said Old Song.

"Okay!" Li Jizhong nodded.

Old Song stood up and put on his coat. Chen Ping quickly stood up as well and escorted them to the restaurant entrance.

The streetlights were already on, casting a dim yellow glow, and the night breeze carried the chill of late autumn.

Old Song's car was parked on the side of the road, and the driver had already started the engine and was waiting.

Chen Ping knew that if he didn't speak up now, he would miss his chance.

He took a step forward, opened his mouth, and was about to ask about Su Meng when, before he could speak, Old Song suddenly turned around and patted him on the shoulder.

"Dr. Chen, I enjoyed the meal tonight. Thank you for your hospitality. However, as you know, I am retired and cannot interfere in government affairs. Doing so would be a violation of discipline."

"If you have any requests, you can go directly to Xiao Li. He's still in office and will see if he can help you, but of course, you can't violate principles and discipline."

After saying that, Old Song gave Chen Ping a meaningful look, then turned and got into the car.

The black Audi's taillights flashed twice before merging into the traffic and quickly disappeared from sight.

Only Chen Ping and Li Jizhong remained at the restaurant entrance.

Chen Ping turned around and looked at Li Jizhong, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.

He and the municipal party secretary were complete strangers; they were meeting for the first time tonight.

It's true that Song Lao passed the ball to Li Jizhong, but whether Li Jizhong accepts it and how he accepts it depends entirely on a single sentence.

"Dr. Chen, it's getting late, so I'll head back now. If you need anything in the future, feel free to come to my office."

After saying that, Li Jizhong prepared to get into his car and leave.

"Secretary Li, I'd like to visit my ex-wife at the Discipline Inspection Commission, but I don't know if that's possible. This morning, the Discipline Inspection Commission wouldn't allow me to visit her; she's been placed under investigation..."

Before Chen Ping could finish speaking, Li Jizhong glanced at his watch and said, "In principle, it's not allowed to visit so late, but since you're delivering medicine to your ex-wife, I'll call the Discipline Inspection Commission and let them know."

"Delivering medicine?" Chen Ping was taken aback, then realized, "Thank you so much, Secretary Li..."

Li Jizhong didn't say anything, but took out his phone and made a call.

"Xiao Zhao, someone is going to deliver medicine to a family member who is under quarantine for further investigation. Could you make the arrangements?"

After Li Jizhong finished speaking, he hung up the phone. Chen Ping didn't even hear how the other party responded.

"Alright, Dr. Chen, you can go directly there."

"Okay, okay, thank you, Secretary Li." Chen Ping bowed repeatedly.

Li Jizhong got into the car, and then the car sped away.

Chen Ping looked at the disappearing car and couldn't help but sigh.

Despite my best efforts, I was unable to visit them; they wouldn't let me in.

But now, it's already past midnight, and Li Jizhong has settled everything with just one phone call.

Chen Ping hailed a taxi and headed straight for the detention center of the Discipline Inspection Commission.

When Chen Ping arrived at the detention center, the entire street was already pitch black, with only the fluorescent light above the eaves still shining coldly, making the disciplinary committee sign on the iron gate appear white.

He took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

Footsteps approached from inside, and a small window on the side door was opened a crack. The pair of eyes inside were clearly startled when they saw Chen Ping standing outside.

It was the same staff member from this morning.

But this time, upon seeing Chen Ping, the door wasn't just cracked open, but opened completely.

The man took a step back, his tone cautious and polite: "Are you Dr. Chen? Please come in, please come in. Director Zhao has already called."

The staff member's attitude at this moment was completely different from that of the morning.

Chen Ping nodded and stepped over the threshold.

The corridor lights were blindingly white, and the smell of disinfectant mixed with the musty smell of old paper was exactly the same as the smell in the old government office building.

The staff led him to the door of a visiting room, opened the door, and stepped aside to let him in.

The room was smaller than he had imagined, separated by a thick glass wall with a pale green glow at the edges.

There is a chair on each side of the glass wall, and a walkie-talkie is placed on each chair.

There's a camera in the corner of the wall, with a flashing red light.

The staff member said, "Please wait a moment, I'll go get the person," and turned and left, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

Chen Ping stood in front of the glass wall, his hands in his pockets, looking somewhat nervous, and taking deep breaths.

He had never been to a place like this before. Let alone being locked up here, even just staying here for a while made Chen Ping feel extremely uncomfortable and oppressed.

I wonder if Su Meng can fall asleep here.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor.

The door opened.

Su Meng stood at the door, wearing a dark red cotton vest.

Her hair was casually tied into a ponytail, with a few stray strands falling across her face. Her complexion was so pale that she almost blended into the white wall behind her. Her eye sockets were sunken, and her lips were dry and peeling.

She saw Chen Ping standing on the other side of the glass wall, and she seemed to be nailed to the spot, her hand holding the door frame lingering there, her mouth slightly open.

His eyes were filled with shock, confusion, and disbelief.

She never expected that Chen Ping would come to visit her, let alone at this time.

At the staff's prompting, she slowly walked to the chair, sat down, and picked up the receiver to her ear.

Chen Ping also sat down and picked up his receiver.

The sound from the receiver was somewhat distorted, with a hissing static, but her voice still came through the noise and was the familiar tone he knew.

"How did you get in?"

Su Meng's voice was hoarse, as if her throat had been rubbed with sandpaper.

She glanced at the doorway, then turned back to him, lowering her voice, "What time is it? Visiting hours are still allowed? Did you hire someone? Did it cost a lot of money?"

She asked a series of questions in quick succession, as if she had accumulated too much to say during the days of interrogation, and each question carried an unreal and unbelievable quality.

Having spent several years in officialdom, she knew the rules of the Discipline Inspection Commission better than anyone. Allowing someone in at midnight was definitely not something that could be done through normal procedures.

Chen Ping, an ordinary doctor who was demoted to a township health center, had no connections or network whatsoever.

In her view, Chen Ping had no other way to go but to spend money to smooth things over.