In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong

"Hello, Secretary Guofu."

The call was made by Tian Guofu.

"Secretary Chen, are you free tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Luo frowned.

"available."

“Secretary Chen, I would like to invite you to dinner tonight. My work is almost over. Secretary Li and I had a talk yesterday. The younger generation surpasses the older generation, and I plan to retire.”

Hearing this, Chen Luo sighed.

"It's fine to withdraw; it'll give me a good rest."

"Who says otherwise? Oh, right, there are a few old acquaintances coming tonight. Comrade Dakang and Comrade Chunlin flew in specially from Handong. For now, it's just the four of us."

Secretary Sha and Governor Zhou may come.

Secretary Chen, is everything alright?

"No problem, send me the address, I'll go home and pack up and come over."

"Row!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Luo stood there for a long time before continuing to walk. That's life. People keep getting on and off the bus. From Qi Tongwei to Gao Yuliang, and then to Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang, no one can stop the wheels of time from moving forward.

Chen Luo was the same.

Raising his hand and looking at his palm, Chen Luo smiled. "In a few days, I'll be forty-seven."

Chapter 534 The Bond Between Ruijin and Jianjun

The car slowly stopped in front of the courtyard house. Chen Luo got out of the car, carrying a briefcase in his hand. His face showed some fatigue. No one who goes to work is not tired.

Pushing open the gate of the courtyard house, one is greeted by Chen Zhengxi lying on a recliner in the courtyard.

"Dad! You're finally back!"

Waaaaah, my brother is such a jerk! He took Sister-in-law Xinyue out to eat without even inviting me…

As he spoke, Chen Zhengxi jumped up from the recliner, dusted off non-existent dust, and headed straight for Chen Luo, or more precisely, for the briefcase he was carrying.

"Offering unsolicited favors... Well then, what do you want?"

Chen Luo smiled and let go of his hand, cooperating perfectly.

"Dad, what bad intentions could I possibly have? It's just that you came home late, and my cooking isn't very good, so..."

Chen Luo rolled his eyes.

“I have to go out for a bit later and won’t have time to cook, so your wish will have to be dashed.”

Upon hearing the word "go out," Chen Zhengxi was not disappointed at all. Instead, he stared at Chen Luo with wide eyes, blinking repeatedly, his lips curving upwards uncontrollably.

"Going out is great! Dad, I don't mind..."

"Stop fooling around, I have important things to do..."

"Dad, nothing is more important than eating. If there's one important thing in the world, it's filling your stomach. I'm going out with you to do something worthwhile, okay..."

"Fine, fine, I can't argue with you. I'm having dinner with your uncles tonight, so take them with me."

"Great!"

Chen Zhengxi was very happy and skipped back into the house with Chen Luo's briefcase.

At 7:20 p.m., in a private restaurant on the second floor near Wangfujing Commercial Street, Tian Guofu was already chatting with Li Dakang and Wu Chunlin.

“Secretary Dakang, it’s only been a few months, and we’re all together again.”

Tian Guofu sat between Li Dakang and Wu Chunlin. Neither of them were wearing their usual work jackets, but rather very ordinary casual wear.

"Secretary Guofu, time flies, and you've reached retirement age. Time waits for no one!"

Tian Guofu didn't mind Li Dakang's sentiments at all. He nodded and said, "Who says otherwise? But I still remember those years working in Handong."

Those years were the most wonderful years of my life!

Upon hearing this, Wu Chunlin, who was standing nearby, chimed in.

"By the way, Secretary Guofu, you and Comrade Dagong are about the same age. Since the organization has already discussed retirement with you, then Comrade Dagong is probably also..."

Tian Guofu actually knew the answer to this question.

"Comrade Chunlin, you guessed right. Comrade Dagong is also facing retirement, but he will retire a little later than me."

I spoke with him on the phone a few days ago. He said that after the Chinese New Year, he will step down from his position as the Secretary of Gansu Province.

However, he won't be resigning immediately, but rather temporarily; it's said he'll be filling in for Luo Baolin, who was recently placed under investigation.

In terms of information, Tian Guofu is quite well-informed.

"Managing overseas Chinese affairs? That's good too. Comrade Dagong is a restless person, so it's good for him to transition through this period."

After talking about Zhao Dagong, Li Dakang brought the topic back.

"It's almost 7:30 now, Secretary Chen should be here soon, but I don't know if Secretary Sha will come."

"Secretary Chen has confirmed his arrival, as for Secretary Sha... he's probably at home taking care of his grandson!"

"Who says I won't come?!"

As soon as Tian Guofu finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open, revealing several new wrinkles on Sha Ruijin's face. His hair, which had previously only had a few strands of white, was now completely gray.

"Secretary Sha, you actually came!"

Tian Guofu and the other two stood up, shook hands, and said that it had been a long time since they had seen each other. They were quite happy to see each other again.

"I'm not the only one who came; Comrade Jianjun came too. Ugh, it's infuriating!"

Before Sha Ruijin could continue speaking, Zhou Jianjun stepped into the private room with a smile.

"Secretary Ruijin, I'm just about to be on equal footing with you, why are you being so petty?"

Zhou Jianjun's words revealed quite a bit of information.

"Secretary Jianjun, is that you too?"

Tian Guofu and the other two stared wide-eyed at Zhou Jianjun. In response, Zhou Jianjun stretched out his hand, opened his palm, and raised it downwards.

"Keep a low profile. Considering my work achievements over the past few years, the organization has tentatively decided to transfer me to the government. Although it's just a sinecure like Secretary Sha's position, at least the pay won't be lower than Secretary Sha's."

Sha Ruijin rolled his eyes at this.

"The past is the past, Jianjun. You still want to compete with me now... what's the point?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jianjun scratched his earlobe, flicked off non-existent earwax, and pouted, saying, "I don't want to argue, but every time I've run into you these past two years, you've put on airs like a leader."

"Ahem... Jianjun, back then I was a leading cadre, so I certainly couldn't get too close to you..."

"Pah, those are all excuses. What did someone say when I spoke to you on the phone two months ago?"

"You said I was just a provincial party secretary, and there was a difference in rank between me and you, so I couldn't address you by your first name and had to call you Director Sha or Leader. Now you're denying that?"

"Haha, yes, yes, I was wrong, okay? I finally got the fruit, so I have to show it off."

It's not appropriate to brag about it to others; it's only a few of us who can joke around with it in private.

"Then why don't you brag to Comrade Chen Luo?"

What's the meaning of staring at me like that, like a peacock displaying its tail feathers?

Sha Ruijin wanted to explain, but Zhou Jianjun was faster.

"You don't need to explain, we all know that Comrade Chen Luo looks down on your sinecure position... Hahaha!"

So you just hang around in front of me!

"I said... Secretary Sha, Secretary Jianjun, you've been away from Handong for several years now, why do you still fight every time you meet?"

Our private room is quite spacious, how about you two have a fight? Let's settle this once and for all?"

Tian Guofu, always eager for excitement, kept stirring things up, while Li Dakang and Wu Chunlin watched the show with smiles.

“It’s not that I can’t have a fight, but Secretary Ruijin is older than me after all. I’m supposed to respect the elderly and care for the young, and I don’t want to bully the elderly.”

"Pah! I'm only a few years older than you?"

Besides, I'm a former soldier. Look at me, are those biceps just hype?

"Shall we have a try?"

"Let's bump into each other!"

Seeing this, Tian Guofu and the other two were trying not to laugh. However, Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun both knew that they could talk back, but they should forget about actually fighting.

Twisted back is no small matter at this age, and besides, Sha Ruijin didn't want to go down and meet Chen Yanshi so soon.

Just then, Chen Luo arrived with Chen Zhengxi.

"Uncle Sha, Uncle Zhou, Uncle Tian, ​​Uncle Wu, Uncle Li, good evening, everyone!"

Chen Zhengxi was just like he was when he was a child, exceptionally well-behaved.

Upon hearing this, Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun immediately smiled and stopped glaring at each other.

Chapter 535 The Plan Accelerates, the Ye Family Unsealed

"Jung Hee is here!"

"Wow, you're even more beautiful now!"

To this, Chen Zhengxi stuck out his tongue. He'd heard this kind of praise since he was a child, and he was almost immune to it.

At this moment, Chen Luo also entered the room.

When people meet, it's inevitable that they'll exchange pleasantries.

Chen Zhengxi was used to this; she remained silent, simply picking up the menu and making notes...

She's still here to earn a living!

Chen Luo and his friends were happy to have some free time. What they ate wasn't important to them; what mattered most was being able to get together and chat.