The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 157 Old Fox _1

Secretary Zhou saw Li Qing staring at him with a dazed expression and couldn’t help but chuckle, "Relax, I just want to chat with you casually. Otherwise, how about this, let’s go to my place and talk for a while."

Li Qing’s face almost crumpled into a big question mark.

Boss, what on earth do you want to do?

With you talking in such a haphazard way, I’m really panicking.

"Haha, you’re wondering what I’m after, aren’t you?" Secretary Zhou suddenly asked.

Li Qing silently nodded.

He had finally figured it out.

"Actually, there’s no specific purpose. If I really have to mention something, it would probably be about three things," he said.

Secretary Zhou lifted his hand, "Let’s walk and talk."

"Being able to rein in people like Gong Wugu and get them back into legitimate business, that’s one thing. I’d like to take this opportunity to understand some local issues, that’s another. Of course, the most important thing is, you’re in the Wenguan Leaves business, and that’s probably the main point I want to talk to you about."

"Now, you can relax and talk to me, let’s go to my place and have some tea."

Having heard Secretary Zhou say this, Li Qing felt somewhat relieved.

"Secretary Zhou, Gong Wugu isn’t really working for me, we’re just partners," Li Qing explained once again.

"I understand, I understand. A person like him with a pile of records at the police station, it’s indeed not easy for you to admit he’s working for you. But it’s alright to tell me, it’s a good thing," Secretary Zhou said, appearing to be completely understanding.

Li Qing: ...

He was truly baffled!

Why did Secretary Zhou insist on the stubborn belief that Gong Wugu was working for him?

He wouldn’t even listen to explanations.

The two of them exited the police station, one after the other.

After just a few sentences of small talk, Secretary Zhou led him into a residential area diagonally behind the police station.

So he lived this close; no wonder he mentioned stopping by his house for tea.

Upon closer inspection, Li Qing realized this was the family housing compound for the former textile factory.

Thump thump thump.

Secretary Zhou stopped on the third floor and knocked on the door to the right.

"Coming!"

A woman’s voice came from inside, mature and somewhat sweet.

But Li Qing’s brows slightly furrowed; why did the voice sound so familiar? It was as if he had heard it somewhere before.

Clack!

The iron door swung open, revealing a woman in a pale yellow dress standing behind it. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

She was slim with elegantly applied light makeup, her long hair casually pinned at the back of her head, exuding mature elegance and captivating beauty.

"You’re back. And this is?" The woman’s large eyes turned towards Li Qing.

Secretary Zhou introduced with a smile, "This is Li Qing, a very promising and perceptive young man in our town."

"Li Qing, this is my wife, Mrs. Lu."

"Mrs. Lu," Li Qing nodded in greeting.

At the same time, a streak of realization flashed through his mind like lightning.

No wonder the voice sounded especially familiar; it was Mrs. Lu.

The woman whom Xu Keqing had played with using a toy in the hospital.

With that thought, Li Qing couldn’t help but take another look.

This woman really knows how to dress slim and keep the curves underneath.

Last time in the hospital, he almost saw all of Mrs. Lu.

"You can call me Auntie or Sister Lu, we’re all from the village, no need for such an uppity title like ’Mrs.’," Mrs. Lu said with a smile, "Come in quickly, my husband usually brings colleagues or those fair-weather friends, but it’s rare for him to bring a young man like you."

Li Qing dared not look too much, and hurriedly kept his head down as he entered the living room.

"Xiao Li, take a seat while I prepare some fruits and snacks."

Mrs. Lu called out and then went into the kitchen.

Secretary Zhou personally boiled water and made a cup of tea for Li Qing, "Give it a try!"

His words seemed to have a deeper meaning, but after trying it, Li Qing really couldn’t taste anything special.

"I haven’t seen much fancy stuff, the tea I drink is just green tea," Li Qing said truthfully.

Secretary Zhou crossed his legs and laughed, "Well, my tea certainly can’t compete with yours."

Li Qing was a bit puzzled.

Praising someone like this sounded kind of odd.

Secretary Zhou said with a laugh, "This is Wenguan Tea, the currently popular health tea."

Li Qing was surprised and took another sip.

Well, he really couldn’t taste any difference.

"The first time I saw it, I was also shocked. I thought to myself, isn’t this just the wild wood melon that used to grow in the woods when we were kids? How did it suddenly become so high-end? The price is outrageously high," Secretary Zhou remarked with a sigh.

"Wenguan Trees are a specialty of our county, and more than two-thirds of them are concentrated in Sanhe Town, thanks to our extensive virgin forests, ha ha."

"But even though it’s a local specialty, I still have to spend money to buy it, and it took someone else mentioning it for me to learn about such a product. As the Secretary, I’m quite embarrassed," he said.

Li Qing finally understood.

The Secretary, with his high position, was ignorant of his own affairs, needing others to inform him—it was terribly muddled.

"So today, after learning from Officer Wang that you’re in the business of Wenguan Leaves, and doing quite well, I felt I really had to have a good talk with you," Secretary Zhou said, slapping his thigh, "If all goes well, Wenguan Tea could become a major economic industry for our town, and perhaps even the whole county."

"Later on, I will also finalize some plans with the higher-ups to strive to let the Wenguan Tree boost the economic development of the entire county."

"Xiao Li, which village are you from again?"

"Sanhe Village!" Li Qing replied.

"Oh, that’s pretty close. The Tang village head from your village, if I remember correctly, is also about to reach retirement age. Any thoughts on taking over his position?" Secretary Zhou asked with a smile.

Li Qing was a bit startled and hastily said, "Secretary, I don’t think... I’m probably not capable enough."

"You were sharp enough to seize the business opportunity with Wenguan Leaves, and even got Gong Wugu and those other troublemakers to work for you. Your capabilities and tactics are evident. With some more experience, I have high hopes for you!" Secretary Zhou said.

Li Qing secretly felt a surge of excitement, but on the surface, he still pretended to be overwhelmed by the attention.

With benefits laid out before him, who would refuse?

"Here, I’ll give you a little task," Secretary Zhou suddenly said, raising his hand, "If you can employ people like Gong Wugu—those who are aimless in society—in reemployment, for the next village head, I’ll push through all opposition and promote you directly."

Li Qing’s expression turned bitter.

He knew it.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

And there it was, waiting for him right here!

Those troublemakers, those hardened society veterans, was he supposed to tame them?

Now Li Qing saw it clearly. Secretary Zhou said he had no ulterior motives, yet every word he spoke had a purpose.

Perhaps he had already planned everything before he left the police station.

This sly old fox.