Official Career Storm
Chapter 263

Chapter 263: Chapter 263

"Madam, I’m dining with Mr. Song, alright."

After hanging up the phone, Cai Zixiang said, "The lady has arrived in Lingjiang, and she would like to see you."

Song Guanchao was extremely surprised, "Mrs. Gu has also come?"

He had thought that Cai Zixiang was fully in charge of this matter.

"Chairman Gu takes your affairs very seriously."

Cai Zixiang said, "The lady has come to Lingjiang in the capacity of inspecting the investment environment, following your request, we have directly contacted Mayor Zheng."

"In order to avoid Mayor Zheng discovering your relationship with the Gu Family, I’m afraid you have to go over there."

Song Guanchao could feel the importance Chairman Gu placed on him.

Normally, for investments in mainland cities, not to mention Mrs. Gu, even Cai Zixiang wouldn’t personally attend.

But this time, not only did Cai Zixiang come in person, Mrs. Gu also arrived in Lingjiang.

Such VIP treatment, when viewed across all the major prefecture-level cities in the country, Lingjiang was indeed receiving a first.

They left the restaurant and headed for the Marriott Hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel, they put on masks and hats.

Song Guanchao wasn’t sure if Mayor Zheng had arranged for government staff to receive them at the hotel, so it was best to be cautious.

Exiting the elevator, they came to a room door.

Cai Zixiang lightly knocked on the door, and after a short wait, it opened.

The one who opened the door was a tall, fair-skinned young woman in her twenties with long hair.

She wore a milk-white, knee-length skirt with a small, double-breasted jacket on top, a pure Chanel style that made her look cute and innocent, fresh and pure.

"Brother Song!"

The young woman’s face was filled with joy; she stood on tiptoe and turned to call back, "Mommy, Brother Song is here!"

A plump woman, who looked no more than thirty years old, walked over.

"Guan Chao is here."

The woman smiled faintly, stepping forward to shake hands, then told the young woman, "Go make some tea, don’t let your Brother Song stand at the door."

The young woman stuck out her tongue and turned to make tea.

"Come on in."

This was a presidential suite, with an extremely large living room decorated with lavish elegance.

The woman’s name was Yang Jing, Chairman Gu’s first wife, and she was already 43 years old.

If one were to just look at her appearance, she seemed like an ageless beauty, as time had been exceedingly gentle on her, leaving not the slightest mark.

The dignified air of a lady nurtured in a wealthy family was incomparable to that of nouveau riche or socialites clad in branded apparel.

Her daughter, named Gu Wan, was 19 years old and Chairman Gu’s youngest daughter, greatly favored.

"Brother Song, have some tea," Gu Wan brought over a cup of tea.

"Thank you."

Song Guanchao accepted it, smiling, "In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so much."

Gu Wan spoke proudly, "I’m 1.72 meters now!"

Song Guanchao chuckled.

Yang Jing smiled and said, "Wanwan has been talking about you all these years, and today she finally got to see you."

When this was mentioned, Gu Wan complained, "Brother Song, you promised to come see me for my coming-of-age celebration."

Song Guanchao was embarrassed; he had only said that in passing, never expecting the young girl to take it to heart.

Yang Jing came to his rescue, "Your Brother Song is very busy with work, alright, Wanwan, go back to your room, I have something to discuss with your Brother Song."

"Oh," Gu Wan reluctantly drew out her response, and left for her room looking back three times with each step.

"This child," Yang Jing said with a helpless smile, then looked at Song Guanchao, "Jiadong and I have discussed your situation, everything that needs to be arranged has been taken care of."

"I’ve troubled Mrs. Gu."

"If you thank me again, I’ll get angry," Yang Jing said with a stern face, feigning seriousness.

Song Guanchao laughed and said, "Then I won’t stand on ceremony with Sister Jing. For this matter, I could only think of Chairman Gu at the moment."

Yang Jing broke into a smile, appearing far more relaxed than before.

Although it was only a change in the way they addressed each other, the slightly tense atmosphere between them had immediately relaxed.

"I understand you, Guanchao. You wouldn’t trouble others unless you really had no other option. But you must know, we’re not strangers. You’ve saved our lives."

Yang Jing’s expression grew serious as she said, "Jiadong usually has a lot on his plate, so he didn’t ask too many questions when you asked us to pretend to invest this time. But I have to ask, Guanchao, are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Sister Jing..."

"You call me sister, so tell me the truth. Don’t hide it from me. Is the Mayor planning to deal with you?"

Song Guanchao was taken aback. The woman’s ability to fill in the blanks was strong; she’d actually thought of that.

Besides being astonished, he felt touched.

He made one phone call, and she put aside what she was doing to come in person, which showed how important he was to her.

Now she was worried that he had encountered trouble and took the initiative to ask, wanting to help him solve it.

"Sister Jing is overthinking it; it has nothing to do with Mayor Zheng."

Song Guanchao did not hide anything and went on to explain the situation in Dujiang County, also sharing his plans with her.

"So that’s the case."

Yang Jing was relieved and said, "It’s just a small county, and yet the environment is so bad."

Song Guanchao replied, "The Emperor’s reach is short, and his power doesn’t extend to the counties, that has always been the case. That’s why scum like Lu Xiaotian spring up."

Yang Jing shook her head, "I have a different view. The main issue in Dujiang County is not Lu Xiaotian, but Secretary Tu and County Magistrate Hou, these top two officials."

Song Guanchao knew that Yang Jing wasn’t just some pampered rich wife. The Gu Family’s empire today couldn’t have been built without her help and counsel.

Her understanding of mainland political circles was perhaps even better than Wu Qiangwei’s.

He assumed a posture indicating he was all ears, "What are your thoughts, Sister Jing?"

Yang Jing smiled slightly but didn’t immediately answer. Instead, she looked at the person beside her, Cai Zixiang, "Secretary Cai, what do you think?"

Cai Zixiang also didn’t immediately answer, but looked at Song Guanchao with a smile that carried a hint of scrutiny, "Guan Chao, who do you think is really in charge in Dujiang County?"

This question made Song Guanchao pause.

Naturally, the one in charge of Dujiang County should be Secretary Tu.

Song Guanchao opened his mouth to answer.

However, seeing the expressions of Cai Zixiang and Yang Jing, he suddenly realized that this answer might be wrong.

He furrowed his brows and quickly reviewed the situation in Dujiang County in his mind.

But no matter how he analyzed it, the final answer was still Secretary Tu.

Could it be that he missed some critical information?

If someone else had asked this question, he would respond without hesitation, confident in his answer.

But Cai Zixiang and Yang Jing were not ordinary people; although they were businesspeople, they had dealt with officialdom for decades.

Immersed in the culture of officialdom, they had unique insights.

A few casual remarks from them could benefit an average government official enormously.

Song Guanchao was not a stubborn man and would not insist on being right.

He pondered for a few seconds before finally giving his answer, "I think it’s Secretary Tu."

Cai Zixiang shook his head, "My view is the exact opposite of yours. I believe that County Magistrate Hou is the real person in charge in Dujiang County."

Although he had anticipated Cai Zixiang’s answer, Song Guanchao still couldn’t understand it.

He was curious as to how Cai Zixiang had come to this conclusion.

Assuming an attitude of willingness to learn, Song Guanchao asked, "Brother Xiang, why do you say that?"

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