Chapter 79: Business

"Even if my belt grows wider, I will never regret, for her, I will wither away."

Zeng Yi suddenly recited this well-known verse and said, "The ancients were already familiar with the illness of longing. This verse perfectly describes the characteristics of such an illness. Many people know this verse, but no one considers it a disease. It can only be blamed on the poet for depicting the sorrow of longing too beautifully. Hehe."

Jiang Zhongyue pondered for a moment and realized that this was exactly like his son's condition, with the same gradual emaciation and extreme weariness. It seemed that the theory of excessive thinking harming the spleen had some truth to it.

At this moment, Gao Yaqun tried to wave the baby bottle in front of the child. The little one first pushed it away impatiently, but when Gao Yaqun persisted, he snatched the bottle and started sucking on it, though he did not let go of his little wooden doll.

"Indeed, it's a sickness caused by longing for toys. I told you, my son was thinking about something!" Gao Yaqun almost jumped up. The past half-month had been a torment for her. She had seen several doctors, each with a different diagnosis, but none of them had been effective. Who would have thought that the root of the problem was the toys? If she had known, no matter how troublesome it was, she would have transported all her son's precious toys to Nanyun County.

"Wow, truly eye-opening!" Jiang Zhongyue extended his hand, "Young Brother Zeng, please sit, please sit. I am truly impressed by you. You are a miraculous doctor. I think even if Hua Tuo were alive, he wouldn't be any better."

"Too much praise, too much praise. My minor skills can't be compared to Master Hua Tuo," Zeng Yi smiled and waved his hand, then sat back on the sofa.

Gao Yaqun was now full of enthusiasm, "How can you be compared? I think you are the Hua Tuo of our time." She then said to Jiang Zhongyue, "Old Jiang, you accompany... cough, look at me, in my excitement, I almost called you Hua Tuo. You accompany Brother Zeng and sit well. I'll go to the kitchen and prepare a few dishes to go with the wine. You accompany Brother Zeng and have a few good drinks."

"Right, right, right, my wife is always so thoughtful! Brother Zeng was thinking about our little Tian's illness and didn't drink to his heart's content at Old Tang's house today!" Jiang Zhongyue slapped his thigh, "Brother Zeng, tonight there are no outsiders. We will drink until we are thoroughly satisfied. If we drink too much, there's no need to go back; just stay here."

Jiang Zhongyue was indeed happy. First, he wanted to thank Zeng Yi and was prepared to accompany him to the bitter end. Second, he wanted to seize the opportunity to get closer to Zeng Yi. To casually take out a bottle of twenty-year-old fine wine from Secretary Fang's house and drink it, this must indicate a very close relationship with Secretary Fang. Moreover, Old Tang had said that Zeng Yi was his family. Such a person with a strong background, if he could get along well with him, would be a great benefit to his future career.

Zeng Yi didn't think so much. He just felt that Jiang Zhongyue was a decent person, different from other officials. Jiang Zhongyue didn't have the usual official airs and was easy to get along with. He smiled and said, "The child will get tired and fall asleep soon. I think we should do it another day!"

"Don't say that, it's too formal. My sister-in-law and the nanny will take care of the child. How could he be neglected?" Jiang Zhongyue raised his eyebrows, "Brother Zeng, are you dissatisfied with the quality of my wine?"

"How could I be!" Zeng Yi waved his hand. He felt somewhat helpless. Since arriving in Rongcheng, he almost had a drinking session every night, and it was hard to refuse. If you were polite, the other party would raise the stakes, and not drinking would be considered a lack of respect. He gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, let's not talk about drinking until we are thoroughly satisfied. As long as we drink well and to our heart's content. Drinking too much is harmful to the body. Some work-related drinking is unavoidable, but at home, there's no need for that. Drinking to our heart's content is enough."

Jiang Zhongyue, seeing Zeng Yi speak like this, did not insist and smiled, "Then let's each have a bottle. After we finish, we'll go to sleep and not delay tomorrow's work."

"Sounds good!" Zeng Yi nodded and smiled, "Let's do it!"

Gao Yaqun quickly brought out a few plates, some hot, some cold, some stir-fried, some mixed. Then she took out two bottles of Wuliangye and a few glasses, placing them in front of the two, "Brother Zeng, I need to take care of the child, so I'll just have one glass with you. The rest, let Old Jiang accompany you well. Make sure to drink to your heart's content tonight."

"Sister-in-law, you are too polite!"

Gao Yaqun had a glass with Zeng Yi and then went to the living room, taking care of the child and watching TV.

Jiang Zhongyue, in high spirits, talked about many things related to Nanyun County and invited Zeng Yi to visit Nanyun when he had the chance, promising to treat him warmly. Jiang Zhongyue was a smart person and never probed into Zeng Yi's background, not even indirectly. He really wanted to know what Zeng Yi did and his background, but he wouldn't ask directly. Asking directly would make it seem like he was only being friendly because of Zeng Yi's background, which would be unseemly.

After finishing a bottle of wine, Zeng Yi got up to take his leave, "It's late, let's get some rest. I'll come back in a few days to check on the child."

Jiang Zhongyue and Gao Yaqun warmly saw Zeng Yi off downstairs and had the driver take him away.

Back upstairs, as soon as the door closed, Gao Yaqun asked, "What's the background of this Zeng Yi? I noticed he was very detached towards you, the county magistrate, as if he has a strong background."

Jiang Zhongyue, despite drinking, remained clear-headed. He lowered his voice, "Remember that bottle of premium Maotai from Minister Yin's house?"

Minister Yin referred to Yin Bingchang, the Minister of the Organization Department of the Provincial Committee, who was Jiang Zhongyue's father-in-law's superior.

Gao Yaqun nodded, "I know! Minister Yin usually treasures that bottle of wine so much that he only locks it in a cabinet and never drinks it."

"Today, when I went to Old Tang's house, during the meal, Zeng Yi casually took out a bottle of the same wine." Jiang Zhongyue deliberately paused here.

Gao Yaqun looked very surprised, "You drank it?"

Jiang Zhongyue nodded, with a hint of pride, "Yes! I drank two ounces!"

Gao Yaqun, without thinking, pinched Jiang Zhongyue's arm, "I heard that if that wine were auctioned, it would fetch over a million yuan!" She wasn't excited about the value of the wine but was thinking about how valuable a person who could drink such wine must be. The former was valuable in terms of money, while the latter was valuable in terms of status.

Jiang Zhongyue rubbed his stomach. No matter how expensive the wine, he had drunk it. He sat down on the sofa and took a deep breath, "Today, I definitely met a valuable person. Do you know where that bottle of wine came from?"

Gao Yaqun brought a cup of strong tea to help Jiang Zhongyue sober up, "Can you stop being so mysterious?"

"Secretary Fang!" Jiang Zhongyue said these three words with a racing heart, "Zeng Yi said he got it from Secretary Fang's house."

Gao Yaqun gasped and fell back onto the sofa. How many Secretaries surnamed Fang were there in Nanjiang Province? Even if there were many, only one could have such premium Maotai in his house: the current Secretary of Nanjiang Province, Fang Nanguo.

Jiang Zhongyue took a deep sip of the strong tea and leaned back on the sofa, "Think about it. If Little Tian gets better, what should we give Zeng Yi to express our gratitude?"

Gao Yaqun immediately nodded, "We need to think about this carefully!"

Sending a consultation fee would be too vulgar, and Zeng Yi might not accept it. Sending ordinary gifts wouldn't show their sincerity, and Zeng Yi might not even notice. But sending something too valuable could easily cause trouble. Besides, someone who could casually drink such precious wine wouldn't be a person who craved wealth.

This couple sat on the sofa late into the night, seriously pondering this issue. They needed to send something unique, something that showed their sincerity without being too ostentatious.

Gao Yaqun's father, Gao Sheng, was nearing retirement age and had no hope of further promotion. He would either step down to a secondary position or retire completely. Arranging for Jiang Zhongyue to become the county magistrate of Nanyun County had taken a lot of effort, and it was his last push for his son-in-law before stepping down. As for future career prospects, it would all depend on Jiang Zhongyue's own abilities.

The most basic rule in the political arena was that once someone left office, their influence waned. If Gao Sheng remained in office, Jiang Zhongyue might still have a chance for promotion. But if Gao Sheng stepped down, and Jiang Zhongyue didn't have a strong new patron, his career might stall, or he might even lose his position as county magistrate.

Therefore, the most pressing issue for Jiang Zhongyue was to find a new patron.

Gao Yaqun never expected that her husband's trip to deliver local specialties to Tang Xiuguan would result in such an important connection. This was a pleasant surprise, and they needed to nurture this relationship carefully.