Chapter 36: The Beauty at the Gathering

Today, due to some matters, I updated this chapter late at noon. Sorry!

After a nap at home, when Lu Jun came to pick him up, Wang Jian had just gotten out of bed. Seeing someone specifically come to pick up her son, Zhang Qiujun realized that Wang Jian had truly made it in life.

Getting into the car, Wang Jian waved to his mother and headed towards the county town. Just before reaching the county town, he received a call from Zhao Dongbo, telling him he would be there soon.

The construction of Dongting County was lagging behind. Driving on the road, Wang Jian looked at the dilapidated buildings on both sides and felt a sense of discomfort. A neighboring county in another province, which had once been on the same starting line as Dongting, was now built like a beautiful garden, while Dongting had nothing. There were no high-rise buildings, no bustling streets, and the county officials were content with the status quo, lacking a strong desire to change the county's appearance. Since Ren Pingyi came to Dongting, he had only renovated one street, which was still unfinished. This work efficiency was truly impressive!

The car stopped in front of the best hotel in the county town. Wang Jian got out and told Lu Jun to find a place to eat and wait for him to return.

Just as he reached the steps at the hotel entrance, Zhao Dongbo walked over with outstretched hands and shook Wang Jian's hand.

"Town Chief Wang, you're very punctual!" Zhao Dongbo said with a smile.

Wang Jian laughed, "How could I not be punctual when Director Zhao has arranged it!"

"Please, Town Chief Wang, everyone is waiting inside!"

Zhao Dongbo led Wang Jian inside. This was Wang Jian's first time at the hotel, which was rumored to be a three-star establishment, but Wang Jian felt it was an exaggeration; a small county couldn't possibly have such a rating.

Entering a luxurious private room, the people inside were chatting and laughing. When they saw Zhao Dongbo leading Wang Jian in, they all stood up. Wang Jian recognized most of them, and they didn't know him well either.

Zhao Dongbo loudly announced, "Our Town Chief Wang has arrived!"

After he finished speaking, everyone hurried over to shake Wang Jian's hand. They all knew that Xianhe Town had a very young town chief, but they hadn't seen him in person. Now they finally did, and it was quite exciting.

Wang Jian smiled and shook hands with each of them, noticing two young and beautiful women who looked at him shyly, making him feel excited.

"Town Chief Wang, please take the seat of honor!" After the pleasantries, Zhao Dongbo arranged the seating and asked everyone to sit down.

Wang Jian didn't take the seat of honor, saying to Zhao Dongbo, "You are all county leaders; I'll sit at the lower end."

"How can that be? You are our guest and must take the seat of honor!" Zhao Dongbo and the others insisted, and Wang Jian had no choice but to move up. In the end, Zhao Dongbo sat in the host's position, and Wang Jian sat in the second seat.

After everyone was seated, Zhao Dongbo stood up and said with a smile, "Everyone, Town Chief Wang has arrived. Let's start the banquet. Before we begin, let me introduce everyone. First, our main guest today, the new young town chief of Xianhe Town, Comrade Wang Jian. You may have heard of him but haven't seen him in person. Let's give him a warm welcome!"

Everyone clapped, and Wang Jian hurriedly stood up to acknowledge them. After the applause, Zhao Dongbo continued, "Now that everyone knows Town Chief Wang, let me introduce the others to him. First, our beautiful county party secretary, I mean, the beautiful county youth league secretary, Comrade Han Yuting!"

Zhao Dongbo deliberately made a mistake, and Han Yuting, sitting next to him, playfully hit him. She then stood up and nodded to Wang Jian, who also stood up to acknowledge her.

"Next, the vice-chairwoman of the county women's federation, Miss Zhao Yanyan!" Zhao Dongbo said in a long drawl, making Zhao Yanyan want to hit him, but she still nodded to Wang Jian, who returned the gesture.

The two beautiful women Wang Jian had noticed earlier were them. Han Yuting was older but unmarried, while Zhao Yanyan was younger and had started working two years before Wang Jian. Han Yuting was a full-section-level county youth league secretary, and Zhao Yanyan was a deputy-section-level vice-chairwoman of the women's federation, both of whom were quite accomplished. After serving as the county youth league secretary for two to three years, one would usually be transferred to a town to serve as a town chief, like Wang Jian's current position. Therefore, although they were county officials, they didn't dare to look down on Wang Jian, who was a town chief.

"Having introduced the beauties, let me introduce the handsome men. This is the deputy director of the county party office, Comrade Ning Xingong!" Zhao Dongbo continued.

Ning Xingong was originally supposed to be the town chief of Xianhe Town, but Wang Jian took the position. Zhao Dongbo called him today for some unknown reason. When he arrived, he found out it was a dinner for Wang Jian. Although he felt uncomfortable, he had a lot of experience in the office and didn't show his displeasure. He didn't stand up but nodded to Wang Jian, who also nodded and smiled.

Zhao Dongbo introduced a few more people, none of whom held any significant positions. When he introduced them, they looked at Wang Jian with admiration.

There were eight people in total. After Zhao Dongbo finished introducing everyone, he opened the wine bottle and poured a glass for each person. Seeing Zhao Dongbo's ability to gather officials like Han Yuting and Ning Xingong, Wang Jian realized that Zhao Dongbo must have strong organizational skills and influence in the county.

After everyone's glasses were full, Zhao Dongbo led them in a toast, and Wang Jian raised his glass. After the first glass, everyone gradually became more familiar and started toasting each other.

"I'll toast Town Chief Wang!" Han Yuting stood up and said, smoothing her dress.

Han Yuting had a high and elegant demeanor, looking very graceful and feminine. Wang Jian saw her take the initiative to toast him and quickly stood up, saying, "Secretary Han, no need to be so formal, let's sit and drink."

Wang Jian had drunk a lot at noon and didn't want to drink more, but in such a setting, he had no choice but to push through.

Han Yuting poured white wine. She had a certain ability to become the county youth league secretary at a young age. Although it was rumored that she had a romantic relationship with Liu Qingshan, which might explain why she was still unmarried at nearly thirty, no one had seen it firsthand, and it was just speculation.

"Secretary Han, I've had a lot of wine at noon. Let's just have a little!" Wang Jian suggested.

"Town Chief Wang, that won't do. You can't refuse Secretary Han's toast!" Zhao Dongbo, who was drinking with Ning Xingong, turned to Wang Jian and said.

With no choice, Wang Jian said, "Alright, let's drink!"

Wang Jian said it loudly, and everyone couldn't help but smile. They knew that men shouldn't say "let's drink" to women, but Wang Jian didn't notice. When he realized it, he saw Han Yuting smiling at him flirtatiously, making his heart race.

"I've finished, Secretary Han!" Wang Jian drank the wine in one go and showed her the empty glass.

Han Yuting finally laughed and asked, "Town Chief Wang, are you always so generous when you drink?"

"Hehe, sometimes, but not always," Wang Jian replied with a smile.

"Town Chief Wang is just excited to see Secretary Han and can't help but drink," Zhao Dongbo added.

It seemed Zhao Dongbo was doing this on purpose. Wang Jian glanced at Han Yuting and said, "Secretary Han, why don't you drink?"

"How can I drink a full glass? Let me drink half," Han Yuting said, sipping half a glass. Her face soon turned rosy, making her even more beautiful.

"I'll toast Town Chief Wang!" Just as they finished, Ning Xingong raised his glass to Wang Jian.

Wang Jian wasn't familiar with Ning Xingong and didn't know about the background. Seeing Ning Xingong toast him, he quickly stood up and said, "I'll toast Director Ning."

Ning Xingong waved his hand and said, "No need to be so formal, let's sit and drink."

It was clear that Wang Jian was still not very experienced in dealing with county officials, while Ning Xingong, with his long experience in the county party office, was more adept. However, Wang Jian had a strong ability to learn and reflect, and he quickly realized he didn't need to be so拘谨. It's just like being in the countryside, what's the big deal? There's no need to be overly humble; they were even envious of him!

After drinking with Ning Xingong, Wang Jian started to actively seek out Zhao Yanyan for a toast. Zhao Yanyan was the daughter of a county bureau chief, very beautiful, and had already taken a liking to the young and handsome town chief Wang Jian. If she could win his affection, not only would she be happy, but her parents would be delighted as well.

Seeing Wang Jian toast her, Zhao Yanyan blushed and said, "Town Chief Wang, I'll toast you!"

They clinked glasses, and Zhao Yanyan watched Wang Jian drink the wine before taking a small sip herself.

"Town Chief Wang, I heard you graduated just over a year ago. Which school did you graduate from?" Zhao Yanyan asked after drinking.

"Oh, I graduated from Hexi University," Wang Jian replied.

"Then we are alumni! I also graduated from Hexi University!" Zhao Yanyan said excitedly.

"Hehe, what a coincidence!" Wang Jian laughed.

Han Yuting, hearing Zhao Yanyan's excited voice, couldn't help but look at Wang Jian and Zhao Yanyan, clearly feeling a bit displeased.

Zhao Yanyan became more and more excited, feeling like she had found a kindred spirit, and kept talking to Wang Jian. After a while, others came over to toast him, and Wang Jian finally had a chance to talk to others.

Thus, they toasted and chatted for about two hours, everyone enjoying themselves. Han Yuting was so drunk that she put her arm around Zhao Dongbo's neck. Zhao Dongbo quickly moved her to Wang Jian. Wang Jian couldn't avoid it and had to hold her. Zhao Yanyan saw this and ran over to help, but Han Yuting pushed her away, saying, "No one needs to help me!"

However, she didn't let go of Wang Jian's hand. Zhao Yanyan felt something was wrong and suspected that Han Yuting had also taken a liking to Wang Jian. But Zhao Yanyan was very confident in her own abilities, knowing that if Wang Jian found out about Han Yuting's scandalous affairs, he wouldn't want such a woman as his wife.

"Alright, everyone has had enough to drink. There's a KTV nearby; let's go sing some songs!" After the meal, Zhao Dongbo said loudly.

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(End of the chapter)