Chapter 81: Night Market Encounter

After making the decision, Wang Jian and Ye Fengling walked out of the Transportation Department, instructing Hao Li to prepare for the trip the next day. As they stepped out of the department's main gate, Wang Jian said to Ye Fengling, "Journalist Ye, my classmate Chen Yu's company has been sealed by the industrial and commercial tax authorities. Do you have any way to resolve this?"

"This is easy. I'll just make a call to a friend!" Ye Fengling replied.

As a journalist in Hebei Province, Ye Fengling had connections throughout the province. Although the industrial and commercial tax authorities' inspection had the shadow of Gong Changqiu, since Wang Jian had been released, the leaders of these departments did not dare to act recklessly out of respect for Ye Fengling. They instructed their subordinates to immediately allow Chen Yu's company to resume operations.

Chen Yu was very pleased when he learned this. His mood improved significantly when he met Wang Jian. Wang Jian said to him, "I'm about to return to the countryside. Do you want to come along? I can offer you the best investment policies there!"

This incident deepened the bond between Chen Yu and Wang Jian. Investing in the countryside might be a good opportunity, so Chen Yu agreed, "Alright, I'll go with you to check it out."

Wang Jian then called Zhao Yixuan to ask if she had time to go, but due to her busy work schedule, she could not make it. So, Wang Jian went back to Xianhe Township with Ye Fengling, Hao Li, and Chen Yu.

Xianhe Township remained peaceful. Zheng Shiguang was still in the township, but there were rumors that Ning Xingong might replace him as the Party Secretary. Wang Jian's position would remain unchanged. When Han Yuting learned this news, she called Wang Jian. Wang Jian couldn't think of a strategy at the moment and told her to wait and see.

However, now that he was back, Wang Jian had to take some action to make Ren Pingyi realize that appointing Ning Xingong was not a wise decision. Hao Li, as the deputy director of the Transportation Department, was going to Xianhe Township for an on-site inspection. The leaders of the Simeng City Transportation Bureau and Dongting County could not ignore this.

Since Hao Li was only a deputy director, a deputy director of the Simeng City Transportation Bureau and a vice-county magistrate of Dongting County would be sufficient for the reception. However, since this matter was personally arranged by Zhao Bingzhi, Hu Zuoyun had to ensure everything went smoothly. He specifically called the director of the Simeng City Transportation Bureau, Wu Shiyu, and asked him to pay high attention to the road construction in Xianhe Township and to coordinate all aspects of the work.

When the provincial department's leader personally called the city bureau's leader, Wu Shiyu knew this was no ordinary matter. He could not treat Hao Li's visit as a routine inspection and had to personally entertain her.

As a journalist from Huaxin News Agency, Ye Fengling would naturally be accompanied by local propaganda department leaders. However, since her purpose was to meet Jie Lianbing, she came as Hao Li's escort to avoid drawing too much attention.

Hao Li first arrived in Simeng City, where Wu Shiyu personally received her. Just before the meal, he also invited the vice-mayor in charge of transportation, Wen Shan, to join them. Although Wen Shan was a deputy provincial-level official, Hao Li was a provincial leader, so he did not feel it was beneath him to join. Moreover, Wu Shiyu had specifically asked him to accompany her, so he had no reason to refuse.

Wen Shan was very enthusiastic when he met Hao Li, but he appeared quite arrogant when he saw Wang Jian. Upon learning that Wang Jian was a township chief in Dongting County, he merely nodded without any special expression.

However, when he learned that Hao Li's visit was due to Wang Jian's project request at the provincial department, Wen Shan's attitude softened. After all, to secure a project from the provincial level, one must have connections there. Moreover, it was personally arranged by the head of the provincial department, which indicated a lot. Either the head of the provincial department was giving Wang Jian face, or giving face to someone connected to Wang Jian. In any case, Wang Jian must be someone significant.

With this thought, Wen Shan looked at Wang Jian with more smiles. Sitting at the main seat of the dining table, he not only toasted with Hao Li but also showed more consideration to Wang Jian.

Wang Jian was no longer nervous. He had even drunk to the toast of the provincial party secretary. Why would he fear a vice-mayor? So, he proactively toasted Wen Shan. At first, Wen Shan felt a bit uncomfortable, as his long-term position of privilege made him unaccustomed to a small township chief being so active. However, after Wang Jian drank several large glasses of wine, Wen Shan began to look at him with new respect.

Once the drunkenness set in, the distinctions between vice-mayors, bureau chiefs, and township chiefs disappeared, leaving only men and women. Wen Shan kept toasting Hao Li, while Wu Shiyu became interested in Ye Fengling. Ye Fengling was not a heavy drinker, so she only took small sips. Wu Shiyu was not satisfied and kept pressing her, leading to a never-ending round of toasts. Ye Fengling was getting quite annoyed.

Wang Jian quickly stepped in, "Director Wu, I'll toast you two glasses. Director Ye can't drink, please understand!"

Ye Fengling was now being called "Director Ye." Wang Jian wanted to cover for her, but Wu Shiyu insisted, "Township Chief Wang, Director Ye is here for us. She must drink. You can't forget we're in the same trench!"

"Director Wu, I understand. When I was in the province, I often drank with Director Ye. She doesn't drink at all, but she broke her rule for you. Let Director Ye and Mayor Wen drink, and I'll toast you!" Wang Jian lied to help Ye Fengling out.

Hearing this, Wu Shiyu's face brightened, "Alright, let Director Ye drink with Mayor Wen, and we'll all drink together!"

Wang Jian drank in one go, and Wu Shiyu, not wanting to show weakness, followed suit. They had already drunk quite a bit and looked quite drunk. On the other side, Wen Shan and Hao Li were also enjoying themselves, leaving Ye Fengling with no chance to join in. She decided not to drink anymore.

Chen Yu was more reserved, being the only non-official among them. He was not as relaxed and ended up getting drunk.

After a satisfying meal, they decided to stay in Simeng City for the night. In the evening, Ye Fengling wanted to go out and see the city's night scenes. It was her first time in Simeng, and as a journalist, she always wanted to understand the local situation, perhaps to find some news leads.

Ye Fengling called Hao Li to join her, and her two female bodyguards followed. Chen Yu, who was drunk, stayed behind to sleep. Wang Jian, with a high tolerance for alcohol, accompanied them as a guide.

After walking for a while, the two women decided to go shopping. Shopping was a woman's eternal nature, and although Wang Jian did not like it, he had no choice but to follow.

Ye Fengling was pleased that Wang Jian had volunteered to accompany them, often looking back at him with a smile, believing that he was a good man who would be kind to women.

After a round of shopping, Ye Fengling decided to visit the night market. Simeng City was a developing city, and the night market was quite chaotic, with hooligans often causing trouble. The presence of several beautiful women naturally drew attention, but Ye Fengling was not worried with her bodyguards.

However, Wang Jian did not know that the two women following Ye Fengling were her bodyguards. Ye Fengling had only told him that they were interns from her newspaper, here to gain some experience. Therefore, with so many beautiful women walking around, Wang Jian was quite nervous, as he was not confident about the city's security.

At a small goods stall, Ye Fengling was attracted by the variety of items and squatted down to look at them.

As she was about to pay for an item, a young man suddenly rushed over and snatched her bag. Just as he was about to run away, the two bodyguards behind Ye Fengling quickly extended their legs, tripping him. The bodyguards, always alert, acted so swiftly that no one around them realized what had happened.

The young man quickly got up, not daring to pick up the dropped bag, and ran away. The bodyguards, responsible for Ye Fengling's safety, did not chase after him, as they would not fall for a diversionary tactic.

Wang Jian, noticing the incident, asked, "What happened? What was that about?"

"It's nothing, just a small accident!" Ye Fengling said calmly, taking the bag back from the bodyguard.

Wang Jian asked, "Should we call the police?"

"No need!" Ye Fengling feared that calling the police might expose her identity. Since there was no loss, she decided to let it go.

A bystander commented, "You should be careful. This place isn't very safe!"

Only then did Ye Fengling say to Wang Jian, "I didn't expect the security here to be so poor. It needs to be improved!"

Wang Jian could only smile bitterly, "Simeng City has a large population and is quite chaotic."

Ye Fengling smiled and said nothing, continuing to walk forward, preparing to return to the hotel to rest.

Just a few meters ahead, several large men suddenly appeared, blocking their path. The two bodyguards immediately recognized one of them as the man who had tried to snatch the bag, realizing they were a gang.

"Ha ha, four beautiful women, one for each of us!" the leader of the group said with a lecherous grin.

"What about the man?" another man asked.

"What to do? Beat him up, of course! Do you have a thing for him?" the leader replied.

"Ha ha!" They all laughed.

The two bodyguards were not afraid of these four men, but they would not attack unless provoked. They instinctively stood in front of Ye Fengling to protect her.

"What do you want?" Wang Jian, as the only man, stepped forward to protect Ye Fengling and Hao Li.

"Ha ha, who wanted it earlier, it's his!" the leader said to one of his men.

The man stepped forward to attack Wang Jian. Wang Jian smiled coldly and stood still. Seeing that Wang Jian was not afraid, the man charged and kicked.

Wang Jian, with quick reflexes, dodged and then struck with his palm, causing the man to collapse. The others, seeing that Wang Jian had some skills, immediately used their strength in numbers and attacked him together.

Wang Jian remained calm and fought back. In no time, he had knocked them all down. One of them, who had run to Ye Fengling, was kicked down by her bodyguard.

Looking at the criminals on the ground groaning in pain, Wang Jian said, "Get lost!"

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