Chapter 376 Gathering (Middle)

Hou Weidong’s gaze had just settled on Li Jing when, as if sensing his attention, she turned her eyes toward him. Their gazes crossed over the heads of other guests and the banquet tables, meeting in mid-air.

Li Jing raised her teacup slightly, making a gesture of a toast.

She was dressed in a loose, thick winter coat, a common attire for the season. The bulky clothing concealed her slender figure and effectively hid the slight swelling of her abdomen.

Seeing Li Jing’s elegant demeanor, Hou Weidong felt a flicker of irritation. He thought to himself, They say women are made of water; indeed, water has no fixed shape and is ever-changing. Yet, a knot remained in his heart—he could not offer Li Jing any promises.

He reminded himself once again, Hou Weidong, can you give Li Jing any commitment? If you cannot, on what grounds do you deny her the right to marry? Hou Weidong, do not be so selfish.

Zhang Mushan noticed Li Jing raising her cup and followed her gaze to Hou Weidong. He waved and raised his own glass in greeting.

Hou Weidong proactively took his wine glass and walked over. He nodded to Li Jing and then addressed Zhang Mushan, “Chairman, hello. Happy New Year.”

Zhang Mushan stood up and shook Hou Weidong’s hand, smiling. “Old brother, you used to call me Brother Mushan. Why have you changed to Chairman?” He tapped the air with his fingers a few times. “You are being too polite, too polite.”

Li Jing was an extremely smart woman. Seeing that Hou Weidong was deliberately ignoring her, she did not get angry. Instead, she seemed quite pleased, watching with a smile as Hou Weidong and Zhang Mushan exchanged pleasantries.

Sitting next to Li Jing was a general manager from Lingxi. His influence was far inferior to Zhang Mushan’s. Noticing how much Zhang Mushan valued this young man, he quietly asked Li Jing, “Who is this young man? Which department in Yiyang does he belong to? I haven’t seen him before.”

Li Jing replied with pride, “He is Hou Weidong. He was formerly the Director of the General Office of the Yiyang County Party Committee. Later, he served as the Director of the New Management Committee. Now, he is the personal secretary to Zhou Changquan, Secretary of the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee, and also the Chief of the Comprehensive Section in the Municipal Party Committee Office.”

The general manager whispered, “President Li, you seem familiar with Secretary Hou. Please introduce me. I would like to cultivate some connections.”

Having served as the Director of the New Management Committee, Hou Weidong was keen on building relationships with entrepreneurs. With Zhang Mushan’s introduction, he met each of the entrepreneurs at the table one by one. He shook hands, accepted their business cards, and as he left the table, he said, “Dear bosses, welcome to invest in our hometown. If there is anything you need me to coordinate, please feel free to ask. I am willing to serve you sincerely.”

Each table at the reunion banquet had a leader from Yiyang County. At Hou Weidong’s table was Vice County Mayor Zeng Zhaoqiang. Shortly after Hou Weidong returned to his seat, Zeng Zhaoqiang came over and enthusiastically introduced Hou Weidong’s identity to the other leaders present. These were all officials in the political arena. Upon hearing that Hou Weidong was Zhou Changquan’s secretary, they all showed immediate respect. However, since most of the leaders present held deputy positions and did not yet have the standing to report directly to Zhou Changquan, their attitude toward Hou Weidong was not as direct as that of the principal officials. They chatted about politics and current events, and the conversation flowed with high spirits.

This atmosphere was initially very comfortable for Hou Weidong. However, there were too many acquaintances from Yiyang County. Department leaders frequently came over to offer toasts. Before he realized it, he had drunk over ten cups. Just as he was drinking, his mobile phone buzzed several times. It was a text message from Li Jing: “It’s too stuffy inside. I’m going out first. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Looking up, Hou Weidong saw Li Jing holding her phone and smiling in his direction.

Hou Weidong knew Li Jing wanted to give him an explanation. He sat patiently for a while. After Ma Youcai and Yang Senlin had finished their toasts, he found an excuse to slip away.

After getting out of the car, Hou Weidong quickly found Li Jing’s car in the parking lot. Since everyone was still dining, there were few people outside. He strolled over casually. Upon reaching the car door, he did not open it immediately but paused slightly. Just as his hand grasped the handle, Li Jing pushed the door open from the inside.

“What are you standing outside for? Get in,” Li Jing said, her tone revealing a sense of intimacy, unchanged from their earlier days.

Hou Weidong got into the car and sat in the passenger seat. Looking at Li Jing up close, she touched her face and asked, “Why are you staring at me? Do I have flowers growing on my face?”

“You’ve gained some weight.”

“Really?”

There were small, butterfly-shaped spots at the corners of Li Jing’s eyes, which were quite noticeable up close. Hou Weidong knew that Li Jing paid great attention to her appearance and always wore makeup when going out, using high-end cosmetics. Today, however, she had clearly not applied any makeup, making the butterfly spots at the corners of her eyes quite prominent.

Seeing Hou Weidong staring at her butterfly spots, Li Jing thought to herself, Has Hou Weidong noticed that I am pregnant? A woman’s mind is full of twists and turns. Regarding her pregnancy, she both wanted to keep it hidden from Hou Weidong for the time being and desperately wanted to tell him the news.

Hou Weidong did not know what the butterfly spots signified. Confused by Li Jing’s expression, he said, “Why did you suddenly get married? Your husband must be quite outstanding. Congratulations.”

Li Jing detected a sourness in his words, like aged Shanxi vinegar. In high spirits, she naturally leaned her head onto Hou Weidong’s shoulder and murmured, “No matter how outstanding someone is, they cannot compare to my Sun Wukong. I haven’t changed the lock on my door. Besides you, no other man has my key.”

Hou Weidong was surprised. “What do you mean? Didn’t you say you got married?”

“Don’t ask about this. I have my reasons for doing this. Rest assured, I will take care of myself and cherish our relationship, and…” Li Jing had originally wanted to say the word “crystallization” (referring to their child), but she stopped herself. With a look of happy shyness, she pressed her face against Hou Weidong’s shoulder, rubbing it gently, and her eyes gradually grew moist.

Hou Weidong felt a mix of affection and admiration for this strong woman before him. He believed that whatever she had decided must have its logic, so he closed his mouth and did not press the matter further.

The two first chatted about the Jingong Group, then discussed some miscellaneous matters. As it approached one o’clock, Hou Weidong said solemnly, “Let me say this again: if you encounter difficulties, first, do not wrong yourself; second, come find me at any time. In short, take good care of yourself. There is no hurdle in the world that cannot be crossed.”

Li Jing suddenly reached out and grabbed the corner of Hou Weidong’s clothes, urging him, “I will not change the lock on my door. You must keep the key safe. Wait for me for one year.”

Watching Hou Weidong walk away slowly, Li Jing ungracefully wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. She then started the car and drove back to the Yiyang Hotel. Her professional driver lived at the hotel. Since she was pregnant, she usually only drove short distances. For highway trips, she had the company driver handle it. She did not want to tire herself, for inside her womb was the most precious gift bestowed upon her by heaven.

On the highway, Hou Weidong controlled his speed to around 100 kilometers per hour, which was an economical and safe speed for highway driving. About ten minutes later, two small cars overtook him at high speed. These two cars were traveling at least 150 kilometers per hour. Hou Weidong had sharp eyes and noticed that one of the Audi cars had a Lingxi license plate.

“This should be Yi Zhongda’s car. Driving so fast, doesn’t he care about his life?” Earlier that morning, Hou Weidong had seen this car in the parking lot. Because it was an Audi from Lingxi, he had taken a special look at it.

Upon returning to Shazhou, Hou Weidong parked his car in the parking lot of the Municipal Party Committee compound. He walked into the compound and, looking up, saw that Audi car. He deliberately walked past it and noticed a pass from the Provincial Government placed in the driver’s seat.

This confirmed Hou Weidong’s guess. The car belonged to Yi Zhongda. Yi Zhongda was a Divisional Leader in the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee, holding significant power. However, according to his rank, he did not yet have the right to be assigned an official car. The car bearing the Provincial Government pass must have been borrowed by Yi Zhongda from a certain department of the Provincial Government.

In the afternoon, Yang Teng, secretary to Huang Zidi, called. “Section Chief Hou, do you have any plans for tonight? I heard you are going to become a father. Secretary Zeng has arranged a celebration for you.”

Hou Weidong had only told his driver, Ma Bo, about the matter. He had not expected Zeng Yong to find out so quickly. Zeng Yong was the Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, overseeing departments such as Personnel. In the Municipal Party Committee Office, he was the second-in-command under Hong Ang. Hou Weidong had to give him face, so he said, “Thank you, Secretary Zeng, and Section Chief Yang. If Secretary Zhou has no important arrangements, I will make an appointment with you.”

Yang Teng said, “Good. I am ready to receive your call at any time.” He added, “Invite Ma Bo along too.”

After hanging up, Hou Weidong thought, Does Secretary Huang have other arrangements today? Why is Yang Teng so free?

At the end of the workday, Zhou Changquan asked, “Xiao Hou, do you have any plans for tonight?” Hou Weidong smiled and replied, “Tonight, only a Deputy Commissioner from Maoyun Region is visiting, and the Municipal Government is handling the reception. There are no other guests.”

Zhou Changquan showed a relaxed smile. “It’s rare. Today I can finally go home for a meal.” He personally called his home: “I’m coming home for dinner tonight. Don’t prepare anything elaborate. Just cook some porridge and stir-fry some old pickled vegetables.”

In high spirits, he said to Hou Weidong, “Modern people eat meat and fish every day. This is an unhealthy lifestyle. We are using our bodies to carry out the revolution. I truly wish to retire early and live a peaceful pastoral life. That is my ideal.”

After seeing Zhou Changquan home, Hou Weidong called Yang Teng. “I am free tonight.” Yang Teng said on the phone, “Secretary Zeng has a temporary matter. Before leaving, he instructed me to have dinner with you. My thought is that since it’s rare for both of us to be free, let’s invite all the comrades from the Comprehensive Section. We can have our section’s New Year reunion early.”

“Good, no problem. Let’s see if Du Wei and Yang Liu are free,” Hou Weidong added. “Tonight’s meal will be hosted by me. Don’t argue with me; I have a place to handle it.”

Soon, Yang Teng arranged for Du Wei and Yang Liu to join. Yang Teng proactively said, “I know a place that serves fish. It’s authentic Yangtze River fish, and the environment is nice. For our Comprehensive Section’s gathering, the standard cannot be low.”

At seven o’clock, they drove two cars from the Municipal Party Committee Office to the Yangtze River Fish Mansion. Upon entering the courtyard, Hou Weidong saw that Audi car with the Provincial Government pass again.