"Old Master Zhang Zhengchang, has he sensed something?"
"It's just a rejection like that? So Liu Zhizhong's plan was all for nothing?"
Naturally, Zhang Tianbao did not know about Liu Zhizhong's plan; he was just a pawn in the game. He was somewhat speechless, but he understood.
Zhang Zhengchang was that kind of person.
Zhang Zhengchang had despised people like Liu Zhizhong for a lifetime, and that was unlikely to change. After all, Zhang Zhengchang bought into what Zhang Hongyang said: that it was Liu Zhizhong who caused the death of Zhang Dingkang.
However, Zhang Tianbao's face also showed some embarrassment, since he had promised Liu Zhizhong to bring Zhang Zhengchang to the event.
Zhang Tianbao soon regained his composure, left the house without taking the official city car, and drove his own private car home to pick up his fishing gear.
He then called Du Yuesheng to inform him about Zhang Zhengchang's situation and invited Secretary Du to join him at the Zhang Family Mansion to formally extend the invitation to Zhang Zhengchang.
Du Yuesheng had plans of his own and readily agreed to go.
But when they both reached the Zhang Family Mansion by car, the servants there said that Zhang Zhengchang was napping.
Alright then, Du Yuesheng and Zhang Tianbao did not disturb him; they sat in the living room, chatting and joking over tea.
By late afternoon, around four o'clock, Zhang Zhengchang finally emerged from his room and met Du Yuesheng and Zhang Tianbao.
At this point, Zhang Tianbao mentioned Liu Zhizhong's sincerity, specifically noting the presence of Lu Yumei, which finally coaxed Zhang Zhengchang into agreeing to attend the banquet that evening.
No matter what, Zhang Tianbao personally stepped in to invite on behalf of Liu Zhizhong; his nephew, the Mayor Du Yuesheng, also came to assist. Zhang Zhengchang seemed to find it hard to refuse under these circumstances.
That's how officialdom works; everything needed to be reasonably justified.
Even for a retired old secretary like him, you had to maintain a semblance of respect for the current city committee dignitaries.
Of course, while persuading his brother-in-law, Du Yuesheng also secretly hinted that he had plans, making Zhang Zhengchang think: maybe this nephew had something up his sleeve? Hence, that became his reason for agreeing.
Later, when Du Yuesheng used the pretext of going to the restroom with his brother-in-law, he discreetly strategized with Zhang Zhengchang, who then seemed even more inclined to attend the dinner, although he maintained a stern facial expression.
However, Zhang Zhengchang was somewhat curious: "Isn't that spot just where the Waterfront Park used to dump its rubbish? Why is Liu hosting a dinner there of all places? Are we going to sit on the ground and eat?"
Du Yuesheng, a bit shocked, slapped his forehead. "Oh, right, Minister Zhang! Is Liu Zhizhong and his mother-in-law planning some wild outdoor feast?"
Zhang Tianbao was baffled for a moment, but remarked, "Surely not, it couldn't be that bad. If that were the case, wouldn't Liu be a bit too casual?" Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚✦𝕟𝕖𝕥
Zhang Zhengchang scoffed, saying, "If he dares to do that, then he can't blame Old Zhang for not giving him a chance; he'll never have a foothold in Yangzhou again! Alright, let's play some landlord now and head over at six in the evening. If he wants to show off his cooking skills, let him!"
Though Zhang Zhengchang had seen those photos of the local catfish and the old softshell turtle, and secretly liked them, he still put on a show of reluctance. Moreover, he quite admired the strategy Du Yuesheng hinted at, which he thought was acceptable! And with Lu Yumei being there, old Zhang Zhengchang felt a stirring of excitement.
Seeing the invitation process had successfully wrapped up, Zhang Tianbao naturally sat down with Du Yuesheng to join Zhang Zhengchang in a game of landlord.
They didn't play for high stakes — losing a few hundred to Zhang Zhengchang was about showing respect for the old secretary, and that was proper; the main thing was to have fun.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhizhong, having finished coordinating with Zhang Tianbao, got busy once again.
He prepared the fish and turtle, dividing them into various types and different dishes with unique ingredients.
Once everything was ready, he took photos.
At his fishing spot, he also sent videos and photos to Uncle Zhenglong.
Zhang Zhenglong, who had not completed his 49 days of mourning at the Zhang family home, had traveled south after the first 21 days for business projects. He was quite busy out there.
There are many provinces in the south, not just Ningnan Province. The place where Zhang Zhenglong went was Eastern Guang Province.
Having given up pursuing Lu Yumei, he had turned into a completely different person, completely immersed in his business — and his business territory had expanded since then. Some say that women can be obstacles to a man's success path; whether that's true or not remains to be seen.
In the meantime, Liu Zhizhong, after sending the photos and videos, added a voice message: "Uncle Zhenglong, long time no see, huh? How's the business going in the south? Check out these delicious river delicacies from Yangjiang—local catfish and old softshell turtle, absolutely delightful! I wanted to invite you for dinner tonight, but unfortunately, I couldn't invite someone as distinguished as you! I'm only with Mrs. Lu, and we've also gotten old Secretary Zhengchang, Mayor Du, and Minister Zhang from the organization department. Otherwise, if you'd like, which of these river delicacies would you want me to freeze and send over?"
Before long, Zhang Zhenglong responded...