Chapter 357: An Old Steed in the Stable Still Longs to Gallop a Thousand Li
Ni Zhenjiang’s attitude was so enthusiastic that Sui Siwen felt greatly relieved. ’It seems the new City Lord is quite easy to get along with!’
Sui Siwen unsparingly reported on him, "That Deputy Director Niu from the Construction Bureau has no sense of propriety, bringing a lowly Section Chief here! City Lord, rest assured, I will make sure Deputy Director Niu gives you a proper explanation!"
Construction Bureau?
Section Chief?
These two terms instantly jogged Ni Zhenjiang’s memory.
’Isn’t that Young Master Cheng’s uncle?’
’I absolutely have to treat him well!’
’If I can make Young Master Cheng happy, my future will be paved with gold!’
Ni Zhenjiang suppressed his excitement and asked, "Bureau Director Sui, where is that Section Chief?"
Sui Siwen’s gaze sharpened. ’Normally, anyone who becomes a City Lord has first-class self-control. But Lord Ni is already struggling to contain his emotions. This must mean he’s furious!’
’Now Niu Jinshui and that little Section Chief are dead meat!’
Sui Siwen raised his hand and pointed at Wu Renqing!
"That’s him!"
Wu Renqing’s face turned deathly pale with fright, and he nearly plopped right down onto the floor!
Wu Renqing was so full of regret he could have killed himself. ’I’m such an idiot! How could I have fallen for a prank!’
’Everyone here is at least a deputy bureau director. What was a minor Section Chief like me doing here, looking for trouble?’
’I’m so dead now!’
Following the direction of Sui Siwen’s finger, Ni Zhenjiang saw Wu Renqing. Ni Zhenjiang’s eyes lit up. ’This Chief Wu really does look a bit like the man in Young Master Cheng’s photo!’
Ni Zhenjiang strode toward Wu Renqing!
Sui Siwen, wanting to make a good impression on Ni Zhenjiang, followed closely at his side, shouting loudly.
"Deputy Director Niu! Chief Wu! You’ve ruined the City Lord’s welcome banquet! Hurry up and give the City Lord a sincere apology! Your actions are absolutely un—"
Halfway through his sentence, Sui Siwen suddenly choked on his words!
Because Ni Zhenjiang had enthusiastically taken Wu Renqing’s hand, looking at him with a gaze full of approval and admiration.
"So you are Chief Wu? A man of remarkable talent, indeed! Your Bureau Director Niu has been singing your praises, strongly recommending you as a model vanguard and pushing for the organization to give you more responsibilities! Chief Wu, are you confident?"
BZZT!!
Wu Renqing felt as if he had been struck by lightning!
’This was the City Lord!’
’The City Lord was holding his hand!’
’And praising him in public!’
’What an incredible honor!’
Wu Renqing decided he wouldn’t wash his hands for at least three days to show his respect for the City Lord!
Wu Renqing’s face was flushed red with excitement, and he even stammered a little as he spoke!
"P-Please, rest assured, Leader! I... I will work even harder! I’ll serve the people with all my might! I will strive to achieve great things! I’ll fight to become qualified to rally around the organization and listen to its teachings!"
A faint smile touched the corners of Ni Zhenjiang’s mouth. "Chief Wu, don’t be so modest. We are all colleagues, all here to serve the people! Of course you are qualified to rally around the organization."
Wu Renqing was so excited he could barely breathe!
’Was the City Lord extending an olive branch to him?’
’Has green smoke started rising from the Wus’ ancestral tomb?’
Niu Jinshui, Zhang Guoqiang, You Baquan, and Qiu Ming were all trembling with excitement!
’Just as we thought!’
’They had bet on the right horse!’
’Their careers were about to take off!’
Sui Siwen and Wei Yanping looked on in disbelief, their expressions like they had just swallowed a dead fly.
’But why?’
’Why was the City Lord being so polite to a lowly Section Chief?’
’They had carefully reviewed the City Lord’s file; he had no family ties whatsoever with this minor Section Chief!’
Ni Zhenjiang affectionately patted Wu Renqing’s arm, then turned to look at Niu Jinshui with an appreciative gaze.
"Bureau Director Niu, thank you for recommending and cultivating such an outstanding colleague as Chief Wu! The organization will remember your contribution."
Niu Jinshui felt as if he had just taken a Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill; his entire body surged with power!
Niu Jinshui secretly rejoiced. ’Thank goodness I mended my relationship with Chief Wu in time. Otherwise, I would have been finished today!’
"As the Deputy Director of the Construction Bureau, it is my duty to cultivate and recommend outstanding colleagues! Please rest assured, City Lord, I will continue to work hard and strive to cultivate and recommend even more excellent colleagues!"
Ni Zhenjiang nodded in satisfaction, looked around at everyone, and said warmly, "I’ve kept you comrades waiting. Shall we begin the banquet?"
With that, Ni Zhenjiang grabbed Wu Renqing’s arm with his left hand and Niu Jinshui’s with his right. Completely ignoring the somewhat awkward Sui Siwen, he led the two of them straight toward the seats of honor!
Normally, with their status, Niu Jinshui and Wu Renqing would only be qualified to attend from the lower-ranking seats, yet Ni Zhenjiang had given them the two best spots!
Everyone’s eyes flickered as they cast strange glances toward Sui Siwen, whose face was ashen.
Sui Siwen gritted his teeth. He had wanted to drive Niu Jinshui and Wu Renqing away, but in the blink of an eye, they were sitting in the seats of honor!
This nearly made Sui Siwen explode with rage!
Even though Ni Zhenjiang hadn’t said a single critical word to him, Sui Siwen felt as if he’d been slapped across the face several times!
Unable to bear the crowd’s strange looks for another second, Sui Siwen picked up his glass and proposed a toast to Ni Zhenjiang.
"City Lord, a toast to you, and welcome to Luocheng! I have some official business to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave now!"
Sui Siwen tilted his head back, downing the drink in one gulp, then turned and fled the private room in utter disgrace.
Sui Siwen’s departure didn’t cause the slightest ripple; on the contrary, the atmosphere of the welcome banquet grew even more enthusiastic.
The welcome banquet proceeded with both guests and host thoroughly enjoying themselves.
In the blink of an eye, the banquet was coming to a close. Ni Zhenjiang mentioned he was a bit weary from his journey and wanted to go back and rest.
Everyone quickly stood up to respectfully see Ni Zhenjiang off.
After Ni Zhenjiang left, Niu Jinshui and Wu Renqing became the stars of the show, immediately surrounded by the crowd.
"Bureau Director Niu, I love making friends with responsible people like you. We must get together more often soon."
"Chief Wu, can I get your contact information? We should discuss work more in the future."
"What do you mean, ’Chief Wu’? We should be calling him Director Wu now. Director Wu, let me get your contact info as well."
"I think we could even call him Bureau Director Wu!"
"Old Zhang, you’re going too far!"
A full ten minutes later, the pleasantries finally ended, and everyone left, satisfied.
Wu Renqing was in a complete daze. Everything that had happened tonight felt like a fairy tale to him!
"Old Wu, get in my car. I’ll take you home."
After getting in the car, Wu Renqing once again expressed his gratitude to Niu Jinshui.
"Bureau Director Niu, you are my benefactor! Thank you for cultivating me! From now on, just watch what I can do!"
Niu Jinshui said modestly, "Old Wu, don’t thank me. I didn’t really do anything. If you want to thank someone, thank yourself. If you weren’t a thousand-li horse, my recommendation would have been useless!"
"What thousand-li horse? I’m just a hardworking old nag."
Niu Jinshui laughed. "Old Wu, you are indeed an old horse! But as they say, ’an old steed in the stable still yearns to run a thousand li!’ Your future is limitless!"
Soon, Wu Renqing arrived back at Long Lake District.
Wu Renqing was completely puffed up with pride. He sent a message in the family WeChat group and tagged @everyone!
"I don’t care if you’re busy or not, get over to the second auxiliary building immediately. No one is excused except for the Old Master. Xiaoyuan, you have to come too! I’m calling a family meeting!"