Chapter 13: Brewing (I)

When Zhang Maolin sauntered out of the restroom to the side of the private booth, he happened to see Liu Dong and Bian Zecheng gesturing and whispering to each other. Zhang noticed three young women in black leather skirts sitting upright on a long wooden bench opposite the two men.

"Come here, girls, come over!" Bian Zecheng beckoned them with an exaggerated wave.

Liu Dong stood up nimbly, helped Zhang Maolin sit down on the maroon leather sofa, and pointed to the girl in the center. "Lily, come here. This is Mr. Zhang, the most distinguished and important guest I have invited today. You must use your best skills to entertain him! If anything goes wrong, not only will you lose your tip, but I will have you packed up and out the door. Do you understand me?!"

The girl named Lily did not walk directly toward Zhang Maolin. Instead, she sashayed over to Liu Dong, wrapped her slender, fair arms tightly around his thick neck, and spoke in a coquettish, sweet voice: "Anyone else is fine, but not you. You are all my gods! Hehehehe..."

"Whoa! Your perfume is way too strong! No, my brother can't stand it. Go, go, go, wash your face and change your clothes immediately. You must have a clean, natural face, remember?!" Liu Dong pushed away the girl as she approached.

"No! I just sprayed on 'Diva.' With your fussing, hundreds of dollars are just being washed away? You have to compensate me, you big meanie!"

Seeing Lily start to complain, the other two girls swarmed over, shaking Liu Dong’s arms in feigned anger.

"Goodness! Stop the fussing. Go wash your faces and change. Next time I come, I'll give you each a bottle of 'Bijan'! That should be enough, right?" Liu Dong wore an expression of tender affection.

"Alright then—but you have to spit and make a dent in the ground; if you go back on your word, you're a puppy!" The three girls in leather skirts spoke in unison before hopping away like chattering sparrows.

Lily, having walked a few steps away, suddenly remembered something and turned back. She leaned over to Zhang Maolin and said, "Oh! Mr. Zhang, so sorry! Wait for me a moment! Have an orange to freshen your breath, I'll be right back!"

While speaking in a dainty voice, she deftly picked up an orange, peeled a section, and held it up to Zhang Maolin’s mouth with both hands.

"Oh, oh..."

Zhang Maolin was instantly flustered and at a loss, not knowing how to respond. Lily, surprised by his embarrassment and even disheveled appearance, giggled as she turned and left.

Watching the girls walk away, Zhang Maolin turned his head and said with a hint of reproach, "Hey, what are you two up to? I thought we were here for tea. Why bring these girls into the mix?"

"Heh heh, what are we up to? You can do whatever you want! Just be careful not to rattle those old bones of yours, or you won't be able to fulfill your ‘marital duties’ to your wife later!" Bian Zecheng said with a wicked grin.

"You little rascal! I’ll tear your bones apart first, then send you home for your wife to pickle you as cured meat for a drinking snack!" Zhang Maolin retorted.

Liu Dong, sitting to the side, did not chime in; he only chuckled. Today was the first time Zhang Maolin realized that the relationship between Bian Zecheng and Liu Dong was unusual—something he had never anticipated.

*This guy Zecheng is not simple,* Zhang thought to himself. *He usually keeps a low profile; who would have guessed he could be so chummy with this god of wealth...*

"Don't overthink it, brother. These girls are students at our Songyang Vocational Technical School and are also part-time client managers for the marketing team at our Kanghong Group. They are clean and elegant, definitely not the rowdy type you find on the streets. I brought them here just to sing and dance with us; I wouldn't let a great discipline inspection secretary like you violate organizational rules, hahaha," Liu Dong explained softly.

...

What Zhang Maolin had not expected at all was that the karaoke hall in this "Tea Art Leisure City" was fully stocked with discs of all the "Revolutionary Modern Peking Operas." Whether it was Li Yuhe, Zhao Yonggang, Yan Weicai, Guo Jianguang, Lu Changhai, Ma Hongliang, Lei Gang, or Yang Zirong, the selections allowed Zhang Maolin to fully indulge his passion as a fan!

...

Five days later, in the afternoon, Zhang Maolin received a long-distance call from Liu Dong:

"Brother, I'm transferring at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, and I'll be flying directly to Haikou in a moment. Let's keep this brief. The matter of the adjustment for your city branch leadership has been discussed at a special meeting by the provincial branch. There are now two pre-nomination methods, and you need to choose one. Which one do you find more interesting, or which one do you feel more confident about? One is that after your campaign speech, all staff of the city branch will vote publicly with the votes counted on the spot; the other is that after your speech, only cadres at the deputy section level and above will vote, and the votes will not be counted on the spot. What is your preference—"

"This... is there a difference between the two?" Zhang Maolin was immediately bewildered.

"A huge difference! The composition of these two voting groups is vastly different. For the same candidate, different voting groups will certainly produce different results. Therefore, you must carefully weigh the pros and cons of these two methods. It's best if you send me your final choice in a message tonight! Remember, no later than when work starts tomorrow morning."

...

All afternoon, Zhang Maolin felt empty and anxious, his chest tight to the point of suffocation.

He could not figure out the source or the authenticity of the "inside information" Liu Dong had passed on. Zhang knew clearly that Liu Dong had no reason, nor was it possible, to play such a dangerous prank on him. Yet, he still felt that the content of Liu Dong’s call was unbelievable, even utterly absurd. He wanted to find a way to verify this with the provincial branch, but the thought flashed through his mind and vanished.

Zhang realized that no matter how he tried to verify such a matter, it would appear reckless, and if handled poorly, could easily lead to irreparable negative consequences.

Zhang was filled with doubts: *How much influence does Liu Dong really have? Does he truly understand the high-level decision-making information of the Provincial Xing-Shang Bank? Is Liu Dong’s urgency in conveying such important information to me driven by some other special motive? If the provincial branch truly had such a decision in mind, then people in Songyang should have heard something. At the very least, Yin Sen, who is always well-informed, should have made a move. Even if Bian Zecheng and Liu Wanyi are single-minded, calm, and indifferent to worldly affairs, why is there not even a hint of a reaction from that dog Yin Sen? Does this mean these people are operating in secret, or are they completely in the dark?!*

...

"Right, the bystander sees most clearly!" A judgment formed in Zhang Maolin's dazed mind.

At this moment, Zhang Maolin made up his mind to find someone to talk to, to unravel the mystery in his heart. Of course, the person he chose to confide in needed to be insightful, highly sensitive, and, most importantly, tight-lipped.

Zhang began to rack his brain to find the right person:

*Yin Sen is obviously out. As for Bian Zecheng, he isn't the best choice either; after the experience at the teahouse, my impression of him seems to have changed subtly. Liu Wanyi has good character, but he is just a "yes man," extremely slick! Everything is "yes, yes, yes." You could never hear a single sharp or distinct opinion from him...*

Zhang paced his office dozens of times before reaching a final decision:

"It has come to this; I have no choice but to go to Tao Shouli's house."