Chapter 142: True Hero's Toast (Second Update)

  The next morning, Lao Dao appeared in Beihai.

  Half an hour later, Zhang Shidong appeared in Ai's room.

  She was sitting in front of the dresser, putting on makeup, when she saw the window move and jumped in fright. Immediately, she thought there was no need to be afraid, if something dangerous happened, he would definitely protect her.

  "Beautiful girl, I'm hungry, yesterday was the fifth day of the lunar new year and I didn't get to eat dumplings, do you have any dumplings to fill my stomach?"

  "Ai ya, there is some, and also some uncooked ones, I'll cook them for you."

  Zhang Shidong looked at the dirty floor mat he had stepped on, and could only glance at her apologetically, let out a sigh, and followed Ai Ai into the kitchen downstairs with a relaxed mood.

  Tracking down the culprit had taken a lot of energy, but it was far from exhausting him. After catching the Thunder King, during the waiting period, he was anxious and worried, another earthquake was about to occur, he conveyed his opinions through Su Xizhou to the higher-ups, knowing that his words carried little weight, yet hoping to have some effect, continuous big moves were really not suitable for more big moves, having one super big move was enough, the whole world was shocked by the magnitude of it, this time making a bigger fuss would never surpass the shock of last year's incident, there was no need to establish dominance, could they handle it in a low-key manner.

  Zhang Shidong also knew that his little political wisdom was not enough to see, nor did he have the foresight of those truly big figures. He just changed what Lei Wang could say a bit, attributing this matter to personal grievances and family feuds of the Ai family. He summarized an action report and handed it up. As for how the top handled this easily recognizable true or false report, he didn't know. Maybe the top needed such a fake report.

  Lao Dao left. He didn't say anything, just expressed the respect of an old soldier, standing at attention and saluting Zhang Shidong with a ten-second military salute.

  Lao Dao understands Zhang Shi Dong, no one knows what those living in the dark have done for this country. They don't get a chance to shine on stage, become a national idol, or return home with glory and fame. Many times, they can't even make their parents proud. Those who see others' children succeed, amidst others' boasts, even after drinking too much wine, dare not claim "my son is more worthy of my pride". They can only clench their fists in silence.

  Country. Home. How to choose, for the men who shed blood for the country, when they return home. Apart from those knees that have been kneeling on the ground, I really don't know how to express my apologies to my parents, those medals of honor that can only be pressed at the bottom of the box and given to my parents, can only let them silently enjoy in private, forever cannot be held high in front of people, shouting, my son is a real hero, our pride.

  Apart from a very small number of people, no one will know who the hero buried in the great event before the outbreak is. Even in the records, Zhang Shidong's name will not be left behind. He is a person with no brilliant career except for the few who can prove his merits.

  Just after picking up the bedside emergency phone, Ai Yuejin got up and prepared to move into the study, holding the phone and responding to the voice on the other end of the line with his head down. As soon as he walked out of the room, he saw that in the dining hall diagonally opposite, one foot was stepping on a chair, holding a ceramic basin, shoes were off, and the wet and dry marks on the socks were still there. The edge of the pants was scratched by glass, one hand grasping the basin, one hand grasping yesterday's leftover dumplings, one after another stuffing them into his mouth, chewing with big mouthfuls. The dumplings were cold, but Ai Ai was preparing to cook new ones on the other side, and he couldn't wait any longer, saying that cold dumplings are more delicious, and then brought the basin over.

  Such a scene deeply struck Ai Yuejin's heart. After many years of officialdom, there were few things that could touch the depths of his heart. A true hero does not cry for fame or profit; a true hero is just a bowl of dumplings and a cup of wine. This simple scene left Ai Yuejin stunned and speechless, forgetting to speak to the person on the other end of the phone.

  "Oh, he's here with me. Mm-hmm, okay."

  Ai Yuejin hung up the phone and sat down at the dinner table, looking at that face that made people feel frivolous and untrustworthy. His eyes were slightly moist: "Want to drink some wine? There's no wine to go with the dumplings, it doesn't taste good without it."

  Ai stared at her father in shock, he was not good at drinking, and some social gatherings were just a sip, from small to large, rarely saw his father take the initiative to drink, let alone on a clear morning with a day's schedule, taking the initiative to invite people to drink, such a thing would never happen on his father's body, but today it appeared.

  Zhang Shidong chewed on the dumpling, waved his hand, and after a few seconds swallowed it down, saying: "Forget it, just eat some dumplings."

  Ai Yuejin nodded and walked forward, taking out the dumplings that had not been cooked overnight from the refrigerator, turning on the natural gas, boiling water, and personally cooking dumplings for Zhang Shidong.

  A completely bewildered Ai sat down beside Zhang Shidong and discreetly pointed to her father, implying "What's wrong with the old man?"

  Zhang Shidong smiled, able to let the provincial party secretary personally come to the kitchen to make dumplings for himself, this honor, how many people can have, took over Ai Ai's handed-over beer and drank half a can, wiping away the foam from his mouth said: "Guests come to the door, daughter is a kitchen fool, as a father, Secretary Ai also can't bear to see her daughter lose face."

  "Get lost, annoying guy. I've parked the car outside for you. I'm going to get made up and then take me to work." Due to the special nature of her job, when others were resting was exactly when Ai Ai's career reached its peak.

  As a proud daughter of a political family, Ai knew what she should know and what she shouldn't, yielding the conversation venue to Zhang Shidong and her father.

  Garlic paste, small dishes, a plate of self-made braised beef sauce, Ai Yuejin took out a bottle of Wuliangye: "That bottle of wine was taken away by the girl, make do with this one."

  Two or three more cups, Ai Yuejin poured a full cup for Zhang Shidong and also poured about two or three cups for himself. He raised his cup: "I can't drink much, that's what I mean, here's to you."

  Zhang Shidong collected the relaxed expression on his face, put down the basin, solemnly raised the cup, and lightly touched it with Ai Yuejin: "Thank you, Secretary Ai."

  After drinking it all in one gulp, Ai Yue's face flushed with a wave of redness, and she made an effort to suppress the impact of the liquor. She brought over the cooked dumplings and set out soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil: "You've had a hard time."

  Zhang Shidong hummed in agreement, picked up a steaming hot dumpling, took a bite, and the hot air puffed into his mouth, scalding it, but it was very fragrant.

  "I agree with you on other things, but be careful not to get caught playing with multiple women or I'll beat you up."

  Zhang Shidong had just taken a bite of garlic and spat it out, grabbed the wine bottle and poured another cup, eating dumplings and drinking wine, satisfying his stomach's huge demand for food.

  Ai Yuejin's secretary and driver looked at their boss in surprise. The boss was drinking at home early in the morning? This had never happened since the two started working with Ai Yuejin, until later when Zhang Shidong overtook him with his powerful Porsche, then they seemed to understand something, and the image of that seemingly frivolous man was imprinted in their minds.

  ……………

  The big fire in Pingjiang finally broke out, burning fiercely at a rapid speed, directly scorching Deng Jiutian's body, leaving everyone in Beihai astonished. Some people were burned to death, while others secretly rejoiced. Within just one day, the official results were announced: a deputy provincial-level official, two municipal-level officials from Pingjiang City, and a large number of cadres from the factory's township were sacked. Many people secretly rejoiced that rescue efforts had been timely, otherwise even higher-ranking officials would have come forward to take responsibility, which sometimes wasn't due to direct responsibility but simply because of their position.

  Deng Jiutian's company was sealed off.

  On the same day, a superior document was issued. Due to the physical reasons of Vice Governor Deng Peimin, respecting his personal request, he temporarily resigned from his position to rest in hospital and his organizational relationship was transferred to the CPPCC.

  For those in Beihai Province who are not too high or too low to care about the changes in the political arena, Deng Peimin's sudden downfall has left them bewildered, only vaguely feeling that it is closely related to Deng Jiutian.

  For those high-ranking officials in Hebei Province who have reached the core level, Governor Deng's resignation is far less shocking than a series of heavy punches from the central government. Several high-ranking officials who are not well-known to the outside world were transferred out of their posts one after another within a few days. Under this series of major actions, it was the complete downfall of a certain family in Yanjing. All members of the family were transferred from their current working positions to idle positions, and some relevant departments intervened to investigate. In the enterprise, the disciplinary inspection department intervened strongly, and the entire family collapsed within a short period of time. After careful reading, people with ulterior motives found that those officials who were transferred out had more or less connections with this family.

  After that, on this land of Huaxia, the family thoroughly became history. The elderly lady who was still alive took her whole family and voluntarily moved out of their residence which represented their status, from then on there were fewer and fewer messages until no one paid attention anymore.

  All this has nothing to do with Zhang Shidong. What he cares about is the joint document issued by the Pingjiang Municipal Party Committee, Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and Municipal Bureau, commending Comrade Zhang Jun, Director of the Public Security Branch in the central area of Pingjiang City, for his steadfast adherence to a party member's faith in the struggle against evil forces, faithfully performing his duties as a public security chief, and persisting in his beliefs despite suffering great injustice. After the commendation document was issued, there is an appointment letter, promoting him exceptionally to Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Executive Vice Director of the Municipal Bureau, and concurrently Director of the Central Area Branch.

  The city held a small internal commendation ceremony for Zhang Jun, which was not open to the outside world. The heads of the four sets of teams were all present, and for a time, Zhang Jun became the most popular figure in Pingjiang. After three consecutive promotions, he took on three important positions that exceeded his rank. It's clear to everyone that this is because Zhang Jun's career path has been too rapid, and even with sufficient seniority, he couldn't have risen so quickly. If he stabilizes for a while, it won't be long before he's promoted again. This Director Zhang has struggled in the public security system for half his life, and at an age when he should know his fate, he's suddenly had a reversal of fortune, breaking through the ice and rising to prominence.