The Forty-Third Knot

  Liu Meng, who had been working hard in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi for over a month, finally returned. He soon noticed the changes within the organization.

  Firstly, Qiu Suo and Liao's waist were both adorned with a pager, which was still quite rare at the time, and it was the highest-end model, Han Xuan, which he knew cost around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan each. Meanwhile, the Excellent Employee award for Jiang Temple District, which Liu Meng had thought was almost certainly his, ended up going to Zhao Guodong instead, leaving Liu Meng feeling quite disgruntled.

  What made Liu Meng most angry was that the series of cattle theft cases in Daguan Kou Township last year were actually solved, and also implicated two cattle theft cases in Tuling and Jiangmiao Townships! Not counting external jurisdiction cases, five cases have been solved, and as many as five suspects are being held in custody, it seems that reporting and capturing are not a problem.

  Solving the case is a good thing, but the problem is that solving this case has nothing to do with himself, Jiang Miao, and the detective police who are in charge of the case. The one who gets credit for it is Zhao Guotang, and even He Honghai might get a commendation from the county bureau. This is undoubtedly a huge challenge to his authority as a master case-solver at Jiangmiao Police Station.

  Zhao Guodong was very sensitive to the change in Liu Meng's attitude towards him. Ever since Liu Meng came back, his face had not been good, and even when Qiu Yuanfeng arranged work sometimes, he would be perfunctory.

  Zhao Guodong secretly smiled to himself, Liu Meng's heart was originally narrow-minded, and now that he saw himself shining, he must be unhappy in his heart, but he couldn't express it.

  Zhao Guotong deliberately tried to avoid contact with Liu Meng, he was very clear that when someone like Liu Meng had a certain impression of you in his heart, it would be difficult to change anything unless you had absolute power to suppress him or became his direct superior, otherwise the hostility would never be eliminated.

  When Zhao Guo was worried that something might go wrong with the factory's project, the lighting ball court project started first, and Zhao De-shan's mouth finally relaxed, with several big blisters already appearing at the corner of his mouth.

  The sand and gravel that had already piled up were taken away by more than a dozen tractors in just two days, which made Zhao Deshan busy again.

  At first, it was said that the sand and gravel for the project must be guaranteed at all times. However, at this rate of consumption, the accumulated sand and gravel materials over ten days would only last three to five days. Although the amount used in the early stage is relatively large, even in the later stage, it's not something that these few workers can handle.

  But buying more dump trucks, sand screening frames and other tools, as well as recruiting more sand screening workers, is also a considerable expense. Especially with only one month left to go, it's also time to pay the workers their wages. And if you want to wait for the construction company to settle the bill, don't even think about it in less than two months.

  Zhao Guotong was also worried about this matter. The reward for the series of six cases did not affect Zhao Guotong, and in his opinion, these small amounts of money were meaningless. Giving a few hundred yuan to the joint defense team would instantly win them over, making it much easier for him to carry out his work at the police station. Even Liu Meng's return couldn't change the prestige he had established at the police station.

  Zhao Guoding calculated that in order to hold on until the factory's project was completed and the accounts were settled, he would need to advance at least 4 or 5 thousand yuan more. For his current self, this was undoubtedly an astronomical figure.

  Tang Jian might have been able to get one or two thousand if she had spoken up for herself, and given her habits, she probably didn't have much savings anyway, so she would have had to go to her parents to ask for it. But once her parents found out, they would likely strongly oppose the relationship between the two of them, which was something Zhao Guodong absolutely did not want to do.

  What about his classmates? Fangzi Quan, Wang Fei, Wu Changqing and others didn't have much savings either. Besides, Zhao Guotang didn't want to make a big fuss out of this matter.

  Kong Yue's family is pretty good, but it seems like they haven't developed that kind of relationship yet. It's been so long since they even made a phone call to each other, as if the things that happened that day never occurred.

  A penny's worth of worry can trouble even a hero!

  Zhao Guotong, who possessed memories of his past life, never thought that he would be stumped by a mere few thousand yuan.

  "Who are you looking for?"

  "I'm looking for Zhao Guo-zhong."

  "Zhao Ge, someone is looking for you."

  Zhao Guodong lazily poked his head out, only to see Han Dong standing elegantly in the courtyard, looking around.

  "Huh, Han Dong, is that you?" Zhao Guotang was somewhat surprised. The countless eyes around fell on the girl in the yard, her tall and well-proportioned figure plus a rather trendy half-length floral long skirt, with a short-sleeved plaid shirt on top, instantly drawing everyone's attention away.

  "What's wrong, not welcome?" The girl asked with a tilted head and a playful tone.

  "Ah, ah, you've honored me with your visit, it's a pleasure to have you here." Zhao Guodong hastily invited the other person in. Although their relationship was normal, standing in the courtyard would still attract many curious glances.

  "How come you have time to come here today?"

  "Holiday is coming soon, I plan to go back to Pingchuan tomorrow, so I came to see you. Han Dong looked up and down Zhao Guozhong, "You seem to have lost some weight, how's work been? Has it been busy?"

  "Yeah, recently someone in our department went on a business trip, and it's also the critical period of the case, so it's been quite busy. But these past few days have been better." Zhao Guotong took out his own teacup, "If you're not afraid of getting sick, you can drink from my cup. I reckon that with your personality, you wouldn't be willing to use our department's shared teacups."

  "Hmph, getting infected is your fault." Han Dong casually picked up Zhao Guozhu's large glass cup and took a sip.

  "Oh, summer vacation is here, where do you plan to go for fun?" Zhao Guotang's eyes wandered, and the girl sitting across from him had her hair coiled on the back of her head, with a soft neck that even showed individual hairs, a dimple on her cheek was faintly visible, and her bright eyes made Zhao Guotang's heart suddenly skip a beat.

  "Haven't thought about it yet, planning to go back and ask some university classmates to go out for a walk, how come you're also thinking of resting?" Han Dong's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

  "Haha, I'd like to, but in our line of work, who has it as easy as you guys do? And with summer vacation and all... July is peak season for cases. Zhao Guodong shook his head, "Born to be a laborer, that's my fate."

  "I don't believe you guys don't even have a day or two off, people aren't machines, they need some time to relax too."

  "A day or two may be possible, but where can we go in a day or two?" Zhao Guotang said casually.

  "Hmm, we have a small scenic area in Pingchuan, it's even more beautiful than Yuntai Mountain. If you have time, why not come to Pingchuan and play? I'll be your guide." A smile appeared on Han Dong's face.

  In his past life memories, Zhao Guozhu had been to Xiaogu Mountain Scenic Area twice, a provincial-level scenic spot with mountains and water surrounding it, preserving a piece of original forest, warm in winter and cool in summer, very suitable for summer resort.

  Call Kong Yue to go together, the words rushed to the tip of Zhao Guotang's tongue and then retreated, his intuition told him that Han Dong didn't want Kong Yue to go either. Could it be that she just wanted herself to go alone? Just herself going alone, a lone man and woman, this seemed like there was no other reason to explain except for a romantic relationship, but he and she were far from having that kind of relationship.

  "Okay, I'll come over when I have time."

  "Hmph, just listening to it, I can tell you're just perfunctorily going through the motions, without a shred of sincerity." Han Dong curled up his nose and pursed his lips.

  "You've figured it all out?" Zhao Guotang asked with feigned surprise.

  "Zhao Guotong, I'm really angry now! You're too shameless, I sincerely invited you to go, but you didn't show any appreciation!" Han Dong also pretended to be angry, but the smile in her eyebrows revealed her true feelings.

  Zhao Guodong felt that this girl was quite interesting and very generous, "Alright, I really can't determine when I'll be free, but I promise you that I will definitely come to Pingchuan during the summer vacation."

  "A gentleman's word is his bond!"

  "I'm not a gentleman, I'm a big grey wolf who wants to eat Little White Rabbit!" Zhao Guocong also made a ghostly face.

  "When friends come, there's good wine; when wolves come, there's a hunting rifle!" As he sang, Han Dong struck a pose with one hand on his hip, looking dashing and spirited.

  "Alright alright, are we talking about model operas here?"

  The two of them burst out laughing at the same time.

  "By the way, when I came in just now and saw your worried look, did you encounter some difficulties?" Han Dong stood up and flipped through the books in Zhao Guotang's office antique cabinet while speaking casually.

  "Yes, we've run into trouble."

  "What's up?"

  "Short of money." Zhao Guotang said casually, half-jokingly.

  "Short of money? What do you want money for?"

  "Han Dong, you're really interesting when you speak. Can one live without money for two years? Which of eating, dressing, living and traveling doesn't require money? Are the children of factory owners already in a communist society where currency has been abolished and everyone takes what they need?"

  "Stop being so glib over there! I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." Han Dong was getting annoyed.

  "Haha, I'm really short of money, no kidding, I'm thinking about where to find some cash, whether to rob a bank or sell blood." The first half of the sentence was serious, but the second half changed tone. Seeing Han Dong's angry eyes widening, Zhao Guodong quickly became serious and said: "Just joking, it's just that we need some money, but not to the point of desperation."

  "How much do you need?" Han Dong asked after a moment of hesitation.

  "What are you asking this for? Are you planning on being generous and helping me out?" Zhao Guotang furrowed his brow.

  "If you really need money and it's not a large amount, I can lend it to you." Han Dong looked straight into Zhao Guotang's eyes, as if trying to see through his true intentions.

  Hesitating for a moment, Zhao Guotang slowly said: "Han Dong, where did you get the money from? You're about the same as me, just started working."

  "Hmph, just because I've just started working doesn't mean I don't have money, and it's not like I'm giving it to you, what are you being so awkward about?" Han Dong gave Zhao Guodong a glance, "How much do you need?"

  "About five thousand." Zhao Guotang thought for a moment and said.

  "Five thousand? I thought it would be more, is ten thousand enough?" Han Dong's generosity left Zhao Guozhen stunned. To know that in this day and age, having a hundred thousand yuan wasn't a new concept, but to casually take out ten thousand yuan to lend to a friend who couldn't even be considered close, Zhao Guozhen thought their relationship could barely be called friends, such things were still quite rare.

  "Han Dong, you mustn't take the wrong path, that money may come easily, but??????, with your conditions you can completely?????!" Zhao Guodong's face was filled with a mixture of shock and disgust, causing Han Dong's face to flush with anger. "Zhao Guodong, you're really a dog who can't spit out ivory!"

  "Haha, just kidding, I think you're quite generous, Han Dong."

  "It's not something to joke about, no matter how casual you are!" Han Dong gave Zhao Guotang a white eye again, "I'll go back tomorrow and send it to you then."

  "Ah, 5,000 is enough, don't send more. Of course, if you really want to send 10,000, I won't return it to you." Zhao Guodong put on a rogue expression, "Ah, within three months, I will definitely pay you back, otherwise I'll sell myself to repay the debt."

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