Chapter Seventy-two: Entering the Casino Again

  "Go to Hong Lou!" Zhang Qingyun led Zhao Jiaxiao onto the carriage and said to Xiao Wang, seeing that Xiao Wang looked somewhat perplexed, he smiled and said: "Don't you know the place?"

  Xiao Wang nodded.

  "Then I'll drive! You go back to the hotel and rest, don't wait for me, I might be back a bit late." Little Wang didn't know that Red Building was better, and also avoided letting Lijiang hear it and causing some misunderstanding.

  Zhang Qingyun was driving a car and suddenly turned around to ask Zhao Jiayao: "Have you heard the story of Yanzi?"

  Zhao Jiayao's expression was somewhat unnatural, and it wasn't until after a while that she suddenly blurted out an unrelated sentence: "I've heard that the Red Chamber is members-only, I've never been there before!"

  Zhang Qingyun secretly smiled to himself, thinking that this woman was indeed good at diverting the conversation. When Yanzi went on a diplomatic mission to another country, the people of Chu let him crawl through a dog hole. Now that he had come to visit Duan Yongchun, this guy had found a woman to distract himself with. Of course, this woman's status must be higher than his own, but Duan Yongchun's attitude was similar to that of the King of Chu. Today, Zhang Qingyun wanted to see what kind of impressive person this guy was, who could be so arrogant as to reach such a state.

  "Are you really Lijiang's secretary?" Zhao Jiayao suddenly asked, casting a glance at Zhang Qingyun, clearly he had doubts about Zhang Qingyun's unconventional behavior.

  Zhang Qingyun nodded and said indifferently: "Do you know County Magistrate Li?"

  "Not familiar!" Zhao Jiayao was stingy with her words and paused for a moment before saying, "I saw his wife a few times when I was young."

  Zhang Qingyun's heart skipped a beat, wasn't his father-in-law Li Gang the same Wen Dezhong? That was a high-ranking official at the deputy ministerial level! Moreover, Wen Dezhong had made a name for himself very early on, 20 years ago he was already a calligrapher, and people who interacted with his family couldn't be ordinary people.

  At this thought, Zhang Qingyun couldn't help but turn his head to take a glance at Zhao Jiayao. Earlier in the Western restaurant, he hadn't paid much attention, but now that he took a closer look, this woman's appearance and temperament both exuded an aristocratic air, with a haughtiness that made people dare not look up to her. This wasn't something that any ordinary flower vase-like woman could put on; it was a kind of pride that emanated from within, born into her very bones.

  "She's probably a too-mature girl!" Zhang Qingyun thought to himself, and decided to probe further, saying:

  "Why did you choose commerce? Was it because your father thought you needed to be tempered?"

  Zhao Jiayao was stunned, her expression momentarily disordered, her lips moved slightly, and then she quickly closed them. Zhang Qingyun's heart skipped a beat, knowing that his guess was correct, although he was shocked in his heart, but he dared not show it on his face.

  Having understood Zhao Jiayao's identity, Zhang Qingyun thought it was no wonder she was so arrogant and spoke in a grandiose manner, claiming that she could discuss anything with her. It turned out that she was indeed a rich lady. Suddenly, he judged that Duan Yongchun was probably a professional manager, and the one who really held power at Tianhe Road Bridge might be this woman!

  His expression fell into Zhao Jiayao's eyes, and it became another scene. She thought Zhang Qingyun recognized her, she desperately recalled the people she had contacted from childhood to adulthood, but was sure that she had never seen this Zhang Qingyun before.

  The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. To say that Zhang Qingyun was not like that either. Generally, when entering officialdom, one would first be tempered in an organization before being sent down to a lower level. By the time they reached the county level, they were at least deputy departmental level or above. Which family's old head would really let their own children start from the very bottom?

  But to say it's not, is also not quite right, because this guy's behavior and actions can be said to be completely unscrupulous. A deputy department-level cadre who still dares to be so "arrogant" after realizing her own identity, she has never seen before. Of course, even if you killed her, she wouldn't think that Zhang Qingyun was acting, because such examples are too rare in the officialdom, it can be said that there is no such thing, because taking this wild road is like a longevity star hanging itself, being tired of living, this kind of pretence can only last for a while, once exposed, how to wrap up the scene?

  Little did they know that Zhang Qingyun was a man of two lifetimes, and in his past life, he had been an investment director. When faced with a crisis, his first reaction was to take risks, believing that the greater the risk, the greater the opportunity. Of course, this was not blind risk-taking, but rather based on his profound insight into human nature, understanding the mindset of people at various levels, and having confidence in his ability to skillfully grasp these things.

  "Vroom!" The car came to a smooth stop in front of the Red Mansion, and two staff members immediately came forward. Zhang Qingyun pulled out a bright red card and waved it around.

  "Hello Mr. Zhang! Welcome!"

  Zhang Qingyun hesitated for a moment before handing the key to one of them, but his heart was shaken and inexplicable. He had only been here once, yet he gave people the feeling that he was a regular customer, could it be related to this card?

  "Director Zhao, let's go in and take a look!"

  Zhao Jiayao nodded expressionlessly, and the staff led the way. The two took the elevator to the underground floor. There were many more people here today than when Zhang Qingyun came last time. At this moment, the lights had just come on, and the luxurious hall was filled with excited gamblers everywhere. The scene was fiery but a bit chaotic, Zhao Jiayao furrowed his brow, looking somewhat unaccustomed to it.

  "I don't like it here either, all of this is for work!" Zhang Qingyun said. Zhao Jiayao glanced at her, although she didn't say anything, but her expression clearly showed some disbelief towards Zhang Qingyun's words. Zhang Qingyun smiled secretly in her heart, and said: "I'll go exchange some chips!"

  Zhang Qingyun took out the card and walked to the workbench, gritted his teeth and exchanged 500,000 yuan in chips. Anyway, this money was ill-gotten wealth, just like he hadn't come last time! Although he thought so in his heart, it still hurt a bit, after all, this amount of money was almost equivalent to two years' salary for him.

  "Mr. Zhang, do you need to open a room?" The waitress was a slender professional woman who looked very dignified, but had a hint of seduction in her bones, and her voice was as melodious as a nightingale's.

  Zhang Qingyun's mind was racing, and he immediately realized that the red card might be able to get some special services, but he didn't dare ask about the specifics, and just said:

  "Not for now, I'll let you know when it's needed."

  Zhang Qingyun and Zhao Jiayao were shuttling back and forth in the venue, with a service staff closely following behind them. Zhang Qingyun's chips were all on the plate in his hand, and this scene made him think of the scene where Brother Fan from "God of Gamblers" made his entrance, feeling particularly unreal in his heart.

  "Director Zhao, I don't know Director Duan," Zhang Qingyun said, reminding Zhao Jiaxiao that he wasn't there to gamble.

  "Over at table thirteen."

  Zhang Qingyun raised his eyes and looked over, table 13 was in the left corner of the hall, they should be playing Blackjack, apart from the dealer there were four other people. Zhang Qingyun took a glance and found Zhao Jiayao frowning at a bald-headed man wearing a gray suit, who appeared to be around 50 years old, not very tall, his face couldn't be seen from behind, but from his demeanor Zhang Qingyun judged that he should be Duan Yongchun.

  She walked to the table and stood beside Zhao Jiaxiao, watching the game without greeting Duan Yongchun. The dealer was dealing the cards, and the four players were focused on the game, unaware of the two people standing beside them.