Chapter Thirty-Six: The Unexpected Guest

  He hung up the phone and felt a wave of annoyance. He walked out of the room, crossed the living room, greeted Yin Su'e with a nod, and then climbed to the rooftop alone.

  At this time, the sky outside had already darkened, and although Yongping was not a big county town, it looked quite magnificent with its lights, and standing on the rooftop looking out gave one a rather impressive view.

  Gazing quietly at the tranquil night scene, letting the cold wind blow against his cheeks, Zhang Qingyun remained motionless. In his heart, he had already scolded Chen Yunshan a hundred times, what an idiot Chen Yunshan was.

  Zhang Qingyun put himself in Chen Yunshan's shoes and thought, if he were Chen Yunshan, how would he do it? The most stable strategy is to use stillness to control movement. No matter how the leaders above make a fuss, I will remain unmoved, holding the key department of Public Security Bureau in my hands. Who dares to provoke him easily? Wait for the situation to clear up and then act accordingly.

  However, this is clearly not the best strategy, and the best approach is to take a stand as early as possible, although there are risks, but the benefits are many.

  "How can Chen Yunshan be so stupid? If it were me..." Zhang Qingyun muttered to himself, but before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a shock. Who said Chen Yunshan was stupid? Didn't he already take sides early on?

  Zhang Qingyun's back was covered in cold sweat, and he indeed had been too emotional just now. Wasn't Chen Yunshan also taking sides by leaning towards Wu De? Immediately after that, he thought that Chen Yunshan was even more cunning and mature than himself, what he could think of, how could the other not have thought of it? Moreover, the thing in his heart that he couldn't bear, in Chen's eyes might be nothing at all!

  As soon as he thought of this, Zhang Qingyun's heart was relieved. Lijiang was his lifesaver, and helping Lijiang stand firm was his only way out. No matter who it was, he couldn't let emotions cloud his judgment. The law of the jungle, where the winner is king and the loser is a bandit, has remained unchanged since ancient times. He understood this principle, so why wouldn't Chen Yunshan? If Lijiang really lost power, would Chen Yunshan speak up for him? Once he figured out this logic, his heart also felt much lighter, and his worries disappeared along with it.

  "Green cloud, green cloud, there are guests coming." Zhang Qingyun was alone on the second floor for a while when he suddenly heard Yin Su'e's shout from downstairs.

  "Guest? Who could it be?" Zhang Qingyun thought to himself, gazing longingly at the night view of Yongping for a moment before slowly heading downstairs.

  As soon as she entered the living room, Zhang Qingyun was shocked to see that the visitors were none other than Ma Tao, the director of the bus station, and Chen Ke, the deputy director. Looking at the gifts on the tea table, Zhang Qingyun was momentarily at a loss for words.

  As soon as Zhang Qingyun entered the house, the two immediately stood up. Ma Tao even smiled warmly and said: "Oh, Director Zhang is back! Old Chen and I have been wanting to visit you, but unfortunately this Spring Festival was too busy. Yesterday we were going to come, but it wasn't until today...I heard you went to Wude again, this time it's really a bit rude."

  Zhang Qingyun was indeed embarrassed, with his parents present, being flattered by a 40-year-old man, he really felt a bit unnatural. He glanced at Zhang Deyan and Yin Su'e, the two old men had already become stupid like wood, finally it was Yin Su'e who was quick-witted, seeing Zhang Qingyun's eyes, she said:

  "Green cloud, you guys chat! The guest's tea has already been served by me, and I'll go out with your dad to buy a foot warmer." After finishing speaking, she pulled Zhang Deyan, the two elders and Ma Tao said goodbye and left.

  "Director Ma, Director Chen, you two are too polite. You didn't have to come here, it's so busy during the Spring Festival, where did you find so much spare time?" Zhang Qingyun said with a smile after the two old men left.

  Zhang Qingyun indeed felt a bit puzzled by the arrival of these two people. What's the connection between herself and the bus station? Wasn't it just that she had poked her head out at the station last time? Did they have to use so many things to shut her up?

  Zhang Qingyun thought so, but Ma Chen didn't think so. In their eyes, Zhang Qingyun was Lei Gang's red man. Last time at the station, he had also shown his true colors in front of him. If this matter wasn't smoothed over, it would be a future trouble. Moreover, last time when Zhang Qingyun left, his face looked very bad, Chen Ke had always had a knot in his heart about this, so he reported to Ma Tao, and the two of them came to the door with a flattering face.

  "Director Zhang, you're being too polite. Our bus station is a state-owned unit under the leadership of the county committee and government, which has always attached great importance to passenger transport work. As a representative of the new generation of cadres in the county committee, our station's future development will definitely need your care. It's only natural for me and Old Chen to come visit you." Ma Tao said.

  Zhang Qingyun smiled and didn't mention the issue again. Since they had come, he would accept their gift as well. If he didn't accept these small things, they wouldn't be at peace. Then, Zhang Qingyun subtly expressed his views on the station's work, of course, also revealing that he understood the station's increased charging rate.

  Ma Tao and Chen Ke immediately put down the stone in their hearts, feeling happy about Zhang Qingyun's "going all out", but they couldn't help but feel that Zhang Qingyun was young after all, and had just entered the county committee with a small heart, so he quickly opened up. They thought to themselves that even if the two of them didn't come, Zhang Qingyun probably wouldn't dare to make this matter public anyway?

  Zhang Qingyun cast a slanted glance at the two, his heart coldly sneering. In his past life, he had also seen countless people, so how could the little tricks in their hearts deceive him? He said:

  "Yongping is a remote county town, and passenger transportation, especially during the Spring Festival, has always been a major problem. Now that society is progressing, the Party and government have begun to pay attention to people's livelihoods. I am in charge of letters and visits work, and during this period, the masses' complaints about passenger transportation are the most numerous. The county committee and county government also know your difficulties, so they've been putting pressure on that."

  Zhang Qingyun said this, paused for a moment, glanced at the two of them, and Ma Tao and Chen Ke's faces indeed changed, with a hint of anxiety between their eyebrows; he didn't know how Zhang Qingyun suddenly brought up this topic.

  Zhang Qingyun picked up the teacup and took a sip, then continued: "However, this problem will eventually need to be solved. It's just that the county committee and government haven't come up with an improvement plan yet. If nothing is done, it's fine, but once something is done, it will inevitably be a sea change, and the entire passenger transport of Yongping may need to be reshuffled."

  "So, you should make mental preparations for this aspect of the station's work. At least, you should have a clear idea in your mind; otherwise, if you rush into it hastily, things will not be done well."

  Ma Tao and Chen Ke looked at each other, both of them were puzzled. This Zhang Yun said it in a very convincing way, could it be that the higher-ups really have some opinions about the train station? It's unlikely, considering the significant contribution the train station makes to the county's finances every year. Can't the county leaders see the benefits?

  However, Ma Tao and Chen Ke also knew the principle that an empty cave does not attract wind. Can changes in government policy be understood through common sense? Moreover, the term "people's livelihood" is indeed a new term, and it's hard to say whether the passenger transport industry will change overnight.

  At the mention of this, Ma Tao and Chen Ke's foreheads suddenly broke out in cold sweat, and they hastily stepped forward to ask Zhang Qingyun for advice. The Yongping passenger transport was a monopoly, with rich profits. If it really changed, how could they have their current prestige?

  Zhang Qingyun secretly smiled to himself, what he just said was all nonsense, but not entirely unfounded. In his past life, he vaguely remembered that in the next few years, the central government would severely crack down on "people's livelihood" issues, and breaking the monopoly of automobile passenger transport would be a matter of time, so he said this to knock these two self-righteous guys down a peg.