Not going on a business trip with city leaders once, you wouldn't know that being a city leader is not easy.

For instance, Deputy Mayor Shen, in Linghai is a city leader who sits on the main stage, but when he arrives in the Capital, he's no different from a clerk.

Running around ministries for approvals and funding really means a lot of nodding and bowing. It's the same when attracting investment at Cosco Headquarters, only in the last two days of visiting construction units can he regain some feeling of being a leader.

The construction industry in Binjiang is doing quite well, with construction companies in each district and construction stations in almost every town, having established their brands quite early.

For example, Linghai Construction and Installation Company is known externally as Binjiang Third Construction.

Similarly, Si Gang Construction and Installation Company is known externally as Binjiang Seventh Construction.

Although the construction stations in each town fight their own battles, they are affiliated with the construction companies of their respective districts, and because they "group to march", they have made the name "Binjiang Iron Army" well-known.

Sanhe Construction Station and Jiangbin Construction Station have projects in the Capital, and now Sanhe Town and Binjiang Town both belong to Linghai Port Industrial Park.

As the leading official of the Port District, Deputy Mayor Shen, rarely comes to the Capital, of course, needs to visit the teams working in the Capital. He also takes this opportunity to introduce the well-funded project managers and contractors to his hometown, maybe they are interested in changing careers and investing back home.

It's worth mentioning that Linghai City Government has an office in the Capital, and the director of the Beijing Office is concurrently the deputy director of the government office. Binjiang Third Construction, which is Linghai Construction and Installation Company, also has an office in the Capital.

When city leaders come to the Capital on business trips, the heads of the Beijing Office and the construction company's Capital office accompany them throughout, arranging vehicles and hosting meals.

It's different when it comes to Hanwu, Linghai City Government does not have an office in Hanwu, and Linghai Construction Company neither has an office nor projects in Hanwu.

Director He from the Changhang Bureau is very familiar with Hanwu, but he can only arrive tomorrow.

Xiao Yu, who also came from Linghai Police, finally found a use, utilizing his position to drive a police car to pick them up.

He dropped Deputy Mayor Shen and Han Yu off at a hotel not far from the Ministry of Transport's Yangtze Navigation Bureau, then went back to pick up Yu Zhen, found a restaurant nearby the hotel, to welcome and cleanse the dust off Deputy Mayor Shen.

Receiving a city leader from his hometown, truly a great deal.

Han Yu could imagine that the next time they return to Linghai, Deputy Mayor Shen would definitely invite them to dinner.

An illiterate person who never properly attended school not only became a party cadre but also an instructor at a police academy, Xiao Yu's experiences were even more legendary than Han Yu's, and he was more famous in their hometown.

Deputy Mayor Shen, having heard from Sister Zhu long ago, watched the two and asked with a smile, "Xiao Yu, why didn't your parents come?"

Xiao Yu said with an embarrassed face, "I called them, but they have never seen such high officials and are a bit afraid, they didn't dare to come."

"There are no leaders once you leave home, only fellow townspeople."

"Mayor Shen, by your accent you don't seem like a Linghai person."

"My hometown is in Yungang, now working in Linghai makes me a Linghai person, we are fellow townspeople."

"Originally you are from Yungang, Yungang is far from our Linghai, seems quite close to Dongshan."

"Yes yes yes, it is quite far, have you been there?"

"I haven't, but Yu Zhen has."

The one who could chat and laugh easily with city leaders, not feeling nervous at all, was Xiao Yu.

Han Yu felt it was funny, and Yu Zhen said smilingly, "Mayor Shen, my family and Brother Salted Fish's family are both shipmen, I went to Yungang with my parents when I was a child. My dad said Yungang has the Water Curtain Cave in Huaguo Mountain, the hometown of the Monkey King, but he only said it and didn't take me to play there."

"The scenery of Huaguo Mountain is nice, you must visit next time."

"I'm busy with the market every day, where do I have the time."

"Mayor Shen, I almost forgot to introduce, although Yu Zhen wholesales clothes in Hanwu, she is also an entrepreneur from our Linghai."

Deputy Mayor Shen curiously asked, "Yu Zhen, do you have a factory back home?"

Yu Zhen quickly explained, "Not as exaggerated as Brother Salted Fish said, a sister from our shipping company opened a factory back home, I just invested some money."

"What kind of factory, where is it, and how big is it?"

"A small clothing factory, not very large, located in the East City Development Zone, the factory building is being constructed and production hasn't started yet."

"What is this sister's name?"

"Lin Xiaohui, she was a classmate of Brother Salted Fish."

Right after Yu Zhen finished speaking, Xiao Yu couldn't help but laugh, "Mayor Shen, Salted Fish had pursued Lin Xiaohui before, I went with Salted Fish to East Sea to find Lin Xiaohui, and Lin Xiaohui even made him a new outfit for the New Year."

It truly is hard to change one's nature.

Han Yu felt overwhelmed and scolded laughingly, "Don't talk nonsense, why mention these things."

"We are in Hanwu, not in Bailong Port, Ningning is not here, what are you afraid of?"

"We shouldn't talk nonsense even if Ningning isn't here."

When Deputy Mayor Shen was first transferred to Linghai, he was in charge of industrial matters, having visited every significant enterprise in Linghai.

Both Lin Xiaohui and Liu Xiaomei had worked in that Hong Kong-funded enterprise, which is quite large, especially prominent in foreign exchange earning in Linghai.

Mayor Shen was amused, looking at Han Yu with a smile and teased, "Salted Fish, you're quite something, to have pursued President Lin. President Lin is young, beautiful and capable, it seems you have good taste."

"Mayor Shen, don't listen to Xiao Yu's nonsense, we all grew up together, almost like siblings."

"I'm not talking nonsense, I never talk nonsense."

"It seems you really chased her, why did you stop later?"

"Mayor Shen, it's really not what you think, Xiao Yu doesn't know anything." Han Yu regretted letting Xiao Yu host and quickly said, "Mayor Shen, try the fish, Hanwu's fish is very famous."

Xiao Yu also realized he couldn't go on, if he did, Brother Salted Fish would really get upset with him, and said with a grin, "The river water here in Hanwu is cleaner than our Linghai, and the fish here taste better than the ones from our hometown, Mayor Shen, please try it."

"Alright, I'll try it, you guys eat too."

"I don't like eating fish."

"What about you, Salted Fish?"

"I…I've grown tired of it too seeing fish makes me frightened."

"Got tired of it?"

Han Yu didn't know how to explain, and Xiao Yu excitedly continued: "My grandfather used to cook at the Yanjiang Police Station, he loved fishing and catching shrimps, making me and Brother Salted Fish eat fish every day. Brother Salted Fish was short back then, Director Xu was worried he wouldn't grow tall, so he had my grandfather stew fish soup for him to drink every day, he had no choice but to drink it…"

When they talked about the past of Xiao Yu and Brother Salted Fish, Yu Zhen also chuckled and said: "I heard Director Xu used to make marks on the door frame at the station, periodically making Brother Salted Fish stand by it to measure if he had grown taller."

These past few days in the Capital, busy with work, I ate plenty and drank plenty, but it was all for work, none of the meals were as enjoyable as this one.

Vice Mayor Shen couldn't help but smile and asked: "Salted Fish, were you really that short?"

"I... I was a late bloomer."

"Mayor Shen, when Brother Salted Fish first got assigned to the station, he wasn't even 1.6 meters tall, the smallest police uniform was still loose on him, so Director Xu made him wear Sister Zhang Lan's old uniform."

"Wearing a female police officer's uniform?"

"Yeah, Brother Salted Fish wore it for two years."

"HAHAHAHAHA."

To think he would bring up my embarrassing past in front of city leadership!

It's like you never had embarrassing moments, fine, let's air out all our dirty laundry then, who's afraid of who.

Han Yu made up his mind, and while eating and laughing said: "Mayor Shen, my family are shipmen, Xiao Yu's family were fishermen, although we were both born and grew up on boats, it was still quite different. His family was poor before, and before Instructor Li brought him to our station, he had never watched TV.

He found the TV curious, touching it and asking if someone was inside. He got so engrossed with TV, he watched everything, even commercials with great interest, if nobody told him to sleep, he would foolishly watch till the screen turned into bars."

Xiao Yu felt embarrassed and said sheepishly, "It's mainly because I hadn't watched TV before."

Han Yu laughed again: "I was initially worried that he would get nearsighted from watching too much TV, later I worried about him going home."

Listening to the two lads who grew up together revealing each other's shortcomings was interesting, Vice Mayor Shen couldn't help but smile and ask, "Why worry about Xiao Yu going home, were you afraid he wouldn't want to return to the station after going home?"

"It's not that, mainly I was worried something would happen to him after going home."

"What could happen at home?"

"You shouldn't say it!"

"What shouldn't be said?"

Before Han Yu could speak, Yu Zhen giggled and said: "Mayor Shen, his family was so poor before that his mother wouldn't eat anything herself, she saved everything for him. Once when he went home, his mom took out a mooncake she had hidden for half a year, he ate it and got diarrhea, even had to go to the clinic for IV fluids."

Vice Mayor Shen was reminded of his own childhood, probably poorer and tougher than Xiao Yu's, back then they really struggled to have enough food and clothing, but not wanting to dampen the spirits of the three young men, he asked lightly with a smile, "Anything else?"

"Yes."

Han Yu added: "Xiao Yu also went back to his hometown once, insisted on showing off by helping his dad collect fish traps, ended up walking at night by the river and got bitten by a snake, his leg swelled terribly. I was studying at the East Sea Marine Police Bureau at the time, got shocked when I went back and saw him."

To this day, Xiao Yu hasn't forgotten the limping days after the snake bite, grimacing he said, "It wasn't by the river, it was beside a ditch collecting traps when the snake bit me."

"Where you got bitten doesn't matter, what matters is every time you go home something happens, making me and your mentor scared to let you go home again."

"It's you who's scared to let me go home, Director Xu didn't. He said you have to go home, he even drove me home personally."

"Really?"

"He drove me [home] several times, every year when he delivers New Year's goods, it was always Director Xu who drove me home."

Talking about his mentor, Han Yu remembered something, looking up he said: "Xiao Yu, Big Senior Brother and I have a plan, next Qingming we'll find a boat and go to the sea entrance to visit the mentor."

Xiao Yu responded without hesitation: "I'll go, I'll ask for leave from school then."

Vice Mayor Shen hadn't met Xu Sanye, but had heard of him more than once from Director Qin and Sister Zhu, even knowing that Xu Sanye and another old comrade from the Yanjiang Police Station were concerned about the station being filled with old comrades which wouldn't be good for Brother Salted Fish's growth, so they recruited Xiao Yu, also young, into the station.

Later they sent Brother Salted Fish to East Sea to learn skills, Xu Sanye and the old comrades at the station then focused on nurturing Xiao Yu, surprisingly turning this illiterate into a police school instructor.

It's very fortunate for a person to meet a "nobleman" once in their lifetime, and they actually met several.

Vice Mayor Shen envied the two 'fish' in front of him and couldn't help but pick up the wine glass: "Salted Fish, Xiao Yu, fill up your glasses, I propose this toast to your mentor."

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