The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 451 Family Banquet_1

Li Qing brought out the side dishes prepared by Lu Furong for the drinks.

In the living room, Secretary Zhou was still on a call, apparently arranging a drinking session with someone.

The wine glasses on the coffee table had already been filled with wine.

After Li Qing placed the side dishes on the table one by one, he sat down across from Secretary Zhou.

"Okay, okay, that’s settled then. Come over early."

Secretary Zhou, ending the call, smiled and explained to Li Qing, "That’s Principal Wang from the town’s third middle school. I heard you spent some time there, so you should know him."

"I’m indeed quite familiar with Principal Wang; he was already heading the school when I was a student," Li Qing said.

He was more than just familiar with Principal Wang, he knew his wife quite well too.

Secretary Zhou chuckled, "So Xiao Li, you’re a student who came out of the third middle school!"

"I must say, the third middle school brings quite a few benefits to our town."

"Come on, let’s have some of these dishes, and we can drink a little."

Raising his glass, Li Qing said, "I’d like to propose a toast to Secretary Zhou."

He had come today with the determination to keep the noble company whatever the cost, striving to get Secretary Zhou drunk and create a little story with Lu Furong.

Secretary Zhou indeed seemed very fond of the large intestines, his chopsticks flying.

A few mouthfuls of intestines and a swig of wine, then he’d purse his lips and savor the flavor anew.

His expression was that of a true wine connoisseur.

After a few drinks, Secretary Zhou suddenly asked, "Xiao Li, I heard there’s some conflict between you and Lin Andong?"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The topic caught him somewhat off guard.

He had thought Secretary Zhou had called him over today to discuss matters related to the construction site, yet it turned out to be about Lin Andong.

This was indeed unexpected for Li Qing.

"Secretary Zhou, with so much on your plate, how did you come to know about such a trivial matter?" Li Qing said with a smile. "I do have some trouble with Lin Andong, but it’s nothing serious."

"Xiao Li, I won’t hide it from you. Lin Andong’s father has asked someone to reach out to me, hoping I could have a word with you and mediate this dispute," Secretary Zhou said casually, slowly stroking his wine glass. "Since it’s not a major conflict, there’s no need for such a big fuss, and no need to involve someone like Zhang Chuan, a top-notch lawyer."

"Lin Andong is also from our town, from Five Springs Village. When he was admitted to Longhu University, an elite college, it caused quite a stir. He’s young and promising; after graduating, he is fully capable of contributing to the construction of our hometown."

A slight shock crept into Li Qing’s heart.

He hadn’t expected that the scoundrel Lin Andong would be a neighbor, from the same village as Wu Xingxing.

Moreover, reading between the lines of what Secretary Zhou said, it was clear that he had a close relationship with Lin Andong’s father.

Li Qing slightly furrowed his brow, looking troubled as he said to Secretary Zhou, "Since Secretary Zhou has stepped in, I will certainly try to minimize this issue and put it behind us. I don’t care who Lin Andong is, but to not give face to Secretary Zhou would be disrespectful on my part."

Secretary Zhou laughed contentedly, "Then listen to me, you withdraw the lawsuit, and we’ll let bygones be bygones."

"But..." Li Qing looked troubled and hesitated, "if I back down, I’m afraid we won’t be able to continue working on the construction site. I wonder if Secretary Zhou is aware of the details of my conflict with Lin Andong? The issue can be trivial, but its impact has been quite negative."

Secretary Zhou’s eyelids drooped slightly, his expression subtly assuming a touch of displeasure, "Does this also involve the construction site?"

"Secretary Zhou, this matter originated from the construction site," Li Qing said, noticing his reaction. It was obvious that Secretary Zhou had accepted the benefits and made a promise, but he hadn’t actually inquired about the specifics of the matter.

Li Qing then patiently explained to Secretary Zhou the whole situation.

He added, "If I compromise on this, on a minor scale, both my personal and the project’s reputation will suffer. It might become difficult to recruit workers, which, though not too severe, is concerning."

"But I’m more worried about the bigger picture. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have hired a top lawyer like Zhang Chuan at such a high cost. This is a county-wide unified resettlement project, but now it’s been tainted by such an incident, which could tarnish its reputation significantly."

"If the lawsuit has almost been fought, but in the end, it’s us who yield first, the impact would be even worse,"

"Others will certainly think that we’ve done something guilty and quietly paid money to settle the matter."

It’s a good time to back things up against a big background.

The grudge is indeed personal.

But that didn’t stop Li Qing from elevating the whole vendetta to a broader direction.

More importantly, he wasn’t being alarmist at all.

Secretary Zhou’s face turned ugly in an instant, like he had just eaten two pounds of shit.

"That old bastard, the matter is so serious, and he didn’t mention a word to me!" Secretary Zhou erupted in anger, and then said to Li Qing, "Xiao Li, if the lawsuit needs to be fought, fight it, don’t go easy."

"There can’t be any stain on the engineering project in any shape or form, you can arrange the rest as you see fit. But one thing, Lin Andong must make a public apology in a prestigious county publication or forum."

Li Qing nodded, "I understand."

"If it were a personal grudge, there would be no need for Secretary Zhou to personally speak up, nor would I have made such a big fuss!"

Secretary Zhou said with a sigh, "Xiao Li, you handle things with stability and thoughtfulness."

"If it wasn’t for your detailed explanation just now, I would have almost been deceived by Lin Andong’s father, who is willing to throw away his old face just to keep his son from facing a lawsuit."

Li Qing smiled and said nothing.

The construction site was not only a major issue, but it also involved Secretary Zhou’s own money.

Being the intermediary, he was certainly in a difficult position.

Unless one side offered him a greater benefit.

But he definitely couldn’t ignore the impact on the bigger picture.

"Come, let’s drink to this," Secretary Zhou said as he raised his glass, "I have to thank Xiao Li for stopping me just in time."

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing!"

After a glass of wine, the doorbell suddenly rang outside.

"Xiao Li, go open the door, it should be Principal Wang and the others arriving," Secretary Zhou instructed Li Qing in a very natural manner.

Li Qing responded and got up to open the door.

Standing outside the door was the thin Principal Wang and a woman Li Qing had not seen in a long time—Sister Hu.

No, in such a crowded setting, the rank of this noblewoman should be elevated.

Li Qing should call her Aunt Hu.

"What are you doing here?" Sister Hu asked first, surprised.

She was dressed in a proper black knee-length skirt, looking mature and intelligent, with her lightly curled hair falling naturally over her shoulders.

Li Qing looked away, smiled slightly, and said, "I came to pay a visit to Secretary Zhou."

With that, he stepped aside to make way, inviting Principal Wang and his wife inside.

Sister Hu followed behind, and as she passed by Li Qing, a gentle light flickered in her eyes, hiding a trace of tenderness.

Li Qing quietly stretched out his hand and pinched the plump buttock.

"Ah!"

Sister Hu couldn’t help but cry out, her face instantly flushing red.