Chapter 7: Trouble Caused by Yan Zhe

  Tao Ruyan started to sob again, and Tao Ruizhuan finally felt at ease. He was also holding back a laugh, thinking that his little sister was quite ruthless, probably inheriting their third uncle's temperament. He patted her shoulder lightly to comfort her: "Don't worry, I'll definitely think of a way to help you get revenge. Tell me, what did you do to the other person?"

  Tao Ruyan still hummed and hawed, looking wronged, saying: "How was I supposed to know? At the time, I just randomly kicked him a few times, he got up and ran away, I didn't even notice."

  "What happened after that?" Tao Ruxuan continued to ask.

  "After that, I went to the factory district police station with a few sisters to report the incident." When she said this, Tao Ruyan wiped away her tears and had an indignant expression: "The factory district police station of course protected the factory director's younger brother-in-law. That pig-headed Director Zhu Lian even said that we were defending ourselves excessively and scolded us for a while. But the factory director's younger brother-in-law is male, and we are female, how can they be compared? Brother, look at me now, my face is still red."

  Tao Ruxuan took a glance and found that there was indeed a red handprint on his little sister's delicate face, although it had already faded and was barely visible.

  It's clear that this Zhu Lian has gone too far. Not to mention that the factory director's younger brother-in-law was at fault in the first place, even if it were an ordinary man hitting a woman, there should be some explanation for it. He actually said that a group of young girls were overreacting and defending themselves excessively, isn't this unreasonable?

  However, after Tao Ruxuan calmed down, he found that this matter was not easy to handle, and it was not easy for his younger sister to vent her anger. When the department went to the textile factory for publicity activities, he also went a few times, and he knew the director of the textile factory, Yuan Shigui, but they didn't have any close relationship. It's not appropriate to find Yuan Shigui to reason things out directly. Moreover, his younger sister had also beaten up Yuan's nephew.

  Looking for the head of the factory district police station, Zhu Lian, is even more impossible. If you speak lightly, it's not effective; if you speak heavily, you can't grasp the other person. The other person will retort with a few unpleasant words, and you'll end up losing face instead. In official circles, there are rules of the game: if you have no power in your hands, nobody will take you seriously.

  After saying a few more comforting words, Tao Ruxuan sent his little sister away and thought about it, but couldn't think of any proper solution. As he thought about it, he suddenly felt that being a civil servant was really embarrassing. If he didn't have this identity, he could immediately go find Yuan Shigui's brother-in-law to settle the score. He wouldn't know the power of the Tao family if he wasn't beaten until his teeth were all over the floor. Why be like now, sighing in vain without a good plan?

  The next day at work, Tao Ruxuan was still a bit down. Until noon, his mood hadn't improved. Qu Jia Sheng saw Tao Ruxuan's unhappy expression and smiled wryly, but didn't say anything. However, from the look on his face, it seemed like he had guessed what was on Tao Ruxuan's mind, probably thinking that he was still upset about the evaluation of the stock level cadres. Yu Minhua asked once, but Tao Ruxuan didn't want to talk about it, so she didn't ask again. On the other hand, Ding Xiaoman didn't go anywhere in the morning and kept fluttering around Tao Ruxuan like a little bird, chatting about this and that, which ended up annoying Tao Ruxuan instead.

  Just before getting off work, Liang Hongyan suddenly came in and told Tao Ruxuan to go to her office for a bit. Tao Ruxuan didn't know what it was about either, so he followed her over.

  As soon as she entered the office, Liang Hongyan told Tao Ruxuan some things about this evaluation of cadres, meaning that she would definitely try her best to help, but also wanted Tao Ruxuan to strive for it herself. During this period, try to get along with colleagues from other departments in the department and avoid any unnecessary surprises during the evaluation.

  Tao Ruxuan nodded slightly in agreement. Liang Hongyan suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Don't you have a younger sister named Tao Ruyan who works at the textile mill? Yesterday afternoon, while eating at the factory gate, she was beaten by Yuan Shigui's younger brother-in-law?"

  Tao Ruxuan didn't know how Liang Hongyan knew about his little sister, so he told the truth: "She's my second uncle's daughter." Not knowing what Liang Hongyan meant, he added: "But she also beat up Yuan Shigui's younger brother-in-law."

  Li Hongyan immediately said: "You can't say that, this matter was originally blamed on Yuan Shigui's younger brother. Moreover, how can a man hit a girl? Do we still want the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests? Even if Yuan Shigui's younger brother is beaten to hospitalization, Yuan Shigui should give an explanation. When Zhu Lian called me this morning to talk about this matter, I was very angry. Don't worry, this matter can't be settled like this."

  Tao Ruxuan didn't expect his little sister to beat Yuan Shigui's younger brother so badly that he ended up in the hospital, so he magnanimously said: "Let's just forget about it. Besides, my little sister is fine now." He also thought that since his sister hadn't suffered any losses, they might as well let bygones be bygones and not make a big deal out of it.

  Li Hongyan immediately scolded: "Are you afraid that I won't be able to control you?" She then softened her tone and continued: "These people, can't give them a good face. The more you give them a good face, the more they will take advantage of you. Today they dare to hit your little sister, tomorrow who knows what they'll do." Then she said: "How about this, Zhu Lian is inviting everyone to Hongfu Hotel for dinner this afternoon, why don't you go too?"

  Tao Ruxuan had wanted to decline, but judging from Liang Hongyan's tone, if he said no, Liang Hongyan would probably be unhappy, so he could only agree.

  It's already the beginning of autumn, but the weather is still scorching hot. Even at sunset, there isn't a hint of coolness, instead, it feels even drier. It's like having a whole body of sweat that can't be released, making people feel uncomfortable and hard to express.

  When Liang Hongyan drove to the Hongfu Hotel with Liang Hongyan, she saw Yuan Shigui and another man waving at Liang Hongyan's Passat. The car didn't stop, and the man stretched out his hand. Liang Hongyan slammed on the brakes, and the man quickly opened the door and grabbed Liang Hongyan's hands with both hands, saying: "Good sister, you finally arrived, I've been standing here with President Yuan for almost an hour, look at my two legs are numb from standing."

  Li Hongyan pulled her hand out of the man's and looked him up and down, sneering: "I'm telling you, Zhu Lian, with that fat body of yours, I doubt you can stand for ten minutes without your legs going numb. What use is an hour to you?"

  Tao Ruxuan also took a glance at Zhu Lian, thinking that it's no wonder his little sister called him "Pig Head". With this fat body, he must weigh at least 200 pounds. On top of his stout head, there were only a few sparse strands of hair, and his nose was red and purple like wine lees. If you cut it off, it would probably really look like a pig's head.

  Zhu Li'an was spoken to by Liang Hongyan, and didn't refute. Yuan Shigui couldn't get a word in edgewise, the smile on his face seemed carved on, his eyes never leaving Liang Hongyan, probably also wanting to take the opportunity to exchange a few words with her. But Liang Hongyan deliberately didn't even glance at him, and directly entered the hotel. Yuan Shigui couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, only then did he shift his gaze to Tao Ruxuan's face, smiling apologetically as he said:

  "Like Xuan brothers, I'm really sorry about what happened with my younger brother-in-law. Is your sister okay now?"

  Tao Ruxuan thought he had nothing to say, but suddenly remembered that Liang Hongyan said he couldn't let him off easy, so he put on a stern face and said: "Director Yuan, it's not me saying this, you're also a national cadre, how can you be so indulgent towards your family members? Not to mention beating people casually, you even laid hands on a girl under 20 years old. Do you know that the nature of beating someone and beating a young girl is completely different? If we take this to court, we can directly sue your younger brother-in-law for attempted assault. That's a crime punishable by law."

  Yuan Shigui didn't expect Tao Ruxuan's mouth to be so vicious, suddenly escalating the issue to an unbearable level. He hastily handed over a cigarette and took the initiative to light it, saying: "Brother Ruxuan, please forgive me, my little brother-in-law is just that kind of ignorant thing, a complete idiot. Don't take it to heart. Yesterday, even though he was already hospitalized, I still gave him a good scolding. He told me that your sister also hit him, and I got angry. I said what's the relationship between you and those girls celebrating their birthday? Why are you getting involved in other people's business? If you like Yaoli, can't you find another time to confess? Do you have to stir up trouble for others and get beaten?"

  Yuan Shigui, despite apologizing and making amends, also subtly explained the situation to Tao Ruxuan, telling him that his younger brother-in-law was not targeting Tao Ruxuan's younger sister.

  As he spoke, Yuan Shigui quietly slipped an envelope into Tao Ruxuan's pocket. Tao Ruxuan was taking it out while saying, "Director Yuan, what do you mean by this?" Yuan Shigui then pressed down on Tao Ruxuan's hand and said in a low voice, "It's just a small token, consider it for your sister's medical expenses."

  Tao Ruxuan's hand was in his pocket, quietly pinching a thick envelope, probably containing a sum of 10,000 yuan. Just as he was about to continue searching, Liang Hongyan suddenly turned around and said: "Ruxuan, since it's Director Yuan's sincere intention, you shouldn't delay any further. Besides, his younger brother-in-law didn't hit your sister lightly, and not sending him to the police station is already being lenient."

  At this time, Tao Ruxuan finally truly understood what it meant to have eyes that see six roads and ears that listen in all directions. Liang Hongyan was clearly talking to Zhu Lian in front of her, yet she knew about the matters between herself and Yuan Shigui behind her back.

  "Right, right, right. Secretary Liang is indeed reasonable. Actually, I should thank Secretary Liang for mediating, or else I wouldn't know how to wrap things up. Brother Ruxuan, you don't have to be polite anymore."

  Since Liang Hongyan has accepted, Tao Ruxuan also couldn't delay any longer and said: "Alright then, I'll accept it on behalf of my little sister."

  As soon as they entered the private room, Yuan Shigui began to arrange for the service staff to order dishes. It can be seen that although today's gathering is said to be Zhu Lian's treat, it was actually hosted by Yuan Shigui. The service staff brought in the menu and handed it over to Liang Hongyan.

  Li Hongyan didn't take the menu either, but instead said ambiguously: "Old Yuan, I'm asking you, what's the purpose of your treating us today?"

  Yuan Shigui didn't know why Liang Hongyan suddenly asked this, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed on his face. He smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say.