25: Chapter 25 The Mayor's Summoning, White Porcelain Cup

Linjiang City Finance Bureau, Treasury Division.

The afternoon air was as lethargic as congealed honey, and the sound of keyboard typing felt listless.

Su Qinghan sat at her workstation.

She held a red and blue pencil between her fingers, adding a blood-red line to the fund flow chart that only she could decipher.

Zheng Jianguo was dead.

But this matter was not over.

Even if the person is dead, the debt remains.

As long as the hole in that money remained, it was the Sword of Damocles hanging over Mayor Su Changming's head.

She was now a hunter wielding a microscope, searching through a vast sea of vouchers for the fox's tail named "Shengda Construction".

"Comrade Su Qinghan."

The liaison from the bureau office stood at the door, holding a black notebook.

"A call just came in from the Mayors Office."

"They specifically requested that you accompany Director Wang at two o'clock this afternoon to report on the work status of new comrades."

As the words fell, the last trace of sound in the Treasury Division vanished.

Several senior staff members holding teacups froze, their hands suspended in mid-air. Their eyes swept over Su Qinghan quickly before retracting as if electrocuted, fixing their gaze intently on the reports in front of them, as if flowers were blooming on the pages.

This show was certainly interesting.

When Su Qinghan first joined, who didn't know it was Secretary Zhu Tianhe who put in a good word?

Now, Mayor Su Changming had just sat in that position, his seat not even warm yet, and he was specifically asking to see this newly hired junior staff member?

This connection spanned both The Su Family and the Zhu family.

It reached the heavens!

Su Qinghan seemed oblivious to the complex gazes around her, simply replying with one word.

"Okay."

She pulled open her drawer and flipped the chart covered in lines face down inside, the metal lock making a faint, crisp click.

The phone in her pocket vibrated silently.

The eleventh voice message from her stepmother, Li Jiajia.

Three missed calls from Su Xiaoxiao.

Even, half an hour ago, Mayor Su Changming's private number had flashed once.

She acted as if she hadn't seen any of them.

In that household, she had long ago learned how to close her ears.

Late-coming affection was cheaper than roadside weeds.

Su Qinghan stood up and walked out of the office.

Turning to the stairwell, she changed direction, slipped into the deserted emergency exit, and dialed the number already etched into her heart.

"Hello."

Zhu Yuntong's steady voice came through the receiver, with the sound of keyboard typing seemingly in the background.

"Mayor Su Changming wants to see me."

"At two, the Finance Bureau Chief is taking me with him."

There was no response, only the sound of a door opening. After a while, a reply came.

"A good thing."

There was even a faint trace of amusement in Zhu Yuntong's voice.

"A good thing?"

"Zheng Jianguo just fell into a pulp of flesh last night! Did he find something and wants to settle scores with me!"

"Even a tiger does not eat its own cubs."

"Although your father is more venomous than a tiger, he wouldn't dare right now."

"He just killed a dog to sacrifice to the flag; people are panicked, and it's the time when he most needs to put on a show."

"Seeing you at this time is a performance for everyone to see."

"Perform what?"

"Perform 'benevolent father, filial daughter'."

"Perform that The Su Family and the Zhu family are as close as one family, in perfect harmony."

"Perhaps he will even personally put our marriage on the agenda."

"You're sick!"

Su Qinghan was angered into laughter.

"Talking about marriage at a time like this?"

"You don't understand; this is called a political marriage, called consolidating power."

"He needs to consolidate his position."

"Marrying you off to me is his lowest-cost, highest-return damage control plan right now."

Su Qinghan's knuckles holding the phone turned slightly white.

"Zhu Wenhao, there isn't a single serious word in your mouth!"

"Believe it or not, it's up to you."

"When you go, don't be afraid. Drink tea if you should drink tea, call him Dad if you should call him Dad."

"Remember, your current identity is the prospective daughter-in-law of the Zhu family."

"This is your amulet, and also your weapon."

The call ended.

Su Qinghan cursed "bastard" at the air, yet that heart suspended in mid-air inexplicably fell back into place.

One-fifty in the afternoon, Municipal Government compound.

The Finance Bureau Chief's black Passat drove in silently.

Director Wang was a man in his fifties with a receding hairline; the sweat on his palms hadn't dried the entire way, and he glanced at his subordinate in the passenger seat from time to time.

Third floor, outside the Mayors Office.

Mayor Su Changming's chief secretary, Secretary Li Changgeng, was working in the outer office.

Seeing Director Wang, he just nodded in a businesslike manner and pointed with his hand.

"Director Wang, the Mayor is inside; you go in and report first."

Immediately, his gaze fell on Su Qinghan.

"This must be the new comrade, right? Director Wang will go in to report first; you wait outside for a moment."

Director Wang slipped into the inner room.

The heavy solid wood door had just closed.

Secretary Li Changgeng's serious face instantly melted.

He said to Su Qinghan, "Sister Qinghan! Sit down, sit down! The boss specifically gave instructions not to let you stand outside!"

Su Qinghan didn't move, just looked at him coldly.

"Secretary Li, you are too kind; just call me Little Su."

"Oh my! That won't do!"

Secretary Li Changgeng brought out a sealed canister of tea leaves from the cabinet and carefully took out a porcelain cup that was blindingly white.

The body of the cup was painted with elegant orchids. In the Municipal Government, this cup could only be used when city leaders came.

Even Director Wang from the Finance Bureau, when he came, only deserved a disposable paper cup.

Secretary Li Changgeng skillfully scalded the cup and washed the tea with a sense of devotion.

"This is the Mingqian Longjing tea that the boss treasures; usually, he wouldn't even bear to take it out when the vice mayors come."

He held the steaming cup of tea with both hands and presented it before Su Qinghan.

"Sister, try it; the water temperature is just right."

Su Qinghan looked at the cup of tea but didn't take it.

"I'm not thirsty."

"Don't! Sister! You are slapping me in the face!"

Secretary Li Changgeng insisted on stuffing the cup into her hand, his face full of ingratiating smiles.

"As for the family matters in the past, I was an outsider and shouldn't have interfered. But the boss truly cares about you. Look, when you went to the Finance Bureau, it was his own signature that approved it!"

Su Qinghan stroked the warm, smooth wall of the cup, but that warmth couldn't reach into her bones.

As expected, this is the arena of power.

Ten minutes later.

The office door opened.

Director Wang of the Finance Bureau was walking out backwards, his face full of smiles.

Turning his head, his smile froze on his face.

What did he see?

He saw Su Qinghan, that newly hired junior staff member, holding the white porcelain cup in her hand, sitting steadily on the leather sofa that only VIPs could sit on.

Director Wang's brain buzzed, going completely blank.

He had been in the Municipal Government for twenty years; he knew the value of this cup better than anyone!

This... what kind of treatment is this?

It was more than ten times higher than the treatment he, the top bureau chief, received!

Secretary Li Changgeng ignored the petrified Director Wang, walked over quickly to open the door, and made a "please" gesture towards Su Qinghan.

"Comrade, the boss wants you to go in."

Director Wang shuddered and quickly stepped aside to clear a wide path.

"Little Su... please, please!"

Su Qinghan stood up.

She placed the white porcelain cup, from which she had only taken one sip, back onto the coffee table with a moderate weight.

The bottom of the cup collided with the glass, emitting a crisp sound.

That sound was like a slap across the faces of Director Wang and Secretary Li Changgeng.

She smoothed out her slightly cheap-looking work uniform, didn't look at the two men again, and walked straight into that door.