Chapter 288 Ready to Depart!

After seeing off Xiao Sun, the security officer who remained strictly professional even at the very last moment, the anti-theft door clicked shut.

Liu Jianguo's posture, which had been as straight as a rod and radiated the authority of a leader, instantly slumped.

He seemed to have shed a heavy burden, and a smile—one only seen at home, even carrying a hint of fawning—appeared on his face.

"Alright, alright! Threat neutralized!"

"The organization has approved, and security has checked everything."

"The liu family's grand plan to go abroad is officially locked in!"

Liu Jianguo shouted excitedly into the room.

Inside the room, the atmosphere, which had been somewhat stiff, was instantly replaced by joy.

"Awesome!"

His young daughter cheered, pulled out the snacks she had hidden to pass the inspection, and began stuffing various pretty dresses and swimsuits into her small pink suitcase while eating.

In the master bedroom, Liu Jianguo's wife, Comrade Wang Shufen, was also busy.

Although she usually complained about Liu Jianguo being too busy with work and neglecting the family, when it came to the family going out to relax, she was happier than anyone.

At this moment, she was facing the mirror, trying on several sun hats, and humming a tune.

Watching this heartwarming scene, Liu Jianguo felt wonderful inside.

"This is what life is about."

"Battling wits with that troublemaker Li Jiajun every day has almost killed all my brain cells."

"It's time to properly recharge."

While thinking this, he wandered back to the living room, preparing to pack his luggage.

As an old bureaucrat who had traveled for work for years, Liu Jianguo's efficiency in packing was quite high.

Change of clothes, toiletries, essential medicines... he got most of it done in a flash.

However, when his gaze fell once again on that black rod case leaning in the corner, which looked exceptionally profound and textured under the light at this moment, his movements stopped.

That super Fishing Rod.

That legal entertainment item personally certified as normal by the security officer.

Right now, it was like a peerless beauty, frantically waving at him.

"Bring it? Or not?"

Liu Jianguo hesitated for only 0.01 seconds.

"Nonsense! Of course I'm bringing it!"

"This is good stuff!"

"Once we reach the coast abroad, it's a paradise for big fish. Not using this new rod to have some fun would be a complete waste!"

Thinking of this, Liu Jianguo chuckled.

He first glanced sneakily toward the master bedroom, making sure his wife was still trying on hats and hadn't noticed this side.

Then, with an extremely cautious, one could even say sleazy, posture, he picked up the rod case.

He tried to use his clothes as cover to silently stuff the long, narrow object into the bottom of the largest checked suitcase.

"As long as it's pressed underneath and covered with a few coats, no one will know..." Liu Jianguo schemed.

However, just as he had put the rod case in and was about to cover it with clothes, "Liu Jianguo!" a roar like a lioness from Hedong suddenly exploded behind him.

Liu Jianguo was so startled that his hand trembled, and the clothes in his hand dropped directly to the floor.

He stiffly turned his neck.

He saw Comrade Wang Shufen standing at the bedroom door, not knowing when she had arrived.

She was holding a wide-brimmed straw hat, hands on her hips, her willow-leaf eyebrows arched, and her eyes were fixed tightly on the half-exposed black rod case in the suitcase.

That gaze was a hundred times sharper than that security officer from earlier!

"Hehe... honey..." Liu Jianguo's mouth twitched, revealing a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Well... I saw the suitcase still had some empty space, and I thought, might as well not waste it..."

"Not waste it?" Wang Shufen sneered, threw the hat in her hand onto the sofa, and strode over.

She pointed at the rod case, furious.

"Liu Jianguo, can you have some ambition?"

"It's hard enough to finally go on a trip, it's supposed to be for you to accompany me and our daughter, to relax!"

"And what happens?"

"You even bring your damn Fishing Rod!"

Wang Shufen got angrier as she spoke, her finger almost poking Liu Jianguo's forehead.

"Haven't you fished enough at home?"

"Every time there's a holiday, you disappear, and when you come back, you reek of fish, and you don't even bring back any fish!"

"Now we're going abroad, and you still want to fish?"

"Are you planning to go abroad to become a fisherman?"

"I think you should just go live with your damn Fishing Rod!"

Facing his wife's machine-gun-like scolding, Liu Jianguo was speechless, but he didn't dare to refute.

He could only shrink his neck, standing there like a primary school student who had done something wrong, letting the storm wash over him.

However, Wang Shufen's anger was clearly not fully vented.

She looked at the pitch-black case as if looking at a vixen seducing her husband.

"I just don't understand, what is so fun about fishing?"

"Sitting there all day like a fool."

She took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth:

"If it were up to me, the country should pass a law to execute all you stinky men who are addicted to fishing!"

Hearing this, Liu Jianguo felt a chill in his crotch.

Good lord.

This hatred level is way too high, isn't it?

Execute?

That's a huge crime!

Seeing that his wife was truly enraged and even had the posture of throwing the Fishing Rod out, Liu Jianguo knew he couldn't push back hard.

He had to use wit!

He had to make concessions!

He quickly put on a fawning expression, leaned forward, and took his wife's hand.

"Good wife, good wife, calm down, calm down."

Liu Jianguo coaxed his wife while apologizing with a smile:

"It's just that I haven't fished in a long time, right?"

"Besides, we're going to an island this time, the scenery by the sea is so beautiful. I'll just cast a few times occasionally, and I definitely won't delay our family's important business."

"I promise! It will absolutely be primarily to accompany you two, and fishing will be secondary!"

Wang Shufen snorted coldly, clearly not believing his nonsense.

"A man's mouth is a lying ghost."

Seeing this, Liu Jianguo knew that if he didn't bring out some real benefits, it wouldn't work.

He secretly glanced at his daughter, who was wearing headphones and listening to music while packing things, and confirmed that the child couldn't hear the commotion here.

Then, he leaned into his wife's ear, lowered his voice, and promised in an extremely ambiguous tone that also carried a hint of fawning:

"So... honey."

"Look, we're usually quite busy, and I haven't performed well in a long time."

"During these few days of our trip, the environment is good, the mood is good..."

"I'll pay the 'public grain' a few more times, so don't be angry."

"How about that?"

Hearing the words "pay the public grain," Wang Shufen, who had been straight-faced, instantly had two clouds of red appear on her cheeks.

Although she wasn't young anymore, she still enjoyed this kind of marital intimacy.

Especially since Liu Jianguo was under a lot of work pressure, and in that regard, he was indeed a bit... lacking.

Now he was actually taking the initiative to offer overtime?

Wang Shufen was instantly delighted, and more than half of her anger dissipated.

However, as the woman who held the power in the family, she couldn't lose face.

She rolled her eyes at Liu Jianguo, her gaze filled with a bit of coquettishness and a bit of disgust.

She spat at him fiercely:

"Shameless!"

"With that less-than-a-minute performance of yours, what is there to pay!"

"Still pay a few more times? Are you planning to split that one minute into ten times?"

Pfft!

This sentence stabbed hard at Liu Jianguo's dignity as a man.

Liu Jianguo felt like he had been shot in the chest.

"Honey, that really stings!"

"Who said one minute? That was just being in a bad state!"

"I brought goji berries this time! And sea cucumber!"

"I will definitely make you look at me with new eyes this time!"

Liu Jianguo swore and made vows, even using his own old kidneys as collateral.

After paying a series of humiliating flesh-compensation treaties.

Wang Shufen finally relented.

"Fine, fine, considering your attitude is sincere enough, I'll let you take it."

"But it's agreed, if you dare to leave us two aside for the sake of fishing, when we get back, I'll snap your damn rod and use it as firewood!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Liu Jianguo was overjoyed, quickly stuffed the rod case in, covered it with clothes, and zipped it up.

The movements were done in one go, fearing his wife would go back on her word.

Just like that, this Fishing Rod finally, through Liu Jianguo's pestering, successfully mixed into the liu family's suitcase.

The family finished packing.

Looking at the ready-to-go luggage and listening to his daughter's laughter.

Liu Jianguo wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling more tired than after a day of meetings.

But he was happy in his heart.

"Haha, everything is ready, departing tomorrow!"