Chapter 1048 - 1013: Appreciation

The news storm around Mulan Group led to the removal of Dongzhou TV Station’s former director, Hou Guoyi, although the main reason he was taken down this time was still his own problems; the news incident was just one trigger. Vice Director Ma Donghan stepped up in a crisis and became the head of the station.

After News Center Director Xue Meizhen came forward to apologize, she’d planned to ask for sick leave to rest for a while and lie low. But Ma Donghan didn’t approve, because the city’s appointment document naming Xue Meizhen as vice director had already been issued.

Even Xue Meizhen herself never expected such a huge stroke of luck to land on her. She’d thought she was going to be the one to take the fall, but now it seemed that she owed it all to Xu Chunliang’s guidance—Xu Chunliang taught her at the critical moment to stab her leader in the back. Fortunately, the materials she provided were what finally kicked Hou Guoyi out. Maybe the city saw her courage and sense of justice in hating evil and not fearing authority, so they decided to entrust her with an important post.

Of course Xue Meizhen wouldn’t forget Xu Chunliang. The first thing she did after receiving the notice was to thank Xu Chunliang, and by the way, invite him out for a meal.

Xue Meizhen certainly knew that Xu Chunliang wouldn’t be all that interested in just dining with a woman her age, so she brought up Su Qing, because Su Qing would be coming to Dongzhou tomorrow to follow up on the story about the ancient quarry found in the Hidden Dragon Mountain tunnel. This news item was a joint report by Dongzhou TV Station and the provincial station, so Xue Meizhen had already coordinated the schedule with Su Qing in advance.

The venue was set at Yingyue Tea House near the TV station. Though it called itself a tea house, it was actually a private restaurant. These private kitchens nowadays are all very low-key—Yingyue Tea House has only one private room.

Tonight was still a bit of a surprise for Xu Chunliang, because among the people Xue Meizhen invited there was not only Su Qing, but also Zhao Xiaohui, who’d been back in the country for some time, as well as the famous host Ma Xi. Even Ma Donghan, who had just formally taken the director’s seat at the station, came specially to attend the dinner. And Ma Donghan had only one purpose in coming today: he wanted to get to know Xu Chunliang.

When Xu Chunliang arrived, he ran into Su Qing and Zhao Xiaohui, who had just gotten out of their car at the door.

Xu Chunliang knew Su Qing would be coming, but he hadn’t expected to run into Zhao Xiaohui.

Zhao Xiaohui laughed and said, "Chunliang, didn’t see this coming, did you?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Didn’t see it coming, really didn’t. I thought Sister Xiaohui had already put down roots overseas."

Zhao Xiaohui said, "My family is still here. Wherever I go, I can’t forget where my roots are."

Seeing how full of energy Zhao Xiaohui looked, Xu Chunliang felt that her days had been going quite comfortably lately. He figured Sheng Chaohui hadn’t been stingy with her when it came to money.

The last time he saw her was in the Capital City, when she came to pay respects after Chen Jianxin’s suicide. Xu Chunliang had even accepted her request to deliver a hundred thousand yuan to Chen Jianxin’s family.

Su Qing said, "Sister Xiaohui came back this time to start a business."

Xu Chunliang froze for a moment. How come Zhao Xiaohui was back again? And starting a business on top of that? She already had financial freedom—what business was there to start? Then he thought, that’s her freedom; it has nothing to do with him.

The three of them walked in together. Xue Meizhen was already there, drinking tea with Ma Xi. Seeing them come in, the two stood up at the same time. Xue Meizhen smiled and said, "Director Xu, how’s the lineup I arranged to drink with you tonight?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Way too grand."

Xue Meizhen said, "Not grand at all; I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get you to come."

While she was speaking, Ma Donghan also arrived. He smiled and walked straight over to Xu Chunliang, reaching out his hand: "Director Xu, I’ve heard of your great name for a long time."

Xu Chunliang knew he was the new head of the TV station. Although he hadn’t had any dealings with him before, this time he had essentially helped him out indirectly: if he hadn’t taken down Hou Guoyi, who knew when Ma Donghan would have gotten his turn at the top.

Xu Chunliang shook hands with Ma Donghan. "Director Ma, I’ve always wanted to meet you too, just never had the chance."

That one line gave Ma Donghan full face. He laughed and said, "Well, now you’ve met me. If you ever need my help with anything, just say the word."

At first, Ma Xi hadn’t been clear on what this dinner was about. Now he more or less understood. This public apology by the TV station was all because that hotheaded kid Wang Lichuan was too reckless—he pointed the spear straight at Mulan Group without verifying anything. Later it turned out he’d wronged them. Wang Lichuan not only got expelled from public service, but even his father-in-law, Hou Guoyi, was dragged down with him.

Of course, Hou Guoyi stepping down wasn’t only because of this matter. Ma Xi figured Xu Chunliang must have done something behind the scenes. With Hou Guoyi out, the two biggest beneficiaries were Ma Donghan and Xue Meizhen. That’s why Xue Meizhen set up this dinner, and why Ma Donghan came in person.

When they sat down, Ma Donghan even went through a bit of polite back-and-forth with Xu Chunliang over seats. In the end, the two sat side by side. Xue Meizhen sat next to Xu Chunliang, and Ma Xi sat next to Ma Donghan.

Zhao Xiaohui and Su Qing could also see what was going on. The two directors flanking Xu Chunliang in the middle was enough to show how much they valued him—Xu Chunliang was clearly in the C position.

After a few drinks, Ma Donghan said, "Director Xu, with that Mulan Group incident we really have you to thank for the warning. Otherwise the situation could have gotten completely out of hand."

Xu Chunliang said, "I was just acting on a commission from the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. As a member of the working group, I have to handle official matters in an official way. But I do have deep ties with Dongzhou TV Station." At this point he glanced at Zhao Xiaohui and Su Qing.

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Chunliang is like my own little brother."

Su Qing blinked and said, "Chunliang and I are good friends."

She might as well not have said that. As soon as she did, several people showed subtle smiles that were better understood than spelled out.

Xue Meizhen said, "The one who should be most grateful to Chunliang is me. If he hadn’t reminded me, I wouldn’t even have known that Wang Lichuan had made such a huge blunder. Chunliang, let me toast you."

Xu Chunliang drank that glass with Xue Meizhen, then toasted her in return. "Sister Xue, congratulations on being put to important use by the organization."

Xue Meizhen said, "I’m just here to help Director Ma beat the drum a little. It’s Director Ma you should really be congratulating."

Xu Chunliang said, "I’ll have a big drink with Director Ma in a bit." And he meant it. After finishing this glass with Xue Meizhen, he went straight on to down a whole pot with Ma Donghan.

Ma Donghan said, "Director Xu, I heard you’re also in charge of work for the Weishan Island National-level Resort Area Construction Command?"

Xu Chunliang smiled. "Where did you hear that?" This matter hadn’t been publicly announced, nor was there any formal document, so he was curious how Ma Donghan knew.

Ma Donghan said, "Our TV station has always worked with the Dongzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau, and I’ve known Director Lu for many years. I heard about this from him."

Xu Chunliang said, "So that’s how it is. If I’d known, I would’ve called him over to drink with us too."

Ma Donghan said, "I did call him, but he’s pretty busy with work right now. He’s hosting guests today and really can’t get away."

Xu Chunliang said, "Then we’ll ask him out for a drink next time."

Ma Donghan lifted a pot of liquor and toasted Xu Chunliang, and the two of them drained another pot together.

Ma Xi also drank two cups with Xu Chunliang.

Zhao Xiaohui refused to be outdone. She raised her glass and said, "Chunliang, I won’t say anything more. One glass, double meaning—everything’s in the wine."

Watching everyone crowd around Xu Chunliang, pouring drinks into him, Su Qing couldn’t help feeling a bit distressed. She muttered, "You guys can’t just make him drink by himself."

Zhao Xiaohui laughed and said, "My little sis is speaking up for him. With Chunliang’s capacity for alcohol, even if all of us here add ourselves together, we still couldn’t outdrink him."

Xu Chunliang said, "Sister Xiaohui, don’t put me on a pedestal. I’m just relying on being young and having a good constitution."

Ma Xi said, "Youth is the capital of revolution. When I see you energetic young people now, I’m envious from the bottom of my heart."

Xue Meizhen said, "Old Ma, you don’t need to envy anyone. You’re the ace anchor of our Dongzhou TV Station now. We’re all counting on you."

Ma Xi said, "When there’s no tiger in the mountain, the monkey becomes king. These two ladies here are the best female anchors in Dongzhou. If they hadn’t left, how would I ever stand out?"

Su Qing said, "Teacher Ma, you’re being modest. We’re both your students." Zhao Xiaohui nodded along.

Ma Xi sighed and said, "You two are the ones being modest. I’m not just saying polite words—both of you are at least at provincial station level. Su Qing has gone to the provincial station already, let’s not talk about that. Xiaohui, it was such a pity you gave up your job."

Zhao Xiaohui said, "I didn’t give up. I just took a break for a while. Coming back now is because I want to look for new opportunities."

Ma Donghan said, "Coming back to Dongzhou TV Station? As long as you don’t look down on our small temple, on behalf of Dongzhou TV Station I welcome you back with open arms."

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Director Ma, you said it yourself—I’m taking this seriously!"

Ma Donghan said, "I’m a man of my word. As long as you’re willing to come back, I’ll handle the paperwork for you and fight to get you the best possible terms."

Xue Meizhen knew a bit about Zhao Xiaohui’s situation. She looked at Zhao Xiaohui and said, "Xiaohui, you’re not joking, are you? You really plan to come back?"

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Director Xue, as long as you’re willing to take me in, I’ll come back."

Xue Meizhen said, "Director Ma has already spoken, of course I’d welcome you. Right now our News Center is short of someone who can hold up the banner. To this day, your ’Xiaohui Asks For You’ still holds the ratings record for a news column. After you left, that program just went downhill."

Ma Xi said, "Once Xiaohui left, there was no one to ’ask for you’ anymore."

Everyone burst out laughing.

Zhao Xiaohui said, "I just hope my skills haven’t gone rusty, so I can live up to the trust you two leaders place in me."

Xu Chunliang’s instincts told him that Zhao Xiaohui’s return wasn’t that simple. This probably wasn’t just for fun; very likely her comeback had something to do with Sheng Chaohui.

After the dinner ended, everyone said their goodbyes at the door and headed off separately. Xu Chunliang planned to see Su Qing and Zhao Xiaohui home.

Zhao Xiaohui said she had something to do and told him to take Su Qing first.

A black BMW 740 pulled up first, and Zhao Xiaohui got into the car.

Xu Chunliang recognized it as Sheng Chaohui’s car, but pretended not to see.

Su Qing said, "I’m going home." The car she’d called had arrived.

Xu Chunliang said, "We agreed I’d take you."

The two of them got in together.

Xu Chunliang said, "Back to New City District?"

Su Qing gave a soft "Mm."

Xu Chunliang said, "Is Zhao Xiaohui really coming back to Dongzhou TV Station?"

Su Qing said, "She didn’t mention it to me. Just now she only told me she’s coming back to China. I was actually planning to recommend her to my workplace."

Xu Chunliang said, "A good horse doesn’t graze on old pastures. I really don’t understand what she’s doing this time."