Chapter 333 - 230: Tacit Understanding

Chapter 333: Chapter 230: Tacit Understanding

A crowd of people swarmed back in. Everyone present knew Wei Dongliang; the surrounding diners all stood to greet him, then fell in behind his entourage. In no time, a large crowd had completely surrounded Zhao Wendong and Liangzi. Liangzi’s palms began to sweat, but seeing Zhao Wendong still eating heartily, he gritted his teeth and kept his head down, continuing to eat as if the throng of people around them was just thin air.

Even Zhao Wenming found their behavior intolerable. Seeing that these two were the ones who had clashed with his family, he felt his own reputation was on the line. He stepped forward and barked, "You two, get up immediately! You’re under investigation!"

As he spoke, he failed to notice the color drain from the guesthouse director’s face. The director opened his mouth to shout, but Wei Dongliang, standing beside him, held him back. Nearby, Cheng Fuhai had already started to sweat profusely. Huang Xiaomei and Huang Xiaohong had also turned pale; they stood with their heads bowed, not daring to look at the surrounding crowd. It seemed things were spiraling in the direction they had dreaded most.

"Dad, these two somehow snuck in here. They’re freeloading, wasting the state’s resources."

Zhao Zhitian, having been insulted by Zhao Wendong and Liangzi twice already, immediately started tattling the moment he saw his father. Zhao Wenming shot his son a glare. This son, born to him in his later years, was completely spoiled. How many times had he told him to use official titles when on the job?

"Oh? And who might you be? What gives you the authority to investigate us?"

Zhao Wendong looked up at Zhao Wenming, his gaze flicking briefly to Wei Dongliang at the side. He saw Wei Dongliang smiling and giving him a subtle nod. An idea sparked in his mind. ’Why do I get the feeling Special Commissioner Wei wants me to put this old fool in his place?’ Zhao Wendong glanced again at Liangzi’s red, swollen eyes. Since they’d run into Huang Xiaomei and her friends here, and they’d managed to provoke him, Zhao Wendong—well, this had to be fate.

As the saying goes, you can’t fight fate. Since the stage was already set, Zhao Wendong was determined to play his part to the fullest.

"Who am I? You don’t need to know who I am. You just need to know that this is not a place where you can run wild!"

Having said his piece, Zhao Wenming turned to the guesthouse director, intending to have him arrange for men to seize Zhao Wendong and his companion. But he found the director’s face was ashen, with large beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Do something! Do I need to tell you how to do your job?"

"D-Director," the guesthouse director stammered, "th-these two gentlemen are guests of our establishment. Th-they didn’t sneak in!"

The guesthouse director looked like he was about to cry. ’I wanted to warn Director Zhao just now, but Special Commissioner Wei wouldn’t let me! Now the Director has made a complete fool of himself, and he’s sure to hold a grudge against me for it.’ At this thought, he secretly made a resolution. ’From this day forward, when it comes to the guesthouse, I’ll follow Special Commissioner Wei’s orders!’

"What do you mean? Who are they?"

"It’s... It’s Captain Zhao Wendong."

The moment the guesthouse director spoke, gasps rippled through the crowd. They had all heard the great name of Zhao Wendong, but they had never seen him in person.

As for that group photo with Zhao Wendong, Wei Dongliang had requested that any major publicity be held off until after Zhao Wendong was officially presented with the Labor Model award the next day. As a result, the photo had not yet appeared in the newspapers. So for now, all people knew was that there was some incredible figure named Zhao Wendong who had earned the four words: "Man Can Conquer Nature."

"So that’s Captain Zhao! HA HA HA! He really does have a stubborn drive to him."

"His reputation is clearly well-deserved!"

"I was wondering why he has such a fearless, dare-anything spirit. If he’s the ’Man Can Conquer Nature’ guy, then it all makes sense."

The crowd immediately burst into a flurry of discussion, all of it filled with praise. I mean, were they kidding? How could they dare to belittle someone praised by the party elders?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenming’s expression turned so dark it looked like a thundercloud. He knew he was about to be utterly humiliated.

Hearing this, Zhao Zhitian and the others could only stare at each other in stunned silence. Cheng Fuhai, for his part, wished he could just slap himself across the face. ’We’re the ones who are supposed to help Zhao Wendong write his speech! How could I forget that he and Huang Xiaomei are from the same county? If I’d known her ex was one of Zhao Wendong’s buddies, I would have never, ever started a conflict with them!’

Huang Xiaomei was equally dumbfounded, her mouth agape. She stared at Zhao Wendong with wide eyes, as if she were seeing a ghost.

’Now I remember!’ she thought. ’That good friend Zhang Liang was always talking about, Dongzi—his full name is Zhao Wendong! He was even my classmate in elementary school! How did I never connect his name to Zhang Liang?’

Then, a wave of indignation washed over her. ’It’s not really my fault,’ she reasoned. ’I’m just a student, I’m still busy with my studies; it’s normal not to think about these things. Besides, why didn’t Zhang Liang tell me his best friend became a Labor Model and received such a huge honor? Did he stop writing to me just because I didn’t write to him first?’

"Well, well, if it isn’t Comrade Wendong! What are you up to?"

Acting as if he’d only just seen him, Wei Dongliang walked over with a broad smile. Zhao Wendong casually wiped his greasy hands on the clothes of the dumbstruck Cheng Fuhai standing beside him. Then, as if he too had only just noticed the newcomer, he extended both hands to grasp Wei Dongliang’s. They shook hands, a tacit understanding passing between them, both men inwardly satisfied with the other’s performance.

"Greetings, Special Commissioner Wei! I was just having a bite to eat. These two here were saying we weren’t qualified to dine here, that we were just freeloaders, and they were about to kick us out. So, I figured I’d better hurry and cram in a few more mouthfuls before they tossed us onto the street. Wouldn’t want to go to bed hungry tonight, you know!"