I took a hot shower comfortably, and changed into clean clothes, although the fatigue of the journey was not completely eliminated, but the whole person was also a lot more relaxed. At this time, it was already more than 6:30, so Wang Sheng took Zhou Hui to the restaurant for dinner.

Covering an area of more than 1,500 square meters, the restaurant is divided into two floors, which can accommodate about 800 people at the same time, and the first floor is a buffet dining area, which is priced by weight. On the second floor, there are more than 20 private rooms in the form of a la carte, but the prices are much higher. Of course, all the cutlery and equipment were removed from the Ro-Ro passenger ship. At this time, it was the dinner time that the travelers were most accustomed to, so there were many people who came to eat, and the entire floor was almost full.

If it was just Wang Sheng alone, of course, he would eat a little casually on the first floor, but with Zhou Hui, of course, he couldn't be casual, so he took Zhou Hui up to the second floor, the total area of the second floor was only about half of the first floor, and the number of people was much smaller, and there were many empty places.

The two had just found a place to sit down, when Wang Sheng suddenly heard that someone seemed to be calling his name, and when he looked for the sound, he saw three people standing on the edge of the stairs, which turned out to be Li Songchen, Zeng Dong, and Gao Jun.

When the traverser occupied Tianjin and just established the administrative system, Li Songchen, Zeng Dong, and Wang Sheng all worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, and the main task at that time was to restore Tianjin's agricultural production.

However, Li Songchen, Zeng Dong, and Wang Sheng were all transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture and transferred to local work, Li Songchen first served as the mayor of Tianjin, and later Wang Sheng was transferred to Qingdao to manage administrative affairs, and later did land reform work for a period of time, and finally served as the mayor of Jinan. Only Gao Jun has been in charge of women's work in the government, but some time ago, she was also transferred to Qingdao to take charge of land reform work, and she worked with Wang Sheng for a short time. But until now, the four of them have never been together again.

Although Wang Sheng knew that Zeng Dong and Gao Jun were in Qingdao, and Li Songchen would also come to Qingdao for a meeting, he didn't expect to meet so soon. Therefore, he hurriedly got up and greeted him. When the four of them met again, they were naturally very surprised, and they said a few words to each other, and Zeng Dong immediately said that since it was in Qingdao, then this meal would be entertained by himself, and he should not fight with himself.

Li Songchen and Wang Sheng saw each other, so they didn't be polite to Zeng Dong, so Zeng Dong immediately asked the waiter for a private room, and Wang Sheng went over to call Zhou Hui.

After entering the private room, Wang Sheng helped Zhou Hui, who was a little nervous, pull out a chair and let her sit down next to her, while Li Songchen and Zeng Dong immediately lit up their eyes and made a "you know" expression.

Gao Jun smiled and said, "Wang Sheng, who is this girl, you should introduce it to us." ”

Zhou Hui's face was flushed with embarrassment, but Wang Sheng didn't care, so he simply introduced Zhou Hui's origin, and directly said that he would take Zhou Hui to register his marriage this time. When the others heard this, they also congratulated Wang Sheng.

Gao Jun sat down next to Zhou Hui, and when he saw her rather restrained appearance, he smiled and said: "Zhou Hui, relax, we used to be good friends, and it is rare for everyone to get together again, just have a meal, don't be afraid." ”

Zhou Hui nodded slightly, in fact, she was still very happy in her heart, because she knew that these people were all friends of Wang Sheng, and they were all overseas Chinese officials, and Wang Sheng admitted in front of them that he wanted to marry him, and they didn't mean to look down on themselves, so they were also a lot more relieved. In fact, after working in the Jinan government for several months, Zhou Hui also knew that according to the rules of overseas Chinese, women did not stay at home, but could be officials like men, and they did not feel surprised by Gao Jun.

After a while, the ordered wine and food were delivered to the private room, and everyone first raised their glasses and congratulated Wang Sheng and Zhou Hui. Then they chatted casually, of course, they all told each other about the things they encountered at work, and Gao Jun also intended to talk and chat with Zhou Hui more, so as not to make her feel left out.

Talking and talking, the topic also talked about this annual summary, as well as the first five-year plan of the East China government. Because Li Songchen and Wang Sheng are now working in the local area, while Zeng Dong and Gao Jun have been staying in Qingdao, they both asked them about the content of the five-year plan.

Gao Jun said: "I don't know about the situation of the five-year plan, but I have generally heard of it, mainly to determine some factory projects, infrastructure projects, railways, highways, and there are also certain public welfare projects, such as schools and the like, which are basically these." ”

Zeng Dong also said: "Song Chen, Wang Sheng, I know what you two care about? I definitely want to give Tianjin and Jinan a few more projects to promote local economic development." Of course, Qingdao will definitely have the most projects, after all, it is the capital, and Qingdao itself has a few factories left over from Germany, but you can rest assured, Tianjin and Jinan are also our key cities, and the government will definitely focus on supporting, so the projects that should be assigned to you are absolutely indispensable. ”

Wang Sheng asked again: "But projects like railways and highways are across several regions, such as the Jiaoji Railway, connecting Qingdao and Jinan, which city project is this?"

Zeng Dongdao: "I don't know much about this, but such a project should be led by the government, and then it should be carried out together with several places." ”

Wang Sheng frowned and said, "But even if this is the case, it must always be discussed in the name of a place, otherwise how will it be managed in the future?"

If there were only Li Songchen and Gao Jun, Wang Shengzhi would have no worries and would say his thoughts directly, because there is no conflict of interest between the two sides, but Zeng Dong is now the mayor of Qingdao, maybe there will be a fierce competition between Jinan and Qingdao on the issue of the ownership of the Jiaoji Railway, so it is not easy to say it too directly, affecting the relationship between himself and Zeng Dong.

Zeng Dongzhi didn't notice it, and said: "I don't know about this, so I have to ask the Construction and Postal Commission." ”

However, Li Songchen understood Wang Sheng's intentions, after all, he had served as a local work for a long time, and he was more sensitive to things involving local interests, Wang Sheng proposed the name of Jiaoji Railway, Li Songchen knew that Wang Sheng wanted to win the management of Jiaoji Railway for Jinan, but he was afraid of Zeng Dong's position, so he wanted to stop talking, Zeng Dong served as a local work for a short time, and his personality was more informal, unlike Wang Sheng's meticulous thinking, and he did not come to his senses. But Li Songchen didn't want the relationship between the three of them to be affected by their positions and interests in the future, and said: "Wang Sheng, if you have any ideas, you might as well say it directly." ”

In fact, Wang Sheng's heart is not very strong, when the three of them worked together in the Ministry of Agriculture, although the conditions were more difficult, but there were not so many scheming between each other, everyone was open and honest, what to say, not to the right person, and after saying that, there was nothing to worry about each other, now the conditions are good, several people have also been promoted, but there is an estrangement, hesitation to speak, looking forward and backward. After listening to Li Songchen's words, Wang Sheng also understood that he knew what he meant, so he said: "I'll just say it bluntly, but let me explain one thing first, I am only for work, and whether it is right or wrong, it will not affect our friendship." ”

Zeng Dongdao: "Of course, what kind of friendship we have, and we have always only been right about things and not people." ”

Wang Sheng then said his thoughts again, and explained in detail the advantages of Jinan's management of the Jiaoji Railway. In the end, Wang Sheng also deliberately said: "If I don't have my own selfishness, it must be a lie, if Jinan can get the management of the Jiaoji Railway, of course, there are great benefits, but in terms of the management of the Jiaoji Railway, I think Jinan is indeed more suitable than Qingdao." ”

After listening to Wang Sheng's words, Zeng Dong realized and said: "You are for this, if the Executive Yuan decides that Jinan will manage the Jiaoji Railway, I have no opinion, Jinan is indeed more suitable than Qingdao." ”

Li Songchen said: "What if the Executive Yuan asks you for advice?"

Zeng Dong thought for a while before saying: "If it is just about purely technical and economic considerations, I will suggest that the management of the Jiaoji Railway be handed over to Jinan, but if there are other political considerations, it is difficult to say, and I can only listen to the arrangement of the Executive Yuan." As you know, it is not possible to consider such a large project from a purely technical and economic point of view, and other considerations are also very important. ”

Wang Sheng also nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, I just think so, but if the Executive Yuan makes a final decision, I will definitely obey the decision of the Executive Yuan." ”

At this time, Gao Jun said: "I'm not afraid of offending you, you are not boring, just for such a little thing, rambling and talking, clichés, young people in their early thirties, and old drivers in their sixties and seventies, who used to look like a lot of feeding, what is the decision of the Executive Yuan, if the Executive Yuan lets the two of you compete? So if you want to fight for interests, you should say it openly, there is nothing wrong with it, what kind of mayor should you be if you don't fight for the interests of your own place?" Everyone will show their abilities and compete fairly, see who can fight, and after the fight, won't it be over if you are willing to gamble and lose?"

Wang Sheng couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when he heard it, after all, this topic was indeed caused by him, and Gao Jun's words really touched Wang Sheng's heart, is it that he has been an official for a long time, and he is slowly changing.

Li Songchen said: "Director Gao is right, we will definitely encounter such a conflict of interest in the future, I think everyone should speak out openly and honestly, no need to hide, interests can be coordinated as much as possible, if it is difficult to coordinate, we can also compete fairly, to see who has the ability, but it must not affect our friendship." ”

Zeng Dong nodded again and again, and said: "What I am most annoying about is beating around the bush, going around and around, it is best to speak straight, what is wrong with me, even if I say it directly, I will definitely not give birth, Wang Sheng, even if it is okay this time, you are also kind, I am afraid that it will affect our friendship, but next time you are still like this, don't blame me for turning my face." ”

Wang Sheng also raised his hands, made a surrender form, and said, "I promise not next time, definitely not." ”

Li Songchen also raised his glass and said, "Come, let's have an open and honest toast for us to eliminate the nucleus." ”