Experiencing New Customs

On Saturday morning, the air felt exceptionally fresh, thanks to the rising sun.

As agreed with his uncle Wang Yuanze, Lin Xiao drove to the entrance of the municipal party committee compound early in the morning. After waiting for a while, his uncle Wang Yuanze also came out.

Today, Wang Yuanze was dressed in sportswear, giving off a simple and unpretentious vibe. At first glance, he seemed somewhat out of place with the "powerful" municipal party secretary, but upon closer inspection, his aura remained undiminished.

"Uncle-Master!"

Seeing Wang Yuanze approaching, Lin Xiao quickly got out of the car, greeting him as she opened the back door.

"Let's go. You'll be in charge of today's itinerary," Wang Yuanze said with a smile as soon as he got in the car.

"Alright, Uncle-Master. But let's go have breakfast first. I'll take you to try our local specialty—noodle soup."

"Noodle soup? It's not like rice porridge, is it?"

"No, no, I guarantee you'll never forget it after just one bite. I'll keep it a secret for now, but you'll find out soon enough."

"You're not trying to fool your martial uncle, are you?"

"Uncle-Master, you've misunderstood. It's really not like that. Besides, how could I dare? You're the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee; you're the highest authority here."

"The municipal party secretary is just a mortal man, with only one pair of eyes. Besides, wasn't I fooled by someone when I first arrived?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiao guessed that his senior uncle, the municipal party secretary, probably didn't have a good impression of the two main leaders of Nangang Township, and might not even have a good impression of the leaders of Fengshan County.

Seeing that Lin Xiao did not respond in a timely manner, Wang Yuanze continued, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's fill our stomachs first. I said, have we arrived yet? We've driven quite a distance from the municipal party committee compound, haven't we?"

"We're almost there, almost there, Uncle-Master. Just turn right at the intersection ahead, go into the old street and it'll be about ten meters away."

"Is the store located in the old street?"

"Yes, even though they have several branches throughout the city, the original store still tastes the best. Since it's your first time eating there, I definitely have to take you to the best one."

"Okay, that's settled. As I just said, you'll be in charge of today's itinerary."

Lin Xiao then parked the car on the side of the road and led Wang Yuanze into the old street. In less than two minutes, the two stopped in front of an old shop.

The shop was already packed with people, and the extra tables outside were also full. For a moment, the two of them felt a little lost. Fortunately, a table became available, and Lin Xiao quickly stepped forward and plopped down, then called out to Wang Yuanze, "Uncle-Master, over here."

"Youth is a good thing; your eyesight and speed are amazing," Wang Yuanze praised.

"Uncle-Master, although I'm a young heartthrob, you're a mature man at the peak of your charm."

"Alright, stop joking around, hurry up and go get two bowls of the noodle soup you mentioned."

"Yes, Uncle-Master."

A moment later, Lin Xiao came over with two steaming bowls of rice noodle soup. After putting them down, he went back to get two fried dough sticks.

"Uncle-Master, you should have a fried dough stick with your rice noodle soup. Please try it."

Wang Yuanze didn't feel any discomfort and started eating the noodle soup with Lin Xiao.

"Yes, it tastes really good. The braised intestines are very flavorful, and the fried meat is sweet and sour, which is quite nice. You're right, dipping the fried dough sticks in it gives them a unique flavor..."

Wang Yuanze made no secret of his love for this local specialty breakfast in Quanzhou, and Lin Xiao was right; he fell in love with it after just one bite.

"Uncle-Master, I didn't lie to you, did I!"

"Hmm, the kid has good eyesight, knowing to bring me to this place."

At this moment, a group of men, women, and children stopped at the store entrance while talking.

"The textile factory was already state-owned thirty years ago, and now it's going out of business and about to close down, but they want to sell it back to a private company. What are they doing?"

"Yeah, I heard the district has already made a decision. If it becomes privately owned, what will we do then?"

"Who cares if we live or die? We might as well die and be reincarnated sooner."

"How can this be? We have elderly parents and young children to support. Even if we were to sell our homes, who would we ask for our owed wages? Who would pay our social security contributions? And what about our future employment? We need to get some answers to these questions."

"That's right. If we don't clarify these things, we won't agree to sell the factory. If we don't agree, let's see who dares to sell."

"You really think you're the owner of the factory? Wake up."

"you......"

The crowd started talking all at once, and some of them, perhaps getting angrier the more they thought about it, refused to eat the rice noodle soup and got up to leave. The few who stayed ate a bowl of rice noodle soup and then left as well.

However, the entire scene just now was projected into Wang Yuanze's sight and hearing, but he just listened quietly with a thoughtful expression.

Lin Xiao, who was standing to the side, also noticed something amiss, but he listened quietly as well.

After breakfast, Lin Xiao took Wang Yuanze to stroll through several commercial streets and urban complexes, letting Wang Yuanze experience firsthand the modern commercial atmosphere of the city. Then they visited several popular tourist attractions, where many families were out relaxing on the weekend, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere. Next, Lin Xiao led Wang Yuanze into the streets and alleys, allowing the municipal party secretary to truly experience the everyday life of ordinary people. Finally, Lin Xiao took his uncle to visit several industrial sites that bear witness to the development of the entire prefecture, including the textile factory he had heard about at the breakfast shop.

By the end of the day, Wang Yuanze felt both pleasantly surprised and deeply thoughtful, indicating that he had gained quite a bit.

On the contrary, Zhou Zizheng and Su Anji, who had been waiting in the city, were both nervous and expectant, constantly taking out their phones to check, afraid of missing a text message or call. Gong Lei, who was waiting in Fengshan County, was in a similar situation.

At dinner time, Lin Xiao took his uncle to eat at a time-honored ginger-braised duck restaurant, which is a famous dish in the entire Quanzhou area. For lunch, they went to a beef restaurant.

In short, Wang Yuanze has had a fairly comprehensive experience of the local customs and culture of the area he governed!

After dinner, Lin Xiao drove his uncle back to the municipal party committee compound. Only after Wang Yuanze showed his face did the car drive directly into the residential area.

"Turn right and go in. It's in the second unit. Make sure you know the door; you'll know where it is next time you come."

"Yes, Uncle-Master."

After stopping the car, Lin Xiao hurriedly got out, thinking of opening the car door for his uncle, but unexpectedly Wang Yuanze had already gotten out of the car by himself. He could only quickly go to the back, open the trunk, and take out some local specialties he had bought today.

"Lin Xiao, I have some things to do later, so I won't invite you in. Next time you come, you can try my cooking. Thank you for your hard work today."

"Okay, Uncle-Master, you don't need to be so polite. I won't disturb your rest any longer."

Watching Lin Xiao start the car and leave, Wang Yuanze then carried his things inside.

Lin Xiao reversed the car out, turned it around in a larger space, and headed towards the gate.

He was focused on reversing the car, so he didn't notice that there was another car parked under the shade of a tree on the same road, and the person in the driver's seat was looking at it with a shocked expression.

"Lin Xiao? How could it be him? What exactly is going on between him and Secretary Wang?"

Earlier, when he saw Lin Xiao get out of the car, he thought he was seeing things, since this was the municipal party committee compound. So he rubbed his eyes to see clearly. Unexpectedly, the new secretary he was going to visit today also got out of the car at about the same time, which made him stunned.

Moreover, judging from their conversation, he could conclude that this was not their second meeting. They likely knew each other before the last survey and were probably even quite close.

The new Party Secretary's first research trip after taking office directly targeted Fengshan County, followed by a trip to Nangang Township and Songmao Village, which now makes sense.

This was definitely not a coincidence!

In addition, did Gong Lei also know about this situation? Otherwise, why would he plead with him on behalf of Lin Xiao regarding the punishment?

For a moment, Huang Zaichuan felt like his head had become two big. He originally wanted to take the supplementary materials on the economic development of Fengshan County that he had asked the county party committee office to rush out to report to Wang Yuanze, so that the new secretary could see his decisive and efficient work.

However, after waiting all day without seeing anyone, they learned that Wang Yuanze had been picked up by a young man early in the morning.

Huang Zaichuan thought that it was probably a relative or friend of the new secretary who lived in the city, so it would be perfectly normal to show him hospitality. But he never expected that the young man was actually Lin Xiao.

Now, things might turn out unexpectedly!