Chapter 4 Trouble is Not Small

  After three rounds of wine, Qu's voice became the main guest today, and his mouth was opened. At first, he told Tao Ruxuan and Yu Minhua some official logic, but as he spoke, he started talking about the propaganda department's right and wrong, who had a ambiguous relationship with whom, who was whose person, who was not a good thing, and finally, there were some swearing words in his speech. He said that three years ago, he had the opportunity to become deputy minister, but was squeezed out by Liang Hongyan. What does Liang Hongyan have? Isn't it just relying on the X between her legs?

  Although there were only three people at the dinner table, Yu Minhua was a female comrade after all. Qu Jia Sheng shouldn't have spoken so harshly. Tao Ruxuan glanced at the time and said it wasn't early anymore, and they should head home. He also joked that if they were late, the two of them would probably get scolded when they returned to their families. At the same time, Tao Ruxuan realized that Qu Jia Sheng's inability to advance over the years was likely closely related to his loose mouth.

  When Qu Jia Sheng said that, Yu Min Hua already felt very embarrassed and naturally agreed with Tao Ru Xuan's suggestion. Qu Jia Sheng probably also felt that he had made a fool of himself and didn't say anything else.

  The small dinner party ended like this. Because Qu Jia Sheng drank a bit too much, Tao Ru Xuan helped to hail a car. Not wanting to return to the restaurant again, they found out that Yu Min Hua had already paid the bill. This was absolutely unacceptable, as it was originally his treat, how could he let Yu Min Hua pay? He hastily asked the waiter for the amount and took out money from his pocket to give to Yu Min Hua.

  Yu Minhua refused to accept it, saying that everyone eats together just for fun, who pays the bill is still the same. She also said that if Tao Ruxuan continues to be like this, she will be seen as an outsider. While speaking, her hand was still pressed on Tao Ruxuan's hand holding the money. After all, there are differences between men and women. When Tao Ruxuan's eyes fell on Yu Minhua's hand, Yu Minhua quickly withdrew her hand and deliberately tidied up her hair to cover it up.

  It was unclear whether it was because of Yu Minhua's repeated requests earlier, or the awkwardness of the two people's skin-to-skin contact earlier, but Yu Minhua's pale face had become even more rosy, and her shyness made her look even more charming. She was a beautiful and considerate woman, who didn't usually pay much attention to dressing up, wearing jeans all year round, but couldn't hide her beauty and elegance.

  "We'd better hurry back home too." Yu Minhua glanced at Tao Ruxuan and then hastily lowered her head.

  Tao Ruxuan only then realized that he had just lost his composure due to his emotions, and quickly regained his composure, shifting his gaze away from Yu Minhua's body, glancing outside the door, and making a please gesture: "Yes, we should head home too."

  After leaving the restaurant, the two of them still had a way to go home together. Yu Minhua was riding an electric bike, while Tao Ruxuan was on a single bike, with different speeds, so Yu Minhua intentionally slowed down a bit, and Tao Ruxuan rode faster than usual. The two of them proceeded side by side like this, but neither of them said a word. It wasn't until they parted ways that they bid each other farewell.

  Until the moment he entered the house, Tao Ruxuan was still unable to calm down from his excitement and unease, and had to repeatedly warn himself that Yu Minhua was a married woman, and he absolutely could not have any improper thoughts, otherwise it would not only ruin her family but also bring no good end for himself. But this kind of feeling is not something that can be controlled just by saying so, the more Tao Ruxuan warned himself, the more he felt unable to let go.

  During this time, Third Uncle was busy with business matters in Fen City. Although there was a house in Fen City, after all, he was alone, and as the eldest brother and sister-in-law, Tao Ruxuan's parents naturally asked him to have meals at home. Third Uncle was also happy to bother them, so he simply opened his wok directly at Eldest Brother's place.

  When Tao Ruxuan entered the house, his mother was watching TV alone, and Third Uncle was playing Chinese chess with his father. As soon as he saw Tao Ruxuan return, Third Uncle immediately called out: "Treasure, you're back just in time, hurry over to save me! Your old man is bullying me, has already won five games from me in a row, if I lose this game again, your third uncle's face will have to be stuffed into his pants!"

  Father is a famous Go player in the Hutong, and Third Uncle's chess skills are definitely not his match. Tao Ruxuan has been influenced by his father since childhood, of course, he also knows this way well, from high school on, playing against his father has already been half win and half lose, after entering university, due to age reasons, Father can no longer beat Tao Ruxuan.

  San Shu went to Tao Ruxuan for help, and Father was not happy about it. He slapped San Shu's hand, which was reaching out to Tao Ruxuan, saying: "Play your chess well, what kind of skill is it to seek outside help?"

  Third Uncle probably felt forced into a dead end by his father again, so he threw the chess piece on the board and said: "Alright, if you don't let me seek outside help, I won't play this game with you anymore. Losing like this every time, what's the point? I'll go talk to Bao'er instead." He stood up and followed Tao Ruxuan into the room. His father shook his head, smiled, and didn't mind, then went to watch TV with his mother.

  As soon as he entered the room, Third Uncle immediately sized up Tao Ruxuan's face and said: "Treasure, your complexion today doesn't seem quite right. Have you found someone?

  Third Uncle has been in the business world for decades, and his ability to read people is not something that ordinary people can compare with. At a glance, he saw through Tao Ruxuan's thoughts. However, this kind of thing, Tao Ruxuan couldn't tell Third Uncle about it even if he wanted to. If they were really discussing a potential partner, then it would be okay to say, but because of a married woman, his mind is restless, and saying it out loud would be ridiculous.

  Tao Ruxuan covered it up and said, "Third Uncle, what are you thinking? I went out for lunch with a few colleagues this afternoon and had a few drinks. Don't believe me? Take a sniff." As he spoke, he opened his mouth and blew a breath towards Third Uncle.

  Third Uncle furrowed his brow and said: "You've been drinking, but this wine of yours isn't ordinary, I somehow feel a sour taste."

  Tao Ruxuan knew what San Shu meant, but still pretended to be confused and said: "Really? I probably have indigestion these past few days." He then changed the subject, telling San Shu about Liang Hongyan's praise for him and her plan to take him on a business trip. He continued: "I should thank you, Uncle San. If it weren't for your guidance, I still wouldn't know how to be a civil servant now."

  San Shu didn't want to listen, but he furrowed his brow and asked seriously after a long time: "Bao Er, is the Minister Liang Hongyan you mentioned earlier a man or a woman?"

  Tao Ruxuan bluntly said, "It's a woman." Perhaps because of what he heard from Ding Xiaoman, Tao Ruxuan was still afraid of causing Third Uncle's misunderstanding, so he smiled and added, "But she's already over 40 years old."

  Third Uncle remained silent for a long time before saying: "Bao'er, have you ever heard the phrase 'thirty like a wolf and forty like a tiger'?"

  Tao Ruxuan didn't understand why San Shu suddenly said this, so he nodded and said: "I've heard of it, doesn't it mean that thirty and forty are the prime years of a person's life?"

  "Wrong!" Third Uncle immediately negated Tao Ruxuan's understanding. In fact, from childhood to adulthood, no one had ever explained the true meaning of this dialect phrase to Tao Ruxuan, and Tao Ruxuan's so-called understanding was also a literal understanding.

  "You're not a kid anymore, so I'll tell you. The saying 'thirty like wolf and forty like tiger' actually refers to women's needs for that kind of thing."

  Third Uncle's words were somewhat ambiguous, but Tao Ruxuan couldn't help but blush. Because Tao Ruxuan suddenly thought that Yu Minhua was exactly thirty years old this year, wasn't it the prime of her life.

  "This Minister Liang Hongyan is just over forty years old, I'm afraid she doesn't have 'good intentions' towards you. But for men, there's no such thing as losing or gaining in this kind of situation, it mainly depends on how you think about it. If you're open-minded, then it's not a big deal, that's just the way it is. Moreover, women at this age are very rational and won't have any other thoughts, they don't have any worries about the consequences. Just enjoy the moment and take what you need."

  Third Uncle spoke as if it was a very ordinary matter, but for Tao Ruxuan, it was a earth-shattering event. Firstly, he did not expect that things would really turn out as Ding Xiaoman had said; secondly, if Liang Hongyan were to make such a request, how should he respond, could he really just pretend to go along with it as Third Uncle suggested? This was something he found hard to do; thirdly, how would he face Liang Hongyan from now on.

  Seeing Tao Ruxuan's face getting uglier, Third Uncle patted him on the shoulder and said: "However, you don't have to worry too much. If there's anything difficult, just tell me. In Fen City, I still have some say in the matter, Secretary Gu and County Magistrate Wang will still give me some face. However, it's what I told you two days ago, when you're in the official circle, you have to follow the rules of the game. I still hope you can solve it yourself. Only then can you hone yourself and go further. Those second-generation officials, you can see that they rely on their fathers for everything, as a result, few of them can surpass their fathers, and their abilities are limited to this small county town."

  That night, Tao Ruxuan couldn't sleep. He couldn't have imagined that he had just started to get a feel for the official scene when he encountered this unmeasurable good thing. From human nature, Liang Hongyan was still a pretty good woman except for being a bit older, and although she was already over 40, she could still be considered as having charm, and her body showed more of the charm of a mature woman. Maybe it was because she was good at dressing up, if someone who didn't know saw Liang Hongyan for the first time, they would absolutely not say that she was a 40-year-old woman.

  However, as Ding Xiaoman said, this old cow chewing tender grass thing is ultimately unacceptable to Tao Ruxuan. If it were really a sister and brother romance, then Yu Minhua would undoubtedly be the best choice, while with Liang Hongyan there was always some distance between them, and it's not even worth talking about whether they were in love or not, it was just a need. Just like men visiting prostitutes, you wouldn't go digging into the prostitute's age and background, right? Maybe there are some emotional issues mixed in, but very minor ones.