Chapter 2340 - 2340

Liu Zhizhong is now a favorite in Dongnan City, and his words carry weight in front of the leaders.

He just said that he's been really busy at work lately, and there are also some company matters, so he can't participate in the interview panel.

The most important point is that he knows who has made it to the interview stage, and some people have even called him to arrange things, which makes him feel quite awkward, so he requested the leaders to assign someone else to ensure fairness and impartiality.

His reasoning was spot on, very logical.

Given Liu Zhizhong's current influence, after a comprehensive consideration, the bureau leaders agreed and assigned a deputy director from the City Culture and Tourism Bureau's office in Dongnan City to go instead, anyway, it's just a formality.

Meanwhile, serving as an interviewer does come with some perks, there's no avoiding that.

Liu Zhizhong didn't want to take these perks for himself, giving them to others is a kind of grace too, hahaha...

Liu Zhizhong now has some leisure time, free from the manipulation and threats from Zhang Xiaoyang, isn't that a relief?

This sense of mental pleasure is really comforting, genuinely enjoyable.

And on the other side, Zhang Xiaoyang had no idea that some of the gold bars at home were adulterated.

The Zhang Family's gold bars have various origins, some were bought by themselves, but most were given by others as gifts in exchange for favors.

The Zhang Family found dealing in cash cumbersome and too risky, leaving evidence, so they opted for gold bars instead.

Two gold bars placed together, no one knows who gave them or can tell whether they're precious or not, hahaha...

However, the issue of adulterated gold bars really annoyed Zhang Xiaoyang, he had a strong desire to get to the bottom of it.

After all, if the faulty gold bars were the ones they bought themselves, damn it, they need to reclaim it! If the ones given by others were bad, damn it, how dare they deceive the Zhang family? Do they still want to do business?

So, after ending the call with Liu Zhizhong, there was supposed to be an important meeting in the afternoon in Shunping County's government, but Zhang Xiaoyang decided not to attend. As a result, the meeting was postponed to the next day, hahaha... see, the local powerful young man can even make the County Mayor give way to his schedule, haha...

Approaching lunchtime, Zhang Xiaoyang didn't head to the leader's canteen at the county government for lunch; he drove his private car straight back to Zhang's Manor first.

After starting the car, he still called a distant uncle responsible for the Zhang's Manor canteen to ask him to set aside some food for him.

Returning to Zhang's Manor, it was already 12:30 p.m., and the Zhang Family members dining here were almost wrapping up, grouping into threes and fours, heading back to their rooms for a nap, or going out to have fun.

When Zhang Xiaoyang returned, his distant uncle had set aside three dishes and a soup for him.

Zhang Xiaoyang greeted people he met along the way, maintaining a close rapport. In this big family, everyone knew he was the eldest son with limitless potential, so they were all very warm to him.

After exchanging greetings, Zhang Xiaoyang sat down and enjoyed the family canteen's culinary offerings.

To tell the truth, the food and chef quality at Zhang's Manor's canteen really outshines that of his county government canteen. Despite the latter offering exclusive meals, it pales in comparison.

At the very least, some ingredients can hardly be featured in the special meals at the county government canteen. The main thing is, in recent years, the general atmosphere hasn't been too favorable! The eat, drink, and be merry lifestyle of government officials has been under scrutiny!

In case of a slip-up, getting exposed can be quite a hassle, too.

Old Zhang and his family understand this world too well.

As long as it's not exposed, and the public doesn't know, there's no issue with indulging in food and drink.

But once it's brought out into the open, and the common folk catch wind of it, it becomes troublesome.

After all, the whole system dictates that: as an official, you must remain mindful of your image, cannot lose public support, have to save face, haha...

Sometimes, the most shameless group, claiming they are maintaining face, carry out deeds all for the sake of appearance, isn't that interesting?

After finishing lunch, Zhang Xiaoyang went back home to rinse off, change clothes, sit down, have some tea, gaze at the lake view, and relax a bit.

Originally, he intended to go see his grandfather, Zhang Taikang, to clarify the situation concerning the gold bars.

But his grandfather had a strict routine, and should be napping at this time; he would wake up in about 50 minutes.

Once the old man wakes up, freshens up, has some afternoon tea, it'll be well past two o'clock in the afternoon.

So, Zhang Xiaoyang just stayed at his villa, sipping tea and admiring the scenery.

This villa was a wedding gift from his grandfather to him and Gu Man, which was quite a privilege.

Other than a good view, there's a vast man-made lake (pond) about 50 meters away where one can fish.

However, Zhang Xiaoyang isn't fond of fishing.

To him, fishing is just a waste of life. The time spent fishing could be better used enjoying some fine wine and gourmet food, or, you know, experiencing life's other indulgences, haha... his life philosophy is quite unconventional!

But in Shunping County, the fishing activities bring quite a benefit, and with related cultural and tourism events being organized, he has no choice but to participate, displaying some revolutionary enthusiasm!

However, not everyone in this world thinks like Zhang Xiaoyang, nor does everyone have his privileges.

So, more and more men choose fishing as a leisure activity, hahaha...

In terms of leisure and entertainment industries, the number of people involved in fishing is undoubtedly a national champion, believe it or not?

Around the same time, Liu Zhizhong glanced from the balcony at his grandfather's villa across the way.

Indeed, Old Sir Zhang's disciplined senior lifestyle is commendable!

At this moment, he walked out of his detached villa, arriving at the lakeside with just a few steps.

By the lake was his fishing spot. Everything was well-prepared and just perfect for sitting down and starting to fish.

Next to the fishing spot was a beautiful pavilion decked out with top-notch tea sets.

By now, a servant from Zhang's Manor was already there preparing tea for the old man.

When the old man sat down, the complimentary snacks like seeds and sugar-free cakes were also ready.

The privileges of a vice-provincial retirement are indeed solid! Furthermore, this is someone who was like a king in one part of a remote prefecture-level city.

A place's poverty exists for a reason.

However, in poor places, there are those living in extreme luxury beyond the reach of ordinary people, believe it or not!

Perhaps, it is precisely the existence of such extravagant individuals that leads to the worsening poverty of a place, making life harder for the common people?

The current Zhang Family members don't pay heed to all this, what they ought to enjoy, not a bit less.

Zhang Taikang sat down, sipping tea, munching on seeds, when suddenly, some spark caught his eye.

For he saw across the lake, under the warm spring afternoon sun, his eldest grandson Zhang Xiaoyang was walking, exuding the air of an excellent young leader...