Because of this thought, Mao Xiaoming never considered showing much respect to Shen Zizhen.
At this moment, hearing Shen Zizhen speak to him so impolitely, he immediately became angry.
"Town Chief Liang, I haven't done anything outrageous. I just left for a few days, what's the big deal?"
Mao Xiaoming spoke nonchalantly, his tone full of disdain.
He felt Shen Zizhen was really looking for trouble.
Hearing Mao Xiaoming say this, Shen Zizhen was so angry he stood up to leave.
It was Secretary An who pulled Shen Zizhen back.
"Teacher Shen, whatever it is, let's talk about it after dinner."
Town Chief Liang also hurried to persuade Shen Zizhen.
He actually felt that if it was just a few days of absence, it wasn't a big deal, and a lecture would suffice.
After all, they all knew that Mao Xiaoming went to the base mainly to collect his salary and learn skills, not to work.
Otherwise, the An Ronghua family wouldn't have had any part in it.
Seeing that everyone seemed to be intending to shield Mao Xiaoming, Shen Zizhen became even more annoyed.
Shen Zizhen truly lost his appetite.
He was already full of anger, so why eat!
These people, whether from the town or the village, were probably in cahoots.
Su Xiaotian guessed that what made Shen Zizhen so angry couldn't have been just a few days of absence as Mao Xiaoming claimed, but rather that Mao Xiaoming had done something truly intolerable.
Mao Xiaoming himself, however, appeared indifferent.
Eat!
Today, Secretary An's home smelled of delicious food, indicating great effort had been put into the cooking.
Too much energy had been expended these past few days, so it was good to replenish it.
With this thought, Mao Xiaoming sat on the stool with his legs spread wide, acting as if he was the greatest person in the world and didn't put anyone in his eyes.
He spoke impolitely to Secretary An: "Secretary An, hurry up and bring out the good food, I'm starving!"
After saying this, he also raised his eyebrows at Shen Zizhen, clearly trying to provoke him.
He wanted to let Shen Zizhen know that here, he was the one with the real backing!
Secretary An's expression clearly stiffened.
However, he didn't show any further emotion.
Even so, Secretary An couldn't help but think to himself.
Isn't this Mao Xiaoming an idiot?
Isn't he just relying on his uncle being the head of the town?
But his uncle is just the head of the town, how can he control the big shots from the capital?
Although the research base was built here, its construction here was not something a mere town chief could decide.
It was mainly due to the support of leaders from higher up.
Secretary An inferred this from the fact that he vaguely heard that the town chief, besides getting his nephew a job to collect salary, gained no other benefits.
Having lived for half a lifetime, he had some discernment.
Su Xiaotian also stared at Mao Xiaoming with disbelief.
She had seen fools before, but never such a fool.
If this was something a three or five-year-old child did, it would be understandable, but this person in front of her was over twenty years old!
"Eat, eat, let's talk after eating! Teacher Shen, please sit down and calm your anger!" Secretary An said, trying to smooth things over.
"I'm leaving!" Shen Zizhen glanced at the Su siblings and then turned to walk directly out the door.
With Shen Zizhen's sudden departure, Su Xiaotian and Su Sangong, the siblings, naturally wouldn't stay.
But they couldn't leave directly like Shen Zizhen, so they politely apologized before leaving.
They could guess Shen Zizhen's thoughts; eating at the same table with such a fool as Mao Xiaoming would probably make Teacher Shen prefer to starve!
Seeing the three people rush out of his home like that, Secretary An was stunned.
Today's meal had Su Xiaotian as the main guest, and Shen Zizhen and Su Sangong were at best the main accompanying guests.
But now, the main guest had left, the main accompanying guests had also left, leaving only some irrelevant people.
What was worse, these irrelevant people were all people he couldn't afford to offend.
Secretary An was speechless for a moment. He wanted to chase after them, but his superiors were still here, so he couldn't leave.
"Secretary An, please trouble you to send this meal to the base. Teacher Shen is not in a good mood, I'll go check on him."
Town Chief Liang was quite resourceful and thought of a solution almost instantly.
He even worried about Mao Xiaoming following him and instructed: "You all stay here and eat with Mao Xiaoming!"
Mao Xiaoming was also angry, his face dark. He thought to himself, should he go find his uncle and tell him about this matter, about the lack of rules?
One by one, they didn't put him in their eyes, which meant they didn't put his uncle in his eyes.
Later, he would have his uncle deal with them one by one, so they would know who the real local tyrant was!
"Town Chief Liang, why do you have to ruin the relationship between your own people for an outsider?" Mao Xiaoming said, his threat quite evident.
Town Chief Liang smiled and said, "The visitor is a guest, so naturally, we shouldn't neglect the guest for the host."
On the surface, these words did give Mao Xiaoming face, and Mao Xiaoming himself felt he had regained his standing.
However, he had no objection to sending a meal over.
As long as there was enough for him to eat, that was all that mattered!
Secretary An busied himself by inviting a few people to sit down, then divided the meal into two portions, one placed on the table under the osmanthus tree, and the other packed into a food container which he personally carried.
He also picked a few tomatoes and cucumbers from his own vegetable patch and put them in a basket for Town Chief Liang to carry.
Town Chief Liang was very pleased with Secretary An's thoughtfulness and thanked him with a smile.
"You are indeed a person who knows how to conduct yourself."
"Town Chief Liang, you are too kind, this is just a small custom from our countryside," Secretary An chuckled.
He was able to maintain his position as village party secretary, so he naturally had some skills.
Especially in the current delicate situation in the town, his ability to navigate it with ease was even more remarkable.
If Town Chief Liang went to the base without bringing anything, others wouldn't say anything.
But bringing something would always make people feel more comfortable.
Especially since Teacher Shen was in a bad mood, it was even more important to be considerate!
"Town Chief Liang, I'll accompany you."
"Secretary An, you just need to find someone to go with me. You should stay here to entertain."
As Town Chief Liang spoke, he even subtly gestured towards Mao Xiaoming, his meaning clear: he wanted him to keep an eye on Mao Xiaoming.
Secretary An understood and quickly called his youngest son over, asking him to lead the way for Town Chief Liang.
"You take Town Chief Liang to the destination and then come back."
Secretary An gave his son a meaningful look.
Young An was smart and of course understood his father's intentions, nodding repeatedly.
On the way, Young An recounted all of Mao Xiaoming's actions during his time here.