Chapter 206

The municipal government's reception banquet tonight was very high-end. The local leading cadres invited to participate were at least at the Zheng Shu level.

Of course, Gou Liuzi and Li Yuan were special cases. Their ranks weren't high, but they looked presentable, and many leaders took the initiative to greet them.

Inside the banquet hall, forty or fifty people were milling about, but no one took the initiative to talk to Han Xian and the others. Instead, they deliberately avoided them, only chatting with acquaintances.

Finally, the protagonist of the evening, Li Mingsheng, arrived. He led seven or eight followers through the door, his face wreathed in smiles as he greeted Han Xian in the sofa area, "Oh, Minister Han, long time no see!"

Although Han Xian felt some aversion and dissatisfaction towards Lao Li, he still had to show the other man sufficient respect on this occasion. So he stood up and extended his hand, "I heard you were sick. Are you feeling better?"

"Much better, much better." Li Mingsheng showed the back of his right hand. "See? I just had an injection. I'm really sorry, Minister Han, for not being able to host you properly these past few days. Please bear with me."

"It's a small matter. It's good that you're recovering. Then we can talk business," Han Xian replied expressionlessly.

"That's not urgent. I've heard about the higher-ups' requirements. We can talk about it later." Li Mingsheng smiled and took Han Xian's hand, gently calling out, "Come, come, let me introduce you to the leading cadres of our Dragon City. They are all good comrades who listen to commands and obey orders. They have made indelible contributions to Dragon City's current situation."

Han Xian frowned. "Let's talk business first. I've been here for three days and need to give the higher-ups a reply as soon as possible."

"Oh, I'll definitely let you leave with a reply tomorrow." Lao Li pulled him along and turned to Su Tianyu and Li Yuan, instructing, "Go, go, get some wine for our leader."

"Okay!"

The two of them scurried off.

...

With the wine tray in hand, Li Mingsheng immediately pulled Han Xian and began to wander through the corners of the venue. He wore a smile, his words were polite, and he patiently introduced Han Xian to each of Dragon City's cadres.

Han Xian initially endured Lao Li's socializing, but he realized that he not only had to say false pleasantries to this group of people from Dragon City, but also had to keep drinking.

This kind of ineffective socializing was slowly consuming Han Xian's positive emotions, while the dissatisfaction in his heart was also accumulating.

Han Xian was very clear that Lao Li was using this as a stalling tactic. He didn't want to talk about the Chi Army issue. Instead, he was avoiding it and wasting his time.

Inside the hall, Han Xian stopped, reeking of alcohol, and reached out to tug at Lao Li. "I really can't drink anymore. If I drink any more, I'll lose control. Lao Li, I'm here on official business. I have to give a detailed report to the party leaders before tomorrow, so let's sit down and talk business."

"Oh, that little matter can be cleared up in a few words once we sit down. There's no rush. I'll definitely give you a reply tomorrow." Lao Li pulled Han Xian and shouted with a smile, "Jin Maohui!"

"Hey, coming!"

Jin Maohui heard the call and immediately came over, holding a wine glass and saying to Han Xian, "Greetings, leader!"

Han Xian glanced at Jin Maohui and nodded slightly.

"Minister Han, let me introduce you. This is one of the sharpest knives in our Dragon City's judicial department." Lao Li pointed to Jin Maohui and said, "Dragon City has had a lot of affairs recently, and he's helped me a lot. He can be considered to have been working himself to the bone for the sake of our party's cause. His name is Jin Maohui, and he's the captain of the anti-terrorism brigade."

"That's good," Han Xian nodded.

"Come, come, Captain Jin, have a drink with the leader!" Li Mingsheng said with a smile, "If you don't curry favor now, when will you? Why are you getting more and more wooden as you get older? Come on, toast the leader."

Jin Maohui heard this and raised his glass. "Minister Han, I'll toast you!"

Han Xian looked at Jin Maohui and waved his hand. "I really can't drink anymore. I still have to talk to your mayor later. Another day!"

"Minister Han, I've already raised my glass. Just take a sip, and I'll finish the whole thing." Jin Maohui replied with a smile.

Han Xian didn't mind this one glass of wine, but he knew that if things continued like this, he would definitely have to be carried out later. He would not only lose control and make a fool of himself, but he also wouldn't get down to business.

"No, I won't drink," Han Xian said sternly, not giving any face.

Jin Maohui looked a little embarrassed. He glanced at Lao Li and immediately raised his glass and said, "Alright, you're the leader, and your affairs are more important. Then I'll finish it. Consider it my toast to you!"

After saying that, Jin Maohui raised his glass to down the wine.

"Pa!"

Just then, Lao Li reached out and grabbed Jin Maohui's wrist, turning to Han Xian and saying, "He really is someone who has made great contributions to our party. Leader, everyone has already drunk. What's one more glass? Give him some face!"

Han Xian looked at him and replied concisely, "Lao Li, I've already given you enough face tonight, and I hope you can give me some face! I've been here for three days, and you haven't shown your face, nor have you talked to me about business. What you're doing... do you want me to hand in a blank report to the higher-ups?"

"I said, we'll talk about the Chi Army issue later. We're talking about the wine now." Li Mingsheng looked at him, the smile on his face gone. "You should still drink this glass of wine. After all, he's my man."

"I can't drink," Han Xian replied.

Jin Maohui lowered his head and scratched his nose, then walked to the side with his glass of wine.

"Not drinking?" Lao Li asked.

"That's right, not drinking!"

"If you don't drink, the rest of the matters can't be discussed," Lao Li said bluntly. "I'll wait until I recover from my illness, and then I'll write a report to the higher-ups."

"Mayor, look at you...!" Director Liu acted as a peacemaker, stepping forward to persuade him.

"Look at what? There's no respect at all. What's there to talk about?!" Li Mingsheng turned to leave. "No more talk, going back to sleep."

Han Xian looked at Li Mingsheng and said, word by word, "Your wings have hardened, haven't they?!"

Li Mingsheng suddenly turned to look at him. "That's right, my wings have hardened!"

Hearing this, the dissatisfaction and anger in Han Xian's heart were immediately stirred up, and he pointed at Li Mingsheng, saying, "Let me tell you, don't think that Dragon City can't function without you! I don't want to investigate your dirty deeds, but if I wanted to, you'd be sentenced to death!"

"What are you saying?" Jin Maohui heard this and was about to step forward.

Lao Li reached out and pulled Jin Maohui back, then picked up a glass of wine that Su Tianyu was holding and splashed it directly on Han Xian's face. "Are you pretending to be a badass with me?!! I risked my life to achieve those results, but not only do you not have a single kind word, you even send people over to fleece us! I'll tell you clearly, the biggest smuggler in Dragon City is me! Sentence me to death then!!"

Han Xian's face was covered in wine stains. He looked at Lao Li in disbelief and reached out to grab the other man's collar. "I think you're getting too cocky for your own good!"

"Get lost! Who do you think you are!!!"

Li Mingsheng actually punched the other man in the face, reeking of alcohol as he rolled up his sleeves and roared, "Everyone get out of the way, no one move, I'm going to have a one-on-one brawl with him!!!"

"Hahaha...!"

In the crowd, Li Yuan heard this and burst out laughing, covering his mouth. He whispered to Su Tianyu, "This isn't a mayor, he's a pure bandit! What kind of quality is that? He even said 'one-on-one brawl'..."

"Get out of the way, get out of the way," Su Tianyu immediately pulled everyone away. "Let our leaders have their freedom to express themselves!"