Chapter 320: Not Optimistic

"I told you smoking while you're sick is bad for your health, didn't I?"

Seeing the man coughing violently, Li Xian quickly walked over to pat him on the back.

Last night, after crying half the night in front of the prosecutor's office building, Xia Guangyuan felt extremely unwell in the morning. He tried to hold back his cough and waved his hand at Li Xian.

He had intended to ask Li Xian about Su Ya and her daughter, but after recounting his own past, he ended up being harshly criticized by this young man, leaving him with mixed feelings.

He wanted to be angry but found he couldn't muster the energy or right to be mad.

He also scolded himself internally, and the guilt only grew stronger.

Indeed, what could he do?

Life is always like drinking water—one knows the warmth and coldness oneself. Those who stand outside always speak lightly.

Seeing that the man had stopped coughing, Li Xian glanced at his watch. It was just past one forty, and he still had twenty minutes to wait.

With time to kill, Li Xian decided to pass the time with idle chatter, brushing off the ash from his cigarette that had landed on his coat. He said, "I have a friend whose father was one of those educated youths who were sent to the countryside. Later, in 1975, he ran away, leaving behind his wife and his recently born younger brother."

Xia Guangyuan's pupils immediately contracted at this news. He forced himself to control his excitement and kept his tone calm, "What happened to them later?"

Li Xian shook his head with a wry smile, "What could happen? Back then, without a man in the house, life was tough. Her mother broke down after her father left. When she and her brother were young, no one took care of them. One time, she had a severe fever, but her mother was working outside and didn't know, so she ended up damaging her vocal cords.

Such a bright girl, full of life, but she couldn't speak. If her father had been around, would such a thing have happened? People like him and my friend's father—they're really animals."

As Li Xian spoke and thought about Su Ya, he became melancholy, feeling pity, and couldn't help but be a bit talkative.

After he finished his steel-man theory about how one can fool around but must be responsible for family, he realized the man next to him had already slumped down.

"Ah, you're quite ill. Older brother, I think you should not waste any more time here. You'd better go to the hospital and get checked out."

As the man was about to collapse to the ground, Li Xian hurried to support him.

The man weakly waved his hand, mumbled a few words, and without saying much, staggered away.

Watching the man's back, Li Xian furrowed his brow.

This person was quite strange.

Before he could think more about it, his cell phone rang—it was a call from Yun Hao, asking him to wait at the entrance of the provincial office as he was about to come and pick him up.

...

When Li Xian arrived at the secretary's office, Sun Weimin was wearing reading glasses and reviewing some documents. Upon seeing Li Xian enter, he gestured with his pen to the chair across from his desk.

"Xiao Li, please sit for a moment while I finish this."

"Okay, Secretary Sun. I'm not in a hurry," Li Xian said with a smile and took a seat across from Sun Weimin.

The office of this old secretary was decorated very simply. The old wooden bookshelf wasn't filled with various books as seen in TV shows or movies, nor was it cluttered with the ostentatious collections of some flashy entrepreneurs.

Aside from a few books with spines marked with legal and regulatory tags, there were mostly ornaments and potted plants.

The only notable decoration was a large calligraphy piece reading "Serve the People" that looked quite imposing. 

This was different from the grand offices Li Xian had imagined. However, upon seeing the calligraphy's signature, he secretly marveled, thinking that greatness often lies in simplicity.

After Yun Hao brought Li Xian in, he left the office, leaving it very quiet.

The only sound was the rustle of writing.

The pen was an Aurora, with a sky-blue plastic barrel. The cap was on the top of the pen, and the gold nib glided across the document, producing a row of script in what appeared to be regular script.

Such a meticulous approach to drafting documents was rare among leaders. Even Li Xian, when dealing with company matters, often used cursive for speed.

After a long time, Sun Weimin stopped writing, carefully capped the pen, and looked up at Li Xian.

"Bored waiting?"

Li Xian snapped back to reality, quickly shaking his head with a smile, "Not at all. I was just admiring Secretary Sun's beautiful regular script. But this method of processing documents is quite slow."

He pointed at the closed document.

"Oh," Sun Weimin said, then laughed heartily, "It's fine to be slow, but if it's wrong, that's a problem. I'm not trying to boast, but this document affects the work of thousands or tens of thousands of people. If I write hastily, the people below might misinterpret it and won't dare to come back to ask for clarification, causing big issues."

Sun Weimin placed the pen back in its holder and turned his gaze back to Li Xian, "Xiao Li, what brings you here?"

"Thanks to Secretary Sun's intervention yesterday, I was able to get out of the prosecutor's office. I came to express my gratitude," Li Xian responded.

Sun Weimin looked at Li Xian with a half-smile, "Just for that?"

"Yes, just for that," Li Xian nodded, feeling a bit awkward, "I was thinking of bringing something when I came, but I thought it might be inappropriate, and you don't lack for anything, so I came empty-handed."

"Oh," Sun Weimin chuckled, "You and Liu Weihai did a good job. The Bangye Liquor project is excellent. That's quite a big gift. However, when the director told me this morning that you wanted to see me, I thought you might be here to complain about something."

Li Xian hadn't intended to dig into this matter!

But now that Sun Weimin had mentioned it, he was left without a response. He hadn't expected Sun Weimin to stand up for him, so he just shook his head.

Sun Weimin shook his head, "The situation in the province is too complex right now. Be more cautious in the future. Let's not talk about this. I wasn't planning to see you today, but it's a good thing you came. Liu Wanfa mentioned that you're an outstanding entrepreneur in the city. Besides Bangye Liquor, you also have a tissue business. Is that right?"

Li Xian didn't understand the point of this question, so he nodded.

"What's your view on the economic situation in Longjiang?" Sun Weimin asked, stressing, "In other words, do you have confidence in the future development of Longjiang Province? I think the opinions of private entrepreneurs like you are the most valuable."

Hearing this question, Li Xian fell silent.

If he answered based on his memory, the answer would certainly be negative.

Geographically, the nearby Northern Dynasty and Russia had terrible economies, offering little economic drive.

From a geographical perspective, the advantages of old industrial bases were being replaced by delta and coastal areas, and the long winters made commercial and agricultural activities lag behind the south.

In summary, development prospects seemed bleak.

But now, standing in this era, being part of it, his pessimistic mood had shifted somewhat.

After all, it was still the end of 1993.

Theoretically, anyone had a chance to rise in this favorable environment.

Well...

At least, his chances of rising were quite high.

"I'm not optimistic."

Li Xian turned his eyes and gave a direct answer.