Chapter 89: He Must Be a High-Level Leader

There's an old saying that every train has a person who is knowledgeable about everything from astronomy to geography, who can boast and talk like Liu Bowen and Zhuge Liang combined. In this life, I didn't expect to meet such a person again.

As I took the train from Lingyang to Nanjing, my ticket was still bought through a connection with Dai Zhenjiang. When I entered the sleeper carriage, I saw an old man sitting on the lower bunk, chatting and boasting. I didn't want to pay him any attention, but unfortunately, he was sitting on my lower bunk. I had to ask him to move, and he complied, moving to the opposite lower bunk.

After placing my luggage and preparing to lie down, I heard the old man start talking again. "Little brother, are you also going to Nanjing? Are you going there for work or to visit relatives? You look like a student, not someone going to work. You must have relatives in Nanjing, right?"

Facing the old man's barrage of questions, I just gave him a glance. I usually ignore such people on trains, but this old man seemed persistent. He continued, "Is this your first time in Nanjing? The city has developed rapidly recently, with buildings going up everywhere. I heard a very tall hotel was recently completed; it's quite spectacular."

"You know, cities like Nanjing need young people like you to contribute knowledge and strength. I'm going there to do business. If you're interested, I can introduce you to some business opportunities. I've been developing in Nanjing for a while and know a lot of people who could help you." The old man continued.

At this point, a young man on the upper bunk spoke up, "This old man is really impressive. He has a factory in Nanjing and earns several tens of thousands every month!"

Looking at these two people, I couldn't help but comment, "You two should have gone into multi-level marketing; you'd do well with your talent for persuasion."

The old man and the young man were taken aback. "Multi-level marketing? What's that?"

I realized that, in this era, multi-level marketing might have just started emerging in China but wasn't yet rampant or widely known.

It didn't matter, though. Since I didn't know these people, there was no need to explain. I just continued reading the book I brought from home.

The train ride from Lingyang to Nanjing took over ten hours. During this time, I got to witness the old man's impressive boasting skills. Apart from me, everyone in the carriage believed he was a wealthy boss in Nanjing.

Eventually, I couldn't help but ask him, "Old man, are you called Yang Yong?"

When he heard this, the old man showed a look of surprise and curiosity. "How did you know? Can you read faces or something?"

I was astonished. I wasn't some face-reading expert; I just asked casually. It turned out to be true. I remembered that in the major multi-level marketing case that broke out nationwide later, the main culprit was Yang Yong. It seemed this old man indeed had the potential to become a multi-level marketing boss.

Of course, I wouldn't say this to Yang Yong. I just waved it off and said nothing, continuing to read my book.

When the train arrived in Nanjing, everyone was stunned. The Nanjing train station, instead of being bustling as usual, was eerily quiet. Only a few police cars were parked in front of the station, escorting a black Audi, with a group of uniformed officers seemingly waiting for someone.

"Yang Ge, didn't you say there are many people in Nanjing? Why is the train station so empty?" I heard someone ask from behind. It was the young man from the upper bunk.

"You don't know? This situation is because a high-level leader is inspecting the station. See that car over there? It's a luxury car, more advanced than a Toyota Crown. Nanjing is a major city in the reform era, so it's common to see such things. Don't be surprised," Yang Yong answered, causing everyone to admire him even more and praise him for being a big boss in Nanjing.

Before long, a police officer approached. A leader-like figure came up to me and saluted, "Hello, Mr. Zhou. I am Liu, the deputy director of the Dongmen District Public Security Bureau. I've been assigned to pick you up."

The announcement stunned everyone at the station. They couldn't believe that a deputy director of the Public Security Bureau would personally come to pick someone up. If this was true, who was this person who could warrant such treatment?

Yang Yong then asked, "So… Leader, you must be a high-level leader from the capital, right?"

I shook my head and said, "I'm not a leader. I'm just an ordinary worker's child."

Yang Yong was taken aback and then nodded, saying, "That's right, Leader Zhou. You're an ordinary worker's child, representing the workers who lead our country towards prosperity. All our leaders come from among the ordinary workers. This is what's called a leader emerging from the masses and returning to the masses!"

Hearing Yang Yong's praise, others also agreed and praised me as an extraordinary leader, assuming I must be someone significant because only high-level figures would be so modest.

Listening to the surrounding praise and admiration, I was sweating. At that moment, I wanted to shout, "Damn it! I'm just an ordinary worker's child, not some big leader from the capital. I'm just as confused as you are about what's happening!"

But I kept quiet. Since these people didn't know me and were helping to boost my image, I decided to let it be.

I followed Liu to the Audi. When the door opened, I saw a familiar face inside.

"Damn it! It's really you, Du Peng!" I exclaimed.

Sitting inside the Audi was Du Peng. Compared to over two months ago, he was now dressed in high-end brand clothes, giving off a more high-profile appearance.

I had expected it to be Du Peng. After all, the only people I knew in Nanjing were Tang Ran and Du Peng. Tang Ran was unlikely to have the means, so it must be Du Peng.

As I got into the car and closed the door, Du Peng laughed and said, "How is it? Surprised?"

"Surprised, indeed, but not much pleased," I replied. "But Du Peng, what's going on with you? Driving a car not officially available in the country and having police escort—aren't you afraid of causing trouble for your family or having this exposure lead to criticism?"

Du Peng raised his hands in surrender and said, "You've misunderstood, Zhou Ming. This isn't my decision. I'm also acting on instructions from Uncle Chen."

"Mayor Chen Yunfei asked you to do this?" I asked, surprised.

Du Peng nodded, saying, "Yes, Uncle Chen asked me to give you a high-level reception. Since he said so, I decided to make the biggest show."

Du Peng explained further, "Believe me, it's true. Otherwise, how could I mobilize the police? I'm not a leader; even though my grandfather is Du Zhongyuan, I'm not in the same system. Without Uncle Chen's approval, I wouldn't be able to make such arrangements."

I agreed. Although I had no personal experience with high-ranking officials, I understood that without local officials' approval, police escorts and such would be difficult to arrange.

But this also puzzled me. If it was Du Peng's idea, it might be because he was young and had become overconfident after making money, wanting to show off. However, if Mayor Chen Yunfei himself had requested this, I found it hard to understand why he would do so.