Crime and Punishment: Female Secretary

Chapter 22
After eating breakfast in a small street shop, Lin Ruonan wandered aimlessly under the camphor green trees on the sidewalk, watching the bustling figures passing by, feeling that they were like big colorful puppets with blooming faces. With various expressions.

The sunlight, passing through the dense leaves of maple trees, splashed on the shoulders of Lin Ruonan's lavender shirt, like round and round jade beads, with a faint silver light.The warm wind blew across his face, ruffling a few strands of fine hair.Looking up, I saw a yellowed leaf, sticking to the end of the branch tremblingly, swaying a few times, finally unable to withstand the baptism of the wind, leaving reluctantly, slowly falling to the ground, flipping, flying...

Lin Ruonan felt like this leaf, so helpless and at a loss, where to go, where not to go?There is no answer.

"Ga—" A silver-gray off-road vehicle stopped in front of Lin Ruonan, scaring Lin Ruonan, who was like a wandering ghost, enough.

Lin Ruonan just wanted to complain, but the face protruding from the driving window shocked Lin Ruonan.

"Brother Feiyang—" Lin Ruonan called out in disbelief.

"Why are you staring blankly under the tree alone? Your phone keeps turning off." Zhao Feiyang had a bright face.

"You, when did you come? It's incredible!"

"Just flew over."

"Really? What a surprise."

"Haha, get in the car, little guy." Zhao Feiyang's tone was full of pampering and affection.

Little guy, you actually call me little guy, such an intimacy, Lin Ruonan felt a little satisfied in his heart.

Lin Ruonan walked around to the other side, opened the door, and sat in the co-pilot seat, a light apple scent wafted into her nostrils.After not seeing each other for several months, Lin Ruonan couldn't help sneaking a glance at him, but was caught by his looking back, and both of them would smile.

"Nan Nan, you seem to have lost a lot of weight and darkened a lot during this time!" Zhao Feiyang's eyes were full of heartache.

"Is it like an African refugee?" Lin Ruonan asked.Miraculously meeting Zhao Feiyang on the street, Lin Ruonan was inexplicably excited, and his gloomy mood cleared up and became clear.

"Like a miner crawling out of a coal mine." Zhao Feiyang joked exaggeratedly.

"Go, hate it." Lin Ruonan said coquettishly, squinting her beautiful big eyes, looking very dissatisfied.

Seeing the expression of a little girl like Lin Ruonan, Zhao Feiyang's eyes were full of tenderness and smile.He stretched out a hand, caressed Lin Ruonan, and said lovingly: "I heard that I have been wronged during this time."

"It's good to know, so please comfort me." Lin Ruonan said coquettishly.

"Of course, I can do whatever you need." Zhao Feiyang stared at Lin Ruonan's face closely, and said seriously.

"Okay, I'm just kidding, looking at people like this. Seriously, when did you arrive, Gan Ning?" Lin Ruonan was embarrassed by Zhao Feiyang, and quickly changed the subject.

"I arrived yesterday. I called you yesterday and kept turning off the phone. Later, Cheng Xiang and I went to the village first, found the village secretary and director, asked for the village account, and planned to send money to their account in the next two days. I will tell you about this later. The secretary reported."

"Cheng Xiang is here? You brought the money. Is it from Longxiang Chemical Factory? Or somewhere else?" Lin Ruonan's blood immediately boiled when he heard the news. During these days, Lin Ruonan settled claims for Longxiang Chemical Factory every day. It's so annoying, and now I suddenly hear that the problem has been solved, how can this not be exciting.

"It's a long story. After you called me the other day, I sent some friends around to inquire about Long Zai's whereabouts. It turned out that he had indeed returned to Haizhou and was looking for friends to collect money. The day I found him, I was very cruel. He scolded him badly, and he told me the situation he was facing very aggrieved, saying that he couldn't get the money together for a while, and you were arguing with him every day for money, he really didn't know how to deal with you, so I turned off the phone. Later, I talked to the chairman of our company about this matter, and he agreed to ask Gong Xiaolong and the others to borrow 300 million from our company for emergency. Long Zai still has something to do in Haizhou, so I I came here first with Cheng Xiang." Zhao Feiyang explained.

"So that's it!" Lin Ruonan was relieved, the settlement of the claim made her heart soar with joy, and she said happily, "Let's go, where are we going?"

"What do you say?"

"Go to Phoenix Mountain."

Under the guidance of Lin Ruonan, Zhao Feiyang drove the car to the foot of Phoenix Mountain.

Phoenix Mountain is 1400 kilometers away from Ganning City, with an altitude of [-] meters. It is the highest mountain combination in Ganning County. The mountains are connected. At the foot of the mountain, there is a lake with an area of ​​about one square kilometer. A new stone bridge paved with cobblestones was newly built. The stone bridge spans between two mountains and floats on the water like a ribbon.The water of the lake is crystal clear, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and surrounding green mountains.Several temples were built at the highest point at the bottom of the mountain. From the foot of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, there is a two-meter-wide gravel road around the mountain to the temple. The ancient temple on the top of the mountain is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhist believers in Ganning County. On happy occasions, you can see people going up and down on the winding gravel road. On that day, you can also hear the melodious sound of ancient temple bells floating from the top of the mountain to the mountain stream.

The pristine natural scenery attracts tourists to Ganning, and the leaders of Ganning County also intend to develop this heaven-sent Fengshui treasure land and turn it into a first-class recreational water villa in Ganning.

Today is not a holiday, Phoenix Mountain is very quiet, Lin Ruonan and Zhao Feiyang walked on the stone bridge one after the other.Being in such a landscape, there is a feeling of relaxation and joy.The fresh air and sweet warm wind can wash away the troubles deep in people's hearts, and make people feel like they are reborn and stepping into a fairyland.Lin Ruonan forgot everything at this moment, forgot all the unhappiness before, and also forgot those negative remarks.The thickness of the mountains and the tranquility of the water make everything beyond the sky and the earth seem insignificant.

Following the stone bridge, Lin Ruonan and Zhao Feiyang walked to the center of the lake.

Lin Ruonan leaned on the ivory-white railing, looked at the sparkling blue lake, and exclaimed, "It's so beautiful!"

"Yeah, I never thought there would be such a beautiful paradise in Gan Ning." Zhao Feiyang was also intoxicated by the beautiful scenery in front of him.

"It's a pity that the beautiful day is so beautiful!" Lin Ruonan sighed.

"Nan Nan, I heard that the Disciplinary Inspection has investigated you for the 20 yuan matter, right?" Zhao Feiyang suddenly remembered this matter and asked with concern.

"Yes, they called you to check, right?"

"Yes, I told them, without any relationship of interest, is it a violation of the law for me to lend money to anyone?"

"Although I didn't break the law, it violated common sense. It's understandable for them to doubt it. I'll pay you back the money when I save enough."

"Nannan, I don't want you to pay back this money. Don't I have the right to control my own money?"

"But people in the world don't see it that way. In their eyes, there must be a reason for me to accept your money for no reason."

"You, you just think about other people's eyes, you think too much about the world, can you live for yourself once?"

"I also want to live for myself, but I'm in such a remote county town. If you burp, you can hear it in half the city. You think this is Haizhou, so you can do whatever you want."

"Come with me to Haizhou!"

"If I am a free person and a single individual, I will leave as soon as I say. A woman who has given birth to a child is not only a woman, but more often than not, she is a mother."

"Great mother, sorry woman! Hi!"

"Brother Feiyang, even though we are not destined to be together, you are still the most beautiful situation in my life." When Lin Ruonan said this, he turned his head to stare at Zhao Feiyang, and said affectionately.

Zhao Feiyang stretched out a hand, caressing the scattered strands of slender black hair on Lin Ruonan's forehead, and said softly, "My dream wife!"

"Brother Feiyang—"

Lin Ruonan and Zhao Feiyang had dinner in a tavern at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain before returning to Ganning County. When they arrived at the county seat, Lin Ruonan told Zhao Feiyang that he wanted to go back to her husband's house to pick up her daughter, so Zhao Feiyang reluctantly sent Lin Ruonan to Lin Ruonan The intersection of the mother-in-law's house.Lin Ruonan got out of the car, and Zhao Feiyang drove back to Longxiang Chemical Factory until his back disappeared into the alley.

When Lin Ruonan arrived at her in-law's house, she only heard from her mother-in-law that her daughter had been brought home by Wu Haijun an hour earlier.Lin Ruonan hurried home.

As soon as Lin Ruonan entered the house, her daughter Wenwen ran over and said softly, "Mom, why are you coming back now? Dad called and said that you would come to pick him up, but he didn't see you until it was almost six o'clock." Come back. It was my father who went to the countryside and came back to pick me up."

"I'm sorry, Wenwen, my mother has been delayed by something." Lin Ruonan said shamefully, and held her daughter tightly in her arms with open arms.Lin Ruonan blamed herself for her daughter's words, and left her daughter at her mother-in-law's house, but she greedily enjoyed the intoxicating time with Zhao Feiyang.

"Did you eat?" Lin Ruonan asked.

"We ate at grandma's house." The daughter replied, while Wu Haijun sat on the sofa watching TV without saying a word or expression. Seeing her husband's expression, Lin Ruonan's happy mood became a little gloomy again. The recent atmosphere is too boring, except when her daughter's innocent expression and hearty laughter can give her a short-term sense of happiness, most of the time, Lin Ruonan feels that her home is like a suffocating cage, and she and Wu Haijun become two people in the cage. Only a trapped beast.

Lin Ruonan couldn't figure out why Wu Haijun's attitude towards her had become like this. Her husband, who had always been submissive to her, was steadfast in everything from the house mortgage loan to the point where he is so cold-eyed today. According to an old saying that people often say, behind a successful man there must be an excellent woman, but behind a successful woman there will be a man who broke her heart.Lin Ruonan is not considered a successful woman, at best she has a higher position and influence than her husband.Seeing Wu Haijun's expression, Lin Ruonan also lost the idea of ​​talking to her. She finished her homework with her daughter, played games for a while, and then just sat in the bedroom and watched TV.At this time, the TV series "Out of the Besieged City" is being broadcast on TV. The story tells the conflicts and entanglements of several middle-aged couples hovering on the border of divorce during the period of marriage exhaustion.Now TV and the Internet are full of novels and articles with titles such as "Itchy Marriage", "The Seven-Year Itch" and "Eight-Year Pain". In reality, stories of betrayal and re-betrayal are also being staged everywhere.Lin Ruonan thought, what happened to everyone nowadays?Why is it itchy after many years of marriage?This is a common problem of the times, or an epidemic "viral infection", and now I also feel itchy, and the itching is uncomfortable.

The next day, early in the morning, Lin Ruonan received a call from Li Chaozheng, asking her to go to Longxiang Chemical Factory together.When Lin Ruonan and Li Chaozheng came to Longxiang Chemical Factory, they saw Zhao Feiyang, Gong Xiaolong, Cheng Xiang and others standing in the company's compound. As soon as they saw Lin Ruonan and the others, they rushed to greet them.

"Secretary Li and Mayor Lin, I was really embarrassed those days, because I hadn't raised any money, and I didn't feel like replying to you, so I turned off my phone. I didn't expect to cause you such a big trouble." Gong Xiaolong said with a face of shame.

"Mr. Gong, it's good that you're back. After you left, our village head Lin really suffered a lot these days. All the conflicts were pointed at him, but she always believed that you would come back and stood up for you. Pressure from all sides." Li Chaozheng said.

"I'm really sorry, Mayor Lin, to trouble you." Gong Xiaolong showed embarrassment.

"It's fine, it's fine when you come back, but the case of the fight last time is still unsolved, I wonder if we need to find some connections." Lin Ruonan reminded.

"I came to you today to talk about this."

"Is Cai Chen still locked inside?" Li Chaozheng asked with concern.

"Yes, they said that this time the impact was too great, and they must detain him for fifteen days."

"I don't need to worry too much about this matter. The main thing is to do a good job of comforting the family members of the seriously injured. No matter what, it will be good for him to be locked up for a period of time. People must learn to control their emotions and not be too impulsive under any circumstances. Everyone has to pay for what they do." Zhao Feiyang said disapprovingly.

Gong Xiaolong listened, and lowered his head in silence, Li Chaozheng and Lin Ruonan were surprised, they couldn't figure it out, logically speaking, as Gong Xiaolong's best brother, Zhao Feiyang, the brother's employee entered the hall, They were all thinking of how to redeem people, but Zhao Feiyang did the opposite.

Zhao Feiyang saw the strange expressions of Li Chaozheng and Lin Ruonan, and then he explained indifferently: "The deterrent power of the law lies in the awe of every citizen. If we treat the law as a trifle, the bloody and wild nature deep in everyone's heart will be destroyed." Unlimited expansion, the law is a measure of fairness. It measures the scope and bottom line of everyone's actions. It is because of its existence that we have avoided many cruel disputes. If rights holders use too much relationship to interfere, the law will will become a prop."

Li Chaozheng and Lin Ruonan felt very guilty when they heard this, and deeply admired his compassion. A businessman can protect the majesty of the law like this, but they, as the leaders of the government, failed to notice such details.

In the evening, Li Chaozheng and Lin Ruonan stayed at Longxiang Company for dinner.At the dinner table, Zhao Feiyang put forward a plan for the situation that Gong Xiaolong’s company was facing, asking whether Gong Xiaolong and the local government leaders could find some companies and enterprises and let them invest funds for upgrading in the form of shares. After all, Longxiang Chemical Factory is a A sunrise enterprise has great prospects and markets. Regardless of social needs or local tax sources, such an enterprise must find a way to re-operate.

Lin Ruonan and Li Chaozheng were enlightened after hearing this, saying that this idea is very good.

Gong Xiaolong heard this, but worried that it would be difficult to raise so much money, and felt that it was still difficult.

Zhao Feiyang said that if the leaders of the local government came forward and talked with Gong Xiaolong together, the effect would be better.

Li Chaozheng quickly said, then shall we send Mayor Lin and Gong Xiaolong to Haizhou?
Zhao Feiyang nodded slightly, although he was very happy in his heart, he remained calm.

The county leaders heard that Longxiang Chemical Factory was going to raise funds to renew its equipment, so they strongly supported it and sent staff from the Southern District Management Committee to Jiangkou Village to do a good job of comforting the villagers in Jiangkou Village.Because of the pollution incident last time, the relationship between the villagers of Jiangkou Village and the Longxiang Chemical Plant became very tense. The county party committee worried that the villagers in Jiangkou Village would hinder the restart of the Longxiang Chemical Plant. The resentment of the local villagers.

Lin Ruonan, Zhao Feiyang and Gong Xiaolong returned to Haizhou to raise funds in the early morning of the third day.Before Lin Ruonan's business trip, she made a special trip home to visit her daughter and her husband, but Wu Haijun's words made her feel as uncomfortable as eating blowflies.

One afternoon before departure, Lin Ruonan bought vegetables from the vegetable market and returned home. Seeing that her husband and daughter hadn't come back, Lin Ruonan went to the kitchen to prepare the food first.When Wu Haijun and the others came back, Lin Ruonan was coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of food. Seeing Wu Haijun push the door in, Lin Ruonan said enthusiastically, "The food is ready, come and eat."

"Having such an early dinner, you still have to go on a date!" Wu Haijun had a sneering look on his face.When Lin Ruonan heard this, she suddenly felt furious, but when she saw her daughter standing beside her, Lin Ruonan could only suppress her anger.She feels that Wu Haijun is becoming more and more incomprehensible now.

To Haizhou, Lin Ruonan took Zhao Feiyang's car, and Gong Xiaolong drove another car by himself.In the car, Zhao Feiyang said to Lin Ruonan: "Nannan, you must be very surprised that I didn't agree with you the day before yesterday to find a relationship and release Cai Chen in advance, right?"

"It's a little bit unreasonable." Lin Ruonan said truthfully.

"Actually, what I said was mainly for Gong Xiaolong. He is sometimes too rough. I hope he and his employees can pay for his aggressive behavior."

"Ah, I still don't get it."

"Gong Xiaolong and I met more than ten years ago, do you know where we met?"

"Where did you meet?" Lin Ruonan asked strangely.

"In prison."

"In prison?"

"Isn't it incredible?"

"Yes, I've never heard of it from you." Lin Ruonan was very surprised when she heard that Zhao Feiyang had been in prison. She didn't know how many stories Zhao Feiyang had hidden.

"I met him in the prison. At that time, he was the boss in our cell. He was aggressive and violent. All the prisoners had to respect him. At that time, I was sentenced for injuring a classmate. When I was in prison, when I first entered, I was very depressed. At first, I did whatever they asked me to do, like a dead person. Then there was one time..." Zhao Feiyang told the story of what happened intermittently while driving the car. Speaking eloquently, especially when talking about his ex-girlfriend who fell in a pool of blood trying to save him, Zhao Feiyang choked up tears and couldn't continue talking.

Recalling the past, Zhao Feiyang was deeply saddened. He suddenly stepped on the brake pedal, and the car "creaked" and parked firmly on the side of the road.Zhao Feiyang buried his head deeply on the steering wheel, wrapping his hands around the steering wheel.It is said that men do not shed tears lightly, but Zhao Feiyang shed tears.

Lin Ruonan gently stroked Zhao Feiyang's arm back and forth, hoping to heal his pain.She didn't expect Zhao Feiyang to be so loyal to his emotions, and she didn't expect such a heart-wrenching story to happen to him.

Through the glass window in front, Lin Ruonan saw the willow trees swaying on both sides of the road, with thick and green leaves, and fields and rolling mountains on both sides. Looking past, it was green.The sky is as blue as a mirror. Occasionally, one or two unknown birds rise from the field in the distance, spread their wings, and draw a shadowless arc in the blue sky before disappearing into the sky. Down.Occasional vehicles pass by on the road, rolling up a cloud of dust.

After a long time, Zhao Feiyang raised his head, wiped his eye sockets, stared into the distance, and said with vigor: "It's all over, let's not talk about the past."

"Yes, live in the present, and I will always be by your side." Lin Ruonan comforted.

"Nannan, thank you. It is enough to have your kindness. Too many things are hard to be fulfilled. In reality, people always embrace the incomplete life and wander on the one-way drifting line." Zhao Feiyang turned his head, Staring at Lin Ruonan, he said regretfully.

"We are two parallel lines that are close together. We have no chance to intersect, but we are the closest. We can feel each other's slight breath."

"Nan Nan--"

"Brother Feiyang—" they called each other softly, containing too many words, the two didn't say anything, they just looked at each other foolishly.

(End of this chapter)