Yu Wenhua was supposed to meet Xiao Bing tonight and Xiao Bing didn’t want to miss it. After all, the final war was imminent, so he did not want to waste too much time on this vice secretary of the provincial party committee. Yet he could not refuse this big man, so the sooner he met him, the better.
On the way to Harbin, Xiao Bing was wondering what this man, who held great power in Hei Province, wanted from him. He had never met this man before. Actually, now he was the mogul of the underground world in Hei Province while Yu Wenhua was in charge of the public security in this area. All the police in Hei Province answered to him.
In other words, it was a meeting of the leaders of the government and the gangs in Hei Province. But Xiao Bing didn’t think that he could be on equal terms with this man. After all, no matter how high his position was in the underground, he still could not rival the government. Yu Wenhua was the representative of a government department that was dedicated to punishing those who did evil deeds.
As powerful as Master Hou was, he dared not to offend the government. After all, the government could destroy the underground world without much effort. Hence, the moguls in the underground world, no matter how powerful they were, would definitely feel nervous when they were about to meet a government official as big as Yu Wenhua.
But Xiao Bing was not nervous. Maybe it was because Xiao Bing had just taken Master Hou’s place and he had not been in that state of mind yet. Besides, Xiao Bing was once the captain of the Dragon Gate, so he was familiar with situations like this.
There was a five hours’ drive between Jiang City and Harbin, the capital of the province. Xiao Bing started driving at 10 a.m. and finally arrived at 3 p.m.
After he went downtown, he drove to a hotel and checked in, then he called Yu Wenhua in his room.
The phone beeped and then he got through. “Hello? Is this the vice secretary of the provincial party committee?” Xiao Bing asked softly.
Xiao Bing sounded neither deferential nor arrogant but very polite.
Yu Wenhua was seemingly smiling on the phone. “You’re good. I can tell that you are quite a decent man from the way you talk. You don’t sound nervous when talking to the vice secretary of the provincial party committee. Few young men of your age can be as calm as you. You just arrived, right? I will have a meeting later and it will be over at about 5. I assume you must be tired because of the driving. Tell me your address. Have some rest, and later, I’ll send my man to pick you up.”
Xiao Bing did not refuse Yu Wenhua’s offer. He told this man the address of the hotel and his room number. Then he hung up after they exchanged goodbyes.
One day’s driving might be tiring, but it was nothing to Xiao Bing. Xiao Bing did not lie on the bed, instead, he walked to the balcony. He could not help sighing when thinking that the nights of this city had belonged to the Long family one month ago. And now it fell on his hands.
In Harbin, some men that took control of the underground world took orders from Xiao Bing. Xiao Bing did not tell them about his arrival, since Xiao Bing could make it on time and he wanted to keep a low profile. After the meeting, Xiao Bing decided to take a stroll around this city, which had a certain Russian style.
When it was about half-past five, the landline in his room rang. Xiao Bing picked it up and heard the receptionist’s soft and sweet voice. “Good evening, Mr. Xiao. There’s someone at the front desk to pick you up.”
“All right, I know. Tell them to wait a minute. I’m coming.”
Xiao Bing didn’t dawdle. He went into the elevator and walked out when it descended to the first floor. He found a man in a suit standing next to the counter. Upon seeing Xiao Bing walk out of the elevator, the female receptionist instantly said, “Mr. Xiao, this man is here to pick you up.”
The man clad in the suit straightened his body hurriedly. Then he held out his hands and smiled amiably. “You’re Mr. Xiao, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Mr. Yu’s driver. He’s waiting for you at the hotel. He asked me to pick you up.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Xiao Bing didn’t dare to show any disrespect to him, even though he was merely a driver. “May I know your name?”
It’s a courtesy to ask for people’s names. After all, it’s rude to call a driver “driver”. Xiao Bing knew that sometimes to impress someone’s driver was more important than to impress his junior officers. Because for a leader, his driver was often the one he trusted most. The driver knew the leader’s comings and goings. He would not have been put in such an important position if the leader didn’t put enough trust in him.
As he had expected, the driver seemed to like Xiao Bing. The smile on his face turned warmer, instead of being artificial as usual. He chuckled. “My name is Lu Zhe. I have been Mr. Yu’s driver for eight years.”
As he had expected, it seemed Mr. Yu did put absolute trust in his driver.
But Xiao Bing was not behaving saccharinely, which impressed Lu Zhe. Though he was merely a driver, many high-positioned officers wanted to curry favor with Mr. Yu by impressing him. So he had seen all kinds of people. Though he knew the fact that Xiao Bing was the one who took control of the underground world of Hei Province now, he did not seem nervous nor was he in awe of Xiao Bing. He didn’t even attach much importance to Xiao Bing. For him, Xiao Bing currently was merely someone who Mr. Yu wanted to meet. But Xiao Bing’s respect for Lu Zhi made him attach more and more importance to Xiao Bing.
The two walked out of the hotel while talking about the weather and the landscapes of Harbin. Then the two got into a car.
Lu Zhe was still smiling. “Xiao Bing, from what I have seen, Mr. Yu seems very impressed by you.”
Xiao Bing sounded surprised. “Really? He knows a great deal about me?”
Lu Zhe grinned. “Think about it. Is there anything in Hei Province that Mr. Yu doesn’t know？ He’s in charge of public security. And the underground world has always been his focus.”
. Xiao Bing pondered for a moment and said, “Indeed. I wonder what his purpose is of inviting me this time.”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure that he won’t make it difficult for you. You don’t need to worry about that.”
Xiao Bing nodded and felt slightly relieved.
The car slowly drove to a restaurant called Zhenghuai. Several guards soon circled them, helping Lu Zhe park the car. It seemed that these guards respected this driver very much. Xiao Bing was impressed by the influence of the government, since a driver could be treated so reverently.
After the car was parked, Xiao Bing and Lu Zhe got out. Then the several guards at the entrance escorted them respectfully. Later a male manager came up to them. “Mr. Lu, the dishes are ready. Mr. Yu is waiting for you inside.”
Lu Zhe nodded. Xiao Bing could not help complimenting him inwardly. Whether in terms of temperament or way of speaking, he did not seem to be an ordinary driver. Indeed, the people around the leaders of a province did seem uncommon. But it was nothing surprising to Xiao Bing because he once saw the drivers working for the leaders of the central committee. Their temperament was even more impressive.
Lu Zhi knocked on the door gently after the two approached the room. “Mr. Yu, Mr. Xiao is here.”
“Then why don’t you come in?” The voice sounded serene, but there was an invisible solemn quality to it.
Lu Zhe twisted the handle and opened the door. “Mr. Yu, I need to pick up my kid from school. After you finish, just go to the car. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Okay!”
After he got his consent, Lu Zhe nodded at Xiao Bing and said, “Mr. Xiao, please come in.”
After Xiao Bing went in, he left after he closed the door for them.
But he did not intend to pick up his child. Drivers needed to be observant and aware of what they should and should not do. It was a kind of art of working. He knew that sometimes he should avoid situations like this. The more he knew, the more endangered he would be.
The room was quite spacious. On a big table were four courses and a bowl of soup. They were made with meat and vegetables. It was clearly not very sumptuous, but quite enough for two people.
Sitting in a chair was a man in his 40s who resembled Yu Miao to some extent. But the middle-aged man was more solemn than his gentle son. One could not possibly ignore the dignified bearing of this man.
Standing behind him was a man in his 30s with a stern face. Xiao Bing could feel that this man was a top master who was at least at the Transforming-strength stage.
There was a smile on Xiao Bing’s face. It was courteous and respectful, but not smarmy. “Mr. Yu, I never thought that I’d have the chance to meet you.”
Yu Wenhua, a middle-aged man who was the secretary of the Hei Provincial Party Committee, was the leader of those who were in charge of the public security in Hei Province. He did not seemingly intend to rise, which was reasonable, considering how high-positioned he was. He just knocked the table gently and said in a soft voice, “I’m just a small servant of the good people of the city. Such courtesy is unnecessary. Come and sit down.”
Xiao Bing then sat opposite Yu Wenhua. Finally, the one who decided the fate of the underground world in Hei Province and the one who took control of it started their meeting!