After exiting the main gate and turning at the intersection, they walked a few more minutes before Zhao Wenjun stopped in front of a restaurant.
“Right here. The storefront doesn’t look like much, but the food is great, especially our Nanxin specialties. Sometimes I come here just to order a dish and have a couple of drinks.” With that, Zhao Wenjun entered the restaurant.
A woman who appeared to be the proprietress, around thirty years old, immediately greeted them. She seemed to recognize Zhao Wenjun and smiled as she addressed him: “Director Zhao, here for a meal? The usual three dishes?”
“Yes, plus two more. I have a colleague with me. Get us a private room.”
“Sure thing.”
The proprietress led the two to a private room and then went about her business.
The dishes arrived quickly: stir-fied clams, cabbage, jellyfish head with edamame, along with braised Langshan chicken and locally stewed razor clams—clearly the last two substantial dishes were added last minute. Of course, they also had the locally favored hualushao liquor.
As they ate and chatted casually, after a few drinks, Zhao Wenjun refilled Fang Qingye’s glass and suddenly said:
“Xiao Fang, you’re quite something. You actually saw through the mystery of Tenglong Industry’s embezzlement case at a glance.”
“Director Zhao, what do you mean?” Fang Qingye set down his chopsticks, wearing a bewildered expression. “I know nothing about the whole incident.”
“Let’s not mince words. Xia He reported to Secretary Liu that you gave an example that night… and that example turned out to be identical to the Tenglong case. Do you still call that just an example?!” Zhao Wenjun sneered.
Upon hearing this, Fang Qingye merely smiled and picked up his chopsticks to take a bite of food.
“Xiao Fang, why are you helping Xia He? I doubt it’s just because you’re alumni?” Zhao Wenjun pressed further.
Fang Qingye remained silent.
Zhao Wenjun didn’t push further either. He raised his glass and downed it in one gulp, then suddenly opened the private room door and called out toward the counter: “Proprietress, do you have a Xinhua Dictionary?”
The proprietress was clearly puzzled by Zhao Wenjun’s sudden request for a dictionary. After a moment’s hesitation, she smiled and replied: “I think we have one. Let me get it for you.”
Within minutes, the proprietress returned and handed Zhao Wenjun a rather old-looking dictionary.
“I couldn’t find one for children, so I dug out this one from my school days. It’s a bit worn, Director Zhao. Will it do?”
“Perfect. A new one probably wouldn’t work.” Zhao Wenjun smiled as he took the dictionary and then passed it to Fang Qingye.
Fang Qingye was baffled, unsure what the other intended to do.
“Let’s play a little game with some stakes, how about that?”
“What game?” Fang Qingye grew inwardly wary, though his expression remained neutral.
“Take this dictionary, open it to any page, and tell me the page number and which character from the top. I’ll tell you exactly what character it is.”
Huh?
Fang Qingye suddenly recalled a scene from the movie “American Dreams in China” where Cheng Dongqing memorized an entire English dictionary on a plane and turned the tables during negotiations—a moment that had deeply impressed him when he watched it.
Could this Zhao Wenjun possess the same ability?
“What are the stakes then?” Fang Qingye asked cautiously.
“If I win, you pay for this meal.”
“And if you lose?” Fang Qingye inquired.
“Then I’ll tell Xia He a little-known secret.” Zhao Wenjun smiled mysteriously.
“Alright.” Fang Qingye picked up the dictionary, randomly opened it to a page, glanced at it, and asked: “Page 120, the first character in the upper left corner.”
“Calyx, the flower calyx, refers to the ring of small green segments at the base of the petals.”
Indeed correct!
Fang Qingye flipped a few more pages back: “Page 147, right side, third character from the bottom.”
Zhao Wenjun thought for a moment before answering: “It should be ‘gan’, as in ‘after bitterness comes sweetness’.”
“Impressive! I concede!” Fang Qingye put down the dictionary and gave a thumbs-up: “Director Zhao, your dictionary memorization skills are extraordinary! Such profound dedication!”
“Hehe, it’s all crude effort. I’m from the sixties generation, grew up in the countryside. Back then my family was poor, I only had a few years of schooling. After the reform and opening-up, I went to the city and worked for a period as a boiler operator. At that time, there was no entertainment to speak of, and I couldn’t afford books. I happened to pick up a dictionary and started reading it in my spare time.” Zhao Wenjun took another sip of wine and slowly recounted his past.
“Back then, I operated boilers all day. The boiler room had electricity at night, so I studied this thing day and night. Coming from a peasant family with no connections or background, if I wanted to make something of myself, how could I not study?”
“Later when the bank was hiring temporary workers, I thought boiler operation had no future, so I took the exam. Unexpectedly, I passed – though it was just for a janitorial position at the bank.”
“When I saw the tellers sitting at their counters wearing uniforms, working in such a nice environment with high salaries, I was so envious. So I studied desperately – accounting knowledge, abacus skills. Eventually I became a teller, then went for further training, step by step until I reached my current position.”
Fang Qingye had never heard these stories before. Hearing Zhao Wenjun share them now, he felt genuinely surprised and said sincerely:
“Director Zhao, your story is truly inspiring. I deeply admire you.”
Zhao Wenjun smiled and continued with his topic.
“I know I’m just a country boy with modest aspirations. Being able to reach the position of branch director is already bringing honor to my ancestors. The old director is about to retire, this position should have been mine – it was within reach. But then Xia He was suddenly transferred from above, appearing ready to take over. Outwardly I showed nothing, but inwardly I was very resentful.”
“Just because she has a graduate degree, is young and pretty, and has connections upstairs? While I only finished elementary school back then, with no background or qualifications? Should I just let others manipulate me? Xiao Fang, you can ask around at the bank or even in the city – what exactly is Zhao Wenjun’s work capability?! Am I inferior to Xia He?!”
Zhao Wenjun’s voice rose slightly, startling the proprietress outside who came in to check before retreating again.
Fang Qingye listened and said slowly: “You could compete fairly with Director Xia.”
“Fair competition? Xiao Fang, you’re too naive.” Zhao Wenjun gave a cold laugh and continued:
“Do you know? When Xia He was first transferred, she was ranked below me in the bank’s leadership. But not long after, the old director suddenly applied to upper management claiming poor health and needing to recuperate at home. The higher-ups immediately approved and had Xia He temporarily take charge of the bank’s operations! Tell me, how exactly am I supposed to compete fairly?!”
Fang Qingye fell silent without responding.
“That’s when I knew I had to adopt extraordinary measures to achieve my goals.” A flash of ruthlessness appeared in Zhao Wenjun’s eyes.
“So you decided to use the Tenglong Industry deposit theft incident to stir things up behind the scenes and make it bigger?”
“Exactly. That’s what I thought. The bigger the incident becomes, the more passive Xia He will be in her acting position, and the better my chances become.” Zhao Wenjun smiled.
“Actually, I discovered the irregularities in Tenglong Industry three months ago, and knew it was their internal staff causing trouble. I planned to use this situation to set a trap.”
“However, the timing wasn’t right yet. If exposed too early, the truth would be uncovered without any significance. So I pretended not to know, waiting for this moment to expose it. I even approached Tenglong’s Manager Qian to offer suggestions, making the situation more chaotic and increasing the investigation difficulty.”
A hint of smugness appeared on Zhao Wenjun’s face.
“Manager Qian listens to you?” Fang Qingye interjected.
“Manager Qian is my friend. We often drink together. Besides, if he doesn’t listen, does he still want his loan?” Zhao Wenjun replied nonchalantly.
Fang Qingye silently picked up his glass and took a sip of wine.
“But just when success was within reach, you intervened and ruined everything. Tell me, what benefits did Xia He offer you?!”