Ji Yang had left the office around ten o'clock and was walking towards his residence.
The streets of Qingyuan Village weren't wide, and beneath the streetlights, there were still some night market vendors giving it a bit of a city atmosphere.
Under the dim lights, sounds of people playing drinking games could occasionally be heard.
Ji Yang and other outsiders without local housing were accommodated in the cadre rotation housing, a nicely built five-story building with three units serving as the grassroots cadres' dormitory.
The village leadership had planned the area into a community, complete with a guest house, a cadre dormitory building, and more than ten contiguous villas—those were where the leaders lived.
Actually, it was not only the external cadres living there, but some leaders who had families in the village had also moved there.
It wasn't clear when it had started, but the village leaders, under the pretext of taking good care of the external cadres, had carved out some benefits for themselves.
Thinking about this, Ji Yang also thought about those families that had deaths; according to the plan, they had to move out, and fortunately, that matter was being handled by Lu Shijie, so Ji Yang didn't have to worry about it himself.
To the left of the community was the villa area, with villas scattered artistically and hidden among the trees, quite secluded. The general cadre's quarters were to the right, just that building.
Under the guise of caring for external cadres to better serve the village, the village had indeed procured many benefits for the cadres.
Of course, the biggest beneficiaries were the leaders.
By the way, there had been news recently that higher-ups had some opinions about the situation in the village, and were coming for an investigation or something; then the car accident happened.
Ji Yang felt that he couldn't delve too deeply into this matter. Was there a problem underlying the whole incident?
The weather was very hot, and as Ji Yang looked around, he saw some hair salons which looked dimly lit from the outside and were occupied by scantily clad women.
On the way to the community, there were now many barbecue stalls, and people liked to eat barbecue and drink some alcohol here when they had free time.
The daily life of a typical village cadre was quite dull, incomparable to those of the leaders.
As he walked, he suddenly heard a shout and turned to see Qiu Ling calling out.
Looking at where they were sitting, goodness, several women from the office were there, along with some other department cadres.
"Director Ji, come have some barbecue!"
A young man named Chen Yongwei had already stood up to greet him.
This lad knew how to behave; he quickly got up and then started handing out bowls and chopsticks.
Ji Yang had often eaten at barbecue stalls at night, so he didn't feel out of place, and smiled, "I thought you all had gone to rest, didn't expect you to be out here eating barbecue."
Liu Yun, guessing she had adjusted her mindset, smiled and said, "Our big director is so busy, come on, sit down and eat something."
Qiu Ling poured some beer and said, "Don't worry, there shouldn't be any trouble now, have a drink."
Wei Wuyin also smiled and said, "You've been working hard, eat this skewer of kidneys."
All the women immediately burst out laughing.
Ji Yang also felt depressed, knowing that Wei Wuyin was teasing him; this woman was quite outspoken in the village, even daring to participate in risqué jokes with men at the dinner table.
After a while, Ji Yang realized he was sitting between Liu Yun and Wei Wuyin.
Lifting his head, he saw Qiu Ling right across from him.
Perhaps due to the heat, everyone had changed into cooler attire, and Qiu Ling, a woman with a voluptuous figure, revealed a lot of cleavage every time she bent over.
At first, Ji Yang thought she hadn't noticed, but later, he realized she was doing it on purpose, sometimes even exaggerating her movements.
Previously, she wouldn't have acted like this towards him; maybe it was because of a change in status.
A few beers and skewers of meat later, Ji Yang felt a lot more relaxed all over.
"Big Director Ji, everyone was just talking about you. You've made great progress this time!" a woman named Miao Xiaoying said with a smile, looking at Ji Yang.
This woman worked in the family planning office and was also a forthright person.
Looking at her, she was indeed very beautiful.
"I wasn't even aware of the situation, leadership suddenly promoted me, to be honest, I'm still a bit stunned," Ji Yang could only say this.
When everyone heard this, it seemed a bit pretentious.
"Director Ji, Miao has strong writing skills. For comrades like her, you should keep an eye out," Qiu Ling added at this moment.
Ji Yang immediately understood; the Party and Government Office was short-staffed, and it seemed that Miao Xiaoying had some thoughts on it.
"Miao's capabilities are strong; she should definitely be a focus for training over at the planning office."
However, even though Chu Shuyuan had mentioned reallocating him, he still couldn't easily agree.
"It seems the feelings aren't there yet, Miao. We ought to drink a cup of cross-cupped wine," Qiu Ling, probably having drunk quite a bit, laughed and teased.
"Yes, definitely," Wei Wuyin joined in laughing and egging her on.
None of them are good people!
Ji Yang had just taken office; he couldn't afford any trouble and chuckled, "Miao has a man, you guys want her man to come at me with a knife? Miao, I'll drink first, and you can follow as you like."
With that, Ji Yang downed his drink in one gulp.
"Miao, Director Ji felt he had to drink first, what do you say?" Qiu Ling laughed, emphasizing the word "had."
Everyone burst into laughter.
"I'll drink too!" Miao Xiaoying said firmly and downed her drink as well.
As the woman drank, her chest swelled up, and as she drank with her head back, the change in her chest was quite seductive. After finishing her drink, she blushed beautifully, even under the lights.
The atmosphere suddenly heated up.
Amid the laughter, a few more young people came to the barbecue stall, making the scene even livelier.
Ji Yang noticed that everyone's attitude towards him had greatly changed; they were no longer casual as before but seemed rather ingratiating.
Of course, the men frequently glanced over at the women.
Everyone proposed leaving around midnight since there was still a lot of work to do tomorrow, especially for a few who were about to take up positions, as they knew they couldn't afford any mistakes at this time.
Although it was discussed, since the documents hadn't been issued yet, it was a critical period, and no one dared to make a mistake.
Several people were locals and didn't need to stay in the guesthouse.
Qiu Ling had drunk quite a bit and continually leaned towards Ji Yang.
Feeling the warmth of the woman's body, Ji Yang's mind wandered.
Still, more than anything, he reminisced about the feeling of being with Chu Shuyuan.
Several male comrades competed to impress the female comrades, drinking quite a lot.
Walking on the road, everyone staggered.
Ji Yang's tolerance for alcohol was pretty good, and since he had drunk beer today, he wasn't too affected.
Walking and laughing along the way.
Seeing the local comrades somewhat drunk, Ji Yang could only help them, sending them home.
Everyone lived close by, so it didn't take much time.
After dropping them off, Ji Yang had just walked a little way when he heard someone calling him.
Turning around, a woman stood in a hidden corner.
Looking again, it was Miao Xiaoying.
"Miao?"
"You're busy sending everyone else home, and you forgot about me!"
Miao Xiaoying said coquettishly.
"I thought you had left with someone else. I'll walk you home." Miao Xiaoying lived somewhat far away, mainly because there was a section of road that wasn't very safe. Ji Yang thought she wouldn't go home and would stay over with another female comrade, as she had often done before.