Chapter 57: I Wish to Form a Good Connection with You!

Every government leader in Pinghu Town has a designated "sanitation responsibility zone," and everyone is required to participate in street sweeping. As one of the initiators, Tang Ye was no exception.

The sky was just breaking, and mist filled the air.

Tang Ye hurried to his responsibility zone.

Xu Qiao had arrived early, looking around anxiously.

Dressed too thinly, she felt the chill, constantly rubbing her hands together, her rosy, delicate lips gently breathing out faint wisps of vapor.

"Mayor Tang, good morning!" Xu Qiao greeted, her voice trembling slightly from the cold.

In this wretched weather, how wonderful it would be to sleep in, curled up in a warm bed. Coming out to sweep the streets at the crack of dawn was quite inhumane.

Others might complain, but since the suggestion was made by Tang Ye, no matter how bitter or exhausting it was, she had to face it with a smile.

Tang Ye encouraged Xu Qiao, "Morning, morning, morning! Are you freezing? You will sweat once we get to work. Hurry up and get moving to finish what needs to be done, and I will treat you to breakfast."

"No need, I've already eaten breakfast."

"So what if you've eaten? Eat again!"

Tang Ye's gaze fell upon Xu Qiao's frost-bitten, purplish hands. He pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and handed them to her. "Put these on quickly before you get chilblains."

Though the white cotton labor gloves were rather unattractive, they were durable and practical.

Holding them in her hands, she could feel Tang Ye's body warmth, and a strange emotion welled up in her heart.

"The weather turned cold exceptionally fast this year, and the temperatures have dropped below zero. I wonder if it's going to snow."

"Other cities have already started snowing. I saw many pictures online that looked quite pretty."

"They say a timely snow promises a good harvest, but if it's too heavy, it will disrupt production and work."

Xu Qiao paused for a moment. She had been thinking of romantic snowscapes, while Mayor Tang was focused on people's livelihoods and practical matters.

Could this be considered a generation gap?

Tang Ye picked up the large bamboo broom and, without another word, began sweeping along the street.

Xu Qiao held a pair of tongs, bending down from time to time to pick up debris and drop it into a bag.

Tang Ye moved like a bulldozer, rapidly pushing forward several dozen meters, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead...

The sanitary conditions in Pinghu had visibly improved. Debris was rarely seen on the ground, and everyone had begun to spontaneously maintain environmental hygiene.

Shopkeepers cleaned their doorsteps before closing every evening; ordinary citizens threw their household waste into designated areas; and although the number of sanitation workers hadn't increased, their workload had been cut by at least half.

Pinghu Town used to look like a patched, hunchbacked, and stumbling homeless beggar, but now it resembled a sharp-dressed, energetic go-getter striding forward with the wind.

This was the value of the government leading by example, inspiring compliance from below, and exerting a subtle, transformative influence!

Not far away, a black Audi sedan pierced through the mist and slowly came to a halt at the street corner.

A middle-aged man stepped out from the back seat, accompanied by a woman with exquisite makeup.

The man stared at the backs of Tang Ye and Xu Qiao, pausing to watch for a moment.

"I didn't expect the streets of Pinghu Town to be cleaner than those of Jinshui Town."

The woman beside him nodded and said with surprise, "The sanitation workers in this town are so young!"

The youthful appearances of Tang Ye and Xu Qiao felt entirely out of place for sanitation workers.

The two of them walked toward the breakfast restaurant near the vegetable market.

The enthusiastic proprietress called out softly, "Our shop has noodles, wontons, pan-fried dumplings, and boiled dumplings. Why not come in and try some?"

The man looked at the sizzling, golden-brown pan-fried dumplings in the skillet and said to the woman beside him, "Let's go with this place!"

The woman and the proprietress ordered two bowls of wontons and a quarter-pound of pan-fried dumplings.

Upon entering, she picked up a tissue to wipe the table and benches, and placed their chopsticks into hot water for sterilization, her actions swift and natural.

The proprietress didn't find it strange.

People from the city came with higher standards for cleanliness and hygiene.

Though the breakfast shop was small and cleaned carefully every day, it naturally fell vastly short compared to a large restaurant.

After finishing their street sweeping, Tang Ye and Xu Qiao arrived at the breakfast shop. Once seated, they were immediately drawn to the neighboring table.

Judging by their attire, demeanor, and conduct, the middle-aged man possessed an extraordinary identity and bearing.

"Boss lady, one bowl of wontons, one bowl of dumplings, and three-tenths of a pound of pan-fried dumplings."

"Alright, Mayor Tang, I'll drop them in right away!"

Before long, four bowls of wontons were served.

The middle-aged man glanced sideways at the neighboring table, his expression briefly stunned before he shook his head with a bitter smile.

Tang Ye reacted extremely quickly, smiling as he said to the proprietress, "Sister, that's not very fair. Same price, but different portions."

The proprietress rolled her eyes at Tang Ye, raised her slotted spoon, and said between laughter and tears, "You really know how to undermine me!"

Tang Ye proactively picked up the two bowls of wontons in front of him and walked over to the neighboring table.

"Neither of you has touched your chopsticks. If you don't mind, let's swap."

The woman frowned and refused, "No need."

However, the middle-aged man smiled faintly, "Since it's someone's kind intention, let's swap! I'd also like to taste if the flavor of the proprietress's favoritism is any different."

The proprietress showed no embarrassment at all, smiling as she explained, "The taste is definitely the same. In business, we treat regular customers and newcomers a bit differently, and I hope you understand. Strangers become friends the second time around; if you come again next time, I'll definitely give you more without raising the price."

Seeing the proprietress's straightforward nature, the middle-aged man laughed heartily, "The highest realm of doing business is mastering human relationships and worldly sophistication. The proprietress has high emotional intelligence; Xiao Qin, you should learn from her!"

The middle-aged man glanced at Tang Ye and noticed him adding chili powder to his bowl. Following suit, he added some as well. Sure enough, the depth of the soup's flavors multiplied, providing a more intense stimulation to his taste buds. Soon, a wave of warmth spread from his lower abdomen to his limbs.

"Young man, seeing you eat such spicy food, you don't look like a local!" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.

"I am a thorough local." Tang Ye stirred the thick, brown soup with a porcelain spoon. "Judging by your accent, you must be from Qiongjin. I studied in Qiongjin for a few years. Are you here to visit relatives?"

He expressed this last sentence in authentic Qiongjin dialect.

The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned, then smiled and said, "Sort of! Besides that, I also want to inspect Pinghu's investment environment."

Tang Ye's eyes lit up as he smiled, "Then you've come to the right place. Pinghu's investment environment and policies are fantastic. Within five years, the return on investment will definitely exceed twofold."

The middle-aged man laughed heartily, "As far as I know, Pinghu's economy is lagging quite a bit behind other townships."

Tang Ye dismissed this nonchalantly, "You have to view the investment environment with a dynamic perspective. Care to make a bet? Five years from now, Pinghu will definitely become your top choice for investment."

The middle-aged man didn't expect Tang Ye to challenge him and readily accepted, "I'll take that bet."

Tang Ye smiled proactively, "Then we should exchange contact information so we can settle the account five years from now!"

"Very well!" The middle-aged man instructed the woman, "Xiao Qin, give him your contact information."

Xiao Qin was quite surprised.

The "boss's" phone number could not be given out casually.

Yet an exception was being made right now!

Xiao Qin took a sticky note from her bag, wrote down a string of numbers on it, and handed it to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye glanced at the note, silently memorized the number, and then slipped the paper into his pocket.

Tang Ye and Xu Qiao finished their meal quickly.

Tang Ye politely said "goodbye" to the middle-aged man.

Then he left.

Outside, Tang Ye looked back to observe the license plate of the sedan from a distance.

After a long while, he couldn't make out much of anything...

The other table had finished eating as well, and Xiao Qin went to pay the bill with the proprietress.

"How much is it altogether?"

The proprietress waved her hand, "No need to pay. Someone already paid for you."

The middle-aged man smiled somewhat ambiguously, "Xiao Qin, you weren't sharp enough; the two of us now owe a favor."

Xiao Qin pouted. Who would have thought that strangers crossing paths would voluntarily pay their bill?

Especially since those two were street sweepers...

The proprietress was a warm-hearted person and felt that Tang Ye shouldn't do a good deed anonymously.

"The one who paid for you is our town mayor of Pinghu, named Tang Ye. If you want to come to Pinghu to invest, you can go directly to him."

Xiao Qin was puzzled, "The mayor? Then why was I seeing him sweep the streets?"

The proprietress said proudly, "That's a specialty of our Pinghu Town! Government leaders sweep the streets! At first, we thought it was just formalism, but they've kept it up for a month or two. From the Party Secretary down to the clerical staff, everyone has to participate. To be honest, this administration has real resolve and can get things done. Pinghu's situation is no longer what it used to be. Ainuo Electrical Appliances is going to settle in our town; besides that, they are also building a super-large resort, reportedly with an investment of over two billion!"

"Where did you hear the news about the resort?"

"Everyone is saying so. City leaders have come to inspect it several times!"

Xiao Qin quickly glanced at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man fell into deep thought.

Back in the car, the man suddenly asked Xiao Qin, "Did he recognize me?"

Xiao Qin shook her head, "It didn't look like he recognized you. He took you for an investor and wanted to build some goodwill with you."

"A breakfast costing less than twenty yuan—the cost of building this goodwill isn't very high!"

"A young cadre sweeping the streets in the chilly wind of a late autumn morning... It reminds me of the sweeping monk in the Scripture Pavilion from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils." The more the man thought about it, the more interesting it seemed, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth...