The Beautiful County Magistrate
Chapter 421: Hmph, Jerk!

Chapter 421: Chapter 421: Hmph, Jerk!

The office door quickly closed, and outside, Xu Qianli and Teng Zining stood staring at each other, at a loss for words for a moment.

Finally, it was Xu Qianli who broke the silence. "So, I still don’t know your name?"

"Teng Zining, ’ning’ as in peace, twenty-four years old, graduated from the Law School of Suyun Province, working at the largest law firm in Zhongzhou City, currently an intern lawyer, never had a boyfriend, you’ve met my sister Teng Ziyin; my dad is..."

Teng Zining’s mouth couldn’t stop. Like beans spilling out of a bamboo tube, she blurted out all her information in one breath.

Xu Qianli didn’t know what to say. He had merely asked for her name, and she went ahead and revealed everything, even including what she usually liked to do, what she loved to eat, her favorite color, and approximately what time she went to bed at night.

Impressed, Xu Qianli truly was. He had never encountered a woman like this before.

When Teng Zining finished, Xu Qianli said, "So, where should we go for a walk? Should we really go shopping as your sister suggested, or shall we each do our own thing?"

"No way!" Teng Zining suddenly grabbed Xu Qianli’s hand, asserting definitively, "My sister said you have to compensate me, so you must! If you don’t feel like shopping, then take me somewhere fun or let’s go eat something."

"Alright then, I’ll take you to Qingshan Town. The scenery is lovely there; I guarantee you’ll like it."

True to his word, Xu Qianli took Teng Zining with him, and they drove directly to Qingshan Town.

While driving, Xu Qianli observed Teng Zining from time to time, noticing her sitting in the passenger seat, inexplicably nervous, her hands constantly fiddling with the hem of her skirt, her legs kept tightly together, and her expression was a bit odd.

Watching her, Xu Qianli suddenly had a thought and pulled the car over to the side of the road, pointed toward the trees and suggested, "You need to pee, right? There’s no toilet here, but you can take care of it in the woods."

Need to pee?

Teng Zining couldn’t help but snicker, realizing that Xu Qianli had misunderstood.

"I don’t need to pee; it’s that I..." She stopped herself mid-sentence.

Really, her sister had taken her underwear, leaving her to go commando; this was definitely not something she could tell Xu Qianli.

Seeing Teng Zining hesitate to continue, Xu Qianli didn’t press further and considerately handed her some tissue, assuming.

It’s not a pee emergency; surely it’s a number two.

Teng Zining, grasping the implications instantly, quickly rolled her eyes at Xu Qianli, "I don’t need to use the bathroom. Stop guessing already, and let’s get going!"

Embarrassed by Xu Qianli’s misinterpretation that she needed a big bathroom break, she felt mortified. She really didn’t understand why her sister had done that.

Xu Qianli, thoroughly confused and not bothering to understand, simply drove on and made a trip to Jiang City first.

Ge Pingping had been waiting. Xu Qianli had arranged to meet her, picked her up, briefed her on her father Ge Changhong’s general situation, introduced Teng Zining to her, and then took them both to Qingshan Town.

Learning that her father was involved in a corruption scandal involving at least four hundred million and that his disciplinary action was a sure thing, Ge Pingping felt terrible.

But she had anticipated this day.

Her father, Ge Changhong, had previously served as County Magistrate in another county, bringing home cash in suitcases occasionally. She had advised him against it, to no avail.

Later, when her father was transferred to Jiang City to become the County Party Secretary, he was approaching retirement and finally began to restrain himself. Ge Pingping felt relieved, hoping that her father had truly repented and would not cause any more issues.

But just as her father was about to retire, he couldn’t avoid trouble and was placed under "shuanggui" by the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee.

Such a major incident, with conclusive evidence, she knew that asking anyone for help would only cause them trouble, and now she didn’t even dare to ask Xu Qianli for help.

Yet, Ge Changhong was, after all, her father, could she really just ignore him?

For a while, Ge Pingping was in utter despair, feeling very dejected.

Xu Qianli noticed it and said softly, "Hey, I know you’re worried about Uncle Ge’s situation, but since things have already come to this, worrying is pointless. Just wait and see what the outcome will be. I can’t really get involved in Uncle Ge’s affairs, but I can promise you this, I’ll take care of you for a lifetime! Pingping, in a few days I’m going to visit my parents back home, and they’ll definitely like you."

With that assurance from Xu Qianli, Ge Pingping’s mood instantly improved quite a bit.

Right, she still had Xu Qianli. Even without her father, she had Xu Qianli, her boyfriend, who would not let her be mistreated in the future.

Ge Pingping sat in the back seat and reached out her arms to embrace Xu Qianli’s neck from behind, "Thank you, I really don’t know what I would’ve done without you."

Xu Qianli held one of Ge Pingping’s small hands and brought it to his lips for a kiss, "You are my woman, Xu Qianli’s woman. Don’t mention thanks, or I’ll be unhappy. If you really want to thank me, just bear me children sooner rather than later."

Ge Pingping said, "Mmm, I will bear children for you, several of them!"

On the side, Teng Zining was staring at the couple with wide eyes.

It turned out that Xu Qianli not only had a relationship with his own sister but also had another woman on the side – he had the gall to do such a thing!

Humph, a total scumbag, definitely a scumbag!

Humph, what’s so great about being good-looking and solidly built? Juggling two women, he’s not afraid of wearing himself out!

Before Teng Zining could remain shocked for long, Xu Qianli arrived at Qingshan Town, headed straight for Qingshan Town Middle School, picked up Ding Meixin, and introduced her to Teng Zining.

Upon learning that Ding Meixin was also Xu Qianli’s girlfriend, Teng Zining was no longer just surprised but utterly astonished, unable to fathom how to even criticize him.

Xu Qianli didn’t care what Teng Zining thought. Taking advantage of some rare free time, he was busy taking the three women on a tour, while concurrently checking the construction progress of a new tourism project in Qingshan Town.

They visited several places, and eventually came to a spot called Five-Colored Cave.

Five-Colored Cave was a natural karst cave with a vast interior filled with stalactites, which, due to the local unique minerals, displayed a splendid array of colors under the light, making a dazzlingly beautiful sight.

This tourism project had been secured by He Lili, in other words, it was Xu Qianli’s property.

Just arriving at the construction site for the parking area and other facilities outside Five-Colored Cave, Xu Qianli sensed something was off—two to three hundred able-bodied men were blocking the cave entrance, confronting the workers, and both sides seemed on the verge of conflict.

Xu Qianli told the three women to stay inside the car and not to get out, then he got out himself and quickly walked over, "What’s going on here? What’s the situation?"

Seeing Xu Qianli, the site foreman’s eyes lit up as he stepped forward to greet him.

"It’s Secretary Xu, Secretary Xu, now that you’re here, it’s going to be alright."

"These guys are claiming to be local villagers. They say our construction work has disturbed the spirits of their ancestors and won’t allow us to proceed, telling us to get lost."