Old Mrs. Chen took a sip of the tea slowly and said, “I just found out from the friend’s circle that you love paintings. Then I turned around and saw the Gu’s family are also asking for paintings.”
Mayor Lui frowned.
Friend’s circle was a sensitive place, especially for government officials.
He couldn’t post about having fun or enjoying eating out. He all the more could not post about his hobbies. There would also be those who would take that as a hint for bribery.
“Aunty, my friend’s circle’s is only visible to family members.”
He needed to avoid any possible negative outcome but it was difficult to not share anything at all.
So he would post where it was only visible to himself and his family. In addition to that, he had further set the visible time to three days.
“The Gu’s family? Jingde Realty? Gu Jiangxin?”
Mayor Liu had it figured out quickly.
Old Mrs. Chen smiled at him. “You watch you. There are some you shall not receive gifts form.”
Mayor Liu paused for a little and he immediately thought of Secretary Zhang.
There were only a handful there when he appreciated the artwork.
And Secretary Zhang was the only one that was in contact with Gu Jiangxin!
Sure enough. One didn’t need to go above and beyond and question everyone and everything. Some people would naturally expose themselves.
Mayor Liu had an idea now.
“Don’t worry, Aunty. I shall not commit any foolish acts.”
Old Mrs. Chen nodded tenderly. “You are new here and there are much that you don’t know about.”
Mayor Liu was taken aback a little.
Old Mrs. Chen touched her bifocal lens and said, “The Gu’s family had been well talked about this year among our circle this year. First he abandoned his own daughter. Then he divorced his wife. Then… Aye, I’m an old lady. I don’t always get what is going on between you young people nor do I want to repeat them! But, you don’t want to be associated with those who doesn’t see eye to eye as you. Liu Qin, that’s all Aunty can say.”
Mayor Liu was shocked. “Boss Gu?”
But what he heard from Secretary Zhang was that Boss Gu was a good one. He even waited until his daughter had recovered from her surgery before he split with his estranged wife.
Old Mrs. Chen shook her hands immediately. “I am done talking. You be on your way.”
Mayor Liu couldn’t just give up now after hearing half of the stories.
It would, however, not be appropriate for him to ask for more information from Old Mrs. Chen. He stood up with alacrity and said, “Aunty, I shall take off now. You take care. I will be back to visit you with my mother next week.”
Having said that, he left in a hurry and inquired with a few bosses within the industry during his ride.
The stories about Boss Gu were never any secrets.
The only reason Mayor Liu was not aware of them was because he was transferred there recently.
He only had to ask casually before he found out how Boss Gu had forced his real daughter into marriage, had a child out of wedlock with his mistress, then divorced his wife without giving her any of his assets.
Mayor Liu’s face dropped before he even reached home.
And someone like that was going to send him gifts?
Ludicrous! Boss Gu was obviously trying to tarnish him and bring him down!
When Mayor Liu went into work the next day, he quietly pulled up reports on Jingde Realty.
He placed emphasis particularly on Jingde Realty for the random sampling on the list of bids.
The boss of this company obviously had very questionable morals!
As much as Gu Jiangxin had considered all possibility, he was not able to foresee this one.
He had already given up on getting his hand on the paintings but, lo and behold, the project team in the district came unannounced the next day for an audit.
In order to bid on projects with the district government, a company’s books need to always be clear and ready for unannounced audits at all times.
But the books of privately-owned companies… anyone in the industry knew that there was no such thing as a clean book.
Gu Jiangxin’s heart pounded in his chest.
“Does Ink Painting Guru belong in the Fine Art Association? Let’s head over there, right now.”
The local ink painting association was the organizer of the previous exhibition.
The exhibition might be over, but the association was still around.
Gu Jiangxin gritted his teeth. He was not convinced.
No way that Ink Painting Guru was the best artist in the entire association.
At this point in time, he would just go and buy something similar and send it over to Mayor Liu. What was important right now was to make it through this audit!
He went in person this time, refusing to even rely on his assistants. He even brought with him Boss Zhou from Marketing.
Boss Zhou had been frequenting auctions the last few years and was an ink painting enthusiast. He knew what he was talking about.
“I have purchased a painting from President Huang Chuan in the past. I know him! You can count on me, Lao Gu!”
Boss Zhou slapped himself on his chest as soon as they walked inside the front door of the association.
Gu Jiangxin felt reassured immediately. “Sure. Do offer me your opinion in a little bit.”
Five minutes later –
Gu Shishi, who was allowed to go out today, was sipping tea in a chair while listening to her seniors bickering during their once-a-week gathering.
Lo and behold, she had just turned her head when she suddenly caught sight of a seemingly familiar face popping up from the stairways around the corner. Her mouth dropped open suddenly!