I'm back in 1990

Chapter 737: No Receipt Required for Meals

The annual Spring Festival passed quickly. Shortly after the Spring Festival, in mid-February 2006, Huang Xiaochuan suddenly appeared in Xiajiang County, where Ding Yi was on temporary assignment.

To be honest, this small county town made Huang Xiaochuan, who had just come from a big city, feel as if he had traveled back to China in the 1960s or 70s. Everything here was still so original. Many of the yellow-lettered quotations on the walls were still there. There was a huge five-pointed star above the door of the only movie theater, although the paint on it was peeling off.

Upon arriving, Huang Xiaochuan didn't contact Ding Yi immediately. Instead, he explored the entire small county town, which was indeed tiny; a bike ride around the town took only about twenty minutes.

After shopping, Huang Xiaochuan had only one feeling: "Poor! So damn poor."

If Huang Xiaochuan hadn't known Ding Yi's background, he might have thought Ding Yi had been exiled here as a soldier.

Fortunately, modern technology has had some impact here, and cell phones still have a signal. However, it's unclear whether there's any signal in the smaller towns and villages below.

Soon, Ding Yi, who had just received a call from his friend, appeared in front of Huang Xiaochuan.

"Damn it! You little brat, why didn't you call me before you came here? I should have at least organized a few people to welcome you!" Ding Yi said this after the two hugged.

Huang Xiaochuan teased, "Wow, you've really become a county magistrate now, your tone of voice is completely different from before! You even organized people to welcome me? You'd better spare me, I'm not worthy of such treatment."

Having been here for more than half a year, Ding Yi had to maintain a professional image all day long, which was incredibly tiring. But when he met his friends, he immediately revealed his true colors, or rather, he completely let loose. This left the county government communications officer, who had come with him and was Ding Yi's secretary, completely dumbfounded.

Ding Yi was quite kind; he didn't forget to introduce his communications officer to Huang Xiaochuan.

"Come on, Sun, come and meet this guy. He's my college classmate and bedmate. You can just call him Lao Huang!"

The correspondent, Xiao Sun, quickly stepped forward, bowed slightly, shook hands with Huang Xiaochuan, and greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Leader Huang!"

Huang Xiaochuan was stunned for a moment. This was the first time someone had addressed him like that, and he was a little unaccustomed to it.

"Hahaha!" Ding Yi, who had known Huang Xiaochuan for many years, could naturally tell what was going on and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

But Huang Xiaochuan immediately retorted, "We were only classmates for a few years."

"Hehe!" This young Sun was quite clever; he didn't continue down the topic. Even a fool could see that the relationship between Deputy County Chief Ding and this Leader Huang was clearly unusual.

Ding Yi then put his arm around Huang Xiaochuan's shoulder: "Come on, you haven't settled in yet, have you? Come with me, settle in first, and I'll throw you a welcome dinner tonight."

Huang Xiaochuan moved Ding Yi's arm away with a look of disgust: "Alright, alright, I've already settled in, at the guesthouse in your county."

"You've been here for a while?" Ding Yi immediately guessed, because the two of them were extremely familiar with each other.

"I arrived last night. The journey here has been exhausting; my back is almost broken!" Huang Xiaochuan took the opportunity to complain. The mountain roads here are incredibly winding. It took almost a whole day to get here from the provincial capital airport, and Huang Xiaochuan almost threw up from all the driving.

"Hahaha!

Ding Yi has firsthand experience with this. When he first came here, he was even worse off than Huang Xiaochuan. He vomited nonstop as soon as he got off the bus because he was carsick.

Ding Yi then draped his arm over Huang Xiaochuan's shoulder: "Come on, I promised to treat you to some wild game, you have to keep your word!"

Huang Xiaochuan looked wary: "What kind of wild game? It's not pangolin or anything, is it? I'd much rather avoid that stuff."

Ding Yi scoffed, "Pshaw! Do you think I'm ignorant of the law? Of course it's edible wild game—wild boar, pheasant, rabbit—there aren't any protected animals. How could I possibly break the law?"

"That's more like it!" Huang Xiaochuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The group headed towards the restaurant, with Ding Yi and Huang Xiaochuan walking in front, followed closely by Gao Song, Li Huan, Xiao Sun, and others.

Although Xiao Sun works in the county government of a small county, he has studied in the provincial capital for several years and has had the opportunity to meet many provincial and municipal leaders and their entourages. Today, he could clearly tell that the people that Leader Huang brought were dressed in very elegant manners and did not seem to be ordinary people. He couldn't help but wonder about the identity of Leader Huang.

The county is only so big, and there aren't many well-maintained restaurants. Before long, Ding Yi led Huang Xiaochuan to a restaurant that looked fairly clean, and he greeted the restaurant owner familiarly.

"Old Tian, ​​what mountain produce do you have today? A friend's coming over, so prepare some good dishes to entertain him!"

"Oh! County Magistrate Ding is here! Don't worry, I may not have much else, but I have plenty of local mountain produce, I'm sure you'll be satisfied!" The restaurant owner greeted Ding Yi like he was a family member.

The reason is actually quite simple: this County Chief Ding is the only leader in the county who doesn't pay for meals on credit. He always pays in cash and doesn't ask for receipts.

Mr. Tian immediately went to prepare, and Ding Yi then instructed his messenger, Xiao Sun, "Xiao Sun, you're in charge of taking good care of Gao Song, Li Huan, and the others. Make sure they eat and drink well, understand?"

"Don't worry, leader, I guarantee I'll complete the task!" Xiao Sun was very quick-witted.

Huang Xiaochuan waved to Li Huan, who immediately understood and ran over to hand Huang Xiaochuan two empty bottles of liquor.

Ding Yi pointed at the wine and asked with a displeased look, "What are you doing? Are you trying to slap me in the face?"

Huang Xiaochuan waved the wine in his hand: "I got this from that guy Lao Zhang. It's Li Du wine, brewed in a Yuan Dynasty cellar. If you don't drink it, I'll take it back. You're just being ungrateful."

Ding Yi knew his stuff; as soon as he heard it was Li Du, his little eyes lit up.

"Wow, you're really something! You're a true Robin Hood of the new era!" he said, reaching for the wine in Huang Xiaochuan's hand.

Huang Xiaochuan was amused by this guy, and while preventing Ding Yi from touching the wine, he laughed and scolded, "Get lost! As soon as you hear it's good wine, look at your face! You change your expression faster than a Sichuan opera actor! Robin Hood, huh? Compared to you, Old Zhang is the real poor guy, okay?"

"The only thing that can relieve my worries is wine! Hurry up, hurry up!" Ding Yi couldn't hold back any longer and ignored Huang Xiaochuan's words.

The boss was very efficient; in no time, several large bowls of dishes were served.

Ding Yi eagerly snatched the wine, first filling Huang Xiaochuan's glass, then impatiently filling his own. He then raised his glass and said, "Here! This is to welcome you!" He took a sip, smacked his lips, and after a moment exclaimed, "Good wine!"