The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Several new figures were in the village committee meeting room. When Chen Beiguo took a closer look, he realized they were all familiar faces.

In fact, the man in the lead was their highest-ranking local official.

Chen Beiguo had never even spoken to such a high-ranking official before.

County Magistrate Tang and Chen Beiguo were what you might call old acquaintances. They weren’t particularly close—just a superior and his subordinate. However, ever since following Xia Qiuming on a visit to the village, he had started paying closer attention to the Qingshan Team.

Compared to others, the two of them could certainly be considered familiar.

"Beiguo, don’t be nervous," County Magistrate Tang said. "We came because we heard about what your village accomplished. It’s truly remarkable. You not only caught human traffickers but also found several of their hideouts, successfully rescuing abducted children and women. The leadership is here today on behalf of the country, specifically to commend our heroes."

Chen Beiguo was stunned that this matter had reached the ears of the higher-ups. He didn’t dare to waste a second. He immediately sent someone to fetch Leng Yuan while he himself picked up a thermos and poured hot water for the visiting officials.

"Please, have some water, Sirs."

He handed them the cups and sat down in a nearby seat.

Across from him sat County Magistrate Tang, with several guards standing behind him.

Soon, Leng Yuan was summoned. He wasn’t particularly surprised when he saw who was in the room.

Zhang Tianming, however, looked surprised. He gave Leng Yuan a second look, and then a smile broke out on his face.

"I was wondering who managed to catch the traffickers and rescue those children and women. So it was you! That explains it, then."

After his initial surprise, Zhang Tianming felt it wasn’t strange at all. They were acquainted well enough to have shared a meal, so he knew a bit about Leng Yuan. Plus, he had heard plenty of stories about him from Lu Yuanbin and knew the man was incredibly capable and a formidable fighter.

Leng Yuan remained as calm as ever. He wasn’t the least bit nervous seeing Zhang Tianming. He had known the man’s identity since they first met, so of course he wasn’t shocked now.

Besides, he had more or less guessed this would happen.

’Catching the traffickers and taking down several of their hideouts was an impressive achievement by any standard. Add to that the rescue of more than twenty abducted children and another seven or eight women, and it was no surprise at all that the higher-ups had taken notice.’

"Did they find the rest of the hideouts the trafficker mentioned?"

’Some of the locations had been too far from Qingshan County for them to reach on foot. The matter had been reported up the chain, so there should have been some results by now.’

Zhang Tianming nodded. "We found all of them. Everyone inside was rescued. Now we’re just arranging to send them home."

"You’ve done a great service this time."

Zhang Tianming glanced at the person beside him, who immediately took out a silk banner, unfurled it, and presented it to Leng Yuan.

It was a banner for heroic valor.

Along with it was a small envelope containing a cash reward.

"This is a reward from the county for your heroic courage."

Inside was one thousand yuan.

The trafficker they had captured was a minor leader in his organization. The people below him were in a single-line contact network, meaning this man was effectively their boss, and everyone at the various hideouts was his subordinate.

What’s more, the man had confessed to other things as well. With this new information, they might be able to catch an even bigger fish.

That was the most important part.

Chen Beiguo was shocked when he heard the amount from the sidelines, but he quickly calmed himself. ’That much money... anyone else would never have received it. Only someone like Leng Yuan could have.’

Once the official business was concluded, the officials prepared to leave, as was standard procedure.

Zhang Tianming, however, walked straight over to Leng Yuan.

"You all can head off," he said to the others. "Leng Yuan and I are friends. I’m going to take a walk with him."