Chapter 332: Su He’s Silent Dedication
Luo Dongchuan’s heart stirred, and he said, “Actually, come to think of it, you’ve probably heard of Little He. You know Section Chief Shen from the Culture and Sports Department, right?”
“Do you mean Section Chief Shen Jiawang?”
“Yes. You must have heard some rumors previously, right? Actually, Little He’s original surname was Shen.”
Officer Yu gasped. “The child who was swapped at birth? You mean Su He is the one who originally lived with the Shens but was later sent back to the countryside?”
Luo Dongchuan nodded. “Yes. I’ve watched Little He grow up since she was a little girl. She’s filial, smart, and to avoid causing trouble for Old Shen and his wife, she always hid her talents and stayed out of the spotlight.”
“I just don’t know what Old Shen and his wife were thinking, to be heartless enough to send her straight back to the countryside.”
“I heard the words they used were incredibly harsh, basically meaning they would never see each other again until the day they died.”
“And that boy from Qi Dazhi’s family, who was originally dating Little He. As soon as this happened, he dumped her and hooked up with the girl who replaced her.”
“That other girl even deliberately ran back to the village to gloat, which drove Little He to a dark place where she jumped into the river out of despair.”
“But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After surviving that ordeal, Little He cast off all her reservations. This time around, she has made quite an explosive debut.”
Officer Yu’s face lit up with the thrill of pure gossip. “I’d only vaguely heard about the swapped children before. I didn’t realize there was so much drama behind it! Section Chief Shen and his wife are really something. Even if you raise a cat or a dog, you develop feelings for it. How could they just cut off all ties like that?”
Luo Dongchuan scanned the surroundings and lowered his voice, saying, “I heard the child who grew up in the village was sickly and frail from youth, almost dying several times.”
“In contrast, Little Su was bouncing around with vitality from day one, with a constitution sturdier than most boys. So, read between the lines and think about the implications there.”
Officer Yu’s eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets. “Are you implying that the Shen family intentionally swapped the babies back then because they were afraid their biological child wouldn’t survive? And now, fearing exposure, they frantically kicked Su He out?”
Luo Dongchuan hurriedly shook his head. “I didn’t say a thing, so don’t go making wild guesses!”
“Little Yu, I see you as one of our own, which is why I’m sharing this idle chatter with you. You absolutely must not spread it around. If Old Shen finds out, I’ll be put in a very difficult position.”
Officer Yu quickly reassured him, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul. This secret will rot in my stomach.”
Luo Dongchuan found it hilarious. Everyone in the Foreign Trade Department knew Little Yu loved nothing more than digging up and spreading gossip; it was precisely why he had been reassigned to Guangzhou in the first place.
Talk about leveraging a person’s strengths while avoiding their weaknesses!
It probably wouldn’t take long before a great many people found out about the Shen family’s dirty laundry.
Since he had already boarded Su He’s ship, he naturally needed to present a token of his allegiance.
With this in mind, he exchanged a few more words with Officer Yu before eagerly heading over to Su He to claim credit.
Originally, Su He had planned to stir up public opinion after the Canton Fair concluded. By then, she would have a solid foundation, and even if Shen Jiawang tried to retaliate, he wouldn’t be able to topple her.
She hadn’t expected Luo Dongchuan to hand her such a magnificent gift.
Having these rumors spread by someone within the system would yield far better results than hiring outsiders to broadcast them, and the credibility would be much higher.
Credit where credit was due—Luo Dongchuan possessed quite a bit of initiative.
“Uncle Luo, great kindness cannot be repaid with mere words, so I won’t say anything superfluous. We have plenty of time ahead of us; let our actions speak for themselves.”
Luo Dongchuan waved his hand repeatedly. “Little He, saying that makes you sound like an outsider!”
“Just because you call me Uncle, there’s no way I could just sit by and watch.”
“Besides, the things Old Shen and his wife did defy all human decency. Anyone with a conscience wouldn’t be able to stand by and watch.”
Su He thought to herself: Who was the one who practically couldn’t wait to cut all ties with me before, yet now can’t wait to write my name into your family registry?
Ultimately, it’s all down to shared interests!
Still, Su He quite liked dealing with people like him—they understood the times, knew when to advance or retreat, and crucially, possessed solid administrative capabilities.
As long as the wind from her side blew strong enough, he would remain fiercely loyal.
After seeing Luo Dongchuan off, Su He went to find Principal Chen and the others.
“I’m preparing to head over to see Old Gao and the team. The weather is too hot, and it’s quite a distance away, so why don’t you all skip it and get some proper rest?”
Director Gao and his two colleagues had arrived in Guangzhou ahead of schedule. They had previously offered to pick everyone up at the railway station, but Su He had declined, deeming it unnecessary.
Upon hearing Su He’s words, Director Tian spoke up immediately, “Little Su, I have a sturdy constitution, I’ll accompany you! Old Chen, Old Hu, Old Feng, the three of you just rest at the guesthouse!”
Principal Chen and the other two were indeed rather fatigued, so they smoothly went along with it and agreed.
Director Tian thought to himself: Those three old blockheads!
Right now is the most critical time—the emotional card must be played aggressively!
He needed to shadow Little Su at every waking moment, showing her constant care, so that the very first name she thought of when negotiating business would be the Food Factory!
Besides, what fun was there in staying cooped up inside a guesthouse? He might as well follow Little Su out to broaden his horizons!
Su He took Director Tian along, transferring buses twice and walking for over ten minutes before finally arriving at the single-story rental house where Director Gao and the others were staying.
Logically speaking, private housing rentals and sales were prohibited at this time. However, as the host city of the Canton Fair, the people of Guangzhou possessed fairly adaptable minds. Some matters simply operated on the principle of “no complaint, no crime.”
With a bit of flexibility, the arrangement went through smoothly.
For instance, the single-story house Director Gao and his team rented belonged to a staff member from a certain guesthouse who left it vacant, and they simply claimed to the outside world that Director Gao and his colleagues were her relatives.
Director Gao and his two companions were absolutely delighted to see Su He and Director Tian. Strangers in the unfamiliar city of Guangzhou, they had hit quite a few walls lately, so seeing familiar faces felt incredibly heartwarming.
Su He exchanged a few pleasantries with them before checking the items that had been mailed over.
Director Tian, acting like an inquisitive busybody, kept hovering right behind her.
Seeing Su He pull out a piece of fabric printed with the Northern Liao Province logo, he asked, puzzled, “Little Su, what is this stuff used for?”
Su He explained her plan regarding the uniform markers.
Director Tian rolled his eyes. “Little Su, I don’t quite get it. What do you stand to gain from this? If you printed our booth numbers on it, it could help drive traffic to us, but the critical issue is that there are no numbers printed on it!”
Su He replied with a beaming smile, “If we did that, it would be far too blatant and easily arouse resentment from the rest of the delegation.”
“Furthermore, you need to broaden your horizon.”
“Our Northern Liao Province delegation operates as a collective unit. Everyone’s products are different, so there is no competition between us.”
“I merely want to contribute a portion of my strength to the collective, without any underlying motive—just pure, silent dedication. When the collective thrives, we will naturally benefit from it as well.”
Director Tian fell into deep thought upon hearing this. It had to be Little Su! Her vision was truly on another level!
Just as he was thinking this, Su He handed him a swallowtail ribbon printed with the Northern Liao Province logo, designed to be secured with a pin.
The only thing was, this wasn’t an ordinary pin; fixed atop it was a highly distinctive, light blue flower crocheted from yarn.
Director Tian: “…”
This is the ‘silent dedication’ you were talking about?
Like I’d believe a single word of that!
