CHAPTER 1818: CHAPTER 1879: WHO IS THE VICE GOVERNOR HERE TO HELP?

Song Lianyao’s parents finally settled down. They saw the most distinguished person walk over, reach out to Li Yifei, and even address him as Mr. Li. They knew that with their son-in-law present, everything would be fine today.

Song Lianyao also put down her phone and felt a sense of relief as it settled back down. She pursed her lips and gently exhaled.

Zhang Shun shuffled to the side, giving way to everyone’s view. He didn’t want to steal the spotlight right now. Seeing a vice governor of the province showing such respect towards Li Yifei, Zhang Shun personally experienced how significant Li Yifei’s influence was.

The calmest one, however, was Li Yifei himself. When he saw the other extend his hand, he reached out to shake Ma Jindong’s hand and said, "Hello..." Beyond that, Li Yifei didn’t know what else to say, as he didn’t recognize the man.

People who even Zhang Shun knew, yet Li Yifei didn’t; if this got out, many might not believe it. How could the Patriarch of the Li family, the number one family in the province, not recognize a vice governor? It just didn’t make sense, but Li Yifei really didn’t recognize him. He knew the first and second leaders of the province, even the supervising vice governor, but as for Ma Jindong, Li Yifei had no impression at all, having not had any interactions with him at all.

Upon hearing Li Yifei draw out his words, Ma Jindong understood and chuckled, taking the initiative to say, "I’m Ma Jindong, in charge of education."

With this little reminder, Li Yifei suddenly understood. This person was definitely not the mayor, meaning he was an official even higher than the mayor. He shook his hand slightly more firmly, his expression changed to one of enthusiasm, and he said, "No wonder I felt such an authoritative presence upon seeing you; it turns out you’re Governor Ma. Hello!"

All the officials around burst into laughter upon hearing Li Yifei’s words, though most of them were thinking, wow, you’re something else. Not recognizing Ma Jindong was forgivable, but when Ma Jindong extends his hand to speak to you, it indicates that this young man has an extraordinary status. Yet even after knowing this, you still greet him with just a ’Hello’? That’s a bit out of line, isn’t it?

Ma Jindong, however, didn’t think much of it. Given his last-place rank among the governors, Li Yifei’s greeting wasn’t particularly disrespectful. Of course, if it had been a narrow-minded governor, they might have held a grudge against Li Yifei for being arrogant. Fortunately, Ma Jindong knew more about the situation, so he didn’t mind.

Releasing his hand, Ma Jindong asked, "I saw something happening here just now. Is Mr. Li encountering some trouble? Since I’m here, I can help you sort it out."

This was an offer of goodwill. However, if Li Yifei chose not to accept it, Ma Jindong wouldn’t mind either. It was just a coincidence that they met. For the Patriarch of the province’s most economically powerful family, Ma Jindong felt it was necessary to show some goodwill.

Li Yifei was also surprised by the other’s goodwill, but since he was willing to take on the issue, that was fine too. It saved Li Yifei the trouble of finding someone else to handle Wang Shoucheng’s family later. So, Li Yifei nodded and said, "Then I’ll trouble Governor Ma."

"It’s no trouble, hehe, happened to come across it, so I’ll take care of it." Ma Jindong shook his head with a smile. As he spoke, he turned around, his expression changed: the smile disappeared, his face tightened, and his sharp eyes swept over Wang Shoucheng and Song Xing.

Wang Shoucheng, who had been holding it together, couldn’t hold on anymore upon hearing that Vice Governor Ma Jindong offered to help Mr. Li. His legs felt weak, as if he might cramp at any moment.

Wang Lizhen felt like dying upon hearing the news. No matter how worthless she felt before, she now realized the enormity of the trouble they had caused.

Ma Jindong scanned the expressions of the individuals and understood who had conflicted with Li Yifei. He looked at Wang Shoucheng and said, "I have an impression of you. Are you from a government department?"

Wang Shoucheng had been with the group earlier, accompanying Ma Jindong, but later left to arrange accommodations. So Ma Jindong not only had an impression but also knew Wang Shoucheng’s name and position. However, Ma Jindong spoke this way to distance himself.

Hearing this, Wang Shoucheng felt the urge to kneel. A vice director facing a deputy minister—a vast hierarchy gap separates them. In the bureaucracy, even a half-grade gap is worlds apart, let alone such a large difference.

"Yes... it’s me," Wang Shoucheng said, bracing himself.

Xu Youcai then introduced, "Governor Ma, this is the Deputy Director of the Education Bureau, named Wang Shoucheng."

"Oh, may I ask why you wanted someone to arrest Mr. Li? Did he commit any offense?" Ma Jindong asked indifferently. Without waiting for Wang Shoucheng to respond, he looked at Song Xing. Having no impression of Song Xing, he directly asked, "And who are you? I saw you ordering several security guards to make an arrest. Are you a policeman?"

"Are you a policeman?" Upon hearing this formal question, Song Xing was nearly brought to tears. The poor man, a big fat guy, trembled with fear, his lips trembling as he stammered, "I... I’m not; I’m the hotel manager."

"Oh." Ma Jindong nodded, turning his gaze back to Wang Shoucheng, continuing, "Speak up, what was the matter? I’m not the in-charge leader, but since I’m here today, I’ll get involved."

Just moments ago, he asked if Song Xing was a policeman and whether he had the authority to arrest Li Yifei; now he’s taking charge himself. The word "official" has a double meaning, but no one present dared to challenge him.

Li Yifei remained expressionless, but Wang Shoucheng was at a loss. He truly didn’t know the specifics, only that his daughter had been hit by Li Yifei and that the man showed him disrespect, which infuriated him.

So, he quietly said, "It was... this Mr. Li who hit my daughter, and I got... a bit angry. Since Governor Ma was about to arrive, I wanted to resolve it quickly, so... I might have misspoken. I apologize."

After saying this, Xu Youcai furrowed his brow, inwardly cursing, Wang Shoucheng, are you out of your mind? Not only do you bring misfortune upon yourself, but you drag others down as well. Didn’t you see how much respect Governor Ma had for Li Yifei, even trying to curry favor? And now you say that because Ma Jindong was about to arrive, you wanted to have him arrested quickly. You’re dragging Ma Jindong into this as well.

Ma Jindong’s cheek muscles twitched, and he didn’t smile this time. Instead, he directly said, "I’ve repeatedly stated that lavishness is not allowed, nor should we disturb the public. I was only here to inspect a few things. Sending one person to accompany me would suffice. But instead, you all crowded around, leading to conflict, and now you push the blame onto me."

He continued, "However, this matter is also my fault. My orders weren’t strict enough, leading the subordinates to misunderstand. Mr. Li, I hope you can forgive me."