Siheyuan: Happy life of veteran drivers

The next morning, Wang Hongtao sneaked out before the two people in the inner room got up.

I had just done something bad, so I still felt a little guilty, but not much. It would go away in a day or two.

After sneaking out, Wang Hongtao didn't care about his own house, but drove to Li Huaide's house again.

It is one thing for your leader to let you move freely, but it is another thing whether you are willing to do so. What if your leader needs to use the car for something urgent and can’t find anyone?

And you happen to be there, so your impression points will skyrocket.

Wang Hongtao's plan is to wait until 9:30. Usually, if he has something to do, it will be before 9:30. If there is nothing to do at that time, then it really is nothing to do.

Sure enough, around nine o'clock, Li Huaide rushed out.

"Hongtao, why are you here?"

"Oh, I was worried that Director Li might not be able to find someone if he needed a car, which would delay things. So I thought of coming here to wait and see."

Li Huaide patted Wang Hongtao on the shoulder:

"Hongtao, you are thoughtful!"

"Just in time! Take me to the staff club first."

"Some leaders from the Ministry of Industry came to inspect recently. I went to the staff club today for a break. I don't know how the person in charge received me, but he got furious and called me to ask for accountability."

Li Huaide explained as he got into the car.

"Drive toward the steel mill first, and I'll tell you where the club is when you get there."

"okay!"

……

Wang Hongtao drove the car steadily and soon arrived at the steel rolling mill's staff club.

(The staff club is a unique product of large state-owned factories. It is mainly responsible for organizing cultural and entertainment activities and meeting the social, cultural and friendship needs of factory employees. It is also responsible for receiving leaders' inspections.

The supporting facilities include table tennis rooms, badminton courts and other small sports venues. You can also watch movies. It was one of the few entertainment venues at that time.

Under the guidance of the staff, Li Huaide and Wang Hongtao were taken to a table tennis room.

I heard the leader's complaints before I even got close.

"Old Li, you've come at the right time. Come over and give us your opinion!"

"Is this how you play table tennis? Huh? Can this serve have spin?"

"I pointed out the problem to this young comrade but he still refused to accept it and said that he had always played like this! It really pissed me off!"

The person who spoke was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a square face and a crew cut, looking intimidating without even getting angry.

Several staff members standing by were scolded by him so much that they lowered their heads like quails.

The young man standing opposite him was even more pitiful. He didn't know whether to leave or stay, and he was at a loss as to what to do with the table tennis racket in his hand.

"Minister Zhang, why are you so angry with them? They are just sparring partners. How can they understand the rules of a formal competition?"

"Well, let me play two rounds with you next time!"

As he said this, Li Huaide took the racket from the young man and gave him a look, signaling him to leave quickly.

The young man immediately ran away feeling relieved.

Minister Zhang was still not satisfied and complained loudly: "How did you guys choose the people in this club? You are so ignorant!"

"Yes, yes, Minister Zhang, please calm down. I will definitely criticize him later!"

"No rules, no order. Everything should be done with principles!"

As he was speaking, Minister Zhang had already hit the ball over. The ping-pong ball was fast, flat and steady. It was obvious that Minister Zhang did have some skills, but not much.

I don’t know if Li Huaide didn’t react or what, he just stared at the ball as it flew out.

"I'm asking you, Old Li, whether you can do it or not? You don't even know how to catch the ball when it's in front of you?"

Minister Zhang was a little unhappy again. If the opponent was too strong, he would get angry, but if the opponent was too weak, it would be equally boring, just like playing against a computer.

"Well... Minister Zhang, you were too fast and I didn't react." Li Huaide said embarrassedly.

Minister Zhang's skills seemed impressive to Li Huaide, but to Wang Hongtao they were just...

Just make do with it.

As an aspiring civil servant in the new century, you must be able to play table tennis, chess, double knuckle, and mahjong, and you must also be able to use personal connections.

It's like playing mahjong. You play whatever your leader wants you to play. That's what it means to play well. If your leader is waiting for a card and you draw it yourself, you win but your path will be narrowed.

When a company organizes a table tennis competition, the champion is usually the top leader. This is the same truth.

"Director Li, why don't you let me try?" Wang Hongtao volunteered.

"You? You can play ball too?"

"I know a little bit, but I can't compare with you two. But I'm young, so I should be able to react faster."

"Okay, then you do it. Minister Zhang is so good, it's not shameful for you to lose to him." Li Huaide was of course happy that Wang Hongtao was willing to take over, so he handed the racket to him.

Wang Hongtao took the racket and first did a few stretching movements, then stood up in a horse stance with a very standard posture.

Minister Zhang served first. He picked up the ball and bounced it twice on the table. Then he threw the ball towards the racket while pushing the racket forward.

The ping-pong ball still flew in a short, flat and fast manner.

Wang Hongtao's mouth twitched:

The most basic bouncing ball?

This technology...

If you weren't the minister, I, Wang Hongtao, would have a hundred ways to dunk the ball back and leave you at a loss.

Wang Hongtao, who is familiar with online articles, is well versed in human relationships. He hurriedly lifted the ball and sent it right back to Minister Zhang's forehand. The ball bounced neither too high nor too low, just right to Minister Zhang's most comfortable position.

Sure enough, Minister Zhang raised his hand and hit the ball back with a forehand.

Wang Hongtao staggered when he saw the ball flying towards him and managed to catch it, but he fell to the ground as a result.

Also because of the rush, this ball was returned worse than the previous round. Minister Zhang hit it hard again, and Wang Hongtao could only sit on the ground and watch the ball go out of bounds.

After Wang Hongtao got up, he sighed, frowned, and waved his fist as if he was very regretful.

In this way, Minister Zhang scored the first point.

Seeing that Minister Zhang was "strong", Wang Hongtao looked solemn, his posture became more standard, and he looked more serious.

In the next ball, the two sides fought back and forth for more than ten rounds, and finally Wang Hongtao won the point with a "lucky" side ball.

Wang Hongtao pretended to wipe the cold sweat off his forehead.

2:2

3:3

...

……

The scores of both sides rose alternately, and finally the score was 21 to 23 in the overtime. Minister Zhang "narrowly defeated" Wang Hongtao with a two-point advantage.

It was just a short game of tennis, but under Wang Hongtao's deliberate arrangement, it lasted for more than an hour. Minister Zhang also played very well and worked up a sweat.

"Leader, your level is really amazing. I have been playing table tennis for so long and it has never been so strenuous. It is really high!"

Wang Hongtao's flattery was timely, and he expressed his "sincere" admiration when handing Minister Zhang a towel.

But Wang Hongtao did not lie. It was easy to win, but very difficult to lose by two points, especially when he had to act convincingly so that Minister Zhang would not notice.

"Well, you are not bad, comrade. I, Zhang Kaishan, haven't met a decent opponent for a long time."

"Your skills and reactions are excellent, but you are a little too upright. Playing basketball is like fighting a war. You have to find the right time to attack the enemy's weak points. Only in this way can you deliver a fatal blow."

Minister Zhang patted Wang Hongtao on the shoulder as if he was instructing a junior.

"Old Li, if I'm not mistaken, you must be a very decent driver, right?"

"The quality of a player is like his character. You can tell 80% of a person's character by how he plays."

After praising Wang Hongtao, Minister Zhang commented complacently.

Li Huaide had a strange expression on his face, thinking, Minister Zhang, are you blind? If this guy is honest, there will be no ghosts!

While thinking this in his heart, Li Huaide laughed out loud: "That's right, Minister Zhang, you are really good at judging people!"

"Haha, it feels so good to sweat. I haven't felt so good in a long time.

"Okay, Lao Li, you can go back by yourself. I'm sorry to bother you to make such a special trip. I will arrange my time from now on. I won't bother you anymore."

"Minister Zhang, what are you talking about? It's our fault for not doing a good job in reception. I'm already satisfied if you don't blame me!"

"Strange? What's strange about that! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have found such a good opponent like Xiao Wang!"

"We agreed that next time I come here, I'll let Xiao Wang accompany me!"

"Don't worry, Minister Zhang. I promise Xiao Wang will be here whenever you call!"

....

On the way back, Li Huaide asked casually, "Hongtao, did you hold back your strength just now?"

Wang Hongtao didn't even think about it: "No, I only have that much ability, the leader is definitely better than me."

Li Huaide laughed and scolded: "Do you think I believe it or not? Little fox, if I didn't know who you are, I would have let you get away with it!"

"You are such a mean person!"

Wang Hongtao touched his nose and did not answer: Table tennis is all about personal relationships and social skills, the so-called "fail in front of the boss, be Ma Long in front of colleagues" is just like that.