Chapter 102: The Jiangnan Province Delegation

“Hehe, so you’re Zhao Guoyang? Truly a man of distinguished appearance!” After Liu Yaohong finished the introduction, Wang Ziqing smiled warmly and shook Zhao Guoyang’s hand.

As Wang Ziqing smiled, the officials Liu and Jiang beside him also nodded with faint smiles, as if Zhao Guoyang possessed some special quality.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Director Jiang reminded, “Director, the train ticket inspection has already started. Should we go check our tickets first, then sit down and chat leisurely?”

“Alright, let’s board first. Professor Zhu, have you confirmed your schedule? Won’t you miss the train?” Wang Ziqing turned to Jiang and asked.

“Director, don’t worry. I reminded Professor Zhu before departure; there won’t be any delays.”

While speaking, Director Jiang helped carry Wang’s luggage and led the way.

“Let’s go, Xiao Zhao!” Liu Yaohong nudged Zhao Guoyang with his elbow, quietly urging him along.

Though Zhao Guoyang had a bellyful of questions, he didn’t know how to voice them and silently followed the group.

On the way to ticket inspection, Liu Yaohong briefly explained the backgrounds of Director Liu and Director Jiang.

It turned out these two were powerful officials in the Provincial Machinery Industry Committee, serving as heads of the Equipment Industry Department and the Comprehensive Management Department, respectively.

Director Liu, named Liu Renhe, was in his early forties and a strong contender for the position of deputy director of the provincial committee.

Director Jiang, named Jiang Hong, also in his forties, had a bright future ahead.

Hearing this, Zhao Guoyang began to understand.

As officials of the same rank, Liu Yaohong’s status was evidently lower than these two, making his ambition to advance far more difficult. It was understandable why he showed them such respect.

Although Director Jiang mentioned the ticket inspection had started, it was merely an excuse.

In fact, he had already arranged with the train station staff that they would use a fast-track lane to board first, bypassing the regular queue.

Though Wang Ziqing frowned slightly at Jiang Hong’s approach, he didn’t reprimand him.

After all, if he had to squeeze onto the train with a large crowd, it would be quite awkward.

Zhao Guoyang, however, took it in stride. In his previous life, working for major airlines under the Star Alliance such as Eastern Airlines and Southern Airlines, he held a super VIP platinum card that granted him special boarding channels.

One could call this preferential treatment, but there was no denying he had earned it.

Moreover, allowing certain special groups to board early often avoided many hassles.

It was like in later times when fandom culture was rampant; making a major celebrity go through the ordinary gate would be irresponsible for public safety.

Thanks to Jiang Hong’s prior arrangements, the group passed through smoothly and soon boarded a sleeper carriage.

The train journey from Jinling to Songjiang took only five or six hours, so sleeper carriages were rarely open.

But because the green trains of this era were slow and stopped frequently, trains departing after 7 PM always opened one or two sleeper carriages.

Given Wang Ziqing’s status, taking a sleeper was nothing extraordinary, not even special treatment.

The group found their seats according to the tickets.

Wang Ziqing naturally took the innermost lower berth, Jiang Hong occupied the upper berth above him, while Liu Yaohong and Liu Renhe took the opposite upper and lower berths.

Zhao Guoyang, however, was assigned alone in the adjacent compartment, which secretly pleased him.

Jiang Hong, perceptive as he was, noticed Zhao Guoyang’s surprise and chuckled, “Comrade Xiao Zhao, you’re not being isolated. Three comrades from Jinling Industrial University will join you shortly, so you’ll share that compartment.”

Hearing this, Zhao Guoyang quickly smiled, “No problem, thank you, Director Jiang.”

Wang Ziqing overheard and laughed heartily, “Xiao Zhao, no need to be so polite.”

“We pulled you in at the last minute without prior notice. I was worried you might be upset, but you didn’t take it personally, which makes me very pleased, haha…”

After Wang’s words, Jiang Hong and Liu Renhe joined in the laughter. Liu Yaohong glanced at Zhao Guoyang, wanting to laugh but holding back.

As they chatted, the occupants of Zhao Guoyang’s compartment arrived, carrying their luggage.

They were two men and one woman.

The leading man was about fifty, fair-skinned and refined, wearing reading glasses, with the scholarly air of an old academic.

The younger man, in his early thirties, already bore forehead wrinkles, had a middle-part hairstyle, wore thick glasses, and clearly was a researcher.

The woman was tall and strikingly beautiful, appearing around twenty, with two glossy braids and large expressive eyes that seemed to speak, blinking attractively.

Seeing them arrive, Jiang Hong stood up with a smile to greet them, grasping the elder man’s hand warmly, “Old Zhu, you’re late!”

The man called Old Zhu laughed and shook his head, “No choice, Old Jiang. My apprentice still had an experiment unfinished and insisted I wait five more minutes. Who knew that turned into half an hour.”

“But luckily, we still caught the train in time. Otherwise, it would have been a real delay.”

The three exchanged greetings with Wang Ziqing, Liu Renhe, and Liu Yaohong.

It was clear Old Zhu was well acquainted with Jiang Hong and had a special relationship with Wang Ziqing.

After a brief exchange, Zhao Guoyang learned more about their backgrounds.

The elder man was Professor Zhu Maotao from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Jinling Industrial University.

Although Jinling Industrial University was not among the prestigious “985” or “211” universities, it still ranked high within Jiangnan Province, commanding great respect.

Professor Zhu was the academic leader of the Mechanical Engineering Department and a renowned mechanical expert in the province.

The younger man was Zhu’s doctoral student, Mo Xiaotian, currently pursuing his PhD.

The beautiful woman was Zhao Siyang, also a graduate student enrolled in a combined master’s and doctoral program, under Professor Zhu’s tutelage.

After some brief small talk, Wang Ziqing waved to Zhao Guoyang and introduced, “Professor Zhu, Researcher Mo, Researcher Xiang, let me introduce you to Director Liu, the top official of the Machinery Industry Committee in Guangling City.”

“And this is Comrade Zhao Guoyang, a technician from Hongda Machinery Factory in Ninghai City, also a member of our Jiangnan Province delegation…”

“Technician?” Upon hearing the introduction, Mo Xiaotian and Zhao Siyang exchanged puzzled glances.

Only Professor Zhu’s expression remained unchanged.