Tang Hongen was not a local of Pengcheng. It wasn’t unusual for him to live alone while working there. Especially if his tenure was short, his family members might not have transferred their jobs yet. With the housekeeper on leave, Mayor Tang had become a poor soul with no one to take care of him… If he wanted, people eager to care for their leader would wear down his doorstep, but Tang Hongen clearly wouldn’t broadcast his physical discomfort.

If Xia Xiaolan hadn’t known about it, that would have been fine, but after hearing Secretary Peng speak this way, she needed to show concern. Tang Hongen had helped tremendously – not only had the guesthouse project earned over a hundred thousand, but tonight Tang Hongen had fearlessly spoken with Xia Xiaolan despite rumors, essentially confirming the gossip that he was “Yuan Hui’s” backing.

“Secretary Peng, why don’t we go help take care of Uncle Tang? We can leave once his stomach pain eases?”

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t go alone – that would spark romantic rumors between her and Tang Hongen. She could go with Liu Fen. Liu Yong was already drunk, so Xia Xiaolan had Li Dongliang take him home.

Fine beads of sweat had formed on Tang Hongen’s forehead; his stomach discomfort seemed to be worsening.

Seeing that the leader didn’t object, Secretary Peng agreed to let Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen get in the car. Secretary Peng wasn’t a lifestyle secretary – as a man, he couldn’t care for Tang Hongen as meticulously. They gave Tang Hongen stomach medicine during the drive, but halfway there, Tang Hongen had Little Wang stop the car and rushed to the roadside to vomit up both the alcohol and medicine.

He kept retching until there was nothing left in his stomach except acid before returning to the car with Secretary Peng’s support. After vomiting he felt somewhat better, though his face had turned ashen.

With his stomach now empty, Xia Xiaolan ran to knock on several doors along the road before finally borrowing some hot water, letting Tang Hongen rinse his mouth and drink some to feel better. The car drove to Tang Hongen’s residence – no fancy villa, as the Special Zone was still under construction. Tang Hongen’s home was just an ordinary house, though larger than regular officials’ homes according to his rank – a three-bedroom unit.

This place didn’t feel like a home at all. Not because it was poorly decorated – the white ceramic tiles on the floor were gleaming, and when the lights came on everything was so clean you could see your shadow. But everywhere felt cold and sterile, without any hint of life, like a temporary hotel room.

Secretary Peng and Little Wang helped Tang Hongen to his bedroom, then came out to explain: “Usually there’s a housekeeper who cooks, but the leader rarely eats at home, and these past few days the housekeeper’s been on leave… I’ll stay tonight to look after the leader. Would you mind helping make something to settle his stomach? I’ll arrange for someone to take over tomorrow.”

Secretary Peng’s cooking skills were barely enough to keep food from burning.

Xia Xiaolan’s cooking was only slightly better than Secretary Peng’s, and that improvement was limited. Fortunately, Liu Fen was there, and with Secretary Peng’s permission, she went to the kitchen.

Though she didn’t know how to use the gas stove, she did know how to cook.

“When your stomach’s upset, you can’t eat rice – let’s make some noodles.”

Liu Fen was quite experienced; Xia Xiaolan guessed it came from taking care of Xia Dajun in the past. In her “memories,” Xia Dajun would often come home drunk, vomiting, and making a scene, leaving Liu Fen to clean up.

Tang Hongen’s kitchen was very clean – the housekeeper was conscientious, just unfortunately on leave right now.

Liu Fen found flour in the cabinet and skillfully rolled out a bowl of noodles. She deliberately cooked them slightly soft and added just a drop of soy sauce and nothing else. Secretary Peng carried it in, and Tang Hongen ate most of the bowl.

After taking medicine again this time, he didn’t vomit anymore.

Tang Hongen even roused himself to have Little Wang escort Xia Xiaolan and her mother home: “It’s late, don’t keep them any longer.”

This was with a driver and secretary present – otherwise, no matter how unwell Tang Hongen felt, he wouldn’t have allowed Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen to come to his home so late at night. He might not fear shadows falling askew on him, but rumors could severely impact a woman’s reputation! Besides, they weren’t his housekeepers – no one was obligated to take care of him.

Before leaving, Liu Fen still gave Secretary Peng some instructions. She had noticed some Chinese yam piled in a corner of the kitchen, found a carrot too, and cut them both into cubes to simmer with rice in a pot.

“He can have a bowl of porridge in the morning. Nothing spicy or too oily.”

Even high-ranking officials got stomach aches when they drank too much. Though Liu Fen was very respectful of important people, she had made porridge for Tang Hongen before, so this time she knew exactly what to do.

Secretary Peng couldn’t spare thoughts anymore about whether Xia Xiaolan was deeply calculating – if the leader was willing to trust her, and she did consistently please at crucial moments, Secretary Peng could only marvel at Xia Xiaolan’s good luck.

On the way back, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help asking: “Does Uncle Tang often have stomach pain?”

“When the leader gets busy, he forgets to eat and doesn’t listen to the housekeeper’s reminders. How could his stomach not develop problems…” Little Wang said a few words but stopped there. As secretaries and drivers, they shouldn’t talk too much. Xia Xiaolan had seen the stomach pain herself, so these few sentences weren’t much, but saying more would intrude on the leader’s privacy.

Xia Xiaolan grew thoughtful.

If the housekeeper’s words didn’t work, how could his family be at ease with him working alone in Pengcheng?

Getting sick from rain, stomach aches from drinking – his health wasn’t good. Xia Xiaolan wasn’t trying to meddle, but she had finally found a powerful patron – how great would it be if that patron remained steadily in his high position? What if his health failed first? Secretary Peng said Tang Hongen lived alone, and last time Little Wang hadn’t mentioned contacting Tang Hongen’s family either… From Xia Xiaolan’s observation, there wasn’t a trace of anyone else – not even photos displayed. Could Tang Hongen be all alone?

Secretary Peng said the housekeeper was on leave and he would quickly find someone to help care for the leader.

The next day, Tang Hongen drank the porridge after waking up.

Minor injuries don’t stop the troops – Tang Hongen went to work as usual but unexpectedly vomited again after lunch in the unit cafeteria.

This time he had to go to the hospital. First came a full physical examination, then a gastroscopy. The doctor said Tang Hongen showed symptoms of severe gastric ulcers and needed further testing to rule out cancerous changes.

Secretary Peng leaned against the hospital wall, lost in thought for a while.

How could the leader possibly have cancer at the prime of his life?

“You must investigate thoroughly. There can’t be any mistakes.”

Tang Hongen’s stomach had been consistently uncomfortable, with habitual vomiting making him not want to eat anything. Secretary Peng was beside himself with worry.

Driver Little Wang privately asked, “Should we tell Xia Xiaolan and her mother about this?”

Secretary Peng thought Little Wang must be crazy. Before the test results came back, they needed to control this information, let alone actively tell Xia Xiaolan and her mother! What was Xia Xiaolan to them? People were already mistakenly spreading rumors that she was the leader’s relative – everyone else might not know better, but how could Little Wang not know?

After being scolded, Little Wang felt wronged: “I just noticed the leader enjoys eating what Liu Fen makes – it’s the Yunan style.”

If Little Wang knew Tang Hongen had spent time in Yunan, naturally Secretary Peng knew too.

This was worth trying.

Anyone could make yam and carrot porridge – why did the leader keep down Liu Fen’s cooking but not others?

Secretary Peng thought it was psychological – did the leader miss authentic Yunan flavors? Even with something as simple as noodles, Pengcheng used thin alkaline noodles while Yunan had hand-pulled ones.

Hearing Secretary Peng’s request, Xia Xiaolan frowned and asked Liu Fen: “Mom, do you want to go?”