Charles Grant gently shook his head, reached out and took out a business card, handing it to Ryan Carter as he said, “I was just passing by and thought I’d stop in to see him. How about this: when he comes back, have him call me at this number. Sorry to trouble you, Little Comrade.”

Ryan Carter hurriedly reached out to take the business card, only to see that besides a string of numbers, it only had the three characters Charles Grant. He carefully put it into his pocket and promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to pass on the message.”

Nodding, Charles Grant turned and walked downstairs. As he was leaving, he gave Ryan Carter a meaningful look and said, “Young man, you have a good eye.”

With his sharp perception, he could naturally tell that just now Michael Thompson wanted to curse at him, but was stopped by Ryan Carter. Although he didn’t know why Ryan Carter was so respectful to him, it was quite unexpected for a young man to have such insight. After all, his college classmate here was only a low-ranking deputy secretary, and there was no need to curry favor with him by being so respectful. This showed that the young man had seen through his identity, or at least had a vague idea of who he was.

Thinking of this, Charles Grant stopped again and asked Ryan Carter, “Young man, what’s your name?”

Chapter 010: You Are Not a Fish

“Young man, what’s your name?”

Being asked this by the future top leader, Ryan Carter immediately felt a jolt of excitement, but quickly regained his composure. The knowledge he possessed, more than a decade ahead of this era, allowed him to choose the most appropriate answer at this moment.

“My name is Ryan Carter, and I’m a new temp at the office of the Yanjiang Township government.”

A very standard answer, Ryan Carter escorted Charles Grant to the entrance of the township government. In the distance, he saw several black sedans parked, making it obvious that Charles Grant had just been transferred to Beijing, and this visit was specifically to see his old classmate.

Charles Grant was quite surprised by Ryan Carter’s manner of speaking. Seeing this young man’s calm and unflinching demeanor, it was hard to believe he was just a temp in this backward township. He looked at Ryan Carter with a hint of astonishment.

“Ryan Carter, have you been to college?”

By now, Ryan Carter had already let go of his inner burden and was even more composed. Hearing Charles Grant’s question, he respectfully replied, “I just graduated from Bincheng University this year. Today is my first day at work.”

“Oh?”

Now it was Charles Grant’s turn to look surprised. Although it was already 2001 and college graduates were no longer a novelty, for someone like Ryan Carter, a graduate from a prestigious university, to not seek opportunities elsewhere but instead come to this poor rural area to be a temp was truly surprising.

“Ryan Carter, why didn’t you go work in the south? I heard the pay over there is much better than here.” Charles Grant chuckled and asked.

Ryan Carter’s expression was calm. As he helped Charles Grant cross the street, he replied, “I was born and raised in Yanjiang Township. My parents are both here. No matter how good things are in the south, that’s still someone else’s home. This is where my roots are.”

Charles Grant paused, looked at Ryan Carter, and said, “No ambition, no ambition!”

This time, Ryan Carter didn’t answer him. He simply escorted him to the car, where several men in suits were waiting for Charles Grant. Just as Charles Grant was getting into the car, Ryan Carter said lightly, “You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of fish?”

With that, he turned and walked away, not even saying goodbye to Charles Grant.

Sitting in the car, Charles Grant stroked his chin and chuckled, “Interesting. ‘You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of fish?’ Is he saying that I’m not him, so I don’t know his ambitions? Or is he saying I don’t understand what he’s pursuing in his heart?”

He smiled, shook his head again, and muttered to himself, “This young man is quite interesting.”

……

Back in the office, Michael Thompson looked at Ryan Carter with a strange expression. “Blockhead, are you crazy? Why did you stop me from talking for no reason?”

Ryan Carter gave him a hard knock on the head and said fiercely, “You! You! You really have a pig’s brain. Didn’t you notice? The way that man dressed and the way he spoke, you could tell at a glance he was an official. Besides, didn’t you notice that when he talked to us, it was like he was talking to subordinates?”

Rubbing his head, Michael Thompson said with some confusion, “So what? I’m not even afraid of Henry Owen, why should I be afraid of his classmate?”

Covering his forehead with his hand, Ryan Carter sighed, “A bull is a bull—even if you lead it to Beijing, it’s still a bull. I really wonder what your uncle was thinking letting you into the office.”

With an embarrassed chuckle, Michael Thompson scratched his head. “It’s just that my aunt was so annoyed with me that she made me stay here, as long as I don’t cause trouble.”

Sighing, Ryan Carter explained, “You know, at first I just thought he might be an official, so I treated him a bit better. But when I went out just now and saw the car he was in, do you know what kind it was?”

Now it was Michael Thompson’s turn to be puzzled. He looked at Ryan Carter in confusion and asked, “What kind? Don’t tell me it was from the provincial government?”

With a wry smile, Ryan Carter replied, “You’re thinking too small—it was the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League!”

“Thud!”