Luo Ziling hadn’t expected Ling Mingrui to say that, and was stunned for a moment.
But he reacted quickly and immediately denied it: "How is that possible? Even if I wanted to take a post, it wouldn’t be because he talked me into it, it’d be because I myself wanted to be an official. If I don’t want to be an official, no matter who talks to me, I won’t be tempted. If I do want to be an official, whoever brings it up, I’ll start thinking about it. I don’t even need them to say anything, I’d show it myself."
"Then what’s your thinking right now?"
"Let’s talk about it after I come back safely!" Luo Ziling smiled. "Right now I don’t want to think about anything else, I just want to figure out how to help Dragon Rise get this done, and then have a good time in Europe for a while."
When Luo Ziling said that first sentence, Ling Ruonan’s expression changed a little.
After he finished, she glared at him, then very solemnly warned: "Don’t be careless in any way, you must be extremely cautious and make sure you come back safe and sound."
"Mom, stop worrying!" Luo Ziling smiled. "I’ve promised you I’ll come back safe, then nothing will happen. Maybe I’ll even bring you a surprise when the time comes!"
With Ling Ruonan interrupting, Ling Mingrui didn’t go on with the previous topic.
He felt he’d said a bit too much today, so he picked up his teacup and started drinking, not wanting to say anything more.
But Luo Ziling didn’t intend to let it drop just like that, and continued to ask Ling Mingrui: "Grandpa, how should I treat Lin Zeping and Wang Zhengqiang from now on? I think they’ll definitely come to me again, hoping I’ll put in a good word for them in front of you and the others in exchange for more support. Also, since you don’t object to them coming to me, a lot of people will think the Ling Family has tacitly approved my contact with them and is showing support for them."
"Isn’t that a good thing?" Ling Mingrui looked at Luo Ziling with a strange expression. "Those who support Lin Zeping will think the Ling Family supports him, and those who support Wang Zhengqiang will think the same. Isn’t that pretty good?"
Luo Ziling froze for a moment, then realized what he meant and couldn’t help giving an embarrassed smile.
"Looks like I overcomplicated it."
"Yeah, don’t make things so complicated. Keep it simple." Ling Mingrui smiled and went on sipping his tea.
Ling Ruonan couldn’t help interjecting: "Dad, the key is, how will the Yang Family, Fang Family, and Chen Family look at Wang Zhengqiang and Lin Zeping doing this kind of thing!"
"Your son is capable and has achieved results, he’s worth promoting like this." Ling Mingrui glanced at Luo Ziling, then continued, "How the Yang Family, Fang Family, and Chen Family see it isn’t important. What matters is what Lin Zeping and Wang Zhengqiang intend to do. Are they just trying to put on a show, or are they really trying to rope your son in? The meaning behind those two intentions isn’t the same."
Ling Ruonan paused for a moment, then understood as well. "Mm, I get it!"
Although Lin Zeping and Wang Zhengqiang weren’t just posturing and also wanted Luo Ziling to say a few good words for them in front of the several old men, their biggest goal was still to let those who were wavering and potential rivals know that they could get a lot of people’s support. As long as Luo Ziling frequently met with Yang Yuanshan, Fang Xiang, and Ling Mingrui, many people would assume Luo Ziling was helping them pull in supporters.
If Ling Mingrui, Yang Yuanshan, or Fang Xiang made some relatively clear sign, and they then quietly spread the word, the effect would be even better.
These things didn’t need to be spelled out deliberately; letting people have a vague feeling was enough, and that way the effect was best.
If it was too clear, the effect would actually be worse; nobody liked that.
Take the struggle between Wang Zhengqiang and Lin Zeping for example—if the winner and loser were too obvious, what meaning would that still have?
The result isn’t important; what’s important is the process—perhaps you could put it that way.
If the struggle between the two really produced a concrete result, then it would become a disaster, which most people don’t want to see.
It’s best if everything stays ambiguous.
After a short while, Xie Enhua came in. Once she did, the three of them stopped talking about these matters and switched to another topic.
Xie Enhua brought up Ling Zhengping, saying that during this period there hadn’t been any clashes between Ling Zhengping and Ling Ruonan, which was a good thing, and that they should think of more ways to clear up the misunderstandings in the future.
Ling Ruonan didn’t show much emotion and simply went along with Xie Enhua, saying that she would pay more attention in the future and try her best not to have conflicts with Ling Zhengping.
Around nine o’clock, Ling Ruonan also took Luo Ziling with her to say goodbye and leave.
Xie Enhua also knew Luo Ziling was going to Europe, so when she walked the mother and son out, she repeatedly urged Luo Ziling to pay attention to his safety and come back early.
Luo Ziling readily agreed and said that when he came back, he would bring gifts for his grandfather and grandmother.
Xie Enhua didn’t refuse and happily accepted it.
When they left Ling Mingrui’s other residence, Luo Ziling didn’t leave in the same car as Ling Ruonan.
"Mom, you go back first. I’m going to school for a bit, and I also need to find Yang Qingyin to talk about something. I won’t be coming home tonight." Luo Ziling said to Ling Ruonan a little sheepishly, "I’m leaving Yanjing tomorrow, there are a lot of things I need to properly explain."
"Go on then!" Ling Ruonan gave Luo Ziling a couple of strange looks, then solemnly added another instruction: "Be careful, don’t cause any trouble."
Luo Ziling felt instantly awkward, but could only pretend he hadn’t grasped the special meaning in her words and giggled as he agreed.
After parting ways with Ling Ruonan, Luo Ziling headed for the university.
It was still early, and he’d go to Yang Qingyin’s place a bit later; first he’d take care of some things at school.
Tonight, Luo Liansheng should still be teaching those people acupuncture skill; at this time it probably hadn’t finished yet.
Luo Ziling planned to call them all together for a talk, and then give Dong Xiaowan and Wang Feiyang a few instructions.
When he arrived at school, sure enough, Luo Liansheng was still lecturing them, though it was already near the end.
When Luo Ziling came in, Luo Liansheng took the opportunity to wrap up that day’s lesson.
Luo Ziling had everyone sit for a bit longer and told them he might be going away on a long trip as early as tomorrow.
He told everyone that he had personal business to take care of for a while, so he’d have to rely on them to keep an eye on things here, and as for teaching acupuncture skill, Luo Liansheng would continue taking charge.
He hoped everyone would work diligently and study acupuncture skill conscientiously, not think about stirring up trouble or scheming about anything. If he found out, he’d deal with it severely without leniency.
After giving these instructions, he then called Ishihara Naka and Xu Zhiyuan over alone and gave them a few words face to face, treating it as a warning.
The two of them answered meekly and promised they wouldn’t play any tricks again.
After that, Luo Ziling called Dong Xiaowan and Wang Feiyang over separately and gave them detailed instructions on a few matters.
A little after ten, when Yang Qingyin sent a message asking whether he was coming over that night, he finally wrapped up what he was doing here and headed over to Yang Qingyin’s place.