Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 362 I Follow the Flow
When they arrived at the meeting room, almost everyone attending the meeting had already arrived. He Yuanchao and Xia Shuliang were considered late.

Everyone greeted each other and exchanged a few words. As soon as they sat down, an old policeman in his fifties who sat opposite Xia Shuliang smiled and said:

"Shuliang! You haven't even taken that step forward yet, so why are you starting to adapt in advance?"

He Yuanchao had met the old policeman who was speaking several times and knew that he was one of the three deputy directors of the branch. His name seemed to be Li Baogang.

Although he seemed to be joking, everyone present understood his meaning. The voices in the conference room suddenly became much quieter, and everyone's eyes turned to Xia Shuliang and Li Baogang.

Seeing that everyone in the conference room was looking at him, Xia Shuliang did not show any fear and laughed:

"Look at what you said, Director Li. According to seniority, you have to go first before it's my turn!"

Xia Shuliang's pun froze Li Baogang's smile instantly, but he was also a man who had experienced many ups and downs, so he immediately laughed and counterattacked:
"It's true that he has more seniority, but it's hard to say who will leave first."

……

Although He Yuanchao seldom came to the branch, he knew that Li Baogang had been competing with Xia Shuliang, and he also wanted to take advantage of He Jianghai's promotion to sit in the top position of the branch.

The two of them kept arguing with each other, neither of them willing to give in. Although they didn't fall out, the tension between them grew stronger the more they talked.

Everyone in the office was drinking water, smoking, and watching the two people arguing with expressionless faces, with no intention of getting involved at all.

Seeing this situation, although He Yuanchao was close to Xia Shuliang, he did not say anything.

It is true that he is the deputy director of the Public Security Department of the branch, but he is just a temporary position, which is a bit unreasonable. The most important thing is that the situation is not critical at the moment, so it doesn't matter much whether he speaks or not.

If Xia Shuliang can't even handle such a small situation, he should give up his ambition of becoming the head of the branch as soon as possible.

Just as everyone in the conference room was watching the verbal battle between Xia Shuliang and Li Baogang with relish, footsteps were heard approaching from outside the conference room door.

Hearing the noise, Xia Shuliang and Li Baogang stopped talking tacitly, and followed the gazes of everyone in the room to look towards the door of the meeting room.

It was time for the meeting. Except for Director He Jianghai and the Political Commissar, all the cadres above the deputy division level were present in the meeting room. It was easy to guess who the person outside was.

The result was just as everyone expected. As soon as the door of the conference room opened, the top leaders of the branch came in talking and laughing.

"What's the matter? Why haven't the political commissar and I talked since we arrived? I just heard that the room was quite lively!"

He Jianghai spoke with a smile as he sat down at the head of the conference table with the political commissar.

Seeing that no one said anything, He Jianghai turned his gaze to Xia Shuliang standing aside.

"I heard you were so loud outside just now. Tell me, and let me and the political commissar hear what you are talking about so excitedly."

After saying that, He Jianghai looked at Li Baogang's face on the other side of the conference table.

Even though Xia Shuliang is almost fifty years old, when facing He Jianghai's questioning, he still acted a bit like an elementary school student facing his teacher.

"No...nothing much, just some work stuff." As soon as Xia Shuliang finished speaking, He Jianghai frowned and snorted heavily.

He Yuanchao thought he couldn't avoid Lao Xia's scolding, but unexpectedly He Jianghai didn't mention it again. After picking up the water cup he brought with him and drinking a sip of water, he announced the official start of the meeting.

"As expected of someone who was promoted to the Municipal Bureau and is going to take over the old political commissar's position, his way of handling things is indeed extraordinary."

He Yuanchao couldn't help but mutter something in his heart while he sat upright and listened to He Jianghai's opening remarks.

As more and more content of the meeting was discussed, He Yuanchao finally understood the purpose of this meeting. One was to learn the spirit of the speech from above, and the other was to implement the various work progress of the branch this year.

Time passed as He Jianghai talked, and in the blink of an eye an hour had gone by.

After finishing the last work arrangement, He Jianghai turned around and smiled at the political commissar who had not said much, "Lao Zhang, do you have anything else to add?"

Upon hearing this, the political commissar took off his reading glasses and placed them on the conference table, saying, "The director has already given a very comprehensive account of the work. I mainly want to emphasize discipline again..."

He talked on and on for more than twenty minutes, then criticized several departments for their lax work style, and then handed the initiative of the meeting back to He Jianghai.

"Everyone should seriously implement what the political commissar said when you go back. The next time I hear about this issue, I will have a good talk with the heads of your departments."

He Jianghai said this with a stern face, looked around, and seeing that no one was interested in talking, he changed to a relaxed tone and continued:
"Maybe many people have heard that I will be transferred to the Municipal Bureau. I want to be honest with you all. This is indeed the case. My superiors also asked me for my opinion on the next director. I replied that I would think about it carefully.

I have been thinking about this issue for the past few days, but I have no idea. Today, all the cadres above the deputy director level in our bureau are here, and I want to ask everyone if they have any good candidates for the next director. "

Upon hearing this, everyone in the conference room was shocked. Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke first.

He Jianghai waited for a while, and seeing that no one spoke, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone. Even if you have selected a candidate for director and I recommend him, the superiors may not accept it.

So everyone just treats it as a casual chat, and everyone has to talk about it so that I can have some reference. "

After saying this, He Jianghai picked up the water cup on the table, leaned back in his chair, and drank the water calmly.

Everyone in the conference room had different expressions upon seeing this, and they all whispered to the people they knew, but just like before, no one was the first to stand up and speak.

Chief of Public Security Cui Jie sat next to He Yuanchao, glanced around, then leaned close to him and whispered:
"Yuan Chao, do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"

"Director, I've only been here at the branch for a few days!"

After hearing what Cui Jie said, He Yuanchao smiled and whispered back, "Except for you and Director Xia, I have only met the others a few times.

If Director He doesn't mention me, I won't say anything. If he insists, I'll just go with the flow."

After hearing this, Cui Jie couldn't help but curl his lips and said, "Brother, you are smart. I will try this method later."

While He Yuanchao and Cui Jie were talking, a middle-aged policeman not far from them suddenly stood up and said:
"Director He, since no one else is talking, I'll speak first."

(End of this chapter)