Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

In contrast to Xu Damao's smug satisfaction, the Yang family uncle and nephew were rather upset.

In the factory manager's office, Yang Guangming complained to his uncle, Yang Ligong, about Xu Damao:

"Uncle, that bastard Xu Damao instructed me! He actually instructed me!"

"You have to stand up for me. To put it bluntly, you have to consider the owner before beating a dog. Xu Damao clearly doesn't respect you."

"You must get rid of him, you absolutely have to get rid of him!"

Yang Ligong shook his head helplessly after hearing his nephew's words and sighed softly:

"Hey... Guangming, it's not that your third uncle wants to criticize you, but why was Xu Damao able to achieve merit?"

"Others may not know, but I know perfectly well, Third Uncle. Isn't this all your doing?"

"If you hadn't been making things difficult for Xu Damao all the time and deliberately altering his rural assignments, Xu Damao wouldn't have been able to ride on Secretary Nie's coattails and earn a third-class merit."

"While luck played a part, you're the one who caused all of this to happen..."

"What else do you want me to do?"

"boom!"

After hearing his third uncle's words, Yang Guangming felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck the top of his head!

He hadn't thought about it this way before, but after hearing his third uncle say this, it seemed that Xu Damao's meritorious service and promotion was indeed something he had orchestrated.

At that moment, he was filled with remorse and immediately slapped himself three times.

"Clap clap clap!"

The sound was both loud and crisp.

Yang Ligong quickly intervened to stop it:

"Hey, hey, Guangming, it can't be that bad, it can't be that bad..."

"Don't worry, Xu Damao will only show off in front of you for a few days at most. As long as he's not stupid, he won't dare to act recklessly. Your Uncle is still here."

"Just wait and see. Next year, your uncle will promote you to deputy section chief. You need to do your job well within this year and not give anyone cause for criticism."

Yang Guangming felt much better after hearing what his third uncle said, and obediently nodded.

"Uncle, I understand. Don't worry, I will do my job well and won't cause you any trouble."

Yang Ligong smiled with satisfaction.

"That's right. Go on, I still have documents to review."

After getting off work in the evening, Yang Ligong took his wife and children to his father-in-law's house; they did not live together.

After dinner, Yang Ligong followed his father-in-law to the study for a talk.

Yang Ligong proactively brewed the tea and brought it to Old Wang's table:

"Dad, please have some tea..."

"Hmm..." Old Wang nodded with a smile, seemingly satisfied with Yang Ligong's calm and composed actions this time.

After taking a sip of tea, Yang Ligong lit a cigarette for him.

After exhaling a puff of smoke, Old Wang suddenly laughed, his words filled with praise for Yang Ligong:

"Hahaha... Son, your performance today has really impressed me!"

Yang Ligong raised an eyebrow upon hearing this:

"Dad, what do you mean?"

Old Wang's smile remained unchanged, and he lightly tapped the finger holding his cigarette towards Yang Ligong:

"You didn't get the top position this time. I know you put in a lot of effort and paid a price, but you have a good attitude."

"In the past, you would have complained to me long ago. What does this mean? It means you've grown a lot. I'm very pleased with you, old man."

Yang Ligong felt a lump in his throat at his father-in-law's words. "I was just about to complain to you, but you've praised me like this. What am I supposed to say now?"

But Yang Ligong was still very happy. Father-in-law, well, let's just call him father for now.

My dad rarely praises himself, so it's really not easy to get him to say anything positive.

At this moment, a smile appeared on Yang Ligong's face; he needed to reorganize his thoughts:

"Dad, it's so hard to get your praise, I'm really happy."

"Not being able to become the top leader shows that my abilities are still lacking. I will continue to work hard to make up for my shortcomings and strive for the next opportunity."

Upon hearing this, Old Wang laughed again:

"Hahaha... The fact that you can think like that shows you've really grown up."

"I didn't ask you before, but now it's just the two of us, father and son. Tell me how you got Comrade Nie Wuji to recommend you."

When his father brought up the matter, Yang Ligong's face darkened. He took a deep drag on his cigarette and sighed heavily.

"Dad, I think this time I might just be unlucky."

"At that time, I went to Secretary Nie and negotiated terms with him."

"Secretary Nie did not refuse, but offered to help his two younger relatives get promoted to deputy section chief, and I agreed to that condition."

"He also asked me for five thousand yuan..."

"I agreed to both of those conditions, and I did as they asked."

"Secretary Nie also got the job done, so it was a fair trade between us."

"But as you know, Secretary Nie was promoted and served another term. As for me, I not only lost five thousand yuan, but also wasted two promotion slots I had."

After listening, Old Wang remained silent for a long time, and then sighed heavily.

"Then you really had some bad luck..." After saying that, he described the contents of the meeting held by the Ministry of Metallurgy to Yang Ligong.

Then both father and son showed bitter smiles.

The father and son were busy doing all this, but it ended up benefiting Nie Wuji instead. They wouldn't have been so upset if Li Huaide had taken over.

The main problem is that they've given so much, and the person who got promoted is the one they ignored. Who wouldn't feel resentful?

It can only be said that plans can't keep up with changes. This is the most taboo thing in officialdom, and it's what people fear most when such a thing happens.

Moreover, Nie Wuji received way too much.

Promotion to vice ministerial level—a single step opens up a world of possibilities!

If he performs well in this term and satisfies the higher-ups, he won't be able to retire whenever he wants.

They might even have more responsibilities, and once they reach that level, age won't be such a big problem.

Nie Wuji not only gained power but also money—a whopping five thousand dollars!

Old Wang was also heartbroken and could hardly breathe. This was his own family's money; how could he not feel pain?

As for reporting Nie Wuji for money-power transactions, don't even mention it.

It's like killing a thousand enemies while losing twelve thousand of your own; your own side will only be more severely injured than Nie Wuji.

Both Mr. Wang and Mr. Yang tacitly avoided mentioning the matter; the world is not simply black and white.

As long as it's not corruption, this little problem can be ignored. Unless Nie Wuji doesn't want to live and decides to self-destruct, there won't be any problems at all.

Of course, this kind of thing is unlikely to happen, since neither side has any evidence, so what can they use to file a lawsuit?

This explains why Nie Wuji dared to ask for help, Yang Ligong dared to give it to him, and Nie Wuji ultimately dared to accept it.

Nie Wuji was the biggest winner in this political game, without exception.

After a long silence, Yang Ligong spoke:

"Dad, to be honest, I'm a little resentful. I feel so choked up."

Upon hearing this, Old Wang frowned, but after a moment's thought, his brows relaxed, revealing his composed demeanor.

"If you're angry, then find a chance to vent it. Your steel mill hasn't held a democratic life meeting in a long time."

"You're the factory manager, can you organize this? Let's all expose each other's secrets, blush, sweat it out, ring the bell, and enjoy the breeze."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ligong immediately understood and showed his father-in-law an expression of admiration:

"Dad, it has to be you. I admire you so much."

After hearing this, Old Wang burst into laughter again.

"Hahaha...you still have a lot to learn, kid!"

"Go and prepare. I don't need to teach you what to do, do I?"

Yang Ligong confidently patted his chest and assured him:

"Dad, I wouldn't dare boast about anything else, but this democratic life meeting is my home turf. Even a dog can fight when things are going well, but it's when things are going badly that I truly excel!"

"Have you forgotten what I used to do? I used to be the youngest professor at Tsinghua University."

"I can be all talk and no action at party group meetings, but in democratic life meetings, everyone is equal. You'll see if I become like Nie Wuji!"

Old Wang nodded in satisfaction:

"Alright, it's good to deflate his arrogance a bit, and give Comrade Wuji a heads-up so he doesn't get angry!"