After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

Inside the county government building, the atmosphere became somewhat strange because of Chen Pingfang's actions.

In the office of Li Wei, director of the county party committee office, he was holding the phone, his face pale, reporting to Ma Changsheng, the county party secretary, about what had happened at the door. He didn't even bother to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Ma Changsheng neither got angry nor praised him; he simply replied with a curt "Mm" and hung up. This emotionless attitude made Li Wei even more uneasy.

Soon, a notice to convene a meeting of the county party committee's standing committee was delivered to Chen Pingfang's temporary office.

The conference room was already full of people sitting on both sides of the long conference table.

Chen Pingfang was the last to arrive.

The moment he pushed the door open, the conference room fell silent. A dozen pairs of eyes fell on him, scrutinizing and curious, with a hint of barely concealed wariness.

Chen Pingfang remained calm. He looked around, nodded slightly to everyone, and then walked directly to the seat marked "County Magistrate" and sat down.

In front of him were only a notebook and a pen that he had brought from the city, making him look like an intern who had come to audit the class.

The meeting was about to begin, and everyone felt that the atmosphere at the start would be very tense.

Unexpectedly, County Party Secretary Ma Changsheng stood up from his seat. With a warm smile on his face, he strode over to Chen Pingfang, extended his hands, and firmly grasped Chen Pingfang's hands.

"Comrade Pingfang, welcome! I heard about yesterday's incident; it was handled exceptionally well, very skillfully! It has truly taught the cadres of Qingyuan County a lesson!"

Ma Changsheng had a loud voice, a friendly attitude, and a strong grip, like an old leader who genuinely cared for his subordinates.

This left the other members of the Standing Committee present stunned.

They had expected a power struggle, but nothing happened. Secretary Ma's enthusiastic "acceptance" made the previously tense atmosphere suddenly become a little strange.

Several quick-thinking Standing Committee members exchanged glances, all seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

Chen Ping simply smiled, letting Ma Changsheng shake his hand, nodding in acknowledgment, and politely said, "Secretary Ma, you flatter me. It's all part of my job."

There were no extra words, and no change in emotion.

The meeting officially began.

Ma Changsheng cleared his throat, taking control of the meeting's pace. He began by delivering a warm welcome speech on behalf of the county committee to Chen Pingfang.

Then, he abruptly changed the subject, skipping over all the work that should have been reported by the government according to regulations, as if he had forgotten that there was a new county head sitting next to him.

"Comrades, today we will discuss several key tasks."

Ma Changsheng directly mentioned several major investment projects in the county.

"Regarding that cultural tourism project in the south of the city, I've taken a look. The investment is over 100 million yuan, and we can't delay any longer. So, Deputy Secretary Zhang will take charge, with the Publicity Department and the Culture and Tourism Bureau cooperating, and we need to come up with a concrete plan within a week."

"There's also the issue of land planning adjustments for the West Suburbs Industrial Park, which is related to our county's future tax revenue. Secretary Wang of the Discipline Inspection Commission, please take the trouble to personally oversee this matter, and the land and planning departments must provide full support."

Each of these matters involves the allocation of large sums of money and core resources. These are core tasks that should have been led by the county government and overseen by the county head, but he has now assigned them to the deputy secretary of the county party committee and several other standing committee members with just a few words.

There was not a sound in the conference room.

Everyone realized that this was no welcome party; it was a public display of power!

Ma Changsheng is telling everyone in the most direct way that in Qingyuan County, he, the county party secretary, is the boss, and the government and the county head are just tools for execution.

Everyone's eyes, intentionally or unintentionally, were once again secretly drawn to Chen Pingfang, wanting to see how this new county magistrate would handle the situation.

However, Chen Ping didn't react at all.

He kept his head down, his pen scribbling away in his notebook, the scratching sound clearly audible in the quiet meeting room. He seemed like a student daydreaming, completely oblivious to the power allocation unfolding before him.

Seeing that Chen Pingfang was so "sensible" and showed no sign of resistance, Ma Changsheng became even bolder.

He even started discussing the appointment of several key bureau chiefs directly.

"I think Director Liu of the Finance Bureau is getting old and lacks enthusiasm for his work. Let him go to the People's Congress. As for the vacant position, I think Xiao Wang from the County Party Committee Office would be a good fit; young people are energetic."

This has exceeded the authority of the county party secretary and seriously infringed upon the county government's personnel authority.

Every time Ma Changsheng announced a decision, he would pretend to glance in Chen Pingfang's direction, as if asking for his opinion, but the contempt in his eyes was not concealed at all.

Chen Pingfang didn't look up. The lines he drew on his notebook became increasingly complex, as if he was calculating some complicated problem.

The Standing Committee members present saw this and their initial wariness of the young county head quickly turned into contempt, and finally disappointment.

It seems this young man sent down from the city isn't all that great. He was so intimidated by Secretary Ma that he didn't dare utter a single word.

As the meeting drew to a close, everything was passed unanimously and without hindrance, just as Ma Changsheng had planned.

Ma Changsheng stood up with satisfaction, walking over to Chen Pingfang with the air of a victor, and patted him hard on the shoulder.

He spoke in the tone of an elder admonishing a younger person, saying, "Comrade Pingfang, you've just arrived, so listen and observe more, don't rush into doing anything. The work in the county is very complicated, but we veteran comrades will help you shoulder the burden."

Chen Pingfang finally raised his head, a slightly embarrassed smile on his face: "Thank you for your concern, Secretary Ma. I will definitely learn more from the veteran comrades."

After the meeting, Chen Ping calmly packed up his notebook and was the first to leave the meeting room.

After he left, Ma Changsheng watched his retreating figure, then gave a cold laugh to his secretary and a few trusted standing committee members. His voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone around to hear.

"I thought the city had sent down a tough nut to crack, but it turned out to be so easy to deal with."

These words spread like wildfire throughout the county government building in less than half an hour.

On the other side, Chen Ping returned to his empty office, which still smelled of paint, and closed the door behind him.

The world fell silent instantly.

He walked behind his desk, sat down, and opened the notebook he had filled with drawings during the meeting.

It's not some random scribbles at all.

That's a relationship diagram.

Centered on Ma Changsheng, several lines of varying thickness extend outwards, connecting the names of every Standing Committee member present today.

Next to each name, simple words are used to indicate their stance on various issues, the people behind them, and potential conflicts of interest—"City Investment Group," "Ma Changsheng's secretary," "wavering in attitude," "at odds with Deputy Secretary Zhang," etc.

Every speech, every glance, every agreement, and every moment of silence in the meeting just now became a mark on this map.

Chen Ping's gaze slowly moved across the complex relationship diagram, his eyes calm yet sharp.