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

The next morning, a notice about a mobilization meeting for the industrial electricity census sparked considerable discussion in the municipal government building.

However, before the meeting even started, the real confrontation had already begun elsewhere.

Nanzhou Power Supply Bureau.

A glass building of more than twenty stories stands impressively in the morning light, with stone lions at the entrance facing the passing traffic. It controls the power supply for all businesses in the city.

Chen Pingfang didn't take the bus; instead, he and Zhang Chao took a taxi and parked it on the side of the road opposite the building.

"Director, shall we go straight up to see Director Liu?" Zhang Chao looked at the building, feeling a little uncertain. Zhang Chao had already inquired and learned that Liu Zhenhua, the head of the power supply bureau, was a close confidant promoted by Wang Weidong and carried considerable weight in the power system.

"No rush." ​​Chen Ping put down the car, straightened his collar, and said, "We're here on business, so let's follow the rules."

The two entered the luxuriously decorated reception hall on the first floor.

Seeing that the two were dressed casually, the receptionist's professional smile faded slightly, but she still asked as usual, "Do you two have an appointment?"

"No appointment." Chen Pingfang said calmly. "Chen Pingfang, Municipal Government Office. I have some urgent business and need to see Director Liu Zhenhua."

"The Municipal Government Office?" The receptionist paused, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes. She picked up the phone, dialed an internal line, and whispered a few words into the receiver.

A moment later, the receptionist hung up the phone, her smile returning, but it was perfunctory: "I'm sorry, Director Chen, Director Liu is in an urgent power grid dispatch meeting and may not have time. Would you please wait in the reception room next door?"

The receptionist pointed to a small room in the corner of the lobby, separated by glass, containing only a few plastic chairs.

Zhang Chao understood this explanation immediately.

What emergency meeting? It was clearly Wang Weidong who gave them a warning, a way to put them in their place.

Zhang Chao's face turned somewhat ugly. He was about to start arguing when Chen Ping stopped him with a look.

"Okay, we'll wait."

Chen Pingfang reacted calmly. He didn't say a word, walked directly to the simple reception room, pulled out a chair and sat down, then took out a laptop from his briefcase.

With a "click," the computer turned on.

Chen Pingfang seemed completely unconcerned about the other party's difficult behavior and began to handle his work on his own.

Time passed second by second.

People came and went in the reception hall, and every now and then someone would curiously glance into the glass room and point at the two young men sitting there.

One hour, then two hours.

Zhang Chao went from initial dissatisfaction to restlessness, and now he's somewhat numb. Several times he considered going to the front desk, but Chen Ping's focused work ethic deterred him.

Why is Zhang Chao in such a hurry if the director isn't?

However, it was really uncomfortable to have this feeling stuck in my chest.

This is hardly the secretary-general of the municipal government; his treatment is worse than that of the petitioners.

Just as Zhang Chao was getting restless, Chen Ping's encrypted phone vibrated slightly on the table.

Chen Ping glanced at the screen; it was a text message from Jiang Fan.

[Director Chen, great news! We've made a major breakthrough in the reverse engineering of the core components of the EUV light source system! We want to set up an experimental platform immediately for testing, which requires a large and very stable industrial power supply—it can't be interrupted even for a day!]

Chen Pingfang's pupils contracted slightly.

It became.

Jiang Fan's team moved even faster than Chen Pingfang had anticipated!

But this brings with it even greater pressure. Breakthroughs in the core technologies of lithography machines are still very fragile. A stable power supply during the experimental phase is crucial support, and nothing can be lacking.

Wang Weidong's move to cut off resources was indeed ruthless.

Chen Ping slowly raised his head and glanced at the clock on the wall. The hour hand was pointing to 11:30.

It lasted a full three hours.

Chen Ping closed his laptop. On the screen, the title of a document was clearly visible: "Suggestions on Clearing Out the Long-Term Illegal Occupation of High-tech Industrial Electricity Quotas by Some Zombie Enterprises in Nanzhou City".

Every word in the document hits the nail on the head.

The data cited in the report was from the USB drive that Zhou Jianshe had sent, containing transaction records between Hongda Real Estate and internal departments of the power supply bureau. Every record of reselling industrial electricity, and every list of zombie companies that enjoyed high electricity price subsidies but had long since ceased production, was clearly listed by Chen Ping.

For the past three hours, Chen Pingfang has been compiling evidence of Wang Weidong's illegal activities within his network of vested interests.

Just then, the door to the reception room was pushed open.

A female secretary in a suit walked in, a professional fake smile on her face: "Oh, Director Chen, I'm so sorry, Director Liu's meeting just ended, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Behind the female secretary followed a slightly overweight middle-aged man, who was none other than Liu Zhenhua, the director of the power supply bureau.

Liu Zhenhua, with his pregnant belly and official air, extended his hand and said indifferently, "Director Chen, you've arrived. I'm so sorry I couldn't greet you. The city has been focusing on safety production lately, and the power grid dispatching can't be left unattended for a moment."

Liu Zhenhua apologized verbally, but his eyes showed no remorse; instead, they held a scrutinizing look.

Chen Ping stood up, but did not reach out to shake the hand that was hanging in mid-air.

Chen Ping simply put the laptop back into his briefcase, moving slowly.

Liu Zhenhua's hand froze in mid-air, and his face instantly turned pale.

"Director Chen, what's this?"

"I'd like to ask about the progress of the approval process for the dedicated substation for the Corefire Phase II project," Chen Ping asked calmly.

"Oh, that matter." Liu Zhenhua seemed to have just remembered. He slowly withdrew his hand and put it behind his back, speaking in a businesslike tone, "Director Chen, this year's situation is special. The summer peak electricity consumption has come early, and the city's power grid load has reached a critical point. If such a large amount of electricity is connected to the Xinhuo Phase II project, and it causes a large-scale power outage, no one can bear that responsibility."

Liu Zhenhua paused, then changed the subject, offering a well-intentioned piece of advice: "Comrade Pingfang, we understand that you're young and energetic. But industrial matters must be handled step by step; we can't rush them. I think we should consider this matter carefully and wait until after the peak electricity consumption period."

These words were perfectly worded, completely absolving Chen Ping of any responsibility and implying that Chen Ping was incompetent and too hasty.

Zhang Chao, who was listening nearby, turned ashen-faced.

Chen Pingfang laughed.

Chen Ping picked up his briefcase, turned around and walked towards the front door without even glancing at Liu Zhenhua again.

"Hey, Director Chen, are you leaving already?" Liu Zhenhua was stunned. He had prepared a lot of official jargon and platitudes, but Chen Pingfang didn't respond at all.

Chen Ping walked to the entrance of the hall, stopped, and turned around.

Sunlight streamed in from outside, casting Chen Pingfang's face in shadow, obscuring his expression.

Chen Pingfang looked at Liu Zhenhua, his tone indifferent, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"You made me wait three hours today, tomorrow I'll make you wait three days at the Discipline Inspection Commission."