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

Liu Mingyuan pulled his hand out of his coat pocket, glanced at the end of the corridor, and took a half step forward.

"It's one level higher than when you first entered the High-tech Zone."

Chen Ping didn't speak, suppressing those words in his heart.

Adding one more level means that the position in Guangling, which the province is not giving the director of the management committee, will involve a change in the leadership structure.

"The province's intention is to transfer the Party Secretary of Guangling to another post, and the mayor will be moved as well." Liu Mingyuan lowered his voice even further. "Both core positions are being vacated, but the province wants to hear from you as the person actually in charge."

Chen Ping switched the briefcase to his other hand.

"I need three days."

"Give me the name before the 5th."

Liu Mingyuan turned around, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor before disappearing into the corner of the corridor. The magnolia leaves outside the window remained motionless.

---

On the way back to the High-tech Zone, Chen Ping didn't touch his phone.

Jiang Fan drove without asking any questions, keeping the speed below the speed limit, as steady as a wall.

Guangling. Fang Zhiyuan's territory. For four whole years, every aspect of that area—from attracting investment and managing land records to all government funding—was intertwined with the Fang family's network of connections. Now, he's been taken away by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, but the mess remains.

Sending outsiders will allow Guangling's local network to absorb them gradually.

What he needs isn't a blank sheet of paper, but a needle—the kind that can pierce through without melting away.

A name popped into my head.

Zhou Weiguo.

Last year, during the Nanqu shantytown redevelopment project, Chen Ping met him once in the city. At the resettlement compensation negotiation site, he was blocked at the entrance and cursed at for two whole hours, but he didn't raise a hand, give in, or take a detour from beginning to end, implementing the compensation standards without the slightest deviation. Afterwards, he was jointly complained about by two developers, and the High-tech Zone suppressed his promotion, keeping him at the deputy director level.

I've been sitting on the sidelines for almost three years.

Chen Ping took out his phone and asked Jiang Fan to check Zhou Weiguo's current position.

---

That evening, at the parking lot east of the High-tech Zone Management Committee.

When Zhou Weiguo arrived, he rode an old bicycle. He locked the bicycle very quickly, wrapping the chain around twice before securing it.

He was not yet fifty years old, his hair was a bit messy, and his suit looked like it had been washed many times, with the stitching at the collar slightly frayed.

Chen Pingfang stood by the low wall next to the parking lot, raised his chin, and the two of them took a few steps into the shadows of the parking lot side door.

How much do you know about the chemical industry in Guangling?

Zhou Weiguo didn't beat around the bush and answered directly.

"I know a bit. Of the fourteen large-scale chemical enterprises, nine are directly linked to Fang Zhiyuan's network of connections, two have environmental impact assessment violations, and one quietly stopped production last year, ostensibly for equipment maintenance, but in reality, its funding chain broke down."

Chen Ping put his hands in his coat pockets and waited for him to continue.

"The remaining three are clean." Zhou Weiguo paused for a moment. "Two of them have been suppressed for several years by Fang Zhiyuan's connections and haven't been able to get ahead."

Chen Ping marked those "two families" in his mind.

"The provincial government intends to rectify the chemical industry in Guangling. What do you think should be done?"

Zhou Weiguo remained silent for about four seconds, then twirled the car keys in his hand.

"If we remove the virus, we won't retain people or the tax base. Workers will have no jobs, and the area will be in chaos."

He stopped the car by squeezing the key.

"Rejuvenate the workforce, find capable companies to step in, and give those in the old network a way to survive before cutting them out. That's the only way to ensure stability."

Chen Ping picked up his phone from the low wall; the screen displayed a satellite image of the Guangling Chemical Industrial Park. He then pushed it in front of Zhou Weiguo.

"Show me where those two houses you mentioned are."

Zhou Weiguo lowered his head and pointed to two locations with his index finger, both in the northeast corner of the park, some distance from the main road.

"Here, and here too."

"Okay." Chen Ping put his phone away. "Name, legal representative, and current production capacity. Compile them and send them to me tonight."

Zhou Weiguo looked up and paused for two seconds.

"Director Chen, you didn't call me here just to ask about this, did you?"

This statement wasn't meant to be a test; it directly broke the ice.

Chen Pingfang took another look at the man, from his shirt collar to the tips of his leather shoes.

Three years of being sidelined didn't toughen him up.

"I was given the right to nominate the director of the Guangling City Management Committee by the province."

Zhou Weiguo didn't move or speak immediately, standing there for nearly seven seconds to process what he had just said.

"A mess."

"It's a mess." Chen Ping didn't try to embellish it. "You've seen the balance sheet, and you know the network of relationships better than I do. Fang Zhiyuan's people haven't all been dispersed yet. I'll take you there. You know what you'll be dealing with first."

Zhou Weiguo adjusted the handlebars of the bicycle beside him, and the wheels wobbled slightly.

"If there's anything unclear between me and Fang Zhiyuan, the province will investigate."

"I've checked." Chen Pingfang pulled a printout from his briefcase, a thin sheet, and handed it over. "It's clean. I had someone investigate the two complaint letters about the South District shantytown redevelopment. They were written by someone hired by the developer and have no substantive content."

Zhou Weiguo took the paper, glanced at it, said nothing, folded it up, and put it in his breast pocket.

I will give you an answer before the 5th.

---

At 10 p.m. that night, Chen Ping dialed Lin Xiangdong's cell phone.

Lin Xiangdong answered the call quickly, as if he had been waiting for it.

"I have someone in mind for the Guangling location. He has done solid work in Nanzhou and has a clean break with Fang Zhiyuan's side. The reason it hasn't been developed for three years is because of conflicts with the developer."

Lin Xiangdong paused for a moment.

"What channels do you use for submitting materials to the Organization Department?"

"Those who are not included in the special talent introduction program should follow the normal promotion sequence, but the province needs to take the initiative to retrieve Zhou Weiguo's personnel file for review."

"Zhou Weiguo, I've got it." Lin Xiangdong paused. "I'll handle things with the provincial Party committee's organization department regarding your selection, but you also need to have a record of it yourself. If you can't explain why you're recommending this person, the pressure will fall on you."

"I have my reasons." Chen Ping put the printout back into his briefcase. "The transformation of Guangling Chemical requires someone who understands the logic of the industrial supply chain, not someone who understands the intricacies of officialdom. Zhou Weiguo fits that bill."

"Okay." Lin Xiangdong sent out the word decisively, without delay.

The moment the call ended, Jiang Fan knocked twice on the office door, pushed it open, and held a piece of paper in his hand, his expression slightly tense.

"Director, there's some activity in Guangling."

Chen Ping put down his pen.

Jiang Fan placed the paper on the table; it was a statement of fact sent by the liaison officer from the High-tech Zone stationed in Guangling.

Fang Zhiyuan's wife, accompanied by two relatives, stood outside the Guangling Municipal Party Committee for two hours, claiming to have evidence that Chen Pingfang "colluded with foreign media to smear the local image." Before being persuaded to leave by municipal party committee staff, she slipped a letter of complaint into the reception room.

The recipient on the envelope is the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Chen Ping picked up the paper, held it between his thumb and forefinger, and read it twice.

Foreign media outlets are smearing the local image.

The two words went through my mind, and then the name came to mind.

Su Qingwan.