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

"Before the disciplinary committee's search, someone had already taken away the other two photos."

Chen Ping kept Shen Congwen's words in mind all night.

But there's no time to worry about that right now.

The ink was barely dry on the document regarding mutual recognition among the five provinces, and the CoreFire standard was still just a piece of paper. To turn it into a genuine market entry barrier, some companies would have to be dealt with first.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Chen Ping sat at the conference table in the project office, with three company files spread out in front of him.

Han Zhiming stood next to the whiteboard and circled three names in red pen.

"Within the Jiangsu-Jiangxi power grid system, there are currently three chip suppliers whose products have long relied on M-Tek's underlying licensed technology. According to the security review criteria of the Chipfire standard, all three of them are unqualified."

Chen Ping opened the first file.

Hengyuan Microelectronics, with a registered capital of 80 million yuan, supplies 12% of the smart terminal chips for the Jiangsu power grid annually. The underlying architecture of its core products uses IP cores licensed by M-Tek five years ago, with a small additional clause in the license agreement that M-Tek retains the right to remotely audit the chips.

"Remote auditing rights." Chen Ping read these five words aloud.

Han Zhiming nodded.

"It's the same approach as the backdoor at Jingwei Microelectronics. It's just that Hengyuan's is more covert, hidden in the commercial licensing agreement, making it look legal."

The second company is SMIC. The situation is similar; it also uses M-Tek's underlying technology, just with a different name.

The third one is Dingxin Semiconductor.

Chen Ping turned to the page on equity structure, and his finger stopped.

The actual controlling shareholder of this company is a woman named Zhou Mingli, who holds 67% of the shares.

Han Zhiming added from the side.

"Zhou Mingli is the daughter-in-law of Zhao Deyu, the former governor. Zhao Deyu retired eight years ago and now lives in the old cadre building in the provincial party committee compound."

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Chen Ping closed the file and leaned back in his chair.

Zhao Deyu. This name wielded immense influence in Jiangsu's political circles. Having served as governor for twelve years, even after retiring from active management, the officials he promoted were spread throughout various systems across the province. During holidays, the motorcade of officials visiting him could stretch from the retired cadres' dormitory to the main gate of the provincial government.

"Director, should we postpone Dingxin's case?" Han Zhiming asked tentatively.

"Why the slowdown?"

"After all, former Governor Zhao..."

"After all what?" Chen Ping looked up at him. "The safety review of Corefire Standard is based on technical specifications, not seniority."

Han Zhiming remained silent.

Chen Ping picked up the pen on the table and neatly wrote his name in the signature column of Project Office Document No. 1.

All three companies will be treated equally and given 90 days to complete the technical rectification. Those failing to meet the standards by the deadline will have their Jiangsu-Jiangxi power grid supplier qualification revoked, and the other four provincial alliance members will be notified simultaneously.

After signing, he handed the document to Han Zhiming.

"Stamp and distribute. Deliver them to the legal representatives of the three companies before 10:00 AM."

Han Zhiming took the document, turned and went out. He stopped at the door, glanced back at Chen Pingfang, his lips moved, but he said nothing, opened the door and left.

An hour and a half later, the three technical dismissal orders were delivered on time.

Hengyuan Microelectronics was the first to respond. The legal representative personally called the project office, speaking very politely, asking if they could grant a few more days, saying they were negotiating with M~Tek to terminate the licensing agreement.

Following Chen Pingfang's instructions, Han Zhiming replied with four words: "Act according to the document."

SMIC remained silent, making no phone calls or contacting anyone. Han Zhiming later learned that the company's boss had seen the news of Qin Daguan's arrest the day before and began contacting domestic alternatives that very evening.

A smart person.

The real trouble comes from the thread behind Dingxin Semiconductor.

At 11:40 a.m., the landline on Chen Ping's desk rang.

The caller ID showed the number as belonging to the Provincial Party Committee's Bureau of Veteran Cadres.

Chen Ping glanced at the phone but didn't answer immediately. The phone rang six times before he picked it up.

"Is this Deputy Secretary-General Chen? I am Deputy Director Sun of the Bureau of Veteran Cadres, Sun Peide."

The other person's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of laughter and sounded very warm.

"Director Sun, what is it?"

"It's not a big deal. This morning, I received a report from several retired comrades. They said that the provincial government's recent push for some kind of 'core fire' standard is a bit too much and is affecting some businesses that are operating normally. These retired comrades don't usually get involved in government affairs, but it's understandable that they feel sorry for their younger relatives who are being wronged."

Chen Ping didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

Sun Peide smiled and continued to lower the bunk.

"I don't understand the technical details; I'm just relaying a message from the older comrades. It's good that young cadres are energetic, but we also need to be methodical and tactful in our work. Sometimes, where there's room for flexibility, we should be. Respecting the elderly is a traditional virtue, isn't it?"

Sun Peide's words sounded polite, but every word implied that Chen Ping had made a move against someone he shouldn't have.

Chen Ping placed his hand on the edge of the table and tapped it lightly twice with his index finger.

"Director Sun, could you please specify which veteran comrades you are referring to? That would allow me to provide a more targeted explanation."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Well... we're all old folks, and there's a lot of gossip going on, so I don't remember everything clearly. Anyway, that's the gist of it, just get the idea."

"Then I'll pass on a message to you as well." Chen Ping's tone was very calm, each word carefully enunciated. "The technical review of the Chipfire standard was collectively discussed and approved by the Governor's Office Meeting. The selection of review subjects was based on Article 37 of the National Security Data Management Regulations. If any senior comrade has any objection to the review results, they can submit an application for reconsideration to the Provincial Government through formal channels."

He paused for a moment.

"But if you're trying to interfere with the review process by making a call, I suggest you keep a complete record of today's conversation in your phone log. Because my calls are recorded."

There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.

A full five seconds of deathly silence.

"Deputy Secretary-General Chen, you're young, don't go too far in some things." Sun Peide's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, hard tone.

"I'm young, so I have a good memory."

Chen Ping hung up the phone.

Han Zhiming brought in two cups of tea, and seeing Chen Pingfang's expression, he gently put the teacups down.

"The Bureau of Retired Cadres?"

"Um."

"What did you say?"

"Let me respect the elderly."

Han Zhiming's lips twitched, but he didn't dare to laugh.

Chen Ping stood up and walked to the window. In the parking lot downstairs, several black cars were slowly driving in. He recognized the license plates; they were official vehicles of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

"Zhiming, go and investigate something."

"Please speak."

"Investigate when Zhou Mingli, the actual controller of Dingxin Semiconductor, signed her licensing agreement with M~Tek, and who acted as the intermediary. Focus on whether this intermediary had any direct contact with Zhao Deyu himself."

Han Zhiming responded and quickly went out the door.

Chen Ping stood alone by the window, clutching the old photograph he had taken from Qin Daguan's hidden compartment.

Three people stood together, with the face in the middle painted black.

Qin Daguan said he was just a gatekeeper.

Sun Peide's call came too quickly, abnormally quickly. The resignation order was delivered at 10:00 AM, and he called at 11:40 AM. Only 100 minutes had passed.

After receiving the document, Zhou Mingli of Dingxin Semiconductor directly used her father-in-law Zhao Deyu's connections to get the Bureau of Veteran Cadres to put pressure on her.

This line is too short. So short that it has almost no curves in the middle.

Unless, of course, the line was already open to begin with.

Chen Ping flipped the photo over and looked at the line of pen writing on the back again.

"In the autumn of the Gengchen year, the three of us went on a trip together."

He took out his phone and dialed Lin Shaofeng's number.

"Shaofeng, help me investigate someone. Zhao Deyu, former governor of Jiangsu Province. I need his travel records from twenty-four years ago, especially whether he went to Beijing in the autumn of the Gengchen year."

The phone call had just ended when the landline on the table rang again.

It's still the number from the Provincial Party Committee's Bureau of Veteran Cadres.

Chen Ping stared at the string of numbers but didn't reach out.

The bell rang twelve times before it stopped.

Immediately afterward, his phone vibrated. A text message from an unknown number.

Six characters.

"Xiao Chen, sit down and let's talk."