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

Before the order numbers could even finish processing in her mind, Han Zhiming called again.

"Director, the Provincial Government Office asked when you will submit your work handover plan. The people from the Organization Department of the Central Committee will be coming to Sujiang the day after tomorrow."

"Submit it tomorrow morning."

Chen Pingfang hung up the phone, turned the car key, and left the engine running. Sitting in the provincial government's underground parking garage, he checked the voice recorder and order slip in his suit's inner pocket before taking out the key and getting out of the car.

The handover plan was written until 2 a.m. The Secretary-General's workload was enormous. The follow-up on the Chipfire project needed to be done, the cleanup campaign was not yet fully completed, and the provincial government's third-quarter budget was awaiting review. None of these tasks could be explained in a single sentence.

Chen Ping printed out the plan, checked for typos twice, and put it in his briefcase.

The next morning at nine o'clock, just as I was about to leave, Governor Liu called.

"Don't submit your proposal yet. Come to my office."

His tone was off. Governor Liu's tone on the phone was completely different from last night.

At 9:15, Chen Ping pushed open the door to the governor's office. Governor Liu was sitting behind his desk, not wearing his reading glasses, with a fax spread out in front of him, the edges of the paper slightly curled.

"sit."

Chen Ping pulled out a chair but only sat on half of it.

Governor Liu pushed the fax over.

"The Assessment Feedback from the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued last night regarding the assessment of that position in the High-Tech Industry Department. Take a look for yourself."

Chen Ping took it and scanned it. The A4 paper had the official red header from the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China printed on it, with three paragraphs in the main text, the core content of which was concentrated in the second paragraph.

"...Comrade Chen Pingfang possesses strong political qualities and outstanding professional abilities, demonstrating strong overall coordination skills in the Chipfire Project and the Clean Internet Campaign. However, considering the completeness of cadre training, this comrade has long worked in provincial-level government agencies and lacks experience as a grassroots leader in charge of a region. Directly appointing him to a ministerial-level leadership position in a national ministry may not be enough to gain widespread public support..."

The following paragraph suggests that "it is advisable to first arrange for them to take on leadership positions at the grassroots level to gain experience, and then make adjustments when the time is right."

Chen Ping put the fax back on the desktop.

A weakness in his resume. He spent over a decade in provincial government departments, never visited a county or district, and never served as a top leader. This weakness needed to be addressed sooner or later, but it was unexpected that it would be brought to the forefront at this critical juncture.

Governor Liu leaned back in his chair, his hands crossed and resting on his abdomen.

What are your thoughts?

"The Examination Authority is right."

Governor Liu's finger twitched.

"You're quite straightforward."

"Be realistic. No matter how much I did in provincial government agencies, when I got to a ministry, the first thing the division chiefs would say was, 'How many townships has this person managed? Has he ever done any demolitions? Has he ever handled any petitions?' If you can't answer those questions, the people below won't really respect you."

Governor Liu pulled another document from the table; it was A3 size and folded twice.

"Then take a look at this."

Chen Ping unfolded it; it was an internal report with the title in bold: "Special Inspection Report on Business Environment in Qingjiang High-tech Zone".

Chen Ping continued reading.

Qingjiang High-tech Industrial Development Zone is a prefecture-level administrative area under the jurisdiction of Qingjiang City. It is also a major industrial park in Jiangsu Province for undertaking the core supporting industrial chain of Chipfire 2.0. Two domestic substitution enterprises for key materials such as photoresist, high-purity sputtering targets, and specialty gases are located here.

The report listed seven problems. The administrative approval overdue rate was as high as 43%, 21 cases of enterprise complaints that had not been responded to for three months had accumulated, and in addition, three deputy directors of the park management committee were reported for extortion and bribery.

The last point is marked with a red line: Huaxing New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. has submitted an application to withdraw its investment to the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, citing "the business environment in the park has seriously deteriorated, and the company's normal production and operation cannot be guaranteed."

Huaxing New Materials. Chen Ping pressed his finger on the name.

Seventy percent of the high-purity sputtering targets used on the Corefire 2.0 mass production line come from Huaxing New Materials. If this company withdraws, the supply of targets will be cut off, the mass production line will have to stop operating, and the domestic substitution rate of the entire industry chain will drop from 81% to below 60%.

All the data in the white paper is invalid.

What stage has Huaxing New Materials' withdrawal application reached?

"The provincial development and reform commission received the application a week ago, but it's been holding off on approval. However, the company has already started to downsize its production lines; last month, it shut down two of its three production lines."

Chen Ping closed the briefing.

What about the current leadership team of the High-tech Zone?

"The Party Working Committee Secretary was interviewed by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection two months ago and resigned voluntarily. The Management Committee Director is temporarily in charge, but this person is a nice guy who doesn't want to offend anyone, and the situation is getting worse and worse as time goes on."

Governor Liu took off his reading glasses from the corner of the table, wiped them with a cloth, and put them back.

"Your position at the National Development and Reform Commission will be reserved for you. But the assessment bureau's opinion cannot be ignored. You need to learn more about grassroots work first."

Chen Pingfang didn't speak, staring at the red line on the briefing about Huaxing New Materials.

"Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Qingjiang High-tech Zone, at the level of a full-fledged department head. Are you going?"

From Secretary-General of the Provincial Government to the head of the High-tech Zone, his administrative rank dropped two levels. To outsiders, this is a demotion, equivalent to a reduction from a department-level official to a division-level official.

But Chen Ping was thinking about something else.

In the Chipfire 2.0 industry chain, provincial-level obstacles have been cleared. Zheng Weiyuan's downfall, Ren Shaoting's network collapse, and M~Tek's infiltration have been cut off. The top-level design is in place, but what about the bottom level?

Material supply disruptions and production line shutdowns can cripple an entire industrial chain with just a small high-tech zone management committee.

No matter how beautiful a white paper is, if it can't be put into practice, it's just a stack of waste paper.

"I'll go."

Governor Liu raised his hand from the armrest of the chair and held it in the air for a second.

"Have you thought it through? From the secretary-general to the top leader at the district level, there will be people gossiping behind your back."

"Let them talk."

Chen Ping stood up, folded the briefing, and held it in his hand.

How much longer can the Provincial Development and Reform Commission delay Huaxing New Materials' application to withdraw investment?

"At most two weeks."

That's enough.

Chen Ping walked out of the governor's office and dialed Han Zhiming's number in the corridor.

"No need to submit a handover plan; just prepare a new one. I'm being transferred to Qingjiang High-tech Industrial Development Zone as the Party Working Committee Secretary and Management Committee Director. Are you coming with me?"

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

"Director, the High-tech Zone is at the level of a full-fledged department head..."

"I'm asking you whether you're going to go or not."

"and."

"Pack your things, we're leaving this afternoon. Don't notify Qingjiang City, don't receive any guests, don't have any welcoming or farewell ceremonies. We'll be using my private car."

Han Zhiming swallowed the rest of his words and only responded with a single utterance.

At 3 PM, Chen Ping drove his old Passat, which had clocked 120,000 kilometers, out of Jizhou city and onto the expressway leading to Qingjiang. Han Zhiming sat in the passenger seat, a laptop on his lap, the screen displaying the business registration information of Huaxing New Materials.

There weren't many cars on the highway, and the protective forests on both sides rushed past, with sunlight filtering through the leaves into the car.

Chen Ping adjusted the angle of the rearview mirror.

There was no silver-gray van, and no tail.

After passing the Qingjiang toll station, the navigation indicated that there were still 14 kilometers to the High-tech Zone. The road surface changed from asphalt to concrete slabs, and the bumps were obvious at the joints; Han Zhiming's notebook almost slipped off his knees.

Ahead, a rusty road sign stood on the shoulder of the road, its white lettering mostly faded.

"800 meters ahead of Qingjiang High-tech Industrial Development Zone".

Han Zhiming closed his laptop, glanced at the road sign, and then looked at the overgrown green belts and half-finished factory walls on both sides of the road.

Chen Ping didn't slow down; the car drove straight past the road sign and turned onto the main road of the High-tech Zone.