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

The envelope was unsigned and unstamped, and sealed with three layers of transparent tape.

Chen Ping squatted down and took a closer look at the spot where the keyboard and the envelope met. The keyboard hadn't been moved, and the envelope was nestled between the space bar and the letter B, positioned at a perfect angle—it wasn't just tossed aside, but deliberately placed.

"The door lock wasn't pried open?"

Han Zhiming inspected the lock cylinder and door frame. "No traces. Either someone with a key came in, or the door wasn't locked."

Chen Ping recalled the situation when he left. Before going to Huaxing New Materials in the afternoon, the office door was indeed unlocked—the key had just been handed over, and he hadn't had time to change the lock cylinder.

There are at least a dozen people with keys to the management committee building.

He picked up the envelope, weighed it in his hand; it was thin, containing at most two or three pages. Turning it over, he saw a number written in the bottom right corner with a ballpoint pen: "7".

The seventh floor? Number seven? Or some kind of number?

Chen Ping didn't open the envelope; instead, he locked it in the bottom drawer of his desk.

"Don't mention this letter to anyone."

Han Zhiming nodded.

"Also, please get me an organizational chart of the management committee, including the areas of responsibility, tenure, and promotion process of all middle and senior-level cadres. Put it on my desk before 8:00 AM tomorrow."

After Han Zhiming left, Chen Ping sat in a chair and stared at the fluorescent light tube on the ceiling.

The light bulb hummed, and the light had a bluish tint.

The anonymous letter arrived at the perfect time. He had just finished investigating the landscaped corridor and stabilized Huaxing New Materials when the letter appeared on his table. Either it was Zhao Deming's adversary using him as a tool to kill, or it was a trap set by Zhao Deming himself, waiting for him to use the letter as evidence to report to his superiors, and then turn around and accuse him of fabricating facts and retaliating.

Regardless of the type, demolishing it now would be a mistake.

Revealing your hand when there is insufficient evidence is like putting the bullet back in the chamber.

Chen Ping turned off the light and lay down on the folding bed in his office. The springs creaked, and cracks in the ceiling were faintly visible in the darkness.

Zhao Deming had been in the management committee for eleven years, controlling all four lines of work: personnel, finance, approvals, and investment promotion. Rather than a direct confrontation, it's better to cut those lines first.

At 7:50 a.m. the next morning, Han Zhiming laid a handwritten organizational chart on the conference table.

The A3 paper was filled with boxes and arrows. Zhao Deming's name appeared in the responsibilities column of six departments: Finance Bureau, Project Approval Bureau, Investment Promotion Bureau, General Office, Logistics Support Center, and Park Construction Command.

He oversaw two-thirds of the nine departments in the management committee.

Chen Ping pointed his finger at a gray box in the lower left corner of the architecture diagram. "Who is this person?"

"Deputy Director Li Chunsheng is in charge of work safety and environmental protection. He was transferred from the China Merchants Group by Zhao Deming last year, so he's basically sidelined."

What is Li Chunsheng's reputation like?

"A pragmatist, not like Zhao Deming. Back when Zhao Deming was building the scenic corridor, Li Chunsheng voted against it at the Party Working Committee meeting, and as a result, he was transferred the following month."

Chen Ping folded up the architecture diagram and tucked it into a file bag.

"Notify the members of the Party Working Committee that a meeting will be held at 10:00 AM. The agenda is to optimize the business environment and deepen institutional reforms."

At 10:00 AM sharp, in the conference room on the fourth floor.

With all five members of the Party Working Committee present, Zhao Deming sat in the first seat on the left and silently tapped his fingertips twice on the table.

He was still fresh in everyone's mind about yesterday's public recording and the rejection of his procedural objections, yet he arrived earlier than anyone else today, his suit jacket buttoned up to the top, and his posture upright.

Chen Ping didn't exchange pleasantries and opened the documents in front of him.

"We'll only discuss one thing today. The current division of responsibilities within the management committee was established three years ago and is no longer keeping up with the current development situation. I propose adjusting the areas of responsibility for each member of the leadership team and clearly defining the boundaries of their duties."

Zhao Deming's fingers stopped.

"The specific plan is as follows." Chen Ping pushed an A4 sheet of paper to the center of the table. "Deputy Director Zhao Deming has worked in the High-tech Zone for eleven years. He is highly qualified and experienced. Next, the park has many historical issues to deal with, such as compensation disputes over land acquisition in the early years, resettlement issues for relocated households, and the finishing work of some suspended projects. These tasks are very difficult and require a respected senior comrade like Director Zhao to take the lead."

Zhao Deming's back stiffened for a moment, then relaxed.

Chen Pingfang continued reading. "The Finance Bureau and Project Approval Bureau, which were originally under the jurisdiction of Deputy Director Zhao Deming, will now be under the responsibility of Deputy Director Li Chunsheng. I will personally oversee the Investment Promotion Bureau."

There was a three-second silence in the conference room.

Zhao Deming picked up the A4 sheet of paper and read it from beginning to end. The finance department was gone, the approvals were gone, the investment promotion was gone, and all that was left were historical problems—a complete mess, a thankless and arduous task.

It was a promotion in name only, a demotion in reality; even the fig leaf was tailored just right.

"Secretary Chen," Zhao Deming said calmly, placing the A4 paper back on the table. "The reassignment of responsibilities is a normal organizational procedure, and I have no objection. However, I would like to confirm one thing—who has the authority to approve financial matters related to the handling of legacy issues and the allocation of funds?"

"It's under Deputy Director Li Chunsheng's jurisdiction. For funding needs, follow the normal approval process: Director Li signs off, and I review it."

Zhao Deming nodded. "Understood."

Chen Ping glanced around the conference table. "Distinguished committee members, do you have any objections to this proposal?"

Li Chunsheng sat in the middle of the U-shaped seating arrangement, remaining silent throughout. When the news of his being specifically named to oversee finance and approvals hit him, he paused for two seconds, then sat up straight.

The other three committee members exchanged glances, but no one raised their hand.

"No objections, the decision is effective. Han Zhiming, the meeting minutes will be submitted to the Municipal Party Committee Organization Department for filing this afternoon."

When the meeting adjourned, Zhao Deming walked at the very back. He paused at the conference room door, glanced back at Chen Pingfang sitting at the head of the table organizing documents, his lips moved, but he ultimately remained silent, turned, and left.

The leather shoes clicked on the corridor tiles, the rhythm a beat slower than when they came in.

At 2 p.m., Chen Ping received a call from Han Zhiming.

"Director, Zhou Hai called Zhao Deming three times. The first call lasted nine minutes, but the next two were not answered."

"What about the content?"

"We couldn't eavesdrop, but after Zhou Hai finished his call, he drove to Zhao Deming's house. He waited at the door for twenty minutes, but didn't go in, and then drove away."

The news of the separation of financial control spread faster than expected.

Zhou Hai's landscape corridor project is still under construction and the audit is about to begin. Zhao Deming, the only person who could help him navigate the internal affairs of the management committee, can no longer even get into the finance bureau.

Chen Ping put down the phone and opened the payment receipt for the landscaped corridor in the drawer. The third payment was thirteen million yuan, an acceptance form issued by the approval department, signed by Liu Guodong. Liu Guodong had already been suspended; if the acceptance form was fake, this thirteen million yuan was blatant fraud.

Zhou Hai can't get the money, and Zhao Deming can't help. The rift between the brother-in-law and the brother-in-law will only widen.

At six o'clock in the evening, Han Zhiming pushed open the office door for the second time.

"Chief, there's another situation."

"explain."

"Zhou Hai called Zhao Deming for the fourth time, and this time the call went through. The call lasted three minutes. After hanging up, Zhou Hai went to a work shed in Qinghe Town."

"What kind of work shed?"

"The temporary workers' dormitory for the landscape corridor project. It houses about sixty or seventy migrant workers, all recruited by Zhou Hai from other places. They worked for two months and then stopped, and they haven't received their wages yet."

Chen Ping stood up and walked to the window.

On the east side of the management committee building, towards the river, the outline of the unfinished corridor can be vaguely seen in the twilight.

"What is Zhou Hai doing at the work shed?"

"It's said he brought two cases of liquor and drank with the workers for over an hour. When he left, someone heard him say something to the foreman."

Han Zhiming paused for a moment.

He said, "Provincial leaders are coming to investigate next week. You'll have to figure out where to go to demand your back pay then."

Chen Ping placed his hand on the window frame and gently tapped the glass twice with his knuckles.

A research team from the province will arrive in Qingjiang next week.