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

The photo of the whistleblower letter swirled in Chen Ping's mind all night; the name of the provincial official was stuck under his tongue, impossible to swallow or utter. But when the plane landed in Qingjiang, he locked the matter away in the deepest safe of his mind.

There is an even more urgent fire that needs to be extinguished.

Li Chunsheng stood at the end of the corridor on the third floor of the management committee building, waiting for him, clutching a stack of printing papers in his hand, his face showing the ashen look that comes from staying up all night.

"Director, the green card system is not going to be implemented."

Chen Ping didn't stop, turning directly into the office. Li Chunsheng followed him in and closed the door behind him.

Explain yourself.

"We started the trial operation of the Enterprise Service Green Card last week. Of the twelve departments, eight are working fine, but the remaining four—the Business Environment Department, Land Use Approval Department, Environmental Impact Assessment Liaison Department, and Fire Safety Approval Department—are all in a slump."

"How do we drag it?"

Li Chunsheng spread the printed paper on the table. It was a green card processing progress chart, with each row corresponding to a company and the completion deadline for each step marked behind it.

"They neither refuse nor object, but they just won't process it. They've received the materials and entered them into the system, but the status is forever stuck at 'under review.' When the company calls to follow up, the department just says 'it's in the process.'"

Chen Ping glanced at the progress chart. Four departments had a backlog of thirty-seven green card applications, with an average delay of 11 days.

"Of the four section chiefs, who was the leader?"

"Liu Jiangong from the Business Environment Section. The other three all look to him."

Chen Ping leaned back in his chair and tapped his thumb twice on the edge of the table.

Liu Jiangong. He worked in the management committee for nine years, a veteran of Zhao Deming's era, and his relationship with the previous leadership was deeply entrenched. The green card system affected their approval power, effectively blocking any loopholes for rent-seeking.

It would be strange if they didn't cause a scene.

"How did you handle it?"

Li Chunsheng's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"I spoke with Liu Jiangong once, and he promised to speed things up, but the next day it was the same as always. I called him out at the section chief's meeting, and he made a three-minute self-criticism at the meeting, but went back and continued to drag his feet."

"What else did you do?"

"...That's all."

Chen Ping didn't say anything, took a key from the drawer, opened the small cabinet next to the computer, and found a USB flash drive.

"Chunsheng, have you logged into the digital government affairs backend?"

"I've used it and checked the data a few times."

"I'm checking the front-end data." Chen Ping plugged the USB drive into the computer, entered two passwords, and a dark blue management interface popped up on the screen. "There's another module in the back-end called 'Delayed Red Light.' I had the tech team add it during last month's system upgrade; it wasn't made public."

Li Chunsheng leaned closer to look at the screen.

The left side of the interface displays a list of department names, while the right side shows the real-time status of each application. Each application is followed by a circular indicator light: green indicates progress, yellow indicates nearing the deadline, and red indicates timeout.

Chen Ping opened the Business Environment Section's page.

Of the thirty-seven applications, twenty-three were in the red light.

"The logic behind the delayed red light is very simple: once each case enters the system, the background automatically starts a timer. If the case is not processed within the specified time limit, the system will automatically mark it in red and generate a record, which will be linked to the handler's number."

Chen Ping scrolled down the page.

"These records are not pushed to the front desk, so the person in charge cannot see them. But every Friday at 5 pm, the system will automatically summarize them and generate a 'Department Performance Weekly Report', which will be sent directly to the email address of the leader in charge of the management committee."

Li Chunsheng stared at the dense array of red lights on the screen, his pupils contracting slightly.

"So, they think they're procrastinating, but the system is actually recording every single day they're putting it off?"

"It's not just about writing it down." Chen Ping switched to another page. "The second layer of logic is that if the number of red lights exceeds 30% of the department's total caseload for three consecutive weeks, the system will automatically trigger an 'efficiency warning' and send a copy to the disciplinary inspection team."

"The discipline inspection team?"

"Yes. It wasn't me who went to the disciplinary committee; the system pushed it on its own. I didn't have to say anything, and Liu Jiangong didn't have to apologize in front of me. The data spoke for me."

Li Chunsheng straightened his back.

"Liu Jiangong and the others don't know about this module?"

"I don't know. It would be useless if I knew." Chen Ping pulled out the USB drive and locked it back in the cabinet. "Chunsheng, you did the right thing by talking to Liu Jiangong and taking attendance at meetings, but it was useless. He knows you're new and can't do anything about it. The more you talk to him, the more he thinks you're all talk and no action."

"Then I~"

"You don't need to do anything. The system will generate the first weekly report this Friday. Print it out and post it on the bulletin board in the third-floor corridor. No roll call, no meetings, just post a piece of paper."

Li Chunsheng's Adam's apple bobbed again.

"What happens after you've applied it?"

"After you post it, just wait. Liu Jiangong will come to you himself. Because he will find that the number of red lights for all departments on the bulletin board is clear at a glance, and his department is ranked first, and three times ahead of the second place."

Chen Ping closed the computer.

"In the administrative system, saving face is more important than punishment. He may not be afraid of you, but he's afraid of his colleagues laughing at him."

Li Chunsheng stood still, his lips moved twice, and finally he nodded.

"I see."

"And another thing," Chen Ping added, "the idea of ​​publishing the weekly report was yours, not mine. If the management committee asks about it later, say it was Li Chunsheng who implemented the digital performance evaluation reform. It has nothing to do with me."

Li Chunsheng looked up at him, his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything.

When he turned to leave, his steps were a bit more steady than when he came in.

Three days later, on Friday.

The weekly performance report was posted on the bulletin board on time. It was printed on A3 paper in black and white, with densely packed data, and red warning signs were replaced with bold font.

The number of red lights in the Business Environment Section is 23.

The second-ranked fire safety approval department: 7.

The disparity, laid bare on a blank sheet of paper, is more glaring than any criticism.

At 6 p.m. that day, Liu Jiangong knocked on Li Chunsheng's office door.

Chen Ping didn't watch the conversation. He was in his office flipping through the agenda for the next day's meeting when Han Zhiming pushed open the door and came in.

"Director, Liu Jiangong has submitted his resignation."

"Approved?"

"Director Li has already signed it. However, before Liu Jiangong left, he said he wanted to have a few words with you alone."

Chen Ping put the agenda aside.

"Let him come."

Five minutes later, Liu Jiangong entered. He was forty-five or forty-six years old, short and stout, with thinning hair and deep eye bags. His suit jacket was draped over his arm, and his tie was loose.

"Secretary Chen, I've been here for nine years, and I don't want to leave with a humiliating feeling."

Chen Ping pointed to the chair opposite him.

Liu Jiangong sat down and rubbed his trouser legs with both hands.

"I admit I was wrong about the green card. But there's something I've kept to myself for three years, and if I don't say it today, I'll never have the chance again."

Chen Ping didn't urge him.

Liu Jiangong lowered his head and stared at the tips of his shoes.

"When Zhao Deming was in office, he had a notebook, not very big, a black leather notebook about the width of a palm, which he called 'Memorandum'. I've never seen all the things written in it, but once when he was drunk, he flipped through two pages in front of me. There were names on it, followed by numbers, some six digits and some seven digits."

Chen Ping's thumb rested on the edge of the table.

"Where is that notebook now?"

Liu Jiangong raised his head, his lips cracked and dry.

"Under the third willow tree on the south bank of the scenic lake behind the management committee, Zhao Deming had someone bury a stainless steel sealed container. He dried it a week before he left, and I happened to see it while working overtime at around 11 p.m.."

There was a three-second silence in the office.

Outside the window, the surface of the landscape lake reflects the afterglow of the setting sun, ripples spreading out in circles, reaching the roots of the row of willows on the south bank, and then receding.