Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

The atmosphere is different here at the Political and Legal Affairs Commission building.

There were seven or eight people standing outside Gao Yuliang's office, some in uniform and some in civilian clothes, ranging in age from their early thirties to their fifties. No one spoke, no one smoked, they just stood there.

In his office, Gao Yuliang was tidying up his drawers. On the table sat an old thermos, its lid unscrewed, revealing half a cup of tea inside.

He took out his personal belongings from the drawer one by one: a spare pair of glasses, two old fountain pens, an address book, and several photos.

The top photo is a group photo from the China University of Political Science and Law. Qi Tongwei is standing in the second row, looking so young that he is almost unrecognizable.

Gao Yuliang glanced at it for two seconds and then put it in his briefcase.

There was a knock on the door three times.

"Come in."

Li Dakang pushed the door open and came in, carrying nothing. He glanced at the things spread out on the table, and his lips twitched.

"Your office is cleaner than my house."

Gao Yuliang didn't even look up. "Your wife cleans your house."

Li Dakang walked to the window and stood there with his back to him for a while. Outside the window were the plane trees in the provincial party committee compound, their leaves glistening in the afternoon sunlight.

"I'm not here to visit today." Li Dakang turned around, his hands in his pockets.

Gao Yuliang closed the last drawer and straightened up.

"Those companies in Jingzhou." Li Dakang's voice was low, unlike his usual tone. "Eleven companies. If you hadn't withstood that blow, and Haiheng's rating report had gone down another three months, they wouldn't have even been able to keep their factories."

Gao Yuliang picked up his thermos and took a sip, then frowned slightly. It was cold.

"Dakang, if you're going to thank me, I suggest you skip those two words." He put down his cup. "The businesses in Jingzhou don't owe me anything."

"Then who do we owe?"

"Heavy."

Gao Yuliang closed his briefcase, stopping halfway through the zipper. "Without him opening a hole in the situation six months ago, I wouldn't even have had a chance to act. At best, I'd be the one cleaning up the mess."

Li Dakang stared at him for a few seconds.

"Gao Yuliang, you've always been stubborn, but now that you're leaving, you've learned to shift the credit onto others."

Gao Yuliang chuckled. "I'm not trying to claim credit, I'm just stating the facts. You've been in officialdom for so many years, you should be able to tell the difference."

Li Dakang didn't respond to that. He walked to the table, picked up the thermos, looked at it, and then put it back.

"Don't drink tea cold from now on."

"Is it any of your business?"

Li Dakang snorted and walked out. He stopped at the door.

"Next time we meet, I won't call you Secretary Gao."

Gao Yuliang looked up.

Li Dakang didn't turn around, "But I will remember today."

The door closed. The seven or eight people in the corridor made way for Li Dakang when he came out. Li Dakang took a few steps, then suddenly turned back and said something to the group.

"Don't just stand there. Go in and shake hands with Lao Gao, it won't lower your status."

After saying that, he strode towards the elevator, his steps heavier than when he came.

……

Three days later, in front of the old building of the Provincial Public Security Bureau.

The shade of the plane trees shattered the sunlight on the steps into fragments. Qi Tongwei, wearing his new police uniform, stood at the bottom of the steps; the star on his epaulettes was one more than three days ago.

The announcement meeting for the inspection team has just concluded. The Director of the Public Security Bureau of Handong Province, concurrently serving as Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission, is a high-ranking official at the vice-provincial level.

The provincial officials filed out of the conference room. As they passed by him, some nodded, some saluted, and some just glanced at him before hurrying away.

Qi Tongwei didn't pay any attention. He stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the bronze plaque above the main entrance of the old building.

Three years ago, right in front of this building, Shen Zhong cornered him against the wall in front of everyone. That day, he almost tore off his police rank insignia and almost knelt down to beg for a way out.

The wind was stronger that day than it is today.

Qi Tongwei straightened up, raised his right hand, and gave a standard military salute to the bronze plaque. The movement was slow, lasting three seconds.

The bandage on his left arm wasn't completely removed, and the movement aggravated the wound, causing a little dark red to seep through the cuff. He didn't lower his arm.

Someone behind them saw this. No one spoke, no one took a picture.

……

The appointment meeting was held in the provincial department's main conference room. Sha Ruijin attended in person, and Wu Chunlin read out the appointment documents on behalf of the Organization Department.

Sha Ruijin's speech draft lay on the table, each page turned very slowly. "The Public Security Bureau is the knife of Handong. The knife must be sharp, but it must also obey the Provincial Party Committee. Comrade Tongwei rose through the ranks from the grassroots, and his abilities are recognized by the organization, but I must remind you of something."

He raised his head, his gaze passing over the first two rows and landing directly on Qi Tongwei's face.

"Power is not private property, and the head of the Public Security Bureau is not a faction. The provincial party committee provides unified leadership, and this line cannot be blurred."

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

Qi Tongwei stood up. "I obey the organization, and I obey the law."

Eight words. No more, no less. Sha Ruijin nodded, his expression unreadable. But Wu Chunlin, sitting next to him, breathed a slight sigh of relief and moved his fingers away from the edge of the document.

As the meeting ended and the crowd began to leave, Lu Yike stood up from the audience area. She didn't push her way forward, but stood near the side door waiting for the crowd to disperse.

Qi Tongwei walked over from the direction of the podium. He paused for a moment as he passed by her.

"Why don't you come up and shake my hand?"

Lu Yike glanced at his left arm. The shirt cuff covered the gauze, but there was a small patch of dark color seeping through the fabric.

I'm afraid your hand hasn't healed yet.

Qi Tongwei looked down at his arm. "A superficial wound."

"A provincial department head's skin is more expensive than a municipal bureau chief's." Lu Yike handed him a folder. "This is the prosecutor's office's liaison letter for the Xin Heng case. I need you to sign it so I can proceed with the next steps."

Qi Tongwei took it, his fingertips touching hers. It was very short. Lu Yike withdrew her hand a little too quickly.

"Congratulations." She said, turning to leave, but stopped after a couple of steps. "Don't get your new clothes dirty."

Qi Tongwei stood there holding the folder, his lips twitching, but he didn't say anything clever.

……

Six o'clock in the evening, in Gao Yuliang's living room.

The living room wasn't large; the sofa was old but clean. Two cups of tea sat on the coffee table, one hot, the other half-empty. Gao Yuliang sat on the sofa, wearing an old gray sweater—neither a suit nor a shirt.

Qi Tongwei sat opposite him, his back ramrod straight. He hadn't changed out of his new police uniform yet.

Gao Yuliang looked at him for a while, then pulled out a kraft paper file folder from under the sofa cushion. The folder was sealed with sealing wax, and four characters were written on it.

Qin Chu of Haizhou.

Qi Tongwei's eyes immediately darkened.

"What is this?"

"This is what I've accumulated over the years," Gao Yuliang said, placing the file folder in the center of the coffee table. "Some of it was pieced together from what Team Leader Ma instructed, and some came from my own channels. Director Qin isn't just one person; he's a whole network. From Haizhou to the capital, the interests involved are ten times greater than those in Haiheng."

Qi Tongwei reached out to take it.

Gao Yuliang pressed down on the file folder. "You can look at the first page now; we'll talk about the rest when Shen Zhong returns from the northern front."

Why?

"Because you're now the provincial department head, you can investigate Haizhou." Gao Yuliang released his grip, "but you can't investigate it all by yourself. Only someone at Shen Zhong's level can keep the people connected to this line in check."

Qi Tongwei pulled out the first page. It was an A4 sheet of printed paper with only a few lines of handwritten text: a name, a job title, three dates, and two fund transfers.

He put the paper back and slowly closed his fingers.

"Teacher, do you regret it?"

Gao Yuliang picked up his teacup and took a sip. It was the hot cup.

"I've knelt, dodged, and calculated my way through life." He put down his cup, the steam dissipating quickly in the lamplight. "If I can finally stand up and retreat once more, then my life hasn't been in vain."

Qi Tongwei gripped his teacup, not moving. It felt like something was stuck in his throat.

Gao Yuliang stood up and walked up to him. He patted Qi Tongwei's right shoulder with a light but firm touch.

"Here's the hilt."

Qi Tongwei looked up.

Gao Yuliang looked at him. The light shone from the side, making the wrinkles on his face appear very deep.

"Stop using a knife while kneeling."

Qi Tongwei stood up. The two stood facing each other, neither speaking. The clock in the living room struck once; it was 6:30.

Qi Tongwei bent down and bowed. It wasn't a military salute, but the kind a student would give to a teacher.

Gao Yuliang patted him on the back. "Alright, let's go. Don't let anyone see the provincial director coming out of my house, or I'll have to write reports again."

Qi Tongwei straightened up. "Take care, teacher."

He stuffed the file folder into his coat pocket and turned to walk towards the door. He paused for a moment as his hand touched the doorknob.

"I will stand."

The door closed. Gao Yuliang stood in the living room, listening to the sound of leather shoes disappearing into the hallway. He sat back on the sofa, picked up the half-finished glass of iced tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

At the same time, at the northern training command post.

Shen Zhong sat heavily in his field tent, a battle coordination map spread out on the table. A staff officer placed a sealed briefing beside him.

"Sir, this was forwarded from Handong."

Shen Zhong opened the briefing. His gaze swept over a few lines of text, pausing for two seconds on the line "Qi Tongwei appointed as Director of the Provincial Public Security Department".

He pulled a pen from his breast pocket and wrote two words after the line of text.

Available.

The pen cap was put back on, and the briefing was closed. The roar of armored vehicles passing by in formation came from outside the tent; the iron torrent rolled on, and the earth trembled slightly.