Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

early morning.

A Boeing 747 passenger plane with a dark gold logo roared through the autumn rain.

The plane landed smoothly on the private helipad inside Lingxiao Manor.

Yan Qingfeng, dressed in a well-tailored black trench coat, walked down the steps of the gangway on the red carpet.

With a hint of languor from having just swindled a Wall Street tycoon, he headed straight back to the main building, surrounded by bodyguards.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the rain became heavier.

A secondhand Jetta with peeling paint, lacking even a pass to the manor's perimeter, was carefully parked outside the imposing black and gold iron gate.

The car door opened, and cold air rushed in through the gaps.

Sha Ruijin, the dignified Party Secretary of Handong Province, laboriously opened an ordinary black umbrella and stepped alone into the rain.

There were no police escorts, and no secretaries surrounding them.

Even in this borrowed beat-up Jetta, the driver didn't dare turn on the heater the whole way because he was afraid of running out of gas.

Sha Ruijin was wrapped in that faded military overcoat, his leather shoes splashing mud all over his trousers as he stepped into the puddles.

He looked up at the manor in front of him, which was even more imposing and magnificent than the provincial party committee compound.

Rain dripped down the umbrella ribs, and the chill seeped into the bones from the soles of my feet.

Sha Ruijin took a deep breath, walked to the access control, and rang the pure copper doorbell.

After a while, a series of unhurried footsteps came from inside the iron gate.

The old butler, Afu, walked over slowly, holding a transparent umbrella.

He didn't even open the gate; he just stood there, smiling, looking at the people outside through the thick iron bars.

"Oh, isn't this Secretary Sha?"

Afu kept his hands in his sleeves, his tone carrying a subtle, yet sharp, politeness.

"In this freezing weather, why didn't you bring a convoy? You just came here carrying a black umbrella."

Sha Ruijin's lips twitched twice.

He forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace and bowed slightly.

"Butler Afu, I have something extremely urgent and I need to see President Yan."

Sha Ruijin swallowed hard, his posture humbled to the point of being utterly subservient.

"Please inform them that Sha Ruijin has come to apologize."

Ah Fu shook his head helplessly through the iron gate.

"Secretary Sha, your timing is really bad."

He pointed to the main building, which was faintly visible deep within the manor.

"Master Yan just flew back from New York and is adjusting to the time difference of several dozen hours. He's currently resting on the soft couch in the tea room."

Afu smiled, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"When Master Yan is resting, even if the sky were to fall, we servants wouldn't dare knock on his door. Perhaps you could come another day?"

Another day?

Sha Ruijin's mind went blank.

The ultimatum from the powerful figure in the capital was still ringing in his ears: if he couldn't resolve this deadlock before dawn, he'd be fired tomorrow!

"No! Butler Afu, I can't leave!"

In his haste, Sha Ruijin grabbed the cold iron bars, his knuckles turning pale from the pressure.

"I'll wait! I'll wait as long as President Yan needs to rest, I'll wait here for him to wake up!"

Afu looked at this once powerful regional official who had the final say on the stage, now looking like a beggar.

He sighed, slowly took out his access card, and swiped it to open a small iron gate on the side.

"Secretary Sha, you are a high-ranking leader, and if you get sick from standing in the rain, Lingxiao cannot afford to take responsibility."

Afu pointed to the small, single-story house, about several dozen square meters, next to the gate.

"If you're not in a hurry, you can wait in the side hall of the gatehouse. That's where the security guards and deliverymen usually rest."

Sha Ruijin froze.

Why should a provincial party secretary be relegated to a security guard post and left to sit on the sidelines?

This is like tearing off his political face and throwing it on the ground to stomp on it!

But he had no way out.

Sha Ruijin bit his lip until it bled, tasting a hint of blood.

He folded his umbrella and thanked him profusely.

"Thank you, Butler Afu. As long as there's a place to shelter from the rain, I'm not picky."

Sha Ruijin dragged his heavy steps into the side room filled with the stench of sweat and smoke.

Inside the room, a row of hard plastic chairs stood against the wall, and the table was piled with messy express delivery boxes.

A young man wearing a Lingxiao security uniform was sitting at a table with his legs crossed, eating a self-heating hot pot.

"Hey sir, don't drip water from your umbrella, move it closer to the door!"

The security guard slurped up a mouthful of wide rice noodles and shouted something without even looking up.

Sha Ruijin obediently leaned the umbrella against the corner of the wall, like a primary school student who had done something wrong, and sat down on the hard stool furthest to the side.

The aroma of the spicy hot pot wafted straight into my nose.

Sha Ruijin hasn't had a drop of water since last night, and his stomach is making a rumbling sound.

He was so hungry that his stomach was practically sticking to his back, but he didn't even have the courage to ask for a drink of hot water.

The clock on the wall ticked.

One hour, two hours, three hours.

Sha Ruijin just endured it all sitting there on the plastic chair.

My legs were numb from sitting, and even the collar of my military overcoat was soaked with cold sweat.

The glory days of pontificating in the conference room have now turned into resounding slaps in the face.

He was so dizzy from the smoking that he questioned the meaning of life.

As darkness fell completely, the streetlights in the manor were lit one by one.

The door to the side hall was pushed open.

Ah Fu walked in and waved for the dozing security guard to leave.

"Secretary Sha, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Afu made a "please" gesture, looking down at him with a condescending gaze.

"Master Yan has woken up and is waiting for you in the main tea room."

Sha Ruijin sprang up from the chair like a spring, but his legs went numb and he stumbled, almost kneeling on the ground.

He quickly grabbed the back of the chair to steady himself.

"Okay! Okay! I'm coming right now!"

"etc."

Afu stopped him and pointed to the storage basket on the table, which was specifically used to hold visitors' belongings.

"Secretary Sha, you know the rules. Cell phone, voice recorder, and all electronic devices in your pockets."

Afu looked at him with a forced smile.

"Please take everything out. The core tea room, leave no trace."

Sha Ruijin's facial muscles twitched.

With trembling hands, he took off his red secure cell phone, reading glasses, and even his tie clip, and obediently threw them into the basket.

The feeling was like being a naked prisoner being searched by a jailer.

After handing over the items, Sha Ruijin followed Afu into the depths of the manor.

The brightly lit main building, like a lurking beast, lay quietly in the rainy night.

The two walked through the long corridor and stopped in front of a carved solid wood door.

Warm light shone through the crack in the door, and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted out.

Afu reached out and grasped the brass doorknob, turning his body to the side.

"Secretary Sha, please."

Sha Ruijin swallowed hard, staring at the door that seemed to devour everything, his legs starting to cramp again.

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked tentatively.

"Butler Afu, how is President Yan... feeling right now?"

Ah Fu chuckled softly, his eyes appearing somewhat cold under the corridor lights.

"Master Yan just casually flipped through the latest fiscal deficit ledger sent from Jingzhou."

Afu patted the raindrops off Sha Ruijin's shoulder.

"Do you think he'll be in a good mood? When he goes in, he'll have to think some things through in his mind before he says them."