In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

The Provincial Party Committee Building.

Sha Ruijin returned to Handong in a huff, having brought back no project and no wife—she was being held at her parents' house.

I'm so angry!

Sha Ruijin grabbed the thermos on the table and smashed it hard on the ground. Tea splashed everywhere, the thermos was deformed, and the mess on the floor soaked the carpet.

Tong Li entered like a ghost, and seeing the furious boss, he did not try to stop him. To be honest, since coming to Handong, he had become used to the boss's occasional outbursts of madness.

He was holding a rag in his hand.

He quietly squatted down to deal with the tea leaves and water stains on the carpet. Only the thermos was ruined, but he had expected this and had Xiaobai order a large box in advance.

Fifty in total!

After smashing fifty cups, they either left Handong or went inside.

Current progress: 7/50.

"Stop messing around, let Xiaobai contact the cleaning service to handle it."

Sha Ruijin hasn't completely lost his senses. How can he expect a dignified member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee to clean up his mess? What kind of talk would that make?

"Come, sit down!"

Sha Ruijin looked as if he had aged decades in four days, his face revealing unconcealed fatigue. He slumped back in his office chair, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Boss..."

Tong Li called out softly, a look of heartache flashing in his eyes. When had his boss ever been so disheveled? He had always been a spirited and high-spirited figure.

"Old Qin has completely given up on me."

Sha Ruijin smiled bitterly, "Even Elder Kang and the others have given up on me. They always say they support me, but when they run into Elder Qin face to face, they all fall silent."

"I am not my father's biological son after all; I am just an illegitimate child whose parents are unknown."

"They won't risk everything for me."

"It's also my fault for being stupid."

"The first thing they did was freeze the list of 126 cadres, which offended a large number of cadres and Wu Chunlin; and before they even understood the situation, they rushed to build their own faction and promoted Yi Xuexi, which resulted in them losing face."

As Sha Ruijin spoke, he felt more and more like a joke. "A basketball game that had no real meaning completely exposed Xiao Bai and the few cadres from the provincial party committee who had been the first to defect to him. Open cards simply couldn't beat Lin Zhiyuan and the provincial government faction."

"I made some tough talk with Lin Zhiyuan before the New Year, saying we'd have a showdown between the North and South, and now... sigh..."

Sha Ruijin became increasingly frustrated as he spoke, rubbing his face hard with his large hand before closing his eyes in anguish.

How could he be so stupid!

He doesn't act like this on the Han River or in the Bohai Sea!

Tong Li looked at his boss, who was despondent and said nothing, and even felt a little pleased. It is said that "good times make people proud, and adversity makes people humble," and this is true. It seems that the boss has learned to reflect on himself from the inside out.

The reason why the boss has ended up in such a sorry state is probably because he became too complacent after years of success.

But as long as the boss doesn't go astray later.

I wouldn't dare to hope for further progress, after all, the boss has already reached this level.

Tong Li was confident that he could ensure his boss's safe arrival. His boss didn't have many scandals; at most, he had a relationship with Mao Ya before marriage and had a child with her, but they hadn't been in contact for many years.

They've already sent the person in.

As for being domineering, that's not a big deal. On the contrary, it can be used to criticize other cadres for being weak and unreliable.

However, one should still try to persuade them.

"Boss, the primary reason you lost the confrontation with Executive Director Lin was that you missed the initiative."

Tong Li stepped forward to massage the boss's temples, and took the opportunity to analyze the reasons for the defeat: "There were two advantages: one was Chen Yanshi, and the other was Secretary Liao Zhiping."

"Because of the nature of the Dafeng Factory incident, Chen Yanshi has implicitly placed you on the opposite side of all the Standing Committee members from the very beginning. After all, if that explosion had occurred, everyone's future would have been ruined."

"Back then, thanks to the influence of Elder Qin and the others, it seemed like the matter was over on the surface, but the grudge still lingered in my heart."

"The list of 126 people left behind by Secretary Liao Zhiping can only be described as...malicious!"

Tong Li lowered his voice, "He transferred 126 officials at the provincial level or above at the end of his term. Regardless of whether he had heard rumors of their early transfers, it was disrespectful to the next provincial party secretary."

"Such a large-scale personnel project cannot be completed overnight; it requires the interplay and competition of multiple forces."

"You've just arrived and are already facing immense pressure, so it's understandable that you're anxious. Rashly agreeing to the list would be irresponsible and would also ruin your chance to gather cadres and place people in positions of authority; disagreeing would be suppressing the interests of these 126 people, and you wouldn't be able to please either side."

Sha Ruijin sat up abruptly. He had thought about this over the past few months, but when Tong Li brought it up again, he was still furious.

How could someone be so evil!

And Chen Yanshi…

He was now certain.

None of these adoptive fathers are good people. Now, at this stage, their former help has become a burden.

"You seem to have taken the top position, but you are facing a predicament of being blocked from both sides. In stark contrast to Executive Director Lin, who was a step behind, he has received the full support of Governor Liu and the provincial government, and has the advantage of being the first to act."

"They seem like heaven and earth, but in reality, they are one tight and one loose."

Tong Li concluded, "That's why your superiors haven't held you accountable yet; the previous setbacks can't be entirely blamed on you alone."

"If someone else had gone to Handong, they wouldn't have fared much better."

"So this isn't my fault."

Sha Ruijin rubbed his face again, looking at his confidant with longing eyes, his gaze filled with a desire for approval.

"right!"

Tong Li's eyes flickered, and he was a little afraid to meet her gaze, but he had no choice. His boss had been rejected too badly, so he had to agree. He looked away slightly and said firmly, "It's not your fault, boss."

"We still have a chance, a chance to turn the tide!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Germ Rat Agent was as happy as a child, grabbing Tong Li's hands, "Comrade Tong Li, my Comrade Tong Li, if we work together, we will surely be able to open up another road to heaven, and we will definitely be the winners of this North-South contest."

"That's right!"

Tong Li showed no disgust, tightly gripping the rat poison in his hands. "You once gave me a ray of light in the darkness, so now it's my turn to protect your light of tomorrow."

"My plan is in full swing. After this December, we can sound the horn of counterattack."

it is good!

A fierce fighting spirit reignited in Sha Ruijin's eyes. Whatever couldn't defeat my serratus anhydride would only make it stronger.

Jingle Bell!

The ringing of the cell phone shattered the deep bond between the two comrades.

Sha Ruijin's face turned green with disgust the moment he saw the number. How dare Old Man Qin call him again, trying to take something from him to support his brother-in-law.

"Boss, take it!"

Tong Li offered his advice.

Even without the bond between father-in-law and son-in-law, or father and son, one should still show sufficient respect to elders.

"Huh? What! Okay, okay! I understand! Dad, I won't let you down this time."

Sha Ruijin's attitude on the phone changed drastically, and he was still incredulous after hanging up.

"Tong Li, am I dreaming?"

"Sammy is back, and the other projects are back too, they're all back."