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

"Take advantage of the fact that Handong hasn't made its move yet, and quickly recruit some people from those famous universities."

"Don't bother with those sect's holy sons and daughters that everyone else is eyeing. Putting aside whether we can even compete with them, it's too much of a waste of energy."

"We'll just target their mid-to-lower reaches."

"Graduates are preferred, but we need to focus more on senior students who are about to do internships. Our recruitment benefits include: internship certificate and evaluation from the Organization Department of Handong Province."

Wu Chunlin rolled his eyes several times, thinking, "What kind of terrible ideas are these?"

Handong is clearly aiming to develop in the direction of high-tech and cutting-edge industries. What use are students from the middle and lower reaches? Is it just a matter of quantity over quality, or is it a case of three cobblers being equal to one Zhuge Liang?

"Hey, senior, you don't understand, do you?"

Lin Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows, becoming more and more cheerful as he spoke, "There's a saying circulating in universities these days: You pose no threat to my academic standing, but you can ruin my reputation in the education field."

"Let's not even talk about the average or below-average students in top universities; they are still the cream of the crop."

"Just consider that they encountered difficulties in their work at Handong University, and sought advice from the school, their advisors, and outstanding senior students. How could they possibly disagree?"

"They are indeed top figures in the scientific research community, but they are not isolated individuals; they certainly need to maintain social interactions as well."

"If they don't acknowledge it, then we'll get Pan Lin to do an entertaining feature report: for example, at a certain school, an intern student encountered difficulties and couldn't get help from teachers, ending up as a disowned student. Is it the teachers who are immoral, or the senior students who are unrighteous?"

"Hehe, senior, the essence of this move is: using the sect's useless members to command the sect's patriarch."

Wu Chunlin shuddered as he looked at the wicked smile on Lin Zhiyuan's lips. He was afraid that what he was doing would get him blacklisted by universities across the country.

Those university presidents are all at the vice-ministerial level, and their connections accumulated over the years far surpass his.

For example, during Peking University's anniversary celebrations, there are always several vice-presidents sitting in the front row.

I've offended them.

Could this be a shortcut to enlightenment?

It's definitely not a fast track to hell!

However, after Wu Chunlin shuddered, it seemed as if a certain factor within his body had been activated, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a desire to try it out.

"Go on."

Wu Chunlin urged, sensing that Lin Zhiyuan's plan was far more complex than it seemed.

"Hehe, as expected, my senior knows me best."

Lin Zhiyuan knew the other party was interested, so he quickly added, "Next is the second step. When the sect's patriarch is busy fixing the shortcomings of the sect's useless students, we will strike again and sweep away those top students who were missed in the first step, creating a perfect time difference."

"Then comes the crucial third step:"

We must appeal to their emotions and reason with them, and employ a strategy of detaining those veteran experts and professors who have been deceived... cough cough, but have come to help us with enthusiasm, so that they will contribute more to the development of Handong.

Here we can fully mobilize the power of the sect's useless members, making them lament their hardships and claim that Handong is their second home, etc., to make the sect's patriarch feel a sense of belonging as much as possible, so that as many as they can stay and for as long as they can.

"That's right, that's right!"

"I have a fourth step, in case those top universities realize what's going on."

We will set sail and travel far away.

"Going to the other side of the ocean, going to Europe—of course, we can't be so high-profile abroad, but we can do it secretly, quietly, and slowly."

Lin Zhiyuan smacked his lips, seemingly still enjoying himself.

"Then, when people in China think we've disappeared, can we launch a surprise attack?"

Wu Chunlin, as expected of Peking University's prodigy, immediately applied what he learned to other situations.

"Wow, this senior is amazing!"

Lin Zhiyuan gave a thumbs up, but still solemnly advised, "When we recruit people, we should not blindly look at university rankings. We need to recruit practical and scientific research-oriented talents."

"Give me two hundred thousand!"

Wu Chunlin spoke again, and the tone suddenly changed.

"What?"

Lin Zhiyuan was completely baffled. "Funding? We can approve more of that."

"No!"

Wu Chunlin firmly refused, saying, "I only need 200,000 yuan to buy a better burial plot in advance."

"I'm afraid I'll get beaten to death someday."

"The reimbursement request from the organization will not be approved."

walk slowly!

Lin Zhiyuan's face twitched. He got up, took out his phone, tapped a few times, and walked towards the door. "I've transferred it to you privately."

"besides!"

"If you've taken my money, you'd better do a good job. Tomorrow morning—no, tonight—you're flying to the capital."

"hey-hey!"

"We are all outstanding students from Kyoto University, so of course we should start with Kyoto University."

Hey!

Looking at the 200,000 yuan he received in the letter, Wu Chunlin felt wonderful; it was more than the savings he had accumulated over twenty years.

It's just not easy to handle!

This is money earned by risking one's life!

Wu Chunlin's excited heart calmed down, as if there was a scale on one side with his future and on the other with his death. Hehe, what's the point of dying? He should still have a chance to go to Qincheng... right?

There are many people in the world who are troubled, but the reasons for each person's troubles are different.

"dad!"

Upon arriving in Yantai City, Sha Ruijin entered his hotel room and immediately dialed a number, saying impatiently, "The plan to freeze the personnel list has gone wrong."

"Um?"

Old Qin was puzzled; this was their carefully prepared trump card.

"Uh... I've been set up."

Sha Ruijin said bitterly, "The 126 people on that list underwent triple review by the organization department, the provincial discipline inspection commission, and the provincial procuratorate. The only one with problems, Qi Tongwei, even withdrew his application."

"What about that son-in-law of the Zhang family?"

Even though you can't see the person, you can hear the anger through the microphone.

The Zhang family didn't reveal a single word about such important information.

"What Tian Guofu meant was that it was a comprehensive review conducted under the guise of a special project before Secretary Liao was transferred. It was not marked as a personnel promotion at all. At that time, his position was not stable, so he let it pass."

Sha Ruijin replied.

"Census?"

Old Qin pointed out the key point.

"Dad, that's what I think too."

Sha Ruijin immediately understood, "So I plan to conduct an inspection at the grassroots level in Handong, focusing on finding illegal or disciplinary violations by the people on the list."

"Can."

Qin Lao quickly affirmed, "But it can't be too long. First, you are the provincial party secretary, and managing personnel and the overall direction of the province's development is your most important task. Second, Lin Zhiyuan's influence in the Standing Committee will continue to expand."

"I understand, Dad."

Sha Ruijin nodded.

"There is another matter. There are now twelve members of the Standing Committee of Handong Province. According to convention, we can add another provincial party secretary-general. Comrade Tong Li from Bohai Province is very good. He has high professional competence and firm beliefs. He is an outstanding cadre that the organization should cultivate."

Sha Ruijin revealed the main purpose of the phone call: Tong Li, the Secretary-General of the Bohai Provincial Government, was one of his confidants.

As for the selection of personnel in Handong…

He never imagined that there wasn't a single person in Handong who was clean-cut and had a suitable rank.

Or rather, even if such cadres did exist, they wouldn't reach him before being taken advantage of by Lin Zhiyuan and Wu Chunlin.

"good!"

"I'll go find your adoptive fathers about this."

P.S.: Thank you so much to the person who ate wafer biscuits for their generous support! *3

I keep forgetting, I'm so sorry.