Me! A high-ranking official!

Emerging from Wang Yongchun's office, he felt a surge of energy. With the strong support of the town government, his work was now on wings. Without a moment's delay, he went straight to the town's Party and government office, found the office director Li Fen, and handed over the drafted request to invite county leaders to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Luojia Village planting base.

Because Li Fen had received instructions from Wang Yongchun, she was extremely efficient. She immediately helped him revise the letterhead, went through the procedures, affixed the town government's official seal, and issued an official document.

Having obtained this "stepping stone," he once again rode his bicycle straight to the county town without stopping.

Upon arriving in the county, his first stop was the County Health Commission. After prior communication and preparation, all the approvals for the Luo Family Village Clinic had been approved. Today was the day to receive the license. After successfully obtaining the brand-new business license, he found a well-lit spot, took a photo, and sent it to Wang Zhenbo with a message: "License in hand, everything is ready, our village clinic can open anytime!"

A few seconds later, Wang Zhenbo replied with a big smiley face and a thumbs-up emoji.

After finishing this important matter, he turned his car around and went to the supermarket on the way.

For more than a week, he had been working tirelessly in Luojia Village, and had no time to come and take a look. When he finally arrived, he found that the supermarket's renovation was almost finished, and a few workers were carrying out the final cleaning and finishing work.

He circled around inside and out but didn't see Liu Tao. He guessed that the guy was probably out running around looking for channels or talking to suppliers. At eleven o'clock, he arrived at the county government compound again right on time.

Entering the county government office, Guo Huaixing was holding a teacup and reading documents. Looking up and seeing Zhao Jianguo, a smile immediately spread across Guo Huaixing's usually stern face: "Jianguo's here? Have a seat. I watched your live broadcast last night in its entirety. You really went through a lot this time, and you've learned a lot! To have managed to get such a large amount of work done in just one week—I see the people of Luojia Village are really supporting you!"

He naturally wouldn't act arrogantly in front of his former leader, so he quickly stepped forward to refill his water tank and said with a smile, "This is all thanks to your excellent guidance, my former leader. I'm just following your example and doing some practical things for the people."

"Don't always try to take the credit for me," Guo Huaixing said, pointing at him happily. "You're the one who's willing to put in the effort. Tell me, you don't come here unless you need something. What brings you here this time?"

He grinned and said, "Director, you are wise. The main reason I came here is for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Luo Family Village planting base. I would like to ask the county leaders to come and support us."

Upon hearing this, Guo Huaixing immediately understood his intention. He put down his teacup, gave Zhao Jianguo a meaningful look, and teased, "Well, Jianguo, your appetite is getting bigger and bigger. You've only been gone a few days, and you're already bypassing the town and thinking about reporting to the county leaders and asking them to endorse you?"

His heart skipped a beat, thinking that Guo Huaixing felt he was being overly ambitious or overstepping his authority, and he hurriedly explained, "Director, you misunderstand, that's not what I meant, it's just that this project is too important to the village..."

"Alright, don't be nervous." Guo Huaixing interrupted him with a smile, "Don't misunderstand me, I'm praising you! You've done a solid job, not only the town has noticed, but now the county leaders have also given you a thumbs up. And, I just heard something, yesterday the county propaganda department received a news article about how you cleverly solved a vicious case involving a village bully during your time stationed in the village. The propaganda department has reviewed it and thinks it's a good example for setting a good example for grassroots cadres, and they've decided to publish it on the front page of the county newspaper in the next couple of days!"

He was suddenly stunned, his mind going blank for a moment: "An article? What article? I've never written anything like this!"

Seeing his bewildered expression, Guo Huaixing couldn't help but laugh, "I knew you didn't write it yourself. You wouldn't have had the time. It must have been someone from your village who wrote it for you!"

A figure flashed through his mind instantly: Zhu Yan! This older sister had gone to high school and was somewhat educated; she must have written it secretly! What made him both amused and exasperated was that she hadn't even informed him beforehand, but had directly submitted it to the county propaganda department, bypassing the proper channels.

He gave a wry smile, somewhat helplessly: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Director."

Guo Huaixing's smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression. Looking at Zhao Jianguo, he said earnestly, "Jianguo, you need to change your mindset. We should fight for the honors we deserve openly and honestly! Working diligently at the grassroots level is essential, but just focusing on the immediate tasks without considering the bigger picture won't lead to great achievements! Even the best wine needs advertising. If you do ten parts of work but don't promote it at all, how will the leaders know your abilities? So, this kind of promotion isn't a bad thing; it's actually a great thing!"

His expression turned serious, and he immediately straightened his back, solemnly agreeing. He understood that Guo Huaixing was genuinely teaching him the wisdom of survival in officialdom: one cannot just work behind closed doors, but also needs to know how to leverage public opinion to build a reputation, which is a significant part of performance evaluation.

Guo Huaixing nodded in satisfaction when he saw that he understood quickly, and his expression softened again: "Alright, I understand the situation regarding your invitation to the county leaders to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. However, the rules of the system cannot be broken, and the proper procedures must still be followed. You can't get the leaders to come just by talking. You need to go back and ask the town for permission first, and submit an official document to the county in the name of the town party committee or town government."

Upon hearing this, he immediately and deftly pulled out the official document with the official seal that he had just received from Li Fen from his briefcase, handed it over with both hands, and grinned, saying, "Director, I knew I'd have to get past you. I've prepared the request; please take a look!"

Upon seeing this, Guo Huaixing was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud, pointing at him and saying, "You little fox, so you were waiting for me here all along, all prepared! Alright, leave the documents here. I'll take some time these next couple of days to report to the county leaders and try to set a date."

"Thank you so much, Director!" he quickly expressed his gratitude, then warmly invited, "Director, would you do me the honor of having lunch here today? It'll be my treat. Shall we go out for a quick bite?"

Guo Huaixing waved his hand and smiled helplessly: "Today is really not an option. The city's sanitation inspection team is coming for a preliminary review in the next couple of days. The government office is swamped with work. Once this is over, I'll give you a good thrashing!"

Upon hearing this, he didn't press the matter further, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then took his leave.

Just as he stepped out of the government office building and was about to push his bicycle, he happened to run into Zhou Qingyan coming down the steps in front of him.

Today, Zhou Qingyan was dressed in a business suit, exuding a cool and aloof aura. Their eyes met unexpectedly in mid-air. However, Zhou Qingyan's expression remained as indifferent as ever. She merely glanced at him indifferently, without even pausing in her steps, and simply brushed past him expressionlessly, not even sparing him a second glance.

He stood there, watching her walk straight towards a black car, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "We're a married couple in name only, and there's no one else around. Does she have to be so cold?"

Watching Zhou Qingyan get into the car briskly, start the engine, and drive away from the compound, he shook his head. He had only taken two steps when his phone in his pocket suddenly beeped twice.

I took out my phone, casually tapped the screen, and the next second, I was frozen in place as if I had been put under a spell.

On the screen was a short message from Zhou Qingyan, who never contacted him in ages: "Tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock, at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse, my mother wants to see you."

These few words, though brief, exploded like a bomb in Zhao Jianguo's mind. He stared at the screen, his heart pounding twice.

His mother-in-law wants to see him? What's going on here?