In officialdom: After she left, I rose rapidly through the ranks!

Regardless of the tone, the words were spoken in such a manner that Lin Na, if she had any sense at all, should have known what to do.

However, Linna seemed oblivious to everything at that moment, not only unaware of anything amiss, but also continuing to chatter on and on.

"Jingcheng, let's talk."

"The life and official conduct your parents taught you are not applicable. Once you become an official, you have to use the power. It would be a waste not to."

"Well then, Jingcheng, I'm really grateful to you. I just heard from your mother that you made a phone call with their bureau chief, right? See, you still have some influence. You can talk directly with the bureau chief, and more importantly, the bureau chief is willing to listen to what you have to say."

"Jingcheng, how about tonight? Let's invite their bureau chief out for a chat, and also the law enforcement officer who had the conflict with my husband. We can all join in. We're apologizing, right? Then, my husband can personally apologize to that officer in front of you and their bureau chief. What do you think?"

"Relationships require frequent interaction and communication."

"Let's do it tonight. I'll call my husband, and we'll have a drink together. After all, you've helped us so much, we should thank you and their director."

"Don't worry, we are reasonable people."

Linna was getting a little too carried away with her self-admiration.

Chen Jingcheng almost laughed. He now understood why Lin Na had so few friends, and even his own mother, Li Sumei, rarely spent time with her anymore. She was too clever for her own good, too clever for her own good.

Understand the principles of things?

If someone understood the situation, they wouldn't have said those things.

If they were truly smart, they wouldn't have been in business for so many years, barely surviving, and still resorting to borderline activities.

Chen Jingcheng shook his head and refused outright.

"No need, Director Zhang is very busy, and so am I."

"Aunt Linna, I'm only making this call because you and my mother are friends."

"As for whether others give me face, and how much face they give me, that's my business."

"Besides, I don't need you to tell me how to be an official."

"All you need to know is that you shouldn't break the law or violate regulations after you start doing business."

"That's all I can do to help with this. Have your husband apologize to the law enforcement officers and accept the 5,000 yuan fine. This isn't about personal relationships or favors; it's about the fact that you did do something wrong, and they were just enforcing the law and issuing a ticket. All I did was try to get them to minimize the penalty for you within the bounds of what's reasonable and compliant with regulations."

"Moreover, I can guarantee that this is the last time. If you continue to break the rules and walk the tightrope in the future, then next time it won't just be a matter of sealing up the property and fining you tens of thousands of dollars. And I will not speak up for you anymore."

As he spoke, Chen Jingcheng stood up, sighed, and said, "Take care of yourself. If there's nothing else, we won't keep you here any longer. We have other things to do."

Even if Lin Na couldn't read faces, she could tell that Chen Jingcheng was unhappy.

It was clearly inappropriate for her to stay here any longer, and she also realized that Chen Jingcheng was not buying her act at all and didn't care what she said.

With a chuckle, Lin Na stood up and said, "Jing Cheng, don't misunderstand, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just thinking that if we can get a smaller fine, that's fine. We could use the money from the fine to eat and drink and get to know each other better."

"Since it's not convenient for you, then forget it. Let's get together another day, another day when we have time."

After saying that, Lin Na took Li Sumei's hand and said warmly, "Sumei, thank you so much. You've been a great help. You've really not disappointed me as my best friend."

"How about this, when we have some free time, let's go shopping together. It's been a long time since we went shopping together, we should definitely keep in touch more often."

Linna then quickly left.

After Lin Na left, Li Sumei had a look of guilt on her face.

"Jingcheng, I'm sorry to have put you in such a difficult position. I never expected Lin Na to turn out like this. She really doesn't know what's good for her."

"She wasn't like this before, when she asked me for help."

Chen Jingcheng looked at the guilt on Li Sumei's face, smiled and shook his head, saying, "Mom, there's no need for these things between you and me."

"As for Linna's attitude, I don't care. When she asked you for help, she was truly desperate and genuinely wanted your assistance. Now that she sees the matter has been resolved, she wants even more."

"I don't want to comment on this person, but she's very selfish and only cares about herself. I won't object to you being friends with her, but you should probably be more careful when you interact with her in the future."

"Also, I think she might be a little resentful because I refused her request today."

"Helping others only to end up with complaints, haha."

Chen Jingcheng shook his head, somewhat helplessly.

With good intentions, for his mother's sake, he almost became a sucker in Lin Na's eyes. Unfortunately, Chen Jingcheng had his own principles.

He is certainly filial, but he won't be blindly obedient. Besides, he and Lin Na aren't that close.

"Alright, it's all over now. We've done what we could to help, so let's not talk about anything else."

"There is something I might need to tell you in advance, so that you won't be a little nervous on the day."

Chen Jingcheng was bound to tell Chen Dachuan and Li Sumei in advance what was about to happen.

Otherwise, when Chen Dachuan and Li Sumei find out that Chen Jingcheng has been taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation, they will probably be terrified and unable to eat or sleep.

Telling them in advance gives them time to prepare and lets them know that they will be fine. Although it still can't completely stop them from worrying, it at least puts their minds at ease.

Chen Dachuan and Li Sumei also noticed the seriousness on Chen Jingcheng's face, and immediately sat down on the sofa to look at Chen Jingcheng seriously.

After a moment of silence, Chen Jingcheng began to think of how to say it in a way that would calm his parents down.

After a moment, Chen Jingcheng smiled and said, "Dad, Mom, you know I'm working for County Chief Li, and you also know that County Chief Li hasn't been here long. So, as I told you before, although County Chief Li is a very capable and well-connected person, he will definitely be targeted, right?"

"Some changes may occur in Linchuan County next."

"County Chief Li may be affected to some extent, and so may I."

"They might even be taken away by the disciplinary committee for investigation."

"But I want to tell you that you don't need to worry about anything. Everything is a normal procedure, and I won't suffer any hardship. I will be released after the investigation is completed."

The words were simple and easy to say, and they were all true.

However, Chen Dachuan and Li Sumei heard it differently.

The disciplinary committee is investigating.

They also want to take him away for investigation, saying he won't suffer any hardship, but they've seen some cases before. If he's really taken away by the disciplinary committee, will he have a good outcome?