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

With Secretary Zhou's rank and status, he either has to step down completely, or he has to retain his rank but not his position and leave the front line to move to the second line.

Of course, there's another one: to go even further.

Enter the game!

However, Lao Zhou had not considered getting involved.

Actually, it wouldn't be true to say he hadn't considered it, but he knew his own situation. Compared to others, he was indeed very outstanding, but others were equally outstanding. Most importantly, at this stage, being outstanding was no longer the most important criterion.

The Chen family is a large and powerful family, a giant ship. On this ship, Secretary Zhou is undoubtedly an important figure, even a symbolic one. But there are many such figures on the Chen family ship.

He is not the only one.

Therefore, he did not take the initiative to say anything to Old Chen. Today, he was telling Chen Min'en these things to express his attitude.

Tell Chen Min'en that he, Zhou, has no intention of competing with others for anything, and that he will do his best to help and cooperate with Chen Min'en when he comes to Linjiang Province.

However, Chen Min'en seemed to have a different idea.

However, Secretary Zhou could not be certain about the specifics.

Looking at Chen Min'en, Secretary Zhou smiled and said, "Min'en, I am well aware that all parties have already begun to make preparations in advance."

"If I said I had never thought about taking this step, I would be lying to you."

"But, you know, this is not something I can consider."

Compared to Secretary Zhou, Chen Min'en knows more. As the core figure of the second generation of the Chen family, Chen Min'en is the core of everyone's life.

That's why Chen Min'en knows more, and he also knows that at this time, making choices is even more important, and that in order for some people to rise to power, the future of others must be sacrificed.

In fact, making concessions in advance is for the sake of planning for the next term, and even the term after that.

There is still time before the leadership transition, but various forces have already begun to make their moves, and the Chen family is no exception.

Secretary Zhou is not entirely without hope, but it's hard to say how much hope he has.

Chen Min'en looked at Secretary Zhou, smiled, and said, "Old Zhou, don't overthink it. The achievements of Linjiang Province in recent years are obvious to all. People in Beijing are watching, and the old man has seen it too."

"Of course, I can offer my opinion on the specifics now, but as you know, the final decision will depend on a comprehensive consideration. However, I don't think it's necessary for you to be preparing for retirement right now."

"Perhaps, you'll be given even greater responsibilities."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope naturally appeared in Secretary Zhou's eyes.

To say I don't want to would be a lie.

After all, you have to get involved!

Even if it was only for one term, even if it was just a transition, it still reached an indescribable height!

"Alright, Min-eun, let's not talk about this anymore."

"I just had Deputy Secretary Zheng come over. Let's talk about the upcoming exchange visit by the Party and government delegation to Qingjiang Province."

"The time has been set, but as the nominal head of the delegation, I may not be able to participate in the whole process. I just received a notification from Yanjing that I will be leaving for Yanjing in a week. Of course, after I finish my work, I will fly directly from Yanjing to Qingjiang to meet up with you."

Just then, Zheng, the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee of Linjiang Province, walked in, led by the secretary-general.

"Secretary Zhou, Governor Chen."

After entering, Deputy Secretary Zheng greeted Secretary Zhou with a smile and treated Chen Min'en with utmost respect.

Clearly, they did not show any disrespect to Chen Min'en just because he was new to the area.

In fact, this is impossible. If it were outside of the Chen family's influence, it might be possible, but this is Linjiang Province. Here, everyone who can enter this office knows who Chen Min'en is, and they would never do anything to compete with Chen Min'en for power.

If someone were to actually do something like that, it wouldn't just be a power struggle, and they wouldn't be facing Chen Min'en alone; in the end, they would be the only one left all alone.

Chen Min'en smiled at Deputy Secretary Zheng and said, "You've come at the right time. Old Zhou just brewed some calming tea. Come and have a taste."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Secretary Zheng's eyes immediately lit up.

"Tranquil tea?"

"The old man's calming tea?"

"I only had it once when I went on a visit with Secretary Zhou. The taste was unforgettable. I originally wanted to shamelessly ask the old man for some, but before I could even voice my thoughts, Secretary Zhou poured cold water on my idea, saying that he had been scolded when he tried to ask for some, so I didn't dare to ask anymore."

"But Secretary Zhou, didn't you fail to get it back from the old man? Why do you still have 'tranquil tea'?"

"Did Governor Chen bring this to you?"

At this point, Deputy Secretary Zheng immediately looked at Chen Min'en.

Chen Min'en laughed heartily and shook his head, saying, "Old Zheng, don't look at me like that. I didn't even bring any calming tea when I came here. Old Zhou's tea wasn't a gift from me."

Deputy Secretary Zheng immediately turned his gaze to Secretary Zhou.

Secretary Zhou refused without the slightest hesitation.

"Don't even think about taking this tea from me. I had a really tough time getting this tea. I almost got it by being beaten out of my hands by the old man with his cane."

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore, let's get down to business."

"We'll be heading to Linjiang Province in a week. Before we go, let's clarify the key points of our exchange and cooperation. Also, let's discuss some personnel issues in advance."

As they began discussing serious matters, both Chen Min'en and Deputy Secretary Zheng's expressions turned serious.

And with this conversation, the matter of going to Qingjiang Province for exchange and cooperation was finally settled.

Actually, the schedule and personnel had already been set, otherwise the letter would not have been sent to the Qingjiang Provincial Party Committee Office. However, because Secretary Zhou is going to Yanjing at the last minute, we need to see if the schedule and personnel need to be changed. If not, then it will proceed as planned, and Secretary Zhou will fly directly to Qingjiang after finishing his trip to Yanjing.

After finishing their conversation, Chen Min'en returned to his office, stood by the window, and a hint of melancholy appeared in his eyes.

Qingjiang is where he worked, and he has an affection for Qingjiang Province.

However, Qingjiang Province was also a place he did not want to face, because it was there that he lost his son.

His feelings were complicated during this trip to Qingjiang, but he had a feeling that the trip was inevitable. He firmly believed that if his child was still alive, then there was a high probability that he was in Qingjiang Province.

"Child, are you still alive?"

"Will I be able to find you?"

"Even just knowing whether you're doing well or not would be enough."

With a soft sigh, Chen Min'en sat down at his desk and continued working. At his position, he had essentially dedicated himself entirely to his work. Those who didn't understand the burden on his shoulders would never comprehend it.

Unfortunately, he is also an extremely responsible person who desperately wants to do things well and make a name for himself, so the pressure can only increase.

A week later, it was time to head to Qingjiang Province.

For Chen Min'en, this day was filled with more anticipation than trepidation.

The Li family was the most looking forward to and eagerly awaiting Chen Min'en's visit to Qingjiang Province.

It was afternoon.

The meeting originally scheduled by Li Feitu was neither postponed nor canceled, but continued.

At 3:30 p.m., in the small government conference room, the time had come and most of the attendees had arrived. However, although the meeting explicitly required the participation of the unit's principal leader, only a handful of the actual top leaders showed up.

Even when Li Feitu first arrived, he never went this far. But after Li Feitu flew into a rage and even dominated Secretary Zhao at the Standing Committee meeting, such incidents never occurred again.

And this time, it happened again, and it's even worse than before!