Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

“Go back and discuss it with Guangming District,” Qi Tongwei picked up the pen and tapped it casually on the table twice. “The Guangming Peak project is too important; it can’t be without a dedicated commander-in-chief. Sun Liancheng is currently managing both teams, so his energy is limited. Do you see if there are any suitable candidates in Jingzhou who can be assigned to oversee this project?”

This is a sentence that is only half-said, leaving the other half for the other party to finish.

Zheng Hong was prepared, but he still carefully considered the timing of his opening remarks. He couldn't be too fast, as that would make it seem like he was trying to guess what his superiors wanted; nor could he be too slow, as that would make it seem like he had no ideas. "The current vice mayor in charge of industry and technology, Zhu Hongyi, is quite capable. He has previously overseen several large-scale projects and done an excellent job. I think he is a suitable candidate."

Qi Tongwei glanced at him, his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't comment. He simply nodded, as if considering whether the answer met his expectations.

People with desires are easier to control.

What I fear most is people who are without desires or wants; such people are hard to control.

The same goes for Sun Liancheng. To say he was lazy in his administration is a bit of an exaggeration, but to say he was inactive is definitely too conservative.

When faced with demands from their superiors, an ambitious cadre will create the necessary conditions to resolve the issues, even if they lack the motivation. A lazy, unambitious cadre will still hold a Party group meeting and submit the unsolvable difficulties and reasons to their superiors in the form of an organizational document, thus avoiding punishment through a collective decision.

Instead of leaving it there unattended and assuming that superiors won't conduct a second inspection, trying to get away with it.

Li Dakang wasn't deceived by him; rather, given Li Dakang's personality, he couldn't imagine that such a person existed at the deputy director-general level.

He thought that Sun Liancheng's previous inaction was only because he was suppressed by Ding Yizhen. And now that Ding Yizhen had run into trouble, and no new district party secretary had been appointed, Sun Liancheng's promotion was a sure thing as long as he performed well.

If the Guangming Peak project is completed successfully, being appointed as the deputy mayor of Jingzhou City would be a natural progression. If other opportunities arise, a deputy ministerial-level position before retirement is also a possibility.

He didn't believe that Sun Liancheng could resist the opportunity to advance two major steps in his career.

Sun Liancheng is capable!

But people like the District Chief of the Universe are few and far between, so Mayor Zheng was tempted, and it was clear that he had been prepared for this for a long time.

Qi Tongwei readily accepted, but did not rule out any possibility: "However, there is one thing: do not mention me in this matter. You should communicate with Secretary Dakang yourself. The Guangming Peak project is a project of Jingzhou City, and the provincial government should not interfere directly. The specific personnel matters should be discussed by your city and a plan should be put forward."

He paused for a moment, his tone casual but his words carrying weight: "Once Zhu Hongyi takes over as the chief commander, you can communicate with me privately about any developments in the project."

The unspoken part was: if this matter cannot be postponed, then there's no need for private communication; just handle it officially.

Zheng Hong weighed the weight of these words in his mind, knowing that this was a threshold, and he should consider whether he was qualified.

He knew that although Li Dakang was in trouble, he was still a force to be reckoned with, but he gritted his teeth and agreed.

A rare opportunity.

Li Dakang just removed the obstacle of Dafeng Factory, and Zheng Hong wants to reap the benefits, but that won't be easy.

Although the peaches are still in Jingzhou's basket, no matter how they are divided, he, as the top official of Jingzhou, will get the largest piece. However, for a powerful person like Li Dakang, the peaches are only truly secure when they are in his own hands.

However, what used to be a sense of security, where everything was under one's control, is now more about the security of "the livelihood of millions of canal workers" and self-preservation.

Compared to the strategic planning of Sha Ruijin and Qi Tongwei, Chen Yanshi's journey was much more arduous.

He and his wife, Wang Fuzhen, took the high-speed rail and then a car, a journey that took almost a whole day, and finally arrived at the cadre sanatorium of a certain provincial military region at noon the next day.

He and Wang Fuzhen registered, received visitor passes, and waited in the corridor for a while before being led into a south-facing suite.

Wang Laiqun sat in his wheelchair near the window, the sunlight casting a faint silhouette of his profile.

He was old and his position was not high. Sha Ruijin was his adopted son, but he rose step by step through his own abilities and the support of the faction behind him. Many people did not know the name Wang Laiqun.

He knows this better than anyone else.

“Old Chen,” Wang Laiqun looked up, his face showing the relaxed expression of an old man seeing a friend of the same age, “It’s been so many years since I last came. You only remember me when you need something.”

“No,” Chen Yanshi walked over, grasped his hand, and said with genuine warmth in his voice, “I wanted to come, but I can’t. My legs aren’t up to it anymore, you know.”

“They’re all too old for it,” Wang Laiqun sighed. “They’re all like this now.”

The two old people sat there and talked about something that happened back then.

When they talked about their youth, about their deceased comrades-in-arms, and about their health, Wang Fuzhen chimed in, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up, as if it were truly a visit from long-lost old friends.

Then Chen Yanshi turned the conversation to Chen Hai.

He didn't speak directly. He first expressed his feelings about the hardships his children had endured, and talked about Chen Hai's hard work over the years. He spoke with seven parts truth and three parts preamble. Later, as he spoke, his eyes reddened, and Wang Fuzhen wiped her eyes as well.

With tears streaming down his face, Chen Yanshi recounted Chen Hai's situation, saying that he had been unjustly implicated, that the matter had been perfectly resolved, and that at his age, he only had this one son left...

Wang Laiqun sat there, listening, his expression slowly changing as Chen Yanshi spoke, from initial casualness to a moment when a hint of reluctance crept up his face.

But he didn't immediately give in.

“Old Chen,” Wang Laiqun said with understanding but also helplessness, “Xiao Jinzi is different now. He’s in a different position and considers different things. He has his own difficulties, and it’s not good for an old man like me to say anything.”

Chen Yanshi was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice and said slowly and deliberately, "Brother Laiqun, Chen Hai is innocent. I can vouch for that with my years of Party membership. I just hope that the organization can give him a fair chance. That's all. I won't mention anything else."

Wang Laiqun didn't say anything more, but just glanced at Chen Yanshi, then looked out the window. After a moment of silence, he said, "You can stay here tonight and leave tomorrow."

Hearing this, Chen Yanshi felt a weight lifted from his heart.

His willingness to stay means he's willing to help; the outcome is another matter.

The next morning, Wang Laiqun called Chen Yanshi over and told him, "Xiao Jinzi said that he will no longer pursue Chen Hai's matter and told him to focus on his work."

After listening, Chen Yanshi went over the sentence in his mind, and then asked, "Old Wang, did Secretary Sha say anything else?"

Wang Laiqun shook his head: "That's all, that's all."

Chen Yanshi nodded and didn't ask any further questions, but he already knew the answer in his heart.

I know that Li Dakang did not mention the matter of the executive deputy chief prosecutor of Jingzhou Procuratorate.

However, Sha Ruijin no longer cared. As long as Li Dakang brought it up again, there was still a chance.

He said goodbye to Wang Fuzhen, left the sanatorium, and stood in the parking lot for a while. The wind was blowing in from outside the courtyard and it was a bit chilly.

He had a pent-up anger inside him, which he couldn't let go of.

Chen Yanshi stood in the parking lot for a while before getting into the car with Wang Fuzhen.

As the car drove out of the sanatorium, the shadows of the trees in the military area receded one by one. Wang Fuzhen leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed, probably because she was too tired.

Chen Yanshi looked out the window, and a thought slowly formed in his mind:

Taking gifts from my company, Dafeng Factory, and then refusing to do anything about it won't be that easy.

Chapter 144 Three Knives

Li Dakang arrived at the office at 8:10 a.m.

It was almost twenty minutes later than usual.

He didn't sleep well last night. It wasn't insomnia, but rather the kind of sleep where he felt like something was pressing on his chest. He only truly slept when it was almost dawn, and then Xingzhi woke him up. He got up, washed his face, changed his clothes, and everything was the same as usual.

Xiao Jin placed today's schedule on the table, brewed a strong cup of tea, and said softly, "Secretary, Mayor Zheng said he has something he wants to report to you this morning."

Li Dakang picked up the schedule and glanced at it, expressionless: "Have him come over."

He settled into the chair, picked up his teacup and took a big gulp. He opened the document he hadn't finished reading yesterday, lowered his head, read two lines, then stopped, closed the document, placed his palm on it, and quickly went through in his mind what he might have to face today.

Hearing a noise at the door, he looked up.

When Zheng Hong came in, he had the usual focused expression of a subordinate reporting on work, neither humble nor arrogant, his shirt was crisp, and he was holding a folder in his hand.

Having navigated the officialdom of Handong for so many years, he had long since ingrained this sense of propriety into his very bones. He knew better than anyone when to be serious and when to relax a little.

Although Jingzhou is a sub-provincial city, and his mayor is a centrally-managed cadre at the sub-provincial level, he has always regarded himself as a subordinate to Li Dakang, who is a member of the Standing Committee.

"Secretary Li, I apologize for bothering you, but I have a few things I'd like to report to you."

"Sit down." Li Dakang gestured to the chair opposite him, his tone calm. "What is it?"

Zheng Hong sat down in the chair, placed the folder on his lap, and began by recounting a few routine matters concerning municipal government affairs. He spoke earnestly and meticulously, befitting a competent mayor. Li Dakang listened, occasionally asking a question or two; the atmosphere was typical of a normal work report.

The conversation then turned to the Bright Peak project.

"As for Guangming Peak," Zheng Hong opened a folder, as if to cite some data, his tone tinged with difficulty, "I went to the site a while ago and, to be honest, I'm a little worried."

What are you worried about?

“Comrade Sun Liancheng,” Zheng Hong paused, as if considering his words, “has some issues with his ability and attitude. Secretary Dakang, you know that after Ding Yizhen’s incident, two groups of people from Guangming District were putting pressure on him alone. He’s not the kind of person who can handle things, and in his current state, with such a large operation as Guangming Peak, I’m afraid he can’t manage it.”

Li Dakang didn't reply immediately, but just looked at him and waited for him to finish speaking.

Zheng Hong continued, his tone now carrying a more substantial meaning:

“He doesn’t handle or report many important, urgent, and major events promptly. Instead, he wastes time and energy on trivial matters that could be handled by his subordinates. I think it’s inappropriate to put him in the position of the chief commander of the Guangming Peak project. He is more suitable to be a deputy or executor.”

“I have an idea. Vice Mayor Zhu Hongyi has overseen several large-scale projects before, and his abilities are evident to all. If we let him take charge of the Guangming Peak project as the general commander, I think it would be much more stable and would provide better assurance for the project’s progress.”

Li Dakang put down his teacup, his tone calm but with his usual unquestionable authority: "The chief commander of the Guangming Peak project cannot be replaced so easily. The amount of funds involved and the difficulty of coordination in this project cannot be handled immediately by a new person. Changing people easily at this stage will affect the continuity of the project, and I do not agree with it."

Zheng Hong did not back down immediately, but remained silent for a moment, as if considering something, and then turned the folder to the next page.

“Secretary Dakang,” his tone changed, still polite, but with a certain unspoken weight, “there’s something I don’t know whether I should say.”

"Go ahead."

“During the progress of the Guangmingfeng project, I contacted several entrepreneurs who participated in the bidding. They mentioned to me privately that when Ding Yizhen was in office, several companies had reported Ding Yizhen’s problems to the Jingzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. However, it seems that the materials of the reports did not go up the chain of command and were stuck with Zhang Shuli, the secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection.”

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the office changed.

Li Dakang's fingers stopped on the table, remaining motionless.

Zheng Hong didn't look at him, his gaze fixed on the folder. He continued in a calm, unhurried tone, as if stating something that puzzled him as well: "When I heard it, I also found it strange, so I casually asked another question. They said that Zhang Shuli's opinion was that the evidence was insufficient, and suggested not to report it yet, but to wait until there was more substantial evidence." He paused for a moment, "I'm not sure how to judge, so I thought I'd report to Secretary Dakang: could this Zhang Shuli be Ding Yizhen's protector?"

The last sentence was light and airy, as if it were just a genuine question or a request for instructions.

But every word that comes out carries weight.

Li Dakang knew how Zhang Shuli handled those reports because it was at Zhang's behest. Ding Yizhen was one of the few cards he could still use at that time, and he couldn't let Ding Yizhen fall at that juncture before he had a ready alternative. Zhang Shuli was simply carrying out his orders.

Zheng Hong may not know this exactly, but he certainly guessed it.

So this is not a confusion, it is a threat.

The blade was hidden in the question, "Is Zhang Shuli a protector?" The hilt was in Zheng Hong's hand, offered politely, but the meaning was clear—

Either Zhu Hongyi will be replaced as the chief commander of the Guangming Peak project, or Zhang Shuli's problems will somehow get out of control. And once Zhang Shuli has a problem, sooner or later someone will ask Li Dakang about it.

Li Dakang weighed the knife in his mind, then remained silent for a few seconds.

He knew that at this moment, any drastic reaction would be wrong. Zheng Hong hadn't come today to confront him directly; he had come to present him with a choice. If he turned hostile on the spot, it would be telling Zheng Hong that the knife had struck where it hurt.

More importantly, he is in a difficult situation now. Zhang Shuli's matter could be a big deal or a small deal, but if he has a major disagreement with the municipal government at this time, Sha Ruijin will doubt his ability to control the situation and his ability to boost GDP.

The real danger would be if Sha Ruijin stopped protecting him.

He picked up his teacup again, took a sip of the bitter, strong tea, and tried to clear his mind.