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

Rather than being sidelined, it's better to take the initiative to make concessions, at least retaining some control.

"Comrade Dakang, are you sure?" Sha Ruijin asked.

"I'm certain," Li Dakang said, "the Guangming Peak project is crucial to the development of the entire province, and I can't let my actions affect the overall situation."

Qi Tongwei looked at Li Dakang with an expressionless gaze.

"Secretary Dakang is a man of great integrity," Qi Tongwei said calmly. "Then, do you have a recommendation for the new commander-in-chief?"

Li Dakang shook his head: "This is a decision made by the organization, and I cannot recommend it."

But everyone present knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it was Zhu Hongyi, the vice mayor of Jingzhou City.

Zheng Hong has always recommended Zhu Hongyi.

Li Dakang had previously opposed it, but now that he has compromised, it means that Zhu Hongyi will become the new commander-in-chief.

Qi Tongwei planted a thorn in Guangming Peak and even gained influence within the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

"By the way, speaking of the Guangming Peak project, I remembered something," Li Dakang suddenly said.

Everyone looked at him.

"The Guangmingfeng project encountered great difficulties during the demolition work at Dafeng Factory," said Li Dakang. "It was Comrade Chen Yanshi who stepped in and persuaded the workers, allowing the demolition to proceed smoothly. Although Comrade Chen Yanshi has retired, he is still contributing to the cause of the Party, and this spirit is worthy of our emulation."

Sha Ruijin nodded as well: "Comrade Chen Yanshi is indeed a good comrade."

His adoptive father spoke up for him, the demolition of Dafeng Factory went smoothly, and he no longer held a grudge against Chen Yanshi.

"Yes," Li Dakang continued, "and Chen Yanshi's son, Chen Hai, is also an outstanding young cadre. He has worked in the procuratorial system for many years, possesses strong professional skills, and has rich experience in handling cases. I believe that such a cadre should be given an important position."

The atmosphere in the meeting room became subtle.

Everyone understood what Li Dakang meant.

He was trying to get an official position for Chen Hai.

But no one spoke up; instead, they all turned their attention to Liu Changsheng, who was standing next to Sha Ruijin.

"Comrade Chen Hai is good," Liu Changsheng said calmly, "but he acts somewhat rashly and lacks a sense of the big picture. I think Comrade Chen Hai needs to study more and accumulate more experience, especially in terms of theoretical knowledge, which he needs to brush up on."

That's a very strong statement.

Liu Changsheng is negating Chen Hai.

Chen Hai's investigation into the Qingshan gas field touched a nerve with Liu Changsheng.

Liu Changsheng would never agree to promote Chen Hai.

Now, even the top three provincial officials—the first, second, and fourth—have given Chen Hai negative evaluations. The third provincial official, though Chen Hai's teacher, is also resentful of him. For a deputy director-level cadre to have achieved this much is something to be proud of.

Moreover, Li Dakang did not genuinely want to help Chen Hai obtain an official position.

He just wanted to make a statement and repay Chen Yanshi's favor.

Now that he has brought it up and Liu Changsheng has rejected it, he has done his best.

Both parties are cleared.

"Alright," Li Dakang said, "then let's follow Governor Liu's suggestion and let Comrade Chen Hai get some more training."

Seeing that today's agenda had concluded, Sha Ruijin summarized the meeting and said, "Alright, today's meeting is now adjourned. Thank you all for your hard work."

The Standing Committee members stood up one after another, packed their things, and prepared to leave.

Sha Ruijin, however, remained seated in his chair.

"Comrade Yuliang, Comrade Dakang," he began, "you two stay behind for a moment."

Chapter 157 After the Meeting (Part 1)

Hearing that Sha Ruijin wanted to keep someone there, Qi Tongwei didn't ask to stay and listen in. He nodded to Gao Yuliang, took his thermos and documents, and left the conference room.

Instead of rushing back to the provincial government office, he went directly to Gao Yuliang's office on the same floor, intending to have tea and wait for Gao Yuliang to finish before returning.

The other members of the Standing Committee also left one after another.

Only Sha Ruijin, Gao Yuliang, and Li Dakang remained in the conference room.

As Sha Ruijin tidied the documents on the table, he said casually, "Today's meeting went very well. You two made a good start. Thank you both."

Gao Yuliang smiled, turned to exchange a glance with Li Dakang, and said with a smile, "Secretary Sha, what are you thanking me for?"

Sha Ruijin feigned a puzzled look and shrugged, "The atmosphere at this meeting is quite lively."

Gao Yuliang harbored resentment in his heart.

I was besieged by everyone at the meeting, but you've become the one "livening up the atmosphere."

But he didn't show it on his face, and continued with a smile, "Secretary Sha, you've handled things very well. You've maintained both authority and democracy, bringing back the Party's fine traditions."

Gao Yuliang maintained the respect due to the top leader at this time.

Cultured people are also quite adept at flattery.

Instead, Sha Ruijin put on a stern face: "Comrade Yuliang, this kind of public praise is not good; it makes me very embarrassed. Just now, Comrade Guofu praised me at the meeting, which made me feel very uncomfortable—it was wrong to say he was wrong, but it wasn't right not to say anything either. Don't do this again."

This refers to the flattery Tian Guofu made at the meeting earlier, such as, "With Secretary Sha here, the organizational system will be back."

If leaders are expected to be innocent and pure, what can their subordinates do?

Gao Yuliang and Li Dakang could only smile and agree.

Li Dakang then asked, "Secretary Sha, why did you keep us here...?"

Sha Ruijin realized what was happening: "Oh, is that so? I've been in Handong for a while now, and we haven't had a single democratic life meeting. Let's have one; it's what the higher-ups have mandated. Let's all expose our shortcomings, work up a sweat, ring the bell, and have a good chat."

Democratic life meetings are an important form of internal political life, enhancing the organization's cohesion and fighting capacity through criticism and self-criticism.

Gao Yuliang had just been besieged at the meeting, and now he was being asked to hold a democratic life meeting. Wasn't that just an intensified version of what had just happened? Naturally, he was unwilling to accept it.

So he said, "Okay, but I'm a bit busy lately..."

Li Dakang, who was also overwhelmed with work lately, chimed in, "Yes, Secretary Sha, everyone's been quite busy lately. How about we postpone this meeting?"

Sha Ruijin said with a serious expression, "Gentlemen, we can't delay any longer. Think about it, how long has it been since you last held a democratic life meeting before I came?"

During Zhao Lichun's era, democratic life meetings did indeed become a mere formality.

Gao Yuliang and Li Dakang exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

Sha Ruijin smiled and said, "Go ahead, I hope you two can set a good example for everyone."

Knowing that this meeting was unavoidable, Li Dakang chimed in, "Alright, Secretary Sha, I'll be the first to speak."

Sha Ruijin nodded, then pointed to Gao Yuliang: "Alright, Comrade Yuliang, you're the second to speak."

Gao Yuliang nodded with a smile: "Okay, no problem."

Li Dakang tentatively began, "When the time comes, I'll start by talking about my wife, Ouyang Jing, who is suspected of committing job-related crimes—no—I should say my ex-wife."

Li Dakang was testing Sha Ruijin's stance.

First, they characterized the problem as Ouyang Jing's personal job-related crime, rather than bribery. Then, they pretended to change their tune and defined their relationship with Ouyang Jing as "ex-wife," thus drawing a clear line between themselves and Ouyang Jing.

Sha Ruijin and Gao Yuliang both laughed.

Sha Ruijin laughed heartily, while Gao Yuliang's laughter was subtle and full of meaning.

Sha Ruijin smiled and said, "Comrade Dakang, this matter has had quite an impact. Well, let's discuss it properly at the democratic life meeting. You did the right thing by getting a divorce, but it was wrong of you to use a chauffeur service to take your ex-wife, who is suspected of a crime, to the airport after the divorce."

He paused for a moment: "At the very least, it's a lack of vigilance."

This is an attempt to whitewash Li Dakang at the democratic life meeting.

What kind of problem is "lack of vigilance"? It's not even enough to describe it as "raising it high and letting it fall gently".

Li Dakang was overjoyed, but his face was full of sorrow: "Yes, I've been hard-hearted my whole life, but I don't know why, I softened later on."

He looked deeply in love.

Gao Yuliang chimed in, "It's understandable, after all, they've been married for decades. Their relationship isn't good usually, and it's hard to refuse when she brings it up. Most importantly, Secretary Dakang genuinely didn't know Ouyang Jing was in trouble at the time. And then there's Secretary Dakang's daughter, Li Jiajia..."

These words, seemingly speaking in Li Dakang's defense, already revealed a sarcastic and ironic undertone.

After decades of marriage, he claims to know nothing about what happened, acting as if he's untainted by the world's corruption. Who is he trying to fool?

He said they were having relationship problems, yet he used a private car and a company car to take her to the airport. Isn't that a contradiction?

He also brought up the more serious issue of Li Jiajia, which he had previously avoided discussing.

Gao Yuliang had previously advised Qi Tongwei to "be lenient when possible" when he saw Li Dakang looking like he was about to be arrested. Now that Li Dakang had recovered, he subconsciously wanted to trip him up.

It's kind of a love-hate relationship.

Sha Ruijin subtly changed the subject: "That's true, but what would have happened if Hou Liangping hadn't been there?"

Li Dakang said solemnly, "The consequences will be very serious. I won't be able to explain this to my superiors or the provincial party committee."

Sha Ruijin nodded, then pointed at Gao Yuliang: "And you, Comrade Yuliang. That food city in Luzhou, I heard you approved it. Was it a political achievement project back then?"

Sha Ruijin's domineering nature is also reflected in these details.

Pointing at someone with your finger is impolite, no matter the reason. But he did it anyway, and as if it were perfectly normal.

Gao Yuliang remained calm and downplayed the issue: "You're right, Secretary Sha, it was a vanity project. At the time, the economy was declining, and Comrade Lichun and the provincial party committee proposed vigorously developing the tertiary industry, so this food city was hastily launched."

Sha Ruijin smiled.

Gao Yuliang continued, "We lacked awareness; we didn't expect it to cause such severe environmental pollution."

Sha Ruijin: "The lesson is severe enough. With a stroke of your pen, Comrade Yuliang, a project favored by the powerful and wealthy was launched. Crescent Lake, the landmark of Lüzhou, has become a sewage pit. Isn't the price too high?"

Gao Yuliang pondered, "The limitations of history were something no one anticipated at the time."

Sha Ruijin then pointed at Gao Yuliang and criticized, "Comrade Yuliang, your understanding is not profound enough and is hardly convincing. Why doesn't Comrade Dakang understand the historical limitations of that time?"

Li Dakang then added, "Secretary Sha, your use of the word 'powerful and influential' is absolutely accurate. However, if it weren't for Young Master Zhao wanting to participate in this project, Secretary Yuliang's limitations would certainly be less."

Gao Yuliang knew perfectly well that Sha Ruijin's inclinations were all too clear.

Li Dakang had so many problems, but he glossed over them lightly; yet when he launched a project, he was relentlessly targeted.

He stopped bringing up "collective decision-making" because even if he did, it would only be a disgrace, and he would definitely be countered by Sha Ruijin with the excuse of "insufficient understanding."

Many times, many things can be argued both ways.