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

He suddenly remembered a poem he had read a long time ago—

"Feigned madness can easily become real."

When he first read this poem, he didn't quite understand its meaning.

Now he suddenly understood.

He played the role of an honest, upright, and people-oriented cadre for over twenty years. He played the role for so long that he himself couldn't tell whether it was an act or if he was really like that.

But perhaps, that doesn't matter anymore.

The secretary in front of him announced, "Mayor Yi, we've arrived at the city hall."

Yi Xuexi opened his eyes: "Arrange a meeting with Governor Dong Dingfang tomorrow morning, and also arrange to meet with Qin Wenrui, the Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Chapter 161 Successfully

When Yi Xuexi got home, it was already 8:30 p.m.

The dormitory provided to him by the Luzhou Municipal Government was a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment located at the very back of the municipal government's residential compound.

The door was ajar.

He pushed open the door and went inside. A warm yellow light was on in the living room, and the TV was on, but muted. Mao Ya poked her head out from the kitchen, glanced at him, and said, "I just saw you come back from the window. The food is warming up in the pot; I'll go get it."

Yi Xuexi changed his shoes, put his briefcase on the sofa, and sat down at the dining table. Mao Ya brought out two dishes—one of stir-fried greens and the other of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, along with a bowl of rice.

They are all home-style dishes, but they look very appetizing.

"He called this afternoon saying he'd be back for dinner tonight, so I made a little extra." Mao Ya sat down opposite him and served herself a bowl of rice. "Eat up, don't let it get cold."

Yi Xuexi picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of green vegetables, and slowly chewed them. Mao Ya didn't say anything, just ate with him. They had been married for over twenty years and were used to this way of getting along—he would talk when he wanted to, and asking him when he didn't was pointless.

After eating half a bowl of rice, Yi Xuexi put down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. Mao Ya glanced at him and asked, "Having a bad day?"

Yi Xuexi was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "I ran into a few snags."

Mao Ya didn't press him further, but simply put a piece of stir-fried pork with chili peppers into his bowl: "Then eat more, so you'll have the energy to keep playing tomorrow."

Yi Xuexi paused for a moment, then smiled.

That's his wife's characteristic; she never asks him about work, but she always gets to the point.

“Aren’t you going to ask what kind of nail it is?” he said.

Mao Ya shook her head: "Asking won't help. You can talk if you want, or just eat if you don't."

Yi Xuexi looked at the stir-fried pork with chili peppers in his bowl, remained silent for a while, and then began to recount the events of the day—the data from the Environmental Protection Bureau, the report from the Legislative Affairs Office, and the "excessive enforcement" by the development zone, speaking about each point in a calm and unhurried manner.

Mao Ya listened, nodding occasionally and frowning occasionally, but never interrupting.

After he finished speaking, Mao Ya put down her chopsticks and said, "It's normal for it to be difficult. If it weren't difficult, how would it be your turn?"

Yi Xuexi was taken aback for a moment.

Mao Ya looked at him with a calm expression: "You were promoted through special procedures. How many eyes in the city are watching you? If the food court were so easy to demolish, the previous mayor would have done it long ago. Why wait for you to come? Lao Yi, they brought you here because you can handle the tough challenges."

Yi Xuexi was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "You're right."

He picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks, ate a few bites, and then said, "Actually, the hardest thing is not those people making underhanded moves, but that I don't have anyone on my side."

Maoya looked at him.

"I've been a lone minister for so many years," Yi Xuexi said. "This time, it's another exceptional promotion, and now I'm just a commander without any troops. None of my subordinates listen to me. What can I do?"

“That’s not a problem. There are plenty of parachuted-in cadres. The key is time. Secretary Sha is waiting for me to demolish the food court. There’s no time for me to train my own people.”

Mao Ya said, "Don't you have Secretary Sha's support? Don't these people care?"

“That flag is too big.” Yi Xuexi smiled wryly. “It’s so big that the people below aren’t afraid anymore.”

He paused, then explained, "Think about it, Secretary Sha is the provincial party secretary, he can manage the whole province, but can he keep an eye on Luzhou every day? Those people below him have long been tied to the Zhao family, tied for more than ten years, how can they be so easily untied?"

"They're not blind to Secretary Sha's banner, but even if they saw it, it wouldn't matter," Yi Xuexi said. "For them, offending Secretary Sha is a matter for the future; offending the Zhao family is a matter for the present. Between two evils, they'll choose the lesser. What do you think they'll choose?"

"Moreover, this is Luzhou, where Secretary Sha's influence and Zhao Lichun's prestige have already reached a point of contention."

"Besides, they have no right to offend Secretary Sha. They only offended me. Secretary Sha's anger will only be vented on me."

Mao Ya understood.

"So what do you plan to do?" she asked.

Yi Xuexi put down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said, "I've made up my mind. I'll go see Dong Dingfang tomorrow."

Mao Ya was taken aback: "Secretary Dong?"

“Yes,” Yi Xuexi said. “He is the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee, and I am the Mayor. We work together. We can’t get around him when it comes to the food court. I need to talk to him first and try to get his support.”

Mao Ya thought for a moment and asked, "Will he support me?"

Yi Xuexi shook his head: "Not necessarily. Dong Dingfang has been working in Luzhou for ten years, and he knows more about the food city than anyone else. The fact that he hasn't made any moves all these years means he doesn't want to. If I go to him now, he might cooperate, or he might not."

What do you need his cooperation with?

“Of course, it’s to establish authority,” Yi Xuexi said. “As long as he nods, I’ll make an example of one person to warn others, and the rest will naturally behave themselves.”

Maoya looked at him: "Who do you want to hurt?"

Yi Xuexi paused for a moment, then said, "It's not decided yet. It depends on the outcome of tomorrow's meeting with Dong Dingfang, and also on the cooperation from the Discipline Inspection Commission."

"The Discipline Inspection Commission?" Mao Ya was taken aback. "You mean Qin Wenrui?"

“Yes.” Yi Xuexi nodded. “He is the secretary of the municipal discipline inspection commission. If you want to take action against cadres, you can’t bypass him.”

Mao Ya thought for a moment and asked, "So, do you have a preference? Which one do you want to target?"

Yi Xuexi: "If I had to choose, I'd want to take action against Zhang Weidong."

Mao Ya frowned: "Zhang Weidong? He graduated from Handong University, right?"

Yi Xuexi glanced at her: "How did you know?"

Mao Ya said, "I overheard someone mention it while chatting with those ladies. They said he graduated from the Department of Political Science and Law at Han University and was part of the Han University clique."

Yi Xuexi smiled.

Mao Ya was puzzled by his laughter: "What are you laughing at?"

Yi Xuexi said, "I laugh at you for being fooled. The Handong University clique is the top political group in Handong. Does that mean any Tom, Dick, or Harry can get in just because they graduated from Handong University? Zhang Weidong is a mid-level cadre. When he was studying at Handong University, Secretary Gao Yuliang had already left to become the secretary of Luzhou. He hadn't even met Gao Yuliang more than a few times. What kind of Handong University clique is he?"

Mao Ya was taken aback: "Then why is everyone outside saying that?"

“There’s a lot of gossip going around,” Yi Xuexi said. “Some people even say I’m from Shajiabang. These labels are all put on by outsiders. When it really comes down to it, who cares which faction you’re from?”

He paused, then said, "However, Zhang Weidong is indeed the youngest and most promising of the three. He's only forty, and has been a division-level official for three years. If he can take the next step, becoming a full-fledged department-level official before he turns fifty won't be a problem. Moreover, his father-in-law is the former deputy secretary of Luzhou, and has deep roots in the local area. Crucially, his relationship with the Zhao family is also much deeper than the other two."

Mao Ya looked at him: "So you still want to hurt him?"

Yi Xuexi nodded: "To establish authority, you have to target the toughest opponent. If you pick on the weak, people will only think you're a bully who preys on the weak. Once you take down Zhang Weidong, the rest will behave themselves."

Mao Ya was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you confident about talking to Dong Dingfang tomorrow?"

Yi Xuexi shook his head: "I'm not sure."

"Could we talk to Qin Wenrui first and try to get his support?" Mao Ya said. "Back in Daokou County, he was the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and you were first the county head and later the county party secretary. Didn't you two work together quite well?"

Yi Xuexi looked at her and suddenly laughed: "You remember it very well."

Mao Ya said, "How could I forget what happened to you? Back then, you were working overtime every day, and I was taking care of the child. Sometimes, Lao Qin's wife would even help me take care of the child."

Yi Xuexi nodded: "Yes, the cooperation was good back then. But that was fifteen years ago."

He paused, then continued, "But think about it, when I was the Party Secretary of Daokou County, Qin Wenrui was the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission. But after I left, Qi Tongwei came. Qi Tongwei worked in Daokou for four years, developing tourism and the tertiary industry, transforming Daokou from a poor county into a model county for the entire province. Qin Wenrui was still the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission at that time, working alongside Qi Tongwei for several years. Later, his promotion was thanks to Qi Tongwei's development of Daokou!"

"You mean, he's Qi Tongwei's man?"

"Whether he's Qi Tongwei's man or not, I can't say," Yi Xuexi said. "But now that Dong Dingfang has been recommended by Qi Tongwei to be the vice governor, would Qin Wenrui abandon the broad path of Qi Tongwei and Dong Dingfang to take my narrow path? If you were in his shoes, what would you choose?"

Mao Ya fell silent.

Yi Xuexi sighed: "So I'm not sure about tomorrow either. If Lao Qin cooperates, that's a favor; if he doesn't, that's his right. The key to my meeting tomorrow is still Dong Dingfang."

Mao Ya thought for a moment and said, "How about... I call Old Qin's wife?"

Yi Xuexi looked at her.

Mao Ya said, "We got along well back then. Although we've lost touch, we still exchange text messages during holidays. I was just asking her how she's been doing and trying to gauge her feelings."

Yi Xuexi was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head: "Never mind."

"why?"

“Your call is actually bad,” Yi Xuexi said. “Qin Wenrui is a smart man. He knows what I’m going to do as soon as I make a move. If he’s willing to cooperate, he will naturally cooperate; if he’s not willing, he still won’t cooperate even if you call him. But this call has become a thorn in our relationship, and it has hurt our feelings.”

Mao Ya nodded: "That's true."

She thought for a moment, then sighed: "Speaking of which, back when Qi Tongwei was at Daokou, he was just a young man on temporary assignment. At that time, you were already the county head, and he was just a newly appointed assistant. Who would have thought that twenty years later, he would become the executive vice governor, while you would still be a mayor, or rather, an acting one."

Yi Xuexi smiled and said, "It's fate."

Mao Ya looked at him, her eyes filled with heartache: "Don't you feel aggrieved?"

“What’s there to feel aggrieved about?” Yi Xuexi said. “He got to where he is today because of his own abilities. I’ve been wandering around at the grassroots level for twenty years; that’s my own fate. There’s no point in comparing.”

Mao Ya nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The two finished their meal in silence. Mao Ya cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them, while Yi Xuexi sat at the dining table, staring blankly at the night view outside the window.

After a while, Mao Ya came out after washing the dishes and saw him still sitting there. She said, "Old Yi, it's getting late. Go wash up and go to bed."

Yi Xuexi shook his head: "You go to sleep first. I'll go to the study for a while and sort out my thoughts on meeting Dong Dingfang tomorrow."

Mao Ya looked at him but didn't try to persuade him. She knew his temper; when he had something on his mind, he couldn't sleep.

“Then don’t stay up too late,” she said. “There’s a tough battle to fight tomorrow.”

Yi Xuexi nodded.

Mao Ya went into the bedroom, and after a while, she came out with a cup of tea and placed it on the coffee table by the study door. The tea was brewed very strong, with twice the usual amount of tea leaves—this was her habit for many years; when Yi Xuexi stayed up late, she would brew strong tea.

"I put in a lot of tea leaves, so add some hot water when you drink it," she said.

Yi Xuexi glanced at the cup of tea, a warm feeling welling up inside him. But he didn't say anything, only nodded.

Mao Ya turned around and went back to her bedroom, gently closing the door behind her.