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

Sha Ruijin didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Liu Changsheng laughed. It was a genuine laugh, not the restrained, formulaic fake laugh from before. It was a relaxed laugh, even a little smug.

But he did not go on to talk about the Aoyama gas field.

He stood up, straightened his sleeves, looked at Sha Ruijin, and his tone returned to the calmness he had when he arrived, with a hint of nonchalance:

"Comrade Ruijin, I am still in office and have not yet retired."

He paused for a moment.

“I’m not an ordinary cadre. Over the years, I’ve reported on the situation from above.” His gaze changed slightly at that moment, not as a threat, but with a hardening edge beyond his usual calm. “Did you report your investigation of Committee Member Zhong Yang to your superiors?”

After saying this, he didn't wait for Sha Ruijin's reply, but nodded and said, "Let's talk again when we have the chance."

Then he turned around and walked towards the door, his steps steady and his back view composed.

The door opened, then closed again.

Bai Jingwen heard the commotion from the outer room, came in, and glanced at Sha Ruijin.

Sha Ruijin remained seated on the sofa, still holding the cup of tea in his hand, without moving.

"Please invite Secretary Tian over."

Tian Guofu arrived very quickly.

He came in and sat down opposite him.

“Secretary Sha, I was just about to talk to you,” Tian Guofu said. “I have two things to report to you.”

"explain."

“The first thing,” Tian Guofu’s tone became a little more serious, “is that we received a verbal reprimand from the higher-level discipline inspection commission. It means that the Handong Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission conducted a substantive investigation into a member of the Central Committee and a ministerial-level cadre without authorization and without forming conclusive evidence. There are procedural problems, and we are required to explain the situation.”

Sha Ruijin's expression remained unchanged; he simply pressed his finger lightly on the armrest of the chair.

When did you arrive?

"It was this afternoon, but the official letter hasn't arrived yet; it was just a verbal notification."

It seems that Liu Changsheng had already informed his superiors, but only mentioned the Discipline Inspection Commission and not Sha Ruijin, thus maintaining a proper distance.

“Understood,” Sha Ruijin said. “How’s the investigation going with the Qingshan gas field?”

Tian Guofu glanced at him and said, "That's the second thing I wanted to say."

He paused for a moment, as if searching for a suitable explanation, but finally said directly: "We investigated for a long time, and the more we investigated, the stranger it became. The Qingshan gas field project, on the surface, has a very close relationship with Liu Changsheng. The consulting company, the flow of geological assessment reports, every line points to him, as if they cannot be separated."

“However,” Tian Guofu said, “in reality, no benefit was transferred to Liu Changsheng or anyone directly related to him. The geological assessment report that the consulting firm obtained was used to make a preliminary assessment for a project of the Zhao family, and had no connection with Liu Changsheng himself.”

Sha Ruijin didn't speak, he just looked at him.

"There's also the issue of the previous underreporting of reserves," Tian Guofu continued. "We specifically asked geological experts to recalculate, and the conclusion is that the data is accurate. The so-called underreporting was just an error in the initial measurement. That erroneous reserve report has been officially abolished. I don't know when it will be thrown out again by people with ulterior motives to confuse the public."

After he finished speaking, he added one last sentence: "Liu Changsheng was extremely clean in this project."

Sha Ruijin leaned back in his chair, mentally going over those words, before speaking: "So, the Qingshan Gas Field was a bait he threw out."

Tian Guofu nodded: "It's used to distinguish between friend and foe."

“Distinguish who truly wants to harm him, and who is merely being led astray by the materials? Who is the enemy, and who is the friend?” Sha Ruijin’s voice was calm, but there was a subtle, almost imperceptible force within that calmness.

“Yes,” Tian Guofu said, “and recently, during our investigation of the Qingshan gas field, a group of people have been causing us trouble from behind, interfering with our work progress from the side. According to the information we have so far, they should be people from the Provincial Public Security Department.”

Sha Ruijin's lips twitched slightly, a narrow, almost cold smile: "They even gave us a big gift package."

Tian Guofu was silent for a moment, then changed his expression, as if expressing confusion, or perhaps insisting on something: "Secretary Sha, I still feel that this matter is not entirely that simple. Just because Liu Changsheng is clean at the Qingshan gas field doesn't mean he's clean elsewhere. His strong reaction and all the actions he took before and after couldn't possibly have been just a baiting maneuver."

"He is very likely covering up something else."

Sha Ruijin nodded, his voice calm but resolute:

"Possibly. But it doesn't matter anymore."

Tian Guofu was taken aback: "Secretary Sha?"

“Liu Changsheng has already shown his fangs,” Sha Ruijin said, “so he needs to be given the respect he deserves.”

Let's accept his big gift package first.

Chapter 185 Three Phone Calls

After Tian Guofu left, Sha Ruijin sat in his office for a while, but before he could sort out his thoughts, Bai Jingwen strode in.

He held a personal cell phone in his hand, walked up to Sha Ruijin, and said in a low voice, "It's a call from the old leader."

Sha Ruijin looked up, took the phone, temporarily putting aside the thoughts that had been swirling in his mind, and put on a smiling face, his tone softening slightly: "Good afternoon, old leader. What brings you here today? Do you have any instructions?"

A voice came from the other end of the phone, not loud, but weighty, carrying an authority honed by time, pressing down on people without any preamble: "Ruijin, I've heard some things and wanted to ask you about them."

There were no pleasantries, no transitions, just a direct cut to the chase.

Sha Ruijin sat up a little straighter, his tone becoming more serious: "Please speak."

"Are you aware that Liu Changsheng filed a complaint with the Z Discipline Inspection Commission?"

"Know."

"What happened?"

Sha Ruijin thought for a moment, then, without beating around the bush, said directly, "I've discovered that Liu Changsheng is connected to a project of the Zhao family. I'm hoping to find a breakthrough there and direct evidence to deal with Zhao Lichun."

"Did you find it?"

"No."

A brief pause.

"Why?"

"That project has no real connection with Liu Changsheng himself," Sha Ruijin said in a flat tone.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then the voice spoke again, the tone not louder, but with an added layer of pressure that commanded respect: "So, without solid evidence and without a clear direction, you took action against a ministerial-level official who had cultivated deep roots in Handong for many years?"

Sha Ruijin did not offer any explanation, but simply replied calmly, "Yes."

"Why did you let him find out? You didn't originally plan to confront him directly, so why couldn't you have done it discreetly?"

Sha Ruijin remained silent.

"They haven't even built a reliable team they can trust?"

Still, silence.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

After a long silence, the voice sighed, a hint of weariness in its tone: "Ruijin, your journey to Handong wasn't smooth sailing. With your past experience, directly leading an economically powerful province like Handong wasn't quite up to the task. We strongly recommended you internally because we valued your experience and expertise in the discipline inspection system; we wanted to use you as a tool to carve a crack in the rigid system of Handong. What did I tell you before you went?"

"While maintaining overall stability in Handong, we must collect evidence of the Zhao family's illegal activities, ideally directly implicating Zhao Lichun himself," Sha Ruijin repeated verbatim.

"So how did things turn out like this?" The voice wasn't harsh, but it carried a heavy weight. "This isn't your first time in a leadership position. You did a great job as the municipal party secretary in a local area. How did you end up in Handong acting like a provincial party secretary instead of a discipline inspection secretary?"

Sha Ruijin: "The old leader's criticism is correct."

"You're the top leader. There's a price to pay for putting you in that position. Whatever you do, secure your own position first, then consider other things. This order can't be reversed. You can't let it affect your core supporters!"

"My position is not a problem."

"Have you seriously considered the consequences?" The voice paused, its tone becoming more direct. "This time, Liu Changsheng exercised restraint, only complaining to higher authorities, even only to the Z Discipline Inspection Commission about Tian Guofu, without directly confronting you in Handong. But if he were truly determined to undermine you, how many of the eleven members of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee are truly on your side? Have you counted?"

Sha Ruijin's mind raced.

Tian Guofu is certain.

Then—he found himself stuck there, unable to continue counting.

It's not that everyone else is on Liu Changsheng's side, but rather that most people will choose to observe the winds, wait for the outcome, and maintain a proper distance between two sufficiently heavy stakes.

Instead of their own die-hard fans.

This realization sent a chill down his spine.

"Ruijin," the voice continued, its tone slightly softer, but its weight heavier, "During your time in Handong, a lot of things have happened. Right after you took office, a high-ranking official was involved in a traffic accident while fleeing to avoid punishment, which had a significant impact; regarding the 116 incident, you were sleeping soundly in the middle of the night, unable to be contacted by your subordinates, and were held accountable by the vice president; shortly after your arrival, you froze personnel appointments, causing widespread resentment; and then there's Li Dakang, whose wife was involved in a case and whose daughter accepted bribes—you approved his emergency divorce and even spoke up for him with the inspection team, ensuring his smooth passage… All these incidents have already drawn criticism from above. Now, with this latest saga of discord between the general and the minister, we at the top are in a very passive position."

Sha Ruijin lowered his voice slightly: "It's all my fault, I'm sorry to have troubled the old leader."

"I don't like hearing that," the voice interrupted him, its tone returning to its initial concise and direct tone. "I'm not calling to complain. I have two things to tell you, and you understand."

"Please speak, I'm listening."

"First," the voice said, "our investment in you has far exceeded normal limits. I'm telling you clearly now, we will no longer bail you out internally for your personal issues. You need to keep the situation in Handong under control at the provincial level. Figure out how to handle it yourself, don't let it spread, and don't make us clean up your messes anymore."

Sha Ruijin: "Yes."

"Secondly," the voice paused, its tone carrying the calm gravitas characteristic of someone speaking of serious matters, "Zhao Lichun has been alerted by you all, and he's begun his counterattack from above. You've been in Handong for almost half a year now; it's time to reap the rewards. I need to see substantial progress."

Sha Ruijin paused for a moment, using that silence to think, before speaking: "My risky attempt to probe Liu Changsheng this time was also based on this reason. Gao Yuliang has a close relationship with Qi Tongwei, and we haven't been able to find any substantial problems with him. I wanted to try and see if we could find another breakthrough through Liu Changsheng, but—"

"But we didn't find it," the voice calmly continued, its tone tinged with regret, but more so with a reminder, "That's your own problem. Do you expect me to teach you how to do it step by step? I only care about the result."

"Yes."

"That's settled then."

The phone hangs up.

-

At the same time, in Qi Tongwei's office in the provincial government building.

Qi Tongwei was also receiving a phone call from Beijing.

The caller ID showed a number he knew very well. There was no time for pleasantries; the person on the other end spoke directly, their voice clear and gentle, carrying Han Shen's usual warmth: "Tongwei, is it a convenient time to talk?"

Since the question was asked in this way, it was definitely not official business, so Qi Tongwei switched to a more friendly form of address.

"That's convenient, Uncle."

"Alright, then I'll get to it," Han Shen's voice softened slightly, carrying a hint of seriousness, "Liu Changsheng contacted me through an intermediary, and he has something he wants to convey to you."

Qi Tongwei held the phone in one hand and fiddled with his pen in the other: "What do you mean?"

"He wants to retire early and hand over the provincial government business to you."

Qi Tongwei put down his pen, mentally processed the news, and asked, "There are still six months until the leadership transition. How does he plan to proceed with the process?"