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

Qi Tongwei was the first to receive Fang Qing's call; it was 7:30 in the morning.

He had just finished his daily three-kilometer morning run and stood in the yard catching his breath.

As he gets older and his workload increases, he has reduced his physical activity level considerably compared to when he was younger, on the advice of his doctor.

Liao Qingyuan handed over a phone and a thermos, saying it was a call from Liu Changsheng's secretary, Fang Qing.

He took the phone, listened to it, said "I understand," handed it back to Liao Qingyuan, unscrewed the cap, took a couple of sips, and calmly asked Liao Qingyuan, "What time is the first appointment this morning?"

"At nine o'clock, the provincial government's executive meeting was originally scheduled to be chaired by Governor Liu," Liao Qingyuan said. "Now—"

"Proceed as usual." Qi Tongwei handed the water bottle back and walked inside. "Have the General Office notify all the vice governors and department heads present that the location and time remain the same, but change my name to the host in the host column."

Liao Qingyuan responded and followed behind, quickly writing the matter down in his notebook.

Qi Tongwei returned to his study, changed his clothes, and stood by the window, mentally reviewing the agenda for the day's executive meeting. The agenda included three matters that Liu Changsheng had previously shelved: a province-wide plan for coordinating basic education funding, the funding arrangements for the port expansion project, and a debt restructuring plan for a provincial state-owned enterprise.

These three matters are all significant, but none of them are particularly difficult to handle. Liu Changsheng left them aside not because they were controversial, but because he didn't want to deal with them; they were the kind of issues that "wouldn't get worse if left unresolved."

But just because it's not bad to procrastinate doesn't mean it's better to procrastinate.

He mentally reviewed the key points of each of the three matters, then left the study, got into the car, and headed to the provincial government.

The executive meeting started promptly at 9:00 AM.

After the vice governors and department heads took their seats, they quickly noticed a detail: the nameplate on the only main seat had been changed to Qi Tongwei.

Don't underestimate this detail. When a deputy is temporarily in charge of a task, in order to avoid suspicion and arouse distrust, the head seat is left empty, and the meeting is still held in the usual seat.

The meeting began.

Qi Tongwei advanced the three topics one by one, at a pace a little faster than before, but not in a rushing way; it was a natural speed that came from cutting out the unnecessary details.

The first item was the basic education funding coordination plan. The Provincial Department of Finance reported that there were two figures that were in dispute. After listening, Qi Tongwei asked the director a question: "Does the Department of Finance suggest that this shortfall be made up through transfer payments or by matching funds from local governments?"

The finance minister replied that both options have their advantages and disadvantages, and further discussion is needed.

Qi Tongwei nodded and said, "Within two weeks, develop both plans. The figures must be accurate and the logic must be clear. Send them to me, and I will make the final decision. There will be no more special meetings."

The finance minister paused for a moment, but still replied with a "yes".

The second issue was the port expansion funding. This matter had been stalled for nearly three months. Qi Tongwei immediately outlined the core points of contention and discovered that the problem wasn't complicated; it simply involved the division of responsibilities between the Provincial Department of Transportation and the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, with no one making a final decision. He clarified the differences between the two sides on the spot and then said, "Let's proceed according to the Department of Transportation's plan, with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission cooperating on personnel and funding approvals. The detailed plan should be submitted to me this week."

The heads of the two departments exchanged a glance and nodded.

The third issue is the restructuring of state-owned enterprise debt. This is the most complex issue, involving a wide range of stakeholders and interests. In the past, whenever it was brought up, Liu Changsheng would simply say, "Let's study it further," and then the meeting would be over.

This time, Qi Tongwei did not say "let's study it further".

After listening to the report from the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), he pointed out the core issue: the debt restructuring plan involved a section concerning historical equity issues. If this issue wasn't clarified, the subsequent restructuring would be like building a house on sand. He instructed the SASAC to give a special report on this issue next week, and that other matters could proceed first. Only after this issue was resolved could the overall plan be implemented.

This handling of the situation caused several senior department heads to slightly raise their eyelids, but no one said anything.

The meeting ended in an hour and a half, nearly an hour shorter than scheduled.

After the meeting, several bureau chiefs whispered a few words in the corridor. Liao Qingyuan didn't listen to what they were saying, but he could roughly guess what they meant from their expressions—the situation had changed.

That's how the news works. Within the provincial government system, there's often no need for special announcements; a morning executive meeting can usually explain a lot.

A new emperor brings a new court!

Qi Tongwei temporarily took charge of all work, and unlike a typical deputy who merely went through the motions, he made decisions directly, as if Liu Changsheng would never return.

Many people were wondering whether Liu Changsheng was quitting or if he was truly incapable of continuing.

That afternoon, Qi Tongwei did not leave his office.

Liao Qingyuan sorted the requests from various departments and bureaus according to their importance and urgency, and pushed them in one stack after another. These were all old matters accumulated by Liu Changsheng.

Qi Tongwei approved each item one by one. If there were any questions, he would ask Liao Qingyuan on the spot. If Liao Qingyuan couldn't answer, he would directly call the relevant department to verify. After verification, Qi Tongwei would then approve the item.

This pace is much faster than when Liu Changsheng was around.

There were a few things that had been sitting with Liu Changsheng for two or three months, and he went out that afternoon.

A vice governor in charge of industry, surnamed Zhou, came to ask for instructions on a matter that happened to be the same type that Qi Tongwei was handling. Qi Tongwei glanced through the materials and said directly, "I'll approve this. Go back and tell the department to implement the plan accordingly. If there are any problems, come to me anytime."

Vice Governor Zhou agreed, turned to leave, then paused, turned back and asked, "Governor Qi, is there anything we can do for Governor Liu? Should we organize a visit?"

Qi Tongwei looked up at him and said calmly, "Governor Liu is recuperating and receiving treatment. Doing our job well is the best support we can give him."

Vice Governor Zhou nodded and left.

Liao Qingyuan stood beside him, head down, writing something in his notebook, without saying a word.

At 6 p.m., after approving the last request, Liao Qingyuan tidied up the stacks of documents and prepared to send them back to the relevant departments.

Qi Tongwei leaned back in his chair, took a sip of water, and casually asked, "Among the people who came to consult today, were there any unusual circumstances?"

Liao Qingyuan thought for a moment and said, "There is a detail. A deputy director of the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development came to report on the approval progress of a project. Normally, for matters of this level, the office of the department can just send the materials. There is no need for the deputy director to come in person."

"What did he say?"

"They reported on the project's progress and also mentioned that their department is currently promoting a special plan for the renovation of old residential areas. Governor Liu had previously reviewed it and expressed his interest, and wanted to inquire about the new arrangements."

Qi Tongwei hummed in agreement: "He's testing the waters."

Liao Qingyuan nodded without saying anything more.

“Next time he comes,” Qi Tongwei said, “we will treat him normally and report as we should. As for the renovation of the old residential area, we will ask them to come up with a plan and I will take a look at it.”

"Yes."

Qi Tongwei stood up, stretched his shoulders and neck, walked to the window, and looked at the twilight in the provincial government compound outside.

In the July evening, the sun sets slowly, and the sky is still bright. The sycamore trees in the courtyard cast long shadows that stretch all the way to the edge of the corridor. Two staff members ride bicycles through the courtyard, talking and laughing, their voices faintly carried up by the evening breeze.

He stood there for a while, then turned around and said to Liao Qingyuan, "There's nothing to do tonight. Go back and organize tomorrow's schedule, then bring it over tomorrow morning."

"Okay, boss." Liao Qingyuan closed his notebook, got up, and left.

That night, in a single room in the Department of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases at the Provincial Hospital, Liu Changsheng leaned against the headboard with a newspaper beside him, but he didn't read it.

Fang Qing sat on the chair next to him, keeping him company without saying a word.

The television was on, playing a local news program. The volume was very low, and the screen showed a silhouette of today's executive meeting of the Handong Provincial Government. The host said that Comrade Qi Tongwei, the executive vice governor of the province, presided over the meeting and discussed several key tasks.

After listening to the news segment, Liu Changsheng didn't say anything. He reached for a newspaper, opened it, and began to read.

Fang Qing, standing to the side, shifted his gaze from the television to the floor, remaining silent.

The room was very quiet. The soundproofing of the VIP ward was excellent; even the footsteps of the nurses in the corridor were barely audible. A narrow beam of light shone through the crack in the door, landing quietly on the bedside table.

The fact that Liu Changsheng was hospitalized truly attracted widespread attention in the officialdom of Handong on the fifth day.

The reason was that the provincial key project promotion coordination meeting that day was originally a routine meeting of the provincial government, which was chaired by the governor and attended by mayors of various cities and heads of relevant provincial departments. The meeting was of a high level.

When Liu Changsheng was in charge, these meetings often went on for three or four hours, talking about numbers and progress. In the end, Liu Changsheng would say a few words like "keep up the good work" and "overcome the difficulties," and then the meeting would adjourn.

This time, Qi Tongwei is the host.

The meeting lasted a full six hours and forty minutes, and lunch was eaten at the conference table.

When each mayor and department head reported, Qi Tongwei would ask targeted questions. These were not routine inquiries, but questions based on a thorough understanding of the materials and the basic situation of each city and department.

When a mayor was reporting on a road project, he said, "The historical reasons are complicated, and it is difficult to move forward." Qi Tongwei asked directly, "What are the historical reasons? At which stage is it mainly stuck?" The mayor hesitated for a moment before starting to talk about the specifics, but the more he talked, the more he realized that he did not have a deep understanding of the matter. In the end, his voice lowered slightly and he started to use some official jargon.

This is a signal.

Everyone else in the meeting room understood the message: you're here to attend this meeting, so be prepared, not just to go through the motions.

Besides the mayor, many other project issues were resolved at the meeting.

Finally, Qi Tongwei said:

"I know the job is tough now, but what job is easy? The Party and the people have entrusted this responsibility to us, so we must shoulder it and not be picky."

Qi Tongwei's tone was not harsh, but his expression was stern. "When you encounter a problem, you should first try to solve it yourself. Don't push it up as soon as you encounter a little resistance. If you really can't solve it, then go and report to the vice governor in charge. If you can't push it up there either, you can come to me. If I can't solve it, I'll go to Secretary Sha."

He paused, then looked around at everyone present: "If that kind of thing happens again in the future, and everyone just leaves it there, saying nothing and waiting for it to pass by itself, don't blame me for being blunt."

On the seventh day, the Provincial Department of Finance delivered the two plans for the overall planning of basic education funding to Qi Tongwei on time.

After reviewing it, he called the Finance Minister that afternoon for a 20-minute meeting, where he went over the parts of the plan that he thought could be improved, and asked the Minister to go back and revise them.

When the director left, he felt like he was being pushed along, but there was no discomfort in that feeling. Instead, he felt the same drive he had when he first started working, after so many years as a bureaucrat.

On the twelfth day of Liu Changsheng's hospitalization, the provincial hospital issued a brief diagnosis, stating that the patient had recently experienced arrhythmia, needed to rest, and should not engage in strenuous work during the treatment period.

This opinion circulated within the provincial government system without causing much of a stir.

Many people had already anticipated the outcome.

In fact, from day one, the provincial government machine had already been operating at a new pace. Liu Changsheng's absence was like pushing an engine that had been idling for a long time back to normal speed. At first, there was a bit of vibration and some discomfort, but after it started running, many people realized that this was actually the state the engine was supposed to be in.

But nobody said that.

As everyone knows, Governor Liu has not officially stepped down yet; this period is called "temporarily presiding over the work," and everything is "temporary."

But people's hearts have already begun to grow weeds.

Chapter 188 Action

The fluorescent lights in the interrogation room were so bright they were almost blinding.

This interrogation room has been used to interrogate many people, from Ouyang Jing to Li Jiajia, and then to Liu Xinjian.

Chen Qingquan remembered this lamp on his very first day here.

He sat there for many days, the light always on, day and night, rain or shine outside. The light illuminated every inch of the interrogation room, making even the fine lines on the corner of the table as clear as if they had just been carved.

Chen Qingquan is a smart man.

Having served as the vice president of the Jingzhou Intermediate People's Court for many years, he had seen far too many cases, too many people, and far too many who initially held on but eventually crumbled piece by piece. He was no stranger to this kind of place, nor to this kind of process. So, on his very first day there, he had figured one thing out—

He was dragged off the bed; there was no way to hide it or drag him away. The only thing he could try to get was a "leniency".

So he explained it very quickly.

The speed was so fast that Hou Liangping was caught off guard.

He spoke of the embezzled figures with perfect clarity. He could recount every detail—the year, the month, the specific transaction, the route taken, and the account where the money ended up. The figures matched perfectly, with minimal discrepancies from the accounts. Clearly, he wasn't fabricating on the spot; he had them in his mind all along.

He also talked about his sister's affairs, in more detail than about the embezzlement. He explained how his sister was a low-level cadre at the deputy section chief level in a certain county in her early years, how she was transferred to the political and legal system, how she rose from section chief to deputy director, which things he did by making connections, and which he did by going along with others' help. He distinguished them in great detail, afraid that the discipline inspection commission would hold him accountable for things that were not his fault.

He didn't hide anything about what happened at the Mountain and Water Manor. He mentioned it countless times: who was present, who first introduced him there, the name of the Ukrainian girl, her approximate height, how many words of Chinese she could speak, and which words she could say.