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

A warm smile instantly spread across Zhao Ruilong's face:

"Hey, Brother Liu! This is Ruilong! There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Is it convenient for you...?"

Chapter 119 Zheng Qian is arrested

Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Provincial Procuratorate, Director's Office.

The sunlight outside the window was lovely, filtering through the blinds and creating alternating stripes of light and dark on the polished floor.

The office was filled with a heavy atmosphere that clashed with the bright weather, mixed with the lingering smell of smoke and a silent sense of oppression.

Chen Hai sat behind the large desk that would soon no longer belong to him, the ashtray in front of him already overflowing with cigarette butts. A red-headed document lay quietly in the most conspicuous position on the desk—"Notification Regarding the Adjustment of Comrade Chen Hai's Position."

He was transferred to the position of Director of the Supervision Office of Handong Oil and Gas Group, a position that sounds good but is actually far removed from the core business of the procuratorate and is almost a "retirement" position.

The transfer order was issued at an unusually fast speed.

Although the Standing Committee has already passed the resolution, the usual personnel procedures always take some time.

This time, however, it was handled as a "special case".

Since starting work, Chen Hai has benefited greatly from the influence of his father, Chen Yanshi, and later from the care of his teacher, Gao Yuliang, enjoying the convenience of "special handling" in many cases.

I never imagined that one day, "special treatment" would fall on my head in this way, and the feeling would be so hard to swallow.

Chief Prosecutor Ji Changming had already spoken with him earnestly, using platitudes such as "obey the organization's arrangements," "the new position is also very important," and "accumulate different experiences."

Comrades from the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department also came; their attitude was polite but distant, and they followed the procedures meticulously.

Only then was the last glimmer of hope in Chen Hai's heart completely extinguished.

In fact, when Qi Tongwei pointed his finger at him in public at the provincial party committee emergency meeting that night and said sternly, "If Ding Yizhen has any problems, you must take full responsibility" and "You are no longer suitable to serve as the front-line commander of the anti-corruption bureau," he was certainly frightened. However, after a period of calm, he relaxed and even felt a little lucky.

If a person has had a smooth life for half their life, they will always have a blind optimism about potential crises.

He thought Qi Tongwei was just making threats to establish his authority, and that Teacher Gao Yuliang would definitely protect him.

This morning, he even learned about the relationship between Chen Yanshi and Sha Ruijin. For a moment, he felt that his position was as solid as a rock. He began to fantasize about whether he could be promoted to the position of deputy chief prosecutor during the reshuffle next year.

Although he is still a deputy director-general, the status and prospects of "deputy chief prosecutor concurrently serving as director of the anti-corruption bureau" are incomparable to those of a simple director of the anti-corruption bureau.

However, before his dream could take hold, the cold transfer order struck him like a hammer blow, leaving him dizzy and bringing him back to reality.

Not only was his dream of becoming a deputy prosecutor shattered, but he also lost the position he had worked so hard for for many years and considered the foundation of his career in an instant.

He recalled that not long ago, Hou Liangping came to Jingzhou, and the two of them drank and chatted happily. He had even said with great ambition that he would thoroughly investigate the Ding Yizhen case and not let go no matter who was involved.

When Hou Liangping hinted that Qi Tongwei might have a problem, Hou Liangping even agreed, feeling that Qi Tongwei was in a hurry to punish him and that his behavior was suspicious.

Looking back now, how laughable! We couldn't even hold onto the battlefield; what was the point of charging into battle?

He silently smoked, mechanically tidying up the documents and personal belongings on his desk, preparing for the handover. The provincial party committee had not yet made a decision on the next head of the anti-corruption bureau, but that was no longer relevant to him.

He wasn't even allowed to "stand his last post," but was instead required to immediately hand over his duties to the deputy director.

The implication is all too clear—he is no longer trusted, and is no longer even needed.

"boom!"

The office door was pushed open somewhat forcefully, breaking the silence.

Lu Yike, Lin Huahua, Zhou Zheng and several other core subordinates rushed in, their faces showing urgency and indignation.

"Director Chen! What is this? How can this be?" Lin Huahua, the most impatient of them all, had tears welling up in her eyes. "Ding Yizhen died on his own, it wasn't you who put him there, Director Chen! Why are you being blamed for everything?"

"Exactly! It's so unfair!" Zhou Zheng said indignantly. "Everyone was responsible for the operation that night. If anyone should be punished, they should all be punished together. How can the director be made to take the blame alone? I think someone is just using this as an excuse to make trouble!"

"Director Chen, why don't you go talk to Secretary Gao, or... think of another way? We can't just let this go!" The others chimed in with their own opinions.

Looking at his subordinates who had worked alongside him for many years, Chen Hai felt a slight warmth in his heart, but more than that, he felt a complex sense of exhaustion and sorrow.

He has always been approachable and easy-going, maintaining harmonious relationships with his subordinates; in fact, he could be described as "approachable." This is a rare and admirable reputation within government agencies, especially in the relatively serious political and legal system.

But he never truly understood that what a leader, especially one in a crucial position like the head of the anti-corruption bureau, should avoid most is being an unprincipled "yes-man" who gets along well with his subordinates and treats them like brothers.

A leader's core responsibility is to lead the team to complete tasks and implement the superior's intentions. Excessive closeness can diminish their authority.

When faced with tricky, arduous, or even dangerous tasks that need to be assigned, how do you approach them? Will your subordinates, who usually joke around with you, harbor resentment and feel that you are not "friends" enough? More importantly, without sufficient respect, it is easy to lead to slackness and oversight in execution.

Just like the night they were monitoring Ding Yizhen, according to the operational guidelines, Lin Huahua and Zhou Zheng should have been positioned in different locations and at different angles, forming a defensive perimeter to prevent any oversights. But what did they do? They went to a table to "date"! As a result, a drunkard's harassment caused them to lose sight of Ding Yizhen, directly leading to Ding Yizhen's loss of control and his eventual "accidental" death.

Strictly speaking, Lin Huahua and Zhou Zheng were directly responsible for the mistake in that operation, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to give them a disciplinary action or transfer them from their posts.

But after the incident, did anyone within the anti-corruption bureau, including Chen Hai himself, seriously investigate their responsibilities? No. Everyone was united in their anger and pointed the finger at "delayed reporting" and "external factors."

How can a team without strict discipline and without self-reflection on its own mistakes be considered combat effective?

The murmurs continued, filled with fervent sympathy for him. But Chen Hai simply waved his hand wearily, his voice hoarse: "Alright, stop talking. The transfer order has already been issued, what's the point of saying all this now?"

Seeing his dejected expression, Lu Yike felt a surge of anger rising within her. She was strong-willed and, due to her kinship with Gao Yuliang, usually possessed considerable confidence. Seeing Chen Hai so dejected only fueled her fury.

"How can we not say this?" Lu Yike raised her voice, her eyes sharp. "If it weren't for those people insisting on reporting and holding meetings at every level that night, wasting precious time for the operation, how could Ding Yizhen have had the opportunity to be 'accused of a traffic accident'? Now, they're blaming everything on the bureau chief who was in charge of the execution. What kind of logic is that? It's not fair!"

“Yes! That’s unfair!” Lin Huahua and Zhou Zheng immediately responded.

Lu Yike bit her lip, as if she had made up her mind: "I'm going to confront my uncle!" After saying that, without waiting for Chen Hai's reaction, she turned around and left the office, taking out her phone to call Gao Yuliang.

In this life, Gao Yuliang and Wu Huifen did not divorce, and their family relationship remained outwardly peaceful. As Wu Huifen's niece, Lu Yike's interactions with Gao Yuliang, her "uncle-in-law," were quite natural, without the subtle estrangement caused by family breakdown depicted in television dramas. This was also the source of her confidence to directly call and "reason" with him at this moment.

Chen Hai opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to call out to her. But the words caught in his throat. A hidden thought uncontrollably surfaced: What if… what if he could actually persuade Teacher Gao? Even if he couldn't stay at the Provincial Procuratorate, he could be transferred to another place, like Luzhou, where the Han University clique had deep roots. Wouldn't he still be able to get things done? It would be better than going to that oil and gas group…

A sliver of hope made him choose to remain silent. He simply watched Lu Yike's departing figure, listening to the gradually fading murmurs in the office. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the possible turning point that phone call might bring.

Time passed by, and each second seemed exceptionally long.

Finally, the office door was pushed open again. Lu Yike walked in, but the expression on her face was no longer the indignation she had shown when she left; instead, it was filled with frustration, helplessness, and even a hint of bewilderment.

She looked at Chen Hai, her voice lowered, carrying a sense of powerless exhaustion: "My uncle said... this was a job transfer proposed by Governor Qi, and Secretary Sha... personally confirmed the personnel arrangement. He... he was powerless to do anything about it. He also said that it probably can't be changed in the short term."

"In a short period of time"?

The last spark of hope in Chen Hai's heart was completely extinguished. How could a decision made jointly by the province's top leader and the future second-in-command be unchangeable in a "short time"? This clearly meant that for a considerable period of time to come, his career path was firmly nailed to the position of "Director of the Supervision Office."

What chilled him to the bone even more was—Sha Ruijin? Sha Ruijin had actually intervened? And even kicked him while he was down?

He had always thought this was just Qi Tongwei using the opportunity to retaliate, and that Sha Ruijin at most tacitly approved it. But now it seemed that Sha Ruijin had actually "personally confirmed" it?

The specific details of the clashes at the Standing Committee meeting had not yet reached the lower levels of the political and legal system, so he had no way of knowing the specific details.

He could only sense intuitively that he had been drawn into a higher-level, more complex game, becoming a pawn easily discarded at some stage.

A profound sense of loss weighed on his chest. He waved his hand, his voice hoarse: "Alright, everyone get out. Let me have some time to myself."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Seeing the bureau chief's ashen face, they knew that further words would be futile, so they could only silently retreat and gently close the door behind them.

Silence returned to the office, leaving him alone, surrounded by the smell of smoke and the glaring transfer order.

He sat there for a long time before finally picking up his phone and dialing Chen Yanshi's number. The phone rang for a long time before being answered, and there was some background noise.

"Dad..." Chen Hai's voice was filled with undisguised dejection.

"Xiao Hai, I know about the transfer order." Chen Yanshi's voice came, sounding somewhat tired. "This matter... is very complicated, it can't be explained in just a few words. When you come back tonight, we..."

"Old Chen! Old Chen! Something terrible has happened!" Zheng Xipo's panicked, tearful cry suddenly came from the other end of the phone, interrupting Chen Yanshi's words.

"What's wrong? Old Zheng, don't rush, tell me slowly!" Chen Yanshi's voice immediately turned to Zheng Xipo.

"Just now...just now, a lot of people from the Provincial Public Security Bureau came, in uniform and in police cars. They arrested Zheng Qian! They said he's suspected of provoking trouble, inciting online rumors, and illegal business operations...Old Chen, you have to save him! He did everything you said!"

Chapter 120 Chen Yanshi's Dafeng Factory Demolition Plan

Zheng Xipo was a self-righteous and arrogant person.

When his son Zheng Qian was taken away by people from the Provincial Public Security Bureau, he was arguing with his son about the content of an article.

He is currently just the union chairman of Dafeng Factory—a private enterprise on the verge of bankruptcy—with no administrative rank, and his meager "job allowance" is often delayed each month.

Once Dafeng Factory is completely gone, he will just be an ordinary laid-off worker, living off the pension he accumulated from his years of service in the state-owned enterprise.

To be fair, this treatment is already much better than that of many genuinely laid-off workers.

But human desires are never satisfied. People often take what they already have for granted, while their eyes are always fixed on what they have yet to obtain.

At Zheng Xipo's age, he has experienced the entire wave of reform and opening up.

He has personally witnessed and heard of too many people who have risen to prominence and whose wealth and status have changed dramatically.

But here I am, stuck in this dilapidated factory area, watching my life come to an end.

In the future, I will only be able to play chess in the park and pick up and drop off my grandchildren, thus ending my remaining years.

How could he, who compared himself to the "modern Du Fu" and always harbored a literary self-importance, be content with this?

Zheng Qian's online trolling activities were something Zheng Xipo couldn't understand. He only saw his son making money by typing on the computer all day, which he found amazing, but deep down he looked down on this "crooked way."

He felt that things like deleting posts, liking posts, and stirring up trouble were beneath him.

But through these "crooked methods," the son "accepted" the 20,000 yuan he received for publishing his poetry collection, which no one paid any attention to.

Although his son had contributed money, he still felt uneasy, so he asked his son if there were any ways for him to "use his skills" to earn some money.

Zheng Qian thought for a moment and said, "There really is. Help me write an article praising our Boss Niu."

Zheng Xipo's eyes lit up immediately: "It's in my hands! Writing articles and poems, that's my profession!"

He was overjoyed when his son announced the 8,000 yuan in royalties. He had been writing for half his life and this was the first time he had ever seen such a substantial "return on investment".

But when Zheng Qian sent over "Boss Niu's" information, Zheng Xipo's face immediately fell: "Him? I know him! Isn't this Niu Waizi? We were working together as coworkers, before you even existed!"

Zheng Qian was delighted: "You know him? Dad, that's great! Knowing him well will make things much easier!"

"Good my foot!" Zheng Xipo spat. "Let me tell you, I'm not writing this article! This person... has character issues! You'd better find someone else!"

The excuse that he "has character issues" is just that—an excuse. He simply can't accept that he has to sing praises to his former coworkers whom he looked down on. This is more painful for him than not making any money.

This is Zheng Xipo's current predicament: he wants to earn money with dignity, but he doesn't have the ability. He can only live awkwardly between being aloof and embarrassed, caught between ideals and reality.

Therefore, he clung desperately to Chen Yanshi, treating the Dafeng Factory matter as the last gamble of his life's work.

If Dafeng Factory can really get a huge amount of compensation, as the chairman of the union and a "hero," he will not only get a considerable share (he has privately calculated that it will be at least tens of thousands of yuan, and if it really pays hundreds of millions, it is not impossible for him to get a small million), but he will also gain a great reputation and prestige.

This matter has risen to the level of reflecting his life's value and even "leaving a mark on history."

Just as the father and son were at an impasse over this "Ode to Boss Niu," people from the Provincial Public Security Bureau arrived with all the necessary paperwork and a firm attitude.