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

If you see that your boss is struggling, just say that you can't keep going or that you have a project to introduce, giving your boss a way out.

Just like when Bai Jingwen and Sha Ruijin were playing basketball, Bai Jingwen felt that Sha Ruijin was having a great time, so he quickly said that he was no longer good, giving Sha Ruijin a chance to criticize him, saying, "You, a young man, are not as good as an old man like me."

Compared to blatant flattery, this technique of praising by first criticizing is more appealing.

“If you can do it, so can I,” Sha Ruijin replied with a smile.

The two rode slowly along the artificial lake.

"Comrade Dakang, what were your planning ideas when you built this development zone?" Sha Ruijin spoke first, his tone relaxed, as if they were having a casual chat.

Li Dakang was prepared and immediately replied, "Secretary Sha, to be honest, the idea at the time was that we need both gold and silver mountains, and also green mountains and clear waters. The treatment of coal mine subsidence areas cannot just be about filling them in; we must turn them into resources and advantages."

He pointed to the lake: "This lake was formed by water storage in the subsidence area back then. We took advantage of the situation and transformed it into an artificial lake, building factories and greening the surrounding area, which not only solved the environmental problem but also attracted investment."

Sha Ruijin nodded, his eyes showing appreciation, but he didn't immediately express his opinion. Instead, he asked, "I heard that there were differing opinions from the municipal government at the time?"

Li Dakang smiled, his tone becoming subtle: "You don't know, the mayor and deputy mayor at the time strongly opposed it. For a period of time, there was a significant rift between our municipal party committee and government."

He used the word "estrangement" instead of "contradiction" to downplay the severity of the conflict at the time. At the same time, his mention of the power struggle between the presidential and legislative branches was also a subtle way of expressing his intention to take sides.

Sha Ruijin understood the implied meaning, but did not respond immediately. Instead, he remained silent for a while before suddenly asking, "I heard that Provincial Party Secretary Zhao Lichun supported you back then?"

This is common knowledge. Sha Ruijin brought it up at this time to find out the extent to which Li Dakang and the Zhao family were bound together.

Li Dakang's heart tightened, but his smile remained unchanged, as if he were saying something perfectly normal: "Yes, I used to be his secretary."

He was prepared, and at this moment he was simply repeating the facts and waiting for Sha Ruijin to make his move.

“His support is substantial,” Sha Ruijin said calmly.

Li Dakang's heart skipped a beat. Sha Ruijin had previously referred to "Provincial Party Secretary Zhao Lichun," using Zhao Lichun's former position, not his current one. Now, he said "his support is substantial," the deeper meaning of which was self-evident.

Who is the current provincial party secretary? It's Sha Ruijin.

"Yes," Li Dakang replied with a smile, his tone calm.

The two rode for a while longer, visiting several companies and industrial parks along the way. Workers were busy in the workshops, the sounds of machines rising and falling, creating a vibrant scene.

Sha Ruijin watched all this with satisfaction in his eyes, but still did not make a clear statement.

In Lincheng, the topic naturally cannot avoid Li Weimin, the vice mayor whose investigation by the Party Central Committee led to a large-scale exodus of investors.

“When I was transferred from Lüzhou to Lincheng to serve as the municipal party secretary, he was already the vice mayor.” Li Dakang emphasized the words “from Lüzhou”.

Sha Ruijin understood immediately. He was familiar with Li Dakang's resume and immediately asked, "How long did you work with Gao Yuliang in Luzhou?"

“It was one year.” Li Dakang paused, as if recalling something, “one year and three months. At that time, he was the municipal party secretary, and I was the mayor. You know, at that time, Vice Governor Qi Tongwei was still the county party secretary of Daokou County, which is under Lüzhou.”

Sha Ruijin laughed: "It seems that Luzhou really produces talented people."

Li Dakang smiled, but there was a hint of complexity in his smile: "Comrade Yuliang has a clear mind and a steady style. Secretary Sha, I may not be able to say this, but I think he... is a bit conservative, especially in terms of urban construction."

He paused, then added, "At that time, Comrade Zhao Lichun supported Yu Liang and transferred me away from Lüzhou."

This clearly expresses the conflict between him and Gao Yuliang.

"Comrade Lichun said to me at the time—" Li Dakang's tone became subtle, "He said, 'Li Dakang, I know you are a fierce general who expands territory. When you get to Lincheng, you must make Lincheng a success for me. As for Luzhou, its economic foundation is still good. Let Gao Yuliang develop it step by step.'"

These words subtly belittled Gao Yuliang.

Li Dakang knew that although Gao Yuliang had not officially sided with Qi Tongwei, a considerable portion of his Han University gang had already joined Qi Tongwei's camp.

He kept expressing his conflict with Gao Yuliang in order to let Sha Ruijin know that he would not side with Qi Tongwei, but would instead align himself with Sha Ruijin.

But this is not what Sha Ruijin wants to hear. He wants to subdue the local forces, and he doesn't necessarily need Li Dakang's help.

Just like Qi Tongwei, with the momentum of being a future provincial second-class talent, he was able to snatch a considerable number of talents from Gao Yuliang. However, whether this snatching was staged or not, at least many people believe that it was a real falling out between master and apprentice, which shows that he had a real basis for it.

As for Sha Ruijin, he is a genuine provincial number one, and the local forces are simply those he doesn't want or who don't want to join him; he can just replace them.

The reason he was willing to deal with Li Dakang, a person with problematic backgrounds, for so long was because he valued Li's ability to handle economic matters and wanted to create a check on Qi Tongwei.

After all, you can't put all your eggs in one basket.

But that alone is not enough.

Sha Ruijin is still waiting.

His face didn't show much expression; he simply said, "Comrade Lichun is quite good at recognizing and appointing people."

Li Dakang's heart skipped a beat. The words were neither warm nor cold, revealing neither joy nor anger.

After riding for a while, he casually added, "Perhaps Comrade Lichun has some other ideas."

Upon hearing this, Sha Ruijin's expression changed. He turned to look at Li Dakang: "Other ideas? What do you mean?"

Li Dakang pretended to be somewhat embarrassed and hesitated for a moment: "I can't explain it clearly in a short time. I won't say anything. Maybe I'm just being petty and judging others by my own standards."

After saying that, he immediately changed the subject: "Secretary Sha, you see, after arriving in Lincheng, the first thing I'll do in building this development zone is—"

But what comes after that is no longer important.

A smile played on Sha Ruijin's lips, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

He finally got what he'd been waiting for.

Li Dakang's words just now seemed to say nothing, but in fact they said everything.

Zhao Lichun is Li Dakang's current superior, who hasn't been punished yet, and is also Li Dakang's former boss and mentor. If Li Dakang wants to jump ship, he must show his loyalty, but he can't do it too obviously, otherwise it will affect him.

Therefore, he mentioned that "Zhao Lichun had other ideas," which was an allusion to the well-known Crescent Lake Food City project—the project that Li Dakang did not approve but Gao Yuliang approved.

Sha Ruijin came down with a mission. If he wanted to use Li Dakang, Li Dakang had to be surnamed Sha, not Zhao.

This is the foundation of everything.

Li Dakang's words just now subtly expressed his intention to sever ties with the Zhao family.

Why did Sha Ruijin choose Li Dakang after his trip to Lincheng, even though Li Dakang had a bigger problem when he came to Handong in his previous life?

Gao Yuliang initially adopted a relatively compliant attitude towards Sha Ruijin.

It wasn't because Li Dakang spoke nicely, nor because his jogging posture was good, and it wasn't just because he was good at managing the economy—Sha Ruijin knew from the beginning that Li Dakang was good at managing the economy, so why did he need to come to Lincheng to see for himself?

This is because Li Dakang expressed his intention to sever ties with Zhao Lichun during this exchange.

Whether you call it keen intuition or that he was driven to desperation by Ouyang Jing and Ding Yizhen, it was precisely his decision to align himself with Sha Ruijin without leaving any way out that earned him Sha Ruijin's protection.

This might be a blessing in disguise.

The two chatted for a while longer. Li Dakang talked about the difficulties in building Lincheng back then, and also about how he and Gao Yuliang went to the United States to study public administration, and how he took the blame for Gao Yuliang because he wanted to eat rice.

Zhao Lichun's affairs cannot be discussed openly, but Gao Yuliang's embarrassing incidents can be talked about at length.

Sha Ruijin listened with great interest, nodding from time to time, which made the atmosphere much more relaxed.

After a while, Sha Ruijin took the initiative to return the favor: "Comrade Dakang, didn't you say you had some private matters to report to me?"

Li Dakang's expression turned serious, and he put down his water glass: "Secretary Sha, I think we should give you and the organization an explanation for this matter."

"Is it you who wants to divorce your wife?" Sha Ruijin said directly.

Li Dakang feigned surprise: "How did you know?"

Sha Ruijin laughed: "You've been separated for five or six years, and so many officials in the provincial and municipal government departments know about it. How could such a thing not spread quickly?"

That's a matter of opinion.

He's a provincial party secretary who's only been in Handong for a month and a half and has another month to do research in the area. How could he possibly know so much about the personal lives of his subordinates?

Moreover, they had been separated for five or six years without getting a divorce, so how come he knew it was about divorce as soon as Li Dakang brought up private matters?

Clearly, he was aware of Ouyang Jing's situation.

Li Dakang immediately corrected him: "Secretary Sha, actually we have been separated for eight years."

Why emphasize this timeframe? It's not just about highlighting the long period of separation; more importantly, eight years ago, Li Dakang hadn't yet been transferred to Jingzhou. This further distances them, indicating that the marital issues were unrelated to his work.

Sha Ruijin nodded: "Since there were no feelings left, why didn't you divorce sooner?"

“Ouyang Jing refuses to divorce me, and I’ve dragged this out for the sake of my reputation.” Li Dakang sighed. “She’s going to the United States now, and according to the central government’s regulations, if we don’t divorce, I’ll have to resign.”

Sha Ruijin immediately became serious, his tone becoming more forceful: "You can't resign. I just arrived in Handong, and I'm counting on you to spearhead the reforms!"

He paused, then softened his tone: "Since you've told me, I suggest you file for divorce and go through the legal process. It'll be clean and efficient."

Instead of correcting Sha Ruijin by saying that he and Ouyang Jing had reached an agreement on a divorce, Li Dakang smiled and said, "Thank you, Secretary Sha, for your understanding and support."

After resting for a while, Sha Ruijin suggested a bicycle race from here to the management committee of the development zone, which is about five kilometers.

"Secretary Sha, are you sure?" Li Dakang asked with a smile.

"What, scared?" Sha Ruijin's eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Then let’s have a competition.” Li Dakang got on the car.

Bai Jingwen and Xiao Jin were also ready.

"ready, go!"

The four of them started pedaling at the same time and sped off.

At first, Li Dakang and Sha Ruijin were neck and neck, but soon Sha Ruijin pulled ahead. He was indeed physically fit, and his pedaling was precise and powerful, allowing him to quickly surge ahead.

Bai Jingwen followed closely behind, with Xiao Jin in third place.

Li Dakang rode at the back, panting, but with a smile on his face.

He deliberately slowed down.

It wasn't that he couldn't ride fast, but that he knew he couldn't steal the spotlight from his superiors at this moment.

The finish line has been reached. Sha Ruijin came in first, Bai Jingwen second, Xiao Jin third, and Li Dakang last.

Xiao Jin tried to give in halfway through, but he refused with a wink.

Li Dakang got out of the car, panting heavily, and walked up to Sha Ruijin: "Secretary Sha, I really need to learn from you and take good care of my health. Only with good health can I contribute more to the development of Handong!"

Sha Ruijin smiled broadly and patted him on the shoulder: "Comrade Dakang, you did well too, you persevered."

In the afternoon, Li Dakang's car drove away from Lincheng and sped along the highway.

As soon as he got on the bus, Li Dakang picked up his phone and dialed Ouyang Jing's number.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hello?" Ouyang Jing's voice sounded a little tired.