8: Chapter 8: A small circle composed of Shang Lao's direct disciples

Sun Ning and the others walked into the restaurant, chatting and laughing.

They happened to run into Gao Feng, who was preparing to come out to welcome them.

"Senior Brother, Junior Sister, Little Junior Brother, you didn't even call when you arrived so I could come out and welcome you properly."

"Mayor Gao, you are too polite; we are all our own people."

With just that one phrase "Mayor Gao," Vice Township Head Li Jianguo drew a line between intimacy and distance.

The group entered the reserved room, where several people were already sitting in twos and threes.

After some pleasantries, Vice Township Head Li Jianguo was ushered to the seat of honor.

In the bureaucratic system, the importance of seating arrangements is deeply rooted.

It acts like a precise system, silently defining power, status, and identity.

One doesn't need much training to determine who should sit in which seat.

Even in the entertainment industry, one often hears talk of who is vying for the 'C-position' (center stage).

After sitting down, Shang Rou leaned over and whispered into Sun Ning's ear, "Senior Brother Li came here to back you up."

"Mm."

How could Sun Ning not know that Vice Township Head Li Jianguo had come to support him?

If it weren't for the fact that another Senior Brother held a more sensitive position, making it inappropriate for him to attend this kind of occasion, he would likely be the one in the seat of honor today.

Once everyone was seated, Gao Feng, as the host for the day, began making introductions.

Just as Sun Ning had guessed, this was simply a gathering of classmates.

Everyone was chatting about school matters.

Of course, when a group of people from within the bureaucracy get together, they inevitably touch upon some bureaucratic affairs.

For instance, the recently popular Northwest Development Policy.

Some were discussing the pros and cons of the policy, and whether they could derive any political benefits from it.

Sun Ning spent most of his time listening.

The lowest-ranking person present today was a division-level cadre from a ministry, with most holding positions at or above the deputy department-bureau level, spread across various departments.

Dining and chatting with so many high-ranking people was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something he wouldn't have dared to imagine before.

You have to realize that a prefecture-level city ostensibly only has four department-level positions, not to mention that he had previously worked in a township.

Sun Ning mostly observed their speaking styles and their views on certain matters.

These could slowly be transformed into his own knowledge.

After learning of Sun Ning's background, no one present dared to slight him.

Therefore, even though Sun Ning didn't speak much, he was still included and looked after in several topics of conversation.

Meanwhile, Vice Township Head Li Jianguo and Senior Brother Liu Zhiyuan didn't explicitly mention looking after their Little Junior Brother.

The fact that Vice Township Head Li Jianguo had come was already a clear statement of his stance.

Because of the Little Junior Brother, you, Gao Feng, have been recognized by our close-knit circle.

As for when you will be fully accepted, that depends on your performance.

Everyone was smart; there was no need to spell everything out.

After three rounds of drinks and tasting the dishes, a knock came at the door of the private room.

"This Qin Shou isn't entirely a piece of trash, huh." Senior Brother Liu Zhiyuan chuckled and said to Vice Township Head Li Jianguo with a smile.

"Hmph, just some petty, unsophisticated cleverness."

"True, of all people to provoke, he had to pick on Little Junior Sister and Little Junior Brother, and right when their relationship had just blossomed."

"What? They're together?"

"I suppose you three old fogies are the only ones who didn't know they were mutually enamored?"

While the two Senior Brothers were bickering, Gao Feng, as the host, called out, "Come in."

As soon as Gao Feng finished speaking, a man with a fat head and big ears, his face flushed red, entered with Qin Shou and some lackeys.

Regardless of whether he knew the people inside or not, as soon as he entered, he began bowing and scraping to greet everyone present.

It wasn't until he saw Vice Township Head Li Jianguo in the seat of honor that he walked over obsequiously.

"Greetings, Chairman Li. I have brought my unworthy son to apologize to you."

"It is all my fault for failing to teach him properly, and he has offended you. I ask for your forgiveness, Chairman."

"What are you still standing there for? Come over here and apologize to the Chairman immediately."

Vice Township Head Li Jianguo sat upright in the seat of honor, while Senior Brother Liu Zhiyuan, who was sitting beside him, let out a cold laugh.

"Director Qin, I really don't know how you managed to climb to this position."

"You didn't even figure out who the main guest was today; you deserve to be in the position you are now."

Could Director Qin not know who the main guest was today? He was simply clinging to wishful thinking, believing that as long as he obtained Vice Township Head Li Jianguo's forgiveness, the matter would end there.

This was also due to his character; he liked to fawn over superiors and bully subordinates, which could be seen from how Qin Shou conducted himself.

Upon hearing Senior Brother Liu Zhiyuan's sarcastic words, Director Qin knew he had prayed to the wrong deity.

He hurriedly slapped Qin Shou across the face.

"You bastard, why haven't you knelt down to apologize to Ms. Shang yet?" After saying this, he felt unsatisfied and slapped him again.

Seeing that his son still couldn't bring himself to do it, he kicked him to the ground and kept kicking him repeatedly.

One has to say that this Director Qin did have some intelligence.

He even knew to use a 'bitter flesh tactic' (feigned self-punishment) to win Vice Township Head Li Jianguo's sympathy.

However, such a small trick would certainly not move Vice Township Head Li Jianguo.

"Enough. If you want to discipline your son, Director Qin, you can do it at home. We are eating."

"Director Qin, let me give you a piece of advice: if there is a problem, you should turn yourself in voluntarily; that is the only way to receive lenient treatment."

So, the bitter flesh tactic was actually useful; he was even advising the man to turn himself in.

What? Was the discipline inspection team of his unit short on gas money?

Seeing that Vice Township Head Li Jianguo's attitude was firm, Director Qin led his son and fled in a panic.

He was probably off to find someone to mediate for him right now.

After this little interlude, the group no longer had the appetite for drinking.

Before leaving, Vice Township Head Li Jianguo said to Gao Feng, "Junior Brother Gao, our Little Junior Brother is now in your hands."

Upon hearing the words "Junior Brother," Gao Feng was overjoyed.

He quickly replied, "Certainly, certainly."

He had never expected that simply trying to invite Vice Township Head Li Jianguo using Sun Ning would go so smoothly, and that he would even be recognized by Vice Township Head Li Jianguo, which was beyond his expectations.

He had always hoped to integrate into the small circle formed by Elder Shang's direct disciples.

This small circle wasn't a political clique, but rather something akin to a 'loving family.'

However, the energy of this small circle was simply too great.

Not to mention Elder Shang, who was a high-level advisor at the national level.

Just take the eldest Senior Brother; he worked in the General Office of the Central Committee.

Although his status was on par with Vice Township Head Li Jianguo, his invisible power was immense.

Then there were Shang Rou's two older brothers.

The eldest, Big Brother, was the top leader of a certain central state-owned enterprise.

The second brother, Shang Ningyong, was a Senior Colonel in the Southeast Military Region.

These were all prominent figures.

It was precisely because of Elder Shang's personal charisma that the people in this small circle cared for one another.

This also indirectly proved Elder Shang's eye for selecting disciples.

However, these individuals had all broken the old man's heart, one by one.

Only two people had inherited Elder Shang's mantle and focused on academic research.

After parting ways with Gao Feng and the others, Vice Township Head Li Jianguo said to Senior Brother Liu Zhiyuan, "Let's go to the Villa."

The Villa was a courtyard house that Sun Ning had instructed Shang Rou to buy after Deep Blue Finance started making money.

It was located near the Peking University faculty housing area.

Its main purpose was to provide a place for the Senior Brothers to rest after visiting their teacher.

Gradually, everyone began to like gathering there from time to time.

Whenever they went, Sun Ning was usually the one cooking.

It had quite the club-like atmosphere.