220: Chapter 220 Xu Jie's Gift

The car wove through the streets of Jingjiang City.

Traffic was thick, but Zhu Wenhao kept his hands on the steering wheel, eyes fixed ahead, maintaining a steady speed.

In the passenger seat, Su Qinghan watched the streetscape receding outside the window.

When the car came to a stop in front of a business chain hotel, she turned her head.

"Are we not returning to our home on Changfeng Street?"

She was no stranger to that apartment on Changfeng Street.

Earlier, when Zhu Wenhao was training in the Spark Class at the Provincial Party School, he had lived under that roof for a period of time.

The appliances were complete, and some of her personal items were even still there.

Before leaving, Zhu Wenhao had specifically instructed her over the phone to bring her toiletries, which had surprised her at the time.

"That house doesn't carry the Zhu name, but the Li name."

Zhu Wenhao killed the engine and pulled out the car keys.

Su Qinghan was slightly stunned, but she quickly realized what he meant.

The house was under Li Juan's name; ultimately, it was a resource allocated by the Li Faction.

Now that the eldest son of the Li family was about to descend upon Jiangnan, the Li Faction was facing a reshuffling of its landscape.

At this critical juncture, Zhu Wenhao's decision to voluntarily forgo staying at Changfeng Street made it clear that he intended to draw a line in the sand before Old Master Li.

"If you want to hand over resources, I, Zhu Wenhao, will absolutely not linger under your roof begging for favors."

Su Qinghan understood that determination; she withdrew her gaze and nodded silently.

The two of them pushed open the doors, got out of the car, and walked into the hotel lobby.

Upon reaching the front desk, Zhu Wenhao handed over his credentials for registration.

The receptionist took the ID with both hands and swiped it through the computer system; their formerly formulaic smile instantly became more respectful.

"Mr. Zhu."

The receptionist handed over the ID and room card. "From now on, your stay at any of our chain hotels will be free of charge. Your identification information has been entered into the system."

Zhu Wenhao didn't respond, his gaze resting on the receptionist's face.

The receptionist added at the right moment, "This was specifically requested by the lady who booked the room."

The lady who booked the room.

Zhu Wenhao's fingers paused on the counter for half a second.

He had wanted to ask the front desk to cancel this privilege, but after running through the current situation in his mind and thinking it over, he finally reached out and took the room card.

"Very well."

Su Qinghan stood half a step away, having heard the exchange clearly.

A glint of light flashed rapidly in her eyes.

A free-stay privilege was not something that could be achieved just by spending a little money; it must require extremely strong connections or capital operation behind the scenes.

Zhu Wenhao had very few acquaintances in Jingjiang, so it was obvious who that "lady who booked the room" was.

She clutched her handbag and followed Zhu Wenhao toward the elevator, not saying a word the entire time.

The door was pushed open; the suite was elegantly furnished, and the heating was just right.

Su Qinghan placed her bag on the cabinet, thinking that after days of traveling, Zhu Wenhao would surely want to rest his feet.

Unexpectedly, the man hadn't even taken off his overcoat.

"Tidy up; I'm going downstairs to pick something up."

Zhu Wenhao checked his watch. "I'll call you in a moment, and we'll go directly to see Minister Xiao."

"Go now?"

Su Qinghan was somewhat surprised.

Minister Xiao Dingyu, as the head of the Provincial Organization Department, held a high and powerful position, and his schedule was always packed.

Zhu Wenhao had just arrived in Jingjiang and hadn't even had a drink of water; had he already secured the meeting?

"When it comes to getting things done, every second counts."

Zhu Wenhao left this remark and turned to leave.

Su Qinghan looked at the closed door, did not delay, opened her suitcase, and quietly began to apply makeup and change her clothes.

Downstairs at the hotel, a cold wind swirled with withered leaves.

Standing in a sheltered spot, Zhu Wenhao took out his phone and dialed the number.

"I've arrived."

Zhu Wenhao got straight to the point. "How are the things I asked you to prepare?"

"The things Secretary Zhu requested have long been prepared."

The female voice of Director Xu Jie came through the line. "Someone will deliver them directly to the hotel entrance shortly. They were all prepared after figuring out Minister Xiao's preferences. For the first visit, it shouldn't be overly complicated, so I carefully selected two items."

Zhu Wenhao said, "You've been thoughtful," but his tone suddenly sank.

"However, let this be the only time."

"My personal schedule does not need anyone to make decisions on my behalf without authorization."

Zhu Wenhao spoke with a warning tone. "Cancel the hotel's free-stay privilege, and send me the full bill for today's expenses later. I will pay every cent into your account."

Favors should not be bestowed indiscriminately, and authority should not be taken lightly.

"Understood. I will send you the details later."

Director Xu Jie did not argue and agreed immediately.

The call ended.

Inside the presidential suite on the top floor of the hotel.

Director Xu Jie stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the traffic moving like ants below, and took the phone away from her ear.

There was no anger on her face from being reprimanded; instead, a hint of interest emerged.

He knew how to advance and retreat, understood how to draw boundaries, and would absolutely not accept favors for nothing.

More importantly, there was this resolute will that refused to be arranged.

In the world of fame and fortune, how many people, in order to climb up to the powerful, would love to tie their every need to a big tree?

This one, however, wanted to calculate even a simple hotel privilege clearly.

"This partner has basically passed the test."

Director Xu Jie gave her assessment softly.

Only by holding onto one's original intention in the face of temptation can one hold a steady hand in a cruel game of chess.

Downstairs.

In less than ten minutes, an ordinary off-road vehicle braked sharply in front of the hotel.

The window rolled down, and a dull-looking face poked out.

The man didn't kill the engine; he pushed open the car door and strode up to Zhu Wenhao.

Without any nonsense, he handed over two unremarkable black kraft paper bags.

Zhu Wenhao reached out to take them; the man nodded, turned back to get into the car, stepped on the gas, and merged into the traffic, his movements clean and efficient.

Zhu Wenhao lowered his eyes and opened the bags to take a look.

A bottle of liquor without any labels.

A carton of cigarettes that was pure white with no markings whatsoever.

Others might not know their value, but anyone with a certain status would understand the weight of these two items.

White-packaged cigarettes and unbranded liquor were simply not items circulated on the market.

These were things only a very small number of people could touch; using them to meet a head of the Provincial Organization Department was just right—not tacky, yet demonstrating the power behind the gift-giver.

Interestingly, Zhu Wenhao had just caught a very familiar scent on the man who delivered the items.

It was the iron-blooded aura of someone who had long lived in the military and only knew how to obey orders.

It was extremely similar to those guards who spoke little and did much.

Coming to Jingjiang this time, he originally didn't want to use these external forces.

But the reality was right before his eyes; the news that Old Master Li had dropped in without his eldest uncle's knowledge showed that the big tree of the Li family was no longer a place he could rely on for shade at will.

He did not want to touch the Li family's resources to avoid giving people a handle against him.

And in Jingjiang City, the connections he could utilize were truly limited.

Study Committee Member Cao Rui, whom he had met in the Spark Class, had an uncle, Cao Hang, who was the Deputy Secretary of the Jingjiang Municipal Committee, but that was meant to be a trump card; before meeting Minister Xiao Dingyu, rashly disturbing a local titan was not in accordance with protocol.

As for Zhou Xu, although they had some friendship, his third uncle was none other than Governor Zhou Zhiwen, who was currently making aggressive moves.

Their positions were at odds, and he absolutely could not let Zhou Xu get involved.

After calculating everything, the only person who could handle this matter quietly and produce this level of stepping-stone gift was Director Xu Jie.

Debts of gratitude were hard to repay, but borrowing a knife to break the deadlock was an unavoidable expedient measure.

Having sorted out this cause and effect, Zhu Wenhao picked up his phone and dialed Su Qinghan upstairs.

In less than three minutes, Su Qinghan, draped in that dark overcoat, stepped out of the revolving glass door.

Walking up to him, her gaze naturally fell on the two paper bags Zhu Wenhao was carrying.

The bags were open, and the unlabeled cigarettes and liquor were half-exposed.

Su Qinghan was an elite of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection; although she never leveraged the influence of her father, Mayor Su Changming, she had been immersed in that kind of family environment since childhood, so how could she not recognize such rare items specially supplied to the high-level officials?

These were absolutely not things that could be bought on the market with money.

She was clear-headed.

Zhu Wenhao's connections here could simply not produce such items.

Combining this with "the lady" who had arranged the free stay at the front desk, the answer was already swirling in her mind.

But she remained surprisingly silent.

There was no questioning, no display of petty jealousy.

She understood boundaries and was sensible.

In this crisis-ridden provincial capital, that woman hidden in the shadows was Zhu Wenhao's ally in breaking open the situation.

What she needed to do was stand by his side, not cause trouble.

"Let's go."

Zhu Wenhao pressed his car key to unlock the vehicle.

The two of them got into the car.

"Where are we going?"

Su Qinghan fastened her seatbelt and asked.

"The Provincial Party Committee Compound."

Zhu Wenhao started the engine, and the car smoothly merged into the main road.

"Minister Xiao is waiting for us there."

"Today we visit Minister Xiao, and tomorrow we attend the engagement banquet."

Zhu Wenhao looked straight ahead at the congested traffic, his voice calm.