240: Chapter 240 Old Master Li Reveals His Secret

Butler Wang Jianan habitually supported Li Zhenguo's left arm.

Zhu Wenhao didn't say much; he followed in a few steps and reached out to support the old man's right elbow.

Li Zhenguo turned his head, his gaze resting briefly on Butler Wang Jianan's face.

The old butler understood, silently releasing his hand and leaving this grandfather and grandson's retreating figures to the winter wind filling the courtyard.

Walking with a faltering gait, the old man's foundation had ultimately been hollowed out by the years.

Zhu Wenhao's support was as steady as a rock as the two crossed the courtyard and returned to the study.

The unfinished game on the chessboard had not been cleared away; the murderous aura between the black and white pieces still lingered.

Further in, the leftover water on the tea table had already gone cold.

Not until they reached the painting desk in the inner room did Li Zhenguo stop.

There was a paperweight pressing down on the desk, and a small rosewood box placed beside it.

Li Zhenguo didn't rush to sit down; he fished out a thin, blue-covered booklet from the small box.

"Take a look."

The old man pushed the booklet to the edge of the painting desk.

Zhu Wenhao took it and flipped to the first page.

In neat, tiny script were a dozen or so names, followed by their current positions and contact information.

A division chief from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, a deputy director from the Linjiang City Bureau of Land and Resources, the head of a certain state-owned enterprise...

Scattered and sparse, they were not the most prominent provincial officials, but they all held critical choke points in various levels of government.

"I made two copies of this booklet," Li Zhenguo said in a very soft voice. "The one in your hand belongs to you. I'm keeping the other one for Li Zhengxing."

Checks and balances, and testing.

Zhu Wenhao closed the blue booklet and tucked it into the inner pocket of his overcoat.

He understood the implications behind this all too well.

Elder Li was playing a game of horse racing; two teams, two paths.

"Nothing is free," Li Zhenguo said, sitting into the grand armchair. "You may call upon the people in this booklet. But there are two conditions you must agree to."

Zhu Wenhao stood with his hands behind his back. "Please speak."

"First, since Li Zhengxing has arrived at the Jiangnan Provincial Organization Department, he cannot be blind or deaf. Help him gain a firm foothold in the Organization Department, and don't let Minister Xiao Dingyu truly treat him like a display piece and hang him out to dry."

Li Zhenguo raised his second finger.

"Second, Linjiang City. Your father, Secretary Zhu Tianhe, has good momentum right now. However, Secretary Lin Weimin and Mayor Su Changming are no pushovers. Next spring, I want to see your father completely stabilize his position in the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee and form a three-legged balance of power with those two. The Zhu family must be able to hold the pot in Linjiang steady."

These conditions were extremely harsh; they required him to return evil with kindness by supporting his political enemy, his uncle, and also demanded that he carve a bloody path in the municipal-level arena.

Zhu Wenhao didn't bargain; this was the rule of family heritage.

"I accept," Zhu Wenhao said, his words hard as iron. "However, the wind in Jiangnan Province is very strong. Since I've entered the arena, life and death are up to fate. I will only be responsible for paving the way; whether or not my uncle can stand firm depends on his own strength."

Just as he was speaking, the half-closed door of the study was pushed open.

Li Zhengxing walked in.

Having shed the imperious air he had when he first arrived, there was an indescribable fatigue on this eldest son's face.

He walked to the painting desk, didn't fight for the main seat, and pulled up a chair to sit on the side.

"Zhu Wenhao, let's talk about Heishi Town," Li Zhengxing rubbed his brow. "You've made such a big scene down there, even mobilizing the Municipal Public Security Bureau's SWAT team. The cancer that was the Zhang Clan has been removed, but have you considered the economic turmoil in the region?"

This is what a ruler should be calculating.

Breaking the old is easy; establishing the new is difficult.

Zhu Wenhao didn't hold back and broke down his recent plans for people's livelihoods one by one.

"After taking down Village Secretary Zhang Dahai, the old capital leaves, and new capital must take over."

"General Manager Zhou Shutong Shuhun from Jingjiang has a clean foundation. I plan to bring her into the game to restructure Heishi Mining. However, the rules must be set by the Town Government. The new mining company must establish a three-party supervisory account and extract three funds: road repair, environmental protection, and worker security."

Zhu Wenhao shifted his focus, pointing to the south of the town.

"The common people's livelihood cannot all depend on digging for food in the mines. The repair of the old river embankment has already been reported to the Provincial Department of Water Resources under the disaster flood control category. Once the dam is reinforced, this piece of wasteland can be transferred for agricultural cold-chain logistics."

Li Zhengxing listened quietly.

He had originally thought this nephew only knew how to play with power, but he hadn't expected that his methods were all rooted in the soil.

"How do you plan to deal with Executive Vice Mayor Qian Dayong?" Li Zhengxing asked about personnel.

"Only when the water is muddy can you catch fish," Zhu Wenhao dropped his brush. "Director Li Qiang from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection needs a 'letter of surrender,' so I will give him Qian Dayong. Once Qian Dayong falls, Secretary Qiu Dehai will lose his last barrier. At that time, Town Mayor Luo Xingbang will naturally take over. This person is a slippery character, but his foundation is clean, and he can get real work done. Force him to pick a side, and the administrative system of Heishi Town can start running again."

The three generations of the family repeatedly deduced the situation around this small area of livelihood and power.

Outside the study, the sun gradually slanted westward.

The sunset glow filtered through the lattice windows, stretching the shadows of the three men extremely long.

Not until the water in the tea tray had completely cooled did this closed-door talk, which had lasted four hours, come to a full stop.

Zhu Wenhao pushed open the heavy wooden door of the study, and the cold wind, carrying withered leaves, rolled into the courtyard.

Su Qinghan was wearing an overcoat, standing under the colonnade of the passage.

The surrounding relatives had long since dispersed.

"You've been waiting a long time, right?" Zhu Wenhao walked up.

"It's fine," Su Qinghan tucked her frozen hands into her coat pockets. "Minister Xiao had official business to attend to and left first. Your father and mother have also left."

Li Juan had left.

She had ultimately seen the current situation clearly and chose to stand under the same roof as the husband she had neglected for half her life.

"Let's go back too."

The two walked out of the courtyard gate.

Just as they stepped off the steps, Study Committee Member Cao Rui greeted them from beside a public car at the corner of the street.

He dutifully opened the back door.

Zhu Wenhao bent down to get in the car. Before leaving, his gaze inadvertently crossed Study Committee Member Cao Rui's shoulder.

At the courtyard entrance, Li Zhengxing was standing beside the stone lion, his eyes staring straight this way.

In that gaze, there was no longer the arrogance of an elder, but rather a bit more unfathomable calculation.

The engine started, and the car drove steadily into the night of Jingjiang.

Returning to the business chain hotel.

Study Committee Member Cao Rui parked the car steadily.

"Secretary, returning to Heishi Town tomorrow morning, what time should I come to pick you up?" Study Committee Member Cao Rui asked.

"Eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Study Committee Member Cao Rui acknowledged and left, driving away and disappearing around the street corner.

In the hotel lobby, Director Xu Jie was sitting on the sofa in the lounge area.

Seeing Zhu Wenhao enter, she closed her folder and walked up.

"The itinerary is set," Zhu Wenhao said. "Departing at eight tomorrow morning to go back."

"Okay. I have already notified Secretary Chen of the Discipline Inspection Commission to process the paperwork for those suspended personnel in the town, so we can close the case when we return."

Director Xu Jie always did things one step ahead of others.

The two briefly discussed various administrative affairs for tomorrow, then dispersed.

The elevator went straight to the top floor.

The suite door was swiped open, and the warmth rushed to meet them.

Zhu Wenhao took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack.

"I'm going to take a shower."

The sound of water splashed in the bathroom.

Under the warm-toned wall lamp of the suite, Su Qinghan sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, the small purple sandalwood box placed on her knees.

She flipped open the copper clasp, and the lid lifted.

Inside lay a pair of jade bracelets of excellent quality, with good translucency, dripping with green, and of great age.

She stretched out her fingers and stroked the cold surface of the jade bracelets.

Since she was a child in The Su Family, she had never felt this kind of security of being truly accepted by a family.

Today's Li family banquet, that steamed sea bass, this small purple sandalwood box.

All of this was thanks to the man who was washing away his fatigue in the bathroom.

A huge stone in her heart had landed, and what remained was a certain long-repressed intensity.

The sound of water stopped.

Zhu Wenhao wiped his wet hair and walked out of the bathroom wearing a loose bathrobe.

Just as he walked to the bedside, Su Qinghan stood up abruptly.

She didn't have any of her usual coldness; a pair of arms climbed directly onto the back of his neck, and she threw herself into his arms.

Zhu Wenhao was pushed back half a step by this force and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"All washed up?" Zhu Wenhao reached out to wrap his arms around her waist.

Su Qinghan didn't answer; her warm, soft lips pressed directly onto his.

The movement was awkward, yet carried an undeniable determination.

The night wind beat against the high-rise hotel glass, but the temperature inside the room was climbing step by step.

Shedding the disguise of power and strategy, removing all defenses, this night, both of them seemed to want to burn away all the fear, calculations, and fatigue that had been repressed in their hearts on this small bed.

Until the second half of the night, Su Qinghan finally exhausted her last bit of strength.

Her sweat-dampened hair stuck to her cheeks, and like a lazy cat, she curled up in Zhu Wenhao's arms and fell into a deep sleep.

Zhu Wenhao leaned against the head of the bed, pulled up the corner of the quilt to cover her tightly.

Outside the window, Jingjiang City was already at the time when the lights of ten thousand homes were extinguished.

Tomorrow, on the battlefield of Heishi Town, there were still hard battles to be fought.