3: Chapter 3 A Dialogue Between Father and Son

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's hand, holding his water cup, stopped in mid-air.

"Who came?"

"What did they want?"

"Did they leave anything behind?"

He asked three questions in quick succession.

The resume of this Executive Vice Mayor was a textbook example of a grassroots counterattack.

At sixteen, he entered a state-owned machinery factory to tighten screws. Relying on a ruthless drive and worldly wisdom, he worked his way up to become the factory director.

Later, during the reform of state-owned enterprises, he was spotted by the current Minister of the Provincial Organization Department, Minister Xiao Dingyu, and entered officialdom.

As an official with a background as a mason, he was extremely sensitive to hidden arrows.

Zhu Wenhao met his father's sharp scrutiny.

"Staff Member Wang Tao from the Policy Research Office brought two bags of local specialties, but I didn't let him in."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe wanted to ask more details.

Footsteps were heard on the stairs.

Secretary Gao Ming walked down the stairs quickly.

"Boss, I've checked."

"The files on the computer haven't been touched, and the items in the drawers are all there."

"Zhu Wenhao was looking at the tender briefing for the Municipal Urban Investment Company and last year's municipal financial disclosure reports."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe glanced at his son.

Someone who usually didn't even look at entertainment headlines was looking at boring financial reports today?

"Little Gao, that's all for today."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe waved him away.

Secretary Gao Ming understood, bowed slightly to excuse himself, and closed the security door.

Only the father and son were left in the living room.

"Sit."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe pointed to the single sofa opposite him.

"Tell me again in detail, who came?"

"Staff Member Wang Tao from the Municipal Policy Research Office."

"He was carrying two square black plastic bags and wanted to come in to wait for you under the guise of reporting on research."

"How did you handle it?"

"I blocked him at the door."

"I asked him directly if he, a mere section member, could bear the consequences if this money were classified as a bribe."

"The man was timid and ran off with the money."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe tapped his fingers on the table.

"I'll give you credit for not being foolish today."

"If it were your usual spoiled young master temper, letting him in casually, the news would be all over the compound tomorrow, and the day after, I'd have to go drink tea at the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

"Did you find out who instructed him?"

"Secretary Li Changgeng."

Zhu Wenhao tossed out the name.

"Mayor Su Changming's secretary."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe raised his eyelids.

Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou had fallen from power, and the Municipal Party Committee compound was full of undercurrents.

He and Mayor Su Changming were the candidates with the highest support.

Mayor Su Changming playing such dirty tricks made his intentions obvious.

"If one scheme fails, there will be another."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe picked up the water cup to drink, moistening his dry throat.

"That old fox, Mayor Su Changming, wouldn't just arrange such a clumsy act."

"Indeed, there is more than one."

Zhu Wenhao looked at his father.

"Staff Member Wang Tao was just a smoke screen."

"Mayor Su Changming's real killer move already happened this morning."

"But the matter has already been resolved."

"I didn't hear you clearly on the phone; tell me in detail now, how was it resolved?"

"Do you know who Su Qinghan is?"

"She is the apple of Mayor Su Changming's eye, a top student of political economy at Renmin University!"

"Mayor Su Changming even used his own daughter to set a trap; what did you use to resolve it!"

Zhu Wenhao sighed lightly.

Modern people are still prone to being impatient.

Those veterans of two dynasties in the court of the ming dynasty would still calmly thank the Emperor for his grace even with a blade at their throats.

"Those who are good at chess plan for the momentum."

Zhu Wenhao recounted what happened at the hotel that morning in a clear and analytical manner once again.

After listening, Secretary Zhu Tianhe remained silent for a long time.

"When the police broke down the door, what made you so sure they wouldn't use force?"

"The essence of law enforcement is an extension of power rent-seeking."

"The scene did not match their expectations, and since the woman identified us as a couple, they lost the legitimacy of law enforcement."

"I am your son; without ironclad evidence, they wouldn't dare to gamble on the price of standing on the wrong side."

"Then what about Su Qinghan?"

"Why would she cooperate with you?"

"Because of the stakes."

Zhu Wenhao leaned back against the chair.

"She knows very well that if she admits to being coerced, she becomes a stepping stone for Mayor Su Changming to reach the top. Furthermore, she would likely end up with an unhappy marriage and the reputation of being a 'damaged woman.' Although marriage freedom is emphasized now, the idea of 'matching social status' is still deeply ingrained in high-level families."

"By cooperating with me, the worst she'll be is rebellious. Even if we break up, it would just be considered a personality clash, which is better than being forced."

"Weighing the two, she had no choice but to choose me."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe suddenly felt that the young man in front of him, while wearing a face he had been familiar with for twenty-four years, the soul inside seemed to have been replaced by someone else. He even felt that the person talking to him was his unfathomable old leader, Minister Xiao.

"This matter isn't over."

Zhu Wenhao didn't give his father time to process it.

He went straight to the next move.

"Since Mayor Su Changming failed to set the trap, he will inevitably become desperate."

"If word gets out, a reputation for failing to discipline one's son is not a good thing."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe leaned back against the sofa, his keen sense of smell developed over many years allowing him to quickly enter the state.

"I'll call Old Li from the Municipal Public Security Bureau tomorrow morning."

"I'll give those who responded to the call today a warning to keep their mouths shut."

"No."

Zhu Wenhao cut him off directly.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe frowned.

"Do you have a better way?"

"Trying to silence them would only confirm our guilt."

"Instead of covering it up, it's better to fan the flames even higher."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe stared at his son.

"You want to make a mountain out of a molehill?"

"Tomorrow, I will go to visit The Su Family with great fanfare."

"I'll bring the best gifts in the city."

"Under the banner of proposing marriage to Secretary Su."

"I want the entire officialdom of Linjiang City to know."

"The eldest son of the Executive Vice Mayor will marry no one but the daughter of the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's pupils constricted.

This move was extremely vicious.

Completely abandoning defense, he was moving the powder keg directly to Mayor Su Changming's doorstep.

If Mayor Su Changming refused, it would be destroying the freedom of marriage and breaking up a couple.

If he accepted, then if he went to snatch the mayor position from his future in-law, his behavior would look too ugly and he would lose points in the eyes of the high-level big shots.

A dilemma; it was a move that killed both the person and their reputation.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe looked at his son, who was talking eloquently.

Such seasoned calculation—let alone a young kid, even an old fox who has been floating in the officialdom for thirty years might not be able to set up such a scheme overnight.

"Zhu Wenhao."

"You never liked reading since you were a child."

"That second-tier university, I had to swallow my pride to find someone to squeeze you in."

"How come you have the heart to look at materials today?"

This was a fatal flaw.

A spoiled brat who just lived to eat and wait for death suddenly became a strategist planning moves.

Zhu Wenhao met Secretary Zhu Tianhe's gaze.

"Because I'm afraid of death."

"When the drug took effect last night, I was conscious."

"This morning, with a gun pointed at my forehead, I was also clear-headed."

Zhu Wenhao's tone was indifferent.

"I suddenly realized that the title of the Executive Vice Mayor's son is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, but a death warrant."

"If you fall, I'll be worse than a stray dog on the street."

"Mayor Su Changming wants to destroy us, father and son. If I continue to slack off, we'll just be waiting to die together."

Zhu Wenhao stood up.

He returned to the study and picked up the white paper with three circles drawn on it.

He handed it to Secretary Zhu Tianhe.

On the paper, the Urban Investment Company, Mayor Su Changming, and Secretary Zhu Tianhe were connected by lines.

"As for why I looked at the materials."

Zhu Wenhao pointed to the circle for the Urban Investment Company.

"I checked the public tender briefing of the Municipal Urban Investment Company and compared it with last year's municipal expenditures."

"Then I checked the business registration information of several winning construction companies."

"Last year, 300 million in special funds for the renovation of the old city went missing."

"Those winning companies are all shell companies with fake capital injections."

The knuckles of Secretary Zhu Tianhe's hand holding the white paper tightened instantly.

The accounts of the Urban Investment Company were a landmine that the Municipal Party Committee was deeply afraid of.

Everyone knew there was a problem, but no one dared to investigate.

"You found this from a pile of public waste paper?"

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's voice deepened.

"Whatever is done will leave a trace."

Zhu Wenhao chuckled.

"Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou has fallen; this fire will burn us sooner or later."

"Mayor Su Changming wants to use the bad debts of the Urban Investment Company to frame you; we cannot sit and wait for death."

"The marriage proposal is just a side move to disgust him."

This bad debt is the trump card to flip the table.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe stared blankly at his son.

He smelled the scent of his own kind.

A ruthlessness that could strangle everything for the sake of power.

"Go to sleep."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe slammed the water cup onto the table, making up his mind.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll prepare the gifts and have your mother go with you. Since we are proposing marriage, how can we not have elders accompany you."

Zhu Wenhao bowed slightly.

He turned and went upstairs.