303: Chapter 303 Xu Jie's Phone Call

"Zhu Wenhao." Director Xu Jie's voice came through the receiver, "I have returned to The Capital."

There was a rare touch of lightness in her tone.

With the engagement to Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao called off, the dark clouds that had hung over her for years had finally dispersed.

Zhu Wenhao gripped his phone, not engaging in the pleasantries that would follow such joy.

"Zhu Wenhao." Director Xu Jie's voice came through the receiver, "I have returned to The Capital."

"Zhu Wenhao." Director Xu Jie got straight to the point, "People from the Liu Family came today. Executive Deputy Minister Liu from the Organization Department of The Capital personally visited Li Zhenguo."

The voice on the other end of the line stopped abruptly; the lightness from just a moment ago vanished completely.

"Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao's uncle, Liu Bin, made the move himself?" Director Xu Jie's speaking speed increased.

"Yes." Zhu Wenhao answered crisply.

Director Xu Jie knew the weight of Liu Bin all too well.

An Executive Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of The Capital—a high-ranking official of this level deigning to lower himself during the Spring Festival to walk into the study of a retired Deputy Secretary was a ruthless scheme meant to roast the Li Family over a fire.

"Zhu Wenhao, what do you need me to do?" Director Xu Jie didn't waste words, cutting straight to the core.

"It's simple." Zhu Wenhao's gaze drifted past the desk, "Minister Xiao Dingyu is going to pay a New Year's visit to Secretary Lao this afternoon. I want to ask if Secretary Lao's schedule can accommodate us."

Director Xu Jie gripped her phone and remained silent for two seconds.

"Must it be so urgent?" She asked.

This question was abrupt, but she knew full well that Zhu Wenhao's request was even more so.

The holiday schedule of a provincial-level official was surrounded by countless officials wanting to submit New Year's greetings. Calling directly to cut the line would easily cause resentment.

Even if Secretary Lao Liguo was a protégé brought up by Old Master Xu back in the day, at their level, favors had to be weighed carefully.

But she understood Zhu Wenhao even better. This man always planned three steps ahead; if he weren't facing a dead end, he would never have made such a taboo request.

"How about this." Director Xu Jie didn't ask for the reason, "I'll book the next flight back to Jingjiang now. Follow my instructions. When the time comes, I'll take you to see Secretary Lao."

"Okay." Zhu Wenhao agreed.

This was the optimal solution.

With the old leader's own granddaughter stepping forward, using the banner of the Xu Family of The Capital, Secretary Lao Liguo would never refuse this favor. Only then could they walk into the Provincial Party Committee No. 1 Compound openly and wash clean the dirty water splashed by the Liu Family.

He had originally intended to let Minister Xiao Dingyu pass the message; after all, constantly utilizing his relationship with Director Xu Jie could easily lead to accusations of climbing the social ladder. But Director Xu Jie had taken the burden upon herself.

The call ended.

Li Zhenguo sat in the grand armchair, looking at his grandson before him, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"Zhu Wenhao, you are going to see Secretary Lao? Someone is taking you in?"

"Yes." Zhu Wenhao put away his phone, "Grandfather, since Minister Liu wants to use your board, then I will take this board to Secretary Lao. As long as I can sit at the same tea table as Secretary Lao, the momentum the Liu Family has built will collapse on its own."

Li Zhenguo took a deep breath. He had thought it was a dead knot, but his grandson had smashed open a path using more direct background and connections.

"Do you need your eldest uncle to accompany you?" Li Zhenguo suggested.

This was the Li Family's chance to turn things around, and he wanted his eldest son to also go and show his face before Secretary Lao Liguo.

Zhu Wenhao ignored this statement completely.

Why should he bring Li Zhengxing along for connections that he himself had cultivated?

His eldest uncle had stayed in The Capital for too long and had picked up too many habits of being arrogant but incompetent; encountering this kind of real, hard-hitting game, he would only cause trouble.

Grandfather always thought about promoting his eldest uncle in everything; this lack of clarity and selfishness would ruin things at critical moments.

"Grandfather, this matter is not something you or I can decide; others have their own considerations." Zhu Wenhao's tone was calm, directly shutting down Li Zhenguo's words, "Too many people mean too many voices; it's not appropriate to go."

Li Zhenguo coughed dryly, knowing that his request had overstepped.

Zhu Wenhao stood up and straightened his clothes.

"Grandfather, let's go out. The people outside must be getting impatient."

"Alright." Li Zhenguo stood up with the help of his cane, the previous despondency swept away, and his weather-beaten face even radiated a bit of spirit.

The two walked out of the study, one after the other.

"Butler Wang Jianan!" Li Zhenguo shouted at the top of his lungs, "Serve the meal!"

Butler Wang Jianan, who had been guarding the hallway, hurried over, "Right away, Old Master, the food has long been prepared."

"Then serve the dishes!" Li Zhenguo waved his hand, "Li Zhengxing, get things organized."

Li Zhengxing, sitting on the sofa in the living room, saw his father come out with high spirits and was a bit confused, but he immediately stood up and agreed: "Right away, Dad." He turned to look at Secretary Zhu Tianhe and Li Juan, "Sister, brother-in-law, let's go, take your seats."

The family moved to the dining hall.

The large mahogany round table was filled with dishes that were a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.

Li Zhenguo was in a great mood and made an exception to have someone open a bottle of aged Moutai.

Using the holiday as an excuse, he drank two glasses in a row.

One of those glasses was specifically raised to clink with Zhu Wenhao's.

This action made Li Zhengxing's eyes ache.

When he, as the eldest son, went to offer a toast, Li Zhenguo only raised his glass for a sip and didn't even say any words of encouragement.

After the meal, Li Zhenguo went to the backyard for a nap.

Tea was brewed again in the living room.

Li Zhengxing sat on the main sofa, and after downing a cup of hot tea, the slight unpleasantness from the dining table was cast to the back of his mind.

"Secretary Zhu Tianhe." Li Zhengxing assumed the air of an official, "I have also been pondering the situation in Linjiang City recently. This person, Mayor Su Changming, is good at handling the economy, but his positioning is lacking. You in the Municipal Party Committee cannot just rely on digging in your heels; you must know how to break the deadlock."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe sat on the side, holding his teacup without making a sound.

Li Zhengxing spoke endlessly about his "method to break the deadlock."

"You must restrain him from a macro perspective. For example, regarding the several major projects pushed by the Municipal Government, the Municipal Party Committee can stall the approval process, conduct a few special investigations, and drag out his progress. Once he gets anxious, he will naturally come to the Municipal Party Committee to compromise. This is called waiting at ease for the exhausted enemy."

Zhu Wenhao sat to the side, listening to his eldest uncle's high-sounding rhetoric, and shook his head inwardly.

It was all those armchair strategies from within the government offices.

Mayor Su Changming had been operating in Linjiang City for many years and was deeply rooted; could stalling a few projects make him compromise?

Political struggle is not a child's game. Without real, tangible interest exchanges and holding a fatal piece of leverage in one's hand, this kind of painless obstruction will only intensify conflicts and allow the opponent to seize on the pretext of sabotaging local economic development to bite back.

Li Zhengxing saw that Secretary Zhu Tianhe wasn't taking the bait, felt it was boring, and shifted his gaze to Zhu Wenhao.

"Zhu Wenhao, your Heishi Town has quite a reputation now." Li Zhengxing adopted the posture of an elder, "However, if you take too big a step, you're liable to tear your crotch. Things like the 'Sunshine Ledger' and tripartite supervision—the ideas are good. But grassroots governance ultimately relies on cadres. If you keep the financial power so tight, how are the people below supposed to work? You must understand the principle that when water is too clear, there are no fish."

He put down his teacup, preparing to continue expressing his high-minded views.

"Eldest uncle." Zhu Wenhao interrupted him.

"Every place has its own logic for development."

Zhu Wenhao raised his eyes, "Oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges; grown north of the Huai, they become bitter trifoliate oranges. The paper-shuffling meetings in The Capital cannot cure the mining bullies of Heishi Town; on-paper trade-offs cannot pave the muddy roads at the doorsteps of the common people. Whether the water is clear or not does not depend on whether there are fish, but on whether there is rice in the pots of the common people."

Li Zhengxing was choked up by these words, opened his mouth, his face turning red and then white, unable to utter a single word.

Just as the atmosphere was deadlocked, a hearty laugh came from outside the living room.

Director Qi Shan of the Provincial Public Security Department, wearing casual clothes, walked in with long, confident strides.

After Secretary Lei Zhen was suspended, he had taken over the comprehensive work of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and he was in high spirits.

Following behind him was a young man in his early twenties, wearing a dark trench coat, who looked somewhat like Director Qi Shan, his eyes bright as he sized up the room.

"Li Zhengxing, Secretary Zhu Tianhe, Happy New Year!" Director Qi Shan cupped his hands in greeting as soon as he entered.

"Director Qi." Secretary Zhu Tianhe stood up and walked over with a smile.

Li Zhengxing also hurriedly suppressed his embarrassment and put on a warm, smiling face.

Director Qi Shan exchanged pleasantries with everyone for a moment, then shifted his gaze directly to Zhu Wenhao.

He walked over with large strides.

"Zhu Wenhao." Director Qi Shan patted Zhu Wenhao on the shoulder, "Come, let's get to know each other."

He pulled the young man behind him to the front, "This is that rascal of mine, Qi Wei. He just transferred back from another place to the Municipal Public Security Bureau of Jingjiang, working in the prohibition of contraband."

Qi Wei looked at Zhu Wenhao and took the initiative to extend his hand: "Brother Wenhao, I've long heard of your name. My dad uses you to lecture me every day at home; my ears have grown calluses from it."

This was showing his hand, and also building connections with the next generation.

Zhu Wenhao stood up and reached out to grasp Qi Wei's hand, his grip steady.

Just as he was about to say some polite, formal words, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

The phone vibrated urgently in his pocket, breaking the harmony of the living room.