45: Chapter 45 Son, what do you think?

The private room at Shangweiju was not large, and its storefront was utterly inconspicuous.

Old Sun pushed open the door, stepped halfway to the side, and gestured toward the seat of honor.

"Zhu Wenhao, come, sit here," he said, guiding Zhu Wenhao toward the seat of honor.

Zhu Wenhao stopped in his tracks. Instead of walking toward the seat of honor, his gaze swept past Section Chief Li's graying temples, and he pulled out a side chair and sat down steadily.

"Among us, Section Chief Li is the eldest."

"Section Chief Li should sit in the seat of honor."

How could Section Chief Li dare to sit there!

He waved his hands repeatedly. "That won't do! You are the guest of honor today. How could I overstep my bounds!"

Zhu Wenhao did not urge him further, his slender fingers tapping twice gently on the table.

Thud, thud.

Old Sun was a shrewd and worldly man. Seeing this, he immediately grabbed Section Chief Li's shoulder and, with an unquestionable force, physically pushed the forty-something Education Section chief into the seat of honor.

During this meal, everyone knew exactly who was begging whom.

Zhu Wenhao not sitting in the seat of honor was to save some face for the veteran cadre.

But the rules had already been established.

Section Chief Li felt like he was sitting on a bed of needles in the seat of honor. The waiters filed in, and the dishes were laid out one by one.

The white cut chicken had smooth skin and tender meat, the roasted goose was savory and glistening with oil, and the steamed high-fin grouper was piping hot.

Old Sun opened a bottle of his treasured Feitian Moutai, personally filled Zhu Wenhao's glass, and raised the first toast.

"Zhu Wenhao, your brother toasts you with this glass. I've received a lot of care from you in the office lately."

Zhu Wenhao raised his hand and gently pressed his index and middle fingers against the rim of the glass.

"I drove here, so not a single drop of alcohol."

"I appreciate Brother Sun's kind intentions."

Old Sun didn't feel embarrassed in the slightest. He threw his head back and drained his glass, leaving not a single drop.

Seizing the opportunity, Section Chief Li picked up the second cup in front of him, which had already been filled with barley tea.

"Young Master Zhu, I will toast you with tea instead of wine."

Zhu Wenhao raised his teacup and clinked it gently against his.

For the rest of the dinner, it was entirely up to Section Chief Li to keep the atmosphere lively.

He had spent half his life navigating the dining tables of the Municipal Education Bureau; what he lacked least were insights and eloquence.

Secrets of the officialdom hidden deep within the city streets were served up by him like side dishes, carefully measured and brought to the table one by one.

"Zhu Wenhao, you might not often visit the grassroots levels from the Organization Department. Things have been in absolute chaos over at the Urban Construction Bureau lately. Ever since Zheng Jianguo left, several construction teams underneath have been blocking the gates every day to demand payment."

"The Education Bureau isn't peaceful either. With the two newly built key high school campuses, there are undercurrents in the bidding process, and several large local enterprises are fighting tooth and nail over it."

Zhu Wenhao listened as he ate, occasionally nodding.

He precisely needed these tidbits from the grassroots to piece together the true network of power in Linjiang City.

After three rounds of drinks and five courses of dishes.

Old Sun clutched his stomach and stood up, saying, "Oh, this alcohol is going to my head. I'm going to the restroom. You two go ahead and chat."

Before stepping out, Old Sun exchanged a glance with Section Chief Li and quickly closed the private room's door behind him.

Only the two of them were left in the room.

Section Chief Li put down his chopsticks and rubbed his hands vigorously back and forth on his knees.

"Zhu Wenhao."

"Please don't blame Old Sun. He didn't plan to bring me along at first. I was the one who shamelessly forced my way into this dinner invitation. Old Sun is a loyal friend, and since I pestered him relentlessly, he had no choice but to agree."

These words completely absolved Old Sun, delivered with absolute sincerity.

Zhu Wenhao wiped his hands with a towel, leaned back against his chair, and nodded.

"Section Chief Li, if you have any difficulties, speak frankly."

"Let's sort things out first and see if there's any way."

With these reassuring words, the heart that had been hanging in Section Chief Li's throat finally settled halfway back down.

He no longer held anything back, pouring out his predicament entirely.

With Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou's downfall, the wind in the bureau had shifted drastically.

His direct supervisor, Deputy Director Lin, intended to transfer him laterally to the Legal and Planning Section—a low-stakes department only responsible for patching up regulations—during next week's Party leadership group meeting, all to free up a position for a trusted aide.

What was even more fatal was that some special admission slips previously ordered by the bureau leadership had now become landmines that could detonate at any moment.

Once the new section chief started digging into old accounts, Section Chief Li's reputation in his later years would be ruined.

Zhu Wenhao listened extremely carefully, running the stakes and relationships through his mind.

A full section-level cadre who controlled the city's educational quotas—this network was wide enough to be worth bringing under his wing.

"Section Chief Li, things have priorities."

"Job transfers are organizational procedures, but historical legacy issues must be severed cleanly."

"I'll mention it to my old man when I get back."

In the system, this was a promise.

He didn't say it would definitely be done, nor did he say it couldn't be done.

It gave hope while leaving room for maneuver.

Section Chief Li had spent half his life in government offices; how could he not understand the weight of those words?

His eyes welled up instantly. He stood up and bowed deeply.

"Zhu Wenhao, wait for my call."

The two pulled out their phones and exchanged contact information.

Just then, Old Sun pushed open the door and walked in.

Holding the bill receipt in his hand, he glanced at the table and happened to see Zhu Wenhao raising his teacup to clink it with Section Chief Li's.

Old Sun was a shrewd and worldly man; he knew instantly that the matter had been settled.

Everyone chatted lively for a while longer, talking about some casual and romantic topics, before the dinner was declared over.

They parted ways.

The next morning, at the Municipal Organization Department building.

Zhu Wenhao took his completed application form for the Young Cadre Training Class, knocked on Division Chief Zhao Desheng's office door, and handed the form over.

Division Chief Zhao Desheng took the form, looked it over, and said, "No problem, I'll submit it in a moment."

"Zhu Wenhao, there's another situation I should brief you on."

"Liu Xiaolei from the Municipal Party Committee Office has also signed up."

Zhu Wenhao didn't reply, waiting for him to continue.

"Those who signed up from other units are just fresh graduates who recently entered the government offices, nothing to worry about."

Division Chief Zhao Desheng picked up his thermos and lowered his voice.

"You only need to worry about this Liu Xiaolei."

"It's said she has a deep background, but no one over at the Municipal Party Committee Office knows her true details. The quota is tight this time, and she's likely targeting this."

Zhu Wenhao sneered inwardly.

Of course you don't know.

The daughter of Division Chief Liu Haiping and the biological granddaughter of the former provincial number two—with such an illustrious background, the confidentiality work was naturally done thoroughly.

Now that she was coming to snatch the quota for the Young Cadre Training Class, it was obvious that Liu Family wanted to continue paving the way for their younger generation in the province.

Leaving Division Chief Zhao Desheng's office, Zhu Wenhao walked to a quiet corner of the stairwell and dialed Secretary Gao Ming's number.

"Brother Gao, does my father have any plans at noon?"

Receiving the call, Secretary Gao Ming's attitude was polite to the extreme.

"Ah, Zhu Wenhao, Secretary Zhu should be taking his noon break in his office. Are you coming over?"

"Yes, I have some matters to discuss with my father in person. Could Director Gao please help schedule some time at noon?"

"No problem. I'll report to the Secretary on this end, you can just come straight over."

Twelve noon.

At the Municipal Government compound, in the office of the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee.

Zhu Wenhao pushed open the door and walked in.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe had not gone to the inner lounge for his noon break; he was sitting at his desk flipping through documents, specifically waiting for him.

Secretary Gao Ming followed him in carrying two cups of freshly brewed green tea, placed them on the coffee table, and then quietly backed out, shutting the door tightly behind him.

Father and son sat facing each other.

Zhu Wenhao detailed Section Chief Li's dinner from the previous night.

After listening, Secretary Zhu Tianhe commented, "Deputy Director Lin is a die-hard supporter of Secretary Tian Limin. Tian Limin wants to hold the education system in his hands, and Section Chief Li is an obstacle. By bringing Section Chief Li under your wing, you've just driven a nail into Tian Limin's territory. This is easy to handle. I'll have a word with Director Zhou of the Education Bureau and put a hold on the personnel adjustment plan."

Having finished discussing the minor move, Secretary Zhu Tianhe got straight to the point.

"Zhu Wenhao, you want to participate in that Young Cadre Training Class and secure that quota, right?"

"Yes, Father."

Zhu Wenhao put down his teacup and looked directly at him.

"Graduating from the Young Cadre Training Class allows one to skip the half-year internship period for ranking and be directly sent down to serve a temporary post in a village or town."

"I want to take root at the grassroots level to gain some insight and experience."

"Only by firmly taking root at the very bottom will I have true confidence when I am transferred back to the city in the future."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe listened quietly.

He had climbed his way up all the way from a state-owned factory and had suffered from a lack of experience in governing at the grassroots level.

That his son could see through this and actively request to be sent down showed a foresight far exceeding his peers.

"However, Liu Xiaolei has also signed up." Zhu Yuntong's tone turned cold. "During the last provincial civil service exam interview, Liu Family pulled tricks in the exam room and nearly ruined my future. We absolutely cannot repeat the same mistake in this competition for the quota."

"They succeeded last time, but this time, we can't suffer this loss again."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's face darkened.

He subconsciously wanted to say, "I am now the Deputy Secretary, I can handle the situation," but the words stopped at his lips, and he swallowed them back down.

Thinking of his son's performance during this period, he couldn't help but ask, "Son, what do you think?"