49: Chapter 49 Su Changming Invites People to Dinner

Municipal Government, Mayors Office.

Secretary Li Changgeng walked with light steps and pushed open the half-ajar solid wood door.

Behind the desk, Mayor Su Changming was wearing glasses, using a pencil to mark points on the new district planning map sent by the Urban Construction Bureau.

"Mayor."

"The Organization Department has sent news."

"The special admission quota for the Provincial Party Committee's Young Cadre Training Class has been blocked."

Mayor Su Changming's pen stopped at the edge of the drawing without looking up.

Secretary Li Changgeng continued to report.

"Zhu Wenhao and Liu Xiaolei from the Municipal Party Committee Office have both been nominated."

"This afternoon, Secretary Tian personally contacted Minister Zhao Donglai."

"Less than half an hour later, Deputy Secretary Zhu's call also reached Minister Zhao's desk."

Two big shots were sandwiching the Municipal Organization Minister, roasting him over a fire.

Mayor Su Changming took off his glasses and picked up the velvet cloth on the table, wiping the lenses leisurely.

"Is the news accurate?"

"One of Minister Zhao's clerks heard it personally; it cannot be wrong."

Secretary Li Changgeng added at the right moment, "You are as calculating as ever, Boss. When Minister Zhao was transferred, you had already made your move. Now, that spare piece has come to life."

Mayor Su Changming turned a deaf ear to this flattery.

Having drifted in officialdom for decades, he never believed in divine strategy, only in being prepared for a rainy day.

"Go make arrangements."

Mayor Su Changming folded the cleaned glasses and put them into the leather case.

"Call that old restaurant in the south of the city and reserve a quiet private room."

"I want to host a dinner there tonight."

The old restaurant in the south of the city.

The place didn't even have a proper sign outside, hidden deep in the alleys of an old residential compound. The facade was dilapidated, but the interior was a different world.

The head chef, Old Cai, was said to be a retired imperial chef from state banquets. He only opened eight tables a day, and even high-ranking officials couldn't book a spot with money alone.

Mayor Su Changming rarely went there, only hosting dinners there when entertaining high-ranking officials from the province or when there were special guests.

What was even stranger was that no matter how busy the business was, as long as Mayor Su Changming spoke, there was always a Grade A private room reserved for him.

Secretary Li Changgeng dared not ask more, nodded in agreement, and was about to turn around.

"By the way."

"Personally call Zhu Wenhao and tell him to go to the south of the city for dinner tonight."

Secretary Li Changgeng's steps paused slightly.

Invite whom?

Zhu Wenhao?!

Secretary Zhu Tianhe's son, who was only in his early twenties?

Secretary Li Changgeng was shocked, but he dared not show the slightest bit on his face, accepted the order, and retreated.

Back in the outer room, he picked up the landline receiver, his fingers dialing the number even feeling stiff.

He had followed Mayor Su Changming for many years and knew well that his boss was a precision machine, a great judge of character who never did useless work.

Inviting Zhu Wenhao to dinner—he didn't even dare to imagine the deeper meaning behind this.

...

Municipal Organization Department, Cadre Division 2.

Zhu Wenhao was sitting in front of the computer, rushing to finish a secret document.

The mobile phone on the table vibrated abruptly.

Looking at the Mayors Office number dancing on the screen, he calmly pressed the answer key.

"Comrade Zhu Wenhao, hello."

"I am Secretary Li Changgeng from the Municipal Government Office."

Zhu Wenhao typed the last punctuation mark and saved the document.

"Division Chief Li, does Mayor Su have any instructions?"

"I wouldn't dare give instructions."

Secretary Li Changgeng laughed and went straight to the point.

"Mayor Su would like to invite you to a casual meal tonight."

Zhu Wenhao's fingers left the keyboard.

After a brief contemplation, he gave his reply.

"Since the Mayor is inviting, it is naturally convenient."

He picked up the pen on the table and noted down the address and time reported by Secretary Li Changgeng.

In the end, Zhu Wenhao asked seemingly casually.

"Division Chief Li, for this dinner, do I need to bring Su Qinghan with me?"

Secretary Li Changgeng replied flawlessly on the other end.

"The Mayor didn't mention that; he said he would invite you separately to chat."

"Understood."

After hanging up the phone, he dialed Su Qinghan's number again.

The phone rang twice before it was answered.

"Qinghan, your father is inviting me to dinner tonight," Zhu Wenhao said straightforwardly.

There was a distinct pause on the other end. "Did he ask you to bring me along?"

"I asked Secretary Li Changgeng; your father didn't mention it, saying it was a separate invitation."

"A Hongmen Banquet," Su Qinghan commented.

"Just testing the waters."

Zhu Wenhao draped his suit jacket over his arm.

"I'll go first to feel his pulse and see what medicine he has in his gourd."

"I won't be back for dinner tonight; you solve your own meal."

After cutting off the call, it was time to get off work.

Zhao Desheng walked out of the independent office, carrying a briefcase, full of spring breeze.

The position of committee member was about to be secure, and now when he looked at Zhu Wenhao, he was even closer than looking at his own father.

"Yuntong, finished? Let's go. I'll host tonight; let's find a place to get a foot massage and relax," Zhao Desheng leaned over, trying to win him over.

On the other side, Wu Dehai had also packed his things, looking at this side eagerly, waiting for a word from Zhu Wenhao, ready to serve at any time.

"Division Chief Zhao, it's really unfortunate."

Zhu Wenhao politely declined. "The elders in my family have arranged a dinner tonight, and I can't get out of it."

"Another day I will host, and invite you and Wu Dehai to sit together."

Arranged by family elders.

Hearing this, Zhao Desheng didn't dare to keep him any longer, waved his hand to let him go, and secretly speculated what big move Deputy Secretary Zhu had made again.

Zhu Wenhao went downstairs and got into the unassuming Volkswagen Lavida.

The car merged into the evening rush hour and headed south.

The road conditions in this old residential compound in the south of the city were terrible.

The Volkswagen car zigzagged through the potholed alley and finally stopped in front of a grey brick courtyard gate that didn't even have a plaque.

As soon as he pushed open the car door, the cold wind poured in.

In late autumn, the temperature difference between day and night was huge, and the temperature had already dropped to single digits.

Secretary Li Changgeng was standing on the stone steps at the courtyard entrance, wearing only a thin jacket, rubbing his hands together from the cold.

Seeing Zhu Wenhao get out of the car, he hurried up to greet him.

"Yuntong, this place is hard to find, right?"

Secretary Li Changgeng rubbed his hands and breathed out a puff of white air.

"Mayor Su has a temporary high-level conference call; he's expected to be a little late."

"Let's not stand in the wind; let's go into the private room first. I'll have someone brew a pot of hot tea to warm up."

Zhu Wenhao looked at the half-ajar wooden door, but his feet were nailed to the spot, not moving.

"That's not according to the rules."

Secretary Li Changgeng was stunned.

"What's not according to the rules about this? The private room is already reserved."

"Officially, Mayor Su is the core leader of Linjiang, and I am just a clerk in the Organization Department who hasn't finished his internship."

"It is only right for a subordinate to wait for a leader."

"Privately, Mayor Su is an old friend of my father's for many years."

"For a junior to meet an elder, there is no reason for the junior to go into the room to drink tea first."

With a few sentences, he fastened the rules of hierarchy and human relationships tightly, without any leakage.

In the sixtieth year of the Great Ming, on the Dan steps outside the Fengtian Hall, in order to wait for an audience, the civil and military officials could stand for two hours in the freezing winter.

Ritual cannot be abolished.

This is the cloak of power and the armor that protects oneself.

Secretary Li Changgeng wanted to persuade him again.

"Yuntong, you really don't need to care about these empty rituals. It's too cold today; what if you catch a cold..."

"If Division Chief Li is cold, you can go in first to avoid the wind."

Zhu Wenhao's hands hung naturally at his sides, his waist and back standing as straight as a gun.

"I will wait for the Mayor here."

Secretary Li Changgeng opened his mouth and was completely speechless.

He was used to seeing those young people who would sharpen their heads to climb up, wishing they could stick their faces to the floor when meeting leaders.

He had also seen those young masters relying on their fathers' protection, with their nostrils facing the sky, arrogant and conceited.

But the young man in front of him didn't fit any of that.

He followed the rules, making them so perfect that you couldn't pick a single flaw.

Yet in this strict adherence to rules, there was an immovable arrogance.

The late autumn night wind carried dead leaves, swirling and scraping from the mouth of the alley.

Secretary Li Changgeng's teeth were chattering from the cold, and his legs were involuntarily taking small steps, just wanting to find a corner to avoid the wind.

He secretly glanced at Zhu Wenhao with his peripheral vision.

The young man stood quietly under the street lamp, eyes looking straight ahead.

The cold wind blew up the hem of his thin suit, but his figure didn't sway in the slightest, and he didn't even frown.

Having struggled in the system for so many years, this was the first time Secretary Li Changgeng saw such composure in a young man in his early twenties.

Such a person would sooner or later turn into a dragon.

The two stood in the cold wind for a full twenty minutes.

At the mouth of the alley, two dazzling headlights swept over.

A black Audi A6 crushed the fallen leaves and slid steadily to the front of the courtyard gate.

The driver quickly got out of the car and opened the back seat door.

Mayor Su Changming was wearing a dark blue cashmere coat and stepped out of the car.

The first thing he saw was Zhu Wenhao standing under the street lamp, and Secretary Li Changgeng, who was blue in the face from the cold next to him.

The light in Mayor Su Changming's eyes flickered violently for a moment, and then he strode forward.

He took the initiative to extend his right hand, grabbed Zhu Wenhao's cold hand, turned his head to Secretary Li Changgeng, and gave him a harsh scolding.

"Changgeng! How are you doing this job?!"

"On such a cold day, with the temperature so low, don't you know to invite Yuntong inside for a cup of hot tea first?"

"If something happens to him from the cold, I will hold you accountable!"

This style was typical of giving a slap and then rubbing it.

He was scolding his secretary, but he was giving Zhu Wenhao face.

Secretary Li Changgeng apologized repeatedly, nodding aggrievedly.

"Mayor Su, don't blame Division Chief Li."

"It was I who insisted on waiting for you."

"Young people have a lot of energy; standing down here for a while and blowing in the wind makes the mind clearer."

This sentence "mind clearer" was a double entendre, every word like a needle.

Mayor Su Changming looked at him deeply, let go of his hand, and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

"Good!"

"What a good 'mind clearer'!"

Mayor Su Changming turned and walked up the stone steps.

"It's windy outside; let's go in and eat while we chat."