444: Chapter 44 This is about climbing up to a powerful patron.

Privately, Minister Qu Boming and Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang were as thick as thieves.

Such a big event, and a very good one at that, meant Minister Qu Boming naturally wanted to show it off to Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang immediately.

Sure enough, after settling Manager Xiao and the others in, Minister Qu Boming went straight to Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang's office.

Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang was busy processing some documents. Accustomed to Minister Qu Boming's arrivals, she merely glanced at him before preparing to continue signing one of the documents.

Huh...

Something was a little off!

Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang noticed that not only was Minister Qu Boming in high spirits, but his face also displayed obvious joy, as if he were as happy as someone who had just won the lottery.

Putting down her pen, she asked curiously, "Comrade Boming, what has made you so happy?"

Minister Qu Boming closed the office door, sat down on the sofa without standing on ceremony, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"Comrade Fenfang, the two of us are about to turn things around. We might even be able to completely topple that Qin fellow!"

No way!

Turning the tables and becoming the master was something Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang dreamed of. She had even thought about whether, if she could bring Qin Chuan down, she might be able to take a step forward and sit in the mayor's chair of Dongjiang City.

A female mayor in her forties—just thinking about it made her excited.

She asked with a hint of disbelief, "Comrade Boming, is what you're saying true? You aren't lying to me, are you?"

"Of course," Minister Qu Boming said smugly. "How could I possibly joke about something like this? Do you know what I went to the provincial capital for today?"

She knew Minister Qu Boming had taken leave to go to the provincial capital.

But she didn't know why he went, nor did she give it much thought; it was perfectly normal for municipal leaders to take trips to the provincial capital.

"Old Qu, stop keeping me in suspense. Tell me quickly, what exactly happened to make you so happy?"

Minister Qu Boming laughed heartily. "I went to the provincial capital today mainly to pick someone up..."

He gave a brief account of the matter, specifically emphasizing Manager Xiao's background.

What!!!

Manager Xiao actually had such an incredible background!

In Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang's view, such a background was something she could only look up to. If she could establish a connection with him and have Manager Xiao's support, she wouldn't be afraid of not just one Qin Chuan, but ten.

She had heard that Qin Chuan had connections in the capital, and quite powerful ones at that, but no matter how powerful they were, could they be as powerful as Manager Xiao? His father was a high-ranking leader, the kind who frequently appeared on television news.

Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang was a bit excited. "Old Qu, then tonight, we must definitely accompany Mr. Xiao and the others for a few drinks."

"That's for sure. I've already arranged the banquet according to the highest specifications," Minister Qu Boming said. "Comrade Fenfang, I specifically told you about this—I'm treating you well, aren't I?"

"Mhm, you certainly are treating me well," Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang said. "Rest assured, I will keep this in mind. We will support each other in our work."

Minister Qu Boming said, "I'm afraid that's not enough."

Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang replied, "I know. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get a taste of the benefits."

After saying this, she gave Minister Qu Boming a flirtatious look.

That evening, they hosted Manager Xiao and his group in the most luxurious private room at the best hotel in Dongjiang City. The meal cost tens of thousands, which was extremely extravagant.

Municipal Party Secretary's Office.

Qin Chuan had only been at work for a few minutes. Sitting in his office chair, he picked up his teacup and took a sip of hot tea; the water temperature was just right.

Xiao Zhang, his secretary, was quite good. He timed it perfectly to brew the hot tea and had arranged the documents to be processed today in order of priority.

After taking a sip of tea and preparing to pick up one of the documents to read, a knock sounded at the office door. Deputy County Mayor Zhang Tianxiong knocked and entered.

"Leader, there is a situation I would like to report to you."

"Mhm, go ahead."

Deputy County Mayor Zhang Tianxiong said, "I heard that last night, Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang and Minister Qu hosted a banquet at the Dongjiang Hotel for some distinguished guests from the capital. I quietly inquired about them; the leader of the group is named Manager Xiao, and his background is very extraordinary. I heard he is the son of a high-ranking leader in the capital."

Qin Chuan's reaction was very calm; he just nodded slightly. "Mhm, I see."

He said only those few words and nothing more, then picked up the documents on the desk and began to read.

Seeing this, Deputy County Mayor Zhang Tianxiong quietly retreated and gently closed the door.

He was very curious about why the leader's reaction was so calm, but as a secretary, he knew he could only keep this curiosity to himself rather than rashly asking.

Why was Qin Chuan's reaction so calm?

In fact, he had known about the situation earlier than anyone else.

Early yesterday morning, after looking at the system's notification, he knew that Minister Qu Boming was going to the Provincial Capital Airport to pick someone up, and he knew who he was picking up.

Everyone else thought Manager Xiao was the son of some high-ranking leader in the capital, but in fact, Qin Chuan knew he was just a fraud.

When Minister Qu Boming asked him for leave, saying he wanted to take a trip to the provincial capital, he approved it immediately.

He just hadn't expected Minister Qu Boming to cover it up so tightly, as if he were afraid that Qin Chuan would make contact with Manager Xiao and steal his thunder.

Since that was the case, he simply pretended not to know anything.

Last night, Minister Qu Boming and Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang hosted a banquet for Manager Xiao and his group. Starting this morning, the two of them turned into lackeys and followers, accompanying Manager Xiao and the others around Dongjiang City under the guise of an inspection, when in reality, the main activity today was visiting major tourist attractions.

For two or three days in a row, the main work of Minister Qu Boming and Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang was to accompany Manager Xiao.

Deputy County Mayor Zhang Tianxiong pushed open the door and entered Qin Chuan's office again.

"Leader, Deputy Secretary Zhao, Minister Qu Boming, and the others accompanied Mr. Xiao and his group to the Qingshan Steel Plant today. They inspected the place for over two hours before leaving."

Qin Chuan was a little surprised that they had actually gone to the Qingshan Steel Plant.

This was the only large-scale enterprise in Dongjiang City, with tens of thousands of employees. In its heyday, it produced several million tons of steel annually, but in recent years, it had been on a downward trend, starting to incur losses, and last year it had even reached the point where it was difficult to pay wages.

The city was already discussing how to handle the Qingshan Steel Plant. The mainstream opinion was to bring in investment and undergo bankruptcy restructuring, while some also proposed simply selling it off in a package deal so that Dongjiang City could completely shed this burden.

This was interesting. Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang and the others had taken Manager Xiao to the Qingshan Steel Plant.

Qin Chuan smiled meaningfully and then instructed, "Continue to keep an eye on it and report any developments to me immediately."

...

Deputy Secretary's Office.

Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang had returned from the Qingshan Steel Plant. She had just accompanied Manager Xiao and his group on a tour and personally introduced the situation at the steel plant. She was very clear that Manager Xiao had taken a liking to this plant.

The Qingshan Steel Plant was no ordinary place. Although it had reached the point of bankruptcy, its scale was still significant. It would be very difficult to sell it at a low price; at the very least, Qin Chuan would not agree to it.

This was quite tricky.

Deputy Secretary Zhao Fenfang sat and thought about it, but when she thought of Manager Xiao's identity and background, she became cautious once again. Sometimes, she had a bit of doubt; her intuition told her that Manager Xiao didn't quite seem like the son of a high-ranking leader.