Chapter 409: Rumors (Part 2)

Chapter 409: Rumors (Part 2)

The next day, at the provincial Party School’s graduate program.

After the morning classes concluded, Chen Zaixi stood at the front row and clapped his hands. He announced loudly, “The First Branch is having a group lunch today. This is our first gathering as a branch. Unless you have urgent matters, I hope everyone will participate in this collective activity.”

“The lunch today is sponsored by General Manager Yang from the Provincial Transport Group. Please make sure to raise a glass to him during the meal.”

The graduate class was large, divided into three branches. Hou Weidong, Guo Lan, and Li Jun were all assigned to the First Branch. The branch secretary was Chen Zaixi, Director of the First Discipline Inspection Office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Most students at the Party School came with the intention of networking. When Chen Zaixi made the proposal, everyone responded enthusiastically. Hou Weidong had originally planned to return to his dorm to cuddle his cute pet, Xiao Chouchou, but seeing that everyone else was going, he decided to join. After all, the vast majority of his classmates were officials. Making one more friend might open up another path in the future.

Li Jun, sitting in the front row, turned around and smiled. “Director Hou, I didn’t bring my car today. Would you mind giving two beautiful ladies a ride back? Would you be happy to do that?”

Hou Weidong hesitated slightly. “I’m afraid I’ll be heading back a bit later.”

Guo Lan didn’t turn around, but she had been listening to their conversation. Hearing Hou Weidong’s attempt to make an excuse, she felt a twinge of disappointment.

Li Jun, however, was not discouraged. She replied cheerfully, “Heading back later is perfect. Guo Lan and I were just planning to go shopping. We can contact you by phone then.”

Hou Weidong had no choice but to agree. “Alright, I’ll contact you then.”

Under Chen Zaixi’s lead, the sixteen members of the First Branch split into five cars and set off in a grand procession toward the designated restaurant.

The First Branch was a mix of officials from the provincial, municipal, and county levels.

From the provincial organs, there were Chen Zaixi from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, Li Tao from the Provincial Party Committee Information Office, Yan Yongjun from the Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, and Yang Guangming from the Provincial Transport Group.

Municipal officials made up the majority. From Shazhou City, there were Hou Weidong, Li Jun, and Guo Lan. From Maoyun City’s Nanpu District, there was Deputy District Head Jing Wei, among others.

There were also heads of various county departments. Li Bing, Deputy County Head of Wu Hai County, was also in the First Branch. Li Bing had previously served as the Deputy County Head in charge of transportation in Yiyang County. He had transferred to Wu Hai County a long time ago and was now the Executive Deputy County Head there. He could be considered Hou Weidong’s former superior.

Yang Guangming, Deputy General Manager of the Provincial Transport Group, waited personally outside the restaurant. He warmly shook hands with Chen Zaixi, Yan Yongjun, Jing Wei, and the others, then led the group to a private room upstairs.

The private room contained two round tables. Although Yang Guangming was the host, he firmly refused to take the seat of honor. “Today is a gathering for the First Branch. Director Chen is the branch secretary, so it is only right for you to take the seat of honor.” Chen Zaixi, unable to refuse after repeated polite refusals, took the seat.

Subsequently, Li Tao and Yan Yongjun from the provincial organs, Deputy District Head Jing Wei, and Deputy County Head Li Bing sat at the same table as Chen Zaixi. Hou Weidong had dined with the wife of Secretary Meng of the Provincial Party Committee and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Provincial CPPCC the previous day, so he didn’t pay much attention to such formalities. While Chen Zaixi and Yang Guangming were politely pushing the seat of honor back and forth, Hou Weidong proactively sat at the other table, joining Guo Lan and Li Jun.

Guo Lan had tied her shoulder-length hair into a short ponytail and wore light makeup. She wore no jewelry on her ears or wrists, presenting a natural, unadorned look. Once everyone was seated, she said to Hou Weidong, “You probably won’t feel comfortable sitting here.”

She had worked in the organization department for a long time and was an expert in procedural matters and unwritten rules. Hou Weidong was the Deputy Director of the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee Office, a deputy division-level official. He was fully qualified to sit at the main table. Moreover, his position was significantly more important than that of Deputy County Head Li Bing. Since Li Bing was sitting at the head of the table, he would surely have proactively suggested that Hou Weidong move over.

Although these matters seemed trivial, in Lingxi, where officialdom dominated, unwritten rules were often enforced with strict precision and rarely blurred.

Hou Weidong understood Guo Lan’s meaning. He glanced at the other table and said, “I need to drive on the highway, so I can’t drink. It’s more relaxed here.”

As Guo Lan had predicted, Yang Guangming walked over with a smile. “Director Hou, there’s still space over there. It’s too crowded here.”

Hou Weidong replied, “General Manager Yang, I’ll stay here. I need to drive on the highway later.”

Yang Guangming said, “Don’t worry. I’ll arrange a driver to wait for you immediately. He will ensure you are safely returned to Shazhou.”

Hou Weidong, feeling helpless, had no choice but to stand up. As he rose, he turned his head and happened to catch Guo Lan’s gaze. Their eyes met. Guo Lan blinked her eyes with a hint of triumph.

When Hou Weidong reluctantly moved to the other table, Guo Lan noticed Li Jun staring at her intently. She touched her face and asked, “What are you looking at? Is my face dirty?”

Li Jun looked at her for a moment, then leaned close to Guo Lan’s ear and whispered, “Lanlan, your face is red.”

“No, it’s not.”

“It is.”

Hou Weidong sat next to Deputy County Head Li Bing. Li Bing introduced him again to Chen Zaixi. “Director Chen, Director Hou is the Deputy Director of the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee Office and Secretary Zhou’s secretary.”

Chen Zaixi had worked in local government and knew the importance of Hou Weidong’s position. He stood up, shook Hou Weidong’s hand proactively, and said, “Director Hou, you must be under thirty, right? To be a division-level official at such a young age, your future is limitless.”

The scope of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection’s First Discipline Inspection Office included Shazhou. Hou Weidong dared not be negligent. He smiled and said, “Director Chen, please don’t flatter me. The higher you praise, the harder the fall.” He added, “Director Chen is like the Imperial Censor of the Eight Prefectures, traveling across cities and counties. Officials at all levels must stand at attention when you arrive.”

Everyone agreed with Hou Weidong’s assessment.

Chen Zaixi asked, “Director Hou, which year did you join the Municipal Party Committee? I haven’t been to Shazhou for cases in two or three years. The last time was handling the case of You Hong, the Public Security Bureau Chief of Yiyang County. Back then, the underworld in Yiyang was quite rampant, largely due to You Hong’s involvement.”

“When the You Hong case was being handled, I was at the Yiyang County Party Committee Office. Secretary Ji Daoquan handled it personally,” said Li Bing, the Executive Deputy County Head of Wu Hai County. “You Hong was quite capable, with high-level case-handling skills. When I was the Party Secretary of Chengguan Town in Yiyang, he was the chief of the urban police station. He did considerable work in fighting human trafficking and catching pickpockets. No one expected him to suddenly capsize and do such absurd things.”

Jing Wei, Deputy District Head of Nanpu District in Maodong, asked with interest, “Director Hou, you worked at the Yiyang County Party Committee Office? At that time, Secretary Zhu must have been the County Party Secretary?”

Li Bing laughed from the side. “Director Hou was Secretary Zhu’s dedicated secretary.”

Jing Wei said enthusiastically, “We are all friends here. When Director Hou visits Maodong to see Secretary Zhu, I will host the dinner.”

Zhu Yan was the Deputy Party Secretary in charge of organization in Maodong. Although he had not been there long, he had high prestige. Jing Wei, as Deputy District Head of Nanpu District, needed to rise one more level, and Zhu Yan was a crucial figure. Therefore, he had been seeking every opportunity to get close to Zhu Yan but had never broken through. Who would have thought that after searching high and low, he would find Zhu Yan’s former secretary right here in the First Branch of the graduate class?

“Since he was Zhu Yan’s secretary, why didn’t he follow him to Maodong? This shows that Hou Weidong did not gain Zhu Yan’s trust,” Jing Wei thought, while making his enthusiastic invitation. However, he quickly reconsidered: “Hou Weidong is already the Deputy Director of the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee Office. If he had a bad relationship with Zhu Yan, how could he become Secretary Zhou Changquan’s secretary? This guy managed to become the secretary for two different Party Secretaries; his abilities must be considerable.”

“What is your mobile number? I’ll call you,” Jing Wei said, proactively taking Hou Weidong’s phone number.

As they chatted, hot dishes began to arrive continuously. Everyone was eager to make friends, so the drinking atmosphere was lively. Hou Weidong, needing to drive on the highway, poured about two taels of baijiu into a wine glass and refused to drink any more under any circumstances.

The banquet ended around three o’clock. As they parted, Hou Weidong extended an invitation to Chen Zaixi. “Director Chen, please come to Shazhou to guide our work.”

Chen Zaixi joked, “Wherever we go, it’s never good news. Why are you welcoming us?”

Hou Weidong smiled. “The Discipline Inspection Commission doesn’t actually target cadres; it protects them. I have that level of awareness. Whether for public or private reasons, I welcome Director Chen to Shazhou.”

Chen Zaixi smiled and said meaningfully, “Then I shall accept your invitation. I plan to visit Shazhou soon.”

Recently, the First Discipline Inspection Office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection had received several letters reporting Kong Zhengyi, the Director of the Shazhou Municipal Finance Bureau. The reports were detailed and highly credible. Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, Liao Ping, had already issued instructions. Chen Zaixi planned to bring a team to Shazhou the following week.

Hou Weidong saw Guo Lan and Li Jun walking out of the hall. He quickened his pace and asked them, “What time do you plan to return to Shazhou?”

Li Jun checked her watch. “We’ll go to the Lingxi Shopping Street first. We can have dinner together there, or we can go back to Shazhou for dinner.”

Guo Lan sensed that Hou Weidong had something on his mind. She said, “Hou Weidong, if you have something to do, go ahead. Don’t worry about us.”

This made Hou Weidong feel awkward. He said, “It’s settled then. I’ll come to the Shopping Street at six o’clock to pick you up. I’ll call you when I arrive.”

Guo Lan was wearing a light-colored half-length coat, her hair tied up in a ponytail. This image was quite different from her usual short-haired look. Suddenly, Hou Weidong felt that this appearance was familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had seen it before. He asked, “Guo Lan, did you have long hair before? Why do I feel like I’ve seen you like this?”

Guo Lan’s heart skipped a beat. She pretended to be relaxed and said, “We’ve known each other for five or six years. We’re old acquaintances.”

Li Jun blinked her eyes. A woman’s sixth sense is strong; she had long noticed that Guo Lan had special feelings for Hou Weidong. With most men, Guo Lan maintained a confident and friendly distance. But in front of Hou Weidong, she blushed often and always pretended to be cold.

What did this behavior mean? Li Jun, being a woman, knew clearly in her heart. She sighed inwardly, “Guo Lan is such an excellent girl, why is her marriage life always so unlucky?”

Li Jun suddenly said, “Guo Lan had long hair since middle school. She only cut it short after starting work.”