Returning to Wang Anmin’s side, he was called back by his secretary in the middle of his meal, told that someone from the Prefectural Party Committee had arrived and specifically requested to see him.
When Wang Anguo returned, he was astonished to discover that the visitor was none other than the Organization Minister of the Prefectural Committee.
And the reason for the visit was utterly baffling—he had been promoted!
Upon meeting him, Minister Huang first offered his congratulations, then got straight to the point: he had been promoted to Deputy Director of the Prefectural Party Committee and Administrative Office, ranking third among all deputy directors.
The Regional Committee gave him three days to wrap up his current tasks as quickly as possible and then report for duty in the city immediately.
Upon hearing this news, he was completely dumbfounded.
As the third-ranked deputy director of the Prefectural Party Committee—though not a member of the Standing Committee—he was undoubtedly a high-ranking official.
If it weren’t for the fact that the person standing before him was the Prefectural Committee’s Organization Minister, he would have thought someone was playing a cruel joke on him.
After repeated confirmations, Wang Anmin finally accepted that he had indeed been promoted.
After seeing off Minister Huang, Wang Anmin felt increasingly uneasy. Why on earth had he been promoted out of the blue?
With this question in mind, he immediately called his former boss.
Wang Anmin’s former boss was a powerful figure in the local government who had always looked out for him and served as Wang Anmin’s main connection in the city.
However, to Wang Anmin’s surprise, his former boss was just as baffled as to why he had suddenly been promoted to deputy director of the Prefectural Party Committee.
To be honest, if Wang Anmin hadn’t called him, he would have called Wang Anmin himself.
However, the former superior did provide Wang Anmin with a piece of information: he had been specifically nominated for the promotion.
According to the veteran leader, the Prefectural Committee had suddenly issued an urgent notice this morning to the heads of all departments, ordering them to immediately report to the Prefectural Committee office building for a meeting. The matter was sudden and extremely urgent.
It wasn’t until they arrived that they discovered the meeting was not being chaired by Director Liu of the Prefectural Committee, but by an official sent down from the provincial level.
Moreover, as soon as the meeting began, the Prefectural Committee’s former Deputy Director Zhou, along with the heads of multiple departments including Industry and Commerce and Finance, were removed from their posts on the spot.
The speed and decisiveness of the action exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Later, the provincial leader stated that the vacant positions on the Prefectural Committee could not remain unfilled and must be filled as soon as possible, and subsequently proposed that Wang Anmin take on the role of Deputy Director.
Consequently, everyone at the Prefectural Committee now says that Wang Anmin has struck it lucky and found a new patron; otherwise, how could such a windfall have fallen into his lap?
Even Wang Anmin’s former superior couldn’t help but ask him if he had connected with Dxmbang and the top provincial leaders, his tone lacking the arrogance of before.
But Wang Anmin knew nothing about this, so he just brushed it off with a few perfunctory remarks and hung up the phone.
After hanging up, he suddenly recalled what Li Yi had said at lunchtime.
“With the help of a powerful patron, a promotion is on the way!”
At that thought, his mind began to race. Others might not know, but that kid certainly did.
Immediately afterward, he got in his car and drove straight to his younger brother Wang Anguo’s house!
Wang Anguo had been discussing his resignation with his father and wife when, unexpectedly, his older brother burst in.
“Brother…”
Before he could finish, Wang Anmin cut him off: “An Guo, where’s Brother Li Yi?”
“He’s gone. What’s up, bro?”
“Where did he go?”
“He said he went to the county hospital to pick up his sister, and then he’s heading back to the village!” Wang Anguo replied.
“Come on, let’s go to his place!” Wang Anmin said, sounding somewhat urgent.
“Um… what’s going on, bro? Why the rush?”
Wang Anmin paused briefly, then said, “I got promoted. I’m the deputy director of the Regional Party Committee and Administrative Office—third in rank!”
Wang Anguo: &%……%
Old Man Wang: @￥%……
An Hong: @￥%（）&
………
A Jeep was speeding down the gravel road leading from the county seat to Nianzishan Village!
Inside the vehicle, the Wang brothers were discussing Wang Anmin’s mysterious promotion.
“Bro, you really don’t know how you got promoted?”
Wang Anmin said as he drove, “I really don’t know. There wasn’t a single sign beforehand!”
Wang Anguo couldn’t help but remark, “Brother Li Yi is truly a force to be reckoned with!”
To be honest, Wang Anguo was truly in awe of Li Yi.
Although he’d sensed something good was coming for his brother when Li Yi mentioned it earlier that afternoon, he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.
It had only been an hour, and his prediction had come true—it was truly unbelievable.
“Anguo, is Brother Li Yi really that amazing? Couldn’t it just be a coincidence?” Wang Anmin asked.
“Coincidence? Brother, if one thing is a coincidence, how could every single thing be a coincidence?”
Hearing this, Wang Anmin fell silent.
In the past, if anyone had dared to say such a thing to him, he would have cursed them out.
Even when he first heard about it at noon, he hadn’t believed a word of it.
However, now he could find no grounds to refute it and could only remain silent.
Just as the two brothers were talking, a Jeep suddenly came speeding toward them!
As soon as he saw the license plate, Wang Anguo knew it was Li Gang’s and immediately told Wang Anmin to honk the horn and pull over.
At that moment, Li Gang also recognized Wang Anmin’s car and pulled over immediately.
“Brother Anmin, An Guo, where are you two headed?”
Since the two families had been friends for generations, Li Gang didn’t feel particularly self-conscious even in the presence of Wang Anmin, the county magistrate.
“We were just about to head over to Brother Li Yi’s place. Did you just come from there?” Wang Anmin asked immediately.
“Yep! I just walked them home!”
Li Gang then asked, “Brother Anmin, didn’t we just finish eating? Why are we going to see Brother Li Yi again?”
At that moment, Wang Anguo, sitting in the passenger seat, immediately interjected, “My brother has something he needs to ask Brother Li Yi about!”
“Is it about a promotion?” Li Gang asked, his eyes lighting up.
“Yes, my brother got promoted!”
“What… he got promoted?” Li Gang asked, looking stunned.
“Yeah, he got promoted!”
“What position?”
“Deputy Director of the Regional Party Committee and Administrative Office!”
“This… he got promoted just like that? Holy cow! No wonder Brother Li Yi didn’t want me to ask…”
Before Li Gang could finish, Wang Anmin immediately asked, “What was he telling you not to ask about?”
“Just now, before I left, I asked you out of curiosity about your promotion, Brother Anmin. But Brother Li Yi told me not to pry, saying it would happen in the next day or two—I’d find out soon enough!” Li Gang said.
Wang Anmin’s heart sank, and he asked in a grave tone, “Did Brother Li Yi really say that?”
“Yes, those were his exact words!”
Li Gang continued, “I was just thinking about this a moment ago. I didn’t expect to run into you guys before I could figure it out!”
Wang Anguo glanced at his older brother and said, “Brother, do you still think this is a coincidence?”
Wang Anmin took a deep breath and said, “Enough of this. Let’s go ask Brother Li Yi!”
Just then, Li Gang, who had been standing nearby, spoke up: “Brother Anmin, I think it’s best if you don’t go!”
“Why?”
“First, I just took Brother Li Yi’s older sister home. On the way, I heard she’s going to be in confinement at home. If we go over now, the red cloth has already been hung out—it wouldn’t be right for us to just barge in!”
Li Gang continued, “Also, I already asked him about this earlier, but Brother Li Yi didn’t say anything—he even told me not to pry. Clearly, it’s something he’s not at liberty to discuss. It might not be appropriate for you guys to go ask him now!”
Wang Anmin immediately began to hesitate; what Li Gang said made a lot of sense.
According to local custom, when a woman is in her postpartum confinement period, the family generally doesn’t welcome visitors, for fear of “stepping on” the baby.
If they showed up unannounced, would the family even let them inside?
Wang Anguo, standing nearby, chimed in, “Bro, I think Gangzi has a point. It’s a happy occasion anyway—we can always ask later!”
Wang Anmin nodded and said, “Alright! We’ll ask later then!”
With that, he exchanged a few words with Li Gang, turned the car around, and headed toward the county seat!