Official Career Storm
Chapter 554

Chapter 554: Chapter 554

To control the city government, the simplest method is to install someone obedient in power.

Zheng Bihui was uncooperative, so he had to be removed.

Wu Qiangwei furrowed her eyebrows, not scolding but contemplative, seemingly pondering the feasibility of this matter.

Song Guanchao did not interrupt; he merely offered a suggestion.

Whether to proceed was still for Wu Qiangwei to decide.

However, from her reaction, she seemed not to be opposed to the idea.

After about half a minute of contemplation, Wu Qiangwei shook her head. "No."

Song Guanchao asked, "What is Secretary concerned about?"

Wu Qiangwei said, "The turbulence in Dujiang City hasn’t settled yet; we can’t afford another incident in Lingjiang City so soon."

"Moreover, taking him down won’t be easy."

"How to obtain evidence of his legal and disciplinary violations is an issue."

"The most important issue is, who will replace him?"

There’s an unwritten rule in the officialdom: between the Party and the government, only one leader can be a local at most.

For instance, if Secretary Lu were promoted locally, then the Mayor would necessarily have to be appointed from elsewhere.

This rule applies at both the provincial and city levels.

Lingjiang City is rather special, with both the Party and government leaders coming from outside the area, and even Wu Qiangwei, the third in command, is an external appointee.

Anyone clever could tell from this that Lingjiang City had issues.

Normally, whether Zheng Bihui was transferred elsewhere or fell from grace, the new candidate should be locally promoted.

But considering Lingjiang’s peculiar situation, it’s very likely that the province would continue to appoint outsiders.

Song Guanchao remained silent.

In his view, the issues Wu Qiangwei worried about hardly qualified as concerns.

No matter how many incidents happened in the short term, they wouldn’t affect Wu Qiangwei.

The ones affected would be local officials.

As for how to take down Zheng Bihui, he had plenty of means.

For instance, he currently held clear evidence—the "stolen" data from the high-speed rail project.

Of course, whether this evidence could topple him still needed consideration.

But Song Guanchao knew, what Wu Qiangwei truly worried about was, after Zheng Bihui was removed, who would take over.

This was indeed a significant issue.

After all, it was the position of Mayor, the head of the city government.

Few who could occupy this position would be willing to bow down to a deputy secretary.

If they couldn’t install one of Wu Qiangwei’s people, then it was indeed better not to change at all.

"You may go back. Take a good rest over the weekend."

After leaving the City Committee, Song Guanchao was about to call a taxi when he suddenly saw Lin Wanqiu standing outside the City Committee Building.

He walked over. "Miss Lin, where are you headed?"

Seeing Song Guanchao, Lin Wanqiu was a bit surprised. "Back to the guesthouse."

Song Guanchao asked, "Has the city’s filming wrapped up?"

Lin Wanqiu smiled playfully. "What? Are you starting to send me off? Don’t want me staying in Lingjiang?"

"Uh, I was just asking casually."

Song Guanchao was speechless; women’s thought processes were indeed peculiar, he was just making conversation.

Lin Wanqiu said, "I remember, you owe me a meal."

"We just had lunch..." Song Guanchao said. "Dinner tonight?"

"Sure." Lin Wanqiu beamed. "So what are we doing now?"

Song Guanchao was startled; what did she mean?

Seeing him look dumbfounded, Lin Wanqiu pouted. "Do you have plans this afternoon?"

"No."

"Then, could Secretary Song act as a guide for once, and show me the cultural sights of Lingjiang?"

"No problem."

Song Guanchao reached out and stopped a taxi, "Miss Lin, please get in."

Lin Wanqiu sat in the car, her little nose wrinkling, "Change the way you address me."

Song Guanchao tentatively tried, "Sister Lin? Sister Wanqiu?"

Lin Wanqiu’s nose nearly twisted in annoyance, "Do I look that old?"

He had accidentally hit a sensitive spot concerning a girl’s age.

Song Guanchao quickly tried to make amends, "No, no, no, you look about seventeen or eighteen. Standing by the roadside, I thought you were a high school student skipping class."

"So why do you call me ’sister’?"

"It’s a term of respect," Song Guanchao explained seriously. "I’ve only been working for less than half a year, and to me, you are a senior. You know, within the system, we pay great attention to how we address each other, and I was afraid you’d think I was ignorant of the rules."

Lin Wanqiu’s expression softened, "Then change it."

"Wanqiu?"

Lin Wanqiu’s expression remained unchanged, suggesting the name resonated well with her heart.

It was, after all, a bit too intimate.

The driver, overhearing this exchange, couldn’t help but glance at the rearview mirror, thinking that young people these days really had a way with wooing women.

Such a grave situation, and yet he had managed to smooth it over.

However, he could tell at a glance that this girl had a fondness for the young man.

If there was fondness, even if one was not good at speaking, she wouldn’t mind.

Without fondness, no matter how florid your words, she would find you annoying.

In the afternoon, Song Guanchao took her to visit a museum, a library, and some historic buildings.

In the evening, they arrived at a rather artsy restaurant.

The restaurant’s outer wall was made of glass. From the outside, you could see the bright lights inside, creating an unbeatable ambiance.

Once they had ordered, Lin Wanqiu asked, "Shall we drink wine?"

"I’m fine with anything."

Lin Wanqiu called over a waiter and ordered the cheapest bottle of red wine.

Song Guanchao really wanted to say there was no need to save money for him.

If you’re treating someone to dinner, it has to be done sincerely; although a few thousand yuan for a bottle of wine was expensive, he could afford it.

But he didn’t say it out loud, thinking it wouldn’t look good to brag when the girl was trying to save money for him.

The waiter brought over the wine and wine glasses, popped the cork, and poured the wine.

Song Guanchao gracefully raised his glass, Lin Wanqiu swirled hers, the crimson liquid shimmering seductively red down the sides of the glass in the light.

Clink.

The glasses gently touched, emitting a crisp and pleasing sound.

...

A sedan parked by the roadside outside the restaurant, its window rolled down, Captain Hu lit a cigarette and gently exhaled towards the window.

"Captain Hu, are you really going to Dujiang City for the position?" Liang Jiajia’s tone was somewhat anxious.

Captain Hu couldn’t help but laugh, "What’s with the expression? I’m being promoted to Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee."

Liang Jiajia sulked, "But we still haven’t solved the case at hand, who in the criminal police team can handle it once you’re gone?"

"It’s still you, right? Girl, I have faith in you; you must solve this case!"

Liang Jiajia puffed up her cheeks, "You praise me so often, sometimes I actually think I’m a criminal case genius."

Continuing, she sighed as if deflated, "We’ve been investigating for months without a clue, and with you leaving, Captain Hu, I feel this case is hopeless."

Captain Hu patted her shoulder, "Don’t talk such dejected words. If there’s a crime, there will definitely be traces. There’s no such thing as a perfect crime, especially not a murder. What you need to do is scrutinize the details."

"Got it."

"Alright, no more sulking. I’m about to get a promotion, today I’ll splurge on a big meal for you."

He gestured with his chin, and Liang Jiajia followed his gaze to the nearby restaurant.

Suddenly, her gaze fixed.

Inside through the glass wall, at one of the tables, a man and a woman sat facing each other.

The woman had a graceful demeanor, her profile as beautifully sculpted as jade, and the man across from her... was Song Guanchao.

She saw Song Guanchao and the woman lifting their glasses in a toast, and although separated by a glass wall, almost dozens of meters away,

Liang Jiajia felt as though she could hear the clear sound of the glass as their glasses touched.

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