Official Career Storm
Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Chapter 76

"Minister Zhou from the Organization Department?"

Song Guanchao nodded slightly.

At this point, the dishes were served.

During the meal, neither of them discussed the matter further; such topics were best touched upon only briefly.

After the meal, they returned to the City Committee.

Passing by some department staff along the way, both presented themselves confidently.

Ever since the last incident had spread, everyone in the City Committee knew they had a good relationship.

There were also rumors that they were in a romantic relationship.

Many envied them.

After all, Wu Yun’s father was the Vice Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee.

But he himself was also the Secretary of the Municipal Committee, so it wasn’t really a case of reaching too high.

Song Guanchao knocked and entered the office; the lunch boxes on the desk had been cleaned up.

He went straight to the point, reporting the conversation between the two of them.

Wu Qiangwei listened attentively, and when he had finished, she asked, "Minister Zhou from the Organization Department?"

"Yes."

"I understand, go on with your work."

Song Guanchao left the office, his mind analyzing the situation: could Minister Zhou also be one of Lingjiang’s big tigers?

It was possible.

After all, under normal circumstances, with the Committee meeting imminent and such significant personnel changes as Vice Mayor nominations coming up, discussions would typically take place beforehand.

But Minister Zhou hadn’t discussed with Secretary Wu, simply making the decision unilaterally.

This was somewhat abnormal.

Of course, not many people knew about this yet, and there were still a few days until the Committee meeting.

Perhaps the intention was to bring it up at the meeting of the small group of five.

After all, in the bureaucratic arena, grooming one’s own people was only natural.

There are no absolutely clean individuals in the bureaucracy; involvement in it inevitably leads to being labeled in various ways.

Even if one is reluctant, once you are promoted by a certain leader, you’re effectively tagged with that leader’s factional label.

It was just past two in the afternoon when Liang Hao arrived.

"Brother Song."

As soon as Liang Hao arrived, he shook hands warmly with him, looking toward the office and whispering, "Is Secretary Wu busy?"

"Busy? She’s waiting just for you," Song Guanchao said with a smile. "I’ll take you in."

Liang Hao quickly straightened his clothes and hair, following Song Guanchao into the office.

Half an hour later, Liang Hao emerged with a smile on his face.

Song Guanchao asked, "How did it go?"

Liang Hao replied, "Secretary Wu is very concerned about my work. She asked me a lot of questions, and it’s good that I was prepared, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to answer."

The two walked toward the hallway, smoking cigarettes.

Song Guanchao said, "Brother Liang, I’ve helped as much as I could. Whether it’ll happen or not is up to fate now."

Liang Hao asked, "Any complications?"

"It’s hard to say," Song Guanchao responded seriously. "Secretary Wu just arrived and doesn’t have many people she can rely on, which is why she’s willing to nominate you. But you know the situation in the city; it’s uncertain whether other Committee members will nominate someone else."

"As far as I know, besides you, one nomination is already confirmed."

"Who?"

"Secretary Lu from the Political and Legal Committee."

Liang Hao took a sharp breath, frowning as he vigorously smoked.

Song Guanchao asked, "Brother Liang, do you really have no clue about those big tigers behind Lingjiang?"

Liang Hao shook his head: "I really can’t think of who it could be."

After a pause, he added, "Actually, sometimes I wonder if it’s not someone from the bureaucratic circle."

Song Guanchao was taken aback, "What do you mean?"

Liang Hao explained, "Think about it, what kind of person could overshadow Secretary Lu and Mayor Zheng? There are only so many people on the Committee, with Secretary Wu’s political resources, it wouldn’t be hard to investigate these people’s backgrounds, right?"

"Tell me, has Secretary Wu found any useful information yet?"

Song Guanchao shook his head, "Not that I know of, but the nomination of Secretary Lu came from Minister Zhou of the Organization Department."

Liang Hao smiled, "Don’t speculate wildly; Minister Zhou’s nomination is quite normal. After all, he is the head of the Organization Department and is always in contact with countless people. Besides, he is a member of the Committee and has the right to nominate; we can’t just suspect him because of that."

"Anyway, I’ve got my name listed with Secretary Wu now. Even if it doesn’t happen this time, it will surely happen next time."

"By the way, Secretary Wu will be coming down for inspections soon, I’ll need Brother Song’s help to get more face time with her during the inspections and research arrangements."

"That’s easy."

"Okay, then I’m off. Call me if you need anything."

Back in the office, Song Guanchao was preoccupied with the words that Liang Hao had said.

He realized he might have fallen into a thinking trap.

Who said that the big tigers controlling Lingjiang’s political scene must be from the bureaucratic circle?

Those businesses involved with the underworld in the early years, which gradually whitewashed through operations and became significant tax contributors locally.

Such enterprises were not uncommon.

And often, these businesses, almost always family-run, would invest vast amounts of money in official circles, even grooming a group of people to enter the system for a win-win situation between officials and businessmen.

Song Guanchao suddenly thought of Yunhai Club.

The day Secretary Wu was out, that pretty boy from Yunhai Club came to hit on her.

If you called that a coincidence, Song Guanchao wouldn’t believe it.

However, the other party was very cautious; all these days, they only sent a pretty boy without any further action.

While he was thinking about this, Lu Feng’s call came in.

"Team leader, I found out information about the pretty boy."

"Go ahead."

"His name is Feng Sheng, 27 years old. He worked in Japan in his early years and came to Yunhai Club three years ago. Allegedly, two wealthy beauties once fought over him outside the club. Anyway, the guy has a way with women; he now has affairs with several female leaders in the city. I’ve found connections with Yu Lifang, the director of the tax bureau’s office, the market supervision bureau..."

Song Guanchao was almost certain that Feng Sheng was targeting Wu Qiangwei.

Behind the scenes, someone definitely directed him.

And the person behind it was probably the owner of Yunhai Club.

"Do you know who’s the owner behind Yunhai Club?"

"I’ll have to look into that."

"Let me know once you find out. I’ve got something here, so I’ll talk to you later."

After hanging up, Song Guanchao looked up at the man approaching him, quickly stood up, and smiled, "Secretary Sun, are you looking for Secretary Wu?"

Secretary Sun shook his head with a smile, "Secretary Song, are you available tonight?"

Song Guanchao was surprised, this was unexpected.

He quickly realized that being Secretary Wu’s secretary, it was normal for some to extend a friendly hand.

He just hadn’t expected the first to make such a gesture would be the Secretary of the Municipal Committee.

"I’ll have to see if Secretary Wu has any instructions for tonight. I’ll let Secretary Sun know later if there’s nothing on her end."

"Alright, then I’ll wait for your call."

In the evening, on the way to drop off Wu Qiangwei at home, Song Guanchao briefly mentioned the pretty boy situation.

"Check out Yunhai Club."

"I have already."

Wu Qiangwei nodded with satisfaction, having a smart secretary meant she didn’t have to worry about many things.

"Oh, by the way," Song Guanchao said. "Secretary Sun asked me out tonight."

Wu Qiangwei didn’t seem surprised and made an intriguing comment, "Secretary Lu still aims to move up."

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