The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

Although it was his turn anyway.

But for Gao Jianzhao, securing this position was still quite a surprise.

Since Tan Yandong's death, Gao Jianzhao had been coveting this position, yet at that time he still faced a formidable opponent in Zhao Shoujiang.

Later on, Zhao Shoujiang was gone.

Out of nowhere, Xu Lianyun usurped the position like a Chollima horse.

Logically, Xu Lianyun should have held this position for at least two or three years, or even longer.

But who could have predicted that just a few months later, Xu Lianyun would be transferred elsewhere.

Anyone who went through such events would feel as if they had ridden a roller coaster.

The night the appointment came down.

Gao Jianzhao set a table at Ziwexuan.

He hosted a banquet for people including Sun Shenru, An Tai, and others of the same faction.

As for Chen Fang, he did not even receive an invitation, signifying that from that moment onwards, Gao Jianzhao had broken free from control and officially joined Sun Shenru's camp.

With this move.

Li Duming was once again sidelined.

Some might argue, isn't there still Xing Yu?

Although Xing Yu still secretly supported Li Duming, this was not out of wholehearted willingness but out of respect for Old Zhu.

Moreover, Xing Yu typically stayed out of political struggles anyway.

In essence, he was not of much use.

For Sun Shenru, the effect was immediate.

The next day, before the new head of the organization department was in place, he initiated the proposal for the director of the health bureau's position.

Ten standing committee members attended.

The appointment of the new health bureau director was almost unanimously approved.

And this candidate, as everyone knew, was Sun Shenru's pick.

The reason he was so assertive was first, to demonstrate his power to Li Duming, and second, of course, was to declare to the entire bureaucratic circle of Changming County that from now on, he was the key decision-maker.

Many people within the system stand neutral.

They listen to whoever has the most power.

Sun Shenru abandoned his previous aggressive tactics and started a gradual erosion strategy, which was effective.

Soon, even the direction of the county committee office changed again.

Those who had cozied up to Lv Wuzhao now started to deliberately distance themselves from Chen Fang, aware of the current dynamics between the county committee and the county government.

No one dared to offend Sun Shenru lightly.

"Chief Lin, are the documents for this afternoon ready? Mr. Li will need them soon."

In the office of the Public Affairs Division.

Chen Fang asked division chief, Lin Mang.

Lin Mang, 36 this year, sporting a pair of thick glasses, was clattering away at his keyboard in front of a computer, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Chief Lin."

Chen Fang tapped on his shoulder.

Lin Mang frowned and turned around, revealing a look of surprise, and said, "Ah, Secretary Chen, when did you arrive?"

That expression was rather overdone.

Chen Fang didn't want to argue with him.

He asked again, "Chief Lin, have the documents for Mr. Li been sorted out for this afternoon? He needs them in two hours."

Lin Mang was startled.

Then he slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, Secretary Chen, look at my memory, I actually forgot such an important thing. But you can't blame me; recently the Public Affairs Division has been extremely busy, and I'm really at my wit's end. Here's what I'll do—I'll start right away and try to have it for you by evening."

"Evening? Chief Lin, Mr. Li needs it by two in the afternoon."

Chen Fang was at the end of his patience.

He continued, trying to hold back his anger.

Lin Mang spread his hands and said, "Then there's nothing I can do. I can only handle tasks one by one. If you insist on needing it by two, then I cannot continue as the head of the Public Affairs Division."

This was somewhat of a brazen stance.

Lin Mang knew.

At this critical moment, Chen Fang had no means to deal with him.

Moreover, failing to organize the materials was the secretary's negligence; the Public Affairs Division would at most be scolded a few times.

Certainly.

There are other methods, too.

Lin Mang's intention was to make Chen Fang come to him, basically groveling with a few pleasing words; maybe then he would take care of it.

"Secretary Chen, give me the list of the materials. Why don't I use my lunch break to help you organize it?"

From the corner desk,

a timid voice spoke up.

Chen Fang looked up and saw a slightly overweight woman stand up and speak to him.

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties.

She was a little over 1.6 meters tall, not particularly tall but not short either, and her face was somewhat baby-faced, not at all like the typical person you'd find within the system.

It's worth mentioning her figure.

At first glance, she looked a bit chubby.

But if you looked closely, you would realize that her figure was at the very pinnacle of what could be called pleasantly plump.

Her white blouse was stretched tightly across her body, making her seem a bit pudgy; perhaps because of her chubbiness, her chest area was particularly conspicuous.

The buttons were strained, looking like they might burst at any moment.

Typically, with a figure like this, the waist would be thick.

But she was the exception.

The size of her waist was no different from that of an ordinarily slim woman.

Below the waist, there were her round, wide hips and although her thighs were also thick, they were quite proportional, without the slightest sense of being bloated.

Chen Fang had never seen such a pear-shaped figure before.

"Ning Yi, what's this got to do with you? Have you got nothing better to do after filling your belly?"

Seeing someone volunteer,

Lin Mang immediately became unhappy.

He scolded her with an ambiguous tone.

The girl named Ning Yi bit her chubby lips and said, "Section Chief Lin, it's lunch break now, and I can use my personal time to do it."

"Personal time? Once you enter this door, do you have any personal time? Have you finished your own tasks?"

Lin Mang continued to ask harshly.

Ning Yi nodded and said, "I have finished them."

Lin Mang's frustration found no outlet.

He stood up, grabbed a stack of folders, handed them to her, and said, "It seems I haven't given you enough work, and you're done, right? Fine, take these tasks and don't even think about leaving until you're finished today!"

Ning Yi wanted to say something else.

But after all, Lin Mang was her direct superior.

She could only sit down indignantly.

This combination of moves clearly displayed Lin Mang's intentions.

He was out to embarrass Chen Fang and deny him any respect.

Back at his seat.

He busied himself clattering away on the keyboard.

Even with Chen Fang standing beside him, he paid no attention.

Chen Fang wasn't angered.

He pulled up a chair, sat next to Lin Mang, handed him a cigarette, and asked, "Section Chief Lin, I heard your wife has quite a tough time looking after the child alone in the countryside. Why haven't you thought about bringing them both to the city?"

Lin Mang replied irritably, "Us small-time grunts with our meager wages, we can't afford a house in the county town. There's no benefit to moving here apart from higher expenses."

"That's true. But with your wife both laboring at home and looking after the elderly, it's really tough. I think you should still find time to go home more often."

In Lin Mang's view,

Chen Fang was clearly trying to cozy up to him.

He snorted coldly and said, "Secretary Chen need not worry about my family matters. I can manage them well enough."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure Section Chief Lin can handle it well. The hardest thing for people to do is to treat everyone equally. Your wife faces hardship at home, while some people just need to strut their stuff at the dance troupe. The disparity is indeed too great."

Dance troupe?

Upon hearing these three words,

the rapid typing halted suddenly.

Lin Mang sharply turned to look at Chen Fang and asked, "What do you mean?"