Chapter 1233: A Matter of a Single Sentence

"Liping, come here." Zheng Tulu was sitting with his legs crossed, smoking a cigarette, his face full of smug satisfaction. As she walked toward him, he slid his chair back a bit, uncrossed his legs, and sprawled out in his boss chair. He intentionally lowered his head to glance at his crotch; he wanted He Liping to finish the job that Han Rui had left incomplete earlier.

He Liping walked up and stood before him. She glanced at his slightly bulging crotch and looked at him with a provocative gaze, asking, "Old Zheng, what kind of mischief are you up to again?"

"Liping, I want you to help me vent some heat," Zheng Tulu said cryptically.

He Liping slightly furrowed her willow-leaf brows and asked, knowing the answer, "Heat? Where would you get heat from? Weren't you very happy to receive the document from the Personnel Department today?"

"Happy, yes, but the heat is still there." Zheng Tulu sprawled in his boss chair, blew a smoke ring, and deliberately looked at her with a lecherous gaze, playing coy.

He Liping sat on the armrest of his chair and laughed softly and coquettishly, "Old Zheng, then I don't understand. You say you're happy, but you also say you have heat. Isn't that contradictory?"

Zheng Tulu chuckled, "The happiness is in my heart, the heat is internal—my body has internal heat. Look here, it's already up." As he spoke, Zheng Tulu pointed to his bulging crotch and looked at her wickedly.

"Old Zheng, you really are bad." He Liping rolled her eyes at him and asked, "Then what do you say we should do?"

Zhao Desan, who had been waiting for news all morning, hadn't received any and was getting anxious. After eating lunch at the cafeteria, he returned directly to the office building and went straight to knock on Lan Mei's office door. When she heard the knock, Lan Mei had just finished her meal, sat down, and taken a sip of water. She said, "Come in."

As the door pushed open, Zhao Desan walked in. Lan Mei was slightly surprised, yet she also appeared somewhat delighted; after all, ever since she had gone on a business trip with Zheng Tulu, Zhao Desan hadn't come to find her at noon. "Comrade Xiao Zhao, you're here?" Lan Mei asked with a smile, unable to suppress the joy in her heart.

"Section Chief Lan, have you eaten?" Zhao Desan walked up and asked.

"I've eaten, how about you?" Lan Mei asked with a smile. At this moment, her gentle demeanor was like a different person compared to the Lan Mei who used to always keep a straight face.

"I've eaten." Zhao Desan pulled out the chair opposite the desk and sat down, then went straight to the point: "Section Chief Lan, have you heard any news about the Deputy Section Chief position in the Planning Section?"

Lan Mei widened her eyes slightly, shook her head in confusion, and said, "I haven't heard anything. Why are you suddenly asking about this? If the news came down, a document would definitely be issued. I guess the higher-ups haven't decided yet."

"Then why did Ma Li say the Personnel Department would issue a document today?" Zhao Desan muttered to himself, knitting his brows.

Seeing him mumbling, Lan Mei asked curiously, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, what are you saying?"

Zhao Desan quickly snapped out of it and chuckled, "Nothing, I was just asking casually. I feel like it's really troublesome for the province to decide on something this time!"

Hearing him say this, Lan Mei couldn't help but giggle and said, "Do you think it's like buying groceries? It's not that easy to decide. Adding a deputy section-level cadre is no small matter; the provincial authorities definitely need to study it thoroughly. Why are you so anxious? Anyway, your cousin is the Minister of the Organization Department; getting you promoted is just a matter of a single sentence."

Zhao Desan, however, disagreed, because he understood that for many people, being promoted to the position of Deputy Section Chief was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rise to the top. Fierce competition was inevitable, and Zheng Tulu wouldn't easily give up this opportunity to him. Despite the pressure from Su Qing, he was still a bit afraid that the old guy would play dirty. He didn't know why, but two days ago he was convinced he would be promoted, thinking it was a done deal, but as the matter became clearer, Zhao Desan felt increasingly uneasy. He said, "That old thing Zheng Tulu definitely doesn't want me to get up there. I'm just afraid that old ghost will pull some tricks!"

Zhao Desan's worry was not without reason. Thinking of the lewd photos Zheng Tulu had of her and Comrade Xiao Zhao, Lan Mei also began to have concerns and worries about this matter. Even if Zhao Desan's promotion didn't have much to do with her, if this matter caused a conflict between him and Zheng Tulu and those photos were exposed, it would be disadvantageous to her. As a woman, if those shameful photos were made public, she would truly have no face left to see anyone. Now that Zheng Tulu held her leverage, Lan Mei had to obey many of his demands. Fortunately, ever since He Liping was promoted to Deputy Director of the Provincial Construction Committee, Zheng Tulu seemed to have forgotten about her, giving her a moment of peace.

On this matter, Lan Mei couldn't help much, nor did she have any suggestions. She could only tell him ambiguously, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, don't think too much. Even if you don't get it this time, there's always next time. You're still young, only twenty-seven or twenty-eight. If you were to become a section-level cadre all of a sudden, maybe many people wouldn't be convinced. Of course, if you can get promoted, I'll be happy for you too. But I think it shouldn't be a big problem; after all, your cousin is the Minister of the Organization Department, and the one surnamed Zheng can't not give her face." Lan Mei said this to express two things. First, she wanted to tell Zhao Desan that his chances of being promoted to Deputy Section Chief were high, so he didn't need to worry. Second, she wanted to tell him that even if he missed this opportunity and wasn't promoted, there was no need to take it to heart; after all, he was young, capable, and had a strong backer—there would be plenty of opportunities, and his future would still be bright. She was hinting that he should be mentally prepared and not be unable to accept it if he wasn't promoted.

But Zhao Desan didn't think so, because he had already missed the opportunity for training at the Party School. Not only did he miss it, but he missed it in a very humiliating way. If he had lost to Zheng Ru or someone else, that would be one thing, but that opportunity was snatched by Xia Jian, who had no background or backing, which made him feel very humiliated. So this time, he was determined to seize this opportunity. Thus, he said very firmly, "Section Chief Lan, I've already missed the chance to study at the Party School. This time, with such a good opportunity, I definitely have to get it!"

His firmness left Lan Mei not knowing what to say. She smiled somewhat unnaturally and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, do you really want to be a leader so much? Why is it that I don't want to be a leader now?"

Zhao Desan said without hesitation, "You don't want to be a leader because you're a woman. A woman's thoughts are different from a man's. A real man—if he doesn't achieve something, what's the point of living?"

"Maybe you're right. Women don't have much pursuit for their careers. Before, I also wanted to keep climbing, but now I don't have that drive. I'm in my thirties, and I just want to work steadily and have a pension to live on when I'm old." The events of the past year had caused a significant shift in Lan Mei's outlook on life and values. She used to be a woman with a very strong sense of career, wanting to climb to higher positions through her own efforts, but ever since her ex-husband Fang Jun was investigated last year and she was implicated, and then later drugged and raped by Zheng Tulu, she realized that in the complex world of officialdom, one shouldn't climb too high—the higher one goes, the harder one falls. ===== CHAPTER 1234 =====