Chapter 1298: You really are the roundworm in my belly

After hearing this, Zheng Tulu chuckled and pointed at her, saying, "Liping, you really are the roundworm in my belly. How is it that you know exactly what I'm thinking?"

He Liping said proudly, "That goes without saying. If I didn't know what you, Old Zheng, were thinking, how could I coordinate with your work?"

Zheng Tulu laughed, "It seems that bearing such great pressure to promote you was not a loss at all. Truly, no one knows me like you do, Liping." In fact, regarding the matter of promoting He Liping to Deputy Director of the Provincial Construction Committee, Zheng Tulu had never felt completely at ease. This was because Li Changping had told him that He Liping's promotion was a direct jump from a deputy bureau-level cadre to a deputy department-level cadre, a step that was a bit too large. Although he had obtained the tacit approval of the Executive Vice Mayor and had also greeted the other standing committee members, the procedure of having it studied and decided by the Standing Committee had not been followed. Therefore, Zheng Tulu had never been completely at ease. However, ever since He Liping arrived at the Provincial Construction Committee, Zheng Tulu's various tasks had been carried out in an orderly fashion, and everything he did went smoothly. This was entirely due to He Liping's intimate assistance. Thus, even though Zheng Tulu was taking a risk, he felt it was worth it.

He Liping gave a charming smile, flattered, and only after reporting the good news did she steer the topic toward Lan Mei, asking him, "Old Zheng, I just saw Lan Mei come out of your office. She rarely comes to see you. Is there something else going on?"

He Liping was intimate with Zheng Tulu, and he felt there was nothing to hide from her, so he said truthfully, "It's just the matter she brought up at the meeting. She feels that since Ruru's work has been handed over to others, the workload is a bit heavy, and she wants me to reassign someone to the Planning Division to replace Ruru."

"Then what are you thinking, Old Zheng? You didn't just agree to it, did you? Wouldn't the decision made at the meeting this afternoon be a waste of effort?" He Liping asked.

Zheng Tulu said thoughtfully, "Lan Mei's request is reasonable, and she even recommended someone to me, asking me to transfer her to work in the Planning Division. I'm a bit hesitant now. If I don't agree, I'm afraid of being too obvious and causing resentment among the few people in the Planning Division. If I do agree, it would be too easy for that brat, Comrade Xiao Zhao!"

"Lan Mei recommended someone to you? Who did she recommend?" He Liping asked with some curiosity. She hadn't fully gotten to know everyone in the entire Provincial Construction Committee yet and wanted to see who, besides Zhao Desan, Lan Mei valued so much.

"Zhao Da's wife. She said Zhao Da's wife is also in the system, working at the District Construction Committee, though she doesn't have a formal establishment, she has several years of work experience," Zheng Tulu laid it all out. "Liping, do you think I should agree to this request or not?" In his heart, Zheng Tulu actually wanted to agree. If he could use his own power to transfer that beautiful and moving young woman he saw that afternoon directly from the District Construction Committee to the Provincial Construction Committee, then the Zhao Da family would certainly be very grateful to him. When the time came, if he thought of other ways to make Zhao Da's wife throw herself into his arms, it wouldn't be impossible. But he was still indecisive. The reason he was hesitant was that his reputation in the unit had not been very good lately, and he was at the center of the storm. If he promoted another beautiful young woman to the unit at this critical juncture, wouldn't that be smearing his own face? The cunning Zheng Tulu, on one hand, really wanted to transfer Zheng Jie up from the grassroots to find an opportunity to possess her, but on the other hand, he was full of worries, fearing that his reputation would be further damaged because of transferring her to the unit.

He Liping said without hesitation, "You can't, Old Zheng. Have you forgotten that your reputation in the unit has been plummeting recently? If you dare to promote a woman at this time, isn't that like lifting a rock only to drop it on your own feet?"

"Liping, do you mean I shouldn't agree to Lan Mei's request?" Zheng Tulu asked. He hadn't expected He Liping's thoughts to coincide with his own, and that she could also think of these concerns for him. This made Zheng Tulu view He Liping even more as his own person, and he became less and less guarded against her.

He Liping nodded and said, "If it were a man, you could transfer him without much talk. The key is that ever since you moved Ma Debang away and transferred me directly from the City Construction Committee, the reaction below has been very strong, causing a serious impact on your reputation. If you dare to transfer another woman up at this time, your reputation will certainly be further affected. If that woman happens to be slightly attractive, doing so would be equivalent to proving to everyone that you prioritize beauty over talent."

"Liping, you don't say, Zhao Da's wife is actually quite attractive." Thinking of Zheng Jie's appearance, Zheng Tulu couldn't help but praise her.

He Liping looked at him with a strange expression and asked, "What? Just because she looks good, you want to play the hero?"

Seeing that He Liping was suspicious of his motives, Zheng Tulu immediately turned to sweet-talk her: "I just said she's somewhat attractive. Compared to you, Liping, it's like heaven and earth. Which woman in our Construction Committee can compare to you, whether it's your figure or your face?"

He Liping was delighted by Zheng Tulu's praise. She looked at him charmingly, blinked her crystalline eyes, and said tenderly, "That's more like it."

Zheng Tulu chuckled, having coaxed He Liping, and then said solemnly, "Then I won't agree to Lan Mei's request. I won't transfer anyone to the Planning Division for the time being."

He Liping said, "Old Zheng, if you want to maintain your reputation, it's best not to arrange anyone else for the Planning Division for now. Wait until the reaction to the Ruru matter has calmed down a bit. Haven't you seen that the unit is full of talk about Ruru today? There are many private complaints, saying that Ruru has only been working for a year, doesn't understand anything, and doesn't have the seniority to be promoted to Deputy Division Chief, all because you are her father and you pulled strings. There are voices of resentment everywhere."

The appointment of Zheng Ru as Deputy Division Chief of the Planning Division caused a great stir in the unit, and the buzz quickly overshadowed the reaction to He Liping's promotion. Whether He Liping could sit firmly in her position depended directly on whether Zheng Tulu could stay in the Construction Committee without any worries. If his reputation continued to decline, it would very likely affect her. That was why He Liping was willing to devise strategies for Zheng Tulu. During this transition period, He Liping hid her ambitions very deeply, but she was not always willing to be just a plaything that Zheng Tulu could summon at will. After being encroached upon by Comrade Xiao Zhao and learning that the Minister of the Provincial Organization Department was his cousin, He Liping was also gradually and actively approaching him, which could be considered as cultivating capable subordinates for herself in the dark. Moreover, Comrade Xiao Zhao had once said that as long as the timing was right, he could help her and push her to the position of the top leader.

He Liping's "heartfelt words" plunged Zheng Tulu into deep thought. After carefully weighing the pros and cons from all aspects, in order to stabilize his position and prevent his reputation from continuing to slide, Zheng Tulu adopted He Liping's opinion. He straightened his body, his expression somewhat serious, and said, "Alright then, I'll listen to you, Liping. I won't make any personnel adjustments in the unit for the time being."

When Lan Mei came down from the third floor and pushed open the office door, Comrade Xiao Zhao was still waiting for her inside. Seeing her walk in, he immediately stood up from his chair and asked somewhat anxiously, "Division Chief Lan, where did you go? I've been waiting for you for over ten minutes."

Lan Mei closed the door behind her, walked forward, and looked at him with a gentle expression, asking in a mild tone, "What's wrong? Why were you waiting for me? Is there something the matter?"

"It's nothing much, I just wanted to ask, are you really planning to help Zhao Da transfer his wife from the grassroots to here?" Comrade Xiao Zhao asked, cutting straight to the point.

Seeing that Comrade Xiao Zhao's expression was a bit off, Lan Mei looked at him with some confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Division Chief Lan, I think it's better if you don't go and tell Zheng Tulu. If it were someone else, it might be fine, but the key is that it's Zhao Da's wife. Think about it, if this couple sits in the same office to work, can they work with peace of mind? They'll waste all their time from morning till night flirting and being lovey-dovey. Not only will this not reduce our workload, but it might even seriously affect our work atmosphere." In order to make Lan Mei give up the idea of going to ask Zheng Tulu, Comrade Xiao Zhao tried his best to lay out the negative aspects of Zheng Jie coming to work in the Planning Division before her.

Lan Mei listened to Comrade Xiao Zhao's "earnest" advice, gave a faint smile, and said, "It's not like I don't know what kind of person Zhao Da is. Although his work ability is average, he is much more steady at work than you. If I transfer his wife to our department, perhaps the couple will compete with each other and stimulate each other's work morale. Why do you think it will affect the work atmosphere? I don't think so."

Seeing that Lan Mei did not agree with his view, Comrade Xiao Zhao was speechless for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Actually, whether it affects the work atmosphere or not is not the most important thing. The key is that this involves you, Division Chief Lan, going to request Zheng Tulu personally. If he agrees, it means you owe him a favor. Do you think that's appropriate? That old bald donkey has already toyed with us in the palm of his hand. Do you really want to owe him another favor and give him more excuses to bully you?"

This psychological tactic shook Lan Mei's thoughts. At the thought of everything Zheng Tulu had done to her, a flame of hatred ignited in Lan Mei's heart, and she began to regret going to Zheng Tulu to ask him for a favor. She would rather work overtime every day than owe him a favor. "But I have already spoken to the one surnamed Zheng." Lan Mei looked at Comrade Xiao Zhao with regret, feeling a bit sorry for being too rash.

Upon hearing Lan Mei say this, Comrade Xiao Zhao realized he was a step too late. All the words he had spent were a waste of breath. He sighed in frustration and said, "Hey! Division Chief Lan, you've made that old lecher feel like you owe him a favor again. He won't let you owe him a favor for nothing."

Comrade Xiao Zhao made the matter sound very serious, making Lan Mei feel a bit uneasy. Her willow-leaf eyebrows tilted slightly, and she asked him with a worried face, "Xiao Zhao, then... then what should I do? I've already told him."

"What else can you do? You've already told Zheng Tulu, what can I do!" Comrade Xiao Zhao said with some anger. He hadn't expected Lan Mei to have already told Zheng Tulu about this matter so quickly; it was truly beyond his expectations.