Chapter 1347: Late-night snack

"How could it be that fast? It's not even ten o'clock yet," Su Qing said. "You should go take a shower too. We haven't eaten dinner yet; I'll go get a late-night snack." As she spoke, Su Qing turned to leave, but Zhao Desan grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong?" Su Qing asked, looking back in confusion.

"Sister Su, let's not make anything. I don't want to eat. Are you hungry?" Zhao Desan said.

"You really don't want to eat?" Su Qing turned around and asked seriously.

Zhao Desan nodded and said, "I'm sleepy, I just want to go to bed early." He didn't know why, but after releasing himself today, he felt a sense of being hollowed out, his whole body so tired he didn't have an ounce of strength left.

"Then I won't make anything. I don't really want to eat anyway; eating too much at night makes it easy to gain weight," Su Qing said with a smile.

Zhao Desan let go of her wrist and said, "Then Sister Su, let's go to bed early."

"Mm." Su Qing nodded. "I'll go turn off the living room lights." As she spoke, she walked out of the bedroom, extinguished the lights in the living room, returned to the bedroom, got into bed, and pulled Zhao Desan's arm to use as a pillow. Although there was a large age gap between them, they had been living together for nearly a year, and Su Qing had come to see Zhao Desan as an indispensable man in her life. Even though they couldn't have a legitimate status due to the large gap, Su Qing already felt satisfied being able to crawl into Zhao Desan's broad embrace every night to sleep.

"Desan, have you been too tired at work lately? How come you're this exhausted after just one time?" Recalling Zhao Desan's immense prowess in bed—when they first met, he could go seven times a night without flagging—Su Qing didn't understand why he was so drained after just once tonight, so she asked him.

Zhao Desan didn't know what was wrong with him either, so he nodded weakly, "Maybe so."

"Is it because Zheng Liangyu's daughter became a deputy section chief, leaving fewer people to do the work in the Planning Division, resulting in a heavy workload?" Su Qing guessed.

"Maybe so," Zhao Desan said, going along with her. Once this was mentioned, he became interested, turned to Su Qing, and asked, "Su Qing, this matter is already in the newspapers, and the social reaction is huge. Isn't the province planning to take any measures?"

Speaking of this, Su Qing looked a bit annoyed and said, "Now that this is in the newspapers, everyone is talking about it. The whole unit was discussing it today. Although this wasn't handled by our Organization Department, the Organization Department also has a supervisory role. The province has already noticed the negative social reaction, which has caused ordinary citizens to lose trust in government units. The news I received is that in the next two days, relevant provincial leaders will personally preside over a meeting to discuss handling measures for this matter. If the province doesn't show something, it won't be enough to appease public anger, and it will be hard to give the vast masses an explanation. Ordinary people will definitely lose faith in the government. This matter has already affected the relationship between the Party and the masses, and between officials and the masses."

"Then Sister Su, how do you think the province will resolve this? Will the one surnamed Zheng be dealt with?" Once this was mentioned, the listless Zhao Desan became full of life again, questioning Su Qing to get to the bottom of it. On one hand, he was concerned about whether Zheng Ru's appointment would be halted; on the other, he cared about whether Zheng the Bald Donkey would be punished by the province for this.

Su Qing said thoughtfully, "I don't know what the relevant provincial leaders are thinking yet, but if they want to give the vast masses an explanation, I estimate that the appointment of the one surnamed Zheng's daughter will be halted. As for whether Zheng the Bald Donkey will be punished by the province, that's still unknown. After all, he is also a department-level cadre. Under normal circumstances, as long as he doesn't make too big a mistake, I'm afraid the province won't move against him."

"Sister Su, do you think you could use this matter to pull Zheng the Bald Donkey up by the roots? That old guy has never taken you seriously." Zhao Desan thought that since this was being discussed and the province had the intention to handle it, he might as well incite Sister Su to use her power to eradicate Zheng the Bald Donkey, the old guy, to vent his own hatred.

Su Qing smiled lightly and said, "Desan, you're thinking too simply. Zheng the Bald Donkey is a department-level cadre; his dismissal requires a study and decision by the entire Standing Committee. The current Executive Vice Governor Song Jianguo is relatively close to Li Changping. If Li Changping doesn't fall, it won't be easy to eradicate Zheng the Bald Donkey."

As the saying goes, one rank of officialdom crushes another. Even if Zheng the Bald Donkey was a department-level cadre with Li Changping as his backer, Li Changping was only a deputy minister. Zhao Desan didn't believe that Su Qing, as the dignified Minister of the Provincial Organization Department, couldn't take down Zheng the Bald Donkey, a director of the Provincial Construction Committee. He looked at Su Qing, somewhat confused, and asked, "Sister Su, does that mean even you can't do anything about Zheng the Bald Donkey?"

"It's not that I can't do anything; it's that if I really want to take him down, it's highly likely to have an adverse effect on me. I'm a woman after all, and there are countless people in the province waiting to see me fall. At a time like this, it's better to seek stability. Some things can't be rushed. As long as the one surnamed Zheng doesn't do anything to you, I'll let him off for now. No matter what, he still doesn't dare to disrespect me too much." Su Qing explained the reason for not taking down Zheng the Bald Donkey. Just as she had told Zhao Desan before, to stand firm and advance steadily in officialdom, one must learn four words: "self-preservation." First, one must ensure one's own position isn't shaken, and only then can one find ways to eliminate dissidents and win over forces.

Su Qing said "Oh," and suddenly became interested in Su Qing's future, asking her with a mischievous smile, "Sister Su, if you continue to rise, will you be at the governor level?"

Su Qing burst into laughter upon hearing this, leaving Zhao Desan looking at her, completely confused, as he asked, "Sister Su, what… what are you laughing at?"

"Do you think one becomes a governor right after being the Minister of the Organization Department?" Su Qing said with a smile. "If one could really become a governor directly from being the Minister of the Organization Department, that would be quite a leap. But it's not impossible. I don't know if you know, Desan, but two years ago, Han Guizhi, the Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Province, was promoted directly from Minister of the Organization Department of Heilongjiang Province to Executive Vice Governor. However, she fell from grace two years ago due to corruption." Speaking of this, Su Qing felt a sense of inexplicable similarity between herself and Han Guizhi as women. It was just that during her tenure as Deputy Minister, Minister, Standing Committee member, and Vice Governor of the Heilongjiang Organization Department, Han Guizhi had repeatedly provided convenience for the promotion of other officials and sought millions in wealth, ultimately being sentenced to death for corruption. It was precisely because of Han Guizhi, one of the few female department-level cadres in China, that Su Qing was particularly cautious about the attitude of others coming to her for help. Sometimes, even if she helped other officials for the sake of face, she tried her best not to accept their wealth.

The Han Guizhi incident Su Qing mentioned happened in 2004. Zhao Desan was a junior in college at the time. As the only female Executive Vice Governor in the country, that incident caused a strong social reaction online. Even he, who didn't care much about political events in his student days, understood a little. Especially on October 16, 2003, when 44-year-old Harbin woman Su Xiuwen drove a BMW with the license plate "Hei AI 6666" and hit and killed farmer Dai Yiquan's wife Liu Zhongxia, and 12 others were injured to varying degrees, this incident caused a huge uproar online. Netizens believed Su Xiuwen had high-ranking official backing, and a widely spread theory was that Su Xiuwen was Han Guizhi's daughter-in-law. In early 2004, Han Guizhi met with reporters in her office. At that time, this Provincial CPPCC Chairwoman had enthusiastically shaken hands with reporters at the door and subsequently clarified: Su Xiuwen in the BMW hit-and-run case was not her daughter-in-law and had nothing to do with her, not even with her staff.

In the manuscript published the next day, the reporter wrote: "Han Guizhi emphasized that the trend of some netizens on the Internet attacking officials without any basis is very bad and has seriously affected the relationship between the Party and the masses, and between officials and the masses."

Zhao Desan still had a fresh memory of this incident that caused a huge uproar online several years ago. Hearing Sister Su mention this, he said excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes, Sister Su, I know this person. At that time, it was because of the BMW hit-and-run case that she was pushed to the forefront."

Su Qing said, "She was suspected of interfering in an intentional homicide case, causing the case to drag on. But do you know the biggest reason for her fall, Desan?"

Zhao Desan really didn't know much about this. After all, 22-year-old Zhao Desan was still in college at the time and hadn't thought about entering government units to engage in politics, so he was completely unclear about why Han Guizhi fell. He shook his head and said with an embarrassed smile, "I was still in college at that time and didn't care much about those things, so I don't know much about it."

"The biggest reason for her fall was bribery. As a high-ranking provincial official, starting from accepting 800,000 yuan in bribes from Ma Debang, she caused the trend of gift-giving, bribery, and buying and selling official positions in the Suihua area of Heilongjiang, which ultimately led to her fall." Su Qing explained the reason for Han Guizhi's fall to Zhao Desan.

Zhao Desan nodded seriously as he listened. He suddenly felt that although being a high-ranking official had its benefits, if one really encountered something, the fall would be like a mountain collapsing. Today, one might be accompanying leaders to inspect work and point out the direction of the country, but tomorrow, one might be accepting an investigation by the organization, and then all sorts of shameful past events would be exposed by official media. Looking at Sister Su's expression, which was significantly more worried when mentioning Han Guizhi's fall, Zhao Desan understood that Sister Su was also afraid that she would repeat Han Guizhi's mistakes, which was why she hadn't taken any measures to deal with Zheng the Bald Donkey even when he dared to oppose her like that. Although Zhao Desan didn't know whether Su Qing had engaged in serious bribery during these years, at least in the nearly one year he had been living with Su Qing, he hadn't seen Su Qing engage in any serious bribery. On this point, Zhao Desan was relatively reassured for Su Qing. "Sister Su, what are you still thinking about?" Zhao Desan asked her.

Su Qing's expression changed subtly, and she said in a half-joking tone, "I don't know if my final outcome will be like Han Guizhi's."

Zhao Desan immediately reached out to cover her mouth, rolled his eyes at her, and complained, "Sister Su, you are not allowed to say that!"

Seeing Zhao Desan so anxious for her, Su Qing felt a warm current rise in her heart. She smiled warmly, took Zhao Desan's hand away, and said, "I'm just giving you a reminder. Being a high-ranking official is certainly good, but you must pay attention to your words and deeds. No matter what you do, you must be cautious, because with high power and status, your every move might be magnified. You must recognize the overall situation." ===== CHAPTER 1348 =====