Chapter 865: It was decided just like that

Zheng Tulu feigned a count of the people who raised their hands, then said with a chuckle, "Alright." Everyone slowly lowered their hands. Zheng Tulu used his pen to record the number of hands raised in his notebook, put the pen down, interlaced his fingers, and said with a chuckle, "I've roughly counted, eighteen people. Excluding Section Chief Lan who disagrees, everyone else agrees. Section Chief Lan may reserve her opinion, but this can be considered a democratic election. I've calculated it: eighteen people, seventeen in favor, a support rate of over eighty percent. So, this matter is decided."

Ma Debang, sitting to the side with his head lowered, helplessly shook his head slightly. He had intended to use this matter to further close his relationship with Minister Su, but this unexpected result left Ma Debang empty-handed, and he was very disappointed. He just didn't understand: even if Zheng Tulu didn't want Zhao Desan to go, this opportunity shouldn't have fallen to Xia Jian. After all, his daughter also worked in the unit; he couldn't possibly be unaware of how important attending the Party School is for young comrades.

Zheng Tulu, under the banner of democracy, arbitrarily decided on the matter of sending Xia Jian to the Party School, creating an illusion of popular consensus. While closing his notebook, he said with a chuckle, "Alright, this matter is decided. Meeting adjourned." Saying this, he stood up, pulled back his chair, and left.

The others stood up with a clatter and walked out of the office one after another. Ma Debang sat in his seat for a while, and once everyone had left, he stood up and walked over to Lan Mei, who held the same thoughts as him. He glanced vigilantly outside the conference room before saying in a low voice, "Xiao Lan, I originally wanted to recommend Xiao Zhao too, but after what Director Zheng said, it wasn't easy for me to say anything more. I really don't know what he's thinking. Whether in terms of work ability or other aspects, Xiao Zhao is much stronger than Xiao Xia. He's a talent worth molding; logically, this opportunity is most suitable for him."

Lan Mei had also been thinking about this matter just now. She couldn't quite understand how Zheng Tulu could suddenly make such an unfathomable decision. Zhao Desan not only had outstanding work ability but also had a connection with Minister Su; why did he intentionally exclude him? Unless, firstly, Zhao Desan hadn't told his cousin about this, or secondly, he had offended that beast at some point.

Hearing Ma Debang say this, Lan Mei raised her face and smiled at him, then stood up and said, "Deputy Director Ma, I'm heading downstairs first." With that, she walked out of the conference room.

Regarding this result, Ma Debang also felt embarrassed to notify Zhao Desan. Seeing Lan Mei walk out of the conference room, he also walked out. When passing by the door of Zheng Tulu's office, he heard him inside on the phone, saying with a high-pitched laugh, "Sister, the meeting studied and decided to arrange for your family's Xia Jian to go to the Party School for study. Are you satisfied now?"

Hearing the phone call he was making inside, Ma Debang knew what was going on. Ever since that time Xia Jian hosted a dinner, Ma Debang had noticed that at the wine table, Zheng Tulu had taken an interest in Xia Jian's wife, who possessed both beauty and a good figure. He hadn't expected that he would start leaning toward Xia Jian on this matter.

After Zheng Tulu finished his call inside, Ma Debang knocked on the door a few times, pushed it open, and walked in with a smile.

"Old Ma, what's the matter?" Zheng Tulu asked with a chuckle while putting down his phone, completely unable to discover that the phone he was currently using was another one of the same model.

"Nothing much, just came over to sit for a bit." Ma Debang said as he sat down on the sofa.

Zheng Tulu took two cigarettes from the pack on the table, leaned over to toss one to him, lit one for himself, and seeing Ma Debang's appearance as if he had something to say, took a puff of his cigarette and asked with a chuckle, "Old Ma, is there something you want to say?"

Ma Debang paused for a moment and said with a chuckle, "Nothing much, just idle so I came over to sit. Oh, right, Director Zheng, giving this opportunity to go to the Party School to Xiao Xia—Xiao Zhao will definitely not be able to accept it. What if Minister Su asks about it?" Ma Debang hoped to bring up Minister Su to remind him, to see if there was any room for reversal, so he could use this matter to claim credit and ask for a reward from Minister Su.

"This..." Zheng Tulu took a puff of his cigarette, frowned, and pondered for a moment before continuing: "Minister Su did call me to say a word, but this is an internal matter of our Construction Committee. You also know that people below are fighting tooth and nail for this opportunity. Why didn't I let Ruru go? It's because she and Xiao Zhao have both just started working and haven't been here long; they don't have work experience. If we arranged for them to go, everyone would definitely be dissatisfied. Considering the influence, in terms of seniority, Xiao Xia is the most suitable. Besides, this decision was also voted on by everyone raising their hands at the meeting. It's everyone's intention, not something I alone can decide. Old Ma, didn't you also raise your hand in agreement?"

Although Ma Debang knew these words were just excuses Zheng Tulu made up to justify himself, they were stated in such a high-sounding and seamless way that he had nothing to say. He forced a smile, puffed on his cigarette, nodded with a chuckle, and said, "Director Zheng, what you say is also correct. I was just afraid that Minister Su might blame us because of this matter, which wouldn't be very good for you, Director Zheng."

Zheng Tulu chuckled and said dismissively, "Even if Minister Su blames us, there's nothing to be done. Sending Xiao Xia to the Party School for study was studied and decided by the Construction Committee meeting. It was decided according to the system and procedures through a democratic vote; it's not something you or I can decide alone. It complies with organizational regulations and systems, and there's no favoritism or malpractice. Minister Su will also understand."

Ma Debang puffed on his cigarette, forced a smile, and said "Oh." After understanding his thoughts, he said, "Alright then, Director Zheng, you go ahead and get busy, I won't disturb you." Saying this, he stood up.

"Old Ma, not staying to sit for a while?" Zheng Tulu asked with a chuckle.

"Not staying, I have to go back to look at some materials and organize them. Director Zheng, you get busy." Ma Debang smiled, then turned and walked out of Zheng Tulu's office.

Watching Ma Debang's departing back, a cold sneer appeared at the corner of Zheng Tulu's mouth. He knew this guy had been suppressed in the Deputy Director position by him for five or six years and had always wanted to sit in his position. He wanted to curry favor with Zhao Desan and use Su Qing's relationship to get himself promoted during the Construction Committee's personnel transfers, so he always acted in opposition to his thoughts on some matters. Want to fight with me? Wait another two years! Zheng Tulu thought to himself with a cold sneer.

Just now, after telling Xia Jian's wife the content of the meeting's decision over the phone, she couldn't wait to send a message to Xia Jian about it. Upon learning that Zheng Tulu had already confirmed at the meeting that he was to go to the Party School for study, Xia Jian was so excited he was dancing with joy. However, knowing that he had to keep a low profile at this time and couldn't be too ostentatious, he suppressed his joy and didn't share it with anyone. He was unusually quiet, keeping his head down and secretly smiling because he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. Because Zhao Desan, who was to the side, had also been thinking about the photos of Section Chief Lan on his phone, he was also a bit absent-minded and didn't notice the movements of others at all, so the office appeared particularly quiet that morning.

Returning from the conference room, Lan Mei sat in her chair still thinking about the matter decided at the meeting. Xia Jian had worked under her for several years, and she knew him too well; his work ability wasn't outstanding, but his ability to flatter was first-class. Due to Lan Mei's personality, she hated those who had no real ability and only knew how to flatter more than anything else in her life, so Xia Jian had never been appreciated under her all these years. Regarding Zheng Tulu's decision, she racked her brains for the entire morning and still didn't understand it.

After eating lunch in the cafeteria, Xia Jian slipped out alone early. And Zhao Desan, because he was eager to see those photos of Section Chief Lan on his phone that made him yearn so much, slipped into the office building as soon as he finished eating. He went up to the second floor, arrived at the office, locked the door from the inside, and while walking to his seat to sit down, couldn't wait to take out the "exchanged" phone from his pants pocket. He unlocked it, found the photo album, and opened it; a screen full of thumbnails appeared.

Holy shit! He was simply stunned. The thumbnails on the screen were all photos of Section Chief Lan lying on the bed completely naked. Zhao Desan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, opened the first one, and while gulping down saliva, carefully flipped through these photos one by one. ===== CHAPTER 866 =====