Chapter 2385: Changes

Zhang Qinghe was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The city leadership team is about to undergo adjustments. Full-time Deputy Secretary Liu Xingtang will be transferred to Jinmen to serve as mayor, which has created a vacancy in his former position."

"Currently, there are three candidates being considered to fill this vacancy: one is Executive Vice Mayor Wang Jianmin, another is Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Sun Baocun, and the last one is me."

Upon hearing this, Jiao Liwei immediately understood the relationships involved. His father-in-law was the Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, but in the ranking of Standing Committee members, he was behind both the Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary and the Executive Vice Mayor. Without the intervention and push of external forces, while it wasn't impossible to secure this position, the odds of winning were indeed not high.

What puzzled Jiao Liwei was that his father-in-law belonged to the Tong faction. By all logic, the Tong family should be doing everything in their power to help his father-in-law obtain this position. After all, doing so would also benefit the Tong family.

Jiao Liwei couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "Dad, what is the Tong family's attitude regarding this matter? Under these circumstances, the Tong family should be fully supporting you to get this position. Why are they still testing you?"

"This matter is a bit complicated," Zhang Qinghe said, organizing his thoughts. "Standing behind Wang Jianmin is the Ye family, while behind Sun Baocun stands the Yin family. If the Tong family wants to support me in getting this position, the price they would have to pay would be quite high."

"And last night, Wang Jianmin suddenly sought me out for a talk. He indicated that he could withdraw from this competition and would even assist me in securing the position. However, he also put forward a condition."

Zhang Qinghe's tone suddenly became somewhat low: "That is, I must fully support the work of the municipal government, especially regarding the reform of the woolen mill; I must stand firmly on the side of the municipal government."

Hearing this, Jiao Liwei's brows knitted together, and the confusion in his heart remained unresolved: "What does Wang Jianmin mean? To win you over, he is actually taking the initiative to give up the competition. Why would he do this? Is there something wrong with his brain?"

Although the full-time Deputy Secretary does not have much real power, they possess considerable influence within the Party. This means that once one occupies this position, it is equivalent to opening up a channel for advancement; the future path will become much broader, and no matter what choice is made, there won't be too much of a problem.

More importantly, the full-time Deputy Secretary is not only a member of the 'group of five' but also ranks third, just behind the Secretary and the Mayor, which gives their voting power considerable weight. If Zhang Qinghe can secure this position and fully support the Mayor's work, then the promotion of various municipal government tasks will go much more smoothly.

"I already said, this matter is a bit complicated!" Zhang Qinghe's voice revealed a trace of helplessness. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk, making a 'da-da' sound that was clearly transmitted to Jiao Liwei's ears through the phone line.

"Da—da—da—"

Zhang Qinghe's tapping continued, each beat like a strike against Jiao Liwei's nerves.

"There is nothing wrong with Wang Jianmin's brain; on the contrary, he is clearer-headed than ever. One reason he is giving up the competition is that there are people who do not want the municipal government to increase its influence within the Party."

"Therefore, for Wang Jianmin to vie for the full-time Deputy Secretary position, there is resistance from the Municipal Party Committee side. Although the Ye family is powerful, the Tong family and the Yin family are allies; they will certainly join forces first to knock Wang Jianmin out. If the Ye family were to forcibly push Wang Jianmin to compete, the price they would pay would not be small."

"Besides that, there is another reason prompting Wang Jianmin to give up the competition, which is also the biggest reason. Mayor Hu is also set to move next year; even if he doesn't move next year, he will definitely move the year after."

"Therefore, what Wang Jianmin is truly eyeing is actually the position of 'deputy squad leader.' If he were to be elected full-time Deputy Secretary this year, he would miss out on the 'deputy squad leader' position, which for him would be a case of the loss outweighing the gain."

At this point, Zhang Qinghe paused slightly, took a deep breath, and continued: "But I am different from Wang Jianmin. He is younger than me; waiting another two or three years is no problem at all. He can afford to wait."

"But at my current age, I can no longer afford to wait. If I cannot advance this time, I am afraid it will be very difficult to have such an opportunity again in the future. It's just that I have to compete with Sun Baocun, and the odds of winning are still not high. If I have Wang Jianmin and the Ye family helping in the dark, my odds of winning will double."

Jiao Liwei's brows remained tightly furrowed, clearly also deep in thought about this problem. After a while, he slowly opened his mouth: "I think the person who least wants to see the municipal government increase its influence within the Party should be Sun Baocun."

"Exactly!" Zhang Qinghe said. "He is a member of the Yin family and also a member of the 'group of five.' He will certainly spare no effort to prevent the municipal government from increasing its influence within the Party, thereby creating obstacles for the woolen mill reform."

Jiao Liwei held the phone with one hand, while his other hand rested casually on the armrest of his chair, his fingers bouncing back and forth on it: "The Tong family knows about your conversation with Wang Jianmin, so they want to test you through me?"

"The Tong family doesn't know, unless Wang Jianmin deliberately leaked it, but that is impossible. Because doing so would bring Wang Jianmin no benefit at all," Zhang Qinghe said in a low voice. "If the Tong family knew I was cooperating with Wang Jianmin, or even leaning toward the Ye family, then it wouldn't just be a test; they would suppress me without mercy."

Jiao Liwei listened to Zhang Qinghe's words, and the confusion in his heart not only did not decrease but grew even heavier: "With you saying that, I understand even less. What exactly is the Tong family's operation for?"

Zhang Qinghe suddenly let out a light laugh: "Haven't you heard that Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun are secretly instigating some old cadres to go to the woolen mill to cause trouble?"

"Hmm?" Jiao Liwei was clearly somewhat surprised by this news. He was stunned for a moment, then said, "I do know about this, but are the two of them really so unscrupulous in doing this? Even you have heard of it, so the city leaders should all know by now, right? Are they just letting them run wild like this?"

"Whether other city leaders know about this matter, I am not clear," Zhang Qinghe said expressionlessly. "The reason I know about this matter is because Tong Yuancheng sought me out."

"He demanded that I cooperate with Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun by going to the woolen mill for an inspection on the same day those old cadres go to cause trouble. That way, there would be an excuse to remove Zhou Andong as factory director."

"That's not right!" Jiao Liwei suddenly interjected: "According to the information I received, isn't it said that Elder Yin is going to personally inspect the woolen mill?"

Zhang Qinghe sneered: "They are too naive. Once Elder Yin personally enters the fray, there will be no way back; he will inevitably be locked in a life-and-death struggle with Zhou Andong—or more accurately, with the person behind Zhou Andong—with no room for easing tensions. Elder Yin is not that muddled; how could he personally wade into these muddy waters?"

This time, Jiao Liwei finally understood: "You refused the Tong family's request, so they have become suspicious of you."

"Suspicion is not quite the word," Zhang Qinghe said in a very relaxed tone. "After all, for me to seek the full-time Deputy Secretary position, the price the Tong family would have to pay to help me achieve this goal is simply too high. So, naturally, they have to clarify my attitude first."

Jiao Liwei asked with a solemn face: "Then, how are you considering it?"

Zhang Qinghe said thoughtfully: "Regarding this matter, I still need to consider it carefully."

"What should I do here?" Jiao Liwei hesitated for a moment and said, "With Zhou Andong's aggressive style, he absolutely will not allow any neutral parties to exist; he will definitely take action against me!"

Zhang Qinghe did not answer immediately. After a while, he opened his mouth: "You are the Executive Deputy Factory Director; he won't move against you for the time being. At the very least, before he has completely taken down Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun, he will absolutely not move against you easily."

Hearing these words from his father-in-law, Jiao Liwei felt somewhat more settled: "Dad, you refused the Tong family's request to cooperate with Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun, then who do you think will go to the woolen mill in the end?"

Zhang Qinghe said without thinking: "Sun Baocun. He is the Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary; according to Shi Guoqiang and the others' plan, Sun Baocun is more suitable to go to the woolen mill than I am."

Jiao Liwei touched his chin and said thoughtfully: "Liu Lijuan has already defected to Zhou Andong, which means Zhou Andong must hold evidence of some people's disciplinary violations. However, what is strange is that apart from Guan Mingli, the Finance Department Chief, being taken away for investigation, Zhou Andong has not taken any other actions."

Jiao Liwei paused and continued: "Zhou Andong is an out-and-out insidious and cunning person. Holding evidence of people's disciplinary violations but not acting, he must have some conspiracy. Therefore, you were right to refuse the Tong family's request."

Zhang Qinghe felt a stir in his heart after hearing his son-in-law's words. The reason he refused the Tong family's request was mainly because the situation at the woolen mill was simply too complicated, especially Zhou Andong himself—don't look at how young he is, he lives like an old fox and is extremely difficult to deal with.

Zhang Qinghe knew very well that even the Tong family and the Yin family had suffered setbacks one after another at Zhou Andong's hands; he did not want to wade into the muddy waters of the woolen mill. After all, apart from Jiao Liwei, his son-in-law, he had no interest at stake in the woolen mill.

It was just that now, hearing his son-in-law's words, Zhang Qinghe felt he might be able to do something. Not for himself, but he had to think for his son-in-law; after all, he only had one daughter.

"Liwei," Zhang Qinghe said softly, "you can leak the news that Sun Baocun is going to inspect the woolen mill to Zhou Andong, but do not come forward personally."

Jiao Liwei was stunned and asked: "Why?"

"Doing this has two benefits," Zhang Qinghe smiled slightly and said. "First, we can show some goodwill to Zhou Andong first, letting him know our stance is on his side. Second, we can earn a not-so-small favor from Zhou Andong."

"Also," Zhang Qinghe continued, "if I decide to cooperate with Wang Jianmin, then you must cooperate with Zhou Andong and assist him in the woolen mill's reform work."

Upon hearing that he had to cooperate with Zhou Andong instead of kneeling to him, Jiao Liwei's spirit was immediately lifted: "Dad, Zhou Andong is so aggressive, will he agree to cooperate?"

"Just lower your posture!" Zhang Qinghe said earnestly. "Zhou Andong is a smart person, and his vision is not as small as you imagine. As long as you put down your status and cooperate well with his work, plus this initiative to show goodwill, it is impossible for him not to accept."

"Besides, if I cooperate with Wang Jianmin, I will inevitably fully support his work. If he doesn't even accept my son-in-law, what reason would I have to support him?" ===== CHAPTER 2386 =====