Chapter 974: Still a Stubborn Donkey After the Promotion

The news spread quickly.

As soon as the news about the Organization Department going through procedures came out, the entire officialdom of Wuzhou exploded.

"Have you heard? Luo Zhiwei is going to become a vice chairman of the CPPCC."

"Really?"

"Wasn't he supposed to take early retirement?"

"Mayor Lin spoke up for Old Luo at the meeting, and Secretary Guo later softened his tone. Hehe, in our Wuzhou, it ultimately comes down to the capital circle princeling calling the shots."

"Mayor Lin still has some humanity; if it weren't for him, Old Luo would really have been done in this time."

"Having said that, Secretary Guo really is inflexible in his work, leaving no room for others. By comparison, Mayor Lin is much more flexible—he's firm when he needs to be, soft when he needs to be."

"Luo Zhiwei has been lying low for so many years, and Mayor Lin didn't even beat him to death with a stick, yet he promoted him to a deputy bureau-level position. That's truly rare."

……

At the banquet and in the WeChat group, discussions were rife.

Some sighed, some sneered, some watched on.

But most people were saying the same thing—Mayor Lin still has the most humanity.

Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Fu Xinping sat in a chair, holding a teacup, sipping slowly.

Across from him sat Bureau Chief Lao Song of the sub-bureau.

Lao Song, a trusted aide Fu Xinping had cultivated for years, chatted with him about the ever-changing winds of Wuzhou's officialdom, and they both felt uneasy inside.

"Surname Lin is trying every way to protect Luo Zhiwei, nothing more than to win people's hearts and build his own clique!" Fu Xinping slammed his teacup heavily on the table, tea splashing out and scalding his hand, yet he seemed not to feel it.

Lao Song didn't dare to respond.

He knew Fu Xinping was seething with anger inside.

After waiting so long, he had thought that once Luo Zhiwei left, the bureau chief position would be his; earlier, Secretary Guo had already announced the result at the cadre meeting.

Who would have expected a sudden dog-blood drama of villagers presenting a banner?

Online public opinion fermented, the Provincial Party Committee intervened, Secretary Guo was forced to back down. This caused the Municipal Party Committee's earlier decision to be completely overturned—not only was Luo Zhiwei's fate rewritten, but the selection for the new bureau chief also had to be reconsidered. The Organization Department said they would "make other arrangements," but to this day they haven't given any explanation, and no one knows who will get the bureau chief position.

"Bureau Chief, won't the Organization Department, under pressure, want to replace someone?" Lao Song probed.

Fu Xinping gave a cold smile: "Trying to suppress me won't be that easy. Wait and see—Secretary Guo isn't the type to swallow a silent loss either."

Lao Song didn't speak again.

Fu Xinping stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the street scene.

The sky over Wuzhou was dull and gray, like his mood at the moment. He sighed: "This Mayor Lin of ours is best at acting. He puts on an honest official act in front of the masses, a good‑person act in front of cadres, and a capable‑person act in front of Provincial leaders. After all that acting, everyone thinks he really is an upright judge."

"……!!!"

Lao Song kept his head down, not daring to speak.

Fu Xinping turned back, sat down in his chair, picked up the cool tea and took a sip: "Just wait and see—Secretary Guo will definitely not swallow this silent loss; sooner or later he will show his true colors."

……

In the evening, at Luo Zhiwei's house, the scent of braised pork drifted from the kitchen.

Wife Xia Ping was bustling at the stove, the spatula clanking against the iron pot with a crackling sound. Luo Zhiwei sat on the living‑room sofa, remote in hand. The TV was on, but he wasn't watching.

Xia Ping brought out a plate of dishes, set it on the table, took off her apron, and wiped her hands.

"Old Luo, it's time to eat."

Luo Zhiwei stood up, walked to the table, and sat down.

Xia Ping served him a bowl of rice, placed it before him, and sat down herself. The two ate in silence, Luo Zhiwei preoccupied and not speaking.

Xia Ping placed a piece of braised pork into Luo Zhiwei's bowl: "Old Luo, this time you really owe it to Mayor Lin's help. I think you should go thank him."

"Thank him for what?"

Luo Zhiwei chewed his rice without looking up.

Xia Ping put down her chopsticks: "What do you mean, 'thank him for what'? If it weren't for Mayor Lin speaking up for you, you'd already be forced into early retirement—how would you have a chance to reach deputy bureau‑level? Although the CPPCC vice chair is a secondary post, the rank is higher, and your future retirement benefits would differ. He really pulled you up; we can't be ungrateful."

"You want me to give Mayor Lin a gift?"

Luo Zhiwei lifted his head, glared at Xia Ping angrily.

Xia Ping rolled her eyes back: "Who told you to give a gift? Even if you gave one, he wouldn't accept it. I'm saying you should go thank him—bring some fruit, pay a visit, exchange a few polite words. That's just how human relations work. He helped you this much; if you don't even say thank you, what will people say about you when it gets out?"

Luo Zhiwei stayed silent for a few seconds.

Then he lowered his head and kept eating rice: "I, Luo Zhiwei, have never asked anyone for anything in my life, nor have I ever fawned over anyone. Now that I'm about to retire, you want me to go bow and scrape before the mayor? I can't do that."

"Pa!!"

Xia Ping angrily slapped her chopsticks onto the table.

"You good-for-nothing!" she exclaimed, frustrated that he wouldn't improve: "You're just stubborn—your whole life will be ruined by this self‑esteem of yours! You think that if you don't go pay your respects, people will call you upright? They'll only think you don't know what's good for you!"

Luo Zhiwei said nothing, continued eating.

Seeing him as stubborn as an old donkey, Xia Ping scolded him, but her words couldn't wake him up—he was completely impervious to persuasion!

Helplessly.

Xia Ping sighed again, then earnestly advised: "Old Luo, I know you have your own thoughts. You're not ignorant of social niceties; you just don't want to do them. But this time is different—Mayor Lin reached out and pulled you up himself. This deputy bureau‑level post didn't come from your own petition; going to thank him wouldn't be shameful."

"If you won't go, then you go yourself!"

Luo Zhiwei set his bowl and chopsticks on the table, stopped eating, turned and went to the backyard workshop to make his own furniture.

Although he couldn't utter ivory from his mouth, his mind was full of ideas.

He pulled out a piece of rosewood from the lumber pile, lifted one end, rested the other on the workbench, and squinted with one eye to examine the straightness of that rosewood.

After that, he firmly pressed the rosewood onto the workbench, picked up a carpenter's square, and marked points and lines.

Getting ready to cut the material.

He crafted a traditional hand-held folding fan from rosewood.

Before, while he was scrolling TikTok, he came across the TikTok account of Lin Dongfan's wife, Chu Lingxi. Seeing that Chu Lingxi wanted to perform a Chinese-style dance at netizens' request, but she lacked an exquisite carved folding fan.

Just as he was hard at work.

Xia Ping walked over again, holding a half-bowl of rice, eating while nagging: "With your bad temper, even if you went to the CPPCC you wouldn't last long. You'd be better off retiring early, so you don't drag down Mayor Lin."

"If you don't talk, nobody will think you're mute!"

Luo Zhiwei lifted a foot, firmly pressing the rosewood on the workbench, then picked up a hand saw and began sawing slowly.

Although there was an electric saw available at home, he didn't want to disgrace Teacher Chu's national-style grace on stage, so he intended to exert the craftsman's spirit and make a purely hand-carved folding fan.

Xia Ping, however, had no idea what Old Luo was tinkering with.

She nagged on and on: "You've been taken care of by others, yet you don't feel grateful, and you won't even let me say a couple of words? With your bad temper, if it weren't for me holding down the household inside and out, you'd have driven us to divorce and scattered children long ago. You need to understand: all these years, it's been me putting up with you, not you putting up with me."

"Exactly, you're the household's biggest contributor—go on and do what you're supposed to."

Luo Zhiwei seemed to have long grown tired of those tones; he couldn't even be bothered to glance at Xia Ping, focusing all his attention on the wood, afraid of ruining this piece of rosewood, which is hard to come by.