Chapter 662: Are you jealous of this?

Hanging up the phone with Cheng Lin, a look of determination appeared in Tang Ye's eyes.

He knew that being able to secure an audience with Minister Cheng must have had something to do with Cheng Lin.

Although he was unclear about the exact relationship between Cheng Lin and Minister Cheng, the fact that Minister Cheng could speak so candidly and offer him so much earnest advice made Tang Ye's gratitude toward Cheng Guodong truly heartfelt, sincere, genuine, and emotional.

As the Minister of the Organization Department of Huai Province, Cheng Guodong held the power over the career paths of all civil servants in the province; for Tang Ye, who was merely a Deputy Division Level Official, being granted an audience with him was already an unprecedented opportunity.

Therefore, before meeting Cheng Guodong, Tang Ye had secretly rehearsed countless times, pondering what Cheng Guodong might say and how he should respond.

In the end, he felt his "acting" was quite good, with almost no traces of deliberate performance.

Moving from Huai Province to Shaan Province meant that the connections he had spent years cultivating in his work would all be rendered void, and everything would have to start from scratch.

Moreover, with this inter-provincial exchange, his connections within the province became particularly important.

After returning to Hanzhou, Tang Ye took the initiative to contact Jiang Jing.

This exchange was a path pointed out to him by Jiang Jing, so he needed to meet with her; firstly, to see what expectations she had of him, and secondly, to seek some resources from her.

After all, Jiang Jing was an official dispatched by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and possessed certain resources within the province, especially given her closeness to Provincial Governor Fu.

Tang Ye arrived at Secretariat Section Two and found that Wen Rong was not at her post.

Zhan Shiqi was sitting at his desk, making a phone call with a worried expression.

Seeing Tang Ye arrive, he said to the person on the other end of the line, "I have an important guest here; I'll contact you later."

After hanging up, he hurriedly stood up and took the initiative to step forward and shake hands with Tang Ye: "County Magistrate Tang, please sit. I'll pour you some tea."

Tang Ye smiled and said, "No need for formalities, don't bother with the tea. I'm here to report my work to Mayor Jiang."

Zhan Shiqi poured the tea for Tang Ye anyway and said with a smile, "I've been so swamped lately, I've been wanting to find a time to invite you to a meal."

Tang Ye smiled and said, "Section Chief Zhan, I heard you've been promoted? Congratulations!"

Zhan Shiqi had originally been the type of person in Secretariat Section Two who was content to stay out of trouble, but now there were some changes, which were mainly due to the influence of Jiang Jing.

Under Jiang Jing, it was very difficult to slack off, and through subtle influence, Zhan Shiqi had become much more diligent, though the carefree nature in his bones was hard to change.

In fact, Zhan Shiqi was quite resilient; he was reliable at critical moments and could be counted on as a steady hand.

Zhan Shiqi waved his hand: "It's mainly because Section Chief Wen is unwell, so I was pushed up to fill the gap. You know I don't have much ambition; I'm really just a duck being driven onto a perch."

Tang Ye asked in surprise, "What's wrong with Wen Rong?"

Zhan Shiqi sighed and said, "Section Chief Wen's work intensity was too high a while ago, which affected her pregnancy, so she asked for leave to go home and rest."

Tang Ye calculated the time; Wen Rong was now about six or seven months pregnant and still insisting on working, which showed that this woman, who appeared delicate on the outside, was quite strong on the inside.

But as a woman in the officialdom, Wen Rong was at a disadvantage, and the root cause lay here:

First, women must go through pregnancy and nursing stages; during job competition, a six-month gap is crucial, and once one falls behind, it is very difficult to catch up.

Second, men can talk about anything, and in social settings, they can be both refined and vulgar, but it is different when women and men interact; in some situations, they must avoid suspicion, and thus cannot fully integrate into private circles.

Zhan Shiqi glanced at his watch, estimated that the time was about right, walked to Jiang Jing's office to announce him, and then returned with a smile to say to Tang Ye, "Mayor Jiang is finished with her work; you can go in now."

Tang Ye walked into Jiang Jing's office.

Jiang Jing pointed to the sofa to let him sit and asked, "How did the communication with Minister Cheng go?"

"Minister Cheng chatted with me for about fifteen minutes, mainly to encourage me not to be discouraged just because the place of exchange isn't ideal," Tang Ye summarized.

Jiang Jing sighed: "This matter was beyond my expectations. The conditions and foundation of Dayu County are indeed too poor; it is very difficult to achieve results. But regardless, this is an opportunity. Your situation in Suiyuan is already stable; staying there is nothing more than biding your time, so you might as well go out and venture."

A look of seriousness appeared in Tang Ye's eyes: "Mayor Jiang, I will definitely work hard. But a clever woman cannot cook without rice; I can't go to Dayu County empty-handed, right?"

Jiang Jing laughed in spite of herself: "Don't be anxious, there will definitely be opportunities, but before that, you need to make preparations in advance. By the way, when are you leaving?"

"I plan to leave in a few days, without waiting for the official transfer order, to go to Dayu County early to adapt to the local environment."

"Fine, once you get there, you need to change your work style," Jiang Jing instructed carefully.

"Alright, I will keep that in mind!"

Having known each other for so long, Tang Ye was very familiar with every word, action, and expression change of Jiang Jing.

He could feel that at this moment, Jiang Jing's concern for him was sincere.

However, Jiang Jing felt she couldn't read Tang Ye at this moment, always feeling as if she had never truly understood this former secretary.

Tang Ye appeared to be sincere and honest, yet he would inadvertently reveal a cunning side;

If one were to say he was full of schemes, he acted in an open and aboveboard manner, and the methods he used were all open conspiracies.

Both emotionally and logically, Jiang Jing hoped that Tang Ye would have a good development.

Over the next few days, Tang Ye frequently ate and socialized with acquaintances, firstly to say goodbye, and secondly to maintain relationships.

Two years was a long time for things to change; if one didn't maintain them, it was easy for people to drift apart once one left.

But Tang Ye had an advantage: even if he left, his father-in-law, this "big shot," was still in Hanzhou, so after he returned, his base would remain unchanged.

Sun Hai's full-month banquet for his daughter was arranged for Sunday, and he invited many local celebrities from Hanzhou.

As the godfather of the two little girls, Tang Ye also assumed the posture of a semi-host at this occasion, holding a wine bottle and toasting every table.

"Welcome!" Tang Ye arrived at the table of his high school classmates.

"County Magistrate Tang, you're in good spirits today, looking especially happy!" the classmates teased one after another.

"That's right, Sun Hai's daughter is my goddaughter! Everyone, eat and drink well!"

Tang Ye's gaze swept around, pausing slightly on Shao Jinbo and Xiao Hui.

After Tang Ye left, everyone's topic of conversation revolved around him.

"Tang Ye's career path these past few years has been really smooth; he's already an Executive Deputy County Magistrate."

"I heard he's going to participate in an inter-provincial cadre exchange and stay in Shaan Province for two years; they say it's particularly arduous there."

"That's where you don't know; after finishing these two years, there's a high probability he'll be promoted to Division Level."

"Promoted to Division Level at thirty-two! Tsk tsk, that's too impressive!"

Shao Jinbo sat at the table drinking sullenly, saying with a look of disdain: "It's Sun Hai's daughter's full-month banquet, why is Tang Ye showing off!"

Xiao Hui gave Shao Jinbo a look of annoyance: "The two of them became god-relatives; you're just jealous, aren't you?"

Shao Jinbo curled his lips and said, "Tang Ye is going to Dayu County for an exchange soon and won't be back for at least two years; I finally won't have to see this annoying guy anymore."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hui's eyes dimmed in an instant, and her mood sank significantly...