Chapter 494: The Curtain Falls

Tian Guofu and Sha Ruijin were equally shocked; they remained silent in the office for a long time.

In fact, Zhang Ping'an had a hand in this, just to find an ally for Qi Tongwei, and at the same time, he did not want to see Gao Yuliang suppressed by Sha Ruijin; after all, he was also the father-in-law of his little nephew.

"Comrade Chunlin, did you not receive the information from above earlier?" Sha Ruijin looked at Organization Department Minister Wu Chunlin with a serious face.

"Secretary Sha, the incident happened suddenly, and I only received the notice temporarily after the New Year. Provincial Governor of Linhu Province, Wu Zhenbang, suddenly fell ill and could not preside over the work, which is why Secretary Yuliang was sent over to put out the fire."

"But this is also good; at least Handong no longer has anyone who can confront me head-on," Sha Ruijin thought to himself.

"Hmm, never mind then, go get busy."

Sha Ruijin calculated in his heart that, adding in the future Provincial Governor Liu in a few months, he would have three opportunities to win over people's hearts.

As the Provincial Party Secretary, Sha Ruijin's personnel power was still very great; although he could not appoint directly, he had the power of nomination and recommendation.

When the time came, people would be sent down from above, and after the assessment passed, they could basically take up their posts.

"Zhao Donglai, Li Dakang, it's just this Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary..."

Sha Ruijin was somewhat wavering. Nowadays, the Handong Political and Law Department was almost entirely Gao Yuliang's protégés, so choosing anyone was about the same; it would be best if someone could be parachuted in.

Subsequently, Sha Ruijin had a talk with Zhao Donglai and Li Dakang, expressing very directly that he was prepared to nominate and recommend them.

"Secretary Sha, don't worry. As long as I am here, you can rest assured about the public security of Handong. I will also take your instructions, Secretary Sha, as my guiding policy and thoroughly implement them."

Zhao Donglai patted his chest with a loud thud; there was no other reason, he wanted to enter the ministry too much.

"Hahaha, Comrade Donglai, your path has widened."

But Li Dakang's performance was not as exaggerated as Zhao Donglai's; instead, he thanked Sha Ruijin very calmly.

Ever since cooperating with the Oriental Group, Li Dakang had also opened his mind, focusing on developing the economy and doing less of the other petty, underhanded things.

"Secretary Sha, thank you for your promotion. I will definitely take Handong's economic development to another level."

"Hmm..."

Sha Ruijin was smiling on the surface, but in his heart, he had already determined that Li Dakang was not the best candidate;

But Li Dakang was currently the most competitive person in Handong. Just for the Guangming Peak Project alone, although there were flaws, it had already surpassed many people, and Sha Ruijin could only grit his teeth and accept it.

Even if he did not nominate or recommend him, the position of Provincial Governor would likely fall to Li Dakang anyway, so it was better to go with the flow and keep a favor.

The facts were as expected: four months later, Li Dakang became Provincial Governor, Zhao Donglai was appointed Department Director, and Political and Legal Affairs Committee Deputy Secretary Wu Jianshe also succeeded to the position.

However, when the always-strong Li Dakang met the overbearing Sha Ruijin, except for arguing on the basis of reason regarding economic development, Li Dakang almost never opposed him on other matters, and for a time, there was a strange balance.

Although Sha Ruijin was sometimes unhappy in his heart, he had also been sent from above to develop Handong, and since Li Dakang was an expert at handling the economy, he let him be.

This was also the first time Sha Ruijin had compromised, just as he had said to Secretary Bai before:

"From Party Secretary of a county to Municipal Party Secretary, I have worked for many years. Basically, every task I set out to do, I succeeded. If there is something I don't want to do, others won't be able to do it either."

"Are there people below who oppose me? Yes, but very few, unless they don't want their official hats anymore."

But this time he compromised, not because he couldn't beat Li Dakang, but because he had to consider Handong's economic development;

Otherwise, both sides would suffer, and once Handong's economy regressed, he would also have to take the blame.

Gao Yuliang and Qi Tongwei also made progress on their side; as soon as Qi Tongwei arrived, he rectified the Political and Law team in Linhu Province;

Because Linhu Province was a coastal city and some cities were close to Xiangjiang, there had been frequent illegal smuggling in recent years, which was also a key target for Qi Tongwei's crackdown.

As for the economic development of Linhu Province, Gao Yuliang was still a bit strained. He had spent almost all his years engaged in Political and Law work and Party affairs guidance; grasping the economy was indeed his weak point.

"Teacher Gao, although I don't know much about grasping the economy, we can look at Comrade Dakang's approach."

"It's nothing more than developing local characteristics, encouraging local enterprises, and then introducing foreign investment."

"Hmm, Comrade Dakang is indeed a very good reference."

The two had worked together before, and Gao Yuliang knew Li Dakang quite well. By stepping into the role and combining it with local characteristics, Gao Yuliang also gradually adapted.

Near Dashilan at Zhengyangmen in Sijiucheng, the sixty-something Han Chunming was leisurely swaying on a recliner, with two six- or seven-year-old twins beside him.

Time returned to 2010; fifty-four-year-old Su Meng and Han Chunming finally achieved a positive result, and the two registered for marriage and became pregnant.

Guan Daye was still alive at the time, so he asked Zhang Ping'an to check on Su Meng, as she was an older mother after all.

Zhang Ping'an also felt a bit of emotion. Just like in the original drama, Han Chunming, this sycophant, had finally won over the superficial Su Meng after twenty or thirty years.

Zhang Ping'an could easily imagine that if Han Chunming did not have his current achievements, Su Meng might not have really been willing to lower her face for him.

But no matter what, one was willing to hit and the other was willing to suffer, and Zhang Ping'an was too lazy to care anymore.

Initially, Zhang Ping'an had intended to save Han Chunming, but this kid had been deeply in love with Su Meng since he was a child, so Zhang Ping'an just let him be.

However, it was quite something for these two to be able to get pregnant in their fifties; even in his previous life, it was quite rare.

"Hmm... about five months, and twins at that. Chunming, you really are vigorous in your old age."

Han Chunming was extremely embarrassed. At this moment, Zhang Ping'an's face looked younger than his own, but he knew that Zhang Ping'an was already nearly eighty.

"But you still need to be careful. Su Meng's age is what it is. How about this, bring the Jianjun Stove for me to take a look at, and I guarantee the safety of the mother and the two children."

"......"

In fact, Zhang Ping'an was just purely curious and wanted to see if it was real. If it were real, its value would probably be at least over a hundred million.

"Done, I'll send it to you another day."

Han Chunming did not hesitate. He knew Zhang Ping'an's net worth; let alone one stove, even his entire industry did not amount to one ten-thousandth of the Oriental Group.

"Good."

Subsequently, Zhang Ping'an also handed the prepared "Medicine Liquid" in a mineral water bottle to Han Chunming.

"One small bottle cap a day, taken with warm water."

"Good, thanks, Zhang Shu."

In the car, Su Meng held the mineral water bottle with a look of disgust. If it weren't for the fact that Zhang Ping'an was a big shot, she would have thrown it away long ago.

"Chunming, this Medicine Liquid..."

"It is definitely good stuff. Remember to drink it on time and in the right amount. Don't forget that Zhang Shu is also the Honorary Dean of the Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. People who want to find him for medical treatment are lined up outside Sijiucheng."

"It was Master who helped speak for us this time, otherwise it would have been very difficult for us to see them."

"This... alright then."

If this had been in the past, Su Meng would have still thrown a little tantrum, but she also knew the risks of pregnancy at her age, so she obediently did as she was told.

The next day, Han Chunming brought the stove over; Zhang Ping'an took one look and knew it was authentic, as the traces of time on it could not be concealed.

"Are you selling it?"

"It's a gift for you."

"Forget it, a gentleman does not take what others love."

Zhang Ping'an saw the reluctance in Han Chunming's eyes, and since he now also had his own private museum just like in the show, he believed he could protect these cultural relics well.

More than four months later, the children were born successfully; they were boy-girl twins with loud cries, and one look told them they were healthy babies.