Chapter 1505: Meeting

In the season of Start of Summer, all things flourish.

The Red Flag car drove steadily along the road, while Cao Weiguo secretly observed Tian Sihai, the Deputy Director of the Municipal Industrial Bureau.

Ever since getting into the car, this Deputy Director, nearing fifty, had not said a single word. The Office Director, Zheng Yuan, also appeared extremely serious; compared to how he was at the dinner table a few days ago, he was like a completely different person.

This trip to the ministry for a meeting was the first major conference Cao Weiguo had attended since taking office, and he could not help but feel a bit nervous.

Tian Sihai was a veteran of the Municipal Industrial Bureau, but according to his subordinates, ever since Director Jiang was parachuted in, this Deputy Director had been sidelined. He had been transferred from the Finance Division, which held the power of the purse, to the Conference Division, which was responsible for meeting logistics. Although his rank had not been lowered, the power in his hands had truly plummeted.

Regarding Cao Weiguo, who was heavily promoted by Director Jiang, this Deputy Director Tian had not shown any particular attitude; he neither sought closeness nor practiced exclusion. Currently, he was not taking sides or making statements within the Municipal Industrial Bureau, his goal being to protect his own position. Of course, sitting on the sidelines to watch the tigers fight could not be ruled out either.

Since Deputy Director Tian's attitude was lukewarm, Cao Weiguo naturally would not go out of his way to strike up a conversation. After all, from the moment he entered the Municipal Industrial Bureau, he had been clear about where he stood; everyone knew he was Director Jiang's man, and he did not need to cling to the thighs of other leaders in the bureau.

Having been quite active with Song Yulan late last night, Cao Weiguo saw that no one in the car was speaking, so he simply closed his eyes to rest. The level of today's meeting was very high, and he couldn't afford to be listless.

As time passed, the Red Flag car slowly drove into an area of red walls. Everywhere it passed was solemn and quiet, as if even the birds dared not fly overhead.

The Red Flag car stopped slowly. Cao Weiguo followed Deputy Director Tian out of the car, and immediately, over a dozen middle-aged cadres wearing Zhongshan suits came to greet them.

Stepping onto this extremely special piece of land, Cao Weiguo could not describe his current feelings; it truly felt like a dream.

Before Cao Weiguo could express his emotions, a man wearing glasses and a gray Zhongshan suit had already extended both hands toward him.

"Hello, Comrade Weiguo. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Liu Gan from the General Office."

"Secretary Liu, hello."

He had kept Liu Gan's name firmly in his heart; this was a person specifically mentioned by Director Jiang, the Deputy Division Chief of the Ministry of Industry's Secretariat, and also the right-hand man of Secretary Han.

Cao Weiguo hurriedly shook Liu Gan's hand, appearing flattered and surprised.

Although it was their first meeting, the two held hands tightly, as if they were kindred spirits meeting for the first time.

Liu Gan's performance caused the expressions of Deputy Director Tian and Director Zheng toward Cao Weiguo to change; clearly, they had not expected Cao Weiguo to have such good "connections" at the ministry.

Following the main group into the conference room, after waiting for over ten minutes, the leader presiding over the meeting entered. The aura was so overwhelming that Cao Weiguo dared not even breathe deeply.

The meeting was high-level, and the security classification was also high. As for the content of the meeting, Cao Weiguo could only say it was confidential, because the leader presiding over the meeting was surnamed Lin.

When Cao Weiguo walked out of the conference hall, his entire brain felt dizzy. Stepping on the ground felt like stepping on cotton. It took a long time for his breathing and heartbeat to return to normal.

Cao Weiguo did not know if his psychological quality was too poor, but that great leader's aura was truly too strong. Even though he sat in the back row, and even though there were hundreds of other participants in the hall, he found it difficult to control the nervousness coming from his heart.

"Weiguo, we've arrived."

The Red Flag car stopped slowly. Secretary Liu mentioned this with a smile, which finally brought Cao Weiguo back from his chaotic state.

The Yuebin Hotel was absolutely second to none in the current Jingcheng. Apart from receiving foreign guests and cadres coming to Jingcheng for meetings from other places, ordinary people rarely had the qualifications to dine here.

This was Cao Weiguo's second time here; the last time was before the New Year when he accompanied Director Jiang to receive engineers from the Soviet Big Brother. This time, however, he was the host entertaining guests.

When Cao Weiguo and Secretary Liu arrived, Zheng Yuan was already standing at the hotel entrance, having booked a private room and dishes in advance.

"Brother Zheng, thank you for your hard work."

Seeing Zheng Yuan come up to greet him, Cao Weiguo smiled and shook his hand.

From Director Zheng to Brother Zheng, Zheng Yuan understood perfectly well what this form of address meant. However, he was genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart regarding this change.

Because he, like Deputy Director Tian, had previously been a neutral party, but now Director Jiang had secured the position of number one, and was deeply trusted and relied upon by higher-level leaders. If he continued to "sit on the fence," then the day he would be guarding a reservoir would not be far off.

Although being neutral could protect one's position, it also faced the risk of being marginalized. After Director Jiang, as the number one, consolidated his position, he naturally could not treat his loyal followers who had been running errands for him poorly.

But in the Industrial Bureau, there was only one hole for every radish; if someone goes up, someone must go down. So, who goes down?

Zheng Yuan, being able to become a division-level cadre, was naturally no novice, and he had also sensed the changes in and around the Industrial Bureau.

Because of his stance, he had already been pushed to the edge of a cliff. He was very clear about his situation; if no one pulled him back, perhaps tomorrow he would be transferred to the Water Conservancy Bureau to manage a reservoir, or transferred to a forestry area to chop down trees.

In officialdom, one should not consider oneself too important, because capable people are a dime a dozen in officialdom, especially in Jingcheng, where a single brick thrown down could hit a section chief or a division chief.

But in officialdom, having ability alone is not enough. For a number one like Director Jiang, his job, to put it bluntly, is managing people. Managing people inevitably involves rewards and punishments, closeness and distance.

He was able to sit in the position of Office Director entirely due to the cultivation of his old leader. But the old leader had already retired and had been labeled not long ago. Now that he had no backing, he had no capital to sit on the fence. If he did not save himself in time, sitting on the bench was a certainty.

As for how to "save" his political future, Zheng Yuan had also racked his brains. Rushing to show loyalty to Director Jiang was already too late. How should one put it? The biggest drawback of the fence-sitting faction is that once the situation becomes clear, even if you want to eat shit, you won't be able to catch it while it's hot.

You don't go to provide help in snowy weather, and you aren't needed to add flowers to brocade.

At this time, even if he ran over to lick boots, Director Jiang wouldn't even look at him straight.

Knowing that the direct path wouldn't work, he could only take a circuitous route.

Cao Weiguo's arrival made Zheng Yuan feel as if he had seen a ray of light in the thick fog. After some investigation and interaction, Zheng Yuan had treated Cao Weiguo, this "big red man," as a life-saving straw. In order to gain Cao Weiguo's friendship, he did not hesitate to lower his status and call Cao Weiguo brother.

One must know that he was already forty-six years old, perhaps several years older than Cao Weiguo's parents.

But in order to continue serving the people, face is not important; what is important is the determination to serve the people.

Therefore, after Cao Weiguo proposed hosting the dinner, Zheng Yuan took the initiative to volunteer, saying that he was a comrade-in-arms with the director of the Yuebin Hotel, actively running errands.

After a while, the guests Cao Weiguo invited arrived one after another. After Zheng Yuan saw those guests, he once again strengthened his determination to unite with Cao Weiguo. ===== CHAPTER 1507 =====