Chapter 395: So that

Deng Hanyu's proposal made my interest surge.

If Qilin Villa were just a matter of a quick gamble, there would be no need for me to make such a big fuss. But Lao Can had always left me with an impression of being unfathomable. He was introduced to Chunshan by Liang Tianxing, and Liang Tianxing was the first Guangdong boss brought in by Guan Peishan. Yet Guan Peishan didn't know the connection between them—could it be that there was no story to be made out of this?

To establish authority as an official, the first choice is to kill!

How to kill? And what kind of person to kill—that is the key.

Killing an unknown commoner would make people feel it's an unfair victory. Killing a prominent, high-ranking official would invite a catastrophic disaster.

When a new official takes office, if the "three fires" don't produce a result, one will be mediocre from then on. If one burns too much, the fire will consume oneself.

Being an official is like doing business; it requires management. Management is a matter between people, and people need conflict to coexist harmoniously.

People all have base instincts; deep in everyone's heart lives a selfish person. Some keep the door tightly shut, so the selfishness cannot escape. Others, once they encounter an opportunity, will impatiently open that door and let their selfishness run wild, doing whatever they please.

Being an official is the act of making selfishness and selflessness struggle against each other.

Whether it is selfishness or selflessness, both are the intersection of one contradiction and another. Those who know how to be officials will certainly manufacture contradictions; only the existence of contradiction can drive the achievement of a goal.

For example, Guan Peishan and Liu Qimeng have spent their whole lives managing the officialdom. We are all characters in the process of their management. Guan Peishan suppressed Liu Qimeng for a lifetime, and Liu Qimeng endured humiliation, waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables and become the master. Just when he should have been celebrating, who would have thought that Guan Peishan would find a new path, transforming into an emperor who isn't an emperor, leaving Liu Qimeng at a loss.

This is actually just a difference in management methods. From this incident, one can see the level of their management skills. On the surface, Liu Qimeng was promoted and won a round. Looking behind the scenes, Guan Peishan turned back with a smile; he hadn't lost.

I, along with Deng Hanyu and others, are just chess pieces in their management. The conflicts between us are the manifestations of their victories and defeats.

I am not anyone's person among them. I do not belong to Guan Peishan, nor do I belong to Liu Qimeng.

I can become a chess piece in their struggle because behind me stands a cousin who is a Deputy Municipal Party Secretary. When my cousin inspected Suxi Township, a single gesture was enough to make them understand everything.

That gesture was my cousin saving a seat for me. Just imagine, if one were not an important person, would someone as noble as a Deputy Municipal Party Secretary specifically save a seat next to him during a banquet hosted by subordinates?

People in officialdom are all those who observe in all directions and listen to everything. My cousin's seemingly casual behavior had actually already propped up a large umbrella for me.

Many people think that my being sent down to Suxi Township was a deliberate arrangement by the leadership. As the old saying goes, "When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first exhausts their heart and mind, strains their muscles and bones, and starves their body."

Little do they know, my going down to Suxi Township was just acting as a substitute for someone else. It basically amounted to exile!

Suxi is a poor place, and social education work is something metaphysical. If there is no one at the top, the final result of social education left for me would be to grow old in Suxi.

Yet another saying goes, "Heaven never cuts off all paths!" I was at a dead end when a cousin appeared out of thin air, and by a stroke of fate, I was chosen by the daughter of the Municipal Organization Department Minister. Life is inherently impermanent, all determined by a past life!

No matter how capable Guan Peishan and Liu Qimeng are, I am a character they must fight over. Because on me, there is not only the halo of a cousin currently in office, but also the protection of a future father-in-law with overwhelming power. Any one of them could crush them like an ant.

And I will let them find life in the midst of death.

This is why, during the selection for Deputy County Magistrate, I was able to win in one fell swoop and knock down Deng Hanyu, who had been managing for half a lifetime. It is also why Guan Peishan ignores the Chengguan Town Cement Prefabricated Parts Factory and instead comes to Suxi to renovate infrastructure projects.

People in officialdom all like to add flowers to brocade. No one is willing to send charcoal in snowy weather.

After a long pause following his proposal, Deng Hanyu asked me, "Is this little brother from the police station?"

I then remembered I hadn't introduced them. So I called Hao Qiang over and said, "Director Hao, come and meet him. This is Team Leader Deng."

Hao Qiang maintained the usual seriousness of a policeman and said stiffly, "I know him. The former Town Mayor of Chengguan Town, right?"

Deng Hanyu was greatly surprised and said with a fake smile, "You know me, little brother?"

A trace of a smile also appeared on Hao Qiang's face as he said, "In Chunshan County, who would dare not know Lord Deng?"

A hint of brown appeared on Deng Hanyu's face as he touched his head and said, "Little brother is mocking me."

"I wouldn't dare," Hao Qiang replied, his posture straight, his police uniform spotless.

"Brother Deng, I will go with Director Hao tonight," I said, looking at Deng Hanyu's demeanor with a smile.

"Great!" Deng Hanyu clapped his hands and said, "There are plenty of people from your County Public Security Bureau playing there. Your Bureau Chief, and your Criminal Investigation Brigade Captain, are all my brothers; they've all been there."

Hao Qiang was confused, not knowing what we were talking about.

I whispered, "Qilin Villa."

Hao Qiang's expression changed, and he murmured, "Are you talking about Qilin Villa?"

I nodded, and Deng Hanyu on the side said, "Little brother Hao doesn't know about it?"

"I've heard of it. Never been there," Hao Qiang said hesitantly. "I heard that this Qilin Villa is a place where leaders go. A small policeman like me doesn't have the opportunity."

"With him here, you can go," Deng Hanyu shouted, pointing at me.

That son of a bitch Deng Hanyu had never been convinced since I replaced his position as Deputy County Magistrate. He had never respected me! This wasn't a feeling; it was a fact.

In his eyes, what virtue or ability does Chen Feng have? Isn't it just relying on a cousin who is a Deputy Municipal Party Secretary and a daughter of an Organization Department Minister who might not even be a father-in-law yet!

He, Deng Hanyu, is a descendant of an official family and has been tempered at the grassroots level for over ten years. In terms of ability, skill, and connections in officialdom, I, Chen Feng, am no match for him.

Back when the Deputy County Magistrate was being selected, if it had been a vote, I definitely wouldn't have been his match.

This is also the "black-box operation" that Deng Hanyu has been dwelling on ever since. Originally, he was black-boxing me, but things went against his wishes, and he was black-boxed by me instead.

Actually, I also came to be this Deputy County Magistrate in a daze. I never performed any black-box operations at all. As for whether my cousin did, or whether Huang Weiwei played a role, I have no way of knowing.

"Let's go," I gave Hao Qiang a wink.

I was telling him, if you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub?

Hao Qiang understood what I meant and immediately laughed, "County Magistrate Chen is a lone wolf; I'm not worthy of being his follower. But Lord Deng, you can cover for me. I'll go hang out with Lord Deng today and broaden my horizons."

Deng Hanyu waved his hand generously and said, "Little brother, don't be so formal. We are all brothers; there's no who follows whom, we all hang out together. We drink together and eat meat together. I have never been one to eat alone."

As he spoke, his eyes kept looking at me. It seemed he was implying that I eat alone.

I'll fuck your ancestors, Deng Hanyu. I cursed in my heart. In your eyes, I was just a piece of grass in the past, without the opportunity to eat alone, and now that I am in officialdom, I wouldn't dare to eat alone even if I wanted to.

Once a person reaches the level of a county-level cadre, countless eyes begin to watch from behind.

"Chen Feng, when will you invite us to drink your wedding wine?" Deng Hanyu changed the subject and smiled teasingly.

I understood what he meant; he was reminding me that my fiancée is the daughter of the Organization Department Minister, and going to Qilin Villa inevitably involves dealing with wine pools and meat forests.

In Qilin Villa, beauties with vivid colors and fragrances can be picked at will. Even a thousand-year-old monk would be unable to enter meditation.

"Soon!" I said, "I won't leave Brother Deng out."

"Your little Miss Huang is a good girl," Deng Hanyu praised with a tsk, "What a pity for such a good flower."

He burst into laughter; besides teasing, it was pure sarcasm.

How could I not hear it? I followed up with a laugh, "Brother Deng, don't look down on this pile of cow dung of mine! Compared to your pile of dog shit, I'm bigger than you in size."

Deng Hanyu's expression changed upon hearing this, and he said awkwardly, "I didn't mean anything else."

"Me neither."

We looked at each other and smiled, then turned our eyes away to look at the new Suxi New Town, filled with dust, and felt infinite emotions.

Yue Bai and Xuelai came over to call us for dinner, saying that Qian Youyu had opened a jar of old wine.

Qian Youyu had had too many intersections with Deng Hanyu in his life.

Qian Youyu used to be Deng Hanyu's subject, and Yuetang Village was under the jurisdiction of Chengguan Town. Before Deng Hanyu arrived in Chengguan Town, Qian Youyu was already the Village Chief of Yuetang Village. After Deng Hanyu left Chengguan Town, Qian Youyu was still the Village Chief of Yuetang Village. But now, his Yuetang Village has become a resident of my Suxi New Town.

As soon as Deng Hanyu heard that Qian Youyu had opened old wine, he immediately cursed, "That son of a bitch Qian Youyu, I've been here for two months and he's been hiding from me. Let's see how I deal with him today."

I knew Deng Hanyu was still brooding over Qian Youyu's compensation money.

I laughed, "Brother Deng, you are such a big cadre, are you still getting angry with a village cadre?"

Deng Hanyu said with a dark face, "Chen Feng, stop playing the fool in front of me. If it weren't for you, would I, Old Deng, be in this state today?"

I chuckled. Back then, my mineral water factory lured Qian Youyu to Suxi. Now, not even a hair of the mineral water factory can be seen, but Qian Youyu has had to stay behind, from then on breathing and sharing the same fate with the people of Suxi.

"Let's go drink," I greeted Deng Hanyu.

Deng Hanyu cannot be a friend, but he absolutely must not become an enemy. This person's connections aren't necessarily heaven-reaching, but he does have a father who is a County Magistrate. Even if it were just him, he is no ordinary person.

"Not drinking!" Deng Hanyu refused me, saying, "This old dog, one day I will make him die an ugly death."

Yue Bai on the side turned pale and said unhappily, "Did Boss Qian offend Team Leader Deng?"

Deng Hanyu obviously didn't know the story between them and said loudly, "Town Mayor Liu, you don't know, this old dog Qian Youyu is an ungrateful person."

"Is that so?" Yue Bai smiled coldly.

I quietly pushed Deng Hanyu and gave him a wink.

Deng Hanyu looked at me suspiciously, touched his head, and said, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Wrong! Wrong to the point of absurdity," I said, punching Deng Hanyu, "No matter what, Boss Qian came to my Suxi to invest, so he is a guest of my Suxi. My guest is your guest, how can you speak like that?"

Deng Hanyu laughed, "Fart of a guest."

Yue Bai said sternly, "He is not a guest. He is now a master."

We are all people with exquisite hearts; even the dullest person could hear the implication in Yue Bai's words.

Deng Hanyu immediately smiled apologetically and said, "Town Mayor Liu, don't take offense. Old Qian and I have been friends for many years; we are used to being casual with each other."

Yue Bai smiled lightly, "Team Leader Deng, are you still going to drink this wine?"

"Drink! Why wouldn't I drink? I'd be a fool not to drink." After finishing, he burst into laughter.

Everyone followed suit and laughed. Deng Hanyu asked, "Where is it?"

Yue Bai pointed at Xuelai and said, "Secretary Xiao Xue will take you there; I still need to go call someone." ===== CHAPTER 396 =====