Chapter 579: Mayor's Reception Day (2)

I didn't go to the conference room for the meeting. My office was quite spacious, and even with a few people sitting in it, it still looked empty.

There were five sections, and six people came. Four sections sent their section chiefs; Wang Ziming's section didn't have a chief, so he, the deputy section chief, came in their stead. For the Comprehensive Section, besides the chief, Ma Xiaohu, the deputy chief, Xu Meili, also came.

I repeated the news that the mayor was coming. Wang Ziming was the first to express doubt, asking if it would be another wasted effort.

The mayor coming for reception visits was a procedure stipulated by superiors. The reality was that every time they said the mayor was coming, he never showed up. After the bureau went through all the trouble of preparing, a phone call would come from the government saying it was cancelled.

Wang Ziming was clearly dissatisfied with the news of the mayor's visit. This was also when I began to understand why he was only a deputy section chief and couldn't be promoted to the top spot.

Aside from Wang Ziming grumbling, the other section chiefs remained silent. They all knew what they had to do; after all, it wasn't the first time they'd been told the mayor was coming. Having prepared so many times, everyone had become an expert.

After I finished arranging all the preparatory work, I got up and left, intending to go find Wan Xiao.

Xu Meili followed me downstairs. The sound of her high heels clicking against the floor traveled far, sounding hollow and monotonous in the long corridor.

After work on the first day, I had called everyone from the Petition Bureau to the Linyin Restaurant for a wild feast. At the table, Xu Meili kept trying to get me to drink, but whenever I saw her eyes, I didn't dare raise my glass. She had a pair of "peach blossom eyes" that could make a man throw caution to the wind and jump right in.

Xu Meili lived up to her name; she was truly beautiful. Though she was nearly forty, she dressed as flamboyantly as a young girl. Even though the weather in Hengyue City in April was sunny, the temperature wasn't high. In a city frequently visited by "spring chills," women had already swapped their skirts for leggings.

Yet Xu Meili didn't wear pants; she always wore skirts with elegant, subtle floral patterns, floating about, her shapely calves wrapped in black silk stockings, easily making a man's blood boil.

Xu Meili's eyes always seemed to ripple with a smile, a smile like a deep pool; whoever fell into it would face certain doom.

That was my assessment of her, which is why, when she kept trying to get me to drink, I played dead and didn't drink a drop.

A group of people was gathered at the entrance of the Petition Bureau; one look and it was clear they were petitioners.

Opposite the Petition Bureau was the Municipal Government, separated by a wide road with endless traffic. There were armed police guarding the entrance to the Municipal Government, so the petitioners couldn't get in at all. But at our Petition Bureau entrance, there was only one security guard, and he was the type who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

I had just arrived to take up my post, so the petitioners didn't recognize me. Thus, I walked past them smoothly without attracting the slightest bit of attention.

Xu Meili, who was walking behind me, was different. Just as I was about to get into the car, I heard Xu Meili scream behind me.

I turned back and saw an old man clutching Xu Meili's sleeve, refusing to let go no matter what.

Xu Meili was both shocked and terrified, her face pale with anger. She shouted loudly, "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

The old man chuckled, took a thick stack of materials from a young man behind him, and desperately tried to shove them into Xu Meili's hands.

These were veteran petitioners; they had been petitioning for longer than some of the staff had been alive. They knew everyone in the Petition Bureau—who was the director, who was the section chief, who was the clerk—they knew better than I did.

I watched with interest to see how Xu Meili would handle the situation.

Xu Meili cast her eyes toward me, and I quickly made a gesture. She was a smart person and immediately stopped talking.

Only after the old man finished shoving the materials did he let go of Xu Meili's sleeve with satisfaction. He took the young man and bowed deeply, saying, "Section Chief Xu, my whole family's life is in your hands now."

Xu Meili hesitated, wanting to shove the materials back to the old man, but the old man jumped away as if avoiding a plague god, his agility surprising me.

Seeing the old man succeed, the others swarmed over like a hive, competing to shove all sorts of materials into her arms.

Xu Meili's pretty face turned red with frustration. With me present, she couldn't easily lash out and could only keep shouting, "Stop shoving! I'm not in charge of this!"

The petitioners laughed together and said, "You're a section chief at the Petition Bureau; if you're not in charge, then who is?"

Seeing that Xu Meili couldn't get away, I had to walk over and say, "Section Chief Xu, we must leave quickly, or we'll be late for the meeting."

Hearing this, the petitioners all scattered, looking at us eagerly and saying, "Section Chief Xu, please talk about our issues at the meeting!"

In the petitioners' minds, any meeting attended by Petition Bureau cadres was related to their petitions. If the meeting didn't go well, their issues would be even harder to resolve.

Therefore, when they heard me urging Xu Meili to hurry to the meeting, they stopped surrounding her and cleared a path. Someone even ran a few steps to open my car door.

Xu Meili followed me into the car, holding a stack of materials of all sizes, looking both like she wanted to cry and laugh.

I held back my laughter and focused on driving.

Xu Meili finally couldn't hold it in and asked me, "Bureau Chief Chen, where are you taking me?"

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm not going anywhere; I just wanted to go downstairs to buy something."

I slowed down and said, "How about I take you back now?"

Xu Meili waved her hands in terror and said, "Don't! Absolutely not. If you take me back, will I be able to get away today?"

"If you don't dare go back, then come with me." I turned on the stereo, letting the music soothe her panic.

Xu Meili threw the materials onto the back seat, saying as she did, "Bureau Chief Chen, this is our normal state."

I let out an "oh" and said, "Not strange."

Xu Meili pondered for a moment and asked me, "Bureau Chief Chen, were you the County Magistrate in Chunshan County before?"

I nodded without saying a word.

Xu Meili curled her lip and said, "Being a County Magistrate is so good, a feudal lord of a region. Why did you come to the Petition Bureau? On the surface, it looks high-end, a municipal-level organ, but it's actually a bitter job—thankless and exhausting."

I smiled slightly and nodded, signaling for her to continue.

Xu Meili seemed to feel she had said the wrong thing; she held back for a long time before saying, "I'm just speaking the truth."

I laughed, "You're absolutely right, Section Chief Xu."

Hearing me praise her, Xu Meili's face lit up with a smile. She reached out to press the rearview mirror in my car and looked at herself from left to right.

*She's a woman who loves beauty, * I said to myself.

Not until the car reached the entrance of the Municipal Public Security Bureau did Xu Meili realize and shout, "Why are we here?"

"To find someone."

"Find who?"

"You'll know when you see them."

I took Xu Meili upstairs and walked straight toward Wan Xiao's office.

The further we walked, the more uncomfortable Xu Meili became. When we were almost at Wan Xiao's office door, she actually stopped and refused to go any further.

I urged her, "What's wrong? Walk a few more steps."

Xu Meili looked at me, turned around, and went downstairs.

I didn't understand why she had such a strong reaction, so I had to go to Wan Xiao's office alone.

Wan Xiao happened to be in, and seeing me enter, he looked at me in astonishment.

I laughed it off and said, "Bureau Chief Wan, don't you recognize me?"

Wan Xiao stood up from his chair, looked me up and down for a long time, and then said, "It really is you?"

Wan Xiao had long known that a new director had come to the Petition Bureau. When he first saw the name, the first thing he thought of was me. Later, he figured I was a cadre trained at the Provincial Cadre Training Class and couldn't possibly come to the Hengyue City Petition Bureau to be a deputy director. There were many people with the same name in the world; the Chen Feng he knew was a rising political star and wouldn't be reduced to this state.

I had registered when I came upstairs just now and stated my identity. I didn't expect to reach him so quickly.

We were half-acquaintances. A few months ago, when I represented the Provincial Party Committee to conduct research in Hengyue City, Wan Xiao had sent a special person and car to serve me.

I got straight to the point and told him that the mayor was going to our Petition Bureau for a reception visit, and to ensure the mayor's safety, I needed him to send troops.

After listening, Wan Xiao waved his hand and said, "Brother, tell me, how many people do you need?"

I smiled and said, "At the very least, you have to give me a squadron."

Wan Xiao opened his mouth wide and said, "Your appetite is quite large. Do you know how many people are in a squadron?"

I shook my head and said, "Regardless of how many, it's better to have more people for security tasks."

"All in uniform?"

"No, completely plainclothes," I said. "I think the mayor definitely wouldn't want to see police in uniform guarding the door. Because he's here for reception visits. If the petitioners see police at the door, will they still come in?"

Wan Xiao laughed heartily, patted my shoulder, and said, "Brother, it's truly a waste of talent for you to be a deputy director of the Petition Bureau."

I also laughed heartily, "The revolution needs it, the revolution needs it."

"Shall I set up a table for you tonight?" Wan Xiao asked me.

"Forget it, there will be plenty of time in the future!" I refused him, "I'll treat you another day."

"Is that a deal?"

"It's a deal." We each reached out to shake hands. I felt that Wan Xiao's handshake this time was very different from when I came for research last time. Last time, his handshake seemed a bit timid, but this time it was powerful and full of confidence.

Wan Xiao's change was correct. As the Municipal Public Security Bureau Director, a division-level cadre, he was at the same level as the Municipal Government Secretary-General. I was only a deputy director of the Petition Bureau; although my standard was also division-level, my actual power was worlds apart from his.

Wan Xiao called in a police officer and pointed at me, saying, "This is Petition Bureau Director Chen. There's an important task in the next few days that needs our assistance. How about this: you coordinate and communicate with Director Chen, and everything should be done according to Director Chen's requirements."

The police officer had a high rank and seemed to be a significant cadre himself. But in front of Wan Xiao, he could only agree timidly.

I said goodbye and left. Wan Xiao personally saw me out and stood on the steps watching me get into the car.

Just as my car left the Public Security Bureau gate, a person rushed out from the side, almost hitting the front of my car. I was startled, slammed on the brakes, and realized the person who rushed out was Xu Meili.

Xu Meili got into the car with a dark face, not saying a word.

I teased her, "Who offended our Section Chief Xu?"

Her eyes twitched, as if she were about to cry, and she muttered, "Bureau Chief Chen, you bullied me."

I looked at her inexplicably and asked strangely, "What do you mean?"

Xu Meili hesitated for a while before saying, "Do you know who Wan Xiao is?"

"I know, the Public Security Bureau Director!" I laughed heartily.

"Do you know he has another identity?"

I looked at her in shock and asked, "What identity?"

"He is the Public Security Bureau Director, that's correct, but he also has another identity: he is my ex-husband!"

Hearing this, I was instantly stunned! ===== CHAPTER 580 =====