Chapter 638

Just as I was wondering who the Mayor would send to the provincial capital, Chen Meng arrived unexpectedly.

Chen Meng's arrival was within my expectations. As the chief reporter for the Hengyue Daily, such a major news story had to be written by her.

There was one more key step in the "forcing the palace" drama the Mayor wanted to stage: he had to invite provincial leaders to inspect Hengyue City, with the focus on the industrial park.

Who to invite to Hengyue City became the thing that gave me the biggest headache.

I certainly couldn't invite the Provincial Party Secretary, and the Provincial Governor wouldn't go easily either; besides, I had inquired, and the Governor's schedule was already booked two months in advance.

Chen Meng and I sat in a room at the Provincial Party Committee Reception House, worried and distressed.

Since coming to the province, Chen Meng hadn't smiled at me once. Whether speaking or doing things, she acted coldly, as if she had nothing to do with this matter, letting me jump around and struggle, never giving me a single suggestion.

I handed her a glass of water and said, "Mengmeng, do you have any thoughts?"

She took the water without looking up at me and said coldly, "I have no thoughts. I am here to assist you in publishing a special report. If there is news, I write it; if there is no news, I wait."

"But the situation now is that we can't fabricate news out of thin air; we have to create news!" I sighed and said, "You've been in news for so long, you should know how news is created, right?"

She looked at me and said, "You don't understand news!"

This sentence completely shut me down. Since she said I didn't understand news, she clearly disdained to continue discussing such topics with me.

My mind turned, and I decided to take a roundabout approach, so I asked, "What about Su Ya and the others?"

Chen Meng looked at me vigilantly, the expression on her face changing several times, and she asked back, "Why are you asking about her?"

I smiled and said, "Nothing! You've been with her, I just wanted to ask, is she doing well? And, how are things with her now?"

Chen Meng smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your concern! They are all fine."

Her saying "they are all fine" let me know immediately that Su Ya was with Su Juan and Su Mei. As long as they were still together, Su Ya's matter definitely hadn't been resolved. As long as Su Ya's matter remained unresolved for a single day, Chen Meng would feel her own failure in conscience and morality.

She is a woman who doesn't admit defeat and has a strong sense of hatred for evil. In her view, all people and things in the world are beautiful. Occasionally, there are discordant things, which are just the eruption of the dark side of human nature. She wants to dress the world in kindness, flowers, and sunshine everywhere, and she has been working hard for this beautiful wish.

Therefore, as long as she discovers the ugliness of human nature, she will definitely use the pen in her hand to whip it mercilessly. At the same time, as long as she believes a phenomenon is ugly and unreasonable, she will pursue it relentlessly until everything is as she wishes.

In fact, as the daughter of the Hengyue Municipal Party Secretary, she has advantages that others cannot compare to, whether in social resources or other perspectives. For the same event, the result of her reporting it would definitely be different from someone else's; even if the result were the same, the process would have different changes.

After the Su Ya petition incident, she discovered that everything she had previously handled with ease had lost its agility. No matter how she ran around, no matter how brilliant her writing was, the event itself not only didn't advance a single step but instead brought Su Ya much unease and danger.

First, the report she wrote on Su Ya's petition couldn't be published in the daily newspaper at all. Once, it had already been typeset and sent to the press, but the newspaper president personally called the printing plant to pull the report off the printing press. The resulting blank space was used for an advertisement, something that had never happened in the history of the Hengyue Daily.

She tried to go reason with the president, but he either avoided her or gave her the runaround. She tried to publish it in other media, but every place she went, she received a polite refusal.

Since this path was blocked, she tried to communicate with her father. But every time she started, her father would find an excuse to interrupt her. Only then did she suddenly realize that the Su Ya petition incident was like a huge black curtain, and no one dared or was willing to lift a corner of it, including her father.

In her most isolated and helpless moment, she thought of me. In her view, in this world, only I was her last hope.

But I, too, disappointed her!

She began to distrust everyone, including me.

In fact, as long as I submitted the USB drive I had, everything would change. The reason I delayed submitting it was because I wanted to hold onto this final trump card. If this trump card were played on the Su Ya petition incident, it would lose its explosive effect. I couldn't waste this trump card in vain; I had to play it at the most critical moment, and it had to be a fatal blow. If the trump card were played and the other side could defend against it and counterattack, only death would await me.

I didn't tell Chen Meng my thoughts; I would rather let her misunderstand me than let myself be driven into a corner.

I hesitated for a moment and took out a cigarette to offer her one. She took it naturally, held it between her fair, slender fingers, and waited for me to light it for her.

I smiled and said, "Thank you, Secretary-General Meng. I'll drink."

She turned her head, lit the cigarette with my lighter, took a deep drag, exhaled a string of smoke rings, and said, "Why are you asking about these things?"

I smiled sheepishly and said, "We're all acquaintances, so it's not too much to show some concern, right?"

She smiled, took another deep drag, stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray, stretched her body, and said, "I didn't say your concern was wrong! However, it's best you don't concern yourself with this matter, lest it ruin your future."

She laughed coldly, took a sip of water, and said, "None of you people are afraid of trouble. Even my father, your top superior, is stopping because he's about to retire and doesn't want to create extra complications!"

I smiled and said, "Secretary Chen has been a revolutionary his whole life, so of course he wants to retire in peace. As his children, we should also let him have a peaceful old age."

Anyone who understands can hear what I mean; I am telling her to let it go for her father's sake!

Chen Meng didn't seem to understand what I meant, tossed her hair, and said, "You know I'm a perfectionist. If a matter has no result, do you think I'll be at peace for the rest of my life?"

"But you don't have to trade your father's peace for your own peace of mind, do you?"

"This is a matter of conscience!" She stood up indignantly, glanced at me sideways, and said, "There's no point in talking to someone who doesn't understand!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This woman before me, who combines knowledge and beauty, is the dream of countless men. But her cold, standoffish demeanor makes many men stop in their tracks, or even gnash their teeth.

"Some things can't be rushed," I said, deliberately drawing out my tone.

"Can they not be rushed?" She sat down opposite me again.

"Of course they can't!" I smiled slightly and said, "For example, right now, deciding who to invite to inspect Hengyue City is a long process."

"How is it long?"

"Because I can't make up my mind who is appropriate to invite!"

"Let me give you an idea!" She looked at me seriously and said, "But whether you can invite him or not depends on your ability."

"Who?"

"Vice Provincial Governor Lin."

"Him!" I muttered and asked, "Why invite him?"

"Think about it. First, he is a member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, so his words carry weight. Second, have you forgotten someone? When doing things outside, acquaintances are more important than anything else. As long as there are acquaintances, there is nothing that can't be done."

Lin Xiaoxi popped into my mind. Lin Xiaoxi had been a news anchor at the Chunshan County Television Station, a fact that only came to light after Vice Provincial Governor Lin arrived in Chunshan County. How could such gossip escape the keen Chen Meng!

Chen Meng's suggestion coincided with my thoughts over the past few days. I had been struggling with whether or not to invite Vice Provincial Governor Lin to inspect Hengyue City, and the key was also Chen Meng's attitude.

I didn't know what Su Juan and Su Mei had told her, or if she knew that the person I wanted to invite was the very person who made her feel uneasy about her conscience and morality.

Now that she had voluntarily mentioned Vice Provincial Governor Lin's name, I felt everything had fallen into place.

But I couldn't show my urgency; I deliberately said with difficulty, "I don't know if I can invite him, but since you've said so, I will try."

She didn't respond, walked to the window, stood there, pulled back the curtain, and said, "If there's no movement within two days, I'm going back to Hengyue City."

I stood up and said, "I'll give you news within two days."

After leaving Chen Meng's room, I immediately called Lin Xiaoxi.

Lin Xiaoxi understood my idea over the phone and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Chen Feng, come with me to see my father."

Of course, I agreed immediately. This was the last chance; if I lost this opportunity, the Mayor's "forcing the palace" plan would be aborted. The abortion of the Mayor's plan wouldn't necessarily affect my funding allocation, but the Mayor would definitely think there was a problem with my ability to handle things. If the Mayor decided my ability was lacking, even if I managed to get the funding back, it wouldn't change the impression I had left in his mind.

As a subordinate, one must always leave a very good impression on one's superior.

If the leader's impression is bad, even if you have heaven-defying abilities, you can only squat in a corner and weep alone, lamenting the perversity of fate.

As long as the leader is satisfied, everything will go smoothly.

I made an appointment with Lin Xiaoxi to go to her house that evening to accompany Vice Provincial Governor Lin for dinner.

Accompanying a leader for dinner is a science; what is said at the dinner table is very particular.

I decided I couldn't go empty-handed this time; this was a matter of etiquette. Showing up empty-handed is very impolite; only people without quality would enter a house empty-handed.

But I couldn't bring too many gifts either, as that would make people feel I was hypocritical and lacked confidence.

Giving gifts is not about quantity, but about appropriateness.

Vice Provincial Governor Lin drinks and likes to read. Every high-ranking official reads a few good books. A copy of "Zizhi Tongjian" is something everyone has. Anyone who hasn't read this book would be embarrassed to call themselves an official.

I had read this book in university, and later, when I met Minister Huang Shan, I had done some intensive review to avoid making a fool of myself in front of him. Thinking about having dinner with Vice Provincial Governor Lin tonight, I still had to deepen my impression; sharpening the spear at the last minute is better than nothing!

I went to the oldest shop in Central Province and bought two bottles of Moutai, then went to a flower shop and bought a bouquet of fresh flowers. Once everything was prepared, I waited for Lin Xiaoxi to summon me.

Tonight, I would accompany Vice Provincial Governor Lin to drink Moutai, discuss "Zizhi Tongjian," and finalize the major matter of him inspecting Hengyue City.