Chapter 3620

Feng Jiaonan looked at everyone at the table; they were all good friends, so he began to tell some of Cao Yuanhao's deeds.

Cao Yuanhao was also a graduate of a prestigious university, having graduated from the Philosophy Department of Yanzhong University. When Sun Zhenhua was still the County Party Secretary in Tangchuan City, Yanzhong Province, he had served as Sun Zhenhua's secretary.

Cao Yuanhao came from a farming family in Tangchuan City. His poor background gave him a persistent drive to climb upward. He clung tightly to Sun Zhenhua's leg, flattering him in every possible way, even to the point of being servile. He almost went to Sun Zhenhua's house every day to do chores, and he used every possible means to flatter him, taking the nauseating as interesting.

It just so happened that Sun Zhenhua enjoyed Cao Yuanhao's approach, treating him as a confidant and almost as his own nephew. He even introduced his own niece to Cao Yuanhao.

At that time, Cao Yuanhao originally had a girlfriend and they were already talking about marriage, but Cao Yuanhao didn't hesitate to kick his girlfriend to the curb, started dating Sun Zhenhua's niece, and married her shortly after.

The problem was that Sun Zhenhua's niece wasn't pretty at all; she was both fat and ugly. But Cao Yuanhao, in order to climb upward, didn't care at all, and he was as afraid of his wife as a tiger.

Cao Yuanhao's performance won Sun Zhenhua's trust. Afterward, Sun Zhenhua's official career was smooth sailing, and he promoted Cao Yuanhao quite a bit, eventually elevating him to his current deputy department-level position.

Cao Yuanhao was extremely narrow-minded. When he was serving as Sun Zhenhua's secretary, an incident occurred. A secretary who worked in the same office as him, who had started working the same year as him, quickly became someone he could talk to about anything, and they became good friends. But once, after drinking, that secretary joked that Cao Yuanhao was henpecked.

In fact, this was a joke between friends, and it was drunken talk. Logically speaking, most people wouldn't take this to heart, but Cao Yuanhao was different. This sentence hit exactly on his sore spot. He kept this sentence firmly in his heart and held a grudge ever since.

From then on, he silently recorded some of that secretary's mistakes. After two or three years, a report letter was sent to the Discipline Inspection Commission. All the tricks that secretary had played in official receptions and expense reimbursements were listed clearly in the report letter, and even the evidence was complete.

Under such a detailed report letter, that secretary had no way to argue. Although he wasn't dismissed from both his job and the party, he was transferred to a cold, unimportant department, and his once-bright political future was ruined in an instant.

Although the report letter wasn't signed, many details in it were known only to Cao Yuanhao. After that secretary recovered from that period, he suspected that Cao Yuanhao had reported him, but what was the use? Cao Yuanhao's official career was smooth sailing and at its peak at the time, while he could only sit silently in the cold department, gnashing his teeth.

After hearing this, Su Xinghui laughed and said, "Our Director Cao is quite the anti-corruption pioneer!"

Feng Jiaonan said, "If he were truly anti-corruption, that would be one thing. But he spent two or three years painstakingly collecting evidence just to retaliate for a friend's comment—that's truly terrifying. Anyway, when I worked with him, I would never tell him any truth, and I was very careful never to leave him any leverage."

Wei Jiashu laughed, "Brother Jiaonan, no wonder you're so incorruptible in the Department of Culture; it turns out you were spurred on by this guy!"

Feng Jiaonan said, "That's right, it's good this way, so I don't succumb to temptation."

Feng Jiaonan also mentioned some other deeds of Cao Yuanhao. Several times when he was about to be promoted, there would always be report letters sent to the Discipline Inspection Commission, and they would always report his competitors. The evidence in the report letters was always detailed, which would drag his competitors down and give Sun Zhenhua a reason to promote him while opposing his competitors, so he was able to get promoted as he wished every time.

Su Xinghui asked, "Then no one reported him?"

Feng Jiaonan said, "Of course there were, but he is a very careful person. He doesn't open up to anyone, so most people can't get any leverage on him. Besides, he has an uncle who is the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. Who would want to make a mortal enemy of him? It's better to keep him at a respectful distance."

Qian Jian'an said, "Xinghui, you'll have to be careful when working with such a person in the future."

Su Xinghui laughed and said, "I'm not afraid of such a person. If he can find a single mistake of mine, then I'll count it as him having ability and good eyes."

Feng Jiaonan nodded, "Xinghui is right. For someone as upright as you, even if Cao Yuanhao uses a microscope, he won't find any leverage. However, I'm afraid he might cook up some groundless things. Even if you're not afraid, it's still disgusting."

Hu Quanyou shook his head, "I don't know why the Provincial Committee would transfer such a person to your Linshan."

Qian Jian'an said, "Old Hu, you don't understand. The Provincial Committee also has to consider balance, and Secretary Sun also needs to have some gains. Besides, there are too many people like this in the officialdom. If it's not Cao Yuanhao, it could be Chen Yuanhao or Zhang Yuanhao; there's not much difference."

Everyone nodded. That's right, people like Cao Yuanhao who climb unscrupulously are the norm in this officialdom. Even those present, when facing promotion, could they completely avoid using such means? Even if they wouldn't scheme against others, they would at least run around for themselves, right?

Su Xinghui said, "Alright, let's not talk about Cao Yuanhao anymore. Let's have a few good drinks. If you have time, come to our Linshan to play. It's said that the scenery in Linshan is very good."

Feng Jiaonan asked curiously, "You've been in Linshan for so long, and you haven't seen the scenery of Linshan? And you say 'it's said that the scenery is very good'?"

Su Xinghui said, "Where would I find the time? I've been in Linshan for so long, and I've only been to the coal mine where the disaster happened. What scenery can a coal mine have? I haven't been to any other places with good scenery."

Wei Jiashu sighed, "We've always envied Xinghui's success, but success isn't accidental. With Xinghui's work attitude, treating one day as two, that's how he can achieve much higher accomplishments than others at such a young age!"

Everyone nodded silently. They had all seen Su Xinghui's work attitude and style. Although Su Xinghui was only thirty-five and had only been working for a dozen years, in these dozen years, he had already achieved accomplishments that others couldn't achieve in a lifetime. Wasn't it only right that he had his current status?