When he returned to Building No. 3 of the Provincial Government, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. He had not eaten lunch, so he was a little hungry, so he asked Pang Xi to order him a takeaway. He leaned over the coffee table and wolfed down his food. Then the landline rang. Fang Zhicheng hurriedly wiped his mouth with a tissue and walked to Shen Hanchun's office.
After Fang Zhicheng left the office, Pang Xi went in, collected the garbage on the coffee table, and then carefully wiped it clean with a rag. She ran into Cai Miao and Zhu Tieguo when she went out with the garbage in her hand. Deputy Section Chief Cai Miao stared at her coldly and said sarcastically: "Young girls nowadays are really amazing, they are too scheming and more open-minded than us."
Zhu Tieguo was a simple-minded man. He winked at Cai Miao and said, "Don't say that."
Cai Miao snorted and said, "Old Zhu, when I first joined the department, I never did anything like this. I ordered takeout for the director and even helped buy food. This is flattery. I guess in a few years, I will have to provide other services."
Zhu Tieguo saw that Cai Miao was getting more and more angry. Pang Xi's eyes turned completely red and she had to hold back her tears.
After entering the office, Zhu Tieguo sighed and said, "Cai Miao, you are such a mean mouth. If this gets to Director Fang's ears, it will be a big deal."
Cai Miao glanced at Zhu Tieguo with disdain and said, "Old Zhu, you are just a pushover. I am outspoken and can't stand Cai Miao's behavior. A mean person is getting ahead. Humph."
Zhu Tieguo stared at Cai Miao for a long time and said, "Cai Miao, I think you are jealous of her!"
Cai Miao showed anger, his fair cheeks flushed, and he said in a deep voice: "I am jealous of her? What is there about her that I would like?"
The two of them were in the same office. Although Cai Miao had a bad temper, Zhu Tieguo knew that she was just a woman who showed her emotions on her face. He poured Cai Miao a glass of water and comforted her, "Director Fang has already established his foothold. You must feel uncomfortable when you see him being so fond of Pang Xi. However, this is only because when Director Fang came to our office, no one liked him. Pang Xi is a newcomer, like a rootless duckweed, so it's natural for him to get together with Director Fang."
Cai Miao held the teacup in his hand and remained silent for a long time before he said, "Who would have thought that Director Cao would leave without a word?"
Zhu Tieguo looked solemn and said, "Didn't you hear the news?"
Cai Miao showed confusion on his face and asked, "What news?"
Zhu Tieguo lowered his voice and said, "Director Cao was suspected of leaking secrets and was taken away by the National Security Bureau."
Zhu Tieguo's statement was simple, but it contained a lot of information. It was related to national security and definitely involved national security. This was the first time that the Huainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission had encountered such a situation in all these years. Cadres in key positions in the department were taken away for investigation because they were involved in leaks.
Cai Miao couldn't help but shudder and said, "No wonder Director Cao has been living a carefree life for so many years and even sent his daughter abroad."
The meager salary of the Development and Reform Commission was not enough to cover Cao Bin's family expenses. The department had questioned this, but Cao Bin had always said that his wife was a shareholder of several companies. Now I think it was just a lie.
Zhu Tieguo whispered, "Unfortunately, in the end, he still came up empty-handed."
Cai Miao felt his scalp tingling, not because he was chilled by Cao Bin's accident, but because he felt that Fang Zhicheng was unfathomable. It had only been a short time, less than a month, and Fang Zhicheng had already pulled out the nail lurking in the Development and Reform Commission. Cai Miao had previously thought that Fang Zhicheng was too young and might not be able to outsmart the wily Cao Bin, but who would have thought that Fang Zhicheng's actions were so agile that Cao Bin had no room to fight back.
Seeing Cai Miao's expression change, Zhu Tieguo lowered his voice and said, "Before Director Cao got into trouble, he called me to his office and asked about the Ruibo Technology project plan. Then Director Cao was called to his office and an argument broke out..."
Cai Miao nodded, patted Zhu Tieguo on the shoulder, and said with a complicated smile: "I'm afraid the value of your position as the department's archive manager will be slightly higher in the future. However, you must be careful in the future and never be bribed by others and follow Cao Bin's path!"
Zhu Tieguo glared at Cai Miao and said angrily, "Am I that kind of person?"
The Cao Bin incident not only sounded the alarm for the High-Tech Industry Department, but also caused a stir within the NDRC. In the past, despite strict confidentiality regulations, no one had ever crossed this sensitive line, or even if they had, they had covered it up well. However, Cao Bin's problem exposed the loopholes in the NDRC's internal management.
Fang Zhicheng stood in front of Shen Hanchun's desk. Shen Hanchun didn't let him sit down, so he had to stand. After standing for ten minutes, Fang Zhicheng didn't show any impatience on his face. Shen Hanchun raised his head, took off his glasses, pointed to the chair in front of him, and said, "Sit!"
Fang Zhicheng gently pulled the chair and sat opposite Shen Hanchun. Shen Hanchun was not much different in age from Song Wendi, but he looked quite old. He stared at this wrinkled face carefully and suddenly felt that it looked a bit like Juhua. However, the pair of eyes on Juhua's old face were bright and full of wisdom.
Shen Hanchun coughed for a while, took a sip of water, and said, "I smoked too much cigarettes, so my throat has pharyngitis. You are still young, quit smoking as soon as possible, don't be like me."
Fang Zhicheng originally thought that he would be criticized like a storm, but Shen Hanchun changed his previous seriousness and cared about him gently and kindly, which surprised him. Fang Zhicheng was a smart person, and he quickly acted flattered and said, "I want to quit, but it's hard to quit."
Shen Hanchun smiled, took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, took out a cigarette and threw it to Fang Zhicheng, who caught it smoothly, and then, like a magic trick, took out a lighter and lit it for Shen Hanchun who was smoking his second cigarette. The spark burned slowly on the cigarette, and Shen Hanchun seemed to have forgotten the pain of coughing just now, and his wrinkled face actually blossomed.
Shen Hanchun slowly exhaled a puff of cigarette and said, "Zhicheng, I see myself in you when I was young. I was young, naive, and of course handsome. So I felt that I could go anywhere and any forbidden area in this world. Over the years, I have done some meaningful things, but I also regret a lot. I often feel regretful that if I hadn't shown my talent at the beginning, maybe I could have done more meaningful and valuable things."
Fang Zhicheng smoked less rudely than Shen Hanchun. He took a light puff and let the cigarette burn slowly on his fingertips. His attention was focused on Shen Hanchun's story. It was very rare to listen to such a legendary figure telling stories and sharing experiences.
Shen Hanchun was smoking leisurely as he recounted the incident of slamming the table and challenging Li Siyuan in a calm manner. In the blink of an eye, the cigarette was burned out.
Shen Hanchun crushed the cigarette, which had only the butt left, in the ashtray again and again and said, "If I were given another chance, I would definitely not do that again."
Fang Zhicheng smiled faintly and said, "I thought you would still do that?"
Shen Hanchun shook his finger and said, "Only a fool would fall twice on one mistake. I'm so smart, how could I make a mistake? But a mistake is a mistake. Once you make a mistake in life, there is often no chance to correct the correct answer. After I made a mistake that time, Prime Minister Siyuan never gave me another chance, because once you make a mistake, you are doomed to be imperfect. Your master Song Wendi, although a little dumber than me, he does one thing very well, which is that he never makes mistakes, or never makes mistakes of principle. He is more perfect than me."
Fang Zhicheng nodded and said, "I feel I have benefited a lot from listening to you."
Shen Hanchun laughed for a while and said, "You have a very high level of understanding. Have you figured out that Zuo Qiuxin and Cao Bin are the difficulties I set for you?"
Fang Zhicheng smiled bitterly and said, "When you reminded me that the small treasury was in Cao Bin's hands, I actually knew that there might be some story about Cao Bin, but I didn't expect this story to be so serious." It was just a seemingly casual remark from Shen Hanchun at the time, but Fang Zhicheng paid attention to it, because it meant that if he touched Cao Bin, Shen Hanchun might go with the flow.
Shen Hanchun stretched out his hand and knocked lightly on the desk with his fist, saying, "After staying in the agency for a long time, you will get used to it. Are you wondering why you knew that Cao Bin had a problem, but why you didn't take any action against him?"
Fang Zhicheng was silent for a moment, then said, "Because you think the timing is not right?"
Shen Hanchun nodded and said, "The High-tech Industry Department ranks low among the 22 departments, but it is of great significance. It can be said to be the department in the NDRC system that can most influence the future. If there are major changes in this key position, it will cause a series of disturbances."
Fang Zhicheng smiled bitterly and said, "There is still a disturbance now."
Shen Hanchun said: "You are the one who can pull out the nail. Now everyone is not paying attention to who Cao Bin is, or whether the High-tech Industry Department needs major adjustments. They are only paying attention to you, Fang Zhicheng."
Fang Zhicheng shook his head helplessly and said, "I feel like I have become a meat shield that attracts firepower."
Without the cigarette, Shen Hanchun's face once again turned into a wrinkled chrysanthemum. He said slowly, "Although your analogy is a bit exaggerated, it is not far off. However, a new official has three things to do when he takes office. If your first thing is not burning brightly enough, how can you sit on the throne with peace of mind?"