After school, Wen Liang went to a restaurant not far from the school. He had been to this restaurant several times with Liu Zhi and his gang. The environment was pretty good. He found a private room near the corner and sat there, waiting for Bai Huan to arrive.
After more than ten minutes, Liu Zhihe pushed the door open and nodded to Wen Liang. Wen Liang understood, and as soon as he stood up, he saw Bai Huan with a gloomy face following Fatty Liu. Seeing Wen Liang, he did not say anything and went to find a seat to sit down.
Wen Liang smiled. As long as they could come, there was a possibility of a conversation. It was human nature to be a little irritated. He patted Liu Zhihe on the shoulder and said, "Zhihe, go outside and wait for a while. I want to talk to Bai Huan alone."
Liu Zhihe didn't know what Wen Liang was going to do, and he was too lazy to ask. Anyway, this guy's methods were there, and he was not afraid that Bai Huan would not obey him. He snapped his fingers and left leisurely.
After Liu Zhihe left, Wen Liang personally poured Bai Huan a cup of hot tea and said, "You've never been to this restaurant before, right? The pork elbow is very authentic, not worse than the big restaurants you usually go to. How about ordering one to try?"
Although Bai Huan acted calm, deep down in his heart, he actually had a fear of Wen Liang. Especially since he had made Gu Wenyuan look so humiliated this time, and even Mu Zechen had walked away in anger after being teased by Wen Liang, he felt a little more respect for Wen Liang than fear.
He didn't comment, and Wen Liang didn't wait for his answer. He called the waiter and started serving the dishes. When the dishes were served, Wen Liang just kept urging people to drink and eat. He was knowledgeable and witty, and his words made people feel like spring breeze. Even Bai Huan, the former mortal enemy, had to admit that, apart from the past grudges, this kid was not so hateful. After a while, Bai Huan finally lost his temper, put down his chopsticks, and asked, "What do you want me for? Let's not beat around the bush. I will help you if I can, and don't make it difficult for me if I can't."
This is the right thing to say. Wen Liang smiled and said, "Of course it's not a big deal." He changed the subject and said, "Old Bai, what has Gu Wenyuan done in the past two days?"
Bai Huan almost got goose bumps when he was called "Old Bai" and said, "It's not that I won't help you. Other things are easy to deal with, but this..."
Wen Liang knew that things would not be that easy. Even experienced service personnel in special industries would still feel shy the first time every day, let alone something like this
"You've seen what happened this time. Gu Wenyuan is not as strong as he appears. Mu Shanshan's dismissal is like losing a right-hand man. Hou Qiang and his gang alone can't achieve anything. A man of insight is a wise man. Mr. Bai, I'm not asking you to fight Gu Wenyuan openly. Just give me a piece of news in secret. No matter who has the last laugh in the future, you won't lose anything. This kind of deal is very profitable..."
Bai Huan hesitated for a moment, then said, "I usually don't betray my friends."
Listening to the sound of the gong and the tone of the words, Wen Liang understood the elegant meaning of the music and said, "You regard Gu Wenyuan as a friend, but he may not take you to heart. Yesterday, everyone worked hard, but you stayed aside. I can guarantee that once there is a chance, a petty person like Gu Wenyuan will definitely settle accounts with you."
Bai Huan remained silent. Wen Liang finished what he had to say and played with the small wine glass in his hand. After a while, Bai Huan sighed, "Wen Yuan is indeed a little strange. I can feel that he is hiding something from us. As for what it is, I don't know. After all, he is not with us most of the time. If he really has a plan, it would be easy for him to hide it from us."
Wen Liang drank the wine in the cup in one gulp and said, "If you don't know, go check it out. Help me with this matter! From now on, the past will be written off. Your father's life in Qingzhou will be much better than it is now!"
Bai Huan was waiting for this promise and immediately nodded and said, "Okay!"
The two exchanged phone numbers, and Wen Liang left first. Liu Zhihe was waiting bored, and when he saw Wen Liang coming out, he hurried over and asked, "How is it?"
Wen Liang made an "OK" gesture, Liu Zhihe smiled, and without asking any more questions, he followed him and walked away.
When they got home, Wen Huaiming and Ding Mei were both there, and the food on the table was as rich as if it was Chinese New Year. Wen Liang looked at the two of them and asked suspiciously, "What's going on?"
Ding Meile couldn't close his mouth and joked with his son: "Guess?"
Wen Liang stroked his chin and said with a smile, "Isn't this another new sister for me?"
Ding Mei had long wanted to have another daughter, but the national policy has become increasingly strict in recent years. If a public official has more than one child, he will be immediately dismissed from his post. So this is just a thought. When Wen Huaiming heard Wen Liang say this, his face suddenly darkened. Just as he was about to scold him, Wen Liang had already raised his hands in surrender and said, "Has the appointment been made?"
This was the only thing that could make the family happy recently. On such a happy day, Wen Huaiming didn't want to argue with Wen Liang. He coughed lightly and said, "The Standing Committee has passed it today..."
Even though Wen Liang had been mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel surprised when the moment really came. Looking back on the past six months, he had entered and broken through the situation time and time again, and had made plans and plotted many times. There were so many dangers and twists and turns. From deputy director to director, it seemed like a simple step, but it was actually extremely difficult!
Wen Huaiming poured two glasses of wine for the first time and pushed one in front of Wen Liang. Wen Liang was flattered and quickly stood up, picked up the glass, clinked it with his father's, and drank it all in one gulp.
A smile appeared on Wen Huaiming's old-fashioned and dignified face, and he patted Wen Liang's shoulder: "You have grown up!"
Looking at the father and son who used to be at loggerheads, Ding Mei wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Come on, eat more vegetables!"
After dinner, Wen Liang heard Wen Huaiming talk about the details. He then learned that Yu Peidong had personally inquired about Wen Huaiming's promotion. This was a great honor for a department-level cadre and caused a great sensation at the provincial and municipal levels. Of course, there were factors related to Wen Huaiming himself and Xu Fuyan, but the root cause was nothing more than the phone call from Beijing. However, this matter was unknown to outsiders, so all kinds of speculations suddenly became rampant. Even Xu Fuyan asked him about his relationship with Yu Peidong in a vague way.
With the instructions from the top leader, all kinds of procedures were approved at a lightning speed. In just one day, the appointment that was delayed due to the obstruction of Gu Shitong and He Xihua was finally approved by the Standing Committee. Wen Huaiming was appointed as the Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of the Municipal Government, Director of the Municipal Party Committee Office and Director of the Political Research Office. Because Secretary-General Zheng Qihang was in poor health, he took charge of the daily work of the Municipal Party Committee.
Just looking at Zheng Qihang's panting after every step, even the stray dogs who often come to the Municipal Party Committee cafeteria to eat know that the word "Deputy" in front of Deputy Secretary-General Wen will not be there for long!
Just as he finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Wen Liang patted his butt and walked towards the bedroom, not forgetting to tease: "Dad, the time has come for the Party and the people to test you. Remember, keep your butt straight and your hat straight. If your hands are crooked, my mom and I will be in trouble!"
Wen Huaiming glared at him, and Ding Mei tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, you two are so stubborn. I'll go open the door and see who's here."
The door opened, and Meng Shanshui raised the food and wine in his hand with a smile on his face, saying, "Sister-in-law, I'm hungry today, so I came to Old Wen to have a drink!"
Thinking of how Meng Shanshui had pushed Wen Huaiming out to be a cannon fodder, Ding Mei's face fell. Just as she was about to say something sarcastic, Wen Huaiming came out and said, "Why don't you let Old Meng in? Go to the kitchen and clean up. We'll have a few drinks."
When it comes to human relationships and worldly wisdom, Wen Huaiming is naturally several orders of magnitude better than Ding Mei. In this adjustment, Meng Shanshui was kicked out of the Municipal Party Committee by Xu Fuyan and went to the Cultural Bureau to work as a deputy director-level researcher. For someone in officialdom, this is the end of his career.
Wen Huaiming is thriving, so why would he get angry with a dying person
Ding Mei snorted and turned back to the kitchen. Meng Shanshui's face was also a genuine product that had been tempered by the officialdom. He laughed without any embarrassment and said, "Come on, congratulations to my brother on his promotion. Let's get drunk."
Meng Shanshui said he would not stop until he was drunk, but he was not so tactless. He drank half a bottle of wine and left on the pretext of being too drunk. Less than two minutes later, the doorbell rang again.
The person who came this time was a deputy director of the General Office. Wen Huaiming signaled Ding Mei to block him. He also had his own considerations. As someone who had just been promoted, it was only possible for Xu Fuyan to refuse to see anyone who came. But if he wanted to see everyone, it would be bad for his reputation. So, if it was his former boss, he could meet him, but all new subordinates would be blocked at the door.
This is an art unique to officialdom. If you want to go further on this path, you must study it carefully.
The time before ten o'clock passed by like this. Ding Mei fully enjoyed the dignity and happiness of this moment. She didn't have too many pursuits in her life. She only hoped that her husband and son could be better, and that she could live with more dignity and status.
There is nothing wrong with this!
After half past ten, Wen Liang came out of the bedroom and checked that no one else would come. He first looked around the living room and said with a pout, "You didn't even take away a cigarette. Dad, you're really too shabby."
Ding Mei echoed: "That's right!"
Wen Huaiming smiled bitterly and shook his head, then made a cup of strong tea and walked towards the study: "We have to stay up late tonight, so you should go to bed early."
Ding Mei was still immersed in the pleasure of being flattered. Wen Liang thought for a moment and followed Wen Huaiming into the study.
"Why, drafting some document?"
Wen Huaiming was not surprised at Wen Liang's presence. He casually handed over a stack of manuscripts and said, "According to our previous ideas, Secretary Xu believes that the time is ripe and the municipal government can set up Qingzhou Investment Co., Ltd. to perform a major rebirth operation on the city's state-owned enterprises."
This was the basic idea that Wen Liang had when he first got involved in the Qinghua Plant. He had communicated with Wen Huaiming several times about this, and reported it to Xu Fuyan after getting a relatively complete and feasible plan. Xu Fuyan was in the vortex at the time and was not sure whether he could defeat Zhou Yuanting, so he suppressed this opinion first.
After this period of adjustment and reorganization, the objective conditions are basically in place, Wen Huaiming's rank has been raised, and he is now qualified to be responsible for the specific operation of this reform. Therefore, Xu Fuyan and Wen Huaiming both believe that the time is ripe and that time is of the essence, so they are ready to work together to do a great job.
But is the time really ripe