Chapter 36: Leniency and Severity Are Used Together (Seeking Collection and Recommendation!)

  The common saying goes: If you don't take care of yourself, heaven and earth will destroy you.

  Zheng Xiaohang leaned towards Zhu Jiangxin, only because Zhu Jiangxin was the former head of the liaison office and had great authority in the provincial government.

  Now in the Provincial Office, Zhu Jiangxin is no longer the number one person in charge. Zhou Dequan is the real director. In a special unit like the Provincial Office, the power held by the first-in-command far exceeds that of a township government.

  As long as Zhou De made a decision, others could no longer oppose it.

  Just like last week, Zhou Dequan raised the issue of the external liaison vehicle, Zhu Jiangxin couldn't directly oppose it, and in the end Wang Qunsheng shamelessly relied on his seniority to refuse to hand over the keys. Later, the car had a self-ignition incident, which delayed things further.

  The restaurant is open to outsiders for contracting, and the hotel where it is located has to undertake reception work related to the provincial government office. Business-wise, there's absolutely no worry about having nothing to do, so as soon as the rental information is posted, there will be a constant stream of people coming to contract.

  By that time, the oil and water had been lost, it was a small matter. Those who are now working in the back kitchen, the new contractor of the restaurant will definitely not use them again. The people who suddenly lost their jobs might expose the fact that Zheng Xiaohang secretly asked for kickbacks, which Zheng Xiaohang did not dare to guarantee.

  On one hand, he had offended Zhu Jiangxin, and on the other hand, he was facing the loss of a substantial income, and possibly even imprisonment. As for how to choose between them, it was no longer necessary to consider further. Looking at Zheng Xiaohang who was lost in thought, Yang Jie smiled and said: "Old Zheng, actually Secretary Lei had already booked the Beauty Night Pavilion as soon as he arrived at the hotel, but the one who booked the Beauty Night Pavilion was me, Yang Jie."

  I didn't tell you in person, but I greeted the restaurant staff, so you weren't aware of it. I believe that after Mayor Deng finds out, he won't make things too difficult for you either. Besides, the provincial office is more like a corporate unit, and only the head counts. How to choose, I hope you can think clearly about it yourself.

  Regarding the leak about our trip to Blue Dream this afternoon, Secretary Lei and Director Zhou were very magnanimous and won't hold it against you, but let this be a warning: in the future, you must be more cautious and understand who is in charge.

  Yang Jie's words undoubtedly gave Zheng Xiaohang a step down, and his distress was precisely because he didn't know how to respond to Deng Zixiang and Zhu Jiangxin. The excuse Yang Jie gave him could give him a passable explanation.

  Yang Jie told the front desk staff about booking a private room when he was having lunch with Secretary Lei at noon. It wasn't until Yang Jie came over to confirm the private room in the afternoon that Zheng Xiaohang found out about it.

  As Zheng Xiaohang said earlier, when doing things, there must be a order of priority. Although Yang Jie did not personally tell Zheng Xiaohang, he had already confirmed with the restaurant's front desk, so it was considered settled. County Mayor Deng arrived later, and judging from the time both parties booked the private room, it was clear that Secretary Lei's side took precedence.

  Through Yang Jie's display of kindness and authority, Zheng Xiaohang no longer dared to underestimate Yang Jie and Zhou Dequan. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, nodded and bowed, saying: "Please rest assured, Director and Comrade Yang. From now on, I, Old Zheng, will keep my mouth shut tight. I won't listen to what I shouldn't hear, and I won't say what I shouldn't say. I'll go and unify the words with the front desk right away."

  Watching Yang Jie talk and laugh freely, easily solving the problem in the private room, his active thinking, sharp insight, and super adaptability are indeed not comparable to Zhou Dequan.

  When work was at a standstill, Zhou De was overjoyed to have such a capable subordinate. He smiled and patted Yang Jie's shoulder, "Little Yang, I didn't expect you to start from the restaurant and directly grasp Old Zheng's weakness. After this time, I think he'll know what to do."

  "Director, this is all thanks to your prestige. If you weren't standing by my side and helping me out, no matter how eloquent I was, he wouldn't have been afraid of me. To say the least, this is all your credit." Yang Jie didn't take the credit for himself, which made Zhou Dequan even more satisfied with him.

  Zhou Dequan was aware of Yang Jie's background, and it was precisely because he knew that he felt satisfied with Yang Jie's unassuming approach. After witnessing Yang Jie's tactics, Zhou Dequan treated him as his own advisor and trusted assistant, saying to Yan Yuese: "Little Yang, Secretary Lei and County Magistrate Deng have already begun fighting each other since they arrived in Rong City."

  "Tonight at Blue Dream, nothing unexpected will happen, right? Have you booked the private room or not? If it's not booked yet, we can still change places now."

  "Director, I'll take care of it, don't worry. The private room has already been booked. Tonight, we'll go with County Mayor Deng and the others, and I'm sure they'll be surprised." Yang Jie smiled mysteriously, but didn't reveal any more, leaving a suspense for Zhou Dequan.

  Zheng Xiaohang has been running the hotel restaurant for many years and can be said to have absolute authority in the hotel. The front desk staff are on good terms with him, so he quickly settled the matter of the private room with them. After unifying their words, they hastily walked up to Zhou Dequan and said, "Director, I've already spoken with the front desk about this. Now I'm going to report this emergency situation to County Mayor Deng."

  "Alright! You go first! Remember, you must be sincere in your attitude, acknowledge your mistakes, humbly accept the leader's criticism, and manage the restaurant with care. Understand?" Zhou Dequan quite enjoyed Old Zheng's respectful attitude towards him, and with a hint of implication, he gave Old Zheng a reassuring nod.

  As Zheng Xiaohang quickly left, Zhou Dequan felt that the stifling and turbid air in his heart had rapidly dissipated since he arrived at the provincial office. He smiled and gave Yang Jie a look of appreciation. Today's events in the private room were full of twists and turns, but in the end, they still managed to gain the upper hand and subdue Zheng Xiaohang, making this the most comfortable day for Zhou Dequan since he arrived at the provincial office over a week ago.

  Zheng Xiaohang explained to County Magistrate Deng, but Zhou Dequan and Yang Jie didn't know. However, when they saw Zheng Xiaohang coming down from upstairs in a sorry state, after seeing the two of them, he quickly showed a successful gesture, indicating that the private room matter was no problem. Only then did Zhou Dequan and Yang Jie put their minds at ease.

  Earlier, Zheng Xiaohang's expression as if he had lost his last piece of property still lingered in Zhou Defu's mind, worrying that County Magistrate Deng would not let go of the matter. Now that things have been settled, he left Yang Jie to keep watch at the restaurant and went upstairs to report to Secretary Lei.

  "Yang, was it your idea to take over the restaurant? Although Director Zhou is good at reception services, his leadership and business abilities are far inferior to those of Director Zhu. To be honest, if you hadn't come, with just Director Zhou, there's no way he could compete with Director Zhu." Old Zheng spoke bluntly after seeing off Zhou Dequan, looking at Yang Jie who was calm and unruffled in front of him, with a bitter smile.

  Yang Jie glanced at Zheng Xiaohang and said, "Old Zheng, one must know when to act. Regardless of Director Zhou's abilities, he is still the top official in the provincial office. You look down on his authority and don't put him in your eyes, this is where you went wrong."

  "You should know, you're not Director Zhu, but Director Zhou can't handle Director Zhu. However, he can adjust your work assignments and even send you back to your original unit. He can also bring people from the county to replace you. You've been too arrogant following Director Zhu, and you don't take the director seriously."

  Zheng Xiaohang's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, he didn't expect Yang Jie to say such things. He no longer dared to underestimate Yang Jie, nodded and said: "Indeed, we have all forgotten ourselves, Director Zhu is not afraid of Director Zhou, it doesn't mean we can be the same, disrespecting Director Zhou. However, Director Zhou wanting to control the provincial office is not something that can be done overnight, you guys shouldn't underestimate Director Zhu."

  "Don't worry! I've never considered Director Zhu as an opponent, because he's not worthy!"

  Yang Jie's deep eyes shot out a sharp aura, and the majestic momentum emanating from his body made even Zheng Xiaohang feel shocked. Such strong self-confidence, Zheng Xiaohang had never felt it from those county leaders.

  By six o'clock in the afternoon, the classmates invited by Secretary Lei arrived one after another at the Huanhe Hotel.

  Secretary Lei invited all his old classmates from the provincial party school to this dinner. There were forty or fifty classmates who studied with him at the provincial party school, but only thirteen of them worked in the provincial city.

  Among the thirteen people, five were either away on business or had already made appointments that could not be changed, so in the end only eight people came to attend the dinner party. Adding Yang Jie and Zhou Dequan who accompanied them, nearly half of the seats at the large round table in Meiye Hall were still empty.

  Lei Shuping is very good at socializing in daily life, and it's not an exaggeration to describe him as a skilled dancer with long sleeves. He is also generous and righteous, and when he was at the provincial party school, he got along well with his classmates. As a result, even though they were notified on short notice, eight of them still came to attend the dinner gathering.

  Yang Jie smiled and sat with Zhou Dequan at the far end of the round table, watching Lei Shuping chatting and laughing with many classmates.

  Everyone's position is at the deputy level or above, and it's rare for them to gather together on ordinary days. Therefore, when everyone arrived at the Huarong Hotel and sat in a private room, many jokes were also spoken out without restraint.

  "Lao Lei, Tang District Chief is here, and you actually arranged for such a handsome young man to receive him. Is there something sinister going on?" Deputy Director Lin Houwen of the Rongcheng Construction Bureau said with a sly smile, looking at Tang Ruhui sitting not far away.

  Tang Ruhui is only thirty-five years old, but she is already the deputy head of the Hushan District in Rongcheng City. Rongcheng City is a vice-provincial city, and the deputy head of the Hushan District is at the level of a departmental official, which is even higher than Lei Shuping's rank. Lin Houwen is also one of the two departmental officials present, so he dares to make jokes about Tang Ruhui.

  "I'm telling you, Old Lin, you're not being very kind! Slandering me is one thing, but ruining Director Tang's reputation? You'd better watch out or she'll come after you with a vengeance!" Lei Shuping heard this and smiled, not minding at all. He looked at Yang Jie and said: "Little Yang, remember this, later on, make sure to toast Director Lin a few more cups of wine, for Director Tang's sake."

  Everyone who heard Lei Shuping's words couldn't help but applaud and laugh loudly, the atmosphere in the private room immediately became lively. The topic of romance between men and women is an eternal joke at the dinner table. Fang Qun, the deputy director of the Policy Planning Department of the Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission, who was sitting next to Lin Houwen, began to tell jokes about family planning work.

  When the cold dishes were served, several bottles of Wuliangye were opened, and everyone began to toast and exchange cups, ending the previous laughter.

  ;