Chapter 5: Visiting Li Fenghua's Home

  Chen Gong pushed his hand away, "No need, I don't want it." As an upright and straightforward person, Chen Gong had always been resistant to this kind of thing.

  "Take it, experience more, reality is like this, who still complains about having too much money. Today they don't care about our business at all, we are just tagging along, don't refuse for no reason." Wang Guoqiang said to Chen Gong in a low voice, with a somewhat stern tone, as if he had decided that Chen Gong was being unreasonable.

  Chen Gong reluctantly accepted the card. Since he was born, Chen Gong had received many red envelopes, of course, all were received during festivals, New Year's and birthdays. For the first time, he received money from someone he just met, feeling a little strange in his heart, thinking that he had done something wrong, similar to corruption on TV, although this money was not necessarily more than what he usually received in red envelopes. But then he thought again, he hadn't done anything wrong, corrupt officials also have to do some bad things, for now, he couldn't think it through clearly.

  "Password six zeros, everyone. I won't accompany you all today. I have to go to the project site early tomorrow to handle some things. He Ju, I'll let someone find you tomorrow. Liu Qu, thank you! Next time you come to Fuhai, I'll treat you to a good time. A few of you, I'm leaving first."

  After everyone said their goodbyes, Xiao Xingya got into the Hummer. The license plate read "Nan A16888" and it sped away in a cloud of smoke, disappearing from everyone's sight.

  Liu Yadong bid farewell to Xiao Xingya with a wave of his hand, "This woman is quite formidable, she has some connections in the province. I'm just doing her a favor, but fortunately, I had dealings with her when my dad was still in office. If I don't take care of it, someone else will, and everyone will be eager to do so. Well, let's wrap things up for today, we'll gather again another day."

  Liu Yadong, He Youcai and Director He of the District Planning Bureau left one by one.

  Wang Guoqiang and Chen Gong walked back to the hotel on the opposite side, "Chen Gong, you need to get used to these situations. Now, it's all about connections and money in this country. Do you know how much is inside? At least 10,000 yuan." Wang Guoqiang pointed to his wallet.

  Chen Gong didn't care about the 10,000 yuan at all. What he was concerned about was the nature of this matter. If it wasn't for a beauty like Xiao Xingya sending him the card, and considering that Chen Gong had just arrived in this southern city and wasn't familiar with the local customs, he would have definitely refused, even if he was the only one who didn't receive it.

  Of course, Chen Gong also knew that if he wasn't sitting at the same table as leaders like Liu Yadong, others would be afraid of hurting his face and wouldn't give him anything, which was reasonable.

  "Director Wang, I still have a lot to learn from you in the future." Chen Gong handed over the bank card that Xiao Xingya had given him earlier to Wang Guoqiang. Chen Gong wasn't particularly interested in money; who wouldn't take advantage of an opportunity?

  Wang Guoqiang naturally didn't push it away and put it into his briefcase, "Little Chen, follow me closely, as long as I have food to eat, you'll have some too."

  "Town head Wang, thank you, from now on I'm your man. You tell me to go east and I'll go east, absolutely won't go west." Chen Gong expressed his attitude, he also knew from the officialdom he had seen before that gaining the leader's trust was the most important thing, standing in line could lead to a future, while standing in the wrong line would at most only be treading water. At least with a deputy town head behind him, having someone to rely on made things more convenient. But deep down, his unruly heart looked down on the people at this table today, except for the beautiful CEO Xiao Xingya.

  Chen Gong also understood Wang Guoqiang's background from the wine table, and he didn't say anything about promotion, at least ensuring that a department-level cadre's hat was not a problem.

  "Alright, Chen Gong. From now on, you'll follow me, my sworn brother. You won't regret today's decision. Let's go, we'll have some more barbecue and drink a few more bottles."

  "Alright, let's listen to the leader." Chen Gong was also drunk, but he knew that in order to make the leader happy, even if it meant drinking until his stomach bled, he had to accompany him well. Chen Gong also tried his best to blend into this grassroots society.

  Huaxia Kingdom's capital city Jing City, Chen Gong's residence.

  "Dad, look at Chen Gong, this kid is too much, he doesn't know the hardships of being a parent." Chen Guohao said to an elderly man with a kind face.

  "This little scoundrel actually made it, he passed the civil service exam and didn't bring shame to our family." The old man showed a faint smile.

  Chen Gong called home after going to work and told his family about being admitted to the New Bridge District Land Resources Bureau of Fuhai City. His mother, Li Xiufen, congratulated her son over the phone and asked him to come back home for vacation. However, his father, Chen Guohao, had a different attitude, telling his son not to brag about having connections in Beijing and that he should rely on himself to make a career and show off to the family. His tone was heavy, but actually, he also hoped that his son could stand firm and make a name for himself.

  "In college, I had him join the party, originally it was also to let him follow our old path, but from my observations, Chen Gong's thinking is too traditional, he has a stubborn temper, can't calm down, easily excited, although he is clever and knows how to adapt, his thoughts are relatively traditional, some things he can't do with that personality, otherwise I wouldn't have arranged for him to go to the enterprise." Chen Guohao sighed.

  "Never mind, he's already on this path, let him go and try his luck. Rarely does one leave the help of their family behind, I'd like to see how high he can soar. People change after experiencing many things." The old man seems to be quite supportive of Chen Gong.

  "Dad, you and Hsiu-chin can't spoil him. I'm his father, I love him too, but I'm afraid he won't do well outside." Chen Kuo-hao added.

  "Secretary Zhu, come in for a moment." The old man said towards the doorway.

  A middle-aged man wearing glasses walked quickly over to the sofa and asked, "Comrade Secretary, what's going on?"

  "Director Zhu, after you go to work, give a call to Governor Du Minghe of the southern province and tell him about my grandson's situation. Let him help out when it's appropriate."

  "Alright, Secretary." After finishing speaking, Zhu Secretary went back outside the door and waited.

  Over the weekend, Chen Gong was invited to visit Li Fenghua's home in Xin Qiao District.

  Chen Gong took a taxi and arrived at "Impression Garden" in Xinqiao District. This was obviously a luxury residential complex that only the wealthy could afford. At the entrance, two security guards stood upright on either side of the gate. "May I ask who you are looking for?" one of the guards asked Chen Gong with a bow.

  "I'm looking for Li Fenghua, who lives in Building 6, Unit 3, 2nd floor, No. 4." Chen Gong read out the words written on the note to the security guard.

  "Uh, did you bring your ID? Please register first." The security guard had Chen Gong fill out some information in the entry and exit registration book before letting him in.

  The door opened, "Hey, buddy, come in quickly, don't need to take off your shoes, what's the point of being polite here? You've been in Qinghe for several days and didn't even look for me." Li Fenghua warmly greeted Chen Gong.

  "I've been working as a part-time secretary for Director Wang these past few days, and I've been overtime every night, can't catch up. You see, this weekend is free, so I'll be heading straight to your place"

  Two people entered the living room, an old man sat in the middle of the sofa looking at a newspaper.

  "This is my dad," said Li Fenghua.

  "Hello Uncle Li. I brought two bottles of wine, one for you to keep and drink, and the other we'll have with dinner." Chen Gong placed the two 300-yuan Fenggu wines on the side table. He had originally wanted to buy 1573, but this being his first month's salary which hadn't arrived yet, he was now almost penniless.

  "Hmm, I heard Feng Hua mention it, Chen Gong, right?" The middle-aged man put down his newspaper.

  "Yes, uncle, I got to know Fenghua when I took the civil service exam. Now we're colleagues. Fenghua is in charge of social affairs and I'm in...I'm in the Party and Government Affairs Office." Chen Gong thought for a moment, it's not possible that he's the leader's secretary, everyone knows that township leaders don't have secretaries.

  "Dinner's ready, Chen Gong is here, I'm Feng Hua's mother, come quickly, the dishes are done, sit down." Li Feng Hua's mother was apparently more enthusiastic than his father.

  At the dinner table, Chen Gong took a few bites of food. "Come on, Uncle Li, I'll toast you a glass, wishing you good health, smooth work and rapid advancement." After finishing speaking, Chen Gong downed the cup of white wine in one gulp. He wasn't good at drinking white wine, but since Li Fenghua said his father liked it, Chen Gong was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of being a good host.

  Chen Gong finished drinking and sat down in the chair. He glanced sideways, Li Fenghua's father did not drink the wine, nor did he sit down, and his face looked not very good, as if something had suddenly come up.

  "Uncle Li, I..." Chen Gong Zheng was about to ask.

  "Chen Gong, this cup is for me to drink." Li Fenghua took his father's cup and drank it all in one gulp.

  "Chen Gong, it's none of your business, to be honest with you, I only got into Qinghe Town because of my dad, and he sacrificed his own career for me to get this job."

  "Ah, why? Fenghua? Uncle Li, have a seat. Fenghua is quite good, he'll definitely make a name for himself in the future." Chen Gong immediately played the role of mediator.

  Li Fenghua's father sat down, "Little Chen, let me tell you a joke. Actually, I used to work in Qinghe Town too."

  Chen Gongyi listened and said, "Ah, Li Fenghua was a temporary worker in Qinghe Town for a year, so he must have some connections. And Li Fenghua's father is likely to be an official." He asked, "Uncle Li, which office were you originally from? You must be the director, right?"

  "Director? Chen Gong, you're underestimating my dad, aren't you? Look at how he has authority at home too. That's a bad habit formed from being in leadership positions for so long, right, Dad?" Li Fenghua said with a smile, trying to ease the tension.

  Chen Gong thought to himself, "He's even higher than Director Li, he's the Deputy Town Mayor."

  "Ah, I was the former town head of Qinghe Town, now known as Guo Kesheng."

  Chen Gong was shocked in his heart, having heard from colleagues that Li Jiangtao, the former head of Qinghe government, was actually Feng Hua's father. Then how could he sacrifice his job?

  "I'm an official without any background, before the recruitment, I went to the district to find relevant personnel leaders for my son's Wind and Flower matter, they all said it should be open, fair and just, but no one paid attention to me. After my repeated requests, the district made a statement, I went down, and my son could get in. I have been considering it for several days, and finally decided to make my son a formal worker. As for me, I don't have any background, being the town mayor has reached its limit, since I haven't reached retirement age yet, so now I've gone to the district water conservancy bureau as a deputy director-level assistant researcher, spending every day at home reading newspapers and growing flowers." Li Jiangtao said with embarrassment, after all, he had been glorious before, but the decline was too great.

  "Uncle Li, I think it's not necessarily a bad thing. Li Fenghua is indeed a capable person, and who in the town doesn't praise him? Originally, he didn't have an official position, but now his status is legitimate and he can develop well. It's possible that he'll surpass his predecessors." Chen Gong comforted Li Jiangtuo from the side, and then continued, "I heard that Li Fenghua's performance in the town this year has been flawless."

  "Hmm, Little Chen, I'll borrow your auspicious words. Hopefully, he can win the argument." Li Jiangtao gave Li Huafeng a stern look.

  "Don't worry, Dad, your son is fine."

  "Little Chen, you just started working, right?" Li Jiangtao asked Chen Gong.

  "I actually worked in an office in Beijing for over a month doing odd jobs, thinking about it now, this is my first real job." As he said that, Chen Gong couldn't help but recall how suffocating his time working in Beijing was.

  "Well, as a senior, I should teach you that when working in government agencies, no matter what level or position you are at, it's about positioning yourself, and behind you, there can only be one true leader, while other leaders are just people you intersect with during work."

  "Uncle Li, I've heard you say that before, but I was thinking, if one works hard on their own and doesn't rely on any leader or get involved in their struggles, wouldn't there be a way out?" Chen Gong asked.

  "There are indeed successful examples, but to take it to the next level, one must follow this unspoken rule, which is a national characteristic. By the way, I'll tell you about the situation in Qinghe Town, and you can learn from it. As for who you will rely on in the future, that's for you to analyze yourself." Li Jiangtao really wanted to help this young man, he thought his son's friend was quite good.

  "Then I'll listen carefully to you, Uncle Li." Chen Gong followed with a shot of white wine, his hands on the table, staring intently at Li Jiangtao.