Chapter 9: Unexpected Joy

  Liu Siyuan was still going to such a high-ranking leader's home for the first time, and he didn't have any idea how to give gifts, giving too much wasn't possible with his salary, and the leader might not even accept it, but giving too little would be embarrassing and leave a bad impression.

  Liu Siyuan hesitated for half a day before finally calling Fang Xinyi, and he instinctively felt that he should be able to get the answer from her. As expected, she didn't disappoint him, and her meaning was "cigarettes, wine, and tea", known as the three treasures of gift-giving, which must have its reasons. The problem is that cigarettes and tea are related to personal preferences, which can be quite different, making it not easy to send something that suits one's taste. Sending wine is still the safest option, and among wines, Maotai and Wuliangye are more likely to be well-received.

  But the problem is that Maotai has risen to several hundred yuan per bottle, it's expensive, Liu Siyuan gritted his teeth and bought two bottles, but the real Maotai is hard to come by, you can't buy it even if you want to. At the critical moment, Fang Xinyi helped him out, saying that she had some at home and would lend it to him for now. Liu Siyuan was extremely grateful, but Fang Xinyi seemed a bit distracted, said a few perfunctory words, and he didn't know what she was thinking about.

  After work, Liu Siyuan rushed to the entrance of Hanjiang University, where Fang Xinyi was already standing waiting for him. He took two bottles of Maotai from her hand, which were surprisingly Feitian, a legendary top-grade liquor. He wanted to pay but was waved off by Fang, who said they would talk about money another day and told him to go to Minister Ouyang's house first, warning him not to be late.

  Liu Siyuan had no choice but to hurry to Ouyang's house with the wine. The residential area where Ouyang Xinghua lived was home to the city's main leaders, and the environment was elegant and quiet, but also very low-key. There were more guards at the entrance of the community than in other ordinary residential areas, and their attitude was serious. They might have seen many people bringing gifts, so they asked Liu Siyuan which house he was going to without being too humble or arrogant. Liu Siyuan quickly told them the truth, and the guard nodded, picked up the phone, and contacted someone. Liu Siyuan waited for about ten minutes before a clear female voice spoke up, "Are you Liu Siyuan?"

  Liu Siyuan looked up and saw that the newcomer was a girl with curly hair, a doll-like face, and eyes that sparkled with intelligence. She was about 1.63 meters tall, and her chest was full and attractive, paired with a slender waist. At this moment, the notebook in his pocket also vibrated, and Liu Siyuan quickly opened it to see: "Ouyang Qian C-level"

  "I'm right, this should be Minister Ouyang's daughter." Liu Siyuan hastily added.

  "Hey, I still have some vision, my dad asked me to come out and pick you up." After finishing her sentence, she nodded at the security guard again. The latter obviously knew Minister Ouyang's daughter and saw that she had come out to pick someone up, so he didn't hesitate anymore and let them pass immediately.

  "To be honest, my dad has mentioned you a few times, saying how heroic and extraordinary you are, but seeing the real person, it seems like that's about it." Ouyang Qian said with interest as she sized up Liu Sifar along the way.

  "This is too much, Minister Ouyang, too much..." Liu Siyuan hastily and awkwardly said.

  As she spoke, Ouyang Qian had already pushed open the door and called out: "Mom! I've brought someone back." After finishing speaking, she directly plopped herself down onto the sofa. A refined and elegant woman walked out, smiling: "Little Liu has arrived, please sit down, Xiao Qian's dad just called to say he'll be coming home a bit late."

  Liu Siyuan thought to himself that this must be Ouyang Xinghua's loved one, and hastily politely handed over two bottles of wine. The latter smiled and said, "You've come just in time, what did you bring?" She didn't dare accept it, saying she would wait for Ouyang Xinghua to return and give it to him herself.

  The woman then sat down on the sofa and started chatting with Liu Siyuan, while Ouyang Qian also sat down beside them with a curious expression. From their conversation, Liu Siyuan learned that Minister Ouyang's lover was named Zhang Qi, who was now working as a deputy director of the office in Longxing District Government. Ouyang Qian had also graduated and was now working at the Municipal Cultural Bureau. Zhang Qi asked Liu Siyuan about his family situation with great interest, and inevitably, they also talked about how he got to know Ouyang Xinghua. It seemed that this story was one that both mother and daughter should have heard before, but hearing Liu Siyuan tell it again still made them feel a bit incredulous. As the three of them chatted, Ouyang Xinghua finally returned home. Liu Siyuan quickly stood up to greet him, who looked very amiable and glanced at the two bottles of Maotai, saying that Liu Siyuan had helped him out in the past, so how could he accept gifts again? Liu Siyuan insisted repeatedly, until Ouyang Xinghua finally smiled and said, "Well, let's just drink this Maotai tonight then."

  Ouyang Xinghua didn't put on any airs at all, which made Liu Siyuan relax a lot.

  Then, while the servants at home were busy preparing meals, Liu Sih-yuan briefly reported on his work in the inspection room, actually mainly about the matter of Hanjiang University. Ouyang Xinghua listened very seriously and finally said with a smile but also quite solemnly: "Little Liu, overall you handled this matter well, able to grasp the key points in chaos, consider the big picture, firmly grasp the general direction of objective facts, which is great, but there is still room for improvement in specific handling methods, such as uniting comrades and communicating more with the leaders of the investigation team."

  Ouyang Xinghua's words were ambiguous, but the meaning was still very close to Fang Xinyu's statement, that is, the general direction was correct, but also offended many people, so the matter was not handled perfectly.

  Liu Siyuan knew that Ouyang Xinghua's veiled criticism was still a sign of looking up to him, otherwise, he would not have bothered with him amidst his busy schedule. He naturally accepted it humbly and said: "Minister Ouyang, I am still too young, there are many things I need to learn from older comrades, recently regarding the new inspection work, I will definitely ask for guidance from the two deputy directors of the Inspection Office."

  Ouyang Xinghua could see that he was not being polite, but was really low-key and nodded in satisfaction: "Little Liu is good, knows to be humble and prudent." After a pause, he said again: "Of course, Comrade Little Liu is generally still very good, has party spirit, has ability, the Organization Department will actively cultivate young people who work hard and practically."

  At that time, Liu Siyuan didn't pay much attention to the sentence behind Ouyang Xinghua, thinking it was just a leader's encouragement. After all, isn't it normal for leaders to talk nonsense all day?

  Although it was a bit awkward at the Ouyang's house, overall the meal was still quite enjoyable. Especially Ouyang Qian seemed to be very interested in him, asking him questions left and right with great enthusiasm.

  It wasn't until a few days later that he realized Ou Yang Xing Hua's words about 'actively cultivating' weren't just casual talk. Fang Xin Yi also commented on it afterwards, saying that the head of the organization department wouldn't say something like that lightly.

  About three days later, the competition for the director of the inspection room had not yet produced a winner. Instead, Liu Siyuan was called to talk to the Organization Department. With an uneasy heart, he talked to the deputy director of the third division of the municipal organization department and was formally promoted to deputy director of the section, at the deputy section level. From then on, his personnel file was transferred from the Personnel Bureau to the Organization Department, and he officially became a party cadre.

  On the day he had lunch, he met Chen Lan, who first congratulated him in an exaggerated manner and then mysteriously revealed some inside information to him, saying that his deputy position was personally nominated by Secretary Zhang. After reporting to the Organization Department, there were some murmurs within the department at first, mainly saying that his working time was too short and did not meet the red line of years required by the cadre appointment regulations. Later one day, Director Ouyang suddenly mentioned at a party committee meeting in the Organization Department that they should vigorously promote and boldly use outstanding young comrades, especially citing Comrade Liu Siyuan as an example. On the same day after the meeting, Liu Siyuan's deputy position was secured.

  Yao Yuan and Zhang Jinsong both congratulated him with a hint of surprise, while Xing Jun's disappointment was palpable. He had struggled for several years without becoming a deputy director, whereas Liu Siyuan had achieved this in just over a year since joining the workforce, thanks to his involvement in the Hanjiang University case, and on top of that, he had been promoted exceptionally. Although being a deputy director at the municipal government was not considered a high-ranking official position, Liu Siyuan's role was also an honorary one, without any specific duties in the inspection office. Nevertheless, he now officially belonged to the national civil service sequence, having taken his first important step on the path of officialdom.

  Liu Siyuan wasn't stupid either, he was very aware that Ouyang Xinghua had played a significant role in this matter. It was precisely because of his words that the deputy department was smoothly obtained. He couldn't help but feel that having someone in the imperial court made things easier to handle. He originally wanted to report on his work and express his gratitude, but when he chatted with Fang Xinyi on the phone that day, she reminded him that for now it was better for him to keep a low profile, especially since he had to follow Secretary Zhang closely, after all, he was his superior leader.

  Liu Siyuan humbly accepted Fang Xinyu's suggestion and quickly found Chapter Secretary-General to report on his work, which also indirectly expressed his loyalty. The latter was indeed very satisfied with him, especially when he heard Liu mention the idle land in Beihong District and said he would ask Vice Director Zhang for advice. Chapter Zhengdong nodded in appreciation, indicating that young people knew how to be humble and cautious, which was rare. He then encouraged Liu a few more times. Liu Siyuan took the opportunity to say that he would invite the colleagues from the Supervision Office to dinner tonight and asked if Secretary-General Chapter could honor him with his presence. The latter smiled readily and said, "I've never had dinner at your place, little Liu. I'll come as long as I'm free tonight."

  Promotion celebration can't be too shabby, Liu Siyuan gritted his teeth and took out half a year's savings, booking a private room at Chenji Seafood. The people in the inspection office also gave face, two deputy directors and Zhang Jinping, Xing Jun all attended. In fact, Xing Jun didn't want to come originally, on one hand psychologically unbalanced, on the other hand also somewhat unable to swallow his pride, he had always regarded himself as an old senior brother, unexpectedly Liu Siyuan took a step ahead to become deputy section chief, making him temporarily unable to accept.

  But Zhang Jinping's words changed his mind. The old man said calmly while reading the newspaper, "Xiao Xing, how old was I when I became a deputy department head?"

  Xing Jun was taken aback and asked in return: "Who is Zhang Ke?"

  Zhang Jinping smiled and said, "I'll tell you, I was deputy at 23, but it wasn't until I was 38 that I was promoted to full department head. In the past few years, they saw I was getting old and finally solved my deputy position, but it's still a nominal job. So, little Xing, officialdom is like a long-distance running competition, don't just look at what's in front of you."

  Xing Jun sighed and was speechless for a moment. Zhang Jinping continued, "I've heard that it's said, I don't know if it's true or not, but our Little Liu's promotion this time was personally endorsed by Director Ouyang of the Organization Department. Look, both of us deputy directors are giving him face."

  Xing Jun's whole body was shocked, and his recent low mood made him somewhat out of touch with the news. No wonder both deputy directors were much more polite to Liu Siyuan, apparently they had also heard about his background. Who would have thought that this young man was so reserved, but actually had such a powerful backer! Just this ability to endure in silence is enough to make one admire him. Thinking of this, he sincerely thanked Zhang Jinping, who waved his hand and said that youth was the greatest asset, unfortunately he himself was old.

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  In the evening, Liu Siyuan promoted and invited guests. Secretary Zhang also gave face, and after everyone sat down for more than ten minutes, he brought Zhao Feng out, and everyone hurried to welcome him to the upper seat.

  After taking his seat, he smiled and said: "Today, I'd like to take the opportunity of Comrade Liu's gathering to say a few words. The municipal leaders have always attached great importance to our inspection office's work. Yesterday, at the government's executive meeting, the municipal leaders reached a consensus in principle to further strengthen our team and put forward higher requirements for our work next year, especially for the veteran inspectors present here, who should take the lead. After a pause, he continued: "Although I'm still in charge of the inspection office, I have many tasks to handle now, so I may not be able to pay enough attention to my comrades, which makes me feel uneasy. Therefore, appointing a full-time director is necessary. The municipal leaders will consider the candidate for the director position from an overall perspective and treat it with caution. Of course, my opinion is that the director of the inspection office must be familiar with our Hanjiang City and also familiar with the work of our inspection office."

  Zhang Zhengdong's last two sentences are quite obvious, and it can be said that he hopes to promote one of the two deputy directors. Given that Secretary Zhang has been getting close to Mayor Chen recently, and he is originally in charge of leadership, his opinion can be said to have a lot of weight.

  Liu Siyuan thought that the two deputy directors would not be able to enjoy this meal, but as old officials, they naturally wouldn't show their emotions like Xing Jun did. At the dinner table, they still praised and encouraged Liu Siyuan just like Zhang Shuichang did. In the end, even Xing Jun toasted a cup to Liu Siyuan.

  Even Zhao Feng found an opportunity to chat with him for a few sentences and asked a few questions.

  Seeing the good wine being consumed by everyone like white water, Liu Siyuan was heartbroken. After three rounds of drinking, Director Zhang and Zhao Feng left early, and before leaving, he suddenly said to Liu Siyuan, "Little Liu's promotion is a joyous occasion for our Supervision Department, so just come find me tomorrow to sign the reimbursement for this meal." This leader was indeed impressive, making Liu Siyuan feel compelled to admire him.