Chapter 5: The Guessing Game of the Aristocratic Heir

  Ge Yongqiu picked up the phone and dialed Mayor Gao Tianhe's hotline, briefly reporting what had just happened at the municipal steel plant.

  Zhou Dazui sat across from his desk and heard the voice on the phone suddenly rise, apparently Gao Tianhe was also extremely shocked when he heard this.

  Municipal government staff ran to the company to fight, no mayor would be calm after hearing it. Zhou Dàmǒu vaguely heard that Gāo Tiān Hé was loudly instructing Gě Yǒng Qiū over the phone: "Report this directly to Mayor Chen and see how he handles it!"

  Zhou Dazui also knew that the overall situation was important, but the evil spirit in his heart couldn't be dispelled. When he heard Gao Tianhe directly call Brother-in-law and hand over the matter to Chen Mingde, he looked at Brother-in-law with expectation.

  Gao Tianhe wanted Ge Yongqiu to take this matter directly to Chen Mingde, and Chen Mingde would not be able to openly cover up for Shen Huai.

  Ge Yongqiu swallowed a mouthful of saliva, he knew that Mayor Gao would also be furious when he first heard about this, and probably wouldn't think deeply about the matter for the time being...

  After waiting for about four or five seconds, until Gao Tianhe's emotions calmed down a bit on the other end of the phone, Ge Yongqiu continued to say: "I'm afraid that Mayor Chen will take advantage of this matter to write another article..."

  Zhou Dazui didn't quite catch what Gao Tianhe was saying on the phone.

  Ge Yongqiu continued: "Shen Huai, this not-so-clever person, said a lot of strange things at the municipal steel factory today, directly targeting the losses in the operation of the municipal steel factory over the past few years. With Shen Huai's abilities, he shouldn't be able to see so deeply, I'm afraid it's Mayor Chen who is studying the problems of the municipal steel factory behind the scenes. If we use the investigation into the accident as a breakthrough, it may involve some big things..."

  At this point, Ge Yongqiu stopped; Zhou Dazui didn't expect any sound to come from the tube, and it was probably Ge Yongqiu's words that led to Gao Tianhe's deep thought.

  After a long silence, Ge Yongqiu spoke again, saying into the phone: "Right, I think so too. Shen Huai causing trouble at the municipal steel factory, maybe it was Mayor Chen secretly instigating... Alright, I know, I know." After repeating "I know" twice, Ge Yongqiu hung up the phone.

  "What does Mayor Gao mean, is this matter settled like this?" Even if it's for the greater good and we don't investigate further, but to let this matter quietly pass by without a word, Zhou Dàmǒu found it hard to accept in his heart: If there isn't an explanation, how can he face people at the municipal steel factory from now on?

  "Let's not talk about it, what do you want to do?" Ge Yongqiu also had to hold back his anger and frustration, looking at his useless nephew with raised eyebrows, saying, "Even if there was no conspiracy behind the scenes, by exposing this matter to Chen Mingde, do you think you can really do anything to that beast?"

  "What can't be done?" Zhou Dàmǔ's heart still had a lingering resentment, hearing his brother-in-law speak such soft words again, he couldn't help but get angry, and shouted in a loud voice, "Isn't Shen Huai just a dog by Chen Mingde's side? This dog runs out and bites people randomly, even if Chen Mingde wants to protect him, he should at least be punished with two sticks, give everyone an explanation!"

  "What's with the tone? You're yelling at me!" Ge Yongqiu rebuked sternly, unable to hold back Shen Huai, and not believing he couldn't hold back his cousin Zhou Dàmǒu, staring at him with wide eyes.

  Zhou Dazui was still afraid of Ge Yongqiu, and as soon as Ge Yongqiu's voice became rough, his momentum was broken. He hunched over and sat there: "What can I do to you? Although my face is like this, in the end, it's your face that's lost, brother-in-law? You've never been bullied like this in Donghua City. If we can't do it openly, then I'll find a few people at night and grab the opportunity to beat this beast to death. We can't just let it go like this."

  "Stop messing around, if you cause trouble, no one will be able to protect you." Ge Yongqiu's eyes were sharp as he stared at his nephew, but also feared that he would secretly do something reckless. Holding back his temper, he said, "This Shen Huai is not as simple as you think..."

  "Why not just simply?"

  "Chen Mingde was parachuted into Donghua from the province, and we can't help but investigate his background thoroughly," said Ge Yongqiu. "Shen Huai is someone Chen Mingde brought with him from the province to Donghua, do you think we would let him slip through?"

  "... Zhou Dazui was silent, previously heard Ge Yongqiu say that Chen Mingde came to Donghua, it's likely to threaten Mayor Gao Tianhe's position, Gao Tianhe let people investigate Chen Mingde's background, which is also normal."

  He knew Chen Mingde should have a backstage, but he didn't understand why even a dog next to Chen Mingde couldn't move.

  "Chen Mingde was the deputy director of the Provincial Planning Economic Commission before coming to Donghua, while Shen Hua was a lecturer at the Provincial Economics Institute for over a year. No one knew where he had studied abroad, but in short, he had no ability and no business sense, just muddling through at the Provincial Economics Institute. He claimed to be teaching, but it was all just a facade. Before coming to Donghua, he even got a female student from the institute pregnant, but didn't want to take responsibility, forcing her to have an abortion, resulting in her slitting her wrists and dying..."

  "Damn it, he's really not a good guy!" Zhou Dàmǔ cursed, but didn't think to take out a mirror to reflect on himself.

  "This incident caused a big stir at the Provincial Economic Institute, and even some teachers went on strike demanding that Shen Hua be expelled. However, in the end, the Provincial Economic Institute only asked him to take a leave of absence for reflection. Less than two months later, Shen Hua followed Chen Mingde to Donghua..." Ge Yongqiu began to explain the situation he knew to his nephew.

  Zhou Dazui smacked his lips, he relied on his sister's husband at the municipal steel plant and wouldn't dare to mess around like this.

  "Shen Hua has only been here for a few months, and his character is not honest," Ge Yongqiu didn't want to say what was unbearable about his subordinate, but thinking of Shen Hua's face made him frown. "He was arrogant in the municipal government, even an old bureau chief from the municipality came to Chen Mingde's office to ask for approval, and because there was mud on his shoes, he asked this little beast to wipe them clean..."

  "Who?" asked Zhou Dazui.

  "Who are you to spread rumors, it's not a trivial matter. Only a few people know the truth, and if it gets out, it will cause resentment," Ge Yongqiu said, having been an official for half his life, more cautious than others might have imagined, which is why he was also Mayor Gao Tianhe's trusted aide. He continued, "This little beast usually doesn't even put me in his eyes, and has even had designs on Zhou Yu, both openly and secretly..."

  "Is Zhou Yu okay? That beast still dares to have ideas about Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yu is his superior after all?" Zhou Dàmǒ opened his mouth, thinking of Zhou Yu's beautiful face, and couldn't help but want to drool.

  "Hmm!"

  Ge Yongqiu's humming tone was full of disdain, envy and sourness.

  In this official circle, beautiful women, especially those whose husbands are paralyzed in bed due to a car accident, find it difficult to avoid gossip, but Zhou Yu is an exception.

  Unlike Zhou Dazui, Zhou Yu, the deputy secretary-general of the municipal government, comes from a family with extensive connections in Donghua City.

  The elder members of the Zhou family are not to be mentioned, and among the younger generation, there are many brothers and sisters who are either engaged in business or politics, all of whom have a certain status in Donghua City and also have some connections with the provincial government.

  Zhou Yu himself entered the municipal government very early and later married into the family of the former municipal party secretary as a daughter-in-law. Even as a woman, she was also on the road to success in the Donghua officialdom, and she was also very strong-willed. Before the age of 30, she had already become the deputy secretary-general of the municipal government.

  Don't say that the Zhou family can't be bullied by outsiders; Zhou Yu's father-in-law is the former municipal party secretary, although he has retired, his influence still exists, who would dare to mess with his daughter-in-law?

  Zhou Dazui did not expect Shen Huai, this beast, to come to Donghua City and openly set his sights on Zhou Yu's head.

  Of course, even if Zhou Dazui doesn't open his eyes, he knows one principle: all arrogant people, if they haven't been trampled to death by others, it means they still have the capital to continue being arrogant.

  Zhou Dazui didn't bring up the matter of finding someone to settle the score in private again, but he was curious about what this guy was all about and said: "What's the story with this little brat?"

  "The file from the Organization Department only mentioned that he lost his parents at a young age, and his mother passed away when he was 12. His grandparents became his guardians, and after finishing middle school in Yanjing, he went abroad directly. He returned to China three years ago but didn't go back to Yanjing. Instead, he spent half a year idling around Huaihai before entering the Provincial Economic Academy as a lecturer; supposedly through open recruitment, but actually someone was pulling strings behind the scenes..."

  "How old is this kid this year?"

  "Twenty-four." Ge Yongqiu had been secretly paying attention to Shen Huai for some time, and the information on file was naturally spoken of casually, but the file data was too simple, making it impossible to see anything.

  "That doesn't seem like a particularly strong background, it's not possible that he's the son of some central big shot, right?" Zhou Dàmǒu thought to himself, saying "Since Chen Míngdé is protecting him so much, could there be some other unspeakable relationship between them?"

  Ge Yongqiu knew that his nephew was brainless, but unexpectedly he could still grasp some doors, thinking that as a mid-level cadre in the municipal steel factory, he had some training after all.

  Secretaries have always been a shortcut for official promotion, close to the core of power, easy to get promoted on one hand; On the other hand, as the leader's confidant, they can share the power that this level should not enjoy.

  Just like Shen Huai, although he was only a deputy department-level cadre, he could beat Zhou Dazui in front of Ge Yongqiu without any scruples. In the end, it was sharing the power and dignity that should have belonged to Standing Committee Vice Mayor Chen Mingde.

  It is precisely because of these particularities that the secretarial positions in power institutions are often occupied by young people with a background but lacking experience and needing to be trained.

  But anyway, when leaders choose a secretary, they will always choose someone who is cautious and steady, has the ability to handle things, and can make themselves trustworthy.

  Shen Huai is such a naughty and arrogant person who likes to cause trouble, but in fact, he is also an uneducated and incompetent person.

  Chen Mingde is a scholar-official who emphasizes work efficiency and has strict demands on his subordinates, to the point of being harsh. Yet, he can tolerate someone like Shen Huai serving as his secretary, which is truly puzzling.

  Some people in the municipal government even secretly said that Shen Hua might be Chen Mingde's illegitimate son...

  Isn't that right? Apart from this relationship, it's really impossible to explain why Chen Mingde would insist on using this good-for-nothing as his secretary.

  Looking closely at Chen Mingde's career, it was roughly before Shen Hua left Yanjing to study abroad that he also worked in the central ministries and commissions; later transferred to Huaihai, before entering the provincial planning commission, he had been seconded to the Provincial Economic College for a period of time.

  Comparing Chen Mingde and Shen Hua's file records, with a bit of care, one can also see the twists and turns within...

  To say that Shen Hua's background is so strong that Chen Mingde has to tolerate him, unless Shen Hua is the son of a central big shot.

  But the children of central bigwigs, when entering officialdom, even if it's the same secretary position, apart from the State Council, Military Commission and National People's Congress being a bit harder to get into, aren't there plenty of positions left in central ministries, provinces and municipalities for the children of central bigwigs to hone their skills? Why bother coming to Donghua, a place that's only at the prefecture level, and not even a major city?