174: Chapter 174 Zhu Wenhao's Favor

Director Xu Jie stood before the desk, her tone flat, as she pulled the undercurrents from far away in the provincial capital, Jingjiang, into this room with a single sentence.

Zhu Wenhao did not rush to reply.

He reached out to take the purple clay thermos cup from the corner of the desk, unscrewed the lid, and let the steaming vapor rise between them.

Those in high positions remain composed even when Mount Tai collapses before them.

When someone points out your hidden thoughts, rushing to deny it only makes it more obvious, while admitting it too readily means losing the initiative in the game.

He took a sip of warm water.

"Director Xu Jie." Zhu Wenhao leaned back into his leather chair, "You are physically in Heishi, but your mind is fixated on the Provincial Party Committee Compound. This is not something a director of a town's Party and Government Office should be worrying about."

His knuckles tapped rhythmically on the desktop.

"I know you have some power, but the position of Director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission is a bargaining chip for the regional overlords to wrestle over in the Standing Committee. This landscape is not something a junior from The Capital like you can shake out of thin air."

He raised his hand, palm up, in a gesture of invitation.

"Business requires capital verification. Since you want to intervene in this game of chess, at the very least, you should let me see what big goods you are holding in your hand."

After listening to this reprimand, Director Xu Jie pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down calmly.

She did not engage in a verbal dispute; instead, she reached into the pen holder on the desk, pulled out a black signature pen, and tore off a sheet of blank letterhead.

The tip of the pen touched the paper, making a rustling sound.

She wrote extremely slowly and steadily.

In a moment, she turned the letterhead around and pushed it under Zhu Wenhao's nose.

In black and white, there was only the name of one person.

Zhu Wenhao lowered his gaze.

"This is my great-grandfather." Director Xu Jie placed the signature pen horizontally on the edge of the paper, "He walked across the grasslands and climbed the snow-capped mountains. His shadow was present in several key battles."

Zhu Wenhao sat quietly, his fingertips gently brushing across the desktop. The weight of this name was enough to crush half the sky of Jiangnan Province.

Director Xu Jie picked up the pen and wrote three more characters below the first name.

It was also a name that resounded like thunder.

"This is my grandfather." Director Xu Jie finished writing, "He participated in the southern self-defense counterattack and personally commanded several border battles. Later, after retiring, he still carried some weight when speaking within several of the compounds."

She folded her hands on her lap.

"As for Secretary Lao." Director Xu Jie's tone was calm, "He has some history with our family. This is also the reason my grandfather felt at ease letting me, a girl, come to Jiangnan Province to take up a post alone."

She threw out her core bargaining chip.

"As long as I pass the word to my grandfather, he will seriously consider my opinion; of course, he also has his own judgment."

The office was eerily quiet.

As the head of the province, Secretary Lao Liguo also needed to leverage resources from The Capital to suppress the local faction and Governor Zhou Zhiwen's faction. He would certainly not turn away the stepping stone offered by the Xu family.

"The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is jostling, all for gain."

Zhu Wenhao flipped and folded the letterhead, stuffing it deep into the drawer.

"Director Xu Jie, you have said a bit too much today." His gaze deepened, "There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

"People who have reached Secretary Lao's position have their own grand plans in mind. Unless there is a major change affecting the entire province's landscape, those top-tier bigwigs who have retired from the world would never easily waste their favors to intervene in local government affairs."

Zhu Wenhao crossed his fingers, shielding his chin.

"Furthermore. You brought out your great-grandfather and your grandfather." He hit the nail on the head, "But you specifically skipped over your own father. The taboo in this is the real reason you are willing to bet your chips on me, isn't it? Speak, what conditions do you want?"

The fingers Director Xu Jie had placed on her lap curled slightly.

She grew up in the infighting of the compounds and considered herself a keen judge of character. But this contemporary before her possessed a depth of thinking and a ruthlessness in resolving situations that completely exceeded the boundaries expected of a local official's offspring.

He not only saw through her trump card, but even saw through the cracks in her family that she was desperately trying to cover up.

"Secretary Zhu, your perception is keen." Director Xu Jie did not intend to beat around the bush anymore, "I do not agree with my father's style of conduct. Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection is the fiancé my father privately arranged for me in order to exchange family interests."

When mentioning Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao, a layer of undisguised disgust added to Director Xu Jie's tone.

"I fled to Jiangnan Province just to escape this kind of price-tagged bondage. But I didn't expect that Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao would parachute into the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, clearly here to force my hand."

Director Xu Jie straightened her posture and began substantive negotiations.

"Through my observations in the Spark Class and over this period, I see that you have a bottom line in your actions and your methods are sufficiently tough. More importantly, your composure matches my expectations."

She began to throw out intelligence that Zhu Wenhao could not refuse.

"You don't need to rush to refuse me; first, listen to your own situation." Director Xu Jie dropped a bombshell, "Your father, Secretary Zhu Tianhe, has too shallow a foundation in his position as Deputy Secretary of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee. Your Zhu family is entirely supported by the resources left behind by Old Master Li."

"But don't forget, resources are limited. The vast majority of the cards in your grandfather's hand are reserved for your eldest uncle."

Director Xu Jie spoke clearly, each word piercing the heart.

"I'll give you an inside tip for free. That good uncle of yours intends to parachute into Jiangnan Province; he has his eyes on the position of Deputy Director of the Provincial Organization Department."

Zhu Wenhao lowered his eyelids slightly.

"Once he takes office across provinces, the local resources of Jiangnan Province must undergo a comprehensive reshuffle." Director Xu Jie continued to dismantle, "Old Master Li's former subordinates will all have to carry the sedan chair for this legitimate successor. By then, how much support will your Zhu family still be able to get in Linjiang City?"

"Taking a step back, your uncle has a biological son. Although he is still studying and hasn't entered the system, that is only a matter of time."

Director Xu Jie laid the cruel reality out on the table.

"When that time really comes, do you think Old Master Li's level of support for you will still be the same as before? Between a grandson-in-law and a biological grandson, you cannot possibly not understand which side weighs heavier on the old man's scale."

"In the future Jiangnan political arena, what role do you want to play? Will you continue to be a chess player, or will you be reduced to a pawn crossing the river to pave the way for your cousin?"

Director Xu Jie braced her hands on the edge of the desk, looking directly at Zhu Wenhao.

"Think carefully. Such a big matter as your uncle preparing to parachute into Jiangnan Province—did your good mother, your grandfather, give you a heads-up beforehand?"

These words were highly destructive.

Without resources, even the highest strategy is like water without a source.

"My condition is very simple." Director Xu Jie extended an olive branch, "Let's cooperate. You help me deal with my father and Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao. I will use my family's connections to help you resolve resistance at the provincial level at critical moments."

She even offered a very generous additional clause.

"I also loathe family-bound marriages. You only need to help me block the trouble and maintain a superficial arrangement. As for in private, you can still go back to living your life with your little girlfriend Su Qinghan. We won't interfere with each other, each getting what we need. What do you think?"

Zhu Wenhao sat in the leather chair, his aura as still as a deep well.

Director Xu Jie's argument had the same underlying logic as Liu Ruobing's tearful plea in the parking lot some time ago. But Director Xu Jie was much more sophisticated; she didn't talk about feelings, only interests.

The chips she offered were enough to drive anyone crazy.

However, to borrow the Xu family's influence was to become the Xu family's vassal. In this world, power gained through nepotism would sooner or later vanish into thin air at someone else's word.

"Director Xu Jie, your deduction is incisive and truly makes me tempted."

Zhu Wenhao picked up the purple clay cup and took a sip of the tea, which had long since turned lukewarm.

He did not pick up on the topic of the marriage alliance but instead cut directly into concrete practical matters.

"Since it is cooperation, let's first make this first step solid."

Zhu Wenhao put the water cup back in its place, his gaze sharp.

"Long-term titles are too empty, but immediate difficulties are real. Right now, I need you to use the connections you have to help me find someone."

Seeing that he avoided a substantive commitment to the marriage, Director Xu Jie was not annoyed.

This caution of not releasing the hawk until seeing the rabbit was precisely the trait she valued in him.

"Fine." Director Xu Jie agreed readily, "Who are we looking for? What is their background?"

"The key middleman in the Lei Jun black-gang case, Boss Lei." Zhu Wenhao set the target.

Finding this middleman would turn the entire political and legal sector of Jiangnan Province upside down, and the ownership of the position of Director of the Development and Reform Commission would naturally be reshuffled.

"Finding a living person who has been hidden away." Director Xu Jie evaluated the difficulty of the operation, "This job is not light."

"I will naturally pay the corresponding price." Zhu Wenhao promised.

"Good." Director Xu Jie stood up, "I agree."

"However, I also have one condition." Director Xu Jie smoothed the hem of her suit.

Zhu Wenhao raised his hand: "Go ahead."

"I want you to remember that you owe me a favor, and how it is repaid in the future will be my choice." The gaze behind Director Xu Jie's lenses was clear.

She specifically added a sentence to draw a line.

"This is considered my early venture capital investment in you personally. Don't worry, I am not that kind of little girl with only romance in her head; I will absolutely not make any childish requests like asking you to pretend to be my boyfriend to go shopping or meet my parents."

"It's a deal." Zhu Wenhao stood up from his chair.

Director Xu Jie stepped forward and extended her well-proportioned right hand, palm forward.

"A palm slap to seal the oath."

Zhu Wenhao did not hesitate, raised his right hand, and lightly slapped it against hers in mid-air.

"Slap."

A very light, crisp sound echoed in this simple township deputy secretary's office.

The two hands touched and immediately separated, each withdrawing.