88: Chapter 87 Spreading Rumors

The Provincial Party School canteen was bustling with noise early in the morning.

The aroma of various breakfast foods filled the spacious hall.

Cao Rui carried two trays and precisely located Zhu Wenhao, who was sitting in a corner by the window.

After sitting down, he looked around to ensure no acquaintances were nearby before sliding his phone over.

On the screen was a photo.

The background was the tree-lined path behind the Party School administrative building, showing Zhu Wenhao and Liu Ruobing walking side by side.

The angle was extremely tricky; by utilizing the shadows of the trees and a visual misalignment, a perfectly ordinary walk side-by-side was made to look like a secret, private rendezvous.

"Lei Zhenzi posted this in a private group chat created by students from various cities late last night," Cao Rui whispered.

"The caption is very nasty. It says that you, Secretary Zhu, are so powerful that not only do you call the shots in Linjiang, but upon arriving in the provincial capital, you managed to win over the 'High-Mountain Flower' of the Propaganda Department in record time."

Cao Rui stared intently at Zhu Wenhao's reaction.

Lei Zhenzi and his cohorts were accustomed to acting arrogantly in provincial government agencies; it was obvious they wanted to smear Zhu Wenhao's reputation by attacking his personal conduct.

If issues regarding personal conduct were blown out of proportion, even if they were proven groundless in the end, his future career would still suffer greatly.

Zhu Wenhao took a sip of soy milk without even lifting his eyelids.

"The resolution is too low, and the composition is poor."

Cao Rui was stunned.

That was it?

"People who use such low-class tactics as weapons usually do so because they have nothing real in their hands," Zhu Wenhao said, wiping his hands with a tissue and pushing the fried dough stick aside.

"Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. The fact that Lei Zhenzi uses such unsubstantiated scraps as his trump card proves that the resources behind him don't take him seriously at all."

"He's just a clown; let him jump. The higher he jumps, the more painful it will be when he falls."

No excuses, no anger.

At eight o'clock sharp, in the multimedia lecture hall.

Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming walked onto the podium, holding his lesson plan.

He didn't rush to start the theory class; instead, he slammed a thick stack of collected assignments onto the lectern.

"I have more or less finished reading yesterday's assignments," Principal Zhou said, scanning the room without mincing words.

"I am deeply disappointed."

"Is this the level of the reserve cadres selected by the various cities and departments? You patch things together, copy a few paragraphs from last year's government work report, and change the title to something incoherent just to get it over with."

He picked up the top assignment sheet.

"Lei Zhenzi," Principal Zhou called out directly.

Lei Zhenzi, who was sitting in the back row looking at his phone, hurriedly kicked back his chair and stood up upon hearing his name.

"In your assignment, you wrote that solving local economic pains depends on vigorously introducing high-tech foreign investment," Principal Zhou tapped the paper with his finger.

"Let me ask you, what is the current capital threshold for introducing high-tech foreign investment in Jiangnan Province? What is the benchmark rate for tax retention?"

Lei Zhenzi opened his mouth, stammering, "About... fifty million? Tax retention... fifteen percent?"

"The threshold for foreign investment is thirty million USD, and the actual tax rate after the 'one exemption, two reductions' policy is twelve point five percent."

"You haven't even grasped the most basic data, yet you dare to talk big about industrial layout?" Principal Zhou tossed the assignment sheet aside.

"Was this article ghostwritten by the scribes in your Political and Legal Affairs Commission research office? You didn't even copy it correctly."

A few stifled laughs came from below.

Lei Zhenzi's face turned purple; he didn't know whether to sit or stand.

"However, among a pile of waste paper, I did find one piece of real substance," Principal Zhou pulled a printed draft from the bottom of the stack.

"《Practical Operations and Risk Control of Asset Securitization for Debt Resolution in Qingjiang County, Linjiang City."

"Who wrote this?"

Zhu Wenhao stood up.

"Principal Zhou, I wrote it."

"The data is precise, and the logic is rigorous. You even calculated the upper and lower floating thresholds for the provincial fiscal bottom-line coverage clearly. As a staff member from the Organization Department, how do you understand fiscal matters so thoroughly?"

"Knowledge gained from books is shallow. In my spare time, I read the public annual reports of various bureaus and committees and did some deductions myself," Zhu Wenhao replied flawlessly.

The core data that Su Qinghan had provided the previous night had now become his sharp weapon to dominate the field.

It is easier to be an official when you have connections in high places; mastering information asymmetry means mastering the absolute lifeline.

"This is the attitude of someone who genuinely studies and thinks about problems," Principal Zhou told Zhu Wenhao to sit down, then turned to lecture the whole class.

"I will have this article copied and distributed to each of you after class. Learn well how he breaks down local conflicts!"

One roll call, and the difference in caliber was immediately clear.

The bell rang for the end of class.

Principal Zhou had barely stepped out of the classroom before Lei Zhenzi pushed back his chair and walked straight to Zhu Wenhao's desk.

"Secretary Zhu, your article is indeed well-written, but your methods for wooing women in private aren't bad either. I heard you even managed to win over the 'High-Mountain Flower' of the Propaganda Department?"

Lei Zhenzi directly flashed his phone screen; it was that very photo.

The air around them instantly froze.

Class Monitor watched the show from the back row; Cao Rui wanted to step forward to mediate, but was stopped by a look from Zhu Wenhao.

Before Zhu Wenhao could respond, a hand reached over and slammed Lei Zhenzi's phone face down on the table.

Liu Ruobing.

"Lei Zhenzi, try spouting bullshit again," Liu Ruobing's face was cold as frost, her eyes filled with fury.

"The Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department just issued a document last week on rectifying the conduct of government officials, strictly cracking down on rumor-mongering. Did you take this photo? Do you want me to hand this photo over to the Discipline Inspection Group today and make you the negative example?"

Having been embarrassed in public, Lei Zhenzi's expression was extremely ugly.

His father was the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, but he dared not truly provoke the daughter of Deputy Director Liu Qiang of the Development and Reform Commission; if things really went south, his old man would skin him alive when he got home.

"Ruobing, I'm just kindly reminding you not to be used by someone with ulterior motives. These bumpkins from Linjiang don't have good intentions."

"My affairs are none of your concern. Mind your own shady business," Liu Ruobing did not back down and directly ordered him to leave.

Lei Zhenzi was rebuffed; he snorted coldly and turned to walk away.

From beginning to end, Zhu Wenhao sat in his chair, flipping through the handouts for the next class.

He couldn't even be bothered to spare a glance.

Engaging in a shouting match with such trash was beneath him.

He turned his head to look at Zhou Xu, who was sitting next to him.

Zhou Xu was slowly tightening the cap of his fountain pen and tidying his desk, completely detached from the situation.

"Organization Committee Member Zhou, would you like to have a casual lunch together at noon?" Zhu Wenhao invited.

Zhou Xu didn't stop his movements, tucking the fountain pen into his shirt pocket.

"Alright."

Party School Second Canteen, private room.

They didn't order expensive dishes; just one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and two bowls of rice.

Zhu Wenhao didn't beat around the bush and laid his cards on the table.

"Secretary Lin Weimin is going to Linjiang to take office. Organization Committee Member Zhou, you served in the Provincial Party Committee Office and were a subordinate of Secretary Lin. My father is the Deputy Secretary in Linjiang, and in the future, he will inevitably have to work with the new Secretary."

Offering a ladder.

Zhou Xu was a sensible man.

Zhu Wenhao needed his intelligence on the new Municipal Party Committee Secretary.

He needed a favor from Zhu Wenhao; after all, during this time at the Party School, he didn't know when he might need Secretary Zhu Wenhao to step in. It was an equivalent exchange.

"Secretary Lin is a typical workaholic," Zhou Xu picked up a chopstick of vegetables, chewing slowly.

"He hates it when subordinates use vague words like 'roughly' or 'possibly' when reporting work. He wants to see solid results; he wants to see data."

Zhou Xu took a sip of water and continued to throw out bargaining chips.

"Furthermore, he is extremely particular about procedural justice. If those deeply entrenched local factions in Linjiang try to use the same tai chi tactics they used against Former Mayor Xiao Tianyou to deal with him, they will end up in a miserable state."

"As a new official taking office, he is just worrying about not finding someone to sacrifice to the flag."

One by one, Zhou Xu laid out all the details regarding Secretary Lin Weimin's governing habits and temperament.

The intelligence exchange was complete.

"Many thanks," Zhu Wenhao nodded.

The two finished their meal and walked out of the canteen, one after the other.