57: Chen Dongsheng was embarrassed.

The dinner was enjoyed by both hosts and guests. Lin Zifeng declined everyone's offer to drive him home and walked alone under the streetlights towards his house.

With his alcohol tolerance, drinking nearly one and a half catties of liquor was nothing to him.

A gentle breeze blew past, and he couldn't help but think to himself that in officialdom, friends are necessary. Even if such friendships are based on mutual utilization, it's better than fighting alone.

Take the matter of Jiang Shenzhi, for example! Jiang Shenzhi must have been restless because of Yu Hualin's downfall, which is why he sought help from his old classmate, Wen Hai.

A casual word from him made Jiang Shenzhi's worries vanish, and at the same time, he gained Wen Hai's favor.

Sometimes, things that seem very difficult to others are often just a matter of a single word.

This is the benefit that power brings, but one must always adhere to principles and one's true self, defining the essence of matters clearly.

He could never help with anything that violates principles, no matter the situation.

Lin Zifeng walked home, lost in thought. Since he had forgotten his house keys, he had no choice but to knock on the door.

Zhang Chunhua opened the door, looking puzzled. Seeing him standing there, she happily said, "Son, it's so late, why are you back?

Come in quickly."

Zhang Chunhua pulled him into the room. Lin Jiahua heard the commotion and also came out of the bedroom.

He then said, "Tomorrow, the new County Party Secretary will take office, and I have to attend the county-wide cadre meeting. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time tomorrow, so I came back early.

Some friends happened to invite me out, so I had dinner before coming back."

"It hasn't been long since our county's County Mayor was transferred, so why is the County Party Secretary also being replaced?"

Zhang Chunhua pulled him to sit on the living room sofa, asking curiously.

"You usually don't care about these things. I heard that the former Secretary made a mistake and has already been subjected to shuanggui. Is it strange for him to be replaced?"

Lin Jiahua adjusted his glasses and spoke first, not waiting for Lin Zifeng to answer.

"Really? You never mentioned it when you came home!"

"You don't pay attention to these things, so why would I tell you about them?"

Just like that, the family of three chatted. About half an hour later, Zhang Chunhua urged him to go shower and rest.

The next morning, Lin Zifeng walked into the County Party Committee auditorium more than twenty minutes early.

At this time, many Principal officials from townships and some cadres from county-affiliated agencies had already arrived at the County Party Committee auditorium.

He greeted some familiar cadres, spoke with Comrade Li Chunchang for a while, and then went to the front row to sit in the spot designated for Heping Town.

Other townships had two Principal officials seated, but Heping Town only had him, which made his age seem a bit out of place.

Many cadres sitting in the back looked at his back and discussed in low voices.

"Is that young man the Town Mayor of Heping Town? He's really young! If I met him on the street, I wouldn't believe he was a Town Mayor, even if you beat me."

"How can he not be young? I heard he's only twenty-four years old. Compared to him, we've lived all these years for nothing; there's no comparison!"

Such discussions were incessant, and one person who heard them felt particularly uncomfortable.

This person was none other than Chen Dongsheng, the Vice Principal of the County High School.

He had come to the meeting with the Principal and another Vice Principal.

Just then, the other Vice Principal spoke, "Principal Yang, this Town Mayor Lin they are talking about is Lin Zifeng, the son of our school's teacher, Lin Jiahua.

Lin Zifeng is currently the Town Mayor of Heping Town. Not only is he Teacher Lin Jiahua's son, but he also got into Southeast University from our school; he is an outstanding graduate of our school."

The old Principal of the County High School retired three months ago, and Principal Yang was transferred from another county, so he wasn't very clear about some matters.

Therefore, upon hearing what the Vice Principal said, he became interested, his eyes lit up, and he said, "There's such a thing? This Lin Zifeng has boundless prospects!

At only twenty-four, he's already taken office as a Town Mayor. Who knows what heights he'll reach in the future!

Since he has such a connection with our school, we must maintain this relationship well!"

"And that's not all! This Town Mayor Lin was previously in a relationship with our Vice Principal Chen's daughter; they were even engaged. For some reason, Vice Principal Chen's family took the initiative to break off the engagement.

Oh, I remember now. For a few days, Town Mayor Lin was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation. Vice Principal Chen must have been afraid of affecting his daughter! It's only human nature to do so.

However, man proposes, God disposes. The Discipline Inspection Commission proved that this young man, Lin Zifeng, was innocent and he was quickly released. Not only that, but he was promoted shortly after his release."

Vice Principal Qian Delin had a gloating expression. He and Chen Dongsheng were competitors, so they had been at odds for many years.

Because of this, after the old Principal retired, neither of them was promoted to full Principal.

Squeezing each other out had become the norm, so how could Qian Delin let go of such an opportunity?

Hearing what Qian Delin said, Chen Dongsheng snorted and remained silent.

Yang Huafeng looked at him with a playful gaze, thinking to himself that this Chen Dongsheng was truly short-sighted! He had so foolishly missed out on such a good son-in-law.

Such a foolish person would not pose any threat to him in the future. On the contrary, he needed to be more wary of this Qian Delin.

Neither of them could guess Yang Huafeng's thoughts. If Qian Delin knew he had outsmarted himself, he would surely regret it and slap himself!

If Chen Dongsheng knew that Yang Huafeng had categorized him as a fool, he would also be furious!

Just then, a group of people walked onto the podium from the side door of the auditorium, and a warm round of applause immediately erupted in the venue.

Li Xinzhang, the Minister of the Municipal Party Committee Organization Department, personally came to install Wan Guoliang, sitting in the very center of the podium.

Wan Guoliang sat to his left, acting County Mayor Qian Dagang sat to his right, and the other County Party Standing Committee Members sat on either side according to their ranking.

Deputy Secretary Xu Yanjun seemed to be forcing a smile, which was understandable. He had originally thought he would advance further, directly promoting from Deputy Secretary to the top leader of Yushu County, but he had missed out once again.

Having failed to secure this opportunity, becoming the perpetual third-in-command, would not be easy for anyone to bear.

Acting County Mayor Qian Dagang presided over the meeting, and Li Xinzhang read out the Municipal Party Committee's appointment of Wan Guoliang.

Lin Zifeng, who was diligently attending the meeting, felt Li Xinzhang on the podium gazing at him, and he looked back at the other party.

Just then, the other party smiled faintly at him, then quickly looked away.

If he hadn't seen it so clearly, he would have thought he was hallucinating.

He was very sure that the other party didn't know him, so why would he smile at him? This left him completely puzzled.