144: Chapter 144 A high-ranking leader has made a move.

Late at night, the number one official of Chengdu received a phone call. With a livid expression, he sat in his study all night. The ashtray was stuffed full of cigarette butts, and the entire study was shrouded in smoke, like a fairyland on earth.

At dawn, the number one official of Chengdu took out his phone and called Yan Zheng:

"Little Yan, call it off. Let the matter with the Qin Family end here. Deputy Secretary Yao just called me. Although I am not afraid, but—we are at a critical moment of leadership transition, so it is best not to cause political strife. Otherwise, the impact will be bad."

After putting down the phone, Zhu Zhiwen pushed open the window of the study. Fresh air poured into the room. He took a deep breath, then let out a long sigh, feeling heavy-hearted.

Clearly, his trusted subordinates had almost finished the job. If they just waited a few more hours and integrated some key evidence, they could have put the Qin Family behind bars to eat the state's food. This would have been a significant political achievement for him, but it was forcibly stopped by those above. This not only dampened his own enthusiasm but also struck a blow to the cohesion of his faction.

As the Party Secretary of Chengdu, the provincial capital, he was a vice-ministerial level cadre. Theoretically, he was at the same level as Deputy Secretary Yao, who had called last night. But in reality, Deputy Secretary Yao was half a level higher than Zhu Zhiwen. After all, if Deputy Secretary Yao took one more step, he would be the number one official of the provincial committee, while for Zhu Zhiwen to become the number one official of the provincial committee, he would still need to spend a few years transitioning in the position of Deputy Secretary.

Of course, just as Zhu Zhiwen had said earlier, with the critical leadership transition currently underway, if he were to butt heads with Deputy Secretary Yao now, and Deputy Secretary Yao were to become the number one official, then Zhu Zhiwen would be in a very difficult position afterward. Unless he was transferred elsewhere, he might end up being stuck in the position of Chengdu Party Secretary for two or three terms.

Zhu Zhiwen was 48 this year; he didn't have much time left. If he were really kept in that position for two terms, his political career would basically be over, and he would have no hope of reaching the national level in this lifetime.

Therefore, even though he knew that doing this would damage the cohesion of his faction, Zhu Zhiwen had no other choice. He could only wait to find a way to make it up to Yan Zheng, a trusted subordinate who had followed him for over a decade.

Meanwhile, Yan Zheng, upon hearing the words of his superior, Secretary Zhu, had a livid expression. Did the Qin Family have problems? Obviously, they had major issues. Previously, lacking sufficient strength, Yan Zheng could only go with the flow. But now, with sufficient strength and being on the verge of taking down the Qin Family, the result was that because of intervention from above, he had to let the Qin Family go. This made Yan Zheng feel very uncomfortable, especially since he didn't know how to tell Su Ye.

After all, Su Ye had essentially placed the credit right into his hands. As long as he held onto it tightly and didn't let it be snatched away or let it slip, it would be a guaranteed political achievement. Now, however, he had to voluntarily let it go.

But Yan Zheng knew Zhu Zhiwen very well after following him for over a decade. If there had been a chance, he definitely would have fought for it. But the fact that he hadn't even tried to fight for it proved that this matter was truly impossible to overcome.

After hesitating for a long time, Yan Zheng finally called Su Ye.

Su Ye sat at home, consoled Yan Zheng amidst his expressions of guilt, and then hung up the phone. His eyes kept flickering as he pondered how to break the deadlock.

But after turning it over in his mind, he couldn't think of a way. Unless the provincial governor or the provincial party secretary stood behind him and strongly supported his actions, an ordinary provincial committee member might not be able to handle it. That was a full-time Deputy Provincial Party Secretary, and it would be no exaggeration to call him the second-in-command of the provincial committee. After all, a provincial governor who served concurrently as a Deputy Provincial Party Secretary was primarily leading his own team.

If he didn't strike the Qin Family dead with one blow now, then in a few months, once the Qin Family recovered and cleaned up their mess, they might come after him. Being on the receiving end of attacks was not his habit.

Thinking of this, Su Ye decided to use his Intermediate Connection Card. Keeping it was just keeping it, so he might as well see if the Intermediate Connection Card could provide a surprise. After all, even an R6 level card meant a vice-departmental level cadre or a tycoon with billions in assets. With help from such a person, plus Chen Ze, Yu Chen, and Yan Zheng, even if the Qin Family wanted revenge, it wouldn't be so easy.

Moreover, if he randomly got an R4 level tycoon, there might still be a chance to continue striking the Qin Family down. A vice-ministerial level official or a figure with tens of billions in assets would be enough to go toe-to-toe with that Deputy Secretary Yao.

"Use Intermediate Connection Card!"

In an instant, a silver-white card bloomed with silver-white radiance in Su Ye's mind.

————

Beijing, Guanghua Residential Complex

When Su Wan pushed open the balcony door, she happened to see Auntie Zhang in the building opposite hanging out laundry—two identical light blue shirts, the spacing between the hangers exactly the same, and even the wrinkles on the hems smoothed out perfectly. When Auntie Zhang saw Su Wan, she didn't call out loudly but waved with a smile.

The morning scenery at Guanghua was always like this: no noise from old residential areas, nor the ostentatiousness of luxury districts, only birdsong and the sound of the wheels of the cleaners' carts. Even the delivery vehicles were uniform electric box trucks. After parking in designated areas, the delivery personnel would call by unit, their tone as polite as if they were visiting a client, without the slightest hint of impatience.

The kitchen window faced the small garden in the community center, where she could see several elderly people wearing reading glasses reading newspapers on benches—not the street evening papers, but bound volumes of "Internal Reference Selections." Occasionally, someone would look up to discuss, their voices so soft they were scattered by the wind. She could also see an occasional couple of elderly people with extraordinary temperament walking together in the morning, supporting each other.

When Su Wan was making tea, she heard the doorbell ring. Opening the door, she found Sister Li from across the hall.

Seeing the door open, Sister Li said directly:

"Little Su, you and your Su Yi are so busy every day that your feet barely touch the ground. So, I wrapped quite a few dumplings last night—chive, cabbage, and shrimp. I brought some for you. Put them in the fridge, and if you're too busy, just take them out and boil them; it's healthy."

Sister Li's husband was a Vice Minister of a certain ministry and had a good relationship with Su Wan's husband, Su Yi. Plus, living across the hall, the two families visited each other often. Su Wan took the bag from Sister Li without standing on ceremony:

"Thank you, Sister Li. Last time my Old Su ate the dumplings you wrapped, he couldn't stop talking about them. We are in for a treat this time."

Hearing Su Wan's words, Sister Li smiled until her eyes were almost invisible, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes deeply crinkled together; after all, she was already over fifty.

Su Wan turned around, took a bottle of wine from the side, and handed it to Sister Li, saying:

"Last time we ate together, wasn't your boy about to get married? This bottle of wine was prepared by Old Su for him. It will be quite decent to take to his future father-in-law's place."

Sister Li also accepted it without standing on ceremony and said:

"Then thank you, Little Su. I have to go back and make breakfast for my husband, otherwise, if he's late later, he'll complain me to death."

Su Wan watched with a smile as Sister Li's door closed, then picked up the dumplings and was about to walk toward the kitchen when she turned around and saw a figure standing behind her, giving her a big fright. Upon regaining her composure, she saw a refined, handsome middle-aged man looking at her with a smile in his eyes. She playfully patted her husband Su Yi's shoulder and said:

"Don't you know that scaring people can scare them to death?"