176: Chapter 176 Are there really such awesome people in Sichuan Province?

Su Ye's pupils dilated in shock, and he turned to confirm with Yan Zheng beside him:

"Is there really someone that impressive in Sichuan Province?"

Yan Zheng nodded silently. Chen Ze, sitting to the side, sighed with emotion:

"This person's reputation only circulated within a small circle before. I heard about him from Brother Yu too."

Su Yi had dropped Su Ye off by the roadside earlier. Su Ye had just taken a taxi home to rest for a bit and was about to head out for a meal when Chen Ze called, saying he and Yan Zheng were eating. Upon chatting, they realized they both knew Su Ye, so they invited him over to join them.

He hadn't expected to hear such a massive piece of gossip the moment he sat down.

Chen Ze poured Su Ye a glass of wine and said slowly:

"When I first heard about it, my expression was the same as yours. This Liu Hongbo hides himself too well. I initially thought he was just a capitalist; I never imagined he had the nickname 'Underground Organization Minister' of Sichuan Province."

Now it was Su Ye's turn to be confused:

"Wait, Brother Ze, Brother Yan, logically speaking, shouldn't many people know about this Liu Hongbo? How come you only just found out?"

Chen Ze gave a bitter smile:

"You know my family's situation. I only recently took over the business, and my family wasn't doing that well at first. I was studying abroad when I was young, and by the time I came back, Liu Hongbo had already faded from the scene. Only a few old-timers know about him. Besides, who would go around talking about things like this?"

"If I hadn't taken over the Chen family, and if Brother Yu hadn't been worried that I might offend Liu Hongbo, he probably wouldn't have told me about this at all."

Su Ye nodded in understanding, then raised his glass to clink with Yan Zheng and Chen Ze, looking at Chen Ze curiously:

"Brother Ze, can you elaborate?"

Chen Ze thought for a moment and said:

"Alright, but don't go spreading this around. And if I get anything wrong, Brother Yan, please correct me."

Yan Zheng downed the half-glass of wine in his cup and laughed:

"It's fine, go ahead and talk. I know quite a bit about this Liu Hongbo."

Chen Ze cleared his throat, found his rhythm, and began his performance.

"So, regarding this Liu Hongbo, as far as I know, he had a very good relationship with the previous number one official of Sichuan Province. The then-number one of Sichuan Province often invited him to drink and dine; he could be considered a guest of honor. Little Su, do you know why he's so impressive?"

Su Ye rolled his eyes. If I knew, would I be asking you?

Chen Ze realized he'd said something redundant, gave a sheepish laugh, and continued:

"This Liu Hongbo was extraordinary from a young age. I heard that he was born in the seventies. His parents were intellectuals, and they lived in a residential compound for research personnel. His parents were busy and didn't supervise him much, so Liu Hongbo ran around the compound all day. He had high emotional intelligence from a young age and got along very well with the elders in the compound."

"After growing up, Liu Hongbo's grades were decent, and he graduated from university. You all know what university students in the eighties were like—they were truly impressive. After graduation, he went straight into the Sichuan Province Planning Commission."

Now it was Su Ye's turn to be confused; he had never even heard of this department.

Seeing Su Ye's bewildered expression, Yan Zheng began to enlighten him:

"Little Su, the Sichuan Province Planning Commission was the name at that time. You must have heard of its current department—it's the Sichuan Province Development and Reform Commission. However, its importance back then far exceeded that of the current Development and Reform Commission."

Chen Ze chimed in from the side:

"After all, the division of responsibilities wasn't as clearly defined back then. Plus, as a newly formed department, it received a lot of attention from above, so naturally, it held significant power."

"Furthermore, he joined the training center. At that time, although the training center department didn't have much power, it was in charge of one thing: receiving leaders coming from various places for training. From the various districts and cities below to Beijing and other places, he relied on his emotional intelligence and eloquence to gain a huge circle of friends and brothers."

Su Ye was silent for a moment, wondering if this Liu Hongbo also had a network system.

Chen Ze continued, his eyes carrying a hint of admiration:

"Later, in the nineties, didn't the wave of 'jumping into the sea' begin? Back then, the salaries of cadres really weren't high, so Liu Hongbo 'jumped into the sea'. Relying on the connections he had accumulated over the previous years, he really made a lot of money. Perhaps this made him realize the charm of having connections. As far as I know, from then on, he would travel back and forth between Beijing and Chengdu once a week. He would stay in Beijing for at least one or two days, and at most three or four, but he would definitely go once a week."

Yan Zheng added, his expression serious:

"That's why it's been rumored in some high-level official circles that Liu Hongbo has connections with those big shots in Beijing. I remember hearing that when the previous Secretary Qin first took office, he once invited leaders from Beijing to dinner and ran into Liu Hongbo. He was an old acquaintance of the Beijing leader Secretary Qin had invited, and the two chatted very happily. I don't know how Secretary Qin interacted with him, but regardless, his relationship with Liu Hongbo kept getting better. That was also Liu Hongbo's heyday; basically, in all of Sichuan Province, if he wanted someone to move up, it was a sure thing."

"It was also at that time that the nickname 'Underground Organization Minister' of Sichuan Province spread. However, as Secretary Qin retired later, he faded from the limelight. But he definitely still has deep connections with high-ranking officials here and even in Beijing. It's just that no one knows who they are. Some suspect it's the number one of the government, and some suspect it's Secretary Zhang, but in any case, it's never been exposed."

Chen Ze nodded and then said with a smile:

"Little Su, of course, we're just telling you this. If there's no major conflict, it's best not to provoke him. Of course, if you really do provoke him, don't be afraid. With us older brothers around, he wouldn't dare do anything to you."

Su Ye felt grateful in his heart, knowing that only because Yan Zheng and Chen Ze treated him like a real brother would they say such things. Otherwise, who else would care about your life or death, let alone promise to stand firmly with you if something happened?

"Thank you, Brother Yan, Brother Ze. I'll toast you both."

After saying this, he downed his drink. The two didn't stop him but exchanged a smile and raised their glasses to join him.

After putting down his glass, Su Ye asked curiously:

"By the way, Brother Ze, Brother Yan, you still haven't told me how you two met?"

Yan Zheng glanced at Chen Ze and then smiled:

"How we met, why we met—that's no longer important. The point is we did meet, so don't worry about it."

Chen Ze also added with a smile:

"Brother Yan is right, Little Su, you don't need to worry about it."

Regardless of what they had discussed before, with Su Ye as their mutual intermediary, both had plans in mind. With Su Ye as a bridge, they were natural allies. The Chen family would bring people to invest in the High-Tech Zone, helping Yan Zheng build up the High-Tech Zone as a political achievement, and Yan Zheng would provide protection for the Chen family's business, ensuring there would be no trouble from the official side and that no one would make things difficult for them.

Su Ye pursed his lips:

"Fine, I guess I'm just here for a free meal then."