89: Chapter 89 Brother Yan, can you handle it?

After seven o'clock the next day, Su Ye woke up and discovered that Zhao Sihan was missing. He searched the room but didn't see anyone. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table, ready to call Zhao Sihan, but saw a message she had sent him.

"Old Su, you are truly too fierce. I can't handle it anymore Ծ ‸ Ծ. I'm running away first. You just wait, when I've recovered, we'll fight again! [ ○ ･ ｀ Д ´ ･ ○ ]"

Su Ye grinned. He hadn't expected Classmate Xiao Zhao to run away in the middle of the night. He had originally planned to spend another two days with her, but since she had run off, so be it. It worked out well, as he still had things to do.

He then opened the information Attorney Shi Jun had sent him regarding Chen Chaoyang's illegitimate son, Chen Ze's older brother.

[Name: Section Chief Wan]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 37]

[Work: Section Chief of the Environmental Sanitation Management Section, High-Tech Zone, Chengdu (Section Chief Level)]

[Home Address: Unit 302, Building 8, Unit 1, Wan'an Resettlement Community]

[Family Situation: Mother Wan Rong (Deceased), Wife Huang Xin (36, owner of Wan'an Supermarket), Daughter Wan Shuangshuang (13, 6th grade at Jinghui Elementary School)]

[Analysis: ——————]

Su Ye carefully read Section Chief Wan's profile, mentally tagging him. After analyzing and summarizing, it appeared that Section Chief Wan had a strong ambition for his career and desperately wanted to climb the ladder, but he lacked connections. When he first entered the system, he offended a big shot—though Attorney Shi Jun couldn't find out exactly who it was—and had been languishing in the Environmental Sanitation Management Section ever since.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the Environmental Sanitation Management Section a retirement department. It was mainly responsible for the sanitation and environment of the High-Tech Zone, a place with no opportunities to achieve political merit.

Therefore, even if Section Chief Wan had great ambition, he had to keep it bottled up. However, it wasn't as if Section Chief Wan hadn't done anything; at the very least, he had indeed managed the sanitation and environment quite well. But that wouldn't help him transfer to a new position. Chengdu was neither big nor small, and there were only so many Section Chief-level positions. Why would they give a good position to someone without connections?

Su Ye also discovered one thing: Section Chief Wan actually wasn't interested in Chen Chaoyang; in fact, he was quite repulsed by him and unwilling to accept Chen Chaoyang's financial support. He figured that if it weren't for Section Chief Wan thinking of his mother, he probably wouldn't have even gone to see him for the last time.

Based on his analysis of Section Chief Wan's previous experiences, the only solution Su Ye could think of was to target his official career; this was his weak spot.

As long as he could offer something that tempted him and could help him advance in his career, it wasn't impossible to get him to voluntarily give up his shares in Chaoyang Group.

This was also Section Chief Wan's last chance. After all, he was about to turn forty. If he couldn't reach the Division Chief level, his life was basically set, and the Bureau level would be hopeless. Conversely, if he could reach the Division Chief level, he would still have a chance to look toward the Bureau level.

After thinking about it, Su Ye picked up his phone, ready to tell Chen Ze about this situation, but after a moment's thought, he put the phone down again.

Favors had to be handled the right way. If he explained the situation to Chen Ze now—not to mention whether Chen Ze would go talk to Section Chief Wan and use his connections to help him move up—even if Chen Ze talked and solved the problem, he would only be owed a favor for coming up with the idea. But if he handled the matter himself and then told Chen Ze, to put it mildly, he would have helped Chen Ze retain 8% of the shares, worth over a billion in assets. To put it grandly, he could even say he had stabilized Chaoyang Group, the hard work of two generations of the Chen family.

Having made up his mind, Su Ye called Yan Zheng and arranged to meet for a chat after Yan Zheng got off work that evening. Su Ye planned to go home first and then head to the gym club to kill time until he met with Yan Zheng that night.

Night gradually shrouded Chengdu as lights began to flicker on, dispelling the darkness.

It was still Zhilan Restaurant, and it was still the same private room, but only Yan Zheng and Su Ye were inside.

Yan Zheng placed his briefcase to the side with a hint of exhaustion, then said, "Sorry, Little Su, I'm late. It's been really busy since I just took over."

Su Ye smiled and replied, "It's fine, I haven't been here long either. Did your District Chief give you any trouble?"

Su Ye wasn't saying this without reason; after all, conflicts between the top two leaders were the most common occurrence.

Yan Zheng didn't avoid the topic with Su Ye. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head, saying, "That's not it. District Chief Sun is considered part of my faction, and our cooperation has been quite pleasant. It's mainly that, as you know, I previously worked at the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Now that I've taken on this position, there are many things I have to come into contact with and learn. Plus, there are all sorts of visits and research trips. In just these few days, I've already worn out a pair of leather shoes."

Su Ye clicked his tongue in his heart. It was still more comfortable to be himself—just lying flat was enough.

As for being bullied because he didn't have power? Now that Su Ye had Yan Zheng backing him, and there would be more people in the future—Bureau level, Ministerial level, even National level—who would dare to bully him? With even more connections, they could help each other, and who knows, perhaps a "Su Faction" might even emerge in the Xia Kingdom's political scene.

I am not in the political scene, but the political scene has legends of me.

"That's good. Brother Yan, you came out of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission system, so you could say you've jumped out of the cage. These are the growing pains you must experience."

Yan Zheng tasted the exquisite dishes before him, then raised his glass to clink with Su Ye's: "Alright, do I need you kid to comfort me? Don't I see things more clearly than you?"

Afterward, the two chatted, ate, and drank. Until after the wine had been poured three times and the food had been tasted, Su Ye wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and got straight to the point: "Brother Yan, do you know a man named Section Chief Wan?"

Yan Zheng frowned, wondering if this Section Chief Wan had offended Su Ye. Although Yan Zheng had strong discipline, if Section Chief Wan had truly offended his younger brother, Yan Zheng wouldn't mind making things difficult for him.

"Section Chief Wan, I know him. He's the section chief of the Environmental Section; I just went for a walk there this morning. Why? Did he offend you? Do you want me to handle it for you?"

Su Ye felt a bit touched. He knew Yan Zheng's temperament; he would never let personal matters interfere with his work. He hadn't expected Yan Zheng to be willing to slightly violate his principles of conduct for him today. This made Su Ye even more convinced of the system's favorability rating. Since Yan Zheng was willing to make an exception for Su Ye once, there would be a second and a third time. To be able to make someone violate their own principles without any benefit, what more proof was needed?

"No, Brother Yan. I just wanted to understand what his work ability is like and who he offended. Because if I remember correctly, Section Chief Wan was first in the written test and second in the interview, and he was a university student from over a decade ago. By rights, he shouldn't be in this situation now."

Yan Zheng took a deep look at Su Ye. And he said he didn't offend you; you've practically stripped him down to his underwear.

After taking a sip of tea, Yan Zheng slowly said, "I've also researched this Section Chief Wan. His ability is quite strong, and while his emotional intelligence isn't very high, it's sufficient. Many of the university students from his cohort are already at the Division Chief level, while he is still a Section Chief. It's mainly because when he first arrived, he offended the then-District Party Secretary, so he was exiled."

Su Ye's heart skipped a beat. The person Section Chief Wan offended was that high-ranking? He was a District Party Secretary over a decade ago; by now, he might even be at the Bureau level or even higher. If he asked Yan Zheng to promote him, he didn't know if Yan Zheng could handle the pressure.