Lu Yiwei returned to Luxurious Hotel in a sorry state. He went to the carpark to take out a suit prepared for Zhang Zhiyuan and rushed to the ninth floor. When he was about to enter his room, he realized there was no room card in his pocket. Tong Huan must have snatched it from him. Lu Yiwei had no choice but to go to Zhang Zhiyuan's room.
When he knocked on the door, he heard someone talking inside and withdrew his hand. He listened carefully and realized someone was talking on the phone. He went to the lounge to smoke a cigarette and waited for a while. Before he could knock on the door, Zhang Zhiyuan walked out. Lu Yiwei immediately stood up and walked up to him.
"How's the dinner?" Zhang Zhiyuan did not ask where Lu Yiwei went and asked him directly.
"I went to the dining room to take a look when I came up just now. Everything is ready. Once the guests arrive, the dishes will be served immediately!" Lu Yiwei said.
"Oh." Zhang Zhiyuan was confident in Lu Yiwei's work. He asked, "What kind of wine have you arranged?"
"Maotai. Two boxes. In addition, there are two boxes in the trunk for the leaders. "Lu Yiwei said.
"Great!" Zhang Zhiyuan was very satisfied with Lu Yiwei's arrangement. "They are old partners. You have met them before. Deputy Director Xu from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Deputy Director Bai from the Construction Department, and maybe a TV host. Our mission tonight is to get them drunk. What do you think?"
Lu Yiwei had the heart to spare but the strength to do so. He took a deep breath and said, "Boss, this is a little difficult. The last time we sparred, I was so drunk that I almost choked on it. Those two are experts at drinking."
"That won't do!" Zhang Zhiyuan rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, do you know any friends? Ask them to come and drink with you."
"Ah?" Lu Yiwei said awkwardly, "All my friends are men."
"A man is fine too. Ask him to come here now!" Zhang Zhiyuan ordered directly.
Lu Yiwei first thought of Sanjue. He then turned around and made a call. Unfortunately, Sanjue was not in Jiangdong at the moment. He was in another city discussing business. He had no choice but to call Black Circle. Black Circle was a straightforward person. When he heard that there was wine to drink, he agreed without hesitation and arrived in half an hour.
Lu Yiwei was relieved that Black Circle could come. Black Circle's alcohol tolerance was really not just for show. It was estimated that the two old guys were no match for him. His highest record was 25 bottles of beer, which wasn't something an average person could achieve.
Zhang Zhiyuan and Lu Yiwei went to the lounge area on the third floor to wait. It was still early, so the two of them started chatting. Zhang Zhiyuan told Lu Yiwei about Xu Caimao, the Deputy Director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
"Maybe you don't know much about Director Xu. He's an amazing person. Xu Caimao wasn't a professional. He used to be a front-line worker in a machine tool factory. Who would have thought that he would become a great person in the future? It's said that he was restless when he was a worker and loved to be absent-minded. Once, when he was doing well, he stood up and recited Korchagin's classic saying, 'A person's life should be lived like this. When he looks back on the past, he won't regret the wasted years, and he won't be ashamed of his mediocrity!' At that time, all the workers in the workshop stopped what they were doing to look at him. They all thought that he had lost his mind. Naturally, he was punished by the workshop director.
"He worked in the workshop like this for more than five years. One day, he couldn't stand this kind of life anymore. He went directly to the factory's Party Committee office and recommended himself to be transferred to the publicity department. At that time, the Party Secretary thought that he was extremely arrogant. He picked up a broom and sent him out. Unexpectedly, he didn't leave. Instead, he stood at the door and recited 'How Steel Is Tempered'. He was still reciting it the next morning. With his tenacious perseverance, he convinced the Party Secretary to allow him to stay in the publicity department as an officer. That was the beginning of his career.
"During the Cultural Revolution, the machine tool factory was suddenly divided into two factions. Xu Caimao, as the leader of the Red Communist Anti-Communist Movement, changed sides. He ousted the existing team and successfully took over the machine tool factory. He became the youngest director of that era. The times create heroes, and the era created Xu Caimao.
"After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Xu Caimao was purged and went to study classes. After he came out, he was sent to the grass-roots level and became the commune secretary. Many people said that his life was like this. If he wanted to make a comeback, the possibility was close to zero, unless a miracle happened. Unexpectedly, a miracle really happened. At that time, when the commissioner of the administrative office went to investigate, Xu Caimao's report was impressive and took the lead. The commissioner then met him and read the report he wrote. The next day, he was transferred to the prefectural committee and became a writer. After that, his promotion was naturally straightened out, and he went all the way up until today. "
After listening to Xu Caimao's legendary life, Lu Yiwei was filled with endless emotions. Obviously, Xu Caimao was a person who was good at making use of opportunities. Every time an opportunity came, he could grasp it tightly and did not let go. In the end, he achieved a great career.
Zhang Zhiyuan continued: "Xu Caimao is the first deputy director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission. He is not in charge of many areas. There are only two, but these two areas are absolutely important. One is the bidding department, and the other is the comprehensive approval department. You should know how much power this department has, right? "
Lu Yiwei was shocked. No wonder Zhang Zhiyuan had been so polite to this deputy director. It turned out that he held such great power.
Skipping Xu Caimao, Zhang Zhiyuan talked about the deputy director of the Provincial Construction Department, Bai Zongfeng. He said: "Bai Zongfeng is the opposite of Xu Caimao. He is a serious engineering student. When he first started working, he was in the Construction Department. This deep relationship is not known by ordinary people. The year before last, he was directly parachuted to Xijiang as the deputy director of the Construction Department. It is obvious that he is here to take over. In a few years, he will either be the director or the leader of some city. It is possible. "
The people who came from the capital naturally had unlimited possibilities. In the place where a brick could be thrown to kill a divisional leader, the divisional leaders all rode bicycles, squeezed public buses, and took the subway to and from work. There was no need to go through the back door to be promoted. When they had a certain amount of experience, they would naturally be promoted. At the county level, to be able to be a section chief was already a superior person. At the deputy divisional level and above, there were too many wolves but not enough meat. Therefore, the lowest level civil servants looked at the ceiling every day and dawdled until the bench was worn out. From a young and energetic young man to an old cadre with a beard, they could not fly out of the small place. A lifetime was a lifetime. There was endless sadness and helplessness.
Zhang Zhiyuan continued: "I met these two leaders in the Municipal Transportation Bureau. No matter how busy I was in the past two years, I did not dare to cut off these two lines. You have to know that the power in Xu Caimao's hands is the project and the money. I need him. And Bai Zongfeng has potential and is worth investing in. "
Lu Yiwei seemed to understand Baitai's investment in Shuyang Coal Mine. If he did not guess wrongly, this was the work of Deputy Director Xu. No wonder Zhang Zhiyuan was firm on this matter. Now, everything made sense.
Zhang Zhiyuan said: "After saying so much, I can understand one thing. If you want to do something big, you can't just rely on your hot-bloodedness and brute force without the support of others from behind. It's impossible. In the bureaucracy, it is like a spider web. You can reach the end from any line. It depends on how you walk. Some people choose the shortcut and succeed in one fell swoop. Some people are slow but hardworking. Although they take the long way, they still succeed. But a spider web is like a single-plank bridge. There are not many roads for you to walk. It depends on who is on the right track. Do you understand? "
Zhang Zhiyuan's analogy was very appropriate. Lu Yiwei nodded his head.
"No! You don't understand! " Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly said in a serious tone: "Some people are upright, and some are despicable. They will use their own tricks on the road to success. Upright people prioritize righteousness. They will not flatter, flatter, or be despicable. They will succeed through normal channels. Despicable people prioritized their own interests. They used strategies, devised strategies, played conspiracies, and went against their conscience. They brought the dark culture to the extreme and reached the pinnacle. This was politics! If you have to choose, which type of person will you choose? "
"The former!" Lu Yiwei replied without any hesitation.
"Wrong!" Zhang Zhiyuan once again overturned Lu Yiwei's train of thought. "Great wisdom may appear foolish. This is the essence of China's bureaucracy. It is the greatest weapon for success. Some people often say these two phrases, but they do not understand the true meaning. Great wisdom may appear foolish is not for you to be careful, but for you to hide your strength and wait for an opportunity. Being foolish is not for you to feign ignorance, but for you to look at the world with vigor. A true wise man will discard the dregs and extract the essence of the two. This is an extraordinary realm in life. "
Facing Zhang Zhiyuan's profound words, Lu Yiwei couldn't understand it. But he could understand it, so he nodded his head. "Boss, listening to your words is better than studying for ten years. I hope that you can give me more pointers in the future. It doesn't matter if I succeed or not, but I will engrave the principles of being an official in my heart."
Zhang Zhiyuan sneered, "Yiwei, sometimes, I feel that fate is unfair to people. I'm a master's student in economics from a famous university, but I'm actually walking on an official career. Every day, I'm in fear and tread on thin ice. If I'm not careful, I might fall into a pit. Should I jump or not? If I don't jump, someone will naturally push me from the back. It's terrifying just thinking about it. Those classmates of mine are basically doing jobs related to their studies. They're either economic analysts or the COO of some corporation. My classmate from the upper bunk of my university is now a senior official of Motorola in China. Do you think I'm comparable? "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
