Zhang Ningning was about to leave. Before he left, he went to the hospital to say goodbye to Chen Xing.
"Remember to recuperate well after I leave. I'll come to Hai City to see you next time."
Zhang Ningning's smile was still so innocent, and his eyes were as clear as two pools of spring water. Chen Xing had been used to seeing his smile and frown these days, but it still gave him a different feeling every time.
After calming himself down, Chen Xing smiled and said, "My injury is not a big deal. The doctor said that I can be discharged in two days. Don't worry."
"It's not a big deal, but my stomach has a big hole. I was so worried at the time."
"Haha, I'm fine now. I have to thank you for visiting me in the hospital every day these days."
"You are always so polite. No matter what, your injury has something to do with me. If I don't come to see you, people will say that I am heartless."
The two chatted and laughed until it was almost noon. Zhang Ningning smiled and stood up. "I have to go. Otherwise, the driver will be anxious. I will find time to come to Hai City in the future."
"Well, you should go quickly. You have been visiting me in the hospital these days, and it has taken up a lot of time." Chen Xing nodded his head. Looking at her beautiful face, for some reason, he felt a sense of reluctance to part with her.
After saying goodbye to Zou Fang, Zhang Ningning finally left. Watching her figure disappear outside the ward, Chen Xing had an inexplicable strange feeling. He had not felt this for a long time.
"Don't look. She is like a bird flying in the sky, and you are just an ordinary person walking on the ground. You can't grow wings and fly to the sky." Zou Fang smiled and stretched out her hand to block Chen Xing's view.
"Mom, I am just grateful to her. Governor Zhang went back after two days of inspection in Hai City. She should have gone back with her father, but she specially stayed a few more days to visit me in the hospital. No matter what, I have to thank her for her kindness, right?" Chen Xing muttered discontentedly, but in his heart, he said, "People can't grow wings and fly to the sky, but they can always find a way to catch the birds in the sky."
"I hope you are not lying." Zou Fang stared at her son with a smile. She did not say anything, but she was not relaxed at all. She still did not want her son to have unrealistic ideas about a woman like Zhang Ningning.
Time passed quietly. More often than not, a day had passed without anyone noticing. Zhang Ningning had already left Hai City for two days. Every day, there were still people coming to the hospital to visit Chen Xing. It was just that there weren't as many as the first few days.
Chen Xing stayed in the hospital for two more days. With the doctor's approval, he was finally discharged. After packing up his belongings with his parents, Chen Xing left the ward that he had stayed in for a short period of time, bidding farewell to the pungent smell of disinfectant in the hospital.
These days, she had been smelling disinfectant every day. She really wasn't used to it. Looking back at the hospital building, Chen Xing said jokingly.
"You little brat, do you want to smell that smell? Then move your family in." Zou Fang could not help laughing and scolding him. "People can't wait to leave the hospital, but you are still thinking about the smell."
"Mom, I just said it casually. Don't take it seriously."
The family chatted and laughed as they returned home. That afternoon, Chen Xing went to work at the Municipal Party Committee. He had been injured and hospitalized these days, so Zhou Mingfang did not have a secretary by his side. The General Office had temporarily selected two staff members from the secretarial department to replace him. Now that he was back, everything was back to normal.
Chen Xing was ready to go to Zhou Mingfang's office immediately, but was told by the General Office that Zhou Mingfang had gone to the grass-roots level and would come back the next day.
"If I had known, I would have been lazy at home for half a day and come back tomorrow." Hearing the news, Chen Xing could not help but shake his head and smile.
Zhou Mingfang was not there, so Chen Xing went back to his small office and stayed for a while. He browsed through the documents piled up these days and thought about going to the Political Research Office of the Municipal Party Committee.
"Hey, Chen Xing, you are discharged from the hospital?" Li Dongyang, who had just come out of the toilet, was shocked when he saw Chen Xing. He quickly walked over and pinched Chen Xing's body for a while.
"Hey, what are you doing? If you want to touch a woman, don't touch me." Chen Xing smiled and pushed him away.
"Hey, what are you talking about? I want to see how you are recovering. After a special examination, it seems that you have recovered. Not bad, not bad." Li Dongyang smiled seriously. "But why didn't you tell me that you were discharged? I was going to pick you up."
"If I really asked you when I would be discharged, I would not be able to leave the hospital in peace." Chen Xing shook his head and smiled disapprovingly. He looked Li Dongyang up and down and thought, "You are still very relaxed."
"Hey, I am not relaxed. Today, the boss and Secretary Zhou went to the grass-roots level for research. Two people from the department went there, but it is not my turn. Otherwise, you will not see me now." Li Dongyang shrugged. "Then why did you come to the Political Research Office?"
"Why? The Political Research Office is my hometown. Can't I come to visit if I have nothing to do?"
"Yes, yes." Li Dongyang hurriedly nodded with a smile. He glanced around and suddenly pulled Chen Xing to the side.
"Hey, what are you doing? Look at your wretched expression. You look like a thief."
"Chen Xing, have you heard about what happened to Secretary Zhou?" Fei Ren's eyes kept darting left and right, fearing that someone might pass by.
"About Secretary Zhou?" "What, what happened?" Seeing Li Dongyang's expression, Chen Xing, who was familiar with Li Dongyang, was shocked. He knew that Li Dongyang had the title of the King of Gossip in the Political Research Office. Chen Xing did not know where Li Dongyang got his ability to always be the first to hear some gossip. Although some of it was completely false, there was no lack of truth in it.
"I knew that you would not know about this since you were injured and hospitalized." Li Dongyang's expression showed that he had expected it. He did not keep Chen Xing in suspense and whispered, "Do you know? I heard that Secretary Zhou was reported."
"Secretary Zhou was reported?" "How is that possible?" Chen Xing was stunned and cried out involuntarily.
"Where did you hear this nonsense this time?" After calming down, Chen Xing looked at Li Dongyang suspiciously. He could not believe this kind of news. Zhou Mingfang had absolute authority in Sea City. Who would dare to do such a thing?
"Who said it was impossible? I heard that the matter was blown up. The informant not only wrote letters to the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial government, but also to the Central Government. Even the leaders of the Central Government were alarmed." Li Dongyang said mysteriously.
Chen Xing was a little bewildered. He did not dare to believe Li Dongyang's words no matter what.
"Dongyang, I think you're getting more and more leisurely. You don't do anything serious, but you listen to these unreliable rumors every day. I advise you to be careful. It's fine if you say these things in front of me, but if someone else hears it and the higher-ups hear it, you'll be punished. Chen Xing smiled and patted Li Dongyang's shoulder. He still did not believe what Li Dongyang had said.
"Chen Xing, this time I am really not talking nonsense. You don't know that the investigation team from the Provincial Government has come down. Based on this situation, how can it be fake? If Secretary Zhou was not in trouble, would the investigation team from the Provincial Government come down personally?"
"The investigation team from the Provincial Government came down? Are you sure? " Chen Xing's body trembled.
"Hey, I also heard this. Someone said that the investigation team from the Provincial Government arrived in Sea City yesterday, but Secretary Zhou went to the grassroots level yesterday. Do you know what the others said?
What did they say?
They said that Secretary Zhou had a guilty conscience and deliberately avoided the investigation team from the Provincial Government. Otherwise, why would he go to the grassroots level as soon as the investigation team from the Provincial Government came down? "
Chen Xing, who had been skeptical about Li Dongyang's words, could not help but smile when he heard Li Dongyang's words. He almost believed the rumors Li Dongyang had heard just now, but now he overthrew those rumors in his heart. According to his understanding of Zhou Mingfang, if the investigation team really came down and targeted Zhou Mingfang, with Zhou Mingfang's strong personality, he would definitely not take the initiative to avoid it. Besides, if the investigation team really came to investigate Zhou Mingfang, the so-called rumor that Zhou Mingfang went to the grassroots level to avoid the investigation team was simply unwise.
"Dongyang, I think you'd better think about other things instead of listening to these unreliable rumors all day long."
After coming out of the Political Research Office, Chen Xing did not go back immediately. Instead, he went back to the General Office of the Municipal Party Committee to inquire about the news. Although he did not believe that Zhou Mingfang went to the grassroots level to avoid the investigation team, he still had some doubts about whether there was an investigation team or not.
The next day, Chen Xing met Zhou Mingfang, who had returned to the Municipal Party Committee. This Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, who had absolute authority in Sea City, was as resolute and confident as usual.
"Chen Xing, look at your complexion. You've recovered well." When Zhou Mingfang saw Chen Xing, he could not help but smile. "How are you? Do you want me to give you a special permission to rest for two days to recuperate?
"Secretary Zhou, my body has recovered to its original state. I can work normally now. Thank you for your concern.
"Young people are indeed young. You recovered so quickly. If it were an old man like me, I would have been injured for 100 days." Zhou Mingfang smiled and shook his head.
"Secretary Zhou, you're still in the prime of your life. You're still far from old."
"Haha, you've also learned how to flatter." Zhou Mingfang smiled. "By the way, now that you've been discharged from the hospital, have you called Ningning to tell them that you're safe? Even Governor Zhang has been very concerned about you while you've been injured."
"Yes, I have. I've already called Miss Chang." Chen Xing nodded with a smile. At the same time, he was carefully observing Zhou Mingfang.
After all, Zhou Mingfang was the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee who had experienced many battles. When the investigation team came from the province, he was still as steady as a mountain and talked cheerfully and wittily. This was the demeanor of a real general. Chen Xing looked at Zhou Mingfang silently. He examined and pondered in his heart, wondering how the thoughts of people at Zhou Mingfang's level were different from those of ordinary people. It was undeniable that Zhou Mingfang, as a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the leader of the prefecture-level Party Committee, was undoubtedly a trendsetter in this great era of reform and opening up, although he had the unavoidable shortcomings of ordinary people. He had courage and decisiveness that most cadres did not have. Although to a certain extent, this was criticized as autocratic and domineering, it was precisely this defect that made Zhou Mingfang more and more like a person of flesh and blood, which became his own charisma as a leader.
What Chen Xing did not realize was that during the days he worked by Zhou Mingfang's side, he was constantly observing, thinking, and examining Zhou Mingfang. At the same time, he was also subtly influenced by Zhou Mingfang. When he had the opportunity to become a local official in charge of politics in the future, his way of doing things would be deeply influenced by Zhou Mingfang.
The news from the provincial investigation team quietly spread among the cadres of Hai City. From the middle and high-level cadres who first learned of the news to the ordinary staff of various agencies and bureaus, many people seemed to be discussing whether Zhou Mingfang, the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, who had held absolute power in Hai City for five years, would fall in this storm.
The people from the investigation team did not contact the relevant media, nor did they appear to make any statements to confirm the news. However, for some reason, as the news slowly spread from the so-called insiders of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government, it seemed that most people were certain that the investigation team was targeting Zhou Mingfang. It was as if there was an invisible hand behind the scenes controlling the spread of certain rumors.
Those who knew the truth were watching carefully, while those who did not know the truth were watching the show. The middle and high-level cadres of the city, this small group of people who held a dominant position in Hai City, were often the first to receive accurate news. They were not unaware of the true purpose of the investigation team. The investigation team was targeting Zhou Mingfang's former secretary, the current Deputy Director of the Tax Bureau, Xing Tiande. Even so, this matter still caused a small number of people to waver and watch.
After all, Xing Tiande had been Zhou Mingfang's secretary for several years. No one knew if Zhou Mingfang would be involved in this case. Moreover, even if Zhou Mingfang was really innocent, he had committed a crime against his closest secretary. It was inevitable that Zhou Mingfang would be criticized for not being able to judge people properly. This would undoubtedly affect the positive evaluation of Zhou Mingfang by the higher-ups.
Zhou Mingfang had been in charge of Hai City for several years. Although he had made great contributions to the development of Hai City and had left a thick stroke in Hai City's history, there were still people among the cadres of Hai City who were dissatisfied with him. On the surface, these people sang praises of Zhou Mingfang's achievements, but at the same time, they wanted Zhou Mingfang to leave Hai City as soon as possible. It was only because of Zhou Mingfang's great authority that no one dared to show it in the open.
Mayor Zhao Yiping, or to be exact, Acting Mayor Zhao Yiping, had suddenly become active after the provincial investigation team came to Hai City. He frequently made appearances on major occasions. The main person in charge of the Municipal Government's General Office had also come forward to request that the Municipal Television Station report the mayor's trip from beginning to end and broadcast it on the station's main news slots.
In the past few days, the news on the television was overwhelmingly about Mayor Zhao Yiping's activities. 'Mayor Zhao Yiping Inspects the City's Martyrs' Cemetery Renovation Project ',' Mayor Zhao Yiping Inspects Some of the City's Practical Projects for the People ',' Mayor Zhao Yiping Inspects the Construction Progress of the Sea Bridge Project 'and so on.
Overnight, it was as if Hai City had become a strange situation where there was only a mayor but no secretary. Zhou Mingfang became unusually low-key, while Zhao Yiping's confident and calm face faintly revealed a complacent and proud smile. He had become the face of Hai City for the past few days.
The vegetable vendors on the street might not recognize the national leader, but there was no way they wouldn't know that the new mayor of Hai City was a middle-aged woman who was full of smiles, like the big sister next door.
After following Zhou Mingfang for the past few days, Chen Xing finally understood what it meant to listen to thunder in silence. Under the calm surface, there was a turbulent undercurrent surging. Zhou Mingfang was still as confident as ever, without a trace of abnormality. Occasionally, when he heard the high-profile actions of the Municipal Government, Zhou Mingfang always dismissed it with a faint smile. He didn't seem to care that Zhao Yiping's limelight had completely overshadowed his position as the secretary of the Municipal Party Committee.
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