Right path to power

Around six o'clock, the car finally entered the territory of Fengdu, the provincial capital. Guo Yuanzheng told the driver to go directly to the Shengli Hotel, which was closer to the provincial party committee and government.

After arriving at the private room that had been reserved in advance, Wang Yuanze checked the time and turned to Guo Yuanzheng, saying, "Yuanzheng, why don't you and Xiao Hou find another private room for dinner later? Stay here tonight and go to the provincial hall tomorrow morning."

Guo Yuanzheng paused for a few seconds, his face flushed slightly, and bowed, saying, "Yes, Secretary Wang."

After turning around, Guo Yuanzheng's face immediately darkened, overwhelmed by a jumble of emotions including frustration, grievance, and worry.

He was a proper secretary to the Party Secretary, and accompanying the leader to provide services was not only his duty, but also an excellent opportunity to broaden his horizons and build connections. Now that Wang Yuanze has dismissed him, is it because he is dissatisfied with him?

Guo Yuanzheng couldn't help but feel more doubtful and worried.

In fact, Wang Yuanze believed that the evening's gathering was both public and private, with the latter being more private. Moreover, having Lin Xiao on-site to provide services was sufficient.

About fifteen minutes later, Wang Yuanze's phone rang. Upon seeing the caller ID, a look of joy appeared on his face, and he stood up and said, "Okay, I'll come downstairs to answer it right away."

After saying that, Wang Yuanze walked straight out the door, and Lin Xiao followed behind.

The two waited at the hotel entrance. A few minutes later, a black Audi drove up and parked steadily on the hotel porch.

Wang Yuanze stepped forward, went to the back door, opened it, and said with a big smile, "Welcome, Governor Liang. You've had a long journey."

Liang Weiwang, beaming, reached out and shook hands with Wang Yuanze, saying, "Yuanze, I've kept you waiting. No need to be so polite, or it will feel awkward."

At this moment, Lin Xiao stepped forward and smiled, "Teacher...Governor Liang...hello!"

"Lin Xiao, it'll be more friendly if you call me 'teacher'." Liang Weiwang patted Lin Xiao's shoulder with a smile, then continued, "Hmm, overall not bad, you look quite energetic."

Afterwards, Wang Yuanze shook hands with Cao Xuedong, the deputy secretary-general of the provincial government who accompanied him, and exchanged a few brief pleasantries. He also nodded slightly to Xia Shengwen, the secretary who got out of the passenger seat.

After exchanging greetings, the group entered the hotel and went to a private room.

Soon, all the food and drinks were served. Lin Xiao took the initiative to act as a waiter, first pouring a glass of wine for his teacher Liang Weiwang, then Cao Xuedong, then Wang Yuanze, then Xia Shengwen, and finally himself.

After Lin Xiao was seated, Liang Weiwang introduced Lin Xiao to Cao Xuedong with a smile: "Lin Xiao is my student. Young people have many ideas, broad vision, and active thinking. He is currently the deputy director of the county government office in Fengshan County. I heard that several major events have recently achieved good results under his promotion."

Upon hearing this, Cao Xuedong's expression immediately became friendly, and he smiled as he looked at Lin Xiao, saying, "So you're the governor's prized student. I thought this spirited young man was Secretary Wang's secretary."

"The grassroots level is indeed a great place to train people. You can learn a lot of new things. As long as you combine theoretical knowledge with practice, you'll grow quickly. Xiaolin, you have to work hard! Don't let your teacher down. Let's exchange contact information later and keep in touch."

Liang Weiwang's special introduction just now fully demonstrates that he is very satisfied with this student. As the deputy secretary-general in charge of the corresponding service, he naturally attaches great importance to this student.

Lin Xiao glanced at his teacher, then at his senior apprentice. With the tacit approval of these two leaders and elders, he quickly stood up, took out his phone, and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your encouragement, Secretary-General Cao. I will definitely work hard and seek your advice more often when I have the opportunity..."

After exchanging contact information, Lin Xiao returned to her seat, and Xia Shengwen, who was sitting next to her, took out his phone and asked for her phone number.

He is Liang Weiwang's full-time secretary. Normally, he should be at least a third-level researcher, a mainstream position. However, he is currently only a section chief in the Eighth Secretariat of the Provincial Government Office. Whether he can be promoted to deputy director level depends on whether his work is recognized by Liang Weiwang.

Seeing that Lin Xiao and Xia Shengwen had exchanged contact information, Liang Weiwang said again, "Okay, we're all family here, let's communicate and exchange ideas more often in the future. Come on, let's all raise a glass."

The group chatted and drank, creating a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere.

Lin Xiao toasted everyone while also acting as a waiter, serving tea, wine, and handing out tissues.

Liang Weiwang called him to his side and asked, "Lin Xiao, how are the ideas and approaches you proposed during your time in the village being implemented?"

Lin Xiao paused for a moment before reporting, "Teacher, Secretary Wang went to Songmao Village for research and investigation. The county has approved the pilot program for building a new type of village in Songmao Village, and I am in charge of leading its implementation. Currently, the village is promoting infrastructure construction, but there are considerable difficulties in attracting investment. This time, I came to the provincial capital to see if I could find one or two Chinese medicinal herb companies that are interested in investing..."

After listening to Lin Xiao's explanation, Liang Weiwang smiled and then turned to Xia Shengwen, saying, "The State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine should have information on this. Xia, could you call Lao Jiang tomorrow and ask Lin Xiao to go and consult with him? Rural development is indeed not easy, and attracting investment is certainly challenging. We should provide more support. Moreover, the experience gained from the Songmao Village pilot project is worth learning from for other places."

According to the division of responsibilities, Liang Weiwang is in charge of civil affairs, health, medical insurance, market supervision, drug regulation, sports, etc.

Therefore, for Lin Xiao, the solution that he might not be able to find even after racking his brains might be solved with a single phone call from the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Lin Xiao was overjoyed and quickly bowed to express his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, teacher. In this way, the biggest problem in the development of Songmao Village can be effectively solved. Here, I would like to thank you on behalf of the villagers of Songmao Village."

Liang Weiwang nodded, tapped the table lightly, and said seriously, "As long as it's for the sake of the work and the people, I don't mind giving you a back door. But there's one thing I have to say first: you can't use my name to pressure businesses. Business is business, after all. Only when businesses can make a profit can the business last and truly help the people."

Often, our initial intentions and ideas are good, but problems easily arise during implementation, resulting in well-intentioned but misguided efforts. Your visits to every household during your time in the village to understand their situations and promote new development ideas and concepts are excellent working methods. Grassroots work requires this approach—patience and meticulousness. Only by gaining the people's approval can our beautiful vision truly be realized.

Liang Weiwang's words served two purposes: firstly, to remind everyone present, and secondly, to openly acknowledge and praise Lin Xiao, even subtly implying that Lin Xiao should maintain communication with him at any time.

Cao Xuedong, standing to the side, couldn't help but glance once more at Lin Xiao, who remained calm and composed. A sense of admiration welled up within him, and he thought to himself: "The leader clearly values ​​this protégé highly. He even remembers the details of her daily work so clearly. It seems he's intentionally trying to cultivate her."

As a deputy secretary-general of the provincial government office, Cao Xuedong is currently only at the deputy director-general level. He just turned forty this year, which is the prime of his life. His career plan is to be promoted to director-general level as soon as possible, then find an opportunity to go to the local area to become the top leader of a prefecture-level city, and then plan for the next step.

All of this is predicated on first serving the vice governor who is in charge of providing services.

More importantly, as a scholar-type vice governor, Liang Weiwang is not yet fifty years old, and it is said that he has already made a name for himself among the upper echelons of Beicheng, so his potential for advancement is self-evident.

In other words, as long as we follow Teacher Liang's lead, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the future is certainly promising.

Therefore, people or things that leaders care about and value should naturally attract their attention and importance.

At this moment, Xia Shengwen, who was the official secretary, couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. However, after a brief emotional fluctuation, he quietly thought to himself, "Lin Xiao is quite something. He has gained the trust and attention of the leaders so much. It seems that I should try to build a good relationship with him."

Wang Yuanze took a small sip of wine and watched the whole scene unfold. He was very pleased. It seemed that bringing Lin Xiao along was the right thing to do. His senior brother truly treated him, his last disciple, with great care. He figured that the better he used Lin Xiao, the closer he would get to his senior brother.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and lively conversation, everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, discussing both work and personal matters—a truly multifaceted experience.

Liang Weiwang called Lin Xiao to a tea table and said, "Lin Xiao, I was planning to have Liang Pan go with you to the grassroots level during the summer vacation to broaden your horizons. That kid has never experienced any hardship since he was a child. After studying abroad for a few years, he only thinks that foreign countries are better and doesn't know his own limitations. I wonder if it would be convenient for you?"

Liang Pan is Liang Weiwang's son, only a few years younger than Lin Xiao. He has excellent grades and received an admission letter from a well-known foreign university. Originally, Liang Weiwang did not agree to let him study abroad, but he could not persuade him otherwise and had to agree.

When Lin Xiao was still in college, he met his teacher at his home a few times and the two had some conversations. Lin Xiao felt that his teacher was a very thoughtful young man, but at the same time, Lin Xiao also felt that his "independent spirit" might conflict with the thinking of his teacher, Liang Weiwang.

"Teacher, it's very convenient for me. You can just have Xiao Pan call me whenever you want. But I think Xiao Pan has his own ideas, and I think we should support him. He's still so young and has excellent grades. It's not a bad thing for him to go out and see the world," Lin Xiao said with a smile.

"It's good that he has his own ideas, but he always compares the wonderful things he's seen abroad with the actual situation here, which is a bit unrealistic. So, I want you to take him to experience life at the grassroots level. I only have one request: don't spoil him."

"Okay, teacher, I understand."

The others continued with their own business, but occasionally glanced over in their direction.

"It seems Lin Xiao has a rather unusual relationship with the leadership..."

"Senior brother is grooming Lin Xiao as a key talent..."

"We definitely need to cultivate a good relationship with him..."

The others were secretly surprised. Before they could fully recover, Liang Weiwang stood up and said, "Too much of a good thing is bad. I think we should call it a night and everyone should go back and rest early."

With the leader's words, the dinner party tonight is now over.

After everyone went downstairs, the Audi was already waiting downstairs.