Family connections: From special recruitment by the county committee to the pinnacle of power

Xu Hansheng exchanged a few more pleasantries with Li Wenbin before hanging up the phone.

Lin Mingyuan, who was standing next to Xu Hansheng, glanced at him and said with a smile, "Wow, Section Chief Xu has really a wide network of connections. Even Director Li from the Federation of Industry and Commerce has to call Section Chief Xu to report on his work."

"There's one thing, though. This 'setting an alarm to answer the phone' scenario—isn't that something people do when they skip out on the bill after a meal?"

As soon as he said that, Jiang Tao, Gu Yuan, and Zhao Dongxu covered their mouths, almost bursting out laughing.

What is Li Wenbin's identity?

Why would someone take the initiative to call Xu Hansheng, a deputy section chief, and chat for so long?

Even less likely!

Wang Yu and Chen Ling also looked at Xu Hansheng with complicated expressions. Although they were also suspicious, they did not say it directly like Lin Mingyuan.

Xu Hansheng merely glanced at Lin Mingyuan, smiled without saying a word, sat back down in his seat, and sent a text message to Li Xiuru, asking her to arrange a private room. Only then did he leisurely begin packing his things.

Just after five o'clock, Xu Hansheng picked up his briefcase and walked out of the office.

Only after Xu Hansheng had walked away did Chen Ling say to Lin Mingyuan, "Brother Mingyuan, what you said about Section Chief Xu just now was too much. Whether it's true or not, you shouldn't have said it in front of so many people."

Hearing this, Lin Mingyuan sneered and said, "My dad is very familiar with Director Li. Who is Director Li? He's Secretary Qi's trump card in the business world! Would someone call a mere section chief like him? A deputy section chief at that. It's laughable. Isn't he just trying to intimidate us by using our connections and influence? Who are they trying to scare?"

After Lin Mingyuan finished speaking, he picked up his briefcase and left the office.

The others exchanged glances but didn't say anything more.

Everyone knew that Lin Mingyuan was furious.

Just this morning, he said that his father had already spoken to Fu Changqing, and that he would be able to take over from Deputy Section Chief Xu in three days at most.

As a result, before a day had even passed, Xu Hansheng arrived and took over the position of deputy section chief.

This isn't the way to slap someone in the face, is it?

When Tan Zhifei revealed that Xu Hansheng was there to serve as deputy section chief, Lin Mingyuan wanted to disappear into the ground.

Therefore, Lin Mingyuan spent the entire afternoon mocking Xu Hansheng, trying to salvage some face in this way.

……

Meanwhile, back at Hongyunlai, Xu Hansheng sent a message to Li Wenbin, giving him the number of the private room.

About twenty minutes later, Li Wenbin walked into the private room with a smile.

"Director Li, please have a seat."

Xu Hansheng hurriedly led Li Wenbin to sit down in the main seat.

Although he only oversees the Federation of Industry and Commerce, he is Secretary Qi's trump card in the economic field.

The Federation of Industry and Commerce has the right to propose rational development suggestions. Furthermore, the Federation organizes meetings with local private entrepreneurs to discuss which projects are feasible and which are not.

That's why Lin Hanlong's position is so awkward.

Nominally, Lin Hanlong, the county head, is in charge of economic work, but the Federation of Industry and Commerce is directly under the leadership of the Party Secretary. Among the members of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee, apart from one executive deputy county head, they are all people from the Party Committee Office and the Party Secretary's side.

It can be said that once Lin Hanlong is targeted by Qi Hongchang, he will face great difficulties.

This is also a major reason why the County Party Committee Office and the County Government Office are both separate offices, but their influence and power are vastly different.

"Xiao Xu, there's really no need to spend so much money. We can just find any restaurant. The main thing is to discuss work."

After Li Wenbin sat down, he said with a smile.

As Xu Hansheng stood up and poured tea for Li Wenbin, he said to Li Wenbin, "Director Li, this is actually my family's restaurant. We're just having a simple home-cooked meal at home. It's nothing extravagant."

Upon hearing this, Li Wenbin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "Young comrade, you are very thoughtful."

Since they were eating at home, there was no issue of standards for accepting invitations, nor any question of violating regulations. Clearly, Xu Hansheng's words reassured Li Wenbin.

Only when the leader feels at ease can one eat well.

Xu Hansheng took the menu and handed it directly to Li Wenbin, saying, "Director Li, I really don't know what to eat. Could you please suggest something?"

After taking the menu, Li Wenbin ordered a few home-style dishes and one of their signature dishes as well. Then he said, "That's all. Too much would be a waste. Even when eating at home, we should still be mindful of frugality."

Xu Hansheng took the menu and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Director Li is right. I really need to learn from Director Li and improve myself in the future."

After saying that, Xu Hansheng instructed the kitchen to prepare the meal.

Before long, after the food and drinks were served, Xu Hansheng took the proposal he had written that afternoon out of his briefcase and handed it to Li Wenbin, saying, "Director Li, this is a proposal that I spent the whole afternoon writing. It's very immature. Please take a look and give me some pointers."

Li Wenbin put down his chopsticks, took the report handed to him by Xu Hansheng, and carefully read through it.

It must be said that Xu Hansheng's proposal was not only very meticulous, but also very clear in its structure. It could be submitted directly to the Federation of Industry and Commerce for discussion without needing to change a single word.

"Wow, Xiao Xu, this proposal you wrote is really well done!"

Li Wenbin gave a heartfelt exclamation of praise.

"Not at all, it was only because I listened to the suggestions from Secretary Qi and Director Li during the on-site inspection this afternoon that I was able to write this. Otherwise, with my limited vision and perspective, how could I possibly have written any proposal?"

As Xu Hansheng spoke, he poured Li Wenbin a glass of wine and said, "Director Li, here, let me toast you."

Li Wenbin then put down the proposal, raised his glass, and said, "Cheers!"

Soon, after finishing a case of beer, Li Wenbin was also a little drunk. Xu Hansheng helped Li Wenbin up and, while packing Li Wenbin's briefcase, put the proposal he had written directly into Li Wenbin's briefcase.

If Li Wenbin adopts it, Xu Hansheng can simply copy it verbatim. If he doesn't, Xu Hansheng can say that he was drunk at the time, his eyes were blurry, and he didn't pay attention when packing his things, so he just put his own proposal in as well.

As Li Wenbin rode home in Xu Hansheng's Audi A4, he drank hot water while recalling Xu Hansheng's proposal.

It must be said that even he liked Hsu Han-sheng's proposal, but after all, he was the director of the Federation of Industry and Commerce, so he couldn't just ask Hsu Han-sheng to copy it for him, could he?

That would be too low-class!

After drinking half a cup of hot water, Li Wenbin sobered up a bit and then tried to quickly come up with a similar plan based on his memory.

As soon as he opened the briefcase, Xu Hansheng's proposal appeared before him.

Upon seeing the proposal, Li Wenbin was initially taken aback. After a full two seconds, a smile appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself, "Interesting!"