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

This……

Li Qiang and Su Jie were both stunned for a moment.

Although the gift Li Qiang gave wasn't worth much money, it was still worth two hundred yuan.

Xu Hansheng refused to accept it, so why is he angry?

"This... Section Chief Xu, look, I've brought it all..."

Before Li Qiang could finish speaking, Xu Hansheng coldly interrupted, "Director Li, please leave my house immediately!"

Seeing Xu Hansheng's sudden change of expression, Li Xiuru also darkened her face and said, "Little Li, you should go back first. Besides, the family doesn't lack anything."

"Hansheng still has work to do. Let's go, I'll see you off."

Without waiting for Li Qiang and Su Jie to explain, Li Xiuru forcibly led them down the stairs and escorted them to the door before turning back to the cashier.

Li Qiang and Su Jie stood awkwardly at the entrance of Hongyunlai for a long time, unable to understand why Xu Hansheng had suddenly turned against them this time, when he had accepted their invitation to dinner last time.

Just as the two of them stood there, stunned and unsure of what to do, Du Xinyang happened to pass by them.

"Oh, isn't this Sister Su and Director Li...?"

Du Xinyang turned his head and glanced at the two of them, giving them a casual greeting.

Li Qiang forced an awkward smile and nodded to Du Xinyang as a greeting.

Su Jie, however, felt no pressure whatsoever. She stepped forward and grabbed Du Xinyang, asking, "Little Du, where are you going?"

Du Xinyang smiled faintly and said, "Nothing much, just going to pay a visit to Section Chief Xu's house."

Su Jie glanced at Du Xinyang's empty hands and said, "You came to visit Section Chief Xu empty-handed?"

Du Xinyang smiled faintly and said, "Sister Su, Section Chief Xu's family owns a restaurant. There are many people around, and bringing gifts would be tantamount to telling the whole county that Section Chief Xu has accepted bribes."

After saying that, Du Xinyang glanced at the large and small packages in Su Jie and Li Qiang's hands, smiled faintly, and quickly walked into Hongyunlai.

Li Qiang, having been a section chief himself, instantly understood why Xu Hansheng had suddenly turned hostile. He then said to Su Jie, "See? I told you we didn't need to bring these things! Forget it, you take the things back, and I'll think of something else. See you at the entrance of Hongyunlai later."

After saying that, Li Qiang handed everything he was carrying to Su Jie and quickly walked towards the credit union.

Li Qiang understood some of the intricacies of gift-giving; he couldn't just focus on Xu Hansheng alone, as Xu Hansheng also had parents.

Even if we don't give it to his parents, doesn't he have other relatives?

Water droplets will eventually wear away stone; some things cannot be approached with too much stubbornness, but neither can they be abandoned without perseverance!

Seeing Li Qiang turn to leave, Su Jie became anxious and said to him, "Brother-in-law, who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for you?"

"How come in the end, everyone's taking the blame onto me!"

Li Qiang completely ignored Su Jie and ran into the credit union in a few steps.

Seeing this, Su Jie had no choice but to take the things home.

Before long, when Su Jie arrived at the entrance of Hongyunlai again, Li Qiang was already waiting there.

Seeing that Li Qiang's hands were empty, Su Jie frowned and said, "Are we really going in empty-handed like Du Xinyang?"

Li Qiang shook his head and said, "Of course not. Here's what we'll do: you come with me to Qingshan City, and we'll come back later."

After saying that, Li Qiang pulled Su Jie along and headed towards the bus station.

……

On the other side, Du Xinyang quickly walked up to the fourth floor and saw that Xu Hansheng was still playing games, so she stood quietly to the side.

Only after the game ended did Du Xinyang step forward with a forced smile and say to Xu Hansheng, "Section Chief Xu, I've found out what you asked me to inquire about."

"Director Zhang took leave on June 24th last year. It is said that she went to Qingshan City the next day and did not return for three or four days."

"However, I can't find out exactly where they went in Qingshan City, not even Section Chief Wang knows."

Xu Hansheng nodded, then glanced at the calendar. There were less than two weeks left until June 24th.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Hansheng smiled and said, "Okay, thank you for your hard work. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Stay and eat with us later."

Du Xinyang nodded repeatedly and said, "Since Section Chief Xu thinks so highly of me, then I will respectfully accept his offer."

After saying that, he followed Xu Hansheng down the stairs, found a small private room for four people, ordered a few more dishes, and the two chatted while eating.

"Section Chief Xu, may I ask you a question? I hope you will kindly enlighten me."

Du Xinyang, with a sincere expression, picked up his wine glass and said to Xu Hansheng.

Xu Hansheng also raised his glass, clinked it with Du Xinyang's, and said with a smile, "No need to be so polite. If there's anything I can help with, I'll do my best."

Du Xinyang tilted his head back and drank a large glass of wine before turning to Xu Hansheng and saying, "Section Chief Xu, I always feel that it's not very good for my career development in the Secretariat."

"The new section chief is very stressed, and Lao Shen is still eight to ten years away from retirement. To be honest, my family has advised me several times to use my connections to switch departments, but I'm not willing to give up. After all, I've been working in the secretariat for several years..."

"If I'm transferred to another department, I'll have to start from scratch. Whether I can get promoted is another matter entirely. And if things go wrong, all the money I spent on connections might just go down the drain..."

Xu Hansheng took a small sip of beer, put down his glass, smiled, and shook his head, saying, "If there's any department in the county government office that still has some potential, it's the secretariat."

Upon hearing this, Du Xinyang immediately perked up. While pouring Xu Hansheng a full glass of wine, he asked with a forced smile, "Section Chief Xu, what do you mean by that? I'm a bit slow, so I'll have to trouble you to give me a few pointers."

Xu Hansheng smiled calmly and said, "I'm saying the Secretariat is now the best secret room, not because it's the Secretariat."

This……

Du Xinyang became more and more confused as she listened, but her eyes cleared up considerably.

Xu Hansheng put down his chopsticks and said to Du Xinyang, "If this were Lishui County, the best department would be the Information Department before Lishui County became an industrial powerhouse."

Du Xinyang blinked a few times, then said thoughtfully, "What Section Chief Xu means is that our county's secretariat... and Lishui County's information department have similarities..."

"Business Opportunities!"

A sudden inspiration flashed through Du Xinyang's mind, and he looked abruptly at Xu Hansheng.

Xu Hansheng nodded slightly and said, "To be precise, in Lishui County, the Information Department is responsible for liaising with enterprises, but in our county, the Secretariat is in charge of this matter."

"But think about it again, how many of the current directors and deputy directors of the Lishui County Government Office didn't come from the Information Technology Department?"

"What were their responsibilities at the time?"

Du Xinyang frowned; he really didn't know!

All he knew was that the Information Technology Department was responsible for connecting businesses with Lishui County; otherwise, he was completely clueless.

Xu Hansheng looked at Du Xinyang, whose eyes were clear but whose brows were furrowed in a deep frown, and said with a faint smile, "Xinyang, if I put you in Xu He's position, could you do that job well?"