Name: My father is Zhao Dehan, and I hope he will become a dragon!

The third unit of the four-story tenement building still smelled of the sour aroma of stewed cabbage from the neighbor's house wafting through the hallway.

Zhao Chongming knocked on the door.

The door opened.

Zhao Dehan was wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, old cotton slippers, and a half-smoked cigarette in his hand.

The main lights weren't on inside, and Zhao Dehan was still eating his classic fried noodles with soybean paste.

"You're here?" Zhao Dehan stepped aside to let him in, casually stubbing out his cigarette in the enamel mug. "Want some noodles with soybean paste? There's some in the pot, help yourself."

Zhao Chongming casually replied, "No need, I've had a full dinner. What time is it?"

Zhao Chongming pulled out a chair and sat down, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to his father.

Zhao Dehan swallowed the noodles with soybean paste, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and then exhaled a smoke ring.

While puffing on his cigarette, Zhao Chongming casually asked, "You knew about Ding Yizhen's matter all along?"

"Know."

Zhao Dehan's voice was flat: "Back when he was approving the mines, I knew that over the years, he'd given me quite a few gifts..."

Meeting Zhao Chongming's gaze, Zhao Dehan coughed awkwardly a few times and said, "Of course, I didn't accept anything, but I am aware of some of the irregularities!"

"And now?" Zhao Chongming asked.

"Now, that's even more troublesome."

Zhao Dehan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Guess who sat in my old seat at the National Development and Reform Commission meeting this afternoon?"

Zhao Chongming didn't answer, he just looked at him.

"Deputy Director Wang," Zhao Dehan sneered, "forty years old, a PhD, and now he wants to take over my power!"

Zhao Chongming narrowed his eyes slightly: "What does this mean?"

"What else could it mean!"

Zhao Dehan stubbed out his cigarette and continued, "Today, the leader came to talk to me. The meaning was very simple: he wanted to ask me if I wanted to go to a local area for some experience, especially in Handong. I think the implication is that I should go to Handong to fill Ding Yizhen's vacancy as the deputy mayor, in charge of urban construction and land resources."

Zhao Chongming raised an eyebrow: "You don't want to go?"

"In no mood."

Zhao Dehan slammed the jar on the table, splashing water. "I was in charge of the purse strings in the ministry; a single signature could shut down a project worth billions. Department-level officials would offer me cigarettes, and vice-ministerial officials would call me 'brother.' Went to Handong?"

Zhao Chongming remained silent.

Dad is right.

The father's position is one where the official rank is low but the power is high.

It's something many people would beg for but can't have.

"I know about the situation in Handong. They just parachuted in Sha Ruijin. As a deputy mayor, I'm caught between Gao Yuliang and Li Dakang. What right do I have? Ding Yizhen used to have to be at my office door half an hour early to see me. Now, they want me to take Ding Yizhen's place? I'll...!"

Zhao Dehan stared at Zhao Chongming: "Tell me, is this a promotion? Or a reduction of power? And if I'm not mistaken, that bastard Ding Yizhen definitely planted a lot of landmines!"

Zhao Chongming stroked his chin and began to ponder as well.

Ding Yizhen did indeed plant quite a few landmines.

One is Dafeng Factory, and the other is land in Guangming District, which has been sold for an unknown amount.

This made Sun Liancheng, who was behind him, extremely uncomfortable.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Chongming said, "Dad, I actually think you should go to Handong Province instead!"

Zhao Dehan narrowed his eyes: "Oh?"

"Your current position is that of a 'goalkeeper,'" Zhao Chongming said, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "You're guarding the central government's purse strings and the entrances to projects. But even if you guard it for another ten years, you still won't be able to secure your own territory."

He paused, his gaze intense: "But Handong is different. You can take a different route, you have your own territory, your own trusted men. You should go!!"

Zhao Dehan didn't say anything, but picked up the enamel mug and gulped down a big mouthful of cold tea, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

He put down the jar and stared at his son: "Go on. How should we go?"

Zhao Chongming stubbed out his cigarette on the rim of the jar, the ash falling softly: "Dad, your position looks prestigious now, but actually... it's a powder keg."

Zhao Dehan's eyelids twitched: "Oh?"

"Think about it—" Zhao Chongming took a sip of tea: "A division-level cadre, in charge of approving billions of yuan in funds and managing the entry points for thousands of projects, receives cigarettes from department-level officials and is treated like a brother by vice-ministerial-level officials... But do you have any powerful backers?"

Zhao Dehan remained silent.

"no."

Zhao Chongming answered for him: "You're a hard-working ox, not anyone's protégé. The better you do, the more envious people will be. Deputy Director Wang is a forty-year-old PhD; who's behind him? The director of the National Development and Reform Commission? Or that person in the Ministry of Finance? Do you think they want to cut off this lucrative piece of meat and share it with their own people?"

Zhao Dehan remained silent.

My position is too lucrative, and countless people above and below me are eyeing it with venomous intent.

"So!" Zhao Chongming shrugged. "It's not that you don't want to leave, it's that you're afraid you won't come back. But Dad—"

Zhao Chongming spread his hands, saying helplessly, "Do you really think they'll let you keep working here if you don't leave?"

Zhao Dehan sighed, "From what you're saying, I can't continue like this!"

"More than that!" Zhao Chongming shrugged. "I saw on the news the other day that the country is emphasizing the development of a young cadre team. You're forty-seven this year, long past your prime. Look at today's meeting, even Deputy Director Wang is sitting in your seat. Isn't that obvious?"

Zhao Dehan remained silent, but he was still somewhat unwilling.

"Deputy Director Wang is younger than you!"

Zhao Chongming said, "They're not here to steal your position; they're here to 'arrange a way out' for you—first, transfer you to Handong, then let Deputy Director Wang take over. It's dignified, safe, and everyone's happy. Besides, isn't this arranging a deputy director-general position for you? That's a position with real power. At this point, you should retire gracefully!"

Zhao Dehan finally spoke: "Then... is Handong really better than here?"

"Ten times better." Zhao Chongming said decisively. "First, you'll be the vice mayor, a real position, in charge of urban construction and land management—with Ding Yizhen gone, no one dares to touch the mess in Guangming District, which is your perfect opportunity to make a name for yourself."

"Secondly, you're not going there alone. You're bringing with you the credit of the central government! Special bond quotas! Land consolidation funds! These are things that everyone in Handong would beg for. So what if you're a lone commander? I think people will still come to rely on you."

He paused, his gaze intense: "Third, and most importantly—you can't be an ordinary deputy mayor. You need to pull some strings."

"Operate?" Zhao Dehan frowned. "How does it operate?"

"Talk to your supervisor."

Zhao Chongming looked directly at his father and said, "The situation in Handong is complicated. Ding Yizhen has made a huge mess, and a single vice mayor cannot handle it. You are willing to go, but I hope you will be given the rank of executive vice mayor and become a member of the municipal party committee standing committee, in charge of urban construction, land and finance. Only in this way can you have real power to stabilize the situation and help the provincial party committee cover the bottom line."

Zhao Dehan's pupils contracted: "Executive Deputy? Department-level?"

"right."

Zhao Chongming nodded. "You're currently a division chief, but your actual power far exceeds that of a deputy director-general. This adjustment only puts you at the deputy director-general level, but I think that's still not enough. A direct leap to executive vice mayor, starting directly at the bureau-level, is better. Since you're leaving, you should leave gracefully. Then you need to secure the greatest benefit for yourself. If they want you to leave, they should offer you more benefits!"

Zhao Dehan didn't speak, but his breathing became noticeably heavier.

Zhao Chongming pressed on: "There's a fourth point—you can leave, but you can't sever ties. Your old colleagues in the ministry, the directors you've worked with, even the developers whose projects you've blocked... Before you leave, you have to treat them to dinner one by one, not to talk about work, but to chat about everyday things, and tell them: I've taken root in Handong, and I'll need your help to get projects off the ground in the future."

He smiled and said, "You're no longer signing documents in the ministry, but that's alright. These connections are still there. We'll still give you money and women as needed. I'll manage these connections for you. So what if you're not here? As long as the goals are achieved, that's all that matters!"