Nominal: My senior brothers are all big shots

The direct promotion from a district party secretary (at the level of a division chief) to a member of the municipal party committee and secretary of the discipline inspection commission of a sub-provincial city is not merely a promotion beyond one's rank, but an extremely rare personnel arrangement! The intention behind it is obvious—the party secretary of Jingzhou City is Li Dakang!

It is outrageous to appoint a cadre known for being stubborn, inflexible, and inflexible, who has a history of close cooperation with Li Dakang and was once suppressed by Zhao Lichun, as the secretary of the discipline inspection commission responsible for supervising the municipal party committee, especially the municipal party secretary!

This is by no means a simple promotion or compensation; it is a well-thought-out, even ruthless, political maneuver.

The smile on Li Dakang's face vanished completely, and his knuckles turned white from gripping the teacup so tightly.

The shock of the Hou Liangping incident had not yet been fully digested when Sha Ruijin so swiftly and so brazenly played his second card! And this card was even more difficult to defend against than Hou Liangping's swift attack.

Li Dakang could not openly oppose it. Opposing it would mean denying Yi Xuexi's abilities and the grievances he had suffered for twenty-five years, denying Sha Ruijin's strong advocacy of a personnel policy that would not let honest people suffer, and could even be interpreted as a defense of the wrong practices during Zhao Lichun's era or a cover-up for his own guilty conscience.

Sha Ruijin's move was a clever use of leverage, placing him on the moral and policy high ground and forcing him into a corner.

Those ten maps were irrefutable proof of Yi Xuexi's learning ability, that cup of wild tea was a bond of simple emotions, and Zhao Lichun's suppression was an undeniable historical injustice. All of this became the impeccable reasons that propelled Yi Xuexi to the position of Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Li Dakang felt an unprecedented pressure, not only from Sha Ruijin, but also from the various meaningful glances cast at him by the other Standing Committee members in the meeting room.

Sha Ruijin seemed oblivious to Li Dakang's sudden change in mood, or perhaps he simply didn't care. His gaze swept calmly over the other Standing Committee members. "What are your opinions on this proposal? Feel free to share."

The meeting room remained quiet. Tian Guofu spoke first, "I agree with Secretary Sha's proposal. Comrade Yi Xuexi's appointment as Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission demonstrates the Provincial Party Committee's determination to rectify personnel selection practices. Furthermore, his experience in various grassroots positions gives him a good understanding of the actual situation, which will play a positive role in strengthening the Party's work style and integrity in Jingzhou, especially in supervising the grassroots level."

Governor Liu Yandong pondered for a moment and slowly nodded, "Comrade Yi Xuexi's situation is indeed special, and his abilities are sufficient. I agree in principle to promote him exceptionally and set a positive example. However... the promotion is quite large, so the organizational procedures need to be strictly controlled, and we also need to do a good job of explaining and clarifying the situation to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings among other comrades."

Seeing this, none of the other standing committee members explicitly objected.

Sha Ruijin looked at Li Dakang, "Comrade Dakang, you are the Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, and my future direct partner. What's your opinion?"

Li Dakang knew that the overall situation was settled. "I fully support the decision of the Provincial Party Committee. Secretary Sha and the Standing Committee members have considered everything very thoroughly. Comrade Yi Xuexi is capable and principled. His appointment as Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection will definitely play a positive role in strengthening the leadership of Jingzhou City and enhancing the supervision of Party conduct and integrity. As the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, I will definitely fully support Comrade Yi Xuexi's work and cooperate with him to do a good job in Jingzhou."

Sha Ruijin nodded in satisfaction. "Good! Since everyone has no objections, let's settle this matter in principle. Please have the Organization Department initiate the investigation of Comrade Yi Xuexi as soon as possible according to procedures, formulate a formal proposal, and submit it to the next Standing Committee meeting for review and approval."

Sha Ruijin concluded, "What we're discussing today isn't just the promotion of a cadre, but a direction, a determination. We want to use these concrete examples to make it clear to all cadres in the province: In Handong, as long as you are selfless, hardworking, and principled, the organization will see your efforts and won't let you suffer! Those unhealthy tendencies must be resolutely stopped! Meeting adjourned!"

In a farmhouse restaurant in Jingzhou, Qi Tongwei pushed open the door to a private room, his face beaming with excitement. He didn't even bother with formalities, walking straight to the table, sitting down, picking up the tea Lin Feng had already poured for him, drinking it all in one gulp, and then putting the cup down.

"Have you heard? What's the most sought-after item in Handong's official circles lately—no, in the entire Handong high-end circle?"

Lin Feng leisurely poured himself more tea and asked, "What?"

"It's tea!" Qi Tongwei practically spat out those two words. "The tea that Mao Ya, Yi Xuexi's wife, grew herself in Lüzhou!"

Lin Feng paused slightly as he poured the tea. "Oh? The one Secretary Sha praised at the Standing Committee meeting?"

"It's more than just praise!" Qi Tongwei leaned forward, his voice even lower. "You didn't see that scene, nor did you feel the aftermath. Sha Ruijin had his secretary, Xiaobai, brew tea for all the Standing Committee members on the spot, personally praising its fragrant aroma, sweet aftertaste, and natural simplicity. He even said that if anyone was interested, they could patronize his business, guaranteeing it was absolutely genuine, with no middlemen. What does it mean for him to say that in a provincial Party Committee Standing Committee setting?"

Lin Feng put down the teapot, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "It means... the highest level of approval and endorsement. Especially around the sensitive time of promoting Yi Xuexi, this cup of tea is no longer just tea; it has become an extension of a certain... political attitude, or even a ticket to enter a certain circle."

"That's right!" Qi Tongwei slapped his thigh. "Everyone down below has gone crazy! Especially those officials at all levels who want to curry favor with Sha Ruijin or curry favor with the new provincial party secretary, and those business owners whose sense of smell is as sharp as a dog's! Mao Ya's house is now packed with people buying tea every day."

"What's even more outrageous is the price! This kind of tea, which would normally sell for a few hundred yuan per kilogram, has now been inflated to astronomical prices! I heard that on the black market, a small can, the kind that's half a kilogram, is already priced at fifty or eighty thousand yuan! And even then, you can't buy it at all! It's all pre-ordered by people with connections, or secretly circulated as top-tier gifts. It's said that some people, in order to get a little bit of authentic Mao Ya hand-fried tea, have even gone to great lengths to ask Yi Xuexi's distant relatives in Luzhou for help!"

Lin Feng listened quietly, the playful smile on his face gradually widening. "Heh... this is truly... unexpected, yet reasonable. Our Secretary Sha is particular about working methods and adept at conveying signals through details. I didn't expect that this time, while the signal was successfully transmitted, it seems... he's dug himself a hole, not too big, not too small."

"A trap?" Qi Tongwei's eyes lit up. "You mean..."

"Think about it," Lin Feng analyzed, "Sha Ruijin's original intention might have been to use a cup of coarse tea to demonstrate his closeness to the grassroots and his advocacy of simplicity, while also laying some emotional groundwork for promoting Yi Xuexi. But he underestimated the creativity and execution of those below him in figuring out their superiors' intentions and in flattering them. In their eyes, tea publicly praised and implied by the provincial party secretary as something that could be purchased was no longer ordinary tea, but a symbol of an extremely scarce political resource."

Lin Feng paused, "Now this tea has been driven to the sky, it's priceless and unavailable, becoming a luxury item and a special bribe. What does this mean? It means that a remark by Sha Ruijin, which might have been unintentional and somewhat humane, has, in the distorted ecology of officialdom, given rise to a deformed market, and may even have spawned new variations of the transfer of benefits. Today you can speculate on tea, tomorrow you can speculate on something else. Moreover, this tea is directly related to Yi Xuexi and his family."

Qi Tongwei immediately understood, "If this matter blows up and gets exposed... the tea that Sha Ruijin so strongly promoted has become a medium for corruption, and the 'simple and honest' example he set up has become a joke... This would be a heavy blow to his personal image and credibility!"