In officialdom: After she left, I rose rapidly through the ranks!

Rake upside down.

What was clearly bribery has now been turned into Chen Jingcheng soliciting bribes, and what's more, he's demanding huge bribes.

Chen Jingcheng smiled.

They really will stop at nothing!

It's only the first day, is there any need to be in such a hurry?

Instead of looking at Yang Gui, Chen Jingcheng looked at Secretary Han, the Party Secretary of Xiaoshiqiao Town.

"Secretary Han, do you think so too?"

Upon hearing this, Secretary Han hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "Director Chen, of course I want to believe in your character."

"However, the photos have already been taken, and this file folder is in your hands. The money is all inside the file folder."

"You know, I don't know the specifics either, I can only tell you what I saw."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingcheng nodded, then smiled and said, "Good, really good. Although I knew someone would try to trip me up with schemes, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

"Now it seems I have no way to defend myself. Whether it was bribery or extortion, the blame has been placed on me."

"I just want to ask you one question: are you targeting me, or Li Feitu, County Chief Li?"

"Secretary Han, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Are you sure that tripping me up will implicate County Chief Li? Have you not considered that even if you bring me down, at most it will just be because County Chief Li misjudged people and made a mistake in hiring him, and it won't have much impact on him?"

"But you should be well aware of the current situation in Linchuan County. So, Secretary Han, are you sure you want to target County Chief Li like this?"

Upon hearing this, Secretary Han's expression turned grim.

According to his original idea, and of course, the idea devised by the person behind him, he didn't hesitate and directly exposed the evidence. Then, since he was in charge in Yangshulin Village and everyone was on the same side, how could so many mouths not be able to out-argue Chen Jingcheng?

Besides, the photos have already been taken, and Chen Jingcheng is indeed holding the file folder. So, what about the money? Their word is the final word; Chen Jingcheng's word has no weight whatsoever!

When Chen Jingcheng steps down, Li Feitu will lose face, and his newly established prestige will be completely wiped out, or at least he will be humiliated. That would be a great achievement for him.

The problem now is that what Chen Jingcheng said doesn't seem to make any mistakes.

Chen Jingcheng has stepped down, but Li Feitu is still in office, even if he looks disheveled, he is still the county magistrate!

In the same Standing Committee meeting, unexpectedly, County Chief Li nearly challenged Secretary Zhao.

Having offended Li Feitu, and so blatantly so, through a conspiracy and framing, how could Li Feitu let him off?

At that time, will Secretary Zhao really be able to protect Li Feitu from his raging anger?

No, not possible!

It's not a question of whether it can be saved or not, but rather, that they don't know how to save it!

At this moment, Secretary Han felt a bit of a toothache and regret. How could he have come up with such an idea that left him in such a predicament? Now, he had put himself in a difficult position.

Taking a deep breath, Secretary Han looked at Chen Jingcheng and came up with an even better idea.

Destroying Chen Jingcheng would be a good blow to Li Feitu's prestige, but wouldn't it be even better if Chen Jingcheng could be persuaded to switch sides?

Moreover, by then, he would have rendered meritorious service to Secretary Zhao, and Li Feitu's hatred would only be directed at Chen Jingcheng, not him.

That's killing two birds with one stone.

Having figured this out, Secretary Han no longer hesitated and said directly, "Director Chen, why did things have to come to this point between us?"

"Whether it's bribery or extortion is not important; it all depends on how we put it."

"If we're friends, then we can just pretend this never happened."

At this point, Secretary Han pointed to the file folder in Chen Jingcheng's arms and said with a smile, "Keep the money. It's only natural for friends to have a little bit of business dealings. We're all in the same web, you're in me and I'm in you. I'm not afraid that my brothers and friends will make money, I'm just afraid that they won't make enough."

"So, Director Chen, Brother Jingcheng, would you be willing to be friends with us?"

Secretary Han patted Chen Jingcheng's arm with a big smile.

"This friendship isn't just between me or Village Chief Yang; it also includes other leaders in the county, even Director Sun of the County Party Committee Office, Deputy Secretary Wang of the County Party Committee, and even Secretary Zhao of the County Party Committee!"

"Brother Jingcheng, if we are friends, then it's all a matter between friends."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingcheng burst out laughing.

It seems that his words just now made Secretary Han realize that even if he were punished, he might not benefit much.

Therefore, he wanted to win me over, to make me switch sides and betray Li Feitu, so that he would be given an important position by Secretary Zhao, while I would absorb Li Feitu's hatred—a win-win situation.

However, Secretary Han's thinking was too simplistic.

"Heh, Secretary Han, are you trying to get me to betray County Chief Li?"

"Aren't you afraid that County Chief Li will find out?"

Secretary Han laughed heartily and shook his head, saying, "Brother, that's why I said you're still too young. How can this be called betrayal? This is called, 'Discretion is the better part of valor!'"

"Brother, listen to my advice. You're still young. I know you have ideals and ambitions, and I know you're grateful to County Magistrate Li Feitu for recognizing your talent. But, to put it bluntly, even if Li Feitu manages to get a few votes at the Standing Committee meeting, so what?"

"This is still Linchuan County, and this is still where Secretary Zhao calls the shots!"

"Not holding a grudge against Li Feitu shows Secretary Zhao's magnanimity, but once Secretary Zhao starts to take it to heart, do you think Li Feitu will be a match for him?"

"Heh, believe me, the one who will ultimately step down in disgrace will only be County Chief Li!"

"What will you do then?"

"Brother Jingcheng, do you know what's most important in being a good person?"

"Especially in officialdom, there's only one thing: choosing sides!"

"Only by choosing the right side can you go far and travel safely."

"If you choose the wrong side, you're doomed."

After saying this, Secretary Han pointed at Yang Gui and laughed, "Actually, even if none of this had happened today, do you really think you could touch Village Chief Yang Gui?"

"Do you know who his brother is?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingcheng sneered, "I don't know, but he must be a pretty big shot in the city. After all, to be able to suppress so many reports, he must be someone extraordinary."

Upon hearing this, Yang Gui not only did not feel ashamed, but instead raised his head with an arrogant expression.

Secretary Han said with a smile, "You're right. Village Chief Yang Gui's elder brother is indeed a high-ranking official in the city. Even Secretary Zhao has to give him some face, not to mention County Chief Li."

"Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, at the level of a full-fledged division chief!"

"The key point is, these are leaders from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection!"

"So, Brother Jingcheng, you know what I mean, right?"

"You should know better than anyone that if you really have a falling out with Village Chief Yang Gui today, then even County Chief Li would absolutely not dare to do anything to Brother Yang Gui."

"Because he had to give face to Yang Gui's elder brother!"

"Now, do you understand?"

"Now, do you know what to do?"