In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong!

Zhao Donglai's face was rather gloomy as he stepped out the door.

He gained a deeper understanding of Li Dakang.

It's a typical situation where you have to do the work yourself but don't get any benefits.

Originally, Zhao Donglai's purpose in visiting was not for the position of Director of the Public Security Bureau, but rather to use the position as an excuse to get Li Dakang to give him a position as a deputy mayor. Zhao Donglai would be satisfied with being promoted to the rank of director-general.

However, Li Dakang's attitude made Zhao Donglai choose to keep quiet. Wouldn't the result be the same if he brought it up?

Thursday was the day Chen Yanshi was discharged from the hospital.

Chen Yanshi, who had been staying at the First People's Hospital of Jingzhou City for nearly ten days, was finally ready to be discharged. After all, he had just escaped death. Chen Yanshi silently told himself that he must remain calm and composed in the future when encountering problems.

Chen Hai and Wang Fuzhen came to pick him up from the hospital.

Of course, there was another person Chen Yanshi didn't want to see: Huang Weimin!

The moment Chen Yanshi saw Huang Weimin, all the mental preparation he had made vanished completely.

His gaze was fixed on Huang Weimin and Wang Fuzhen. At first, he only suspected that the two had a relationship, but recently Wang Fuzhen's attitude towards him had become increasingly cold, especially the slap Wang Fuzhen gave him that night, which Chen Yanshi could not forget.

"What are you doing here! You're not welcome in our home!"

Huang Weimin wasn't angry at Chen Yanshi's stubborn look. He was already over eighty years old; who knew how many more years he could live?

His children all work in Beijing, and he doesn't want to trouble them by going to Beijing. Isn't it nice to stay in Handong, chat occasionally with his childhood friend Wang Fuzhen, and play chess with some retired cadres?

"Old Chen, you're still as stubborn as ever. Let me tell you, the doctor said that if you have another cerebral hemorrhage, even a miracle won't save you. We're both old, and it's not worth it to be so hot-tempered."

Besides, I'm here to support Fu-zhen. Just pretend I don't exist.

Chen Yanshi felt his blood pressure rising. After letting out a long sigh, he turned his head away from Huang Weimin.

Let them come; just pretend they don't exist.

After being discharged from the hospital and getting into the car, Huang Weimin began to talk at length.

"Old Chen, a lot of big things have happened in Handong while you were in the hospital. Qi Tongwei from the Provincial Public Security Bureau was attacked by terrorists during a drug bust in Dongshan and is still in the intensive care unit. I heard he was shot three times!"

I thought Qi Tongwei was a good match for your Yangyang back then, but you, being an old stubborn person, disliked his rural background and that's why you broke up the relationship.

"Regret it now, huh?"

"Hmph! What do you know! If Qi Tongwei hadn't become Liang Qunfeng's son-in-law, would he have risen to his current position as the Director of the Public Security Bureau? I did the right thing by making Yangyang break up with him!"

"Tsk, you stubborn old mule, you think you're so great? You brag every day about carrying explosive packs on the battlefield. You were only a teenager back then, how could you possibly be a genius?"

Heroes and cowards are only revealed on the battlefield!

Qi Tongwei survived being shot six times and braving mountains of knives and seas of fire. No matter what you think, he deserves the title of hero. As for you... calling you "old comrade" is enough, hahahahahaha..."

"Alright, alright, Dad, Uncle Huang, you two stop arguing. Uncle Huang has some truth to what he said. Dad, after this, don't worry about anything else. Just rest and recuperate, plant some flowers, play with the birds, play chess, and drink some tea. That's the kind of life you should be living."

Hearing that even his son was siding with outsiders, Chen Yanshi couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "Forget it, my flowers and birds were all taken away by the anti-corruption bureau, what chance do I have left?"

Chen Hai's lips twitched.

"Oh, Dad, these are all small things. I'll buy you some later, that'll be fine."

"Buy? Does your money grow on trees? With your meager monthly salary, and having to support your son's education, where do you get the spare money?"

"But you still have a retirement pension, right...?"

Chen Hai instinctively retorted.

"What does my retirement pension have to do with you! Are you going to use my retirement pension to buy flowers and birds as a way of showing my respect?"

Chen Hai immediately fell silent.

We arrived home amidst all the noise and commotion.

On Friday, Chen Luo returned to Jingzhou from Lüzhou.

There was no Standing Committee meeting this Friday, but Chen Luo needed to handle some documents from the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. In addition, Huang Ming, the president of the High Court, was coming to Handong today to take office.

Huang Ming was brought to Handong this morning by an ordinary deputy minister from the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to take up his post. It's only noon now, so the organizational appointment process should have been completed.

According to the time Huang Ming had contacted Liu Mingyu in advance, Huang Ming would come to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission at 2:30 pm to report on his work.

Of course, saying he had just arrived in Handong to report for work was just an excuse; in reality, he was just getting acquainted with the locals and making connections...

2:10 PM.

Huang Ming arrived at the provincial party committee building ahead of time, and Liu Mingyu picked him up and they went inside.

At 2:20, Huang Ming and Liu Mingyu were chatting in the reception room. The agreed time was 2:30, so Liu Mingyu would not disturb Chen Luo beforehand.

It wasn't until 2:27 that Liu Mingyu brought Huang Ming to Chen Luo's office and gently knocked on the door.

"Secretary Chen, Dean Huang has arrived."

"Come in."

After receiving permission, Liu Mingyu gently pushed open the door, and Huang Ming nodded his thanks to Liu Mingyu before entering the office.

Looking at the energetic Huang Ming, Chen Luo smiled. Sure enough, promotion is the elixir of youth for men; Huang Ming looked several years younger.

"Secretary Chen!"

"Huang Ming, sit down."

Instead of calling him Dean Huang or Comrade Huang Ming, Chen Luo addressed him by his given name. This made Huang Ming's heart burn with excitement. Normally, calling someone by their given name would be considered distant, but Chen Luo calling him by his given name... Huang Ming couldn't be happier!

"Thank you, Secretary Chen!"

After Huang Ming sat down, Chen Luo took a paper cup from his desk, poured Huang Ming a cup of tea, and pushed it towards him, saying, "Have a cup of tea first. The Political and Legal Affairs Commission isn't busy, and you've just arrived in Handong, so there's no need to rush."

Huang Ming took the teacup with both hands and took a small sip.

"Secretary Chen, this tea smells wonderful!"

Chen Luo smiled upon hearing this.

"Does it smell good? This was recommended to Secretary Sha by the wife of Yi Xuexi, the current vice mayor of Jingzhou and secretary of the Guangming District Committee, when he inspected work in Luzhou a few months ago. After Secretary Sha brought it back to the provincial party committee, he sent some to me."

I usually drink the tea I bring from home, but since I've moved to Luzhou for a short stay, I'm out of tea at home, so I'll have to make do with this. It was just brewed, and I haven't even tasted it yet.

Upon hearing this, Huang Ming immediately began to cough.

Chen Luo laughed again.

After the joke was over, Huang Ming's initial nervousness dissipated. Now that he was in a good mood, it was time to talk about his future work direction in Handong.