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

There's no point in envying what isn't yours.

Tian Guofu understood this principle well.

Besides, in the past few months, his relationship with Chen Luo has objectively grown much closer, so what more could he ask for?

After getting off the bus, everyone headed to the Provincial Party Committee Auditorium.

This lecture hall can accommodate thousands of people at the same time, and it is already half full of cadres from Handong.

This included delegations from provincial and municipal governments, as well as the Guangming District of Jingzhou City and the Handong Provincial Procuratorate. Chen Hai and Hou Liangping did not know whether the staff who arranged the venue did so intentionally or accidentally.

Hou Liangping is to Chen Hai's left.

After all, they are all deputy-department-level cadres, and they are qualified to attend such a plenary meeting.

The conference had not yet started. Hou Liangping took his seat before Chen Hai arrived. Looking at the name Chen Hai on the sign next to him, Hou Liangping felt unlucky.

Sure enough, after only a short wait, the Jingzhou delegation took their seats.

Chen Hai spotted Hou Liangping from afar, and his anger surged. However, now was not the time to lose his temper, so Chen Hai could only suppress his anger and find his place.

But as he walked, he realized something was wrong. Why was he getting closer and closer to Hou Liangping?

"Stop looking, sit next to me, District Chief Chen!"

Hou Liangping rolled his eyes, speechless. Chen Hai snorted and then, seeing that he was indeed sitting next to Hou Liangping, his face darkened.

Normally, the two would have kept their distance.

Unfortunately, this conference was to welcome the new provincial governor to Handong, so they dared not cause any trouble or disrupt the order.

Chen Hai plopped down, while the members of the Standing Committee of Handong University had not yet arrived on the podium.

Whispering is very common at times like these.

"Tsk, what a bad day!"

Hou Liangping felt annoyed just looking at Chen Hai, and Chen Hai felt the same way.

"That's really bad luck!"

Picking up where Hou Liangping left off, Chen Hai continued, "This morning I met an old man under the overpass who said I was going to encounter a rabid dog and told me to be very careful not to get bitten. Now it seems like I'm going to encounter a rabid dog, but I don't know if this rabid dog will dare to bite people randomly in this kind of place."

"District Chief Chen is quite superstitious. There is no such thing as fortune-telling in the dictionary of us Communists!"

However, given the successive setbacks suffered by District Chief Chen, it's understandable that his materialistic beliefs gradually crumbled.

"Hou Liangping! Stop talking nonsense!"

"I'm talking nonsense? Didn't you start shouting first?"

The two stared at each other, sparks flying unnoticed.

The two men were surrounded by cadres from Jingzhou and the procuratorate, who were well aware of the grudges between Chen Hai and Hou Liangping. Seeing the two start fighting as soon as they met, they were immediately invigorated.

They were practically ready to take out some sunflower seeds and start cracking them open.

Who told them to be just there to create a good atmosphere at these meetings?

They come to meetings just to clap their hands to make up the numbers and listen to how the leaders above them pontificate. To be honest, it's quite boring for them.

Of course, the content of the new governor's speech was almost the direction of the work of the provincial government and the governments at all levels in Handong, so everyone did not come away empty-handed.

Just as Hou Liangping was about to say a few more words to Chen Hai, the delegation from Jinghai City, which was closest to the main entrance, stood up first and clapped rhythmically. The others then understood what had happened and joined the Jinghai delegation staff in clapping.

At the same time, music started playing!

[Coo coo coo, coo coo coo, coo coo coo coo, coo, coo, coo... coo coo coo...]

As the gates opened, Minister Xu walked at the front, followed by Sha Ruijin, Zhou Jianguo, Governor Liu, Gao Yuliang, Tian Guofu, Wu Chunlin, Chen Luo, Li Dakang...

The arrival of the crowd made the applause from the audience even more enthusiastic. Chen Hai clearly felt that Hou Liangping next to him was clapping with a bit more force, and he glanced at him and muttered a complaint.

"Sycophant!"

Liangping pretended not to hear this.

If you don't clap loudly, the leader won't look at you; if you clap but don't smile, the leader will just be wasting his time.

After Minister Xu and other Standing Committee members took their seats on the dais, the background music gradually stopped.

The next step was the usual procedure: first, Secretary Sha Ruijin gave the opening remarks, then Governor Liu delivered his retirement report, followed by Minister Xu announcing the appointment, and finally the newly appointed Governor Zhou Jianjun gave his inaugural speech.

"Hello, comrades of Handong..."

Zhou Jianjun was clever. Knowing that the cadres in Handong were not very familiar with him, he simply gave a brief self-introduction and talked about the key points of the government's work. It all sounded like the same old stuff: stabilizing employment, promoting circulation, and deepening and improving the business environment.

Anyway, it was all the same. Chen Luo would listen while slacking off, holding big meetings for small matters and small meetings for big matters.

The content of his speech to the delegations from various parts of Handong was somewhat vague. To understand Zhou Jianjun's specific governing philosophy, one only needs to hold a few more Standing Committee meetings.

The conference lasted for a full three hours, followed by a welcome dinner and a farewell dinner.

It was already 8:40 p.m. when Chen Luo got home.

Pushing open the door to your home is a place where you don't need to wear a mask.

At this time, the two little ones were still awake. When they saw Chen Luo come back, Chen Zhengxi immediately hung on Chen Luo's biceps.

Just as the family was enjoying a peaceful and happy time, the phone rang.

Chen Luo's expression wasn't very good, but work was more important after all. He went to his study, took out his phone, and saw that it was Zhou Jianjun calling. An inexplicable anger welled up inside him.

"You'd better really have something to say!"

Taking a deep breath, Chen Luo answered the phone.

"Governor Zhou, is there anything else you need so late?"

"Comrade Chen Luo, I've just arrived in Handong and I'm completely clueless. You're someone I know quite well, and we haven't seen each other for more than half a year, so I wanted to ask if you have time to ask you about the current situation in Handong."

Chen Luo's face darkened. These words seemed impartial, but Chen Luo could guess what they were really up to without even thinking. They just wanted to drag him into their "club."

"Governor Zhou, I am currently in charge of the political and legal work of the whole province and the local work of Lüzhou City."

Regarding the specific situation of the Handong Provincial Government.

I think you would get a clearer answer if you asked Vice Governor Shen or Vice Governor Yu.

The message was clear: Chen Luo didn't want to get involved in his personal feud with Sha Ruijin.

However, for Zhou Jianjun, gaining Chen Luo's support was tantamount to taking over half of the mountain stronghold in Handong.

His understanding of Chen Luo was still based on their time working together in Suzhou more than half a year ago. He believed that he was Chen Luo's "old boss" and that Chen Luo would find it difficult to refuse him.

"Chen Luo, I'm not very familiar with Comrade Shen Demin and Comrade Yu Manjun, but I'd like to hear your insights."

We've been partners for a long time; we worked together really well back in Suzhou!