Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

The Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee Office, 11:40 PM.

Most of the fluorescent lights in the corridor had been turned off, leaving only Li Dakang's room lit.

On the table lay a letter of reassurance from the investors of the Guangmingfeng project. The last line had just been signed, and the pen hadn't even been capped when Jin Liqun pushed the door open and came in.

"Secretary Dakang, the military region has replied."

Li Dakang put down his pen and raised his chin.

"Secretary Shen agreed to the meeting, but—"

Jin Liqun took half a step forward and read aloud the exact words from the notebook.

"The military region's communications office said: 'Please come to the provincial military region in person, Secretary Shen is waiting in the command building.'"

The thermos cup spun halfway around in my palm.

I went there in person.

The four words went through my mind twice.

This is not a meeting, this is a summons.

What kind of talk would it make if a member of the provincial standing committee and the top leader of Jingzhou City were summoned for a "detailed talk" by a member of the standing committee of the same level who was in military uniform?

The thermos was placed back on the table, making it a few pounds heavier than usual.

"Reply to the military region and say I'll be there right away."

Jin Liqun was stunned for a moment, then quickly went out to arrange a car.

The land plot belonging to Dafeng Factory is crucial to the second phase of Guangming Peak. Every day that is delayed, the investors receive three more phone calls, and the provincial assessment target is reduced by one point.

We can't afford to delay.

How much is face worth? Can face be used to offset GDP?

The elevator at the end of the corridor dinged, and Li Dakang strode in, briefcase in hand.

In the underground parking garage, the black Audi was already running, its taillights casting two red glows in the dim light.

"Let's go, to the provincial military region."

The driver shifted gears and started the car, which drove out of the iron gate of the municipal party committee compound and into the empty streets late at night.

As the streetlights receded one by one along the way, Li Dakang sat in the back seat, his briefcase resting on his lap, his hands on the bag, his index fingers tapping the leather surface idly.

I've already mentally reviewed all the bargaining chips three times.

The land use rights of Dafeng Factory, the economic benefits of the second phase of Guangming Peak, and the legal boundaries of the military's takeover—every point has been carefully considered in terms of how to start and how to end it.

As a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, surely he shouldn't be denied the right to sit down and speak when discussing a land coordination matter?

Fifteen minutes later, the car turned onto the military district road.

The streetlights changed from here on out; the spacing between them increased and the light became dimmer. The roadside trees on both sides were trimmed neatly, without even any extra branches.

Ahead, the gate of the provincial military district.

Two thick concrete pillars stand in the middle, with an electric railing between them. On each side stands an armed guard, their faces taut like iron plates beneath their helmets.

The Audi slowed down and approached. The guard on the left raised his right hand, palm facing forward, signaling the car to stop.

The driver brought the car to a stop and rolled down the window.

"Li Dakang, member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, made an appointment to visit Secretary Shen."

The guard saluted, turned and walked into the guard post, and picked up the internal phone.

The call lasted about a minute.

The guard hung up the phone, walked back to the car window, and stood ramrod straight.

"Report: Secretary Shen is currently handling top-secret military matters and is temporarily unavailable for a meeting. Please wait outside the guard post for further instructions, Secretary Li."

The back seat was quiet for two seconds.

"Say it again?"

"Secretary Shen is currently handling top-secret military matters and is temporarily unavailable for a meeting. Please wait outside the guard post for further instructions, Secretary Li."

It's exactly the same word, like a broken record.

Li Dakang leaned back in his seat, his arms crossed in front of his chest, and he took the thermos from the armrest compartment and put it down again.

Awaiting further instructions.

Awaiting further notice?

The dignified Party Secretary of Jingzhou City arrived in the middle of the night, only to be left waiting at the door with the message "waiting for notification"?

Do you think I'm some kind of clerk from some street office who's petitioning?

"Turn around and head back to the Municipal Party Committee."

The driver responded and turned the steering wheel to the left.

"Gah—"

A military green Jeep drove out of the gate, its headlights flashing, and blocked the Audi by exactly three meters.

The car door opened, and Zhou Weiguo jumped out.

There wasn't a single wrinkle on their training uniforms, and their military boots pounded on the concrete ground with a rhythm unique to soldiers.

I walked to the driver's seat of the Audi and bent down to look at the back seat.

"Secretary Li."

"Your Secretary Shen made me stand at the door in the wind, but I don't have time for that."

Zhou Weiguo didn't respond to that, straightened up, and put his hands behind his back.

"Secretary Li, there's something I need to tell you—Secretary Shen will be leaving for Beijing the day after tomorrow to carry out a task assigned by his superiors, which will last for about half a month."

The wind blowing in through the car window from the gate carried the chill unique to late autumn.

"Tonight is the only time in the past two weeks that we can discuss the Dafeng Factory issue with you face to face."

After saying that, Zhou Weiguo took two steps back, stood next to the jeep, and said no more.

There was no sound from the back seat.

half a month.

The investors made six calls today to urge progress, they will make ten more tomorrow, and a lawyer's letter will be sent the day after tomorrow.

The provincial quarterly assessment ends next month, and if the second phase of Guangming Peak remains unfinished, it will be an unfillable hole in the data.

Wait half a month? By then, the flowers will have withered, the investors will have all run away, and the year-end performance ranking will drop to the bottom of Handong. Zhao Lichun will then have a perfect opportunity to make a scene, and Li Dakang will lose his official position.

Can't wait.

We absolutely cannot wait.

"Turn off the engine."

The driver's hand paused on the keys for a moment.

"Turn off the engine."

The roar of the engine stopped, and silence fell over the car.

Li Dakang pushed open the car door, stepped out with one leg, and his leather shoe landed on the cement road in front of the military district gate.

He straightened up, buttoned his coat from top to bottom, took his briefcase out of the car, and tucked it under his arm.

Walk to a position three meters outside the guard post, stand with your legs together, and stop.

Zhou Weiguo glanced at him, said nothing, got into the jeep, reversed the car, and drove back inside the gate.

The railings fell down, and the gate closed again.

The wind blew in from the end of the military district road, carrying the unique chill of a late autumn night, sneaking in through the collar and running down the back.

Two guards stood on either side of the guard post, their eyes fixed straight ahead, like two statues.

There was no other vehicle on the entire military road; only the streetlights emitted a faint humming sound.

Li Dakang stood outside the guard post, his briefcase tucked under his arm and his other hand clutching a thermos.

The wind whipped at my face, and my neck felt chilly; my suit jacket offered no protection against the heat.

The Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee and a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee.

Standing in the cold wind outside the provincial military district gate, I felt no different from someone awaiting their fate.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes have passed.

The water in the thermos was no longer hot, and a fine layer of water droplets had condensed on the cup wall.

Fifteen minutes.

My toes started to go numb, the tip of my nose turned red from the cold, and the white breath I exhaled was blown away by the wind.