A man in Handong: living off Zhong Xiaoai

"Old man, are you saying that Qi Tongwei has been sidelined at such a young age? And that once his power to appoint and dismiss cadres is taken away, his influence in Handong will immediately disappear? If this power to appoint and dismiss cadres is taken from Qi Tongwei and then returned to you, that's fine, but if it's not returned to you, the political landscape of Handong Province will change drastically again?"

Chapter 401 A Young Man Becomes a Section Chief

Zhao Lichun breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his wife finally understood what he was saying.

“That’s right! Before, we were completely on Qi Tongwei’s side, but now that Qi Tongwei has been arranged like this, what does that prove? It proves that Old Zhong has used up all his son-in-law’s sharp sword and is going to keep him aside for a while.”

Zhao Lichun paused for a moment, then continued.

"Qi Tongwei is still young, he can take a break for two years without any problem! I'm already this old, if I get involved in Qi Tongwei's affairs, I might lose my job!"

Zhao Lichun believes that the downfall of the Zheng family was never a trivial matter.

Although Qi Tongwei successfully removed the Zheng family with Zhong Lao's tacit approval and support.

However, Qi Tongwei's actions will also cause dissatisfaction among many people in the seven major families.

"603"

Because in the Xia Kingdom, the seven major families have a long history, and generally no one would try to take away their livelihood or touch their cake.

This time, Qi Tongwei didn't just make a move; he actually smashed the plate in the other person's hand.

Although the seven major families may not be united, and they may not like the Zheng family very much.

However, this does not mean that they are happy to see the Zheng family, which is also one of the seven great families, being uprooted.

Because if the Zheng family falls today, it could be me who falls tomorrow.

Therefore, Zhao Lichun believes that Zhong Lao would deliberately keep his son-in-law out of the limelight for the time being, so that he could avoid the limelight.

When I was fighting between Qi Tongwei and the Zheng family, I stood firmly and resolutely on Qi Tongwei's side.

Then it is very likely that they will become victims of this struggle.

Zhao Lichun believed that someone had to bear some consequences to quell the dissatisfaction of the seven major families.

It's definitely impossible for Qi Tongwei to be sacrificed.

Qi Tongwei was the beloved daughter of Professor Zhong, and Professor Zhong, in turn, cherished his daughter Zhong Xiaoai as the apple of his eye.

To put it bluntly, Qi Tongwei holds a very important place in Zhong Lao's heart.

The worst outcome for Qi Tongwei would be a nominal promotion that is actually a demotion, allowing him to rest for a few years.

Therefore, it is most appropriate for me, as the Party Secretary of Handong Province, to take the blame.

Because the downfall of the Zheng family was mainly caused by Handong, and as the top leader of Handong, he was destined to take the blame.

When Madam Zhao saw the despairing Zhao Lichun before her, she was filled with worry.

"Old man, what should we do? Didn't you say that if we took a gamble, we might have a chance to leave Handong?"

After hearing his wife's words, Zhao Lichun breathed a sigh of relief and then turned his gaze to the window.

"At first, I thought that Elder Zhong would be very assertive, but now, judging from this major adjustment, I may have been wrong. I thought that Elder Zhong would support his son-in-law without hesitation, and that the Zheng family would fall if they did. Besides, removing the Zheng family was originally Elder Zheng's idea. But now it seems that Elder Zhong may be going to take the route of maintaining stability. So, we can only take it one step at a time and see how far we can go."

At this point, Zhao Lichun looked up at the night sky, gazing at the countless stars, wondering where his future lay.

Inside the judicial office of Laoqiao Town, Dongshan City, Linkou County, Handong Province.

As usual, Chen Hai arrived at the office early. He first swept the floor, then fetched water and wiped it down.

He then replaced all the thermos flasks in the office with fresh water.

Just as I finished doing all that, Wang Shanwen, an older colleague, walked in from the office.

When he entered the office, the floor was slippery because Chen Hai had just wiped it, and he almost slipped and fell.

"What happened? Why is the floor so wet?"

Chen Hai saw Wang Shanwen standing there, carrying a briefcase and shouting, and he immediately felt uncomfortable.

I was the first one to arrive at the office, and Chen Hai cleaned the office himself. Why was he behaving like this to me?

I'm not his servant, so why is he taking his anger out on me just because I wiped the floor?

"Teacher Shanwen, didn't you say the room was too dry and the air not humid enough before because I didn't mop the floor? Why are you unhappy now that I mopped the floor today?"

Upon hearing Chen Hai's words, Wang Shanwen's expression turned extremely ugly.

"Chen Hai! You young comrade, how can you be so unhumble? It's a fact that you made the floor too wet! Chen Hai, as a young comrade, shouldn't you respect us older comrades? Shouldn't you learn from our spirit of enduring hardship? How can you be so unhumble? I'm not criticizing you! What you're doing is very bad!"

After saying this, Wang Shanwen still seemed unhappy, and sat back down in his seat with a gloomy expression...

"Young people should be realistic and have the courage to take responsibility for their mistakes. If you can't even admit that there's water on the floor and you've wet it, what kind of responsibilities will you be able to shoulder in the future? Do you still want to join the department? Do you want to get a raise like me?"

As he spoke, Wang Shanwen pointed to the stairwell outside the door.

“Our judicial office director, Zhou Jianxin, is not even 50 years old, yet he has already become a section-level cadre! What does that mean? Do you understand? He became a section-level cadre at 49! With your attitude, you can't do anything well, and you're not humble at all. How could you possibly get promoted to a ministerial level?”

Upon hearing Wang Shanwen's words, Chen Hai felt as if he had swallowed a fly.

Because the town mayor of Laoqiao Town is only at the level of a full section chief, the directors of these judicial offices are all at the level of section chiefs.

In fact, the "stock" level is not established in government agencies in Xia Kingdom, including important provincial and municipal units, because it is simply too low.

If Chen Hai hadn't come to work at the town's judicial office, he would never have known that there were cadres at the 1.7 Xia Guo level.

Damn it! The guy in front of me is always arguing with me, he's worked his whole life and is retiring next year, yet he keeps running to Zhou Jianxin's office with tea leaves, just trying to get a deputy section chief position to retire with.

It seems Zhou Jianxin isn't interested in him; he hasn't had any plans to pursue this relationship.

Chen Hai really didn't know what was wrong with him. Why did he end up hanging out with these people?

Even so, it wasn't enough. These people seemed to have a particular grudge against me for everything I did.

Even wiping the floor is met with complaints.

If I wipe it myself, I complain that I've wet the floor; if I don't wipe it, I'm accused of being lazy and lacking ambition.

No matter what I do, it's wrong.

Chapter 402 Boss, they're very powerful!

Chen Hai knew that although he had not graduated from university, he was considered an incomplete student.

But at least I went to university, which is better than these people who just drift through life in the township judicial office and can't even read properly, right?

I really don't understand why these people look down on me.

She couldn't understand why, even though she had worked very humbly and interacted with them earnestly, they still seemed to be constantly picking on her, as if she owed them a lot of money.

Chen Hai grew angrier the more he thought about it. It wasn't that he didn't want to change, nor that he didn't want to get along with these people, but no matter how hard he tried, all he got in return were their cold looks and gossipy remarks.

But he had no choice; he only got this job because his sister begged Qi Tongwei for it.

I've tried it before in society, and I know that if I rely on myself, I can only starve myself; there's no way I can fill my stomach.

Then there's no need to even think about making some money to buy a house and get married.

So now, for the sake of making a living, I have no choice but to endure it, no matter how much I hate my current work environment.

Because 26 himself had no way to change anything.

So if you have to hate someone, you can only hate yourself for being incompetent.

While Chen Hai was lost in thought and feeling dejected, another colleague, Li Xia, walked into the office.

After she came in, she smiled, looked at her desk, and then strode over.

"Oh dear, who wiped the table for me?!"

Chen Hai was initially quite pleased to hear this, finally someone who seemed normal was saying something normal.

But, to everyone's surprise, the next second, Li Xia suddenly looked at the newspaper on the table and her face immediately darkened.

"Oh dear! Why is this newspaper from yesterday? Isn't today over yet?"

As she spoke, Li Xia looked at Chen Hai with a forced smile and asked.

"Chen Hai, what's the date today? Tell me."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hai immediately understood that he was being asked to fetch the newspaper.

Li Xia's attitude suggests she's annoyed that I was too late in getting the newspaper.

Chen Hai really wanted to laugh, to laugh at his current predicament.

The office space is shared, and the newspapers in the office are not for personal use.

Just because they are young, they feel that these jobs should naturally be done by them.

But shouldn't people earn their living based on their abilities? Why is it that in this unit, in this township's judicial office, it's become about seniority and age?

However, Chen Hai still had no choice. Since he needed this job, he could only listen to what others said.

If Chen Hai falls out with these people, and they go to Zhou Jianxin to speak ill of him, and these people gang up on him, then his future will be even more difficult.

"I understand. I was delayed this morning because I went to get water. Teacher Li Xia, I'll go get it now."

With that, Chen Hai walked out of the office.

When Li Xia saw Chen Hai turn and leave, her face suddenly fell, and her forced smile vanished in an instant.

Then he coldly remarked.

"Thank you!"

Upon hearing Li Xia's words, Wang Shanwen snorted coldly.

"I don't know what's wrong with young people these days, they're so lazy! When we were young, we would even help the older generation brew the tea and put it in their cups."

Li Xia pursed her lips and sat down.

"That's right! Look at his attitude just now! Back in our day, when older comrades criticized us, we knew it was for our own good. We even liked being criticized, knowing it was out of concern! I don't know what's wrong with young people these days. People like Chen Hai, you can't even criticize them! They don't know what's good for them!"

Wang Shanwen nodded as he listened to Li Xia's words.

"Young people like him are too unmotivated! I don't think Chen Hai will ever get into the ministry in his lifetime!"

After saying this, Wang Shanwen couldn't help but smirk.

Because he had been consistently sending tea to Zhou Jianxin recently, he felt that his appointment as deputy section chief might be finalized soon.

Wang Shanwen felt somewhat proud when he thought about these things. His achievements were something that a naive young man like Chen Hai could never reach in his entire life.

After hearing Wang Shanwen's words, Li Xia almost turned her mouth to the back of her head.