Chapter 2372: Financing (Part 7)

Hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned. Then those who had long steeped in office politics—Director Wang, Director Zhang, and Mu Min—immediately caught on. Though some might not understand why Liu Xiang was preparing to swing the hammer, this course of action wouldn't cost them anything.

Director Zhang smiled and chimed in: "What do we have to be afraid of? If nothing's found, all the better. If something is found, we'll treat it as building work discipline! Frankly, I want to know if those youngsters are playing two-faced games with us!"

With Director Zhang taking the lead, the others followed suit in agreement, comprehension or not.

"Then it's settled. We won't bother Senators who aren't present. Just those of us here and our departments—let's first discuss the inspection order."

"Little Zhang, prepare yourself and come along—after all, you're also the principal of the Cadre School. This inspection work falls within your responsibilities." Liu Xiang called out.

"Understood. I'll be right there." Zhang Yunmi agreed readily, closing her notebook. This was an internal meeting record, which regulations prohibited from leaving the room, so she returned it to the filing cabinet and took out a fresh notebook.

The group filed out of the conference room one by one, Zhang Yunmi last to leave. In the corridor, she spotted an orderly hurrying past with a tray of snacks and black tea—probably destined for that "Senator Chu He." She stopped him.

"Who is this for?"

"For the small conference room over there. A Senator is reviewing materials, says he wants to draft some kind of plan." The orderly lowered his voice. "Mayor Liu said to take good care of him and not slight him—he's in a poor mood."

"Go ahead."

Watching the orderly carry the refreshments away, Zhang Yunmi imagined this Senator named Chu He sitting beneath a lamp right now, "researching" a pile of materials, contemplating what kind of "plan" he might produce.

In his heart, he probably still hoped this plan could win Liu Xiang's favor and become his stepping stone—after all, he could no longer get close to the hot commodity that was General Manager Zhou of the Nanyang Company.

Was the contrast between the two rooms stark?

On one side, Senator Chu He, so enraged by a naturalized citizen that he'd come to lodge a complaint, had been dispatched to perform unpaid labor before his anger had even cooled. On the other side, several powerful Senators lounged in their chairs with feathered fans and silk turbans, and amid their casual laughter, they used Senator Chu as a pawn.

Power. What a terrifying thing.

A wave of sorrow welled from the depths of her heart—and this was still a Senator!

Elsewhere, Chu He flipped through materials while organizing his thoughts.

Zhou Wei taking the fall was probably inevitable—as long as Chu He was willing to escalate, and Zhou Wei wasn't a blockhead. As for whether some meddlesome saint might pop up to question "why must Senator A's secretary respect Senator B," Chu He figured such brain-dead people shouldn't exist in the Senate.

But he, Chu He, hadn't come here just to vent! He hadn't come to step on the current hot shot and slap his own face in self-congratulation!

The route he had designed, the so-called "raise 300,000 in thirty days," was meant to showcase himself, to secure a real position and status!

I didn't come here to be some bit player!

Now, thinking carefully, having kicked up such a fuss, even if Zhou Wei "laughed it off and let bygones be bygones," what if it was all smiles on the surface but cold feelings underneath...

While pondering, he absent-mindedly leafed through the economic data Liu Xiang's orderly had provided. But his gradually awakening professional instincts made him occasionally focus on key figures on each page. Unexpectedly, the more he examined this data, the more intriguing it became. Gradually, his thoughts shifted entirely to the materials.

After a rough first pass, Chu He suddenly stood and began pacing back and forth. He tore open the letter he had written to Zhou Wei, reread it, then studied the economic materials again and again...

After some time, Chu He suddenly slammed his right fist into his left palm: "Incredible! This desperate scramble for a doctor actually found the right one!"

After this exclamation from his heart, he realized his voice had been too loud—no, he shouldn't be making a scene. He walked slowly to the window at the vent and exulted silently:

"I hadn't noticed! They have this contradiction here! I really did come to the right place! Moreover, the idea I wrote to Zhou Wei actually started too small—the implications are enormous! Sooner or later, it would have to go to Liu Xiang anyway!"

"Damn! Why did I rush to find Zhou Wei first? Can he approve land for me or something?"

"Right—make suggestions for Guangzhou's economic work! Well then, don't mind if I do!"

Chu He strode to the door, threw it open, and called out loudly:

"Orderly!"

"Come here!"

"Get me paper and pen!"

The orderly, specially instructed by Liu Xiang, respectfully provided fresh supplies. Then another tray of snacks arrived.

"What? Black tea?" Chu He wasn't accustomed to the taste.

"I'll change it right away!" The female orderly was quick-witted, immediately understanding, and asked attentively, "What kind of tea do you prefer?"

"I'm used to green tea, nothing fancy. I'm not picky." Now he appeared even more "approachable." "Leave the black tea—it's already brewed, shouldn't waste it. Just bring me a cup of green tea later."

"Certainly. We have Longjing tea from Hangzhou. I'll bring it shortly."

This small gesture improved Chu He's mood further. After muttering a few curses about Zhou Wei, he finally settled down and began organizing his thoughts into a mind map.

When one concentrates on work, time flies. Before Chu He realized it, he had drained an entire pot of pre-Qingming Maojian, and only then noticed he must have been sitting for quite a while—his aging back couldn't take it anymore. Standing up to briefly organize the four or five pages he had drawn in an extremely stream-of-consciousness manner, Chu He massaged his lower back and twisted, performing four sets of eight counts left and right before feeling somewhat better. Just as he was about to call someone for more hot water, a knock came at the door.

"Reporting to Chief! Senator Ren is here!" Judging by the voice, it was his own guard. This fellow... was also rather clueless, getting himself nearly lost just going to summon someone...

And this Senator Ren...

Goodness! Who would have thought Liu Xiang's side would be so efficient, yet this fellow arrived so late! He'd missed the grievance session entirely, and now that Chu He was here generating ideas, he finally showed up!

Oh, right! Respect! Damn it, respect! Must show respect!

Chu He quickly composed himself, adopting the posture of the Duke of Zhou spitting out his food and putting on his shoes backwards to welcome guests. He stamped loudly on the floor, forcefully twisted the door handle, and grasped the hands of the person at the door with a delighted expression: "Old Ren! You finally made it!"

Ren Youzi had been "politely declined" again today. He had come to Guangzhou specifically after requesting leave from Yi Fan. The Cheka leader had been quite displeased with the leave request—the Cheka was perpetually busy. But since they were both Senators, Yi Fan couldn't refuse outright, merely remarking "there's a lot of work, come back early."

"Come back my ass! I'm never coming back!" As he walked out of Yi Fan's office, Senator Ren had thought to himself. He had spent several days drafting what he considered an "ingenious" plan, intending to submit it to Zhou Wei as a "memorandum" and launch his transformation.

However, upon arriving in Guangzhou, quite a few people were trying to ride the same wave—that was fine. The problem was Zhou Wei was nowhere to be found. He had visited the office several times, and apart from submitting his memorandum, he hadn't glimpsed a single hair on Zhou Wei's head. That pretty female secretary, besides rolling her eyes and uttering a few phrases of "not convenient to disclose," yielded no information whatsoever.

"Damn, had I known, I should have done a thorough audit during the departure review of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs! Should have investigated even the toilet paper!"

Already in a foul mood, he hadn't taken seriously the invitation from that chance-encountered Senator to "have a drink together." In the end, instead of returning to his lodging by the shortest route, he had taken his guard on a lengthy stroll along the Pearl River. He slowly made his way back to the guesthouse entrance—tomorrow he was preparing to try his luck one more time. If he still couldn't encounter Zhou Wei, he would book a ticket back to Lingao.

"Just you wait. As long as your Nanyang Company remains state-owned, if I don't audit you to the bone and make you undergo rectification 365 days a year with twelve hearings, I'll change my surname to Zhou!"

With such resentment simmering, he had just stepped through the guesthouse door when the front desk attendant stopped him—pointing to a blockhead dozing in the lobby, explaining that a Senator had sent a guard to contact him. Upon waking this blockhead and questioning him, he learned that a "Senator Chu He" he had just coincidentally encountered—the one who had wanted to "have a drink together"—wished to meet him, and the location was the Guangzhou Municipal Government. Ren Youzi was puzzled—when had this fellow airdropped himself into the Municipal Government?

Meeting at the government, fine then!

Going was going, but Senator Ren also kept his eyes open, chatting up Little Pu along the way. Little Pu turned out to be quite honest and spilled everything about Chu He in just a few exchanges.

Now Ren Youzi was ready to spit blood: So you, Senator Chu, came here running relationships just like me! And then you had a conflict with Zhou Wei's secretary and ran to the municipal government to "find someone to sort things out"?! Can Liu Xiang even handle this? If he could, I would have gone long ago—what business would you have? Are you a primary school student, getting into a fight and calling your parents? Bah! And what kind of parent is Liu Xiang anyway?

Needless to say, summoning him was meant to strengthen the "complaint" team. Was this something to show one's face about? He didn't want to continue walking after just a few steps, but on second thought, turning back halfway wouldn't look good—regardless of whether Liu Xiang backed this Chu He or not, he was already halfway there. If he turned back now, wouldn't that be offending this whoever Chu He terribly? So on one hand he was dissatisfied with Zhou Wei, and on the other he was giving Chu He the cold shoulder? Whatever he thought privately, he couldn't act this way! With that realization, Ren Youzi had no choice but to drag his feet unhappily—he was already late returning, and if he delayed a bit more, the other party should have finished talking and sent Chu He away. Perhaps they'd meet on the road instead, and they wouldn't have to meet at the municipal government, which would be supremely awkward.

(End of Chapter)