In the afternoon, the sun shone brightly in the village committee office of Meilin Village, illuminating the wisps of smoke. Zhang Yaozong listened to Li Xiuyuan's request, but still felt somewhat troubled.

Li Xiuyuan asked him to go to the provincial capital to inquire about Ma Tao's past. If Li Xiuyuan wanted to make a fuss about this, it might even implicate the old Party Secretary. What kind of person would that make him?

Although Li Xiuyuan is saying things that are going well and won't make a big fuss.

But Li Xiuyuan is already the deputy mayor at such a young age. What did he rely on to get to this position? Was it his soft heart? Or his unwavering commitment to his word? Don't be ridiculous. Moreover, after Li Xiuyuan arrived in the central town, a series of events showed that he was highly skilled. Hou Peng couldn't control him in the town government, and even Zhang Xingguo's authority was shaken at the last town party committee meeting.

Can you trust the promises of someone like that?

He is now the director of the Comprehensive Management Office. At this age, he is different from Zhang Xingdong, who is still pursuing advancement and thinking about becoming a member of the town's Party Committee. But he has no such ambition.

The reason he followed Li Xiuyuan was that the current political situation in the town made it impossible for him to be a "good guy." Another reason was that Li Xiuyuan was actually doing something, and he was willing to work with him instead of spending his days drinking tea and reading newspapers in the office.

But Zhang Yaozong was unwilling to get involved in this political struggle and then have to deceive the old Party Secretary.

Seeing that Zhang Yaozong was still hesitating, Li Xiuyuan sighed and said, "It seems that Director Zhang still doesn't trust me."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yaozong looked somewhat embarrassed and inwardly thought, "This is what a leader is like. He can't say a word and can't keep going." He continued, "It seems that Director Zhang still doesn't trust me. Let's just let this matter drop."

Why not include the second half of the sentence? Instead, you only say the first half and then explain it to yourself.

This tactic is truly overwhelming.

"Mayor Li, I didn't mean that..." Zhang Yaozong could only helplessly explain.

However, he was interrupted by Li Xiuyuan as soon as he opened his mouth: "Okay, since that's not what you mean, then it's settled."

When it comes to someone like Zhang Yaozong, you have to push him when necessary. Zhang Yaozong is used to pretending to be a nice guy, and his personality will gradually be affected. Li Xiuyuan probably doesn't even realize this himself. He'll become like that after pretending for a long time, and after pretending for a long time, he'll become like that.

"Li Zhen, I..."

“Director Zhang, don’t worry, I only inquired about this matter to get some prior knowledge, I have no other intentions. This matter has been over for so long, no one wants to bring it up again.” Li Xiuyuan’s last sentence moved Zhang Yaozong.

Indeed, this matter happened so long ago that no one wants to bring it up again; it's practically an old story. But Zhang Yaozong also knows that there's a prerequisite for no one wanting to bring it up: Li Xiuyuan must achieve his goal.

Otherwise, why would Li Xiuyuan want to know this? Could he really just want to know? Putting aside whether Li Xiuyuan is that gossipy, even if he is, he wouldn't go to such lengths to find out about this.