0106 115 Clouds in the blue sky, water in the bottle
Qiao Senxi first met Zhou Xiye at a cadre symposium.
The woman, dressed in a dark blue suit with her coat unbuttoned and long hair flowing down her shoulders, sat in the center behind the long table. She had a beautiful face and an imposing presence.
"Hello, Secretary, I am Qiao Senxi."
Zhou Xiye glanced at him. She had seen the man's photo before. The real person was only uglier than the photo. Qiao Senxi looked about the same as in the photo. However, after glancing down, her gaze returned to Qiao Senxi's face, and she narrowed her eyes.
To be honest, upon closer inspection, the business suit he was wearing clung to him perfectly, and his sex appeal actually radiated unabashedly because of the suit's understated nature. Zhou Xiye glanced at his hands; his fingers were calloused from handling guns; his skin was dark, undoubtedly from tanning during missions.
Wild man.
Zhou Xiye silently made a judgment in his heart.
"Sit down, I also have a few words to say to you," Zhou Xiye put down her teacup. Watching Qiao Senxi sit down, his face fell into her eyes, and looking at him, Zhou Xiye suddenly thought of Zhou Pei.
Zhou Pei is still young. If he matures a little more, he will probably be as mature as Qiao Senxi, right?
Qiao Senxi was a little nervous and unconsciously licked his lips. Qiao Senxi knew that he was exceptionally handsome, even among men, and that people who looked at him always had envy and admiration in their eyes, or perhaps a feeling of being conquered.
The woman's gaze was like that of someone looking at a plaything; she seemed satisfied with every inch of skin she had examined, like a master looking at a pet. He couldn't see or understand anything beyond her deep eyes.
When did you arrive?
Qiao Senxi snapped out of his daze and hurriedly replied, "Last night."
"Did Yan Zhu explain the job details to you?"
Qiao Senxi nodded. "I told you."
“Okay, besides what she told you, I also have other tasks for you,” Zhou Xiye said succinctly. “I’ve seen your resume. You’ve been to the front lines, worked undercover, and confronted drug dealers head-on. I need an assistant like you.”
When Qiao Senxi heard Zhou Xiye recite his resume, he raised an eyebrow. "I... I don't quite understand what you mean."
Zhou Xiye smiled, glanced at the time, and said, "We'll talk about the specifics after the meeting."
The cadre symposium was mainly for intra-party education, especially on party conduct. At the beginning of the meeting, Zhou Xiye said, "A few days ago, at the work report meeting, I said that the party's conduct should not be disrupted by the special background of a few individuals. This is a harbinger of rampant bureaucracy." She glanced at Ling Xingzhi.
Ling Xingzhi looked back calmly, as if he didn't understand what she was talking about.
"We should not abuse our power arbitrarily; we should put it in a cage," Zhou Xiye said solemnly. "Dogmatism, bureaucracy, and formalism are all things we need to be wary of. We should study the Party Constitution, study the General Secretary's recent speech, and constantly reflect on ourselves. I hope all comrades can reflect on themselves carefully."
Zhou Xiye then looked at Meng Qinggong.
Now, everyone in the municipal party committee and government knows that Secretary Zhou Xiye is "rectifying" him. Even his old man has heard about it.
"I have something to say here. Director Meng is very efficient. He completed the task I assigned in just two days. Now, Comrade Qiao Senxi has been transferred to a position where he can give full play to his talents. There must be many such comrades at the grassroots level. We should make good use of our talents."
At this point, Zhou Xiye revealed a kind smile, "Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered that Mayor Ling and I both come from Beijing. Before, in Beijing, I assisted Mayor Ling, and I witnessed his abilities."
Ling Xingzhi turned to meet Zhou Xiye's gaze, secretly admiring her shrewd methods. She had just arrived and hadn't yet established a firm foothold, yet she targeted Meng Qinggong, a troublesome thorn, as a warning to others and also crippling his influence.
Why are you trying to get close to me again now?
Ling Xingzhi maintained a smile on his face as he spoke to Zhou Xiye.
"Now that we're here, we'll be working together, so our teamwork goes without saying," she paused, looked around, and smiled. "Of course, things are different here than in Beijing, so we'll adapt to local customs, right?"
Ling Xingzhi nodded, the meaning of which was clear: in Beijing, he was the one in charge. Now, in Kunming, the situation was different; everyone present needed to understand who was in charge and who was in charge.
“I will cooperate fully with Secretary Zhou’s work, and I hope everyone will be more tolerant of us two ‘parachuted’ personnel,” Ling Xingzhi said.
Meng Qinggong was the first to agree and even clapped. The others looked at him strangely.
Zhou Xiye's expression remained serious. "During my tenure, Comrade Ling Xingzhi and I conducted a serious examination of the Party's discipline and work style," Zhou Xiye shook his head, his tone firm and resolute. "The situation has greatly disappointed me."
She opened the documents on the table and read them aloud, word by word.
The general situation is that officials are neglecting their duties, and the problems in petition offices are the same all over the country, not to mention the extremely poor attitude of the staff at the Human Resources Bureau's service windows towards ordinary people. They are especially impatient with older people and recent graduates, becoming agitated after asking just two questions.
The problem is passed around, and no one solves the difficulties but only the person who raised the problem.
"Is the attitude of the window staff really this bad?! Window staff are the face of the government. How do you work? How did you come from the people and go back to the people?"
The meeting for cadres was well-attended, including not only district heads but also heads of various departments, filling the room. The director of the Human Resources Management Bureau, embarrassed by Zhou Xiye's direct criticism, stepped forward to speak, "Secretary, our staff have all received training before starting work; perhaps the employee was in a bad mood that day..."
"They take it out on ordinary people when they're in a bad mood? Who do ordinary people vent to when they're in a bad mood? You?" Zhou Xiye was genuinely angry. "I went to the Human Resources Bureau. That day, I went to one window and an older woman asked about transferring her personnel file. I went to another window and asked a pretty young woman inside. What was she doing? Painting her nails. She impatiently said, 'Auntie, I don't know.' Then I went to ask a young man. What was he doing? Playing Minesweeper!"
Zhou Xiye laughed angrily, "I really want to know, do you guys play Minesweeper during your workdays? I'm the Party Secretary, I have a reputation to uphold!"
No one dared to breathe loudly.
“This trend can’t be left uncorrected. We need to conduct self-examination and reflection within the Party,” Zhou Xiye said, turning a page of the documents. “I’ve listed the departments that need to be rectified. In addition, I will dismiss those cadres who don’t work diligently, especially senior cadres!”
In total, Zhou Xiye dismissed 75 officials. This was unprecedented and unexpected. For the departments undergoing restructuring, Zhou Xiye appointed new officials. The list was actually given to Zhou Xiye by Mayor Ling Xingzhi.
It's clear that Zhou Xiye not only wants to replace the "old guard," but is also warning everyone that Kunming is now Zhou Xiye's domain.
On his first day at work, Qiao Senxi witnessed Zhou Xiye's ruthless methods. Undeterred, he became even more aroused. That night, when Chen Xiaoyun made love to him, he moved faster, his mind filled with images of Zhou Xiye giving orders. Unexpectedly, he managed to make Chen Xiaoyun pass out.
Ling Xingzhi knew this would be the outcome. Zhou Xiye not only dragged him onto the ship but also used sowing discord. Many people on that list were those who had gotten close to Ling Xingzhi. Now that Zhou and Ling were paired up, those people felt that they would be "punished" because of their association with Ling Xingzhi, and from then on, no one dared to ask Ling Xingzhi for help.
What's even more shameless, and what truly demonstrates a politician's cunning, is that Zhou Xiye gave Ling Xingzhi a list, and after investigating most of it and compiling some of the information, Zhou Xiye glanced at it and then used Ling Xingzhi's name to arrest everyone on her list.
He had no choice but to obey orders, but he couldn't express his suffering.
In the course of their back-and-forth exchanges, she managed to gain control of the situation in Kunming.
However, the number of dismissed officials continued to rise. But no one dared to say that Zhou Xiye was using this pretext to attack dissidents, since many of the officials were thoroughly corrupt. This was essentially the same as a playboy flirting with women—you had to tell both the truth and lies.
Officials who have done nothing wrong and do not form cliques for personal gain will not care about Zhou Xiye's actions; officials who have done wrong but have not formed cliques for personal gain will be apprehensive and keep a low profile while serving as officials; and the last type of official who has done wrong and also opposes Zhou Xiye prays for a miracle.
Of course, Zhou Xiye wouldn't go so far as to kill them all; she still needed to work and left obedient people to do things for her.
Meng Qinggong believed that he simply disliked Zhou Xiye, and he had already done his job. What official would be demoted just because he disliked someone? But he was still afraid that Zhou Xiye would make things difficult for him.
When he got home, he took his daughter to his grandfather's house. Meng Lingnan was sitting in the yard, letting a pot of tea cool. An old-fashioned radio was playing music. He was holding a newspaper and wearing reading glasses.
"Grandpa!" Meng Qinggong's daughter called out and ran away. She didn't like Meng Lingnan; her grandfather was rigid and had many rules.
Meng Qinggong sat down next to his father, picked up the teapot and was about to pour himself a cup of tea when Meng Qinggong hit him with his cane.
"dad!"
Meng Lingnan put down his cane and newspaper. "Well? I heard that nearly 80 cadres, including more than 20 high-ranking ones, have been dismissed. Interesting! Zhou Xiye is a tough girl!"
Meng Qinggong sighed, "She still calls herself a girl? Forget it, she's a cunning and scheming vixen, the kind of black vixen that only appears once every ten thousand years."
Meng Lingnan laughed heartily, took off his reading glasses and held them to his chest. "It's obvious she's here to do something, not to make a quick buck and leave." He sighed. "However, it's easy for officials to govern each other, but there are other forces in Kunming. Not to mention those far away, there are those drug lords nearby. They're not easy to deal with."
At this point, Meng Qinggong shook his head. "A couple of days ago, she called me to a small meeting. I told Zhou Xiye about the three major forces that have always existed in Yunnan and the Golden Triangle. As a result, she took out ten million yuan to subsidize our anti-drug team and demanded that our municipal bureau publicly express their gratitude. Dad, guess what? It's for expressing gratitude?"
Meng Lingnan shook his head.
Meng Qinggong laughed out loud, "Luo Yiming, you didn't expect that, did you?"
"Give this drug lord a commendation?" Meng Ling found it hard to believe.
"Yes, her exact words were, 'Boss Luo has generously donated ten million to support the city bureau's anti-drug work, and we should be grateful. Controlling drugs requires the existence of conscientious entrepreneurs like him, mobilizing everyone in society to work together.' After saying that, she turned to me and asked me to take out five million as a reward for information leading to the arrest of drug dealers."
"Did Luo Yiming really give her ten million?"
Meng Qinggong nodded, "I initially thought Zhou Xiye was a bit stupid, but unexpectedly, after we investigated several shipments, some belonging to Boss Luo, and others to his other two companies, Zhou Xiye released Luo Yiming's shipment, while suppressing the other two's shipments." His voice trailed off as he spoke, "I feel that the money Luo Yiming gave her was more than ten million. She could take a small portion of it and that would be enough to support the Municipal Bureau... She gained a reputation and made money, killing two birds with one stone. She can also help build Luo Yiming's image—a win-win situation!"
Of course, Luo Yiming also felt he knew Zhou Xiye's thoughts best. That ten million was Luo Yiming's "meeting gift" to her, which Zhou Xiye had directly presented openly, leaving him with no leverage—a clever move. Secondly, Zhou Xiye deliberately acted friendly towards him to show other drug lords the benefits of cooperating with the government. From this perspective alone, he was somewhat flattered and felt Zhou Xiye was worth associating with.
Adult matters are in the past, don't dwell on them; future benefits are what truly matter.
They are capable of great things.
Conversely, those who refuse to cooperate face certain death, while those who cooperate reap the rewards. Currently, in the drug trafficking chain, only Luo Yiming's drugs circulate freely.
However, using his money as a bounty for a wanted man is utterly disgusting to others. This also suggests that her ambitions extend far beyond a mere ten million; she may want to control the drug trafficking chain passing through Kunming and force them to pay protection money.
Zhou Xiye didn't think that way. If political awareness could be stratified, Meng Qinggong, this roughneck, was on the third level, Luo Yiming on the fourth level, and Zhou Xiye was already on the sixth level.
What did Zhou Xiye and Luo Yiming say back then?
When Emperor Qianlong traveled to the south of the Yangtze River, he asked Ji Xiaolan how many boats were on the river. Ji Xiaolan replied, "Two boats."
Which two? Zhou Xiye was certain that Luo Yiming hadn't understood his meaning—"All the world's hustle and bustle is for profit, and all the world's chaos is for gain."
One ship is called "Fame," and the other ship is called "Profit."
Drug traffickers are all on one boat called "profit." Since that's the case, Zhou Xiye wants to incite these people to fight each other for "profit." She befriends Luo Yiming and uses his money to do things, partly to tell other drug dealers to "cooperate" with the government.
On the other hand, she wants to reap the benefits without lifting a finger, and these forces are bound to fight each other; it's only a matter of time.
As a powerful figure, it was only a matter of time before Luo Yiming was besieged.
Neither Meng Qinggong nor Luo Yiming saw the bigger picture because they only saw their own interests and immediate gains, blinded by personal emotions.
Ling Xingzhi is not a player in the game of chess; a true gentleman observes the game in silence. After seeing the thank-you note to Luo Yiming for his sponsorship in the newspaper, he couldn't help but praise Zhou Xiye's skillful tactics.
Li Qingshan sat opposite him, watching Ling Xingzhi's happy expression, and didn't dare to ask any more questions.
"Mayor, the situation with Madam is much better. She said she wants to go back to Beijing."
Ling Xingzhi put down the newspaper. "Back to Beijing?" He frowned. "She's still sick. Let's wait until she's better."
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