Chapter 28 I am the Eldest Son of the Manipulative Group

  At night, when having dinner at Dongmi Park, Lu Zhong called up Hou Jianjun.

  There were quite a few people from Li Xiangyang's side, four or five men and women. Du Bogao, the director of the county business bureau, Ma Lingyu, the head of the county TV station, and her boyfriend Zhang Bocai, who was also the deputy director of the county People's Hospital. In addition, there was Liu Ming, the deputy director of the news supervision department of the county party committee propaganda department. This young man naturally played the role of Li Xiangyang's errand boy and wine server.

  It's clear that Li Xiangyang and his friends are all foodies, they speak and act very straightforwardly.

  Inside the private room, after everyone had introduced themselves, it quickly became lively. The waiter continuously brought up dishes, a full table of chicken, duck, fish and meat. In this era where the delicacy of dishes was not well known, it was considered particularly sumptuous. The wine was Maotai, brought by Li Xiangyang.

  Lu Zhong looked at the dishes on the table and smiled, saying: "Why is there no beef or mutton? I heard that our Wushan will soon fully open up the meat market, implement market-guided prices, and after the price of beef and mutton rises, it won't be easy to eat anymore." Currently, the price of beef and mutton is a bit cheaper than pork.

  Li Xiangyang smiled and said: "Does Brother Zhenzi like to eat beef and mutton? That stuff has a strong smell, what's the point of eating it?"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "It won't have a strong smell if you eat it in hot pot. Let's do it another day, I'll invite all of you brothers and sisters to my house for hot pot."

  Everyone laughed and said it was good. Ma Dajie smiled brightly: "Director Lu, when the time comes, I'll bring a videographer over to record us, leave some memories. When Director Lu gets promoted in the future, this will be proof that we knew you."

  Everyone burst out laughing, and without a doubt, Lu Zhong was the absolute star of the table today. No one would steal his thunder, only play along.

  These few people who came are all quite good friends of Li Xiangyang, taking the opportunity to get acquainted with the new public security bureau chief. The power of the public security mouth is now getting bigger and bigger, almost everything can be managed, it's like being half a county head.

  Moreover, although it is now emphasized that cadres should be younger and more knowledgeable, a 22-year-old deputy department-level cadre may exist in national ministries, provincial departments, or municipal units, but if we say a 22-year-old county-level public security bureau chief, not to mention in Wushan, but throughout the province, even nationwide, I'm afraid there is only one such case.

  The future prospects of Lu Bureau are boundless, so having the opportunity to get to know him, no one wants to miss it. Even Ma Dajie, who is usually straightforward and outspoken, unusually spoke words of flattery.

  Du Bo Tao smiled and toasted a glass of wine to Lu Zhong, he and Li Xiangyang had a deep relationship, they were from the same hometown, classmates, comrades-in-arms, the two should be the kind of friends who could talk about anything, compared to Li Xiangyang, he seemed a bit more reserved, with a more leadership demeanor, no one present dared to underestimate him.

  The Commercial Bureau is one of the most powerful bureaus in the county, dominating the county's commercial system. It has subsidiaries such as food companies, foreign trade companies, department stores, and nearly monopolizes the commercial circulation field of Guangning. There are also dozens of large and small enterprises such as deputy food processing plants, sugar factories, flour mills, etc., pricing, market regulation, all of which are the responsibilities of the Commercial Bureau.

  Although the power of the Business Bureau has gradually shrunk with the acceleration of Wushan District's reform, it is undeniable that it is still one of the most powerful bureaus among all county-level bureaus.

  Liu Ming looked at Lu Zhong with envy, who was a few years younger than him, yet had already become sworn brothers with the county's top figures. Meanwhile, he himself was just a deputy director of the propaganda department, and previously thought he was quite capable and making rapid progress. Only today did he realize what it meant to have others beyond oneself, and heavens beyond one's own heaven.

  But anyway, Lu Ju is now one of the leading figures in the county. Looking at his affable and charming demeanor, his aura is no weaker than that of Director Li and Commissioner Du.

  These people present are all big shots in Guangning, and sitting at the same table with them would make one feel more or less pressured. Liu Ming didn't dare to speak out loud, only pouring tea and serving wine.

  Hou Jianjun is much stronger than him, the position of head of Chengguan Suo is not something that ordinary people can do just by thinking about it. He has a wide range of contacts and his performance is such that he can hold his own against anyone in this room, but when facing Lu Zhong, he clearly falls short by a large margin.

  He felt a little guilty in his heart, but he was not at ease and regretted it even more. He shouldn't have lost his head at that time and suddenly tried to curry favor with Gao Zhikai. Now, he feared that things would get out of hand and both sides would be dissatisfied.

  Lu Zhong called him out to eat, which greatly boosted his morale. Lu Ju was a person who cherished old friendships, after all, they had been through thick and thin together, and although he had ultimately failed to preserve their friendship, he hoped that Lu Ju could forgive him.

  But today, in front of Lu Zhong, looking at Lu Zhong's faint smile and gentle tone, Hou Jianjun was a bit stunned, not knowing when he started to feel that Director Lu was no longer the person he knew. The current Director Lu was someone he couldn't fathom what he was thinking.

  Until the banquet was over, Hou Jianjun's heart was still fluctuating, just like a roller coaster, with Lu Zhong's expression and words, sometimes soaring high, sometimes gently falling down, without a moment to relax.

  The wine party dispersed, and when they went out the door, Hou Jianjun didn't see Jiao Yue and Che. He couldn't help but frown and say: "This little Jiao is really too reckless! Where did he go to cause trouble?"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "I asked him to send the car back to the bureau. Eating is a private matter, no need to use the bureau's car." In fact, there are very few cadres who can have cars assigned to them now, and there is no concept of using public cars for private purposes. But Lu Zhong thought that many things should be done from small matters. Jiao Lei didn't know his own thoughts, and probably still couldn't figure it out.

  Li Xiangyang and Du Botao walked alongside Lu Zhong, exchanged a glance after hearing what he said.

  The entire propaganda department did not have a car, even Director Ding could only occasionally hitch a ride with the county party committee office driver team, let alone Li Xiangyang having his own dedicated vehicle.

  It was the business bureau, due to business needs, that had several cars. The one Du Bo Tao just got into was an indicator car applied for by a foreign trade company, a Polish "little potato", a very simple sedan. This car was originally applied for by the foreign trade company to receive guests, but it was occupied by Du Bo Tao and occasionally requisitioned by the county's main leaders.

  The little bus stopped on the opposite side of the street. At this time, the driver had already found that the leaders had all gotten off and hurriedly turned around to pick them up.

  But Du Botao felt a bit embarrassed after hearing Lu Zhong's words, but he had no way to notify his driver. Before he could frown, the "small potato" (his car) had already stopped beside them. The driver jumped out of the car with a smile and waited for Du Botao's instructions on which leader to send first.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "This car is great, although it's a sedan, it's only around 5,000 yuan. Those who went into business early on can afford it. Du Ge, why don't we take a walk? Your home isn't far from here, right? Jianjun and I will see you off. Li Ge, Ma Jie and her husband live far away, let's call a car to send them back home."

  Du Bo Tao smiled and said: "Good!" He quickly winked at the driver, then smiled and shook hands with Li Xiangyang and Ma Dajie to bid farewell.

  As for Liu Ming, he went to get his bicycle himself since he knew what was interesting early on.

  At this time, the Chinese lanterns were just lit up, and in front of the Dongmi Garden was the main street of the county town. The street lamps lit up one by one, and everything on the street became visible.

  The residential area of the Commerce Bureau is not far from Dongmi Park, after passing an intersection and entering a small alley, walking less than 100 meters is a large black iron gate, inside which are several buildings that serve as the residential quarters for employees of the Commerce Bureau and its affiliated companies.

  Arriving at the door, Du Bo Tao stopped in his tracks and smiled: "Alright, Director Lu and Candidate Hou, you can stay here. Today I'm honored to have two Public Security Guardians escort me, so from now on, I'll definitely be immune to all illnesses."

  Lu Zhong smiled and shook hands with him, originally intending to see him off into the courtyard, but Du Bogao insisted that he and Hou Jianjun leave first. After a brief exchange of polite refusals, Lu Zhong had no choice but to turn back with Hou Jianjun. As they quickly walked out of the alleyway, he turned his head to look back and saw that Du Bogao was still seeing them off.

  Hou Jianjun smiled and said, "Du Boguo is in a difficult situation now. Our department is investigating the manager of his food company downstairs. What's his surname again? Ah yes, Wang."

  The Public Security Bureau's Internal Protection Department was originally responsible for the security of key areas within the county and managing the guard forces of various units. However, as Wushan is at the forefront of reform and opening up, economic crimes in state-owned enterprises have been on the rise, and civil economic disputes have also increased. Therefore, from the middle of this year, the municipal bureau issued a document, clearly defining the work of the Internal Protection Department (brigade, battalion, company) in Wushan City as internal security protection and economic crime investigation.

  In fact, the internal security department of the public security bureau has had the function of economic investigation since its birth, but in the past it was more focused on cooperation with counterpart units, and now it has shifted to independent case handling.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Your information is quite accurate."

  Hou Jianjun smiled and said: "It's just that I don't know if Old Du is related to it, but if he is, then it will be interesting."

  Everyone says that the public security is stupid, just having dinner with someone and calling each other brothers, being affectionate like anything else, turning back to change their face and hoping for trouble, Hou Jianjun is also a representative figure of stupid public security.

  After walking two steps, Lu Zhong said calmly: "Jianjun, you must work hard and don't disappoint my expectations."

  Hou Jianjun was stunned for a moment, and then a huge joy surged in his heart. It seemed that there was hope. Lu Bureau still regarded himself as a confidant. Maybe after a while, the deputy department's treatment that had been stuck for a long time could be resolved.

  "Director Lu, rest assured, from now on I'll strike wherever you point! If I, Hou Jianjun, have any second thoughts or ulterior motives, may I not die a good death!" In his excitement, Hou Jianjun didn't even know how to express his loyalty properly, and he was making vows like those of the Jianghu people. It's no wonder, really - he had once harbored wrong thoughts, and now that he knew many things had gone wrong, wanting to turn back was truly a thousand times difficult.

  What he said was indeed sincere, having witnessed Lu Zhong's rapid rise from being on the verge of being kicked out to seizing power in just a few short months. It was dizzying and still left him bewildered. But he truly admired the young director's tactics, and made up his mind that since Lu had given him a second chance, he couldn't afford to be foolish again and would stand together with Lu through thick and thin, no longer wavering.

  Lu Zhong smiled and didn't say anything else. At this time, not far ahead, a noisy sound came from the front, with someone scolding and a boy's painful cry.

  On the left side of the intersection of the alley and the main street, there was a bakery selling buns and steamed bread. The sound came from there, faintly visible, with several onlookers gathered around.