Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 11 Beautiful Reporter Ye Xiaoman

Wu Zhiyuan sneered, "Songlong, if I remember correctly, you racked your brains to move into this house."

Flowers sent were thrown away; love letters written were torn up; rejection led to kneeling in the rain, crying and wailing…

"Wu Zhiyuan! What the hell are you spouting?!" Bian Songlong threw down his playing cards, stood up abruptly, and pointed at Wu Zhiyuan, "What right do you, a piece of trash banished to this remote mountain village, have to spout nonsense here?!"

Zhang Xianmeng quickly chimed in, "Wu Zhiyuan, you've gone too far! How can you slander Songlong like that! Apologize now!"

Wu Zhiyuan sneered: "Slander? Which of my words wasn't true?"

She knelt on the ground, crying and saying, "Tao Hong, how can I live without you?" What a vivid image that scene is!

That voice, that emotion—it was truly heartbreaking to hear and bring tears to the eyes of anyone who listened.

"You're talking nonsense!" Bian Songlong completely lost his temper, grabbed a water glass and threw it at Wu Zhiyuan.

Wu Zhiyuan tilted his head, and the water glass shattered with a crash.

Sun Runcai grabbed Bian Songlong's wrist: "Songlong! Calm down! We're old classmates, it was just a joke, don't take it seriously!"

Li Mo watched in stunned silence, muttering unconsciously, "Holy crap... there's this too? Song Long was so... devoted back then?"

His words were like adding fuel to the fire.

Bian Songlong abruptly shook off Sun Runcai's hand, his chest heaving violently. He pointed at Wu Zhiyuan and said through gritted teeth, "Wu Zhiyuan! You just wait here! You're nothing but a forest ranger!"

You're destined to rot in these mountains for the rest of your life! Want to be transferred back? Dream on!

Faced with Bian Songlong's outburst and vicious curses, Wu Zhiyuan smiled instead, a smile that carried a condescending pity.

He said unhurriedly, "Secretary Bian, what an air of authority you have!"

What? The secretary of the district party secretary can now wield absolute power and decide the life and death of a staff member in a municipal unit?

"Is your power even greater than Secretary Xu's?"

Bian Songlong sneered: "Secretary Xu is the top leader of the municipal party committee, holding a high position and great power. I personally received him at the district government canteen the day before yesterday."

And you? Will you be able to see him? Unless on TV!

However, I wonder if there's even a TV signal in that deep, remote forest of Qinglongshan Forest Farm!

Bian Songlong turned his gaze to Sun Runcai and said angrily, "Runcai, no offense, but what you did today was dishonorable. How could you put someone exiled to the mountains at the same table as us? It's so beneath you!"

Zhang Xianmeng immediately chimed in sarcastically, "That's right, what's Songlong's status now? He's a big shot by the district party secretary's side, his time is so precious!"

It's a huge honor for us to come and get together with our old friends.

Some people are so tactless and ignorant of etiquette that they're disliked everywhere. They shouldn't be in this kind of situation at all, ruining Songlong's mood for no reason!

Sun Runcai was also seething with anger, but as the host, he could only suppress his displeasure and try to ease the atmosphere: "Songlong, Xianmeng, say less. We're all old classmates and old friends, can't we talk things out properly?"

I invited Zhiyuan, so blame me for not thinking things through and not considering the old story between Zhiyuan and Songlong.

"Come on, calm down. The food will be served soon. We're mainly here to drink and catch up today, let's not talk about anything else, okay?"

However, Bian Songlong's sense of superiority and the humiliation of having his sore spot touched made him unable to let it go.

He snorted coldly, his tone filled with blatant threat and contempt: "Wu Zhiyuan, you're being so sharp-tongued here today just because you've given up!"

But let me tell you, this world is about strength and position!

In that remote mountain village, all you can do is talk the talk!

Longcheng is only so big. People within the system will run into each other all the time. We'll see how things go from here!

"I'd like to see what you can come up with from that Qinglong Mountain forest farm!"

Wu Zhiyuan took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Songlong, you're right. This world really does depend on strength and position."

So why rush into a verbal dispute? Let's wait and see.

Wu Zhiyuan's unusual calmness made Bian Songlong feel as if he had punched a ball of cotton.

At this moment, the waiter led the three guests in single file.

The woman in the lead was a tall, beautiful woman with an outstanding temperament; she was Ye Xiaoman, a reporter from the Longcheng Daily.

She wore a simple yet elegant off-white trench coat over a light-colored knit sweater. Her features were delicate, like a figure from a painting, with clear and bright eyes.

Wu Zhiyuan was both surprised and delighted the moment Ye Xiaoman entered.

Ye Xiaoman, this name was once an unattainable dream for him during his college years.

At that time, Ye Xiaoman was a popular figure on campus, a recognized school beauty, with both talent and beauty, a superior family background, and countless suitors.

Wu Zhiyuan was also one of Ye Xiaoman's admirers back then. The two would occasionally interact because of student council and school club matters, but the huge gap between them made him lack the courage to express his feelings, and he could only bury his admiration in his heart.

Several years after graduation, he never saw her again.

I never expected to see my former dream girl again today.

Following closely behind was Zhao Zhao, the owner of a private enterprise. He was slightly overweight, with a ruddy complexion, dressed in designer casual wear, and wearing a large gold ring on his finger. He smiled before even speaking, exuding the shrewdness of a businessman.

At the very back was Jiang Dongxing from the Publicity Department of the Longdong District Committee. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, was thin, and carried a handbag, exuding the air of a government official.

"Runcai, I'm sorry, something came up at the newspaper office and I'm late," Ye Xiaoman greeted Sun Runcai with a smile.

Before Sun Runcai could speak, Zhang Xianmeng interrupted, "It's understandable that esteemed Reporter Ye is late."

As soon as Zhao Zhao entered, his gaze locked onto Bian Songlong. He immediately stretched out his hands and strode forward, saying, "Secretary Bian, I saw your car downstairs just now. I thought it was the right decision to come today, to be able to sit at the same table with you!"

Jiang Dongxing followed closely behind, respectfully shaking hands with Bian Songlong: "Bian Ke, it's a pleasure to meet you here today as well."

The two men's attentive attitude towards Bian Songlong contrasted sharply with their perfunctory attitude towards everyone else present, especially their complete disregard for Wu Zhiyuan, as if he were invisible.

Ye Xiaoman's gaze fell on Wu Zhiyuan, and a thought struck her: "Isn't this Wu Zhiyuan, the brilliant scholar from Jiang University?"

Wu Zhiyuan pretended to recognize Ye Xiaoman: "You must be the famous school beauty Ye Xiaoman, right? I didn't expect to see you here."

Ye Xiaoman looked at everyone and said, "Let me tell you, Wu Zhiyuan is the vice chairman of our Jiangnan University Student Union and the president of our literary society. He published a novel while he was in college. He's a real talent at Jiangnan University."

"Oh? A great talent?" Bian Songlong glanced at Wu Zhiyuan. "If Reporter Ye hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten that we have a 'great writer' here."

However, these days, talent can't put food on the table, and reading too many books just turns you into a bookworm.

Many published novels are a pure waste of paper; once printed, they become waste paper.

Zhang Xianmeng chimed in, "What a pity! If Zhiyuan had used the same energy he put into writing on his work and interpersonal relationships, he wouldn't be stuck in those deep mountains and forests dealing with wild boars now."

Ye Xiaoman was taken aback for a moment, then asked Wu Zhiyuan, "Where do you work?"

Wu Zhiyuan calmly said, "I'll be a forest ranger at Qinglongshan Forest Farm."

Jiang Dongxing spoke in an official tone: "Qinglongshan Forest Farm is an important ecological barrier for our Longcheng."

Comrade Zhiyuan worked there under harsh conditions, in a remote location, with limited opportunities for advancement, but he did his best to contribute to the cause of afforestation by doing his job well as a forest ranger.