Chapter 2375: Financing (Part 10)
"Furthermore, do we understand the situation of that... Secretary Zhou? Is she a life secretary dispatched by the General Office, or one Zhou Wei personally recruited? How many years has she been with Zhou Wei? Have they had an intimate relationship? And one huge pitfall—is she pregnant? Does she have children? If she's just Zhou Wei's private secretary and not dispatched by the General Office, then defining this matter becomes rather difficult..."
"So Old Liu's characterization is accurate. This is a private matter between Chu He and Zhou Wei. If Chu He didn't deal with it on the spot, then he can only wait for Zhou Wei to handle it."
"What if... Zhou Wei really doesn't handle it?" Zhang Yunmi was still digesting the previous long passage when a foolish question popped into her head.
"He wouldn't dare. Otherwise, his reputation would truly stink. He's here to get things done, not to show off. So it's impossible he won't handle it." Zhang Xiaoqi considered other possibilities and added: "If he really isn't clear-headed, then we can only hope that Secretary Zhou was dispatched by the General Office. That way, Chu He would still have one final avenue for redress—the supervising unit! If it escalates there, then Zhou Wei would truly become a public enemy of the Senate."
Ah! So back then, I went directly to the final avenue in one step?
Zhang Yunmi first marveled at her own past, then after a moment's thought, grasped the key point.
"So, if we want to deal with this secretary, we actually can't use force in Guangzhou?"
She has aptitude! Zhang Xiaoqi thought, saying: "Correct. But not entirely. Don't forget—what state are we currently in?"
What state? Zhang Yunmi suddenly couldn't answer.
"We are—Guangzhou is still under military control. Old Liu is the head of the military control committee, and by default is the meeting convener for Senators stationed in the Guangzhou area. If his temper flared, he could directly convene a meeting of the Senators, then dispatch a squad of National Army soldiers to shoot that secretary full of holes for lese-majesty, and no one could say anything."
"But... on what basis?" Zhang Xiaoqi spread her hands. "Why would he do that? Chu He isn't his brother-in-law..."
Zhang Yunmi let out a "pfft" of laughter, immediately covering her mouth.
"Then what is he doing now?" Zhang Yunmi casually raised her chin toward the outside, picking a random direction.
Ah, this goes back to the beginning? Oh, still "he"!
"Old Liu's heart is... deep!" Zhang Xiaoqi swallowed the word "black" and replaced it with a more neutral expression—what if Old Liu got what he wanted?
"Doing a snap inspection—that's a pit."
"He's... pitting Zhou Wei?" Zhang Yunmi raised a question, then suddenly felt that Chinese was wonderful, and Zhou Wei's name was quite interesting.
"Why would he need to pit him? This Zhou Wei has already buried himself more than halfway." Zhang Xiaoqi avoided characterizing whether to "pit" him and directly defined the matter from another angle first. She was getting more interested as she spoke. Feeling her throat was parched, she fished out a bottle of kombucha from the drink box under the seat, unscrewed the cap, and took several gulps before continuing: "Old Liu should now be called gathering materials and compiling reports."
"Submitting what report?"
"Let me ask you: what's the relationship between Old Liu and Zhou Wei?"
Of course, it's a purely collegial relationship. What other relationship could there be?
She suddenly realized this "relationship" wasn't "that relationship." Thinking further, she said:
"I've attended several meetings about this Nanyang Company. It feels like a shell company. The specific business hasn't been figured out either. They only say it's like the various East India Companies, but from the literature I've read, the various East India Companies themselves were all different? Instead, the demands on Guangzhou City are particularly many: wanting to raise silver here for operations, wanting to recruit colonists for development, wanting to set up material production for supply...
Mayor Liu just talked some people who wanted to open a steel factory into leaving the other day, then was muttering about how Laiwu City is under Laisteel, Qingshan District is under WISCO. This Nanyang Company probably also wants to create a 'Guangzhou City under Nanyang Company.'" Zhang Yunmi organized her thoughts while recalling.
"Actually, it wouldn't be impossible for Old Liu to agree. It's a national policy company! Even if they don't pay local taxes, the radiation and driving effect is still very obvious. But then their headquarters moved to Sanya and they don't pay taxes here at all." Zhang Xiaoqi, having moistened her throat, immediately identified the key point within her area of expertise. "This kind of thing—using Guangzhou's resources to build Zhou Wei's achievements. We'll certainly cooperate with cooperation. The Senate is our home. Adding bricks and tiles to our own home, we have to be willing. Besides, the quality is there. But wholeheartedly willing? That's impossible." This was speaking quite directly.
Zhang Yunmi recalled that Liu Xiang had once discussed "the relationship between central and local governments" with her and nodded.
"Back to this Chu He. According to what was said today, probably more than a dozen Senators were blocked by that Secretary Zhou, but only he immediately turned around and came here. To put it nobly, it's called trust. Conversely, if we don't help him, he could bite back and say we betrayed his trust."
Zhang Yunmi opened her mouth, wanting to say: "It wouldn't go that far." Thinking about how, after her father's case had come out, she had hated the Senators. Except for a few classmates she was normally friendly with, she had viewed almost all Senators as annoying and "harboring ulterior motives," or else "indifferent." Actually, thinking about it, others were probably worried about "good intentions being treated as donkey liver and lungs."
Seeing others, one could understand oneself. Zhang Yunmi secretly felt regret. To put it plainly, her so-called "strength" back then was, in others' eyes, merely a child's temperament of "not knowing what's good for her."
"I just said we can't use force dealing with it directly. We can only put pressure on Zhou Wei to make him handle it himself. How to apply pressure tests skill. No matter which of us steps up directly, it's not worthwhile. To deserve that kind of face, Chu He would need to have at least saved our lives first."
Zhang Yunmi nodded repeatedly: if it were her, she wouldn't be willing either. We can empathize—empathy is empathy—but empathy is just for self-satisfaction. Going through fire and water for you is impossible.
"This self-inspection is the method?" Zhang Yunmi had done secretarial transcription work for a while, but because it had no interest relationship with her, she had never thought deeply about it. Without personally experiencing the grandeur of document warfare where every word is significant, how could she quickly understand?
"Self-inspection is just collecting materials. The key is, once materials are ready, how to write the report." Mu Min pointed out: "No matter what results are found, whether everyone has excellent work style or everyone is a puddle of mud, the report starts with a sentence: 'After some Senators reported that a certain Senator's private secretary exhibited such-and-such improper behavior, with such-and-such suspicion, this phenomenon has attracted the high attention of all Senators permanently stationed at Guangzhou Municipal Government...'"
Zhang Yunmi quickly connected this to situations she had encountered when doing document summaries for him. So the first few lines contained this crux! She had already deduced the follow-up operations herself...
Such a major action—good or bad—Yangcheng Express would definitely report it, Lingao Daily would also have to publish it. Even if finally designated as "internal reading," it would still have to appear in Weekly News... In short, this matter would be widely announced, and every Senator would know.
In future cadre training, such a significant event would definitely be used as a typical case study. The last one to enjoy this treatment was Mayor Liu himself! Hmph! That life secretary of his! Served him right!
Zhang Yunmi subconsciously ignored that her own father's life secretary was also one of the teaching cases...
She looked at Zhang Xiaoqi, who was at this moment immersed in the exhilarating feeling after her "complete explanation." Her mood was very complicated.
"Figured it out?" Zhang Xiaoqi couldn't help but interject.
"Mm." Zhang Yunmi's response was somewhat muffled.
Hm? Zhang Xiaoqi noticed something was off—that voice wasn't right. Where did your mind wander just now? She continued guiding the topic: "So, today we're doing a snap inspection. After the inspection, do you understand why we only checked units of the Senators who were at the meeting today?"
"Understood. For those like Liang Xinhu who don't know the situation today, if we ran over to do a snap inspection, it might be seen as targeted."
"Only checking our few units won't take much time. It can be done today... Tomorrow, Zhou Wei should be back from Foshan."
"Then, wait for Zhou Wei to make an offer?" Zhang Yunmi had finally deduced the entire outline.
Zhang Xiaoqi looked gratified, like "my daughter has finally grown up": "In the end, cooperation is still needed. If that Chu He is smart, he can also make an offer!"
The sedan gradually slowed and stopped gently.
They had arrived.
Twenty-four hours later.
Outside the Guangzhou office of the Nanyang Company, known as "Zhou Family Fortress," another sedan chair arrived under the glow of the setting sun.
The Guangzhou office didn't have its own building; it borrowed a few rooms in Guangzhou Great World. Zhou Wei had no manpower available at the moment. Even his and his wife's guards were being used like foreign ministers, running around busy with investigations and liaisons. That Secretary Zhou—selected for him only after his wife became pregnant—he had secretly enjoyed just once on the voyage to Guangzhou before pushing her into work at the Nanyang Company's Guangzhou office. Only after the Guangzhou local government assigned two National Army soldiers as accompanying guards according to regulations did security requirements get met. Now he had returned to Guangzhou—although suddenly called back—and after these two young men helped place the luggage in the Huizhou office, they would also bid him farewell and return to the National Army's Guangzhou garrison to complete their mission.
"These two young fellows are quite attentive. I wonder if there's a way to keep them for work." Zhou Wei thought with small schemes while watching the two work.
"Chief, I've contacted the municipal government." Secretary Zhou, who had warmly welcomed him back, hurriedly reported on the phone call. "They said Mayor Liu, Senator Ai, and Senator Wang have a long meeting today. Since you're tired from the journey, you can meet tomorrow afternoon."
(End of Chapter)