Chapter 26: Secretary Ding Yuan

  At the end of the year, the provincial party committee finally announced a personnel adjustment plan.

  Ding Yuan took office as Secretary of the Huaiyang Municipal Committee, and at the same time, the Provincial Committee also approved the appointment of Liu Zhiwen by the Xilin Municipal Committee, and Liu Zhiwen concurrently served as Director of the Xueyuan District People's Congress.

  More than a year ago, there were loud calls for Ding Yuan to take up a regional post, but it was unclear what the situation was. All that could be heard was thunder, but no rain came. As time went on, even Ding Yuan himself lost confidence. This time, after the adjustment was announced, Ding Yuan was extremely surprised. He had never thought that he would become the Secretary of Huaiyang Municipal Party Committee. Huaiyang City is very important in Xishan Province and has a certain reputation nationwide. Its position is crucial, with well-developed transportation links. The highway from the provincial capital to Huaiyang City is almost complete, and once the entire highway is open, it will take only three hours to travel from the provincial capital to Huaiyang City. Currently, a long section of the highway has been opened to traffic, and according to plan, the entire route will be fully connected after the Spring Festival.

  Ding Yuan never forgot Xu Shaojie. More than a year ago, he met Xu Shaojie on the construction site, and Ding Yuan had a deep impression of him. Although they didn't meet again later, Ding Yuan basically knew about Xu Shaojie's situation thanks to Zhang Shaocai. Zhang Shaocai took every opportunity to introduce Xu Shaojie's situation when he was with Ding Yuan, so much so that later on, whenever Ding Yuan met Zhang Shaocai, the first thing he would ask about was Xu Shaojie's situation.

  Ding Yuan knew that Xu Shaojie had joined the party in his freshman year, became a class leader, and later experienced a series of setbacks including a heartbreak. Ding Yuan was very surprised to learn that Xu Shaojie had joined the party so early, as there were few young people with such foresight. Later, when he learned that Xu Shaojie was dating, Ding Yuan was not pleased, thinking that at such a young age, he should focus on his studies rather than relationships.

  However, after learning about Xu Shaojie's heartbreak, Ding Yuan became worried for him because he knew the situation of Xu Shaojie's rival. Liu Zhiwen from Xueyuan District was someone Ding Yuan was familiar with - cunning and experienced. His children would definitely not turn out to be bad people.

  Ding Yuan did not know much about Liu Hong, but as for Zheng Qingshan, his impression was still good - straightforward and honest. Ding Yuan was secretly worried that if Liu Zhiwen were to make a move against Xu Shaojie, he would step in to help him at the critical moment. However, his opinion of Xu Shaojie would change greatly.

  What happened next made Ding Yuan feel surprised again - this was not a decision an ordinary young person could make. Calm, mature, polite and courteous, Xu Shaojie handled the situation well when Cai Juanhua and Luo Ling came to school looking for him, causing quite a stir. It turned out that Xu Shaojie had been wronged, but he did not get angry and dealt with the matter very well.

  Everything was told by Zhang Shaocai to Ding Yuan.

  Zhang Shaocai is very clever and never speaks ill of Xu Shaojie. As soon as he opens his mouth, he says that Xu Shaojie has skills, this younger brother of mine is not simple, and will definitely have a future. Don't forget to ask Ding Yuan to take good care of Xu Shaojie from now on.

  Ding Yuan was about to leave the provincial capital, and he wanted to see Xu Shaojie in person to see if this young man was as outstanding as Zhang Shaocai had said, or if it was exaggerated. With only two days left before taking office, Ding Yuan was extremely busy with countless banquets, and he could hardly cope with them all. After finally finding some time, he met with Zhang Shaocai, who had come to congratulate him, and expressed his thoughts, making an appointment at the same time. Zhang Shaocai was overjoyed and promised to notify him in time.

  "Shao Jie, this is a great opportunity. Secretary Ding is now the secretary of Huaiyang Municipal Party Committee, a leader at the provincial level. In ancient words, he is a regional lord. Secretary Ding wants to see you, which means he wants to know more about you. You'd better prepare well, I'll pick you up from school tomorrow afternoon and you must make a good impression in front of Secretary Ding, don't let me down."

  Xu Shaojie nodded, such an opportunity means what, Xu Shaojie is very clear, there is no background at home, three generations are ordinary people, now the opportunity has come, can leave a good impression on the municipal party secretary's mind, of course to take it seriously.

  "Shao Jie, I've thought it through. I'm preparing to develop in Huaiyang City. The difficulty level of the provincial capital is too high. Secretary Ding has arrived in Huaiyang City and at least has a certain foundation. There's more room for development there. With Yi Jie in the provincial capital, that's enough. We're all here, it's a bit wasteful. Don't try to persuade me, I've already made up my mind."

  "Big brother, you don't have to be like this, it makes me uncomfortable when you act like this."

  "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm expanding my business, and the provincial city won't give up. With a foundation in place, Yi Jie will take good care of it, there's no problem at all, I'm very reassured."

  Xu Shaojie knew that Zhang Shaocai had laid a solid foundation in the provincial capital through his efforts over the past few days, so going to Huaiyang City was largely for himself. It would be a pity if he lost this relationship now that it had finally been established. Ding Yuan's future development space is large, but if he goes to Huaiyang City and not in the provincial capital, they will rarely see each other for a long time, and their relationship will gradually fade away. Xu Shaojie still has more than two years before graduation, and by the time he graduates, it will be too late.

  "Shao Jie, don't have any other ideas, home is where you have the most hope. You must seize this opportunity well, big brother can still help you now, but in the future when you come out, you'll have to rely on yourself."

  Xu Shaojie looked at Zhang Shaocai, and for a long time, he didn't say a word.

  Back at school, Xu Shaojie carefully considered how to face Ding Yuanshuai. The current Xu Shaojie had matured a lot and he thought back to the events that occurred not long after the start of the semester. Cai Juanhua and Luo Ling came to the school, but ultimately ended up with nothing, as Liu Hong stirred up trouble in between them. Although Cai Juanhua didn't say it out loud, everyone knew that Liu Hong was behind it all. Xu Shaojie didn't pursue the matter, not because he didn't want to, but because doing so wouldn't have any substantial impact on Liu Hong, who wouldn't admit to anything anyway, and the whole thing would just be swept under the rug. This incident taught Xu Shaojie that many things require evidence, even if it's fabricated.

  So, when facing Ding Yuanshuai, Xu Shaojie needed to think carefully. The most important principle was to be sincere. As a student, he would definitely have to ask for favors from Ding in the future, and trying to impress him with empty words would be suicidal. In a very short time, Xu Shaojie figured out how to handle this meeting.

  Xu Shaojie got a haircut, dressed in simple and elegant attire, looking satisfied with himself. The officials couldn't stand his avant-garde style before, but simplicity and naturalness were what they liked most.

  Sitting in the car, Xu Shaojie's mind had been active for a long time. He hadn't seen Secretary Ding for over a year and didn't know what kind of situation this meeting would be like. The sky was already dark, and on a winter night, it was still a bit cold. Xu Shaojie didn't like using the air conditioner, sitting in the car with the air conditioner made him feel stuffy.

  Inside Fuyuan Teahouse, Xu Shaojie had been waiting for an hour, already more than half an hour past the scheduled meeting time. Xu Shaojie's face showed no signs of impatience. Fuyuan Teahouse was newly opened and the teahouse industry in Xilin City had just started to take off. There were not many teahouses in the city, and people generally thought that the consumption level here was high. With tea to drink at home, why would anyone come to a teahouse?

  "Haha, Fellow student Xu Shaojie, we meet again."

  "Director Ding, hello, you're so busy, I'm disturbing you."

  "Xiao Xu, take a seat, I have several appointments today and came late, making you wait for a long time."

  "Secretary Ding, I'm your junior, waiting a bit won't hurt anything."

  Ding Yuan smiled and sat down, everything was his deliberate arrangement. The waiter came in every 10 minutes, Zhang Shao had left early, it was because of Zhang Shao's exaggerated introduction that Ding Yuan wanted to see what kind of person Xu Shaojie was. From the waiting time just now, Ding Yuan's first impression was not bad. Xu Shaojie remained calm and composed, without the impatience and restlessness of young people.

  "Xiao Xu, I heard you're doing well in school, joined the party in your freshman year and became class leader. I'm really happy for you! Young people should always strive to improve themselves. Now that you're a sophomore, have you thought about what you want to do after graduation?"

  "Secretary Ding, I've thought it over, after graduation I want to work in an administrative unit."

  "Oh, your plan is quite early, are you striving for this goal now?"

  "Yes, I've been making preparations."

  In just a few words, Ding Yuan became somewhat interested. A young man under the age of 20 had such plans for his future. The key was that this young man came from an ordinary family, not an official or red family. Why would he have such profound views on power? If he hadn't experienced some kind of misfortune or other stimuli, he wouldn't have had such thoughts, at least not at this age.

  "Xiao Xu, can you tell me why you have such an idea? Of course, if it's difficult to say, you don't have to."

  "Secretary Ding, in front of you, I have nothing to hide. You are the first elder who cares about my future. My growth experience is simple. I grew up in a small county town and later went to Xilin University for college. My father was a university student before the special period and was assigned to work in a small county town. He spent his whole life in administrative units, feeling unfulfilled. When my admission notice arrived, he passed away. His death had a great impact on me. I know that my father was stimulated by my brother's unjust treatment and my college admission, which led to his downfall. My father lived a diligent and honest life, never offending anyone, yet still couldn't live a comfortable life. So, when my father passed away, I made up my mind about my future goals. I also want to prove it to my father."

  Ding Yuan looked at Xu Shaojie, and for a moment did not speak. What Xu Shaojie said was simple, but the hardships behind it, Ding Yuan understood. He had been through too much, so he thought for a moment before speaking up.

  "Xiao Xu, from your words, I can tell that you must have had a very bumpy experience and seen many things. However, such an attitude cannot be brought into the workplace or society. An overly aggressive mentality is prone to causing trouble."

  "I can control my emotions, do you know that when I was a freshman, I talked about having a girlfriend, but actually, we didn't really date, we didn't even take a walk together, it was just a feeling in my heart. But this girl and my family were different, my father is a leader, there was a gap between us. Later, when something happened, at first, I was furious, even thinking of killing the person who snatched my girlfriend away. It was my older brother Zhang Shao who stopped me, making me understand that handling things requires calmness, considering the cause and effect, timing, life is not always smooth sailing, if you can't withstand setbacks, you can't grow up, you can't integrate into society. So later on, I kept reflecting, adjusting my mindset, doing what I should do."

  Ding Yuan was somewhat surprised, this kind of talk coming from a college student's mouth was not right, such a young man, Ding Yuan had never seen before, at such a young age he could have such understanding, many people who had been in the official circles for many years found it difficult to have such insight, Ding Yuan began to take Xu Yijie seriously, truly seriously.

  "What kind of books does Little Xu like to read?"

  "Secretary Ding, I like reading biographies of famous people, as well as some books on politics and economics, including architecture."

  "Hehe, nowadays university students like reading fast-paced books, such as martial arts novels, and some like reading romance novels. How about you, don't you read?"

  "I like reading Jin Yong's martial arts novels, but I don't like reading romance novels."

  "Why is it like this?"

  "Jin Yong's martial arts novels express many chivalrous ideas, and the main characters mostly come from ordinary families, experience hardships, and achieve success. The plot is also very compact. I once spent three whole days reading "The Legend of the Condor Hero". As for romance novels, I don't like to read them. I tried to read one, but couldn't get into it. I'm not sure what the reason is, maybe I just don't like them, and feel a bit repelled."

  Ding Yuan glanced at his watch and stood up.

  "Hehe, Little Xu, it was great chatting with you. Study hard in school and if you have any difficulties in the future, come find me."

  After Xu Shaojie left, Ding Yuan fell into deep thought. Xu Shaojie was one of the few outstanding young people he had met. He remembered that he had seen a young man from a red family background with similar qualities to Xu Shaojie, but their growth environments were vastly different. Xu Shaojie was practical and didn't like unrealistic things; he was determined at heart and had good self-control. As long as there was an opportunity, he had the potential to soar. Xu Shaojie was a person who knew how to be grateful. He studied Chinese literature but read books on architecture just to help Zhang Shaocai.

  However, Xu Shaojie also had his shortcomings. Perhaps it was because of too many setbacks and injustices that he harbored resentment in his heart. If not controlled well, this resentment could harm others and himself. But one thing was most important: Xu Shaojie didn't have any ulterior motives. The words he spoke today, no matter what his attitude was, were sincere.

  In the current official circles, it was necessary to have young people like him. At this moment, Ding Yuan made a major decision to help this young man with all his might. More than two years had passed in the blink of an eye. By that time, he would still be working in Huaiyang City, and when Xu Shaojie graduated, he would go work in Huaiyang City.

  Ding Yuan had a hunch that Xu Shaojie wouldn't choose to stay in the provincial capital; he would definitely find his own way. As someone who grew up from the grassroots, Xu Shaojie's first step should also be at the grassroots level.

  Xu Shaojie returned to his dormitory and fell asleep, sleeping very soundly.