The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

"I heard that quite a few problems have been uncovered, and the provincial discipline inspection commission will probably issue a report soon."

Jiang Yiming said, "He has only himself to blame."

"Your reward should be approved soon."

Long Shaolin laughed.

"What reward?"

Jiang Yiming asked in confusion.

"Honorary Award".

Ma Qiyun said, "You and your driver acted bravely and saved the country from loss and reduced casualties. There is no problem in awarding you a third-class merit."

"Brother Jiang, many people never get a third-class merit in their entire lives, but you're amazing. It hasn't even been two years since you got a first-class merit, and you've already gotten a third-class merit. I have to say, you're really something else."

Long Shaolin reminded him, "However, both of these meritorious deeds were very dangerous, so you should still pay attention to safety. Leave professional matters to professionals. If you encounter something like this, it's best to hand it over to the police."

“I understand what you mean. The situation was too urgent at the time, and I rushed in in a moment of impulse.”

Jiang Yiming smiled and said, "We still need to be more careful in the future."

The group drank another bottle before parting ways.

Jiang Yiming escorted Ma Qiyun home.

"Old leader, can't the city make any further changes to Minister Zhenlin's matter?"

Jiang Yiming said, still somewhat unwilling to give up.

“Zhenlin has no dealings with Secretary Wei and has no backing. Since Mayor Luo has decided on his destination, Secretary Wei certainly won’t object.”

Ma Qiyun sighed, "As for my opinion, it's dispensable."

"Don't overthink it. Everyone has their low points in life. It's already quite an achievement for Zhenlin to have come this far."

"Let's look on the bright side. At least he's taken a step up, and if he's appreciated by his superiors in the future, he can still make a comeback."

Jiang Yiming nodded and didn't say anything more.

After delivering March home, Jiang Yiming rushed to the mall to go shopping with his fiancée, sister, and mother.

Although he was the deputy secretary of the county party committee in Xinping County, and countless people served him, here he was just a laborer, carrying all the bags and packages.

After a day of shopping, the three women were finally exhausted. Jiang Yiming put their things in the trunk, took them back, and then headed to another hotel.

He has another drinking party in the afternoon.

Those present included Tang Guangyong, member of the Standing Committee of the Mingyang District Committee, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, and Director of the Public Security Bureau; Yang Hao, Director of the Municipal Health Bureau; Jiang Wenjing, Deputy Director of the Municipal Finance Bureau; Du Hongyuan, owner of Hongyuan Publishing House; Jiang Yongchen, head of Xiawang Chain Catering; and Wang Lin, owner of Jiuzhou Company.

These people all had close relationships with him.

"I'm very happy that Brother Jiang has come to the city."

Tang Guangyong laughed and said, "This meal is on me today, and no one can take it from me."

Jiang Yiming was his guiding light and benefactor in his career. He was able to get to where he is now entirely thanks to Jiang Yiming. Otherwise, he would still be the deputy director of Xinping County. How could he be so successful now?

"We are deeply honored to be able to have a meal with Director Tang today, thanks to Secretary Jiang's influence."

Du Hongyuan laughed.

"Mr. Du, I'm really embarrassed by what you said. If you get up a little earlier tomorrow, I'll treat you to tofu pudding."

Tang Guangyong laughed and said, "After all, I can't compare to you big bosses. My salary isn't even enough for you big bosses to have a meal."

"Knowing that our beautiful Goddess of Wealth doesn't like drinking baijiu, I also brought two bottles of red wine, which are said to be very good. Beautiful Goddess of Wealth, please have a taste."

As he spoke, he placed both the red and white wines on the table.

"I'm here to serve you leaders."

Jiang Yongchen stood up and began to open and pour the wine.

Du Hongyuan looked at the red wine on the table and stopped him, saying, "Director Tang, I really like these two bottles of red wine. Give me a chance, these two bottles are fine. I have a case of other red wine in my trunk, I'll exchange them for you."

“I have some more at home. If you like, I can get you a couple more bottles later. This wine is for the beautiful director today.”

Although Tang Guangyong was puzzled as to why Du Hongyuan would make such a request, he still refused.

Seeing this, Du Hongyuan didn't say anything more.

Jiang Yiming noticed something amiss and said, "The red wine in Brother Du's trunk is quite good, it suits my taste. Today I'll accompany Senior Sister Wenjing to drink red wine."

"Since Junior Brother has spoken, I'll drink with you to my heart's content today. We won't leave until we're drunk."

Jiang Wenjing agreed without hesitation.

Jiang Yiming played a significant role in her becoming deputy director.

Moreover, Jiang Yiming is already a deputy division-level official in his early twenties, and based on current trends, he has great potential for development.

If you latch onto a powerful patron, you'll definitely benefit greatly in the future.

Although Tang Guangyong felt somewhat uncomfortable, he still followed Jiang Yiming's instructions, took away the red wine he had brought, and replaced it with the red wine brought by Du Hongyuan.

Aside from this little incident, the whole drinking session went very smoothly, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely.

This dinner party not only strengthened relationships, but also allowed everyone to obtain the information they wanted.

"Brother Tang, Brother Du, you ride in my car, I'll have Brother Li take you home."

Jiang Yiming spoke, and Tang Guangyong and Du Hongyuan naturally couldn't say anything, so they both got into his car.

"Brother Tang, are you a little unhappy about the wine being switched earlier?"

Jiang Yiming spoke up.

"To be honest, I do feel a little uncomfortable."

Tang Guangyong said, "These wines were bought by a friend of mine at a high price. I wanted to share them with everyone. I don't quite understand why Brother Du pulled this stunt on me."

"Brother Du, tell me the reason."

Jiang Yiming didn't actually know the specific reason, but he knew that Du Hongyuan, as a seasoned businessman, handled many things meticulously. Since he proposed changing the wine in front of everyone, there must be a reason.

"Director Tang, if I may ask, where did you get these wines from, and how much did you pay for each bottle?"

Du Hongyuan asked.

"I got it from a boss who does multinational trade."

Tang Guangyong told the truth: "He has wines at three different price points. This one is the best, priced at 899 yuan a bottle. I have dealt with him many times, and I bought it from him at a low price."

After Tang Guangyong said that, Du Hongyuan didn't ask how much a bottle cost.

It was obvious that this was a gift from the boss to Tang Guangyong.

"Director Tang, let me tell you the truth, even if you don't like what I'm saying."

"What are you saying? We deal with each other often, and we're both Yiming's good brothers. Just say what you want to say, and I definitely won't get angry."

"The actual price of this bottle of wine is no more than fifty."

"What? No more than fifty?"

Tang Guangyong was stunned for a moment: "Are you kidding me? Look at this packaging, it's so exquisite. And look at the text on it, it's all in English. This is imported red wine, it can't be this cheap, can it?"

"The high cost of this bottle of wine is due to the outer packaging. If you remove the outer packaging, the cost of this bottle of wine will not exceed ten yuan."

Du Hongyuan knew the other party didn't believe him, so he said, "If I'm not mistaken, the boss you're talking about who does cross-border trade is named Wu Chen."