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

"You are my person. If I don't speak up for you, who will I speak up for?"

Niu Baogen said, "However, I'll say it again: never reach out, or you'll get caught. If they get solid evidence, I will absolutely not plead for you."

"Don't worry, Secretary. Every time I see them, I tell them that they must live clean and honest lives."

Zhang Yufeng changed the subject, saying, "Meng Chunsheng and Gao Zhenliang are really impatient. They actually sided with Jiang Yiming at the very first meeting."

"I didn't expect that either."

Niu Baogen frowned and said, "Fortunately, the organization talked to me before, and I didn't recommend him for the position of county magistrate."

"I heard that you not only didn't recommend him, but also voiced your opposition?"

Zhang Yufeng shook her head with a wry smile and said, "If I had known that the city would send such a troublemaker, I would have preferred to support Meng Chunsheng as the county magistrate."

"Yes, it's a pity I didn't know sooner."

Niu Baogen said, "However, overall, Jiang Yiming did not appear to be that radical. Take today's meeting for example. I originally thought he would insist on voting, but he did not do so and agreed to my proposal. This shows that he himself does not want to have a direct conflict with me."

"Therefore, I should give him appropriate support. This way, it won't be so easy for Meng Chunsheng to team up with him."

"Jiang Yiming is new here and desperately needs support. Do you think he might team up with Meng Chunsheng and his group to oppose you?"

Zhang Yufeng worriedly said, "If they really manage to band together and bring in one or two more standing committee members, I'm afraid things will fall apart."

"From what I know, Jiang Yiming is a bit radical in his actions, but he is an upright person. He and Meng Chunsheng are not the same kind of people."

Niu Baogen laughed and said, "That's why I said earlier that we should provide appropriate support to Jiang Yiming, so that he doesn't feel isolated and helpless and join Meng Chunsheng's camp."

"Secretary, you're really something."

Zhang Yufeng praised, "Meng Chunsheng thinks he can compete with you? He's really overestimating himself."

When it was time to leave work, Meng Chunsheng personally came to pick up Jiang Yiming.

The restaurant is located halfway up the mountain and has a rustic design.

To Jiang Yiming's surprise, Zhao Yuan, the director of the Finance Bureau, was also there.

"County Magistrate, please come in and have a seat."

Zhao Yuan invited her with a smile.

"You two are really something, you've brought our God of Wealth here."

Jiang Yiming joked, "If you had told me earlier that a beautiful goddess of wealth would be attending, I would have canceled everything else and come to the dinner."

"Haha, it was our fault for not revealing our secret weapon."

Gao Zhenliang smiled and said, "Director Zhao, please sit to the right of the county magistrate and keep him company on my behalf."

"Okay, I'll respond to Secretary Gao's call and spend some quality time with our county head."

Zhao Yuan then sat down to Jiang Yiming's right.

Normally, with county leaders Gao Zhenliang and Meng Chunsheng present, she wouldn't be qualified to sit next to Jiang Yiming.

But if Gao Zhenliang speaks up, she can rightfully sit next to Jiang Yiming.

"I've heard that Director Zhao is a heroine with a huge capacity for blood and energy. Please take good care of her later."

Jiang Yiming laughed.

"County magistrate, this hasn't even started yet, and you're already raising your gun to surrender?"

Meng Chunsheng smiled.

"County magistrate, a man cannot say no."

Zhao Yuan continued.

Everyone was an adult and married, so they made some crude jokes without any restraint.

"Did you hear that, County Chief? Director Zhao said you're no good. You'd better show your strength so that Director Zhao doesn't misunderstand."

Gao Zhenliang said with a smile.

Everyone chatted and laughed, and the meal brought them closer together.

After the dinner ended, Meng Chunsheng asked Zhao Yuan to take Jiang Yiming back to his residence.

Jiang Yiming's alcohol tolerance is around one jin (500ml), which is quite impressive.

But Zhao Yuan was even more aggressive, drinking alcohol as if it were water.

Jiang Yiming was walking unsteadily, while Zhao Yuan acted as if nothing was wrong.

After getting off the car, Wang Lifeng went to help Jiang Yiming, but Zhao Yuan pushed him away.

She put her arm around Jiang Yiming's shoulder and helped him into the room.

I then cooked him a hangover soup and took care of him for more than half an hour before leaving.

Wang Lifeng watched from afar, but dared not approach.

Jiang Yiming slept fitfully until the next day. He vaguely remembered that a woman was taking care of him the day before.

When questioned, Wang Lifeng told the truth.

"You're not doing a good job as a secretary. If people misunderstand you, you'll be in big trouble."

Jiang Yiming said, "In the future, in situations like this, we should find a way to prevent the other party from entering the house."

"Yes, County Magistrate, I've got it."

Jiang Yiming didn't say anything more and took Wang Lifeng with him to the countryside.

Today they are going to conduct research in Niujiao Village, Gaotai Township, the poorest mountain village in Xichuan County.

Tang Zhichao, director of the government office, accompanied him.

To save on fuel costs, Jiang Yiming only allowed one car to be driven.

Gaotai Township is one of the townships in the county without any road access.

The lack of a road does not mean there is no access; it simply means the road has not been paved with cement.

The road to Gaotai Township is quite rugged, paved with gravel. If you encounter a sharp gravel, your tires can be punctured.

It took two or three hours to reach Gaotai Township, close to noon.

The Gaotai Township government building is very dilapidated; it is a single-story building made of stone.

If it weren't for the sign that read "Gaotai Township People's Government," Jiang Yiming would have thought it was a village office.

"County Head, welcome to Gaotai Township to guide our work."

Du Zhaolin, the Party Secretary of Gaotai Township, respectfully stepped forward to greet him.

“Secretary Zhaolin, your Gaotai Township still has a lot of room for improvement.”

Jiang Yiming looked at Du Zhaolin, who was dressed simply and had dark skin, and had a pretty good impression of him.

"Yes, County Chief, our Gaotai Township is very backward. It's hard to understand the hardships of Gaotai Township unless you experience it firsthand."

Du Zhaolin invited, "County Chief, the food is ready. Let's eat and chat."

Inside the room, there was a wooden table and several wooden chairs.

There are six dishes on the wooden table.

Most of the dishes were green vegetables, with only one being a meat dish.

Looking at the food on the table, Tang Zhichao, the director of the government office, said with a dark face, "Old Gao, is this what you're serving our county head?"

"Director Tang, I would also like to treat you to a feast, but we don't have the funds."

Du Zhaolin said, "We bought these things from our fellow villagers."

"This pheasant was killed by the dog of one of our township officials; otherwise, we wouldn't even have this meat dish."

"It's great. The wood ear mushrooms, wild mushrooms, pheasant, and radishes are all fresh, green vegetables, which are very healthy."

Jiang Yiming smiled and said, "Everyone, please sit down."

The group then sat down to eat.

Jiang Yiming ate with relish. He usually had many social engagements, which inevitably involved eating large amounts of meat and fish. Occasionally, he would eat things like mushrooms from the mountains, which he found particularly delicious.

The pheasant stew with mushrooms, in particular, is incredibly delicious.