At the Pinnacle of Power: My Insider Report Alarms Bigwigs in Beijing's Elite Circle

When Li Houfa returned to his office in the Second Secretariat, his colleagues all looked at him with a mixture of envy and curiosity.

They envied Li Houfa for having the opportunity to compete for the position of Lin Yi's secretary, and they were also curious about the final result, but no one asked out loud—this was a major taboo in government offices!

The expression of excitement on Li Houfa's face had completely vanished, replaced by a calm one, as if nothing had happened.

He returned to his seat, and not long after, he received a call from Lu Wenbin, the Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee. He then got up and went to Lu Wenbin's office.

"Hello, Secretary-General."

Even after being taken to Lu Wenbin's office, Li Houfa remained calm.

"Houfa, sit down and talk."

Lu Wenbin warmly greeted Li Houfa, and after his secretary had made tea and left, he said, "Secretary Lin just called me and asked you to start as his secretary tomorrow. Congratulations, Houfa!"

"Secretary-General, without your guidance and recommendation, I would not have had the opportunity to serve Secretary Lin. Thank you!" Li Houfa bowed in gratitude.

"Houfa, Secretary Lin values ​​you highly and specifically asked me to assign you to the General Affairs Division. You must work hard, serve Secretary Lin well, and not let him down. In addition, to make it easier for you to serve Secretary Lin, I have arranged accommodation for you in the Municipal Party Committee's residential compound. If you need anything else, just let me know." Lu Wenbin smiled slightly, appreciating Li Houfa's gratitude, and at the same time, he took the initiative to get closer to Li Houfa.

This is both a work requirement and a way to leave a legacy for the future.

Li Houfa said, "Secretary-General, you have thought of everything for me very carefully. I have no other needs in my life, and I would appreciate your guidance in my work."

"no problem."

Lu Wenbin smiled even more broadly, then stood up and shook hands with Li Houfa, "Everything else is fine, you can go and get back to work."

"Okay, thank you, Secretary-General!"

Li Houfa bowed again to express his gratitude to Lu Wenbin before leaving Lu Wenbin's office.

However, before Li Houfa could return to his office, he saw that his mother had called.

After thinking for a moment, Li Houfa went downstairs, found a quiet corner, and called his mother back.

When the call connected, Li Houfa's mother's voice, trembling with tears, came through: "Houfa, am I affecting your work?"

"Mom, it's okay, is there anything urgent?"

"Houfa, your father and I have heard about what happened to you in Linzhou. We never imagined that Shen Meilin would be such a woman! How did you handle this matter? Has it affected your work?" Li Houfa's mother couldn't help but ask.

Li Houfa had a relative who was a civil servant in a district under Linzhou. The relative had asked Li Houfa for help, but Li Houfa refused. The relative harbored resentment towards Li Houfa. After learning that Li Houfa had been cuckolded, the relative immediately sent the news back to Li Houfa's hometown, where Li Houfa's parents found out.

But Li Houfa's parents weren't concerned about losing face; they were worried about their son's condition, especially whether it would affect his work.

Li Houfa said, "Mom, I broke up with Shen Meilin. This won't affect my work."

"really?"

"Mom, really, it doesn't matter!"

Li Houfa answered readily, but he did not tell his parents that he was about to become Lin Yi's secretary.

Keen eyes, tight mouth.

This is a basic skill for a secretary. Li Houfa may not have eaten pork, but he has seen pigs run, so he naturally knows it.

Li Houfa chatted with his parents for a few more minutes, and they were relieved to see that he was in a stable mood.

A few minutes later, Li Houfa hung up the phone and was about to turn around and go upstairs to return to his office when his ex-girlfriend Shen Meilin called. He rejected the call but did not block her.

It's not that he didn't want to, but the house he and Shen Meilin lived in was paid for by him as the down payment and Shen Meilin paid for the renovations. After their breakup, there were still property disputes to deal with.

Not long after Li Houfa returned to his office, he received a call from the security guard at the municipal party committee compound: "Director Li, Shen Meilin from the Municipal Finance Bureau wants to see you. Should we let her in?"

"Don't let her in, thank you..."

Li Houfa raised an eyebrow and quickly responded.

however--

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Meilin's sharp voice rang out: "Li Houfa, if you don't explain things clearly today, I'll cause a scene in the municipal party committee compound!"

"Shen Meilin, wait for me at the door, I'll come down to find you."

Li Houfa said calmly.

Whether it was Lin Yi's instruction to give him a day to sort out his personal issues, or to prevent Shen Meilin from causing a scene in the municipal party committee compound, he needed to go down and meet with Shen Meilin to completely sever ties!

A few minutes later, Li Houfa arrived at the entrance of the municipal party committee compound.

From a distance, Shen Meilin was waving to Li Houfa, as if she had already forgotten that she had cheated on him.

Moreover, she had dressed up carefully today in order to come see Li Houfa.

She is a typical woman from Jiangnan, with a sweet face, fair skin, and a graceful figure. She also knows how to dress well and is the kind of woman who can instantly attract men's attention when she walks down the street.

"Sorry for causing trouble to you."

When Li Houfa arrived at the gate of the municipal party committee compound, he first apologized to the security guard at the gate, and then said to Shen Meilin, "Shen Meilin, let's go to the side to talk, so as not to affect the work of the security personnel."

"it is good."

Shen Meilin nodded obediently, wanting to come over and take Li Houfa's arm.

Li Houfa stepped aside and said, "Shen Meilin, we've already broken up. Please have some self-respect!"

"Houfa, I was really forced by Zhang Xiaobo. If I didn't agree, he threatened to make things difficult for me, make it impossible for me to stay at the Municipal Finance Bureau, and even threatened to make me lose my job! I'm not lying to you, it's all true! Otherwise, how could the Discipline Inspection Commission have released me..."

Shen Meilin looked aggrieved, with tears welling up in her eyes, and appeared extremely heartbroken. However, she was actually just worried that her job would be affected if her affair with Zhang Xiaobo were exposed. She wanted to continue her relationship with Li Houfa so that the leaders of the Municipal Finance Bureau would give Li Houfa some face.

The reason she had this idea was because she had experienced the benefits that came with Li Houfa's identity.

She first met Li Houfa on the day she went for her job interview.

On her way to the interview, she was hit by Li Houfa riding a shared bicycle, sprained her ankle, and had difficulty walking.

So Li Houfa personally took her to the interview location.

People from the Municipal Personnel Bureau saw that Shen Meilin was being helped by Li Houfa. They secretly asked Shen Meilin what her relationship with Li Houfa was. Shen Meilin quickly realized that she was Li Houfa's girlfriend.

This sentence allowed Shen Meilin to successfully enter the Municipal Finance Bureau, and also made her realize that Li Houfa was not simple. So, taking advantage of the fact that Li Houfa had hit her, she frequently contacted him, and eventually won him over with various cunning and manipulative tactics.

Li Houfa's identity did bring her many advantages at work, but it didn't lead to her promotion.

Moreover, Li Houfa's position was not one of real power, and there was little to gain from it.

Under these circumstances, even though she knew that Li Houfa was very likely to rise to the top, she could not resist the temptation of power and money.

After Xiao Yuan was transferred from Linzhou and Zhang Xiaobo, the director of the Municipal Finance Bureau, was promoted to vice mayor, Shen Meilin seemingly passively but actually actively spread her legs for Zhang Xiaobo—hunters often appear in the form of prey!

Her idea was simple and pure—through Zhang Xiaobo, she could get promoted to deputy section chief, earn money, and become "excellent".

If Li Houfa, this potential stock, improves by then, she will have the confidence to marry him and will have a status in the family. If Li Houfa doesn't improve, then she can dump him and choose a better husband!

"Shen Meilin, your affairs have nothing to do with me."

Li Houfa stared at Shen Meilin expressionlessly and said, word by word, "I came down to meet you only to explain two things. First, we have broken up and have no relationship whatsoever, so please don't bother me anymore. Second, the court will decide on the ownership and division of the property in that house; we just need to wait for their notification."

"Houfa, are you going to be this heartless just because I was threatened by Zhang Xiaobo into having sex with him?"

Shen Meilin's eyes were brimming with tears, and her acting skills rivaled those of an Oscar-winning actress.

Li Houfa felt nauseous and turned to leave.

Seeing Li Houfa leave so heartlessly, Shen Meilin was still unwilling to give up. She called out to Li Houfa's back, "Houfa, I came to find you because I can't let go of our three-year relationship. Don't you really care at all?"

Li Houfa stopped abruptly.

It wasn't because of Shen Meilin's words, but because he saw the No. 1 car of the Municipal Party Committee drive out of the courtyard and stop at the gate.

Reason told him that Lin Yi was in the car and had seen him and his girlfriend Shen Meilin, and was even looking at him.

All of this shocked Li Houfa, and his expression changed drastically!

But he only paused for a second before making a decision, taking another step forward to report to Lin Yi.

At the same time, Shen Meilin abandoned all illusions, her expression instantly changing. Pointing at Li Houfa's retreating figure, she angrily shouted, "Li Houfa, do you think you're so great just because you work in the Municipal Party Committee Office? There are plenty of people more outstanding than you among those who are pursuing me. What makes you so arrogant?"

What's so great about that?

Li Houfa ignored Shen Meilin and quickened his pace.

Because he saw the rear window of the No. 1 car of the Municipal Party Committee slowly roll down.

The next moment, before Li Houfa could reach the No. 1 car of the Municipal Party Committee, Lin Yi's face came into view of Li Houfa and Shen Meilin.

Secretary Lin?

Why did he park the car?

Shen Meilin saw the No. 1 car of the Municipal Party Committee and also recognized Lin Yi's face, which commanded the respect of all cadres in Linzhou City!

As if in response to Shen Meilin, Lin Yi smiled slightly at Li Houfa: "Secretary Li, if the matter is settled, accompany me to the Provincial Party Committee."

"Okay...okay, Secretary."

Li Houfa's nose tingled, and his eyes instantly reddened.

He knew Lin Yi's purpose in doing this, and his heart was filled with gratitude and emotion. At the same time, he walked quickly towards the No. 1 car of the Municipal Party Committee.

Meanwhile, Shen Meilin, who had just been cursing like a shrew, stared blankly at Lin Yi's face, a face that commanded the respect of the Linzhou officials, and a series of questions arose in her mind:

Secretary Lin called Li Houfa "Secretary Li"?

He also wanted Li Houfa to accompany him to the provincial party committee?

Could it be that Li Houfa has become Secretary Lin's secretary?

How can this be? !

The car window slowly closed, and Lin Yi withdrew his gaze, never once looking at Shen Meilin.

Chen Rui, deputy director of the General Office of the Municipal Party Committee and director of the Bureau of Government Affairs, opened the passenger door, got out of the car, and prepared to sit in the back seat, letting Li Houfa sit in the passenger seat.

The moment Chen Rui got out of the car, he couldn't help but glance at Shen Meilin, as if he were looking at an idiot!

because.

At this juncture, Li Houfa became Lin Yi's secretary, and his future life was something that Wang Meilin, a frog in a well, could never imagine!

Moreover, Lin Yi had just instructed his driver Yang Hua to stop the car specifically for Li Houfa, and announced Li Houfa's identity as his secretary in advance in front of Shen Meilin.

What immense respect this shows!

Chen Rui didn't know.

But he believed that, given Lin Yi's high regard for Li Houfa, it would be difficult to find a more promising young man than Li Houfa in the entire Linzhou City, let alone those stray dogs pursuing Wang Meilin!

because.

In ancient times, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were the traditional social classes; in modern times, scholars, merchants, artisans, and farmers are the traditional social classes.

Throughout history, the character "士" (shi) has always been ranked first.

Officialdom is paramount!