"Ah, Director Mei, we are all our own people here, no need for formalities. If you don't accept this, it would actually be awkward,"

Ding Mengxiang said.

Having said this.

Mei Yangzhen had no reason to be polite anymore.

Not until the banquet ended, did he take it home and saw that the gift card was worth twenty thousand yuan, and inside the box, there was a pen made of 24K pure gold...

It was around one thirty the next afternoon.

A Passat sedan with a City Committee license plate drove off the highway exit.

In the car was the newly appointed County Party Secretary of Jinde County.

Normally, when the head takes office, the City Organization Department would definitely send a leader to accompany her, but she said she wanted to go by herself, and the department did not insist.

From the highway exit to the county town, there's a road that must be passed called Wu Si Road.

No sooner had the car entered the road than it encountered a traffic jam.

And the line of blocked vehicles was quite long.

The driver immediately got out of the car, inquired about the situation, came back to the car, and told the leader that due to water pipeline repairs, the road ahead was closed and it was unclear when it would be fixed.

The leader was also puzzled.

Logically, even if the water pipelines needed repair, they should wait until midnight when the traffic is less; fixing them at this time was clearly unreasonable.

They waited for about three to four hours.

The road was completely blocked until the repair work was completed.

By the time the new County Party Secretary reached the County Committee building, it was already evening.

When Ding Mengxiang hurried to the County Committee Building, he saw that the door to the secretary's office was crowded with people, each one looking tense.

Upon seeing this,

Mei Yangzhen quickly ran over and whispered, "The leader is angry and ranting inside."

"Has Wu Xiaowei gone in?"

Ding Mengxiang asked.

The Wu Xiaowei he mentioned was none other than the director of the Jinde County Water Resources Bureau.

Mei Yangzhen nodded and said, "Wu Xiaowei has gone in, and the leader also asked to inform Chen Fang; he should be arriving soon."

While speaking.

The door to the secretary's office opened.

Wu Xiaowei walked out looking disheartened.

Seeing this, Ding Mengxiang quickly waved him over; as Wu Xiaowei approached, Ding Mengxiang couldn't wait to ask, "How did it go?"

Wu Xiaowei looked around and said, "Don't worry, leader, I said everything as you planned; Secretary Fan is very angry, now just waiting for Chen Fang to come over."

Upon hearing this, Ding Mengxiang patted Wu Xiaowei's shoulder and said, "Well done."

This whole plan was orchestrated by Ding Mengxiang.

The previous morning.

Wu Xiaowei had brought the pipeline repair documents to Chen Fang's office for Chen Fang, the deputy county mayor responsible for this area, to sign.

Chen Fang had no idea of the deceit.

So he naturally signed them.

That afternoon.

The Water Resources Bureau's construction team was already waiting on Wu Si Road. As soon as the gate from the highway informed the City Organization Department's vehicle had arrived, the construction team immediately closed the road to start work.

The new County Party Secretary hadn't even entered the city yet, stuck on the road for three to four hours; anyone would be angry in that situation.

Wu Xiaowei then shifted the blame onto Chen Fang, claiming that the command was issued by Chen Fang. It was not hard to guess that the new secretary would certainly not have a good impression of Chen Fang.

All it took was for Chen Fang to be severely reprimanded by the new County Party Secretary.

Already unpopular, his situation in Jinde County would become even more difficult.

Ding Mengxiang's purpose was to force him into a "dead end."

After receiving the call,

just as Chen Fang arrived in the lobby of the county government building, Ding Yuan approached him.

"What happened? How could such a thing happen?"

Ding Yuan asked anxiously.

Chen Fang also knew what had happened by then, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "What else could it be; it must have been arranged by our County Mayor Ding."

Ding Yuan, visibly worried, said, "This is bad now. I heard the new Secretary Fan has strong backing and quite a temper. She has already scolded quite a few people. The moment you walk in, you're in for a severe scolding. Maybe I should go and take the blame myself."

Just as he was about to turn around.

Chen Fang grabbed him.

Saying, "Uncle Ding, I was careless this time. I didn't expect Ding Mengxiang to be sly on this matter. Since I made the error, I should naturally face the consequences. I'll handle it."

"In Jinde County, I still have some foundation, and even if scolded, I could withstand it. You're different, you've just assumed office, your foundation isn't stable, and such criticism could make it difficult for you to win people's hearts,"

Ding Yuan said.

Chen Fang smiled slightly and said, "No worries, if they come with warriors, we will counter with warriors; if they bring flood, we will use earth to hold it back. Even if Ding Mengxiang wins this time, so what?"

After saying this, he walked resolutely toward the County Committee Building.

He had just entered the corridor.

When he saw the dense crowd.

Everyone's gaze turned toward Chen Fang.

Suddenly, alongside him Ding Mengxiang stepped out.

"Ah, Comrade Chen Fang, you really mishandled this matter. We won't mention the daytime pipeline repair; you made the newly appointed secretary wait for three to four hours. Still young, eh, handling matters unreliably ..."

Ding Mengxiang said with feigned pity.

Chen Fang smiled, gave a thumbs up and said, "County Magistrate Ding truly has great tactics; Chen admires you!"

"Look at you, talking like that. As the saying goes, 'an old ginger is spicier.' It's livelier with give and take, isn't it? Deputy Magistrate Chen, if you need guidance on something you don't understand next time, you could seek my advice. After all, I've been around,"

There was a full flavor of sarcasm.

Their eyes were also full of the pride of a victor.

Then looking at the director of the Water Resources Bureau, Wu Xiaowei, standing behind him, there was an air of arrogance that came from having backing.

"Director Wu, I didn't see it coming. You really had a solid backup,"

Chen Fang said.

Wu Xiaowei put on a very wronged expression and said, "Deputy Magistrate Chen, I don't understand what you are saying. It was clearly the document you signed. I, Wu Xiaowei, merely followed the rules. Alas, officials outrank by one level crush people to death; it's tough, really tough …"

All present were old hands in the officialdom.

From this back-and-forth exchange, everyone could discern something.

But discerning was one thing,

no one would sympathize with Chen Fang.

After all, Chen Fang, who scolded Ding Mengxiang for being "motor-mouthed," was young and reckless, and he had to pay some price.

"Alright, Deputy Magistrate Chen, don't keep Secretary Fan waiting any longer, you should go in. Rest assured, we'll be outside praying for you, hahaha …"

Ding Mengxiang mocked.

Some people laughed along with him.

Amid the scornful gazes of the crowd,

Chen Fang knocked on the secretary's office door.

An authoritative female voice came from inside, "Come in!"

Chen Fang pushed the door open.

He saw a woman sitting in a chair behind the desk, facing away from him; this person was the newly appointed County Party Secretary.

"Close the door!"

The woman said in a cold voice.

Chen Fang closed the door and timidly said, "Leader, I would like to report to you about this incident, the inconvenience I caused you …"

He hadn't finished speaking.

The chair moved.

It turned around slowly.

Chen Fang's subsequent words were suddenly halted.

Surprise appeared in his eyes.

The new secretary stood up slowly with a smile and asked, "Chen Fang, regarding the inconvenience you caused me, what are you planning to do?"

"Fan … Fan …"

Chen Fang stammered out the word "Fan" twice but couldn't finish.

The new secretary in front of him was none other than Fan Xian, the woman he had saved during an appendicitis attack.

"Fan what?"

The woman asked with a challenging look.

"Fan … Secretary Fan, good."

Chen Fang said, holding his breath.

Fan Xian walked up to Chen Fang and said, "I would still prefer you call me 'Sister Xian.'

At that moment.

Chen Fang's mind exploded.

He had always thought he had mistaken her for someone else, that the two just looked very similar. With that statement, Chen Fang was completely certain that this woman was indeed Fan Xian.

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