Cheng Jemin was on pins and needles in his office. The speech was over, and he was confident about his performance. However, the final outcome was unpredictable. It was true that he had secured five votes beforehand, but would the result be determined by the number of votes? Or, would those who had promised to vote for him with a thump on their chest actually keep their word?
"Brother Cheng, I was a bit nervous on stage and stumbled over a few words. You know, Director Li values cultural literacy the most," Pang Xiaoguang said with a long face.
Cheng Jemin had long lost his former fondness for Pang Xiaoguang. He only put up with him because this person still had some value. Hearing his complaint, Cheng Jemin comforted him gently, "Younger brother, for such matters, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate. Besides, leaders might not even care about these minor flaws."
"Thanks for your good words, Brother Cheng. If I could be as knowledgeable as you, I wouldn't have performed like that today. What about it, let's go for a drink tonight to make up for this morning's missed opportunity!" Pang Xiaoguang said with a sincere look. Cheng Jemin found it hard to associate this sincere face with the person in the black diary who had forced him to move out of the borrowed house. Was this the person who called him brother to his face but plotted behind his back? Reflecting on what was written in the diary, Cheng Jemin found it hard to believe.
"We'll see!" Cheng Jemin replied evasively.
"What do you mean, 'we'll see'? It's settled! It's going to rain tonight, so Director Chen definitely won't have any activities. Going out for entertainment will help us work better!" Seeing that Cheng Jemin was unmoved, Pang Xiaoguang continued to persuade him.
Cheng Jemin had no interest in listening to Pang Xiaoguang. The speech was over, but the meeting room door remained closed. Half an hour had passed, and there was still no result. Wasn't this too abnormal?
In theory, for a speech competition for a dispatched cadre, the result should be announced immediately. The current situation left Cheng Jemin both hopeful and anxious. Just from this half hour, he could tell that the voting results were unexpected. How would the Party Group handle this?
The so-called democratic centralism advocated nowadays was actually a farce. If a unit were truly democratic, and every matter required collective wisdom and advice, how would the authority of the top leader be maintained? Therefore, in Cheng Jemin's view, the essence of democratic centralism was high concentration after full democracy.
Cheng Jemin even thought crudely that if the current democratic centralism were explained in a popular way, the most appropriate metaphor would be that some leaders strongly needed to be both a prostitute and a virtuous woman.
What was the result of today's vote? Cheng Jemin didn't dare to think about it. The best outcome would be that he received the most votes. However, even the most votes couldn't guarantee absolute victory. If the Party Group insisted on promoting a predetermined candidate, then even with the most votes, it would only be a reference. If the Party Group agreed to his assignment to the countryside, then this voting result would be a strong basis, allowing the Party Group to announce it with confidence and righteousness!
Cheng Jemin, burdened with worry, looked at the closed door of the meeting room, feeling restless. This result was too important to him, as it was a critical juncture for his future.
The meeting room door opened, and Director Li Zhonghua walked out with a serious face. Following him was Chen Bingnan, who also looked serious.
Pang Xiaoguang and others, who were originally preparing to inquire about the result, stood aside tactfully.
"Jemin, come with me." Chen Bingnan walked a few steps and then turned to call him.
Seeing Chen Bingnan's serious face, Cheng Jemin's heart pounded like a drum. Suppressing his anxiety, he quickly walked to Chen Bingnan's office.
Chen Bingnan was moved when Cheng Jemin hurried to pour him water as soon as he entered. Objectively speaking, this young man was doing a good job as a secretary. However, Chen Bingnan had never praised him to his face. He was afraid that Cheng Jemin would become overconfident. Many people seemed mature and experienced on the surface, but once they received the leader's favor, they often became light-headed and indulged in political fantasies, which was extremely detrimental to their development.
He had been grooming Cheng Jemin as a promising young talent. However, the situation had deviated far from his expectations! He felt he had let this young man down. He should have been more cautious from the beginning. If he had cut off Cheng Jemin's thoughts from the start, this awkward result wouldn't have happened.
After the voting results were announced, Chen Bingnan felt a bit heavy-hearted. His secretary, who was supposed to be a mere participant, had received five votes. There were only nine votes in total, and his votes had actually exceeded half!
If it were for selecting reserve cadres, Chen Bingnan would have been pleased. However, this was for selecting someone to go to the countryside. Among the five votes, besides his own, who had cast the other four? What were their intentions?
After the results were announced, Director Li Zhonghua gave him a meaningful look. Chen Bingnan felt that Li's eyes were full of thorns. He could guess what Li was thinking: Li assumed that Chen Bingnan had meddled in this matter!
Chen Bingnan wasn't afraid of Li Zhonghua, but he didn't want to strain his relationship with the top leader. Chen Bingnan clearly remembered a calligraphy hanging in Li Zhonghua's inner office. It read: "If your heart is kind, there will be no hateful people; if your heart is simple, there will be no complicated matters. If you do not doubt, the world will not be cold. If you do not leave, the world will not be far. If you do not hate, the sky will be warm."
Chen Bingnan once thought it was absurd for such a calligraphy to hang in Li Zhonghua's office, even with a hint of irony. Li Zhonghua was capable but suspicious and not a good person.
After the results were announced, Chen Bingnan defended Cheng Jemin frankly and accepted the task assigned by Li Zhonghua: to have a heart-to-heart talk with Cheng Jemin.
"Xiao Cheng, sit down, let's talk." Chen Bingnan took a sip of water and said solemnly.
Cheng Jemin had been observing Chen Bingnan's expression. When he saw the slight frown and a hint of anger, he realized something might have gone wrong.
"Xiao Cheng, do you know how many votes you received?"
Although Cheng Jemin already knew he had at least five votes, he shook his head as if he didn't know.
"Five votes. Do you know? You received five votes. Besides my vote, at least four out of the other eight judges voted for you. Hmph, these people have ulterior motives, and their intentions are despicable!"
The phrase "despicable intentions" made Cheng Jemin's heart tremble, but he quickly realized that Chen Bingnan wasn't referring to him. In handling this matter, Cheng Jemin had only thought about his own future, but he hadn't considered that Director Chen might have thought about it from another angle. From Chen Bingnan's perspective, it seemed to make sense.
As Chen Bingnan's secretary, sending him to support agriculture for three years was like rubbing salt in Director Chen's wounds.
"Director, I'm sorry. I'm immature and have caused you trouble..." Although he was secretly pleased, Cheng Jemin carefully admitted his mistake.
Chen Bingnan waved his hand. "Xiao Cheng, this isn't your fault. Your intentions were good. Besides, even if you hadn't planned it, they wouldn't have let this opportunity pass."
Seeing Chen Bingnan's overreaction, Cheng Jemin felt a bit anxious. He knew Chen Bingnan well. If this strong deputy director insisted on overturning the voting results, what would happen?
While there was a part of Chen Bingnan that didn't want some people's plots to succeed, there was also genuine concern for him. For a regular cadre, receiving such concern from a leader was fortunate, but Cheng Jemin was most afraid of Chen Bingnan's concern at this moment.
After all, this result was the result of his hard work. If it were to be ruined because of Director Chen's concern, that would be...
What should he do? Should he tell the truth to Director Chen? This thought quickly emerged and was dismissed. If he told the truth now, he would have to explain how he got the other four votes.
How could he explain to Director Chen that he had sought out Zhao Huazhong?
After a moment's hesitation, Cheng Jemin said firmly, "Director, don't worry. Since I was chosen, I'll go."
Chen Bingnan looked at Cheng Jemin seriously and remained silent for a while.
"Director, I had many immature aspects in this competition, which gave others a chance to exploit. This time, they targeted me to challenge you."
Chen Bingnan nodded, agreeing with Cheng Jemin's analysis. As his secretary, Cheng Jemin couldn't overthrow him, but he could certainly cause trouble for his subordinates. This was a warning to him.
"Overturning this result isn't difficult, but I think it would only fulfill their wishes. Some people are already spreading rumors that your work style is domineering, even more so than Director Li!"
Cheng Jemin spoke quickly and glanced at Chen Bingnan, who was listening attentively. He continued, "Director, Director Li is broad-minded and won't take these rumors to heart for now. But over time, even the most broad-minded person will have doubts."
"Jemin, I understand your intentions." Chen Bingnan stood up from the sofa and patted Cheng Jemin's shoulder affectionately. "I, Chen Bingnan, stand tall and straight. I have nothing to fear from their gossip. Besides, although Director Li hasn't explicitly stated it, I believe he also wants to uphold the authority of the Party Group!"
As the top two leaders of the Water Resources Department, anything agreed upon by Li Zhonghua and Chen Bingnan would generally be approved. Looking at Chen Bingnan, who seemed to be saying, "With me here, you don't need to worry," Cheng Jemin felt a mix of emotions. Director Chen, please don't do a good deed and end up causing trouble!
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