Chapter 122: Zhao Pengcheng and Old Lin
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“Xiao Li, how have you considered what I mentioned a few days ago?”
Zhao Pengcheng sat on the sofa at home, peeling an orange as he questioned the young man before him.
The Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection had assigned an inspector to accompany him—and that inspector was Xiao Li.
Zhao Pengcheng felt that the time was ripe. This young man might not be able to resist the temptation of a deputy-section-level position after all.
Everyone who entered the system wanted to climb higher. It was the most realistic truth there was.
At present, Zhao Pengcheng was trying to tempt Xiao Li with benefits and draw him into the camp of the Municipal Party Organization Department. Once Xiao Li agreed, wherever Zhao Pengcheng went afterward, Xiao Li would turn a blind eye.
He had originally been extremely cautious. Recruiting someone from the Discipline Inspection Commission was dangerous; if he were exposed, he could end up ruined.
But over the past few days, through his constant hints, Zhao Pengcheng had clearly sensed that Xiao Li was gradually becoming tempted.
That was why he felt the time had come.
“Minister Zhao, I… I can’t. I…”
A look of struggle showed on Xiao Li’s face, but it was obvious that he had already been moved. He wanted to refuse, yet he stammered and could not complete a sentence.
“Ah, Xiao Li, as the saying goes, people move toward higher ground, while water flows downhill.”
“A deputy-section-level post—how many civil servants in the system spend their entire lives without ever reaching that rank?”
“Tell me, Xiao Li, if you wanted to rise to deputy-section level in the Discipline Inspection Commission, how long would you have to wait your turn? Ten years? Twenty?”
“But things would be different in the Municipal Party Organization Department. With me looking after you, what do you have to fear?”
Zhao Pengcheng was like an old predator luring some fresh-faced young man, probing him step by step and making promises of one benefit after another.
The struggle on Xiao Li’s face had visibly diminished, and a trace of yearning appeared in his eyes.
“But… I…”
Xiao Li continued to squirm, still making one last effort to resist.
Seeing this, Zhao Pengcheng could not help smiling. Dealing with an inexperienced young man like this was simply too easy.
He rose and walked into the study. Opening a drawer, he took out a bank card.
“The password is six ones. There are fifty thousand yuan in the account. Take it.”
“What? No, no, no, Minister Zhao, I can’t accept it. I…”
Xiao Li shook his head frantically and refused with all his might.
But Zhao Pengcheng firmly pressed the bank card into his hand. His expression grew solemn as he said, “Follow me and you’ll have meat to eat. I can even secure a deputy-section-level post for you. You’re telling me that doesn’t tempt you?”
“When a person is choosing which road to take, the greatest fear is hesitating for even a moment and missing the opportunity.”
“I won’t say anything more. Think it over carefully.”
Having said this, Zhao Pengcheng was no longer in a hurry. He put the bank card away and turned toward the bedroom.
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Winning someone over is much like pursuing a girl. You cannot keep giving endlessly; sometimes, you must also use a little strategic retreat.
When the other person is already on the verge of agreeing, suddenly become a little colder, or a little more reserved.
That way, the other person will grow anxious instead.
Everything that was almost within reach is suddenly getting farther and farther away before their very eyes.
What do you think they will feel then?
“Minister Zhao, I… I agree!”
Just as Zhao Pengcheng was about to reach the bedroom, Xiao Li’s shout finally came from behind him.
Hearing it, Zhao Pengcheng felt every pore in his body relax with satisfaction.
After serving as a cadre for so many years, he had plenty of experience when it came to handling young colleagues.
Zhao Pengcheng turned around, pressed the bank card into Xiao Li’s hand, and patted him on the shoulder. In a solemn, fatherly tone, he said, “In a few days, the Municipal Party Organization Department will coordinate with the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and transfer you over.”
“Then the Municipal Party Organization Department will issue a personnel announcement, proposing to appoint you as a deputy-section-level cadre. Once the procedures are complete, your colleagues and classmates will have to call you Director Li.”
The moment the words “Director Li” were spoken, Xiao Li’s face visibly brightened with excitement.
“Minister Zhao, you’ll have to guide me more in the future. You’re my senior.”
Our future Director Li began fawning over Minister Zhao with an animated expression, bending so deeply that his waist nearly doubled over.
Once a man from the Discipline Inspection Commission bent his back, he could forget about ever straightening it again.
“Mm. We’ll see about that.”
Zhao Pengcheng spoke淡ly, his attitude entirely different from before.
Earlier, he had been brimming with seductive enthusiasm.
But now that Xiao Li had been dragged into the mire and had taken his money, he was one of Zhao Pengcheng’s men.
Naturally, he would treat one of his own differently from an inspector sent to supervise him.
“Xiao Li, I’m going out for a drinking session at eight tonight. You know what to do.”
Zhao Pengcheng looked at Xiao Li and spoke in a low voice.
He was not asking. He was issuing an order.
Xiao Li understood perfectly, but he put on a troubled expression and said, “Minister Zhao, I’m still with the Discipline Inspection Commission for now. Please don’t make things difficult for me. At most, I can stay for two hours.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back within two hours.”
Zhao Pengcheng nodded with a smile and promised him.
Nine o’clock that evening, inside a high-end hotel in Yunbei District, Lingyun City.
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“Old Lin, although I’ve managed to get out this time, I’m still in danger. Unless we destroy the evidence completely, I could still be investigated.”
Zhao Pengcheng sat at the head of the banquet table, his arm slung around the shoulders of the middle-aged cadre beside him.
The two men had drunk until their faces were flushed red. They were thoroughly drunk, and in high spirits besides.
Between them, they had polished off a full two jin of strong liquor.
Zhao Pengcheng’s face was flushed with drunkenness, but he was extremely pleased.
Only by getting out could he have a chance to destroy the evidence.
“Minister, evidence isn’t easy to destroy. After all, it’s money.”
The middle-aged cadre Zhao Pengcheng called Old Lin spoke with a troubled expression.
Zhao Pengcheng’s face darkened. He slammed his wineglass onto the table and said sternly, “Old Lin, when something has to be sacrificed, you must sacrifice it. There are gains and losses in everything.”
“Don’t throw away your official hat over a few hundred thousand yuan!”
“I know you hate to part with this money. After all, the two of us worked hard to rake it in, and we took risks to get it.”
“But if we don’t get rid of it quickly, the Discipline Inspection Commission will uncover it sooner or later.”
“I’m telling you, once they find it, you won’t be able to escape either.”
“You still want to rise in rank afterward? Dream on!”
Zhao Pengcheng began frightening Old Lin. He had no choice but to intimidate him.
Without doing so, Old Lin would not listen and would not dispose of the money quickly.
When that happened, both of them would be dragged down together.
“Minister, this money… Ah, I’ll listen to you. Sacrifice it, sacrifice it, sacrifice it!”
Old Lin hesitated for a long time and agonized over it just as long, but in the end he nodded and agreed to throw the money away.
After all, he himself was exposed to the risk. The money he and Zhao Pengcheng had extorted together was all in his hands.
So if the matter came to light, Zhao Pengcheng would not escape—and neither would he.
During the period when Zhao Pengcheng had been taken away by the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection’s investigation team, Old Lin had been deeply uneasy and apprehensive. He had merely forced himself to appear calm, pretending that nothing was wrong.
Now that Zhao Pengcheng had finally gotten out, he no longer needed to live in constant fear.
The money had better be dealt with after all.
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