Qi Tongwei: Sign-in relationship started during student days

Chapter 1082 32 Things About Parting

Sha Ruijin stared into his eyes, his tone crisp and decisive: "Do you need me to step in and mediate, or pass on a message?"

Qi Tongwei shook his head slightly: "No need, I think we should just wait and see."

The Zhong family is no ordinary family. If he asks Sha Ruijin for help, it's inevitable that the Zhong family will have some thoughts about it.

Sha Ruijin didn't insist. He took his coat from the hanger and said, "Okay, let me know when you're leaving, and I'll see you off."

After saying that, he was about to leave, looking as if he was about to throw himself into work, completely disregarding his old friend Qi Tongwei, who was about to leave.

Qi Tongwei was taken aback and couldn't help but say, "Hey, Lao Sha, isn't that a bit unreasonable?"

"I'm leaving the province to take up a new post, can't you at least put aside your work and treat me to a farewell meal?"

Sha Ruijin stretched his arms, pulling on his coat, his tone full of helplessness: "Tongwei, you know I just took office, and I haven't even sorted out all the things yet. I really can't spare the time. Next time, I'll definitely make up for it next time I have the chance."

"It'll be next time again." Qi Tongwei feigned displeasure. "I remember you still owe me several drinks."

Before he could finish speaking, Sha Xiaoqian's angry voice came from inside the house, "Uncle Qi, if my dad won't invite me, I will!"

Qi Tongwei turned his head upon hearing the sound and saw Sha Xiaoqian glaring at Sha Ruijin, looking as if she was standing up for him.

Qi Tongwei proudly tilted his head back at Sha Ruijin, "See? My niece really knows how to care for people. All these years of spoiling her haven't been in vain." Qi Tongwei smiled and waved to her, "So, what are you planning to treat your uncle to?"

"Sweet and sour pork ribs, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, and candied sweet potatoes!" Sha Xiaoqian counted.

Ah, these are all dishes she likes to eat.

Finally, he didn't forget to reach out to Sha Ruijin, "Dad, give me some money."

Sha Ruijin was both amused and exasperated. He reached out and ruffled his daughter's hair, saying, "You little rascal, you're quite generous with other people's money. Fine, I'll give you the money. I'll leave your Uncle Qi in your care."

"No problem." Sha Xiaoqian gave a very standard salute.

Sha Ruijin took out some money from his pocket and handed it to his daughter. Then he looked at Qi Tongwei, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a more sincere look in his eyes, "Tongwei, when you get to this new place, be careful in everything you do. The officialdom is not like other places. One wrong step and you're doomed."

Qi Tongwei's smile faded slightly, and he nodded: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"It's good that you know." Sha Ruijin raised his hand to look at his watch. "It's getting late. I have an inspection to attend to, and the municipal party committee is already waiting for me. There's also a standing committee meeting tonight, so I won't be coming back today."

He said it again, "Also, when you leave, be sure to tell me, and I'll personally take you to the airport."

After saying that, Sha Ruijin strode out the door, his leather shoes making a clattering sound on the cement floor of the stairwell, and walked away into the distance.

Qi Tongwei watched Sha Ruijin get into the car, shrugged, and looked at Sha Xiaoqian, "Xiaoqian, let's go then."

Sha Xiaoqian gave an OK sign and rushed upstairs to change her clothes.

Instead of eating sweet and sour pork ribs or squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, the two went to McDonald's on the most bustling commercial street in the provincial capital.

This can be considered a trendy food in this era.

While I was eating, the phone rang. It was He Anxia.

"Tongwei, I've arrived in the provincial capital. Where are you?"

Qi Tongwei said it was at the McDonald's on Jiefang Road.

He Anxia almost thought he had misheard.

McDonald's?

"What are you doing there? Inspecting?"

Qi Tongwei said, "What inspection? I'm not a leading cadre of the Han River, what am I inspecting?"

Right now, I'm just an ordinary person, out for a stroll, enjoying some good food and leisure time.

"What kind of food is a foreign fast food brand? If you want to eat any kind of food, I'll have Liu Lan arrange it for you. It'll be the most delicious food in China, anything that's available in China." He Anxia spoke with great arrogance.

"Forget it, your stuff is too corrupt. I'm not like you now. I have to be mindful of my status. Let's join the masses in criticizing capitalist food instead," Qi Tongwei said, feigning arrogance.

People really laugh when they are speechless.

He Anxia laughed and scolded, "Hey kid, now that you've become a vice-provincial level official, how come you're getting more and more arrogant? I can't even see you off? Huh?"

Qi Tongwei said, "Putting it into practice is no problem, but don't make such a big fuss. You know my current status. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I'm under the spotlight. There might be someone watching me from all sides, trying to create a big news story for me."

As he spoke, Qi Tongwei looked around suspiciously, but did not notice anything unusual.

No wonder Qi Tongwei was so cautious.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there has never been a case of someone reaching the deputy provincial level at the age of thirty-two.

This can't be described as rare; it's unheard of.

In other words, Qi Tongwei benefited from the promotion; otherwise, no matter how much he achieved, he would probably have been suppressed until after the age of thirty-five.

“Alright, let’s go with ‘Lanting Xiaoxu’. It’s a mid-range teahouse that Liu Lan recently opened, catering to the general public. The prices are reasonable and the privacy is quite good.”

After finding out the location, Qi Tongwei said he would be there in twenty minutes, then quickly walked out of McDonald's with Sha Xiaoqian's packed food.

After instructing the driver to take Sha Xiaoqian back to her residence, Qi Tongwei discreetly hailed a taxi and headed straight for the place He Anxia had mentioned.

He Anxia wasn't lying to him. The teahouse's entrance was indeed ordinary, with gray bricks and black tiles, and a plain wooden signboard. It looked no different from the ordinary restaurants on the street, exuding a very approachable vibe.

But Qi Tongwei knew in his heart that the more inconspicuous a place looked, the more hidden its secrets were inside. Whether a place was high-end or not could never be judged by its appearance; you had to step inside to know.

Actually, there's a lot more to Liu Lan's teahouses than meets the eye; He Anxia had told him about it during a casual chat.

Their locations are generally in areas that are neither remote nor bustling, and their main clients are figures in the political and business circles. Their role is to collect information and develop local relationships.

After giving his room number, the waiter led Qi Tongwei into a private room inside.

As soon as he pushed open the antique wooden door, a refreshing aroma of tea mixed with sandalwood wafted towards him. Looking up, he saw Liu Wan sitting on a mahogany chair by the window, holding a celadon teacup in her hand, smiling at him.

Qi Tongwei paused, a hint of surprise flashing across his face: "Liu Wan? What are you doing here?"

Since their meeting in Paris, the subtle barrier between them dissipated, and they began to see each other more often, becoming friends who could confide in each other.

Qi Tongwei would occasionally offer non-political advice to the Liu family's businesses, while the Liu family would occasionally provide information from higher-ups that was neither too important nor too trivial. They understood each other implicitly, yet remained open and honest.

Of course, Liu Wan's offensive did not stop there; on the contrary, it became even more intense, leaving Qi Tongwei unable to "avoid her at all costs."

Qi Tongwei once asked the other party, given their current friendship, there was no need to develop in that direction.

Liu Wan said: Before, it was for the benefit of the family, but now it's for myself. Everyone has the right to pursue love. She is just following her heart and pursuing her own love.

Liu Wan gently placed the teacup on the table, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "What? This 'Lanting Xiaoxu' is opened by my sister, can't I come and sit down?"

Qi Tongwei chuckled, pulled up the chair opposite him, and sat down: "You know that's not what I meant."

Liu Wan stopped teasing him and her smile faded. "My sister said you're being transferred and leaving Hanjiang, so I came all the way back from Europe to see you off."

Qi Tongwei picked up the tea that the waiter had just brewed and said, "What's the point of sending it? It's just a change of office location, not a trip across the ocean that's never coming back."

“There has to be a ceremony,” Liu Wan said, half-jokingly and half-seriously. “Besides, you are a potential stock that our Liu family has always wanted to invest in. We need to know where you are going and what position you will hold so that we can continue to increase our investment.”

Qi Tongwei chuckled, "With your Liu family's extensive network of information, do you really need to ask me?"

Liu Wanmei glanced at Qi Tongwei and said frankly, "If it were someone else, of course I wouldn't need to, but you're different."

You always say we're friends, right? I want to be sincere with my friends.

Qi Tongwei shrugged and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. To this day, I still don't know where I'm going."

Liu Wan put down her teacup, her brows furrowing slightly, clearly disbelieving: "You're not hiding this from me because you're afraid I'll bother you, are you?"

Qi Tongwei said with a wry smile, "How could that be? I really didn't know. The provincial party committee said that the higher-ups are still considering it, and it will probably take some time."

"That's why I was planning to take advantage of this time while the higher-ups are considering it, to go back to Handong and have a good vacation." He paused, then added, "How about I trouble Mr. Liu to inquire about it for me?"

Seeing Qi Tongwei's explanation, Liu Wan believed him somewhat and shook her head, saying, "I'm afraid I can't help you with that. If it were an ordinary deputy provincial-level official, our Liu family could probably find out."

You're attracting a lot of attention; at 32, you're a deputy provincial-level official. I'm afraid the places you're going to won't be ordinary.

Perhaps personnel appointments don't even reside in the Organization Department, but rather in the hands of those top figures; we simply can't reach them.

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei wholeheartedly agreed. If the Liu family had truly powerful connections, they wouldn't be scrambling to curry favor with this person or that person.

"It seems we can only leave it to fate."

After saying that, he asked Liu Wan how her work in Europe was going.

Liu Wan said, "Things went relatively smoothly. Through capital operations, we have successfully acquired controlling stakes in several mainstream European and American media outlets and registered our own cultural and entertainment group."

Next, following your vision, we will delve deeper into the entertainment industry. On one hand, we will generate profits through star-making and content creation. On the other hand, leveraging the influence of these artists and their social networks, we will gradually penetrate and influence political figures, and then develop our core business.

Qi Tongwei waved his hand, "Liu Wan, I think you can change your mindset and step out of the broker circle."

Or, to put it another way, treat brokerage as just one aspect of your core business, evolving from a simple brokerage family into a political group.

Liu Wan seemed to sense something. "You mean?"

Qi Tongwei said, "Don't you think that countries like Europe and America, where capital is free, are your paradise?"

In China, where public power is clearly stratified and operates according to rules, even the largest capital must operate within the policy framework.

But it's different in Europe and America; their power and capital are mutually reinforcing.

Politicians need votes and funding, which requires the support of capital.

Therefore, public power is corrupted, and when they receive capital support, policy-making cannot avoid the demands of capital.

To put it bluntly, in China, power reigns supreme, and capital is merely an important, but not particularly important, auxiliary factor in the rise of power.

In Europe and America, it's different; capital is king, and capital can even interfere with changes at the highest levels.

This is extremely fatal in our country's view.

What you need to do is follow this pattern, play a game that everyone is playing, make your Liu family a source of capital, a conglomerate, and ultimately support your own political group.

"If possible, it wouldn't be surprising if someone from your Liu family ran for president of some country several years from now."

Liu Wan became interested and asked Qi Tongwei if he had a detailed plan.

Qi Tongwei said, "No, this is just a temporary idea of ​​mine. The specific strategy will have to be investigated and researched by your Liu family. However, I think this matter has great potential."

He was well aware that in some countries in later generations, even black people could get promoted, so it was not surprising that a person of Chinese descent could do so.

Just as Liu Wan was about to ask more questions, the wooden door of the private room creaked open, and He Anxia's voice drifted in first, with a hint of mockery.

"Vice Governor Qi? Vice Governor Qi, where are you? Xiao He from Heji City is here to report to you!"

Before he could finish speaking, He Anxia appeared at the door. Before Qi Tongwei could get up to greet him, he quickly ran forward, respectfully extended both hands, and shook hands with Qi Tongwei, deliberately increasing the pressure, just like a subordinate reporting to his superior.

"How is it, Vice Governor Qi?" He Anxia looked around at the furnishings of the private room, then looked at Qi Tongwei, his eyebrows dancing with excitement. "Is the place I arranged for you to your liking? In terms of privacy and low profile, it's flawless and absolutely befitting your status as the youngest vice-provincial-level leader in the country!"

Qi Tongwei was amused by his exaggerated behavior and raised his hand to punch him in the chest. The force was not too light or too heavy, and it was a familiar scolding: "Alright, that's enough. You've gone too far."

"Hey, wait a minute! Vice Governor Qi, our statuses are different now, we can't be so informal." He Anxia deliberately dragged out his words, still holding onto Qi Tongwei's hand. His eyes darted around, and then he put on a look of sudden realization. "Oh dear, look at my mouth, I misspoke! How can I call him Vice Governor? I know the rules, you don't call someone Vice, you have to call him Governor Qi."

As he spoke, he deliberately winked at Liu Wan beside him and raised his voice a few decibels: "Looks like my awareness isn't enough."

Governor Qi, Xiao He is here to report on his work and requests your feedback and instructions.

"Screw you."

Qi Tongwei raised his foot as if to kick, and He Anxia quickly dodged the kick, still verbally arguing.

“Governor Qi, you’re not right. We Red Star Party members may criticize, but we never resort to violence. You should always be mindful of your position as a leader.”

"Get lost, can't you be serious for once?"

Qi Tongwei had no way to deal with He Anxia, ​​so he simply ignored him, sat down again, and drank his tea, adopting an attitude of "you continue, I'll just watch your performance."