Chapter 2329 - 2329

Liu Zhizhong returned to the office floor, routinely greeting the colleagues he met.

His popularity here was genuinely good.

Handsome, with a good demeanor, he won a basketball championship, maintained good relations with city leaders, and was friendly with coworkers, leaving no room for criticism.

Especially during this wave of Spring Festival cultural tourism activities, Liu Zhizhong achieved significant results, bringing prestige to the Cultural and Tourism Bureau, and everyone who worked overtime alongside him also earned money, with bonuses being quite substantial!

Therefore, Liu Zhizhong's popularity in the Cultural and Tourism Bureau was already very high, and everyone had high hopes for his career, seeing limitless potential.

Such a young official was hard to forget, and it was difficult not to be close to him.

Thus, naturally someone informed Liu Zhizhong, saying, "Hey, the eldest son of the Zhang Family came looking for you, Director Liu. He went to your office, then left after sitting for a while. Did you see him?"

Liu Zhizhong, of course, expressed his thanks, saying he saw him downstairs, and then returned to his office.

Upon returning to his office, Liu Zhizhong was indeed extra vigilant.

He always felt that Old Sir Zhang inviting him to a birthday feast might not be a good thing. Zhang Xiaoyang entering his office was probably not great either.

This keen intuition was also a judgment, so Liu Zhizhong took out his electromagnetic pulse detector from his document bag, powered it on, and ran it.

Oh my god...

Wasn't that unlucky?

Liu Zhizhong's detector quickly triggered an alarm and indicated a direction.

Thus, Liu Zhizhong quickly found an eavesdropping device firmly glued under the desk, slightly flashing green, in operational status.

He immediately turned off the detector, quite satisfied with his cleverness.

His face was full of cold humor, thoroughly understanding what was happening.

He sat down on the couch behind his desk and shook his head.

His office had always been very secure, and he'd used the detector several times without finding anything unusual.

But today, after Zhang Xiaoyang's visit, something unusual occurred.

Sure enough, this brat's visit wasn't for anything good.

Today he could plant an eavesdropping device in my office; in the future, might he tamper with my vehicle, installing an eavesdropping or tracking device?

Of course, Liu Zhizhong kept calm and did not remove the eavesdropping device, because he was upright and honest, unafraid.

Moreover, if Zhang Xiaoyang comes to oppose me someday, haha, I'll have direct evidence, hehe...

Originally, for Zhang Taikang's 77th birthday celebration, I was planning to prepare a gift, but now it seems that a casual gift will do, or if angered, I might not prepare one at all, so what?

The Zhang Family's authority is current authority in Southeast, but in the future, will it definitely still be theirs? Haha...

Then, Liu Zhizhong gathered his materials and headed to the bureau's meeting room to prepare for the meeting.

He really guessed correctly, that Zhang Xiaoyang indeed considered having someone install an eavesdropping device in his custom luxury car, haha...

A couple of days later, Zhang Qidong invited Liu Zhizhong for dinner. Of course, Xiong Wenwu was there too. In reality, these two deputy mayors usually could not work well together elsewhere.

Why?

Because the mayor has too much power, which compresses the permanent deputy mayor's authority; the permanent deputy mayor often views the mayor as an obstacle on the path to promotion; their secret conflicts occur inevitably.

But in Dongnan City, the relationship between the mayor and deputy mayor has grown closer due to Liu Zhizhong's influence.

Liu Zhizhong's sense of achievement at the Cultural and Tourism Bureau has enhanced both their reputations.

Xiong Wenwu even won the basketball championship, successfully lost weight, and was energetic, exceedingly grateful to Liu Zhizhong.

The three gathered for a meal, not in a hotel or restaurant, but at Zhang Qidong's home.

Liu Zhizhong was the main chef, while Xiong Wenwu and Zhang Qidong lent a hand, and the three had an enjoyable time!

Once the table was set with food and drink, the three began eating and drinking. Honestly, with the year over and the Spring Festival atmosphere fading, this was the genuine celebration party for the three alone.

After a few drinks, Liu Zhizhong mentioned Zhang Taikang's birthday feast, indicating that a few days ago, Zhang Xiaoyang personally invited him at his office, asking the two mayors if they were also invited.

Upon hearing this, Xiong Wenwu and Zhang Qidong both expressed that Old Zhang himself personally invited them.

But Xiong Wenwu said, "Hey, this time I heard, Old Sir Zhang is 77, not 79, so he's inviting selectively. Citywide, he's invited officials at the Standard Level and above; those below have not been invited! Zhizhong, you're quite a special case!"

Zhang Qidong laughed, looking proud of his disciple, "Zhizhong has been so dazzling in Southeast, succeeding in drawing Old Sir's attention. So being included in the invitation list is normal, isn't it?"

Xiong Wenwu said, "I don't find it abnormal, just worried Zhizhong might be too outstanding, too dazzling possibly adversely affecting his future?"

This consideration was somewhat meaningful.

Liu Zhizhong suddenly realized something, saying, "Looks like I should properly cool down a bit."

Zhang Qidong was taken aback, then somewhat enlightened, "Hmm, cooling down too isn't bad. Always being too prominent can attract unwanted attention, especially since Zhizhong's relationship with Zhang Family's eldest son already isn't good."

Xiong Wenwu nodded, "Yes, when navigating officialdom, one must hold back at times and reveal at others. Old Zhang, how about... in April this year, the Provincial Party School has a training class for young cadres; let's enroll Zhizhong into it?"

Zhang Qidong replied, "Alright, let's decide on that. At that time, Dongnan City will have six spots, we'll reserve one for Zhizhong."

Seeing this, Liu Zhizhong was naturally delighted, raised another glass to express thanks.

Everyone knows that attending such a training class typically requires leave from work, lasting three to five months; afterward, one generally gets promoted within three to five months.

This means that Liu Zhizhong could be at the deputy level by the end of the year at age 27, a promotion pace fast enough akin to riding a rocket.

Liu Zhizhong pondered a moment, then said, "Might Zhang Xiaoyang also be attending this training class?"

Xiong Wenwu nodded, "Certainly. Zhang Xiaoyang serves as the deputy county mayor there, has had a good year, and achieved impressive results. The city's cultural tourism Spring Festival operations have also boosted his achievements. Going out for training at the Provincial Party School with grassroots achievements coupled with theoretical successes, promotion becomes a matter of course. It's expected by then; you will become deputy level while he advances to standard level, just depends where he'll lead as an official."

"With Southeast Zhang Family's domain, their children always rise quickly. But discussing Old Sir Zhang's birthday feast, how are the two mayors planning to gift?"