"We'll use his plan against him. Deliberately sign the mineral sales contract for the five prefectures, and then you'll use your position to alter the signature to Xiang Wentian's," Chen Feng said calmly.
"Alter a signature? How?" Miao Qifeng hadn't grasped the idea yet.
"Elder Miao, while others might not be able to change it to Xiang Wentian's signature, you certainly can. Think about it carefully, don't you sign various documents for Xiang Wentian every day? At such times, you can deliberately conceal the mineral contract for the five prefectures with other documents. Xiang Wentian, acting out of habit, will sign it, and the matter will be settled," Chen Feng explained.
"It's that simple?" Miao Qifeng asked, his eyes wide with curiosity and excitement.
"Some things are that simple. Of course, this requires you to have excellent psychological fortitude. You cannot show the slightest sign of guilt in front of Xiang Wentian. Xiang Wentian is an old fox; if he senses something is wrong, he'll immediately detect the danger, and then all our efforts will be in vain," Chen Feng cautioned with seriousness.
"Don't worry about that. I've managed to reach the position of second-in-command in the provincial city. My psychological quality is absolutely up to par," Miao Qifeng said excitedly. He had initially thought he'd have to endure for another seven or eight years before he could deal with Xiang Wentian, never expecting that Chen Feng would bring the timeline forward so much.
"Having a strong psychological quality isn't enough. After all, Xiang Wentian is sharp as a tack and very cautious in everything he does. If he were to seriously examine the signed contract, our plan would fail, and the consequences would be unimaginable," Chen Feng said, furrowing his brow.
"Then what do you suggest?"
"You can't catch a tiger without going into its den."
"You can't catch a tiger without going into its den? What do you mean?"
"You've worked with Xiang Wentian for a long time. You should know that Xiang Wentian has a particular vice: he likes to... with his colleagues' wives..." Chen Feng said, enunciating each word.
"Chen Feng, are you saying that to alleviate Xiang Wentian's caution towards me, I have to offer up my wife?" Miao Qifeng was stunned.
"You should be more familiar with this matter than I am."
"Chen Feng, is there any other way? I'm the second-in-command of the provincial city. If word got out that I offered my wife, how would I be able to live?" Miao Qifeng said with difficulty.
"Elder Miao, to be honest, there are other methods, but I strongly suggest using your wife. The reason is simple: this method is far quicker, more ruthless, and more effective than any other. Elder Miao, you need to decide quickly. In a few days, Xiang Wentian will be transferred to the capital, and a new provincial party secretary will be appointed. You might never have another chance to be the provincial party secretary. You understand this better than I do. In politics, if someone doesn't get promoted by the time they reach the age for it, they'll likely remain stagnant for the rest of their lives." Chen Feng pressed on.
"Then can I use a fake wife to fool Xiang Wentian? Honestly, offering up my wife feels like too great a loss." Miao Qifeng said with a troubled expression.
"Xiang Wentian is incredibly astute, and he knows you very well. Do you think a fake wife could fool him?" Chen Feng retorted.
"Is it true that this is the only path left?" Miao Qifeng was clearly conflicted.
"Elder Miao, as I said earlier, using your wife is the quickest, most ruthless, and most effective method. Of course, if you're unwilling to become the provincial party secretary for your wife's sake, then disregard what I said," Chen Feng said, using a tactic of stepping back to advance.
"Chen Feng, you don't need to say any more. I've made up my mind. You can't catch a tiger without going into its den. Women... I can find many others outside if I offer one up. There's no need to overthink it. To get ahead in politics, especially at my level, one must abandon scruples." Miao Qifeng bit his lip tightly.
"Elder Miao, since you've decided, I'll go make the arrangements now," Chen Feng said smoothly.
"So soon?"
"Speed is of the essence. We must act quickly before Xiang Wentian realizes what's happening."
"So you mean I have to offer up my wife tonight?" Miao Qifeng asked dejectedly. It would take time to persuade his wife to go along with this. No woman would readily accept being with another man.
"Yes," Chen Feng replied concisely.
"Chen Feng, the time is too short. My wife might not be willing," Miao Qifeng continued dejectedly.
"Elder Miao, this is simple. Just be direct with your wife. Tell her that if she cooperates this time and helps you secure the position of provincial party secretary, you'll promote her entire family and give her a large sum of money. If she refuses, then you'll have to divorce her and find another woman to do this with. I'm confident that once you say this, your wife will happily go find Xiang Wentian," Chen Feng said with confidence. In the political arena, most prominent figures were in political marriages. Frankly, there was little genuine affection; it was a matter of mutual exploitation.
"Hmm, Chen Feng, I wouldn't have thought you, so young, would understand women so well." With a sigh, Miao Qifeng no longer hesitated and went directly to discuss the matter of persuading Xiang Wentian with his wife. Chen Feng, meanwhile, returned to the five prefectures overnight.
As expected, on the third day, Xiang Wentian personally came to the five prefectures.
"Chen Feng, I have an important matter for you to handle this time," Xiang Wentian said directly.
"Elder Xiang, you're too kind. Is there anything, you could have just said it over the phone. There's no need to come all this way yourself," Chen Feng said, feigning ignorance.
"This matter is quite significant, so I had to come in person. The five prefectures, aren't all the mines shut down? That's a very good policy. Gold mountains and silver mountains are not as valuable as green waters and lush mountains. My point is, with so many mines closed, not realizing any benefits is a great pity. Why not package them and sell them to foreign investors? That would revitalize the assets effectively," Xiang Wentian said earnestly.
"Elder Xiang, you are the provincial party secretary. You should know the rules regarding this. If it were just one mine, I, as the head of the Development and Reform Commission, could sign. But now it's so many mines in the five prefectures, and you expect me to sign off on their sale alone. I don't have that much authority," Chen Feng said, deliberately probing Xiang Wentian.
"You don't need to worry about that. The rules of the game are rigid, but people are flexible. If I say you can, then you can. Just sign it," Xiang Wentian continued to coax Chen Feng.
"Since Elder Xiang has said so, then I'll sign," Chen Feng said, playing along.
"In that case, sign it quickly. You just need to sign; I'll handle the rest." With that, Xiang Wentian eagerly pulled out the documents he had prepared beforehand from his briefcase.
"Elder Xiang, signing it so quickly, won't there be any problems?" Chen Feng continued to test Xiang Wentian.
"Chen Feng, you are the political prodigy I admire the most and am grooming to be a future leader. Surely you don't think I would harm you?" Xiang Wentian countered.
"Elder Xiang, I didn't mean it that way. I was just asking casually." Saying this, Chen Feng acted as if nothing were amiss and signed the contract.
"Elder Xiang, how about this, now that the contract is signed, why don't I take you on a tour of the five prefectures? You work tirelessly, and you must be tired. You need to relax properly," Chen Feng said deliberately.
"Another time. The issue of the mineral sales in the five prefectures is quite serious, and I need to get back and handle this matter quickly." Without waiting for Chen Feng's reply, Xiang Wentian left the five prefectures in a hurry. Xiang Wentian was in such a rush for two reasons: first, he feared that any further delay might cause Chen Feng to reconsider and retract his signature. Second, he had a good experience last night trying out Miao Qifeng's wife, and he still had an opportunity to continue his attempt during the day.
"Elder Xiang, please review these documents. If there are no issues, please sign them." Just as Xiang Wentian was anxiously waiting in his office for Miao Qifeng's wife to arrive for another attempt, Miao Qifeng deliberately entered the office with a large stack of documents...