Chapter 1 At Night

In the evening, in the courtyard of the stevedores' association, a car came to a halt, and Gu Baisun stepped out.

Not far away, Zhang Ming came out of the main building, waving and calling out to Gu Baisun, "Come over here!"

"Uncle Zhang," Gu Baisun said, hunching over and quickly approaching him, "Is there anything urgent?"

Zhang Ming reached out and grabbed Gu Baisun's arm, leading him toward the main building while quickly explaining, "The chairman is back. I found an opportunity to mention you to him, and I told him about your family's situation."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang," Gu Baisun replied, nodding and bowing.

"Listen to me, no one can take care of you better than you can take care of yourself." Zhang Ming instructed in a low voice, "The positions of the bangdai (gang leader) for both Zhanan and Longkou haven't been decided yet, so you have an opportunity. This meeting with the chairman is very important, so you need to make a good impression."

Gu Baisun was stunned when he heard this, and he looked at Zhang Ming with some trepidation, asking, "Me… how could I be a bangdai (gang leader)? Uncle Zhang, I can't do that!"

"Who the hell is born a bangdai (gang leader)? You have to practice and learn!" Zhang Ming said, walking forward quickly and continuing in a low voice, "Even if you don't become a bangdai (gang leader), you can be a zuotang (chief) or a batou (foreman), and you'll still have power in your hands! If you have power, are you still afraid of people messing with you?"

Gu Baisun swallowed. "Then… then what should I do?!"

"The chairman likes people with education and brains." Zhang Ming instructed again, "If he asks you about the Longkou district later, you must take the initiative to talk to him about your ideas. It's okay to say the wrong thing, but you can't just stammer and say nothing. Aren't you studying management? Just talk about your professional opinions! But you must remember, if the chairman intends to put you in Longkou and let you take charge, you must not agree to it right away. First, decline it, saying that you are not capable enough and still need to learn. You don't have to worry about the rest."

"Oh, oh, okay," Gu Baisun replied nervously.

"Remember, you must try your best to fight for it. I can also help you." Zhang Ming stared at Gu Baisun's face and said very seriously, "Your father is gone, so you have to find a way to make yourself capable so that no one dares to touch you."

"Understood, Uncle Zhang!"

"Okay!"

After saying that, Zhang Ming led Gu Baisun to the second floor, pushed open the door of the chairman's lounge with a smile on his face, and said, "Chairman, Baisun is here."

"Okay, let him in," Jing Yan's response came from inside the room.

"Go, go!" Zhang Ming pushed Gu Baisun's back. "Remember what I told you."

"Uncle… Uncle Zhang, I'm a little nervous."

"Go quickly!" Zhang Ming pushed him into the room and closed the door.

Gu Baisun stood at the spacious doorway, took a deep breath, and then stepped into the room. He saw Jing Yan sitting on the balcony by the window, playing with a tablet.

"Baisun, come and sit down," Jing Yan greeted.

"Yes," Gu Baisun walked to the balcony, bent over, and sat on the small sofa opposite Jing Yan. "Chairman!"

"Don't be so restrained. Your father was a veteran of the association and had a good relationship with my father. If we were to talk about seniority, although I am much older than you, you would still have to call me Big Brother." Jing Yan looked up and replied.

Gu Baisun's forehead was covered in sweat, and he seemed too nervous to know what to say.

Jing Yan looked Gu Baisun up and down and asked with a light smile, "You've graduated, right?"

"Yes, I've graduated," Gu Baisun nodded.

"Is everything at home okay?" Jing Yan picked up a cigarette case.

Gu Baisun immediately picked up the lighter on the table and lit it in front of Jing Yan's face. "My father is gone… my mother suffered a bit of a shock and has been sick a few times recently, but they're all minor ailments, nothing serious."

Jing Yan looked at Gu Baisun's slightly trembling hand, lowered his head to light a cigarette, and took a deep breath. "Baisun, I have something I'd like to hear your opinion on."

"Please speak, Chairman."

"If I let you be the bangdai (gang leader) of Zhanan, would you be willing?" Jing Yan asked very abruptly.

Gu Baisun stared blankly at Jing Yan, his eyes very flustered, because Zhang Ming had not told him how to answer this question before he came.

The light in the room was bright, and Gu Baisun was sitting on the sofa. Every subtle expression and movement would be captured by Jing Yan's eyes. There was no way to hide his thoughts.

After a long silence, Gu Baisun bit the bullet and replied, "Chairman, I'm afraid I can't be the bangdai (gang leader) of Zhanan, and… I support Wei Ge taking over this position."

Jing Yan crossed his legs, sat on the sofa, took a deep breath of smoke, squinted at Gu Baisun, and asked in a cold voice, "Are you trying to hide your ability from me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two looked at each other, Jing Yan's eyes sharp and full of aggression.

"I… I don't know what you mean, Chairman!" Gu Baisun replied with an unchanged expression. "I really think Wei Ge can be the bangdai (gang leader) of Zhanan. He values loyalty and righteousness, and most importantly, if he can get the position, he can also take care of our family. I trust him."

"He killed your father!"

"I don't believe it at all. It was all a setup by Xu Hu." Gu Baisun replied nervously, "Xu Hu contacted me before, and I also know that Cheng Gang was a ghost who was bought off. They did this to make Xu Hu take the position legitimately."

"Hehe." Jing Yan smiled when he heard this. "Oh, so you know the inside story."

"Yes," Gu Baisun nodded, looking at him.

Jing Yan looked at the young man in front of him, who was just over twenty years old, and had two judgments in his mind: either he was a cowardly wimp who had no courage to avenge his father, or he was a person with brains and a deep mind, whose depth could not be seen.

Having made a judgment, Jing Yan made a decision in his heart. He put down the tablet and began to talk to Gu Baisun in a soft voice.

…

Half an hour later, Gu Baisun left Jing Yan's lounge, but he didn't find Zhang Ming. Instead, he met the other party's secretary.

"How was your talk with the chairman?" the secretary asked.

"It was good. Uncle Zhang was really accurate. The chairman asked a lot of things that he had told me in advance," Gu Baisun said, wiping the sweat from his face.

"Your Uncle Zhang is always thinking about you and feeling sorry for you," the secretary replied with a light smile. "He really wants you to be in charge of Longkou."

"Yes, he told me."

"Hehe, get along well with your Uncle Zhang, and you definitely won't go wrong." The secretary patted Gu Baisun on the shoulder and said casually, "Oh, right, your Uncle Zhang really likes those two vases you gave him last time! He asked me to ask you if your family has any similar antiques? If you do, he's willing to pay to buy some. You're a young man, so you're not interested in these things, right?"

"Yes, I have more!" Gu Baisun nodded immediately, pulled the other party, and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to my house to pick them out."

"Okay, then I'll go with you and take a look."

That night, the secretary went home with Gu Baisun. He stayed for an hour and a half, and a full third of the treasures in Gu Tongshan's secret room were taken away.

…

The Yu family.

Yu Jinrong received an email on his computer, which contained information about Su Tianyu's family background. But to his surprise, Su Tianyu's file had been clearly marked with a stain by the political department of District One.

Nine words: It is recommended that he never be politically employed!