Chapter 283: It Won’t Matter Who Comes
Manager Liu glanced at Shen Jiangnan with disdain. ’What a country bumpkin,’ he thought. ’Who comes to do business in Beijing by handing out envelopes anymore?’
"This way, please."
Shen Jiangnan’s expression was grim, but there was nothing he could do. He could only follow Manager Liu out of the office.
Unwilling to accept this reassignment, Shen Jiangnan continued to wait by the door, hoping to catch Deputy Director Tang.
Deputy Director Tang had a slight connection with the Shen Family, so there was a slim hope he might help.
"Old Shen, you’re here to pull some strings too? I haven’t heard about any openings for Dongshan Province!"
Shen Jiangnan turned to see Yang Xiong, the City Lord of Xin City. He was an old friend.
"Old Yang, I remember you come to Beijing often. Do you know what the going rate is these days?"
Yang Xiong held up his palm.
Shen Jiangnan was taken aback. "Fifty?"
"Think bigger. Add a zero."
Shen Jiangnan gave a bitter smile. No wonder he’d been snubbed for offering a mere envelope. Had the price really gotten so high?
Shen Jiangnan found a quiet corner and called Shen Manwen. His daughter owned several businesses that, with his support, were doing quite well.
’She should be able to come up with five hundred,’ he thought.
"Manwen, I need five hundred. Wire it to my new card immediately. I’ll text you the account number in a bit."
Shen Manwen gave a bitter laugh. "Dad, you should have told me earlier. A while ago, Ruoxi borrowed some money from me, and I lent her all my liquid capital. I really can’t come up with five hundred right now. Should I try asking Ruoxi for it back?"
"No, don’t. I’ll figure something out myself."
After hanging up, Shen Jiangnan seemed to age several years in an instant.
Just as Shen Jiangnan was succumbing to despair, he heard Wu Fei’s voice.
"Chief, look. Isn’t that Deputy Director Tang?"
Shen Jiangnan focused his gaze and saw that it was indeed Tang Jiahe. He quickly pulled himself together and hurried over. "Director Tang, it’s me! Shen Jiangnan! Could I have a few minutes of your time?"
The moment he saw it was Shen Jiangnan, Tang Jiahe’s expression shifted. A senior leader had personally given instructions regarding this matter. Shen Jiangnan was now a pile of shit that no one wanted to step in.
Tang Jiahe adopted a strictly professional tone. "Jiangnan, many of our comrades are waiting in line. Please follow the proper procedure."
Shen Jiangnan knew that if he missed this chance, the official documents would be issued, and then it would be too late for anything!
"Director Tang, for Elder Shen’s sake, can you please help me just this once?"
"Elder Shen did indeed help me back in the day, but I was the one who helped you become a City Lord! Any debt between us was paid long ago."
With that, Tang Jiahe turned and walked away, leaving Shen Jiangnan behind.
Shen Jiangnan quickly grabbed Tang Jiahe’s arm. "Director Tang, just consider it a personal favor I’ll owe you! If you can help me solve this problem, I will give my unwavering support to your work in the future!"
Tang Jiahe shook off Shen Jiangnan’s hand, wanting absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Shen Jiangnan! What do you think you’re doing? Have you no sense of organizational discipline? Secretary Wang, Manager Liu, what are you standing there for? Get him out of here!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Lord Shen, please don’t make this difficult for us."
"Lord Shen, please."
Shen Jiangnan felt his whole world collapse. He walked out of the Second Department numbly, seeing only shades of gray and feeling utter despair.
Just as Shen Jiangnan was beginning to accept his fate, he suddenly heard Cheng Yuan’s voice. "Uncle Shen, you’re facing such a huge problem. Why didn’t you tell me?"
Shen Jiangnan stiffly turned to look at Cheng Yuan and forced a smile. "Xiaoyuan, what are you doing here? Don’t blame your uncle... it would have been useless to tell you about this!"
"Maybe it will be useful. Let me give it a try."
Cheng Yuan took out his phone and dialed He Hongting’s number. It rang for a while with no answer, but a moment later, a text message came back from He Hongting.
"Xiaoyuan, I’m in a meeting. If you need anything, talk to my secretary first."
"Okay, Uncle He."
Cheng Yuan then dialed the secretary, Zhang Yi. The call connected quickly, and Zhang Yi’s cheerful voice came through. "Mr. Cheng, the Director is busy right now. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you."
"A good friend of my family, an uncle to me, has come to Beijing on business, but it’s not going smoothly. I was wondering if you could help coordinate things, Secretary Zhang?"
"Of course. The Director will be free in half an hour. Why don’t you wait in the lounge for a bit?"
"Okay."
"Wait for me in the lobby. I’ll come down to get you."
"Okay."
After hanging up with Zhang Yi, Cheng Yuan turned to Shen Jiangnan with a smile. "Uncle Shen, it’s all taken care of. Let’s go inside."
Shen Jiangnan looked at Cheng Yuan suspiciously. "Xiaoyuan, whose secretary did you call? Was it the secretary of a leader from the Second Department?"
Cheng Yuan shook his head slightly. "Not a secretary from the Second Department."
Shen Jiangnan gave a bitter smile. "Xiaoyuan, you may not be familiar with the Central Organization Department. Only the Second Department is responsible for coordinating with regional leaders. Calling anyone else is useless."
Cheng Yuan just smiled confidently. "Uncle Shen, don’t worry. The person I called will definitely be able to help."
Shen Jiangnan sighed. ’Xiaoyuan is so stubborn; he won’t give up until he hits a wall,’ he thought. ’Fine, let him learn the hard way.’
Shen Jiangnan silently followed Cheng Yuan back into the main hall.
Manager Liu was chatting with a colleague at the reception desk when he suddenly spotted Shen Jiangnan. His face darkened. ’How shameless can this Shen guy be?’
’The director already made it clear he wasn’t welcome. How did he get back in?’
Having lost all interest in chatting, Manager Liu strode forward and said coldly, "Lord Shen, the Director is busy and has no time to see you. Please make another appointment!"
Shen Jiangnan’s expression was grim, but he didn’t argue with Manager Liu. "Fine, we’ll make a new appointment. Let’s go."
Cheng Yuan, however, was not pleased.
"Who are you? What gives you the right to tell us to leave?"
Manager Liu had been at least somewhat polite to Shen Jiangnan, but he showed no such courtesy to Cheng Yuan. He launched into a tirade, "Do you have any manners, young man? Your own leader hasn’t objected, so what right do you have to speak? Get out of here, now! Or I’m calling security!"
Cheng Yuan snorted. "I suggest you calm down. If you really call security, I’m afraid things won’t end well for you."
With that, Cheng Yuan shoved Manager Liu aside and made a welcoming gesture to Shen Jiangnan.
"Uncle Shen, we don’t need to waste time on a petty nobody like him who gets high on a little bit of power. It doesn’t matter who shows up today; it won’t change a thing! Your problem must be solved, and it must be solved now!"
’Petty nobody?’
He was used to being flattered and fawned over; this was the first time anyone had ever spoken to him like that!
Manager Liu was so furious he could barely see straight!
"You’re really something else! A real tough guy! I’ll be sure to report exactly what you said to the Director!"
Manager Liu quickly reported the incident to Tang Jiahe. There was no need to embellish; he just added one little thing.
"Director, that kid said that even if you came down yourself, it would be useless! He said he won’t give anyone face! He said Shen Jiangnan’s business *must* be settled today!"
Tang Jiahe was enraged. ’This Shen Jiangnan is getting more and more out of line,’ he thought. ’How could he let his subordinate cause such a scene?’
’I can’t let this disturb the Department Director!’
Tang Jiahe immediately took several security guards and stormed downstairs, arriving in front of Cheng Yuan and Shen Jiangnan with a menacing air.
"Who was it just now who said that even if I came, it would be useless?"