July 20, 2010.
The auditorium of the Rongcheng Municipal Party Committee was packed with people. Leaders from the Municipal Party Committee, the Municipal Government, and all district and county-level officials were present for today's cadre meeting.
The meeting was chaired by Zhu Yunshan, Standing Committee Member of the Southeast Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Rongcheng Municipal Party Committee. Sitting in the center of the stage was Qi Xueming, Standing Committee Member and Deputy Secretary of the Southeast Provincial Party Committee. Also seated on the stage was a relatively unfamiliar face. While he was unfamiliar, most of the Rongcheng cadres were quite familiar with him; he simply hadn't been a member of the leadership team before.
This clean-cut, refined cadre was Guan Weiping, the former Deputy Director of the General Office of the Provincial Party Committee. Everyone knew that the long-rumored transfer of the Provincial Party Committee's First Secretary to a lower-level position had finally been confirmed today.
The fact that the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee personally saw Guan Weiping off to his new post demonstrated the high regard the Provincial Party Committee leaders held for him.
At the meeting, Comrade Qi Xueming read out the provincial party committee's decision, appointing Comrade Guan Weiping as a member and standing committee member of the Rongcheng Municipal Party Committee. Following this, Secretary Zhu Yunshan, who also serves as the chairman of the Rongcheng Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee, announced the resolution passed by the Standing Committee, appointing Comrade Guan Weiping as the executive vice mayor of the Rongcheng Municipal People's Government.
The newly appointed executive vice mayor, Comrade Guan Weiping, delivered a passionate speech at the meeting, which was met with thunderous applause.
Everyone knew that Mayor Bai's transfer to a ministry in Beijing was practically certain, and Mayor Guan was getting a head start, aiming for the mayor's seat.
The provincial party secretary's chief secretary being transferred to a lower-level position certainly carries a different level of prestige.
Xie Fangzhi, the deputy director of the Municipal Housing Management Bureau, sitting in the audience, applauded particularly enthusiastically. Undoubtedly, Guan Weiping's appointment was a major boon for him. He originally had little personal relationship with Guan Weiping, but through Chen Yang's connections, Xie Fangzhi had established a good rapport with him and gradually integrated into his circle.
"I must do my best to help Chen Yang at the banquet tonight!" Xie Fangzhi thought to himself.
...
Jiangbin No. 1 Clubhouse, Private Room No. 1.
A table for sixteen people was set up in the private room tonight. Chen Yang, along with Song Xiaoyun and Song Yi, arrived early to make the arrangements.
Xie Fangzhi personally invited the heads of several well-known real estate developers and agencies in Rongcheng. These two groups were major advertisers, and Xie Fangzhi was directly in charge of many approval and registration matters in their respective industries. Especially in the real estate brokerage sector, Xie Fangzhi directly oversaw the real estate transaction center; their livelihoods were in his hands. Therefore, when Xie Fangzhi spoke, they all had to give him face.
As the initiator of the banquet, Xie Fangzhi arrived at the clubhouse a few minutes early. Just after six o'clock, the guests invited by Xie Fangzhi began to arrive. Without exception, they all warmly greeted Xie Fangzhi and tried to get close to him.
Xie Fangzhi had already hinted at this when he invited them, so these bosses were also very polite to Chen Yang. In their view, someone who could get Director Xie to personally appear must be someone of considerable influence. Chen Yang, a seasoned veteran, handled this situation with ease. He was silently calculating in his mind: Yuntian Real Estate, Huarong Real Estate, Feiyue Real Estate, Anju Second-hand Housing, Liefang.com… These were basically well-known companies in Rongcheng, a total of eight. If these eight companies could bring in advertising orders, they could essentially fill a large portion of the advertising slots on Channel 89.6.
For the remaining slots, Song Xiaoyun had also sent sales representatives to contact advertisers. Moreover, the channel was newly launched and would undoubtedly be preparing many promotional clips, which would also require some advertising time.
Therefore, tonight's banquet was crucial for Chen Yang and his Phoenix Culture Communication Company.
"Director Xie, now that everyone is here, please invite everyone to sit down at the table!" Chen Yang said softly to Xie Fangzhi.
Xie Fangzhi frowned slightly and said,
"Xiao Fang, wait a little longer, there's still one guest who hasn't arrived."
This guest, who hadn't shown up yet, was someone Xie Fangzhi hadn't originally planned to invite. This person always maintained a high-level relationship; even the deputy mayor in charge treated him with great courtesy, and Xie Fangzhi had no leverage over him. However, considering that this person's company had just developed a new housing development and was currently in the midst of a massive advertising campaign, Xie Fangzhi decided to give it a try and made a call. Unexpectedly, the person readily agreed to attend.
The appointed time had passed, but the guest still hadn't appeared. Everyone had no choice but to wait, as even Xie Fangzhi didn't dare to neglect this guest.
Chen Yang wasn't in a hurry, chatting and exchanging pleasantries with Song Xiaoyun and Song Yi among the real estate developers and agency executives. Xie Fangzhi, on the other hand, kept checking his watch, a hint of anxiety on his face.
It wasn't until after 6:30 that the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside, and a hostess led in a burly man in his forties. The man wore a printed shirt, the top two buttons undone, revealing a gold chain about the thickness of a little finger and a small tuft of chest hair. He didn't look like a real estate company CEO; he looked more like a nouveau riche.
Seeing the man, Xie Fangzhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and put on a warm smile, greeting him:
"Mr. Lu, welcome, welcome!"
The guests who had been chatting in small groups stopped talking when they saw Mr. Lu enter and came forward to greet him, each with a fawning expression on their face.
Xie Fangzhi quickly greeted him,
"Xiao Fang, let me introduce you. This is General Manager Lu of Qiankun Real Estate's Rongcheng branch! Qiankun Real Estate has a huge business volume in Rongcheng, so you'd better toast General Manager Lu a few times later!"
Chen Yang immediately understood why the businessmen valued General Manager Lu so much—even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake!
Although companies like Yuntian Real Estate are large national real estate enterprises, Qiankun Group's roots are in Southeast Province, and it also has some underworld connections, which makes people wary. Chen Yang, with a slight smile, said neither humbly nor arrogantly:
"Of course, everyone here tonight is an honored guest of mine, Chen Yang, so the drinks are definitely plentiful!"
Xie Fangzhi quickly turned to General Manager Lu and said:
"General Manager Lu, this is the General Manager Fang from Phoenix Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. whom I mentioned to you."
General Manager Lu looked at Chen Yang and said:
"I didn't expect General Manager Fang to be so young. Truly, a hero emerges from among the young!"
While his words were polite, they subtly conveyed a condescending tone, bordering on condescension.
Chen Yang frowned imperceptibly, then immediately put on a warm smile and said:
"General Manager Lu, please take good care of me!"
"Of course! Of course!" General Manager Lu maintained his forced smile.
General Manager Lu's real name was Lu Guoliang. His reason for agreeing to attend tonight's banquet wasn't because Xie Fangzhi had such great influence, but because he had heard that the host was the head of a cultural communication company, and he had some ideas, so he decided to come and see for himself. Lu Guoliang glanced around the private room, finding mostly familiar faces, and felt a pang of disappointment. However, when his gaze fell on Song Xiaoyun, his eyes lit up, and his smile widened, though it wasn't exactly gentle; it had a somewhat menacing quality.
Lu Guoliang pointed at Song Xiaoyun and asked,
"President Fang, this beautiful lady looks unfamiliar! She must be an employee of your company!"
Chen Yang glanced at Lu Guoliang and said calmly,
"Yes, this is Song Xiaoyun, the channel director of 89.6."
"So young and already a channel director! Impressive! I didn't expect Director Song to be not only beautiful but also such a strong woman!" Lu Guoliang exclaimed. However, his gaze towards Song Xiaoyun was unabashedly rude.
Chen Yang glanced at Xie Fangzhi beside him, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. Why would Xie Fangzhi invite someone like this? Xie Fangzhi sensed Chen Yang's mood and quickly stepped forward, saying,
"President Lu, all the guests are here. Let's sit down and chat!"
"Haha! Sure! Drinking and chatting creates a great atmosphere!" Lu Guoliang's gaze remained fixed on Song Xiaoyun as he spoke without turning his head.
Everyone greeted each other and walked to the table. Xie Fangzhi pointed to the head seat in the center and said to Lu Guoliang,
"President Lu, please take a seat!"
Because Lu Guoliang's position was somewhat special, Xie Fangzhi was being polite. Normally, Xie Fangzhi would sit in the head seat today, as he had invited all the guests and was the only senior executive present. To everyone's surprise, Lu Guoliang didn't even offer a token refusal. He simply nodded, plopped down in the head seat, and began assigning seats:
"Old Xie, sit next to me! Director Song, you come sit too… Come on, everyone, sit down!"
Arrogant and domineering!
Chen Yang raised an eyebrow, about to lash out, when Song Xiaoyun quickly and discreetly tugged at his sleeve, giving him a disapproving look.
Song Xiaoyun also noticed the intense, undisguised malice in Lu Guoliang's eyes. She knew Lu Guoliang definitely had ulterior motives, but today's occasion was too important. Chen Yang had gone to great lengths to invite these potential advertising clients through connections, and this Lu Guoliang clearly had powerful connections; even the big bosses had to fawn over him. Song Xiaoyun couldn't afford to offend him too much.
So, she had no choice but to sit down next to Lu Guoliang as instructed.
After being stopped by Song Xiaoyun, Chen Yang snorted inwardly and sat down beside her. He didn't want to ruin a good business opportunity, so he suppressed his anger.
Xie Fangzhi also sat down on the other side of Lu Guoliang with a smile. His expression didn't reveal anything wrong, but he was also very unhappy, though he didn't show it.
"Waiter! Pour the wine!" Lu Guoliang slammed his hand on the table and shouted as soon as he sat down, acting like the host of the banquet.
Song Yi, sitting next to Chen Yang, also sensed something was wrong. He gently nudged Chen Yang and leaned over to whisper in his ear:
"Brother Yang, this guy seems to have ill intentions towards Sister Xiaoyun. Be careful!"
Chen Yang smiled coldly and nodded imperceptibly.
"I'll see just how arrogant you can be!" A mere branch manager is putting on airs, and acting more arrogant than anyone else. He's really courting death!