Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 179

Everyone knows Yan Chen well; given his vengeful nature, there's absolutely no way he'd let Qiu Tu off the hook! Let alone help Qiu Tu get a promotion! So, Tang Feifei's suggestion is definitely going to backfire.

Sure enough, as soon as Tang Feifei spoke, Yan Chen, who had been silent since the beginning of the meeting, also spoke.

He lifted his droopy eyelids, and his old, cloudy eyes slowly looked at Tang Feifei.

Seeing this, Tang Feifei also looked at him in a confrontational manner.

The two stared at each other for two seconds before Yan Chen slowly spoke with a gloomy expression, "Qiu Tu is not suitable. Let's decide on the three candidates mentioned earlier first."

"Report them to the municipal council, and decide whichever one the council prefers."

Upon hearing Yan Chen's words, the senior executives in the conference room were taken aback for a moment, then exchanged glances.

The selection of the political minister was so important that everyone was at odds, so it was normal to submit the list to the shelters and let them make the selection.

But... a deputy minister, they could have discussed it internally and then gone through the process at the municipal council, but now they're letting the municipal council make the selection?

Isn't this a relinquishment of power?

At this moment, Yan Chen ignored everyone's thoughts. After saying this, he snorted coldly, stood up, and left in a huff.

Seeing his attitude, the senior executives who were a little confused just now suddenly realized what Yan Chen was thinking: Yan Chen probably felt disgusted when he heard Qiu Tu's name, was too lazy to continue the meeting, and did not want to continue to entangle with Tang Feifei, so he directly exercised the director's decision-making power and made a decision.

Thinking this, they couldn't help but glance at Tang Feifei.

At this moment, Tang Feifei indeed frowned deeply, her face as cold as ice.

Seeing this, the senior executives exchanged glances, smiled, and rose to leave the conference room.

Although they didn't get the result they wanted, at least they still had hope. But Tang Feifei had no hope at all.

Humans are strange creatures; it doesn't matter if they're doing poorly themselves, but seeing others doing even worse will always bring them a lot of joy...

Soon, the repercussions of this meeting began to spread rapidly throughout the Exploration Agency.

So, before long, detectives, section chiefs, and department heads from various departments got the inside scoop on this meeting.

"Hey, have you heard? Deputy Director Tang and the Inspector General proposed that Director Qiu be promoted to Deputy Minister, but the Director vetoed it."

"I heard about it, I heard about it. I also heard that Deputy Director Tang's face looked really ugly at the time."

"But I must say... although Director Qiu is relatively inexperienced and was just promoted a bit too quickly, being nominated by the Inspector General gives him the qualifications to be promoted to Vice Minister. If the Director doesn't object, his advantage is actually the greatest."

"Yes, but who told him to offend the director? The director's veto power eliminated all his hopes. And... the list has already been submitted to the municipal council, so there's no way to change it now."

"It's just fate, sigh..."

"That's exactly what I meant."

And at this moment...

Office of the Director of the Public Security Division.

Because he was concerned about his bet with Qiu Tu, Zheng Tao went to his boss Guan Weihua to inquire about the situation almost immediately after the meeting.

As an official from the same faction, Guan Weihua naturally didn't hide it from Zheng Tao.

Therefore, Zheng Tao quickly received two pieces of news.

The first piece of news is that Qiu Tu has indeed been nominated. Moreover, he was jointly nominated by Deputy Director Tang and the Inspector, making the competition incredibly fierce.

Second piece of news: However... Director Yan was extremely dissatisfied with Qiu Tu and directly vetoed the nomination. He also submitted the other three candidates besides Qiu Tu, pending the municipal committee's decision.

The first piece of news scared Zheng Tao so much that he broke out in a cold sweat, but the second piece of news almost made him laugh out loud!

At this point, he was well aware of Qiu Tu's "scheme":

Qiu Tu clearly knew he would be jointly recommended by the Inspector and Tang Feifei, and believed he had a high probability of being elected, which is why he dragged me into the bet!

He wants to win over his ex-wife and driver!

Fortunately, Director Yan used his veto power at this time, otherwise he might have actually succeeded!

Thinking this, Zheng Tao breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little smug.

He felt that Qiu Tu had made all the calculations, but in the end, he still missed something.

It seems that I am the ultimate winner of this gamble!

Thinking of this, Zheng Tao suddenly paused: Wait a minute, in this bet between him and Qiu Tu, how come only he put up a bet, and Qiu Tu didn't put up anything?

'No, no! I have to have a serious talk with him about this!'

With that thought in mind, Zheng Tao said goodbye to Guan Weihua and headed towards the 9th floor...

.....

Meanwhile, Qiu Tu was also on the phone with Tang Feifei.

At this moment, Tang Feifei's expression wasn't as cold as it had been when the meeting ended, but it wasn't much better.

She frowned and said in a cold tone, "Qiu Tu... didn't you manage to win over Yan Chen?"

"I nominated you today according to our plan. But he vetoed it."

"How are you going to get promoted if you do that?"

At this point, she said with a hint of disappointment, "This is a very rare opportunity."

“Now that the New Territories is newly established, there may still be some vacancies for section chiefs in the Exploration Department, but the position of director is really one in a million.”

"The position of deputy director of the public security department had become vacant before, which was already a great opportunity."

"But unfortunately, Yan Chen has already given it to someone else."

"Now that another position as deputy director of the political department has become available, if someone else takes it, your position will be completely blocked!"

Hearing Tang Feifei's concerned words, Qiu Tu comforted her, "Feifei... don't get agitated."

"Things are still unresolved, so let's not give the enemy a champagne halfway through the game."

You have to believe me.

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Tang Feifei took a deep breath, as if suppressing the anger in her heart: it was clear that the failure at the high-level meeting today had made Tang Feifei very unhappy.

Two seconds passed before she suddenly spoke coldly and commanded, "Come to my house for a late-night snack tonight."

Qiu Tu:? ? ?

These are completely different things!

And... eating late-night snacks?

Did my nickname become "Midnight Snack"?

Thinking this through, Qiu Tu, who had just spent the day working hard the day before yesterday, quickly shook his head and refused her, "I'm busy. I have an important mission these two days."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's refusal, Tang Feifei snorted coldly, just about to argue with Qiu Tu again and tell him how humiliating she had been that day.

Before she could even speak, Qiu Tu said, "Someone's here. Let's talk later."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Hearing the beeping sound coming from the receiver, Tang Feifei angrily squeezed the communicator so hard it cracked and almost broke!

However, after calming down, Tang Feifei suppressed her anger, tossed the communicator aside, and began to wonder how Qiu Tu was planning to turn the tables...

After thinking quietly for half an hour, Tang Feifei still felt that the hope was somewhat slim.

The list has already been sent to the Municipal Council, so... could Qiu Tu really ask the Municipal Council to send it back?

Even if he fights back, as long as Yan Chen blocks him, he still won't become the vice minister.

Even if Qiu Tu finally persuades Yan Chen during this period, Yan Chen can't just inexplicably withdraw his veto, right? Wouldn't that be too embarrassing for him?

Tang Feifei felt there was definitely something she didn't know about...

......

Meanwhile, Qiu Tu, who had just hung up the phone, was confronting Zheng Tao, who had found him.

Compared to his anger in the morning, Zheng Tao is now noticeably more relaxed and at ease.

He looked at Qiu Tu and asked, "Director Qiu, do you know why I came to see you?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "You think you're going to lose, so you're planning to back out of the bet?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Zheng Tao was filled with questions and almost laughed out of anger.

"Director Qiu, are you joking?"

"Who's about to lose?"

He said, "I just received news that your nomination was rejected by the director. You are not among the three candidates reported to the municipal council."

"So, you're the one who's about to lose this bet."

At this point, he changed the subject and finally revealed the purpose of his visit.

He said, "But that's precisely why I noticed you don't seem to have placed any bets."

"You only said that if you beat me, you would have my... secretary accompany you and have my driver pick you up."

"But you didn't say what price you would pay if I won against you."

Upon hearing Zheng Tao's words, Qiu Tu looked at Zheng Tao with a strange expression.

To be honest, he was just joking at the beginning of the bet, deliberately teasing Zheng Tao and trying to embarrass him. He didn't take it seriously.

It was precisely because he hadn't taken the bet seriously that he hadn't revealed his stake.

As it turned out, Zheng Tao was actually taking the bet seriously and even came to demand the money back. This was something he hadn't expected.

So, with that in mind, Qiu Tu couldn't help but ask, "What does Director Zheng want? Tell me, and I'll see if I can accept it."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Zheng Tao said expressionlessly, "My request is very simple, and I won't ask for an exorbitant amount."

"If you lose, you will go from the first floor of the office building to the eleventh floor, shouting three times on each floor: 'I am not as good as Zheng Tao, and I do not deserve to be a vice minister!'"

"How about this bet?"

Upon hearing Zheng Tao's words, Qiu Tu's gaze shifted slightly, and he looked at Zheng Tao with a somewhat complicated expression.

Zheng Tao's bet seems simple, but it is actually very ruthless.

If I were to shout these two sentences throughout the entire department, given that I had just embarrassed Zheng Tao yesterday, Zheng Tao's lost face would be immediately restored, and his prestige and influence would be largely recovered.

Furthermore, he publicly stated that he was unworthy of becoming a vice minister. Although this was said in jest, it could be used against him by other competitors should a similar opportunity arise in the future.

Therefore, Zheng Tao has both elevated himself and blocked Qiu Tu's path to advancement.

If Qiu Tu fails to secure a promotion to vice minister this time, it will be very difficult for him to be promoted again in the near future.

The only pity is that Zheng Tao, despite his calculations, failed to anticipate that Qiu Tu's promotion to vice minister was a sure thing, and all his plans were destined to fail.

Therefore, when faced with Zheng Tao's invitation to the bet, Qiu Tu extended his hand without hesitation, "It's a deal."

Seeing this, Zheng Tao smiled and extended his hand to shake hands with Qiu Tu.

With the bet settled, Zheng Tao left the empty conference room, satisfied.

After watching him leave, Qiu Tu took out the special communicator given to him by Committee Member Jiang's secretary, Tao Yaoyao, and made a call...

And so, very soon...

At 5 p.m., a shocking piece of news spread rapidly through the Investigation Department.

The Detective Agency's list of candidates for Deputy Political Secretary submitted to the Municipal Council was completely rejected!

None of the three candidates were selected by the municipal committee!

Such a thing has never happened since the creation of the New Territories. This completely breaks the tacit understanding between the three major authorities!

Then, the second major event occurred.

After rejecting the list of candidates, the Municipal Council immediately sent a commendation to the Exploration Department.

The commendation was simple: it praised all members of the investigation team for the "August 8.16th Pharmacy Robbery Case," with Qiu Tu at its core.

They were commended for successfully solving this major case in a short period of time, not only bringing the murderer to justice but also rescuing several hostages.

The two documents, one after the other, express completely opposite attitudes, which feels very strange.

After all... if the Municipal Council wanted to put pressure on the Detective Agency, it wouldn't immediately follow up with commendations for the Detective Agency.

If the municipal council wants to extend a goodwill gesture to the Detective Agency, it shouldn't break with convention by rejecting the agency's legitimate promotion application...

This contradictory approach left many people baffled.