Rebirth of the Rising Sun

"Mr. Feng, you are a very busy man now. It is really difficult to see you. And it is even more difficult to have a good chat with you alone. I have no choice but to do this. I hope you don't mind." Duan Yunpeng laughed and sat down opposite Feng Sizhe.

"Mr. Duan is so polite. You can come to me anytime if you have anything. You can also go to Jiaoliao. I will always welcome you." Feng Sizhe said with a smile.

"Haha, I'm so happy to hear what Mr. Feng said. Come, for your trust and support for me, I'll toast you with a glass of tea and wine." Duan Yunpeng laughed and raised the teacup.

The two of them drank it all in one gulp, as if the tea was aged wine.

Since they were old friends, it was impossible for them not to talk about the past when sitting here. Unconsciously, the two of them recalled what happened more than 20 years ago.

"Mr. Feng, at that time, we were all very young, all in our early twenties. The title of young master was appropriate at that time. But now we are in our forties and approaching fifty, and it feels a bit awkward to still call him young master at this time." Duan Yunpeng said with a long sigh.

"Yes, how many dozen years are there in a person's life? Time seems to pass by in the blink of an eye. It goes by so fast. But in my opinion, the title is just a title. You can call it whatever you want. I think it's better to stick to the old habit and not change it." Feng Sizhe also nodded heavily, as if he was recalling a lot of things.

The two of them sat here like two old friends, reminiscing about the past and talking about happy things. They both laughed out loud and did not look like a provincial party secretary or a CEO of a large company at all.

Finally, it was time to get down to business. Seeing that Feng Sizhe was in a good mood, Duan Yunpeng finally felt that the opportunity was ripe, so he changed the subject and said, "Mr. Feng, when we first met, we were both passionate young men. I was full of longing for the business world, and you also had great hopes for a career in politics. Now, can we be considered successful?"

"This shouldn't count. After all, we still have a long way to go." Feng Sizhe said after hesitating for a moment.

"Okay, that's good. You can go further. Mr. Feng, let me ask you a question. I wonder if you have bigger ideas and want to go further on this road? If so, I really want to lend you a hand." Duan Yunpeng clapped his hands and said in a very heroic manner.

Hearing that Duan Yunpeng wanted to lend him a helping hand, Feng Sizhe just laughed and said, "I'd like to hear the details."

Knowing that it was time to get down to business, Duan Yunpeng narrowed his eyes, then said slowly and seriously, "Mr. Feng, with your current achievements, you have basically reached the top of your career. If you move up, you will become a member of the Political Bureau. However, among so many provincial and ministerial level cadres in the country, it is rare to be able to enter this core circle. Before things are settled, no one dares to say that they can definitely enter it, right?"

"That's right." Feng Sizhe nodded. Although Group Z recommended him to be on the list of twelve candidate members this time, he knew for sure that he might not be included in it. After all, none of the eleven people except him were easy to deal with.

"Mr. Feng is still very clear-headed. Precisely because of this, I am here today to give you a great opportunity. As long as you nod and agree, I can guarantee that you will become an alternate member without any suspense this time, and then it won't be long before you become a real member of it." When Duan Yunpeng said this, he was very confident, as if he could make this decision on behalf of the Central Committee.

Seeing Duan Yunpeng so confident, Feng Sizhe couldn't help but ask curiously, "Oh, I wonder what you want me to promise."

"Haha, it's not complicated. You just have to promise one thing, that is to assist the Hou family in the future and make your efforts and contributions when Hou Weidong ascends to the throne. Then you will soon get everything you want, become a member of the zz bureau, and become a real leader." Duan Yunpeng seemed a little excited when he said these words, as if he came to give benefits to Feng Sizhe this time, just to help others.

When Feng Sizhe heard the name of the Hou family, he was stunned. He really didn't expect that Duan Yunpeng came to see him today to act as a lobbyist and to persuade him to submit to others.

Not to mention that the current Hou faction is not as threatening to Feng Sizhe as before, given his personality, how could he be willing to help Hou Weidong? If this person is more capable than himself, then Master Feng is not someone who refuses to admit defeat, but the fact is that Master Hou's ability is really not commendable.

For example, when he was the governor of Sanxiang Province, he made the economy there a mess. Now he went to Nanxi Province and started to fight crime. I heard that the environment there is also very bad. Because the situations in the two places are completely different, and in order to achieve results, Hou Weidong insisted on labeling some small hooligans as members of evil organizations. Even some innocent people were affected and were said to be members of a certain organization. This caused public resentment there, and many letters of complaint have been submitted to the central government. I am afraid that it will not take long before the upper echelons will blame Hou Weidong for this matter.

The unfavorable situation in Nanxi Province also resulted in Hou Weidong not even getting the nomination as an alternate this time. Even under such a situation, Duan Yunpeng actually asked him to assist such a person. I really don't know what he was thinking.

But even so, Feng Sizhe did not get angry immediately, but asked Duan Yunpeng, "Mr. Duan, I wonder if your words can represent the Hou family?"

Duan Yunpeng had no idea that Feng Sizhe was already angry. He thought that he was asking for detailed information and didn't trust him, so he immediately explained, "Of course I can represent you. I won't hide it from Master Feng. Not long ago, Secretary Hou Zhennan came to me in person and gave me a promise."

"Oh, Secretary Hou came to see you personally?" Feng Sizhe raised his eyebrows when he heard this. It was obvious that he had thought of a lot of things.

"Yes, he came to me in person." Duan Yunpeng said proudly.

"Did he still promise you that once Hou Weidong takes the position, he would definitely give you endless benefits?" Feng Sizhe asked again. He now realized that Duan Yunpeng was not looking for him to reminisce about the past, but was just a lobbyist. However, this lobbyist was not up to the job and made a random assertion without understanding the situation.

"Haha." Duan Yunpeng smiled awkwardly, "To be honest with you, Master Feng, this is natural. You know, I'm a businessman, and I won't do anything without profit. There must be a return for the effort. Besides, this time I'm really doing this for your own good."

"For my own good?" Feng Sizhe's voice had turned into a sneer.

"Yes, it's for your own good. Hou Weidong's status as the successor was decided a long time ago. Although some of the things he has done recently are not very good, the Hou family's foundation is there after all. Besides, the decision of the upper level cannot be changed at will. As long as Hou Weidong does not make any big mistakes, it is only a matter of time before he rises. Under such circumstances, if you surrender to him, he will definitely regard you as a confidant. It can be said that this is a perfect time, Master Feng, you must think it over carefully."

"For my own good? For my own good?" Feng Sizhe asked twice in a hurry, and then his expression suddenly became serious. "Mr. Duan, I don't know what they said to you, but I want to remind you that I don't think highly of Hou Weidong's ability. Although as you said, the upper echelons had made a decision before, it was just a temporary decision and cannot be counted. And you said that the Hou family has a deep foundation. Ten years ago, I would have admitted this, but now, hum! At least now I don't take it seriously."

"What? How can you say that? Don't you agree with what I say?" When Duan Yunpeng saw that Feng Sizhe had changed the way he addressed him, he immediately had a very bad feeling.

"Of course I don't agree. Mr. Duan, since we know each other, I'm going to remind you to stay away from the Hou family. This way, at least you will have a chance to make a comeback. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't even have the energy to fight." Feng Sizhe reminded kindly.

As Duan Yunpeng said, the Hou family used to be very powerful, and could even influence the decisions of the top management. However, he did not know how many people were jealous of him and how many people he offended. In the past, the Hou family was powerful, and these people did not dare to say or do anything even if they had ideas. But now it is different. After the death of Mr. Hou, the status of the Hou family has been very unstable. Now Hou Zhennan is about to step down. In this way, the power of the Hou family in the political situation will drop to the lowest point in decades. At this time, will someone take the opportunity to make trouble for them?

From Feng Sizhe's point of view, it is very likely that someone would do this. After all, there are many people who take advantage of others' misfortunes these days. Besides, there are only so many positions in total. If there is one less candidate, it means that others will have one more opportunity. If it were him, he would probably be tempted by such a thing.

Under the current circumstances, Duan Yunpeng still wants to get on the Hou family's car. I really don't know what he is thinking. Out of friendship over the years, Feng Sizhe finally decided to kindly remind him.

Feng Sizhe refused. This was something Duan Yunpeng had not thought of before. In his opinion, this was simply an opportunity. With the help of the Hou family, it would not be a problem for Young Master Feng to become an alternate member. After a while, it would be completely natural for him to become a formal member of the Political Bureau and successfully join the ranks of the heads of a country.