eeing something disappear before their eyes, displaying an expression of confusion. Such a young child knows nothing and understands nothing; chasing after the plastic water bottle was merely a reflex...Chapter 405: Welcoming at the Border

The next day, Xiao Yu and Mr. Li and others were on a bus heading towards the ancient city... This time, apart from these elders, only Song Hushan and Zhang Dahai accompanied them.

Although these old gentlemen said not to inform anyone else, Song Hushan still called Wan Hongguang. After all, they were family; he naturally had to notify Wan Hongguang when the elders came to the ancient city.

The day after Old Grandpa Song woke up, due to the busy official business of the ancient city, Wan Hongguang left Beijing and returned to the ancient city while leaving Song Hualing and Wan Jiayi in Beijing.

At the border of the expressway leading to the ancient city, Wan Hongguang and a few middle-aged men were standing by the roadside in the cold wind, waiting for Old Grandpa Song's car to arrive.

"Party Secretary Wan, which leader is coming to inspect our ancient city today" Behind Wan Hongguang stood five middle-aged men, followed by six young people. One of them walked over to ask Wan Hongguang and then quickly pulled his collar up against a cold gust of wind.

These few individuals were considered Wan Hongguang's confidants in the ancient city and neutral figures within its political arena because they hadn't informed the local government about Old Grandpa Song's visit, treating it as a private one. This was because he only brought a few trusted subordinates rather than his entire team.

Wan Hongguang had never revealed his background in the ancient city, so even these confidants were unaware that this seemingly calm Party Secretary actually had an extraordinary lineage.

Lately, Wan Hongguang and the mayor had been fiercely competing for control over the ancient city's agenda. Moreover, recently arrived Mayor had frequently invited these confidants and neutral figures to meet with him.

Wan Hongguang knew that this new mayor also came from a significant background, but it was still not on par with Song family’s level; hence, he didn’t know about Wan Hongguang's background.

Hence, taking advantage of his own connections, the new mayor boldly attempted to seize power. At this time, Old Grandpa Song and others came to the ancient city, which presented an opportunity for Wan Hongguang to showcase his strength and prevent these confidants and neutral figures from switching allegiance.

It was crucial not to lose in such high-level competitions since it would mean no further advancement opportunities. Therefore, he felt immense pressure lately but couldn’t directly reveal his background as that would appear immature. Furthermore, if everything were resolved using one's background alone, he could only remain at this level.

However, allowing subordinates to indirectly understand his power became necessary; it would strengthen the loyalty of confidants and prevent neutral figures from aligning with the new mayor.

Otherwise, considering everyone’s pursuit of benefits, if these confidants saw greater advantages on the side of the new mayor, they might switch their allegiance without hesitation.

Therefore, the visit of Grandma Song and others provided him with an opportunity to showcase his strength. It was important to note that among these elders, two had mixed within China's political arena after liberation and held significant prestige in it.

Wan Hongguang knew this might be overkill but considered it the most effective approach.

"Heh heh, not official business, just a private trip!" Wan Hongguang did not answer his question directly; instead, he chuckled and gave an ambiguous response.

Wan Hongguang had never disclosed his background information, so even if they guessed that his backing was from the provincial capital, they could only speculate about it.

Because Wan Hongguang had a close relationship with one of the vice governors in the provincial capital, these people behind him assumed today’s visitors were likely from there.

"Party Secretary Wan, since this is a private trip, I still have many official matters to handle. So excuse me for leaving first!" Upon hearing Wan Hongguang's words, an eyeglass-wearing middle-aged man from the Old City Propaganda Department said to him.

The speaking middle-aged man was the head of the propaganda department and had always been in a neutral position. However, when the mayor approached him a few days ago, he revealed his considerable strength.

What they called neutrality was essentially waiting for an opportunity to ally with someone powerful as their patron or backing, because true neutrality did not exist, especially during the peak conflict between the mayor and party secretary. If they didn't choose sides at this critical juncture, regardless of who won, they would be the first to face purges.

Since Wan Hongguang had never revealed his background, both his allies and those in neutral positions were currently wavering. The considerable strength displayed during the mayor's invitation for these neutral committee members to dinner a few days ago made him see hope of gaining even greater power, so he decided to ally with the mayor’s side.

Now that Wan Hongguang had personally received them for a private meeting, if this man did not leave, he would have to remain neutral or join Wan Hongguang's side. But since he was already leaning towards the mayor, he proposed to take his leave.

"Alright! Since Minister Zhou is busy with official duties, please feel free to go; I wouldn't dare to delay your business because of my private matters!" The moment this neutral minister said he wanted to leave, Wan Hongguang knew that he had already aligned himself with the mayor's side. Even if he hadn’t done so yet, he wasn't optimistic about Wan Hongguang’s side either. Thus, Wan Hongguang spoke very straightforwardly.

After Minister Zhou left, Wan Hongguang did not attempt to retain him and showed no disappointment on his face but watched calmly as the man departed.

Once Minister Zhou had gone, Wan Hongguang glanced behind him. He still had four people there: three were his allies, and one was a neutral person—the vice mayor of the municipal government, Xiao Kexi.

Xiao Kexi intended to leave after Minister Zhou did but couldn’t explain why he stayed behind as if by some unseen force.

When he wanted to leave again, he couldn't do so anymore. If they had left together in the beginning, it would have been better. Now that he was going to leave alone, there was no doubt that Wan Hongguang would be thoroughly offended because it would make him feel like he'd been tricked.

The cold wind along the roadside pierced through the bones, but Wan Hongguang's heart burned hot. He belonged to the external relatives in the Song family and inherently had limited resources available to him. Now that Old Grandpa Song was coming, if he could perform well in front of Old Grandpa, the resources he would receive would significantly increase.

Meanwhile, although the municipal committee members were shivering from the cold, they didn't feel right about getting into the car for warmth when they saw Wan Hongguang waiting by the roadside.

The atmosphere on the side of the road was very strange. Wan Hongguang was nervous because of the approaching Old Grandpa Song and his entourage, so he remained silent. The several municipal committee members behind him thought that Wan Hongguang was sulking because Minister Zhou had left, so they also didn't say anything.

"Dingling..." Suddenly, a ringtone sounded from somewhere in the crowd.

Hearing the ringing sound, these several municipal committee members and Wan Hongguang all turned to look behind them. At this time, even if people usually made calls, they would be on silent or vibration mode, but now there was a ringtone, so everyone looked towards where it was coming from.

The direction the phone rang was from a young man behind them. This young man heard his phone ringing and pulled out his phone to check it, quickly answering the call. After saying just a few sentences, he hung up the phone.

"Jianhong, how is it Where have you gotten to" Wan Hongguang saw this young man hang up the call and asked with a hint of urgency on his face.

This young man was precisely Wan Hongguang's secretary, Xiao Yu’s brother-in-law Lu Jianhong. The phone that had just rung was actually Wan Hongguang's phone.

"Secretary Wan, Boss Song said they will be at the edge of Old City in ten minutes!" Upon hearing Wan Hongguang's question, Lu Jianhong didn’t hesitate and replied right away.

The other several municipal committee members had worked with Wan Hongguang for two years. In their memories, Wan Hongguang’s face always wore a confident expression that everything was under control; however, they had just seen an anxious look on his face.

At this moment, hearing Wan Hongguang's conversation with his secretary, it became clear to them that the person he was waiting for must be approaching soon. At the same time, they secretly wondered who exactly Wan Hongguang was awaiting that made even the usually calm Secretary Wan display such anxiety.

Shortly after, a large vehicle entered their line of sight. Upon seeing this car, Wan Hongguang quickly walked up and stopped it.

The several people behind Wan Hongguang saw him go forward and hurriedly followed closely behind; although they didn't know who the awaited person was, judging by how Wan Hongguang acted, they couldn’t afford to slack off either.

The large car slowly came to a stop, and when the doors opened, two expressionless young men got out. These two young men were on high alert as they watched the approaching individuals.

"Brother-in-law!" At this moment, Song Hushan also got down from the car. Seeing Wan Hongguang standing by the door of the vehicle, he called out to him.

After Song Hushan finished calling out, he looked at the people behind Wan Hongguang. Upon seeing his gaze, Wan Hongguang quietly told Song Hushan a few things. Since Wan and Song were close relatives, there was no need for any secrets between them.

"Sis, take them into the car! Let your secretaries go back on their own."

Song Hushan's face showed no emotion as he spoke to Wan Hongguang before returning to the large car.

"You all can ride in the cars and head back to the city first!" Upon hearing this from Wan Hongguang, they turned towards him and his statement.

These young men were indeed the secretaries of these individuals. Hearing Wan's words, they looked at their bosses who nodded in agreement before turning around and leaving.

"Jianhong, stay!" When Wan Hongguang noticed that his secretary Lu Jianhong was about to leave as well, he called him back.

The Vice Mayor Xiao and the other Standing Committee members had always heard that Wan Hongguang treated his secretaries very well. Now they truly believed it when all of their own secretaries were dismissed except for Lu Jianhong, indicating his special status in Wan's heart.

"Everyone, I hope you won't spread anything you saw today outside."

As soon as Wan Hongguang saw that the secretaries from the Standing Committee had left, he turned and said to them. Upon hearing these words, their expressions changed immediately—Wan's earlier remarks carried a hint of threat which made them feel uneasy.

Although they were half a rank lower than Wan Hongguang in terms of position and lacked some degree of authority compared to him, apart from the Secretary of Political and Legal Affairs who was Wan’s close subordinate, most of them were allies cooperating with Wan. Vice Mayor Xiao belonged to an independent camp. Thus, hearing Wan's slightly threatening words made their expressions change instantly.

Although they did not say anything in response, they all harbored some resentment within themselves. Even though they might not want to stay, at this point, it was impossible for them to leave immediately. If they left now, they would offend the people inside the car, which wouldn’t be wise regardless of whether these were high-ranking provincial officials.

Having weathered the political waves for over twenty years, none of them would make such a basic mistake.

"Let's go up," Wan Hongguang ignored their expressions and called out to them before getting into the large car first.aware that the source of this tremble was the yin energy within her body, which had naturally responded with a quiver upon sensing the talisman in front of Xiao Yu.Despite her body trembling and knowi...