Chapter 76

Chapter 32: This Young Man Can Be Used

Zhou Jimin, the deputy director of the Cadre Division One of the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department, had been extremely busy recently.

The Provincial Party Committee had set up a cadre reserve class, selecting forty-five outstanding graduates from the Communist Party members of major universities across the province to form this class.

The higher-ups intended that these forty-five individuals would lay the foundation for the youthification of cadres, which meant they had a higher chance of catching the eye of the top leaders of the Provincial Party Committee, and naturally, more opportunities for promotion compared to ordinary people.

This task was assigned to Cadre Division One. As the deputy director, Zhou Jimin was busy both inside and outside the office, with no moment to spare.

At the same time, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

His daughter, Zhou Ziqi, was a graduate of Nanjing University. Unfortunately, she had performed averagely during her time at school and had not joined the Party, which greatly worried Zhou Jimin. In his spare time, he made several trips to Nanjing University, met with the school leaders several times, and finally managed to resolve his daughter's Party membership and school recommendation issues before the training class began.

The issue with his daughter was resolved, but a new problem arose. Nanjing University had only four slots, and the original list of recommendations by the principal did not include Zhou Ziqi. The other four were Lu Jun, Zuo Xiaoxia, Ye Zhiwei, and Li Yi. With the principal's additional recommendation of Zhou Ziqi, there were now five names.

These five files were now on Zhou Jimin's desk, and he had studied them repeatedly, but still could not make up his mind.

Who should be cut?

Zhou Ziqi? No need to think about it.

Zhou Jimin put his daughter's file aside, picked up Lu Jun's file, sighed, and placed it on top of his daughter's file.

He then picked up Zuo Xiaoxia's file and, without hesitation, placed it on top of Lu Jun's file, inwardly cursing, "The professors and leaders in the ivory tower have such twisted minds! They recommend whoever has a powerful background!"

He picked up Ye Zhiwei's file and, at first, did not think much of it. But when he saw the name and workplace of Ye Zhiwei's mother, he smiled bitterly, "These are people you can't afford to offend!" and threw it onto Zuo Xiaoxia's file.

Finally, Zhou Jimin picked up Li Yi's file and carefully examined it.

This young man was really nothing special!

His father had passed away, his mother was unemployed, and he had performed averagely during his university years. Why did he catch Qian Ning's eye?

A flash of insight struck Zhou Jimin: Li Yi! Wasn't he the young man who stole the show at the Steel Summit? What was he doing in the revolutionary ranks?

After much deliberation, he made a tough decision and threw Li Yi's file into the pile of rejected files.

The so-called "merit-based selection" was heavily influenced by the principal's recommendations, and if everything went as expected, it would largely determine a person's future.

With his decision made, Zhou Jimin organized the two piles of files, called in the confidential secretary, and together they carried them to Director Wan Heng for review.

After Director Wan Heng reviewed them, they would be sent to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the Organization Minister Ouyang Ji for further review. The final decision and approval would be made by the Provincial Party Secretary Wen Yuxi.

Wan Heng glanced through the files and nodded with a smile, "Not bad! Director Zhou, you've worked hard."

Zhou Jimin bowed slightly and smiled, "It's my duty."

Wan Heng suddenly said with a forced smile, "Your daughter is also on this list? Truly, one should not avoid recommending relatives!"

Zhou Jimin's face turned red, as if blood was about to seep out.

Wan Heng laughed, "Don't be nervous! We've been colleagues for many years, and I'll help you with this small favor!"

Zhou Jimin expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Director Wan! I'll definitely bring my daughter to thank you in person."

Wan Heng smiled, "We're family, so don't be so formal! By the way, how is the task I gave you last time coming along?"

Zhou Jimin's heart skipped a beat, thinking that this was the real reason for the meeting. With no choice, as his daughter's future was in Wan Heng's hands, he said, "Director Wan, please rest assured. I will handle your nephew's placement as you instructed."

Wan Heng nodded in satisfaction, "Director Zhou, you are a good comrade! Thank you!"

Zhou Jimin left the office, sneered twice, straightened his back, and walked back to his office with his hands behind his back, resuming his usual authoritative demeanor.

A few days later, the Provincial Party Committee's approval results were announced. Ouyang Ji, the Organization Minister, presided over a meeting of the responsible officials, and all the cadres of Cadre Division One attended.

Ouyang Ji announced the list of selected candidates. When he read out "Li Yi," Zhou Jimin was so shocked that he almost jumped out of his seat!

What was going on? Li Yi, whom he had clearly rejected, was on the list! Although there were exceptions, this was too unexpected!

Fortunately, Zhou Ziqi was also selected and not removed.

So, someone must have added Li Yi's name. Who could it be? It couldn't be Wan Heng, so it must be Ouyang Ji or Wen Yuxi! At this thought, Zhou Jimin's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. This Li Yi was not as simple as he had thought! He had originally thought Li Yi was just good at drawing a few diagrams!

After Ouyang Ji finished reading the names, he flipped through Li Yi's file again. At the top of the file, which should have been rejected, were four bold red characters: "This young man can be used!"

As an ally of Wen Yuxi, Zhou Jimin was very familiar with his handwriting, but why would the usually frugal Secretary Wen write such a significant evaluation for this unknown Li Yi?

Ouyang Ji was also puzzled after receiving the list. From the file, Li Yi did not stand out in any way. Why, then, did this happen? Leaders do not make small decisions, and any small action by a superior is a big deal to subordinates. They would not be able to sleep until they figured it out.

After Ouyang Ji finished speaking, he announced the task: "The new cadre training class will start on July 10th and last for one month. After the training, you will evaluate the performance of these forty-six individuals, and we will allocate them based on their performance and scores. You must be fair and impartial..."

Zhou Jimin was also pondering who had decided on Li Yi's exceptional selection. He did not hear a single word of what Ouyang Ji said.

"Alright, everyone, go back and prepare." Ouyang Ji finished speaking and was the first to leave.

Zhou Jimin was about to stand up when Wan Heng, sitting beside him, lightly coughed. Zhou Jimin was startled and quickly smiled, "Director Wan, please."

Wan Heng moved his chair and stood up, glanced at Zhou Jimin, walked to the door, and turned back to say, "If I remember correctly, your list did not include Li Yi, right?"

Zhou Jimin nodded, "I saw that he performed poorly at school, so I did not recommend him."

Wan Heng lightly said "Oh" and walked away with his hands behind his back.

This vague inquiry left Zhou Jimin even more confused and at a loss.

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