In the courtyard.
Several white marble tables stood on the lush green lawn. Old Xie, now in his seventies, was playing Chinese chess with a man in his sixties.
Looking at the General Secretary he had seen countless times on television as a child, Dong Xuebin felt nervous, excited, and almost unable to believe his own eyes. Of course, Dong Xuebin knew that Old Xie was not merely the former General Secretary. Even now, the old man's influence over the Republic was absurdly immense. It might be too much to say no one surpassed him, but among the Republic's top three figures, Old Xie certainly had a place.
He was Xie Huilan's grandfather?
This was Xie Huilan's heaven-reaching background?
"Ha ha, Lao Zhang, that was a good move!" Old Xie stroked his beard and placed a piece.
The old man across from him said, "Old Xie, heh heh, your chess skills have only grown more refined."
Not far away, Xie Huilan said quietly, "The Old Master doesn't like to be disturbed while playing chess. Little Dong, let's wait over there."
Seeing Brother Dong staring blankly, Xie Hao could not help chuckling. "Brother Dong, don't be fooled just because my grandfather has retired to the Second-Tier and gotten a little muddleheaded. He still has tremendous influence. Look, just yesterday, the current Number One Chief came to visit him. I heard from my sister that you want to work at the grassroots level? Heh heh, easy. That's just one word from my grandfather. From now on, you'll count as one of the Xie Faction."
Xie Huilan shot her brother a stern look. "How many times have I told you? Don't talk nonsense!"
Xie Hao stuck out his tongue.
The Xie Faction? Dong Xuebin wiped the sweat from his forehead. Wherever there was