Ye Ru and Li Ruoyun were leisurely sipping tea in the villa's living room.
"I hear that Director Xiao Zhou went to Liaoyang." Ye Ru's tone carried a hint of mockery, and she deliberately added "young" to his title.
"Apparently! He probably realized things were going wrong and went back to ask for help!" Li Ruoyun elegantly lifted her teacup, blew gently across it, and answered with a smile.
"If I were Secretary Jian, I'd be terribly disappointed! Such a strong hand, victory practically within reach, and then the whole situation suddenly turned around. Everything changed in the blink of an eye. I bet Director Xiao Zhou's head must be spinning." Ye Ru could not conceal her smug expression as she sneered.
Li Ruoyun knew what she wanted to hear, so she smiled and said, "That's why I always say you're formidable, Ru. After that combination of blows, Director Zhou couldn't put up a fight!"
Ye Ru lowered her head for a sip of tea, then deliberately sighed. "Director Xiao Zhou is still too inexperienced. He thought having Jian Wanyan as his powerful backer meant he could do whatever he wanted. But he overlooked the fact that he wasn't fighting one person or one family, but an alliance of shared interests. Once that force comes together, even the Provincial Party Committee Secretary can do nothing but throw up his hands!"
Li Ruoyun nodded. She did not think Ye Ru was exaggerating. Otherwise, there would not have been so many instances across the country of people paying lip service while quietly resisting or finding ways not to carry out their superiors' decisions.
Ultimately, power had to be exercised through actual people. That was the fundamental reason Jian Wanyan had placed Shan Wenxu and Zhou Yi in positions in Yangcheng. In other