Urban Martial Saint

The three walked to the entrance of the Finance Bureau, first registering at the guard’s room. After all, this Finance Bureau is one of the more important units in the Capital, not the kind of place you can just walk into at will.

”Who are you here to see?” the guard casually asked.

”Is Mr. Su Guoli here?” Ye Qing replied.

”You mean Director Su?” The guard’s gaze at Ye Qing suddenly changed somewhat; earlier it had been indifferent, but now he perked up and said, ”Do you know Director Su? Do you have an appointment? Director Su is quite busy. Without an appointment, you can’t go in; I can’t be responsible for disturbing Director Su’s work!”

Judging by the guard’s words, it seems that Su Guoli holds quite a position in the Finance Bureau. Ye Qing smiled and said, ”I had an appointment with Mr. Su before, he’s the one who asked us to come.”

Upon hearing this, the guard’s face immediately broke into a smile, saying, ”That’s good, that’s good. You can enter from here, take the elevator to the ninth floor, the fifth room is Director Su’s office.”

”Thank you!” Ye Qing politely thanked the guard before turning to Gao Shibao and said, ”Let’s go, Shibo.”

”Huh?” Gao Shibao was still stunned; actually, when the guard mentioned Director Su, he was already surprised.

The Capital is the place where power is most concentrated in Huaxia, and it’s full of officials. Here, casually pulling out an official with hung positions might be quite high, while in local areas would be quite oppressive. But here in the Capital, these officials are not that prominent. So, here in the Capital, positions like director often don’t count as big officials because many have titles but no real power.

However, in the Capital’s Finance Bureau, it’s different. A director in the Finance Bureau is a person who genuinely holds real power. Moreover, the crucial thing is, a director in the Capital’s Finance Bureau holds a pretty decent status within the bureau. Such individuals, even in the Capital, are considered middle-level leaders.

Understanding what middle-level leadership means, put it this way: Gao Shibao only counts as a bottom-level official now. His superior, his superior’s superior, or even his superior’s superior’s superior can be considered the lowest level of leadership. To cross this gap from Gao Shibao to the Finance Bureau director, without connections or background, relying solely on one’s abilities might take a lifetime or even two, because even with achievements, you can’t be an official in the Capital. Often, they are assigned to local posts. The Capital is too small, the kind of place where monks are many but the porridge is little. Even if you are capable, the position in the Capital can’t be reserved for you.

And this Su Guoli, whom Ye Qing is looking for, can actually serve as a director in the Capital’s Finance Bureau. Regardless of this person’s abilities, at least his relations and background in the Capital are certainly not simple!

How did Ye Qing come to know such a figure? You must know, back in Ye Qing’s student days, even eating was difficult for him. Although he seems to be doing well in Shenchuan City now, Shenchuan City and the Capital are two different things. How does he know officials from the Capital, and one of such stature?

”Let’s go, upstairs.” Ye Qing paid no mind to Gao Shibao’s astonishment and led Gao Shibao straight to the place the guard had pointed to.

Watching Ye Qing and his companions walk away, the guard’s face was also full of astonishment. Gao Shibao wasn’t aware of Su Guoli’s identity, but as someone from the Finance Bureau, the guard was very clear about Su Guoli’s position. Not to mention other things, just mentioning Su Guoli’s office – room five on the ninth floor – in bureaucratic circles, that’s a very important office, usually that of a unit’s head. Because, the ninth floor, fifth room, in more mundane terms, is the office of the highest leader.

Su Guoli is actually very low-key in the Finance Bureau, basically, no one knows he’s the younger brother of the vice premier. He’s not the biggest leader in the Finance Bureau, nor the top leader, yet occupies this office, indicating Su Guoli’s status in the Finance Bureau. Moreover, this office was arranged for Su Guoli by the bureau chief personally. So others in the Finance Bureau don’t know Su Guoli’s background, but they are very aware that Su Guoli’s background is definitely not simple.

So when Ye Qing just mentioned he had an appointment with Su Guoli, the guard’s attitude towards Ye Qing changed significantly.

Ye Qing and his friends entered the Finance Bureau building, searching for the elevator, when three people emerged from an office inside. Among them, Ye Qing and Gao Shibao recognized two as their classmates Lin Haoqi and Ding Yue. The two followed behind a middle-aged man, showing considerable respect, although it’s unclear who this middle-aged man was.

At the class reunion last night, Ye Qing didn’t part amicably with Lin Haoqi, so he didn’t have a good impression of Lin Haoqi and Ding Yue. In fact, Lin Haoqi and Ding Yue were quite frustrated with Ye Qing too. However, knowing Ye Qing’s connection with Lin Corporation, they dared not provoke Ye Qing further. But they never expected to meet Ye Qing again at the City Finance Bureau, such a chance encounter!

Seeing the pair, Gao Shibao slightly frowned and turned his head to the side. Ye Qing, however, politely smiled at Lin Haoqi.

Lin Haoqi simply snorted coldly and turned his head away, as if he hadn’t seen Ye Qing at all. His attitude towards Ye Qing was because he hadn’t witnessed last night’s events. When Mu Qingrong and Liu Yuan entered their booth last night, Lin Haoqi was already drunk, so he didn’t know the relationship between Mu Qingrong and Liu Yuan and Ye Qing.

Next to him, Ding Yue felt somewhat embarrassed. She was well aware of Mu Qingrong and Liu Yuan’s regard for Ye Qing. So, even though she disliked Ye Qing, she still smiled apologetically, nodding at Ye Qing in greeting.

The middle-aged man next to them noticed Ding Yue’s behavior and asked curiously, ”Ding Yue, do you know them?”

Before Ding Yue could speak, Lin Haoqi quickly interjected, ”No, I don’t!”

The middle-aged man frowned slightly, glanced at Ye Qing and the others, his gaze lingered longer on Huangfu Ziyu, evidently impressed. But when he looked at Ye Qing and Gao Shibao, his gaze didn’t pause, completely disregarding them.

Lin Haoqi, however, stared at the nearby Huangfu Ziyu for quite some time. If Huangfu Ziyu hadn’t changed her temperament a lot, he might have literally lost his life over this lingering gaze.

Seeing Lin Haoqi’s behavior, Ding Yue couldn’t resist pushing him, awakening Lin Haoqi from his reverie. By that time, Ye Qing and his companions had moved to the elevator area, prompting Lin Haoqi to murmur lowly, ”Who...who is that girl?”

”Who knows!” Seeing Lin Haoqi’s focus on the girl, Ding Yue remarked jealously, ”Judging by how close she seems with Ye Qing, she’s probably Ye Qing’s girlfriend!”

”Really? That guy got such a beautiful girlfriend?” Lin Haoqi widened his eyes, full of disbelief and jealous resentment.

Ding Yue shrugged, saying, ”Director Mu, Mu Qingrong is attractive too. It seems she also has a special fondness for him!”

Lin Haoqi protested, ”Darn it, what’s so good about that guy? Why are the flowers always drawn to cow dung?”

Seeing Lin Haoqi’s demeanor, Ding Yue felt a fire within her, ignoring Lin Haoqi, she walked directly forward with the middle-aged man.

Lin Haoqi was still staring at Huangfu Ziyu’s retreating figure until the three entered the elevator, only then did he reluctantly come to his senses. He sighed in frustration and shook his head, following them into an office.

This office belonged to a chief in the Finance Bureau, someone with good relations with the Lin family. They had come seeking this chief’s help for some matters.

As Lin Haoqi entered the office, the middle-aged man was already discussing the main issue with the chief.

”Old Lin, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I really can’t.” The chief sighed and said, ”You don’t know, the person in charge of this matter is Director Su from our Finance Bureau. Director Su is very steadfast; he follows the rules to a tee and doesn’t entertain any personal requests. I wish I could help you, but I truly can’t. If you want to get this done, you’ll have to approach Director Su yourself. If he agrees, not only this matter, but all your future matters will be smooth sailing!”

The middle-aged man also sighed, saying, ”Chief Xu, I’ve tried to contact Director Su, but he doesn’t even see me. I’ve looked for him more than a dozen times, haven’t even crossed the threshold of his office door. I’m really at my wit’s end, that’s why I’m hoping you could help come up with something. If this matter doesn’t get resolved, my major businesses in the Capital will suffer severely. Old Xu, we’ve known each other for so many years, you’ve got to help a fellow here!”

Chief Xu frowned and said, ”Old Lin, if it were another director or even the bureau chief, I could go and see them. But not Director Su, not even the chief’s words hold weight before him.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Haoqi said discontentedly, ”This Director Su, isn’t he too domineering?”

Chief Xu glanced at him and said, ”Haoqi, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’m telling you, even within this Finance Bureau, the chief’s words aren’t as impactful as Director Su’s!”

The middle-aged man frowned slightly and asked, ”What kind of background does this Director Su have? He doesn’t even heed the chief’s words, what background must he have?”

”I don’t know!” Chief Xu shrugged, saying, ”But Director Su’s current office used to be the exclusive office of the bureau chief. The ninth floor, fifth office, a supreme position, arranged personally by the chief for him. You see, if his background weren’t substantial, would the chief show him such favor?”