1
At the end of 2015, I needed to communicate with Bureau A because of work matters, but after several times, even the leaders came forward to coordinate, but the work was still not ideal, so I had to put it on hold. At the beginning of the next year, when the supervisors were coming, I began to worry again.
At that moment, I thought of Nie Fengguo.
Nie Fengguo and I are fellow townsmen. We have had contact for several times. Nie Fengguo used to work in A bureau for many years, as A deputy section chief of A department, and then went into business. In recent years, he got along quite well. I didn’t hold out much hope at first, but Nie Fengguo assured me on the phone that it would be ok.
I explained that the section chief we had to deal with was really unsupportive.
Nie fengguo smiled and said, “My dear brother, the time you have spent in the government office is too short. What you said is not that the other person does not cooperate with you or support you. It is the section chief who does not have the power to make promises to you. These two days you see when you are free, I directly take you to see their director general.”
That afternoon, I went to Unit A with Nie Fengguo. On the way, Nie Fengguo said that the person he was going to find today was Zhao Haibin, the youngest deputy director of A Bureau. At that time, nie fengguo and he went to work together. They had A very good relationship. I thought this Zhao Haibin should be a fat middle-aged man. I was quite surprised when I saw him. He was tall, thin, with dark skin, wearing an old white shirt, an old leather belt on his suit trousers and a pair of old cloth shoes.
After some pleasantry, Nie pointed to me and said to Zhao Haibin, “This is a little song I told you over the phone. Please let him tell you the details.”
I stepped forward and shook hands with Zhao Haibin, with a strong hand. Then I brought the documents to Zhao Haibin and told him the whole story again. Zhao Haibin didn’t say much, but he had a strong understanding ability. He asked several questions in the middle, all of which were very professional. Seeing that he had not made a statement, I was very anxious in my heart and asked him: “Director Zhao, do you think it is easy to do?”
Nie Fengguo was smiling and said, “You don’t know Hai Bin. His famous words are: ‘Don’t say it’s not easy to do, but do what you can do.'”
Zhao Haibin ignored both of us. After reading the document, he called a staff member from the corresponding department and proposed a compromise solution.
When I left, I offered to have dinner together, but Zhao Haibin refused, saying it was all for work and not necessary. Nie Fengguo also said beside him, “He never goes to dinner parties unless he receives a letter from your company for normal business.” Zhao Haibin didn’t leave until he saw us to the elevator door.
On the way back, I asked Nie Fengguo again, “Is Zhao Haibin really not going to the dinner?”
“I was doing him a favour, and I was doing you a favour. He does sometimes, but seldom.”
“It’s almost time to get off work. You’ve done me such a favour that I’d like to invite you to dinner and a drink.” I said.
Nie Fengguo waved, “It’s my treat. How can I ask you to pay?”
2
Nie Fengguo found a restaurant in northeast China, but there were not many people. After ordering a few signature dishes, Mr. Nie pulled a bottle of baijiu from the trunk of his car. We had already drunk the food before it was all served.
After chatting for a while, the topic came back to Zhao Haibin. I said I liked him. He had a way of doing things, he was steady, he was a man of action. Nie lit up a cigarette, took a long puff and said: “Hai Bin has not been easy these years.”
Zhao haibin and Nie Fengguo, both 75 years old, joined the company together after graduating from university in 1997. At that time, the director General Lao Li said on the first day of their report, our unit for many years did not enter a person, just a few old college students, “you come but to our bureau into fresh blood, you university students new vision, new ideas, take your time, the future is to play a leading role.
When talking with Lao Li that day, Nie fengguo felt that Zhao Haibin was rather dull. For example, during the interval between Lao Li’s words, Nie fengguo would occasionally chime in, while Zhao Haibin just sat there. When he left Lao Li’s office, Zhao Haibin forgot to close the door, but Nie Fengguo turned and closed the door behind him. And not long after that, Zhao Haibin offended Lao Li.
At that time, Lao Li took them to the countryside for research. They went to the county where Lao Li lived. After they came back, Lao Li asked Zhao Haibin to write a research report. After reading the research report written by Zhao Haibin, Nie Fengguo advised him not to write in this way, because there were too many problems. Zhao Haibin said, “We went to the countryside together. You have seen the problem. It is very serious indeed.”
Seeing that Zhao Haibin did not react, Nie Fengguo pulled him to a deserted place. “Are you stupid? Why Lao Li takes us to his hometown instead of taking others? Don’t you think? As you saw when he went to the countryside, he had a good relationship with the people in the county bureau and several of them were related to him. In other words, Lao Li didn’t want anything wrong with this investigation. He’s just trying to see if we’re on the same side.”
Zhao Haibin interrupted him. “This is all a mess. With so many obvious questions, is it ok for me to write? How will the work continue after that?”
Zhao Haibin still gave the research report to Lao Li. After reading it, Lao Li was silent for a long time and said to Zhao, “Haibin, this is your first time to go to the countryside, so you may not be very clear about some specific work. I suggest you be more careful about some of the problems and take the report back before you investigate.”
When Zhao Haibin left Lao Li’s office, Nie Advised him, “Is Lao Li’s meaning not clear enough? You change the report at once, and then tell Lao Li that you made a mistake, and the matter will be over.”
Zhao Haibin said that he thought again, nie Fengguo thought he had figured it out, who knows the next day Zhao Haibin did not come to the unit, and went to the county to do research. After coming back, the research report was handed back to Lao Li without changing a word.
Lao Li read the report, did not speak, after a while called Nie Fengguo to the office, “Xiao Nie ah, this time down to investigate you also went, Xiao Zhao this survey report or some problems, you write a again.
Nie wrote a report that night, which only mentioned the advantages and some minor problems. Lao Li passed.
3
After listening to Nie Fengguo, I felt a little hard to believe, “No way, Zhao Haibin is also a smart man, I can’t imagine that he didn’t have such ‘savvy’ in his early years at work.”
After taking a sip of wine, Nie sighed and said, “I feel that today’s college graduates are smarter than we were at that time, and they can do some things. Unlike Zhao Haibin, who just came out of college and had a simple brain, it would certainly be good material to do scientific research, but it is not a good thing to be too direct and serious in an office.”
Sure enough, after that, Lao Li became estranged from Zhao Haibin and transferred him to a general department. Zhao Haibin was very upset. He did not drink, but sometimes he would ask Nie Fengguo to drink some. Zhao Haibin was not a good drink.he talked a lot, and he often talked to himself without logic. From his drunken words, Nie Fengguo knew that Zhao Haibin’s family was not in good condition.
In those years, Zhao Haibin did well in his work unit and his popularity was general. Not flexible in some small things, often offend people. Once the unit chooses advanced, a person of next door section department comes over to say hello, say to help when voting later, like this kind of thing direct promise got, afterwards he which know you choose not to choose him. But Zhao Haibin said no, “I have promised others, and the provisions of one person, one vote,” the whole people are also very embarrassed.
On the other hand, Nie fengguo had a good time, and Lao Li even made him his secretary.
In 2000, an incident occurred at the beginning of that year that made Lao Li give up Zhao Haibin completely.
At that time, each department had the project fund, and the check was not strict, generally everyone took the money to treat, today your department please, tomorrow I will return to you. Once Zhao Haibin chatted with Nie Fengguo in private about this matter, complaining a little that a large part of the funds allocated from above had not been used for the project, and he had eaten and drank all the time.
Nie Advised him, “The money is allocated from above, but the matter is decided by the leaders. It has nothing to do with us.”
“Eat less and drink less. You can do a lot with the money you save.”
Nie fengguo said that he was angry with Zhao Haibin and worried that he would talk nonsense with others. He forced himself to laugh and said, “What you said is the above problems that should be considered. Let’s just do our own thing well. And don’t talk about it in front of the leadership.” But Nie Failed to persuade Zhao Haibin.
Not long after a “democratic life”, the atmosphere of the meeting was good, Lao Li was in a good mood, and told a few jokes to everyone. Finally, Lao Li asked if there was anything else, and said to the young man in the back row, “Don’t always talk to us, the old guys. You should also talk more.” Nie fengguo kept looking in Zhao Haibin’s direction, gesturing for restraint, but Zhao Haibin still stood up.
Zhao Haibin finished speaking, the venue suddenly quiet, all looking at Zhao Haibin, probably quite a lot of people want to see how it will end today. Lao Li also has some muddled, lit a cigarette, Lao Li usually does not smoke in the meeting.
After a while, Lao Li said with a smile, “Xiao Zhao’s suggestion is very good, very to the point, and very honest. Now we do have this problem, we need to reflect on it, but whether it is as serious as Xiao Zhao said, I think we need to know after investigation. I suggest that we set up a ‘problem remediation group’, let Xiao Zhao be responsible for it, a detailed study, to see where the problem is, who is on the body, find out the problem will be caught in the end. That’s all for today’s meeting.” Lao Li got up and walked out of the meeting room.
Before Zhao Haibin went out of the meeting room, some colleagues said to him in a strange way, “Zhao has been promoted as the group leader.”
Zhao stared at his colleague and sat in his seat for a long time before he left.
“Did Zhao Haibin really go and investigate?” I interrupted Nie Fengguo.
“How do you investigate this? The whole unit has this problem, he Zhao Haibin can also make a unit of people all offended? For this’ problem remediation group office ‘, the bureau also gave Zhao Haibin a special office, in the attic most corner of the position. Since then zhao Haibin has been completely hung up, in a separate office, doing nothing all day.”
In 2002, Nie fengguo proposed a minor subject, while Zhao Haibin has been on the “problem management team” alone for more than two years.
4
“According to what you said, Zhao Haibin was put into the ‘cold palace’ in 2000. How did he get up after that?”
“I feel like his years alone gave him a lot of time to think. We didn’t see much of each other for a few years, until one day in the spring of 2003, he came into my office and said he was getting married. That was his turning point.”
‘Married?
Nie fengguo nodded and said that Zhao Haibin had married Chen Ran, the daughter of a deputy director of the bureau. I was a little curious, although the feeling is not appropriate, but still asked a: “He really like Chen Ran, or to climb up?
Nie Fengguo picked up a glass of wine, drank it and looked askance at me, saying, “You have been working for several years, how can you still say such childish words? If I was still in school, it would be ok to think so. If I still think so now, I should not. There are plenty of good-looking girls, but there is only one powerful father-in-law, which brings you resources far more important than invisible love.”
Roller-coaster career for 12 years
I was surrounded by Nie Fengguo and didn’t know what to say for a moment.
“I think his heart hardened at the same time.”
‘What do you mean?
Nie fengguo said that Zhao Haibin came to his house to look for him in the middle of the night on the first day of his marriage. Zhao Haibin looked straight at Nie Fengguo like an evil spirit and said, “The man has disappeared.”
“What? Who’s missing? Be clear.”
“Chen Ran.”
Nie Fengguo heart a stomp, sleepy all, zhao Haibin pulled into the home. “What’s the matter? When did the man disappear?”
“I wanted to talk to her about the wedding process. I called her home, but I wasn’t there. She told me she was at her sister’s, so I called her sister, but I didn’t go to her sister’s. From this afternoon to now I have looked for the place, or did not find, tomorrow is going to get married, leadership colleagues have been notified, how can this do?”
“Have you looked for her good friends?”
“I’ve looked for them. I’ve looked for them at the homes of friends and relatives.”
Nie Fengguo paced in the living room, while helping Zhao Haibin to analyze where she might go, one by one were denied by Zhao Haibin. Seeing already midnight 3 o ‘clock many, finally heart one horizontal, say to follow me to walk. Nie Fengguo knew that Chen Ran had always had a good friend, who was a driver of the hospital. The deputy director did not agree, and was finally forced to separate. Chen Ran was missing the day he got married, so he probably went looking for the driver.
Nie fengguo knew that the driver lived in a hospital two blocks away. They arrived just as the deputy director of the bureau had arrived downstairs. The deputy chief felt a little guilty. “Her mother and sister have already gone up and called, and they are expected to come down soon. Hai Bin ah, our home sorry you, did not expect such a thing…”
After about ten minutes, Her mother and her sister came down with Chen Ran. Chen Ran had cried, and his eyes were still red. Zhao Haibin some excitement, walked forward two steps, the word “Ran” just export, Chen Ran directly hid behind her mother.
“Hai Bin, you come with me, I have a word with you. Chen Ran, you go home with your mother and sister first.” The deputy director chatted with Zhao Haibin for a while, finally patted Him on the shoulder and left.
At that time, it was almost dawn. Nie Fengguo asked where he was going next. Zhao Haibin said that he was running out of time to go home and prepare for the wedding.
The wedding was normally held, very lively, but Zhao Haibin seemed a little tired.
I asked Nie Fengguo, “Do you know what the deputy director talked about with Zhao Haibin?”
“I don’t know, but about half a year after he got married, Zhao Haibin was appointed deputy director of the personnel department.”
5
It was probably around the time when Zhao Haibin became deputy section chief that Nie Fengguo felt that he had changed a lot. His style of doing things and his manner of dealing with people were completely different from those of a few years ago, and he “didn’t know him at all”.
The relation of Lao Li and Zhao Haibin also is in slowly return warm, Zhao Haibin arranged the nephew of Lao Li quietly into the institution unit subordinate, still did a business to make up. Knowing this, Nie fengguo asked him, “Lao Li did not mention it again. Did you do it without permission?”
Zhao Haibin said with a smile, “You have to think of everything in front of the leader. It’s not convenient for him to say something, but you have to think of it. Why did Lao Li let his nephew come to our unit as an intern? His nephew is not a fresh graduate, graduated more than a year has not a formal job, their family can not worry? Anyway, his nephew’s major is also suitable for the job, and his academic qualification is also satisfied. Lao Li will make him a full-time worker sooner or later. We might as well be one step ahead.”
“But Hai Bin, this is not a small thing with a system of things, in case not touch the old Li mind how to do?”
“He’s the boss, and if he disagrees, he can always stop. Did he call a halt? B: No, just gave me a piece of my mind and called me a fool for my ideas. You’ve done what he wants. He criticizes you but still thanks you.”
When the deputy director retired in 2005, he managed to get Zhao Into the bureau’s project office. Zhao Haibin helped Lao Li a lot in the project office, such as some projects run, let Lao Li’s relatives won the bid and so on. Before senior Li retired in 2007, zhao Haibin was directly referred to the zhengke Department.
Mr. Nie was a minor from 2002 to 2008, when he left the system to go into business. When I asked him why he wanted to leave, he said that his career was just like that. It was too boring in the system, so it was better to make some money. I didn’t ask any further questions. In a small city like ours, everyone is squeezing their brains to get inside the system. Nie Fengguo’s decision must have its own reasons.
I put the topic back to Zhao Haibin, “I still feel very unreal, a rookie, so mature, began to rise steadily?”
“He has risen, but not steadily. There is his father-in-law behind the move, those years he worked very hard, even a little urgent. In front of subordinates too strong, often in the office under the brother scold bloody head. It is all public business, why, the bottom of his opinion more and more people. I had a hunch something would happen to him with his way of doing things.”
Sure enough, in 2009, an investigation team came and said that zhao Haibin made the undertaker sign a contract of 550,000 yuan for a project in 2007, which should have been a contract of 450,000 yuan, and got 100,000 yuan of state funds for nothing. At that time, it was passed that when Lao Li was about to retire before, Zhao Haibin, in order to be on the premise of Lao Li’s retirement, signaled the undertaker to sign an extra contract of 100,000 yuan, and then gave the 100,000 yuan to Lao Li. Zhao haibin and several of his colleagues have been quarantined. During that period of panic, all said that Zhao Haibin may not come back this time.
“And how did he get over it?”
“Lao Li is dead.” Nie fengguo said that at this critical juncture, Lao Li died of a cerebral hemorrhage, and Zhao Haibin returned the 100,000 yuan. “Why not say that the death penalty is cancelled, and the investigation team did not hold on to this matter any longer?”
It is estimated that this incident was not a small blow to Zhao Haibin. Since then, his whole personal condition and working style have undergone a great change, which is much lower profile and much gentler. Until now, Zhao haibin has been working hard with brains and the courage to take responsibility. In 2013, he was promoted to deputy director of his unit.
It was getting late and Nie fengguo’s eyes were a little heavy. I called a surrogate driver and sent him back.
6
One day in May 2017, I received a call from Nie Fengguo. He asked me where I was so that I could come out for a while. No, he told me that Zhao Haibin’s mother had fallen down the stairs, but Zhao Haibin was in a meeting in the provincial capital. However, Nie Fengguo had gone to the county to talk about business. He was rushing back and wanted me to go there first.
When I arrived at Zhao Haibin’s home, only a middle-aged woman accompanied his mother, asked to know that it was his sister.
After his sister and I put his mother in the car and took her to the hospital, Nie Fengguo arrived. The consigliere consulted a doctor and said it might be a fracture. When it was getting dark, Zhao Haibin came to see his mother and thanked us directly. He also offered to invite us to dinner. I said no, the old lady needed someone here.
Work the next day I came to the hospital again, only the old lady and hai-bin zhao sister both, the old lady saw me very enthusiastic, pass me a banana, I asked how I feel about the old lady, old lady just laugh, don’t talk, hai-bin zhao elder sister to take the words and said, pointing to their ears, deafness, hear, the doctor said operation next Monday, no matter, just back home after the surgery.
Zhao Haibin took me to the parking lot. When I was about to get on the bus, he suddenly said that he wanted to bother me with something. “My sister’s child graduated last year and failed to pass the civil service examination. Zhao Haibin added immediately, “Recently several units are recruiting public welfare posts, I saw your unit on the Internet.”
I don’t know what to say all of a sudden, although it is a public welfare post, but I feel I have no ability to do it, but it is not good to directly refuse, said: “I first look, go to the unit to ask.
On the way home, Unsure of myself, I called Nie Fengguo.
“A post for public welfare is basically a temporary job for one year, but it does not require you to arrange a permanent one,” Nie said. “It is not difficult. Please tell your personnel, and If not, I will try my best.”
I still have a lot of questions in my mind, “He is a deputy director general ah, he said a word can not be directly arranged into their bureau, or a subordinate public institution, why do you want me to help him do this thing?
“Ah… This ah, his bureau ‘the top hand’ quickly retreated, he is the youngest deputy director, in the masses and the leadership where the public praise is very good, he wants to position, but also cautious, at this time to arrange people, afraid of giving the person a handle.
I long “Oh” 1, “by the way, these two days why only his sister in the hospital, his wife’s son?”
“Well, after all these years, he and his wife didn’t get along very well. They’re separated now. I don’t think his wife knows that his mother is in hospital.”
Zhao Haibin asked me to do things well, a month later, his sister’s children went to our work. He called me and asked me to get together in the evening and called Nie Fengguo. Zhao Haibin arranged in a teahouse, after going in to know that this is actually a club, the environment is very good. The original feeling that he spoke little, that day I found that he was very able to say, and very good to say, drink also simply, subvert my impression of him.
When I had drunk enough, he poured me another drinker, but I waved my hand and could not say.
Zhao Haibin smiled, “Work is work, drink is drink, work to do, drink wine, ‘no’ this word, do not say.”
At the end of the day, I asked Nie Fengguo, feeling that Zhao Haibin was totally two people at work and at the wine table. Nie Fengguo said that he regarded you as one of his own.
7
At the beginning of 2018, I asked Zhao Haibin if he was going to be the top brass. He was very strict with himself and kept saying that there was nothing wrong. Don’t listen to them. Later, when I asked him again as a joke, he would always wave his hand, denying, but also not denying. By the beginning of 2019, it was no secret that zhao haibin wanted to be director of the bureau. I sent him a WeChat, “I heard he was promoted, congratulations to director of zhao.”
About 10 minutes later, Zhao replied, still cautious, “Don’t say anything. You haven’t announced it yet. Don’t make it public.”
On a Saturday in early July this year, I met Nie Fengguo again and talked about Zhao Haibin. “When will zhao Haibin’s appointment be announced? I’ll congratulate you then.”
Nie paused for a moment and pulled me to the side of the crowd. “Don’t you know about the seaside? Rise bureau chief this matter had been about, can go up in this juncture, somebody reported him. That $100,000 thing.”
I said, “How many years has it been? Besides, hasn’t everything been looked into?”
Nie fengguo sighed and said, “It was an investigation, but in the middle of the investigation, Lao Li died and the matter was not settled. Now it is said that the matter has been thoroughly investigated again, and Zhao Haibin was directly demoted from deputy to the general branch.”
I listened to the heart like nest with a force, can not go out, did not play the interest, directly drove home. I parked my car in the community, but I didn’t want to enter my house. I sat in the car for a while and sent a WeChat to zhao haibin, saying, “are you free? Come out and sit down?”
I expected him to say no, but a few minutes later he replied, “Where?”
Finally, Zhao Haibin chose a dumpling restaurant on the street. After seeing him, I felt relieved. He was in a much better state than I had imagined. He was still calm and calm.
Zhao haibin said the dumpling restaurant has been open for more than 20 years, and when he first arrived at his job, he came here to “make improvements” as soon as he got paid. The boss knew Zhao Haibin very well. He served the food directly without asking him what he ate. After serving the food, he directly gave him a bottle of wine, which had been drunk about half and should have been saved by Zhao Haibin.
“Do you have any stock of wine? I can’t believe you like this. How much is it? Thirteen or fifteen?”
“Well, Sometimes I get tired of thinking I’ll come here when I’m alone. When I was poor, I could only drink this. Later, when My condition was better, I also liked it. When I finished drinking other wines, I felt uncomfortable in my stomach.
We drank more than half of the wine in 20 minutes, and Zhao ordered another. I’ve been talking on the tip of my tongue but I don’t know how. Or he himself spoke of this matter, “Why do you want to see me today, I also know, rest assured, nothing.”
“I just heard what Nie Fengguo said, and I felt quite sudden in my heart. What’s next?”
“It’s time to eat, it’s time to sleep, it’s time to work. In fact, I feel more relaxed now. I don’t have so many worries. I can do a lot of things I wanted to do before.”
The mood lightened and I relaxed. “What would you most like to do right now?”
“Divorce.”
“Oh?”
“Do you know who I admire the most? It was Nie Fengguo, because he did things I didn’t dare to do.”
Zhao haibin said that Nie fengguo had always had a bad relationship with his wife. He could not talk about going together and often fought with her. Around the mid Autumn Festival in 2005, Nie Fengguo’s wife had a car accident and left two big scars on her face after she left the hospital. Since then, his wife has followed the demon, checking Nie fengguo’s cell phone every day and sometimes following him. When Nie Fengguo went out to have a meal, his wife would suddenly appear. Whenever there was a woman present, he would point to others and ask nie Fengguo who she was.
At the beginning of 2006, the two divorced, his wife went to work and looked for Lao Li. Lao Li advised him, can’t because of the wife’s son in a car accident, left scar on the face, with the wife’s son divorce, this can not be Chen Shimei. Even so, they eventually left. Later, Lao Li felt that Nie fengguo’s character was not good enough, so he transferred him to a quiet department. Besides, his wife often came to the office to make trouble, so Nie Fengguo basically stinks in the office, and he left his job in 2008. Zhao haibin said he has thought of divorce many times over the years, but he is afraid of the bad influence, and has been putting it off.
I didn’t ask what happened between Zhao Haibin and Daughter-in-law. I wanted to persuade her, but I didn’t know the truth about their family. What I said seemed vulgar and useless, so I simply chose silence.
We had a chat for a while and then scattered. The street lights were very dark. In a short while, Zhao Haibin’s figure disappeared into the night. I stared into the darkness of the street, a little sad, a little choked.
I know zhao Haibin’s career has come to an end.
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