Secretary Zhang knew of the situation.
But Mayor Liu was not certain where Secretary Zhang’s loyalty lied – whether his loyalty still lied with his old superior and was merely waiting for the opportunity to backstab him.
The thought of that alone was enough to give him a headache.
He had been having troubles sleeping for a few nights now.
He had been flipping through the resumes of these individuals and corporations while analyzing what was his best strategy to take care of the situation he had at hand. He had, however, not yet figured out the best solution for this.
“Mayor Liu, what’s your thoughts on this?”
Unexpectedly, Huang Chuan initiated interaction after his introduction.
“It’s good…”
Mayor Liu put on a perfect smile and gave an answer that could not go wrong.
Granted, he had no idea what Huang Chuan was asking about at all.
When he looked up, however, he was stunned.
The painting on top was the one of Maitreya.
His sleeves were flowing in the air as he sat under an old pine tree with his legs crossed. His stomach protruding out with a big smile on his face. It couldn’t have looked any livelier!
Mayor Liu heard a ringing in his ears. He could almost hear someone laughing heartily next to him.
Next to Maitreya was a line of unrestrained cursive caption.
“A big stomach, like a big heart, can resolve many earthly issues; a big smile can resolve many worries.”
Mayor Liu’s mouth dropped open. He was enlightened!
That was right. A big heart.
Be the bigger person.
If one was the bigger person, one would have the upper hand.
Secretary Zhang was working for him now. If he started out doubting him and refused to let him help, he would come across as petty to others.
By that time, Secretary Zhang would not be the only person who would look down on him. As would the others.
“Good! Good! Good!
“That was an incredible work!”
The smile on Mayor Liu became genuine.
The more he looked at Maitreya’s smile, the bigger his own smile. He felt more and more relieved.
Now that he had it all figured out, all of his previous worries were gone.
“Which master’s work was this?”
In a good mood, Mayor Liu’s interest was piqued. He walked closer to look at the stamp.
“Ink Painting… Guru?”
He was just about to ask about this artist when he spotted the other two paintings after taking a step back.
The peak on the left was enveloped in fog. Standing the tallest, it could look around and see all the other shorter mountaineers.
The mystical crane on the right had its wings stretched out and was about to take off. Its head lifted and howling into the air. Surfing among the clouds, it was pure and righteous.
Mayor Liu looked very happy all of a sudden.
“These, too, were work of this Ink Painting Guru?”
The more he looked at them, the more he was mesmerized by them.
Was the peak at the left foretelling that his career would go up and up and eventually look over everybody else?
And mystical cranes could only appear on the clothing of a Level-One civil officer. It’s a Level-One bird! Was it foretelling that he could rise up high and fast?
This artist… these three paintings!
Mayor Liu was filled with pleasant surprise and was utterly amazed. “Simply amazing! President Huang, is this artist here today? These three paintings are of mastery level and I am utterly stunned by them.”
How he would love to buy all three of them and hang them up in his great room!
Gu Jiangxin, on the other hand, had just gotten off of the flight back to the capital. He was snickering with a solemn look.
How dare the Zhang family tried to throw obstacles his way!
He was no pushover!
Even if his project in the capital had gone belly up, he still had other options!
“Xiao Zheng, let’s head back to the office. Send me the information on Mayor Liu who had just reported to his new post. And, are all the gifts for him for tonight ready?”
“Boss, everything is all set and ready to go. I’ll try to give it to Secretary Zhang, who works closely with him. I have spoken with him over the phone last night. He said it will be fine.”
Gu Jiangxin leaned back on his leather seat, contented, after hearing that.
“Good.”
