Insufficient balance

  He had been soaking in the bathtub for about ten minutes, but Tang Yu still couldn't think of a foolproof plan. However, he heard some familiar voices coming from the living room, with that same heavy and steady tone, it was his father who had arrived.

  Perking up my ears to listen for a while, I intermittently heard that it was about the big mess of the municipal government, and could only vaguely judge that it was about the difficulties in work, such as the municipal party committee and the people's congress not getting along with the government.

  It's also true that there are some shady dealings between the top leaders in the city, it's a common thing, if there weren't any shady dealings then that would be abnormal. Moreover, Su Mu Ru is an outsider who came down to be the mayor, he doesn't have much of a foundation in the city, and is different from Chen Song Wei, the municipal party secretary who grew up locally in Dongling, as well as Huang Bao De, the director of the people's congress, these two people have been operating in Dongling for many years and have deep roots.

  In the xenophobic Dongling City, these two people and Su Muru didn't get along, so it's normal that the government's work couldn't be carried out smoothly. Although Su Muru is the mayor, he can't even give orders outside of the government office building, which must be his most embarrassing and helpless thing. A strong leader with a non-cooperative People's Congress director, the second-in-command is in a difficult situation, Tang Yu can imagine it with his eyes closed.

  His father is in charge of the secretariat and supervision departments, sometimes also taking care of research and bill departments. The obstacles he encounters at work are obvious. Although they have moved into this government compound, there aren't many people who take his father seriously, and those waiting to see him make a fool of himself are numerous.

  Seeing Tang Yu coming out of the bathroom with a sneeze, Zhang Ya Hui and Tang Tian Yong also stopped their conversation. "Little Yu, do you have a cold?" Tang Tian Yong put down his rice bowl and pointed to the sofa next to him, indicating for him to sit down and talk.

  Before he could even speak, Tang Yu let out two more sneezes. Zhang Ya Hui's face was tense as she muttered a couple of sentences and got up to find some cold medicine. "You child, you must have played too hard in the park today, and didn't even say anything when you came home with a cold."

  Tang Tianhong seemed to have something he wanted to say to Tang Yu, but looking at his sneezing fit, it wasn't a good time to talk. Instead, Tang Yu adjusted his mood and said, "Dad, did you get bullied by Zheng Datou again today and want to find comfort in your son?" Zheng Datou was the director of the Municipal Committee Office, known for having a big temper to match his large head, earning him the nickname "Zheng Big Head" behind people's backs. Tang Yu's father worked at the Government Secretariat, often coordinating with the Municipal Committee Office and the Municipal Secretary's office, inevitably dealing with Zheng Datou.

  On the other side, Zhang Yahui happened to be holding a cold medicine and carrying hot water out. "You child, how can you talk like that? Is there such a thing as talking about your own father like that?" Besides, even if your dad was bullied by Zheng Da Tou, he couldn't find comfort in you either." She said, putting the cup of water and the medicine in front of Tang Yu.

  "No, I just heard Dad and Mom complaining, telling me to take a look. If Dad continues to stay in the government secretariat, he will be bullied by him for the rest of his life."

  "This kid, how can you talk like that? Who would set up their own dad like this? What do you know about city affairs, you're just a little kid. Besides, Zheng Da Tou is someone you can call?" He laughed and pushed Tang Yun's head.

  Tang Tianhong found it interesting, "You say that, am I, your old man, destined to be a pushover for the rest of my life?"

  Tang Yu smiled, "Dad, look, your boss in the city can't even speak loudly and has to put up with Chen Songwei and Huang Baode's temper. Not only that, but also the people from the government secretariat can't speak loudly either, they have to endure the City Committee Office's temper. Among the leaders of the organs, how many really look up to Su Mu Ru? He has been in Dongling City for more than half a year now, do you see any of the top officials actively seeking him out to report on their work?"

  "How dare you speak of Mayor Su like that? Is his name something you can just call out? Matters within the organization, which one can a child like you see clearly?"

  Although he said so with his mouth, in his heart, he somewhat agreed with his son's words and found it strange. When did his son start caring about the affairs of the organization? It was reasonable to say that it was not entirely unreasonable.

  Looking at his father's expression, Tang Yu knew that in fact, his old man also had some agreement with his own words. His mother, Zhang Yahui, was not interested in these official matters and urged him to take the medicine and go back to the bedroom. Tang Yu got up and pulled out a set of Chinese chess from beside him, and the two men set up their formation. Tang Yu continued to speak.

  "Chen Songwei used to be quite arrogant in the city, and Huang Baode was actually squeezed out of his position as Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee by him. However, at that time, it was not as rampant as it is now. In this situation, if there weren't some people from higher up giving tacit approval, he wouldn't be so reckless. To put it bluntly, someone upstairs doesn't want Mayor Su to continue working in Dongling City. Otherwise, with just any excuse for a team being disunited, Dongling City would not be in the current state."

  Tang Yu said this, and it's actually based on facts. For a serious political event like vote-buying, if some people at the top hadn't given their consent, Chen Songwei wouldn't have dared to do such a taboo thing, even if he was extremely bold. The fact that he could still safely hold the position of municipal party secretary for several years after that is proof enough. As for Su Mu Ru successfully rising to power again after the first vote-buying incident, it's certainly because someone at the top had expressed their attitude. If there hadn't been a clear stance from the provincial government, Su Mu Ru might have really lost the election. Although such things are rare in China, they're not without precedent.

  Tang Tianhong, who was just about to move the cannon, heard Tang Yu's words and his hands were in a flurry, secretly sighing in his heart.

  "Yes, Chen Songwei wouldn't have been so arrogant and domineering in the city if he didn't have the approval of certain people. The conflict between the top two leaders in Dongling City is something that the provincial government must know about, but their lack of response shows that they are also unclear about their stance and cannot provide direct support to Su Muren. As someone on the inside, I'm surprised that an outsider like you can see things more clearly."

  "Xiao Yu, who taught you to say such things? Normally, I don't see you being able to say so many philosophical words. Weren't you uninterested in the affairs of the organization before?" Before he knew it, Tang Yu had taken away both cannons.

  Tang Yu appeared to be focused on playing chess, but in fact he was paying attention to his father's reaction.

  "I wasn't interested in the past when Dad was in the Party History Research Office, what's interesting about that broken institution? Now that Dad is in the Government Secretariat, as his son, I want to be a qualified official and naturally care about Dad's future. If Dad's position is unstable, my own prestige as an official will also be shaken. Besides, these things don't need to be taught by people, living in the government compound every day, you'll inevitably pick up some things through osmosis and rumors."

  "With your dad's rank of deputy director, it's far from enough to support your arrogant attitude."

  Tang Tianhong nodded, and didn't ask him why he was learning these things. Children growing up in a political family's compound always had to mature early, besides, learning this kind of thing wasn't a bad idea, it would come in handy someday. He just found it strange that his son, who usually showed no interest in such matters, suddenly performed so well. However, he was still relieved at heart, his son was being sensible, which was always a good thing, and he didn't comment on his son's words.

  In an instant, Tang Yu also pulled over a car in the middle of the road.

  "You little scamp, you indeed know how to take advantage of the situation, your chess skills have improved. Bring your Go board another day and we'll have a good match. Go wash up and sleep, it's late."

  Seeing that his father had no interest in continuing the conversation, Tang Yu got up and started to put away the chessboard. However, he was still satisfied with today's conversation, at least letting his father know that his son already had "a little bit" of political wisdom, and some topics could be discussed between them. In the future, if he showed any earth-shattering moves again, he estimated that his father would get used to it.

  See Dad enter the bedroom, Tang Yu also put the cleaned chessboard in the drawer next to the tea table, went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and put on pajamas ready for bed.

  Lying in bed, Tang Yu couldn't fall asleep no matter what. He still couldn't believe and accept the fact that he had been reborn in 1993. His mind kept wandering through several scenes: one moment it was the desolate situation at his home after the accident in 1993, another moment it was his understanding of human relationships, then again it was the last bit of consciousness when he got into a car accident while drunk "last night", and then it jumped to him saving two lives by the small lake in Zhongshan Park today.

  Some things can still be changed after all. I recalled the news about a brave young man who jumped into the water to save someone in Zhongshan Park, which was broadcast on TV while playing chess with my dad in Dongling City. The news report did not hesitate to praise the young hero who saved the person, and his father also praised him for a few sentences. Tang Yu didn't have the nerve to say that the young man who saved the person was actually himself.

  However, since the news never mentioned closing Zhongshan Park, Tang Yu put down his worries. In Tang Yu's memory, on the day he returned from playing in Zhongshan Park, while he was still in the hospital getting stitches on his calf, the city TV station reported that Zhongshan Park had been permanently closed due to inadequate safety facilities, causing a stir in the small city of Dongling, and even sparking a protest march, but ultimately nothing came of it.

  In this life, the accident at Zhongshan Park did not occur under my intervention, and Zhongshan Park was not closed like in the previous life. This shows that some things can still be changed, such as today's park incident. If I hadn't intervened, tonight's city broadcast would probably have been reporting the closure of the park just like in the previous life.

  Only with a willing heart can the tragedy of one's own family in past lives be turned into good fortune.

  Lying in bed and thinking, I didn't notice my continuous sneezing, and it wasn't until the second half of the night that I gradually fell into a dream.