Provincial Committee Building.
Secretary Gao was engrossed in his work, holding a cigarette in his left hand while flipping through documents with his right.
His hair was no longer as thick as it had once been, revealing a shiny forehead through thin gaps.
A soft knock sounded, and the door opened slightly. The secretary poked half his body through and softly said, just loud enough for Secretary Gao but not enough to disturb him, "Secretary Gao, from Lingjiang City Government, a call from Mayor Jiang regarding Hou Wen's corruption case."
Secretary Gao flicked the ash off his cigarette: "Put it through."
He put the cigarette in his mouth, only to find that it had burned down to the filter.
After extinguishing it, he lit another one.
Right then, the phone beside him also rang.
He took a deep drag before grabbing the handset.
"Hello Secretary Gao, this is Jiang Yuan."
"Hello, Mayor Jiang, what's the matter?"
