Ji Yang looked at Qiu Ling, who sighed before picking up her tea for a sip and then said, "You heard what Cheng Guosong said today, and actually, he’s not wrong."
Ji Yang didn’t say anything but just looked at her.
Qiu Ling continued, "Our family comes from the countryside. However, my cousin is very competitive and studied really hard. She was the first person from our village to get into a university."
Ji Yang poured himself some tea.
Qiu Ling went on, "At that time, the newspapers even interviewed my cousin, saying that a golden phoenix had flown out of the village. After she started working, though, she soon realized that becoming a civil servant wasn’t as simple as it appeared. Without any connections, the chances of advancing were too low. The people around her, though not necessarily better than her, were quickly climbing up the ranks."
Ji Yang inwardly sighed as well. The bureaucracy really was such a place where, no matter how capable you are, if you don’t have someone above to help you, it is indeed very hard to rise through the ranks.
"What happened later?"
"After she realized this, my cousin dumped her boyfriend of many years. That guy only knew about romance and couldn’t help her in any practical way. So, my cousin slept with a city leader, and after that, her career really took off. With every passing year, she advanced rapidly. The leader who had slept with her even moved up to the provincial level, which helped her even more."
It seemed Cheng Guosong knew some of the situation and wasn’t wrong in what he said.
"That leader retired due to an illness last year, and then, after losing his support, my cousin, who could have advanced further, found herself stuck. So, she started to expand her network, and this class was a result of that leader’s last bit of help."
Ji Yang said, "If that’s the case, although that leader has stepped down, he must still have some connections. Cheng Guosong couldn’t have offended him so quickly, right?"
"Sadly, that man passed away from his illness last month."
Ji Yang was at a loss for words. Original content can be found at ⓝovelFire.net
Qiu Ling added, "My cousin has changed a lot. Though she has helped us too, it wasn’t significant. I managed to get into university on my own, so my cousin places great value on me."
Looking at Qiu Ling, the woman had more than just beauty; she indeed had capabilities.
After taking a sip of tea, Qiu Ling said, "You might wonder, since my cousin treats me well, why would I start this tea house on my own?"
It was true that Ji Yang had such a thought and looked towards her.
With a wry smile, Qiu Ling said, "Do you know why I married my ex-husband? The man was a secret son of a provincial leader. After my cousin found out about this, she introduced us, and even drugged him to sleep with me, which led to our marriage."
Ji Yang was taken aback.
So that was the story? Ji Yang felt he understood Qiu Ling a bit better now.
"People always say I climbed up by latching onto some leader, but what they don’t know is that it was my ex-husband who actually helped my rise. However, he later had several other women, and we hadn’t lived together for a long time. After an argument, I voluntarily requested to work in the countryside, and he stopped caring about me."
While that was what she said, Ji Yang still felt she was leaving out some details; there must be more to the story.
"And your ex-husband’s father?"
"He got into trouble for corruption."
Ji Yang understood a bit more now, but these issues, whether right or wrong, were not easy for him to judge. He guessed that the corruption issue must have also involved Qiu Ling, which was the key reason for her losing her job.
These cousins seemed to be examples of failures in the bureaucratic world.