Zhou Qian didn't know what he was bringing her to Jinling for.

But it was almost noon now, and driving to Jinling would take at least four or five hours.

Tonight, they'd definitely have to stay overnight somewhere.

Song Guanchao looked straight ahead but could sense how intently she was looking at him.

"I'm visiting an old friend tonight, I'll take you to meet him."

"Who is it?"

"It's a secret for now," Song Guanchao said. "Remember, when we get back, don't tell anyone about this."

"Oh."

Zhou Qian was extremely curious, who was he taking her to meet?

The key point was, she was just a journalist, was there any particular significance in taking her to meet this person?

"Also, there's a trade fair coming up in the city, and we'll need your TV station to promote it. Do you know anyone at the provincial TV station?"

"Yes, I do."

"Great, help me get in touch with them later. We need a big publicity push."

"Sure, leave it to me."

She was a professional in this area.

At 4:30 in the afternoon, Song Guanchao arrived in Jinling.

The car drove into the city and stopped by the roadside.

Song Guanchao bought some fruit.

At five o'clock, the car arrived at the Jiangnan Province Military Command building on Hunan Road.

The gates of the command were blocked by iron barricades, with four armed guards standing on either side.

Outside the command was one of Jinling's busiest commercial streets, but inside it was filled with office areas and a few red-brick villas used for accommodation.

Song Guanchao stopped at the gate, and a guard came over to inquire, "Hello, please show your ID."

"Just a moment, I'll make a call."

He made a call to Liu Wanli, and about five minutes later, a man in his sixties came riding a bicycle from inside the command to the gate.

The old man squeezed the brakes and got off the bike, smiling, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Song?"

"That's me."

"Alright, just a moment."

The old man said a few words to the guard, and the iron gate opened.

"Mr. Song, follow me."

The old man rode ahead on his bike, and Song Guanchao followed slowly behind.

Entering the security zone, Zhou Qian started feeling unexplainably nervous and even lowered her voice, "Who exactly are you taking me to see?"

"Liu Wanli, have you heard of him?"

"Liu Wanli?"

Zhou Qian was a bit puzzled and shook her head, "I don't know."

Song Guanchao said, "He was the former Minister of Railways."

"Ministry of Railways?" Zhou Qian was even more puzzled, "Is there such a department in the country?"

Song Guanchao initially wanted to come across as mysterious, but the young lady clearly had no idea.

"Ahem."

He coughed lightly and, trying to save face, said, "It was a ministerial-level department back then, but it was dismantled later. The National Railway Bureau is one of the units that came from that dismantling."

Zhou Qian was still confused; she was a civic reporter, not a political one.

Moreover, unless you specifically went out of your way to learn about it, it was normal not to know about such things.

"Why did they dismantle the ministerial-level department?"

"Because it was too big."

"Too big?" Zhou Qian didn't understand, "Dismantled because it was too big?"

How could there be such a bizarre reason?

Seeing her expression, it was clear she really knew nothing about the Ministry of Railways.

Song Guanchao said, "The Ministry of Railways had a nickname; it was called a 'country within a country.'

"Let's put it this way, back then, the Ministry of Railways had its own independent schools, hospitals, military, police, courts, newspapers, TV stations...even crematoriums."

"If you were born into the Ministry of Railways, it could take care of you from birth until the end of your life."

"At the time, the Ministry of Railways, to put it harshly, looked at inland provinces and cities like a suzerain state looks at colonies."

Zhou Qian's eyes widened, astonishment mixed with a bit of skepticism, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

"Exaggerated?" Song Guanchao shook his head, "Not at all. You have to know that at its peak, the railway soldiers numbered over 400,000, with fifteen divisions..."

"The Ministry of Railways was a vertically managed unit, a combination of government and enterprise! Do you know what the significance of such a combination is?"

"That's something even local governments couldn't get involved with."

"Provincial leaders had to be polite when meeting with the head of the Ministry of Railways. Calling it a local emperor wouldn't be an exaggeration; it was essentially a behemoth-level independent kingdom."

Zhou Qian became more and more shocked as she listened, "Then why was it dismantled?"

Song Guanchao laughed; the girl was so stunned that she asked such an obvious question.

"Why else? Because it was too big. If it hadn't been dismantled, something would have gone wrong."

"No country would allow a 'country within a country' to exist."

Zhou Qian looked at the old man cycling ahead and suddenly recalled he had just said he was taking her to meet a former Minister of Railways.

A ministerial-level department head, with the status of a minister!

And with real power...

If the Ministry of Railways hadn't been dismantled, the significance of this minister would reach directly to the top!

There were few in the entire country who could surpass him.

Zhou Qian's heart started beating wildly, and the blood pumped by it made her tremble uncontrollably.

She had only ever seen leaders of this level on TV.

Song Guanchao said, "Don't be nervous; he's already retired and is at home taking care of his grandchildren now."

"In a bit, I'll introduce you. If you want to do an interview with him later, prepare in advance and let me know, and I'll arrange it for you."

"An interview?"

Zhou Qian was taken aback, her nervousness instantly dissipating, replaced by an indescribable complexity.

There was joy, sweetness, and emotion.

Was he bringing her here to help her expand her career?

A figure of this level was not someone you could just decide to interview.

If you didn't reach a certain level, you wouldn't even know which direction their front door faced.

Even journalists from the Ministry of Propaganda might not have the qualifications for such an interview.

Not to mention she was just a host from a prefecture-level city television station.

Media work heavily relies on connections; if you have connections, you have resources, and with resources, the entire TV station will cater to you.

She had never thought about getting anything from Song Guanchao.

She simply liked Song Guanchao.

For this reason, the fact that Song Guanchao silently paved the way for her was even more touching.

She nodded and immediately took out her phone to search for Liu Wanli's credentials, so she wouldn't fail to recognize him later.

Looking at Liu Wanli's credentials, Zhou Qian became increasingly astonished.

This Liu Minister started as the Party Secretary of the Jinling Branch of the Railway Bureau and climbed up the ranks, brushing up his credentials at the General Administration of Customs from Deputy Director to Customs Director.

After leaving customs, he returned to the Ministry of Railways to take over as head.

Until the Ministry of Railways was dismantled, he served as the Party Secretary of the Railway Corporation, retiring only afterwards.

Just looking at his credentials made one feel the legendary nature of Secretary Liu's political career.

What intrigued her even more was why Song Guanchao knew such a big shot.

"We're here."

The old man parked in front of a two-story building, and Song Guanchao also parked outside.

"Get out of the car."

Zhou Qian took a deep breath and unbuckled her seatbelt.

The old man opened the courtyard gate, and Zhou Qian saw a silver-haired, spirited old man squatting on the ground, playing with mud with a chubby little boy of about seven or eight.

"Mr. Liu, Mr. Song is here," reported the old man before standing aside.

The elderly man dusted off the mud on his hands, and as he stood up, Zhou Qian noticed how tall he was.

He walked over, glanced at Zhou Qian, and said with a smile, "Girlfriend?"

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