Chapter 2067: What are you looking at?

Seeing Wu Min suddenly get up and walk to the window, Zhao Desan, who was lost in the fantasies brought on by that "insect-biting" sensation, finally came back to his senses. Pretending nothing had happened, he called out to Wu Min, who was standing by the window, "District Mayor Wu, what are you looking at?"

"Oh, just looking at the scenery of the development zone." Wu Min said casually, trying to brush it off.

Seeing the flash of panic in Wu Min's expression the moment she turned back, Zhao Desan looked down at his crotch, gave a sly smile to himself, coughed twice to calm down, picked up his half-empty, now-cooled cup of water, and took a sip. Then he got up, walked over, and stood beside Wu Min. As he followed her gaze toward the overgrown, barren wilderness of the development zone, he asked, "District Mayor Wu, what's there to look at?"

"I'm thinking about what this place will look like once it's developed." Wu Min gradually fell into deep thought, squinting her large eyes, looking very serious.

Zhao Desan looked at the serious Wu Min, then at the wilderness outside the window, and said, "According to the plan, this is supposed to be a leisure square for the district committee and government. Construction should start around next year."

Once the topic turned to work, Wu Min's mood quickly calmed down. She turned her face, looked at Zhao Desan, who had also regained his composure, walked to the desk, sat down, and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, have a seat. I'd like to consult you on some planning issues."

"Sure, District Mayor Wu. Which aspect would you like to ask about? Feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer." Zhao Desan walked over to the sofa and sat down.

After the brief moment of ambiguous contact, perhaps to establish her dignity as District Committee Secretary and District Mayor in front of Zhao Desan, Wu Min appeared to become a bit cold and aloof. Her expression was just like when she had bumped into Zhao Desan at the stairwell—cold, arrogant, and full of distance.

"What is your opinion on the land that the province and the city intend to develop in cooperation? You're in planning; how do you think that piece of land should be developed to showcase the image of our Chanba Development Zone?" Wu Min cut straight to the point. After Zhao Desan demonstrated his work ability and innovative thinking in front of Secretary Jin and so many other high-ranking leaders yesterday, Wu Min wanted to consult Zhao Desan and hear his thoughts.

On his way here, Zhao Desan had intended to use this opportunity to probe Wu Min's views on the development of this land. He really hadn't expected Wu Min to ask him exactly that. So, Zhao Desan discussed his thoughts, synthesizing the positioning of the Chanba Development Zone with the future development of this land.

After all, he was a young man, and his ideas were different. Combined with the fact that Zhao Desan had been out for training once, he integrated the development and construction experience of other national-level development zones in other provinces and cities. He spoke eloquently, and his ideas and views were exactly what Wu Min was thinking—they were almost identical. After finishing his thoughts, Zhao Desan asked her, "District Mayor Wu, what do you think?"

Wu Min gave Zhao Desan a knowing smile and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, to be honest, my thoughts are similar to yours. If you can think this way, it means my ideas aren't wrong."

Zhao Desan feigned modesty and said with a smile, "District Mayor Wu, I'm just talking casually. My ideas aren't the standard."

Wu Min praised him endlessly, "They aren't the standard, but the ideas are very good. Considering the layout and positioning of the development zone, they are truly excellent."

Having figured out the thoughts of the district committee and government led by Wu Min, Zhao Desan prepared to tell Ma Lan the news. On one hand, it would allow her to know the enemy and herself to pave the way for relationships; on the other hand, by starting from the district committee and government, he could encourage Wu Min to convey the district committee's thoughts to the province and city. In this way, Ma Lan would be like planting radishes in a pit—every one would be a sure hit.

"District Mayor Wu, since you have this idea, you must express it to the higher-ups so they can screen the cooperative units for development." Zhao Desan's meaning was self-evident: he was encouraging Wu Min to represent the district committee and government in expressing their thoughts on how the land should be developed, so that the province and city would implicitly favor Ma Lan when screening competitors for the land.

Wu Min felt that what Zhao Desan said was right. She nodded and said, "Yesterday at the symposium, I also mentioned it to Secretary Jin. That piece of land is the gateway to our Chanba Development Zone. It can't be developed however one wants like other places; it must be taken seriously. First, the government must provide a guiding direction and put forward some hard requirements."

"Just mentioning it to Secretary Jin yesterday isn't enough. I think, District Mayor Wu, you still need to strengthen communication and contact with the province and city, convey the thoughts of the district committee and government more often, and let the higher-ups take it seriously." Zhao Desan continued to "hustle" Wu Min.

Wu Min was actually quite easy to hustle; the key was that she trusted Zhao Desan too much. Instead, she felt that what he said made a lot of sense. She nodded and said, "That's true. The competition for this land is very fierce. The district must offer some opinions to the city and province. This is a major matter related to the development of the development zone; it absolutely cannot be developed casually."

Zhao Desan nodded and continued to fan the flames, "The Chanba Development Zone is a national-level development zone that the province and city worked extremely hard to get approved by the State Council. If we don't make something of it, not only will Hexi Province and Xijing City be unable to answer to the State Council, but the district committee and government won't be able to answer to the municipal and provincial committees and governments, and District Mayor Wu won't look good either. This is a major matter related to the face of the development zone's gateway; we must be extremely cautious." Zhao Desan described the negative consequences of this matter as extremely serious, psychologically making Wu Min take the cooperation issue of that land segment seriously.

Wu Min was also "hustled" by Zhao Desan, accepting his "well-intentioned" suggestions from her heart. From discussing the land issue with Zhao Desan to the planning and construction of the entire development zone, Zhao Desan used his eloquent mouth to speak brilliantly, trying his best to show his ability in front of Wu Min. It was true that since taking over the planning work of the Chanba Development Zone, Zhao Desan had basically thoroughly studied the current status and future positioning of the Chanba Development Zone. His views and ideas could always speak to Wu Min's heart—many of which were ideas that had flashed through Wu Min's mind but quickly disappeared, all of which were summarized by Zhao Desan.

Although they hadn't had much contact—this was only the second time—this short contact allowed Zhao Desan to gradually figure out the character of this woman, Wu Min. She was absolutely a person who was conscientious and dedicated to her work, which was very similar to himself. At the same time, Zhao Desan could also perceive the cold and distant temperament that Lan Mei possessed in Wu Min, combined with the spirit of dedication to work that Su Qing had, which gave Zhao Desan a very good impression of Wu Min. With this back and forth, the two were completely immersed in the discussion of work, as if they had forgotten the time. Sitting on the sofa in Wu Min's office, they chatted until three pots of tea were finished, their mouths were dry, and the light in the office became dimmer and dimmer, until they could barely see each other's faces, only then did they stop.

Wu Min turned back to look at the orange sunset glow projected from the window behind her, only to find that twilight had climbed onto the treetops and the setting sun was about to sink behind the high mountains. She turned back and smiled at Zhao Desan with a bit of embarrassment, "Time flies so fast, the sun has set. I've delayed your whole afternoon; I'm truly sorry." ===== CHAPTER 2068 =====