Chapter 247

Hu Chengwei's heart sank, knowing that this matter could not end well.

After a difficult internal struggle, he gritted his teeth and said firmly: "Secretary, besides this, I also committed more serious principled errors in my work. Especially when the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission launched an investigation into Lu Fan, I knew about it but did not report it, which caused the Municipal Party Committee to fall into a certain degree of passivity in its work. For this, I feel deeply guilty and blame myself. I ask the Secretary to be magnanimous and forgive my mistakes!

From now on, I will definitely repent and turn over a new leaf, keep the big picture in mind, and always take the Municipal Party Committee's decisions and the Secretary's instructions as my highest work guidelines!" If kneeling were useful, Hu Chengwei would have kowtowed eighteen times without hesitation; compared to the power and future in his hands, face was worthless!

Li Mingzhou finally spoke, saying in an unquestionable tone: "Without rules, there is no order! As a leading cadre, one must be able to distinguish right from wrong, tell black from white, hold the bottom line, place discipline and rules in an important position, and be a clear-headed person politically!

Having said this, Li Mingzhou paused slightly, looked directly at Hu Chengwei, and continued: "One must be able to let go of fame and fortune. What do you think of the Municipal Disabled Persons' Federation? Letting people with disabilities feel the care and warmth of society—the work may be ordinary, but it is very meaningful and valuable!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Chengwei was struck as if by lightning. His whole body stiffened, as if all his energy and spirit had been drained away in an instant, and his complexion became extremely decadent.

He understood in his heart that he was completely finished! As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to another; he had now fallen into an irredeemable desperate situation. All of this was because he had been blinded by greed and made a wrong move!

Although he was extremely reluctant, Hu Chengwei had no courage or nerve to refuse Li Mingzhou's proposal. Because he knew very well that if he dared to defy the order, what awaited him would be a strict investigation and punishment! Who could withstand an investigation?

Since there was no way to retreat, he could only silently accept this cruel reality. Hu Chengwei said with difficulty: "Secretary, I will definitely repent and turn over a new leaf, and I will resolutely obey the organization's arrangements!"

Li Mingzhou said lightly: "Hmm, go ahead and get busy!" Then he lowered his head to review documents.

Hu Chengwei walked out of the office slowly, as if every step weighed a thousand pounds! His mind was in chaos. Li Mingzhou's emphasis on Lu Fan made him feel confused and puzzled; it had reached the point of being willing to confront the Executive Vice Governor!

There is no regret medicine in the world; everyone has to pay for their own mistakes. Hu Chengwei misjudged the situation, ultimately received a painful lesson, and paid the heaviest price!

Some are happy and some are sad. Bian Jide was discussing with Lu Fan at this moment, asking: "Give me the bottom line, can Secretary Hu continue to work?"

Lu Fan shook his head and said: "There's a high probability he's leaving. I feel that Secretary Mingzhou has already made up his mind. If the old leader wants to get what he wishes, he needs to hurry!"

"Sigh, it's difficult. Personnel in Yingjiang must have Secretary Mingzhou's nod, otherwise, it's useless no matter who you find! Lu Fan, you have to speak for me!"

"Old leader, don't worry. As long as there is an opportunity, I will definitely say what needs to be said. As for whether it works, it's hard to say. I think attitude determines everything. You should carefully consider how to state your position later!"

Just as they were talking, Li Mingzhou's secretary, Tan Yin, pushed the door open and whispered: "Secretary-General, County Head Bian, there is no one with the Secretary now!"

Bian Jide hurriedly got up and trotted out.

Lu Fan was reviewing documents when suddenly, the office door was pushed open violently, and a man Lu Fan "thought about day and night" walked in—Leng Jiang, Director of the Municipal Personnel Bureau!

Seeing this person, Lu Fan felt the hair on his body stand up. He subconsciously clenched his fists, and his feet couldn't help but press tightly against the ground, as if he wanted to twist a hole into the floor!

Using all his strength to restrain the surging emotions in his heart, Lu Fan tried his best to squeeze out a smile and said: "Director Leng is here, please sit!"

Leng Jiang smiled, his tone humble: "I've come to the Secretary-General's office to report in. Please continue to look after our Personnel Bureau in the future!" After speaking, he sat on the sofa on his own, looking very casual.

"Director Leng is too polite. Work relies on our mutual cooperation."

Leng Jiang handed over the file bag in his hand and laughed: "As the first to visit, I couldn't come empty-handed. I didn't know what was good to bring, so I just brought two packs of 'ration cigarettes.' Please don't mind!"

Lu Fan really wanted to refuse, but in order to confuse Leng Jiang, he smiled and said: "I was just running out of cigarettes. Director Leng is sending charcoal in snowy weather! Sigh, working in the office, there's no other way; if I don't smoke a couple, I feel like something is missing. This bad habit is hard to change. For the sake of revolutionary work, we can only burn ourselves! I have a few boxes of tea here; you must take them later. It's only polite to return the favor!"

Leng Jiang smiled and handed over a document, saying: "This is the plan for the city's revitalization project. Please take a look and see if it can be studied at the next Standing Committee meeting."

"Fine, I will read it carefully. If there are any problems, we can coordinate at any time."

After the first meeting and achieving his goal, Leng Jiang proposed to leave.

Based on his performance, Lu Fan felt that Leng Jiang seemed to have forgotten about the time he was a temporary worker at the Personnel Bureau!

But this was also normal; a small temporary worker, and after so many years, who would care?

Ten minutes later, Bian Jide returned to Lu Fan's office with a grave expression.

Lu Fan asked: "County Head, how did the talk go?"

Bian Jide frowned and said: "I don't know. I stated all the positions that needed to be stated. I feel I said it well, but the Secretary didn't give a response."

"Then did the Secretary refuse?"

"That didn't happen, but he didn't give any promises either!"

Lu Fan smiled slightly: "As long as he didn't refuse, it's a good thing. You have to know that Hu Chengwei hasn't left yet; how can you expect the Secretary to give you a promise? Just wait and see; I feel there's a lot of hope!"

"Lu Fan, do you think I need to go to the provincial level to lobby?"

"Old leader, absolutely do not mess up your own position. Finding more connections would be gilding the lily and might make the Secretary unhappy. The Secretary can decide Yingjiang's affairs with one word; it's useless no matter who you find! In my opinion, Ningyang's work must not have any mistakes in the near future. It would be best to have some highlights—they must be solid, not just for show. You need to let the Secretary see your ability!"

Bian Jide pondered for a while and felt that this was indeed the case, so he smiled and said: "When things happen to oneself, it's easy to lose one's composure and be unable to maintain a normal state of mind! What you said makes sense; work is the top priority! Fine, then I won't disturb you anymore; I'm going back to work!"

Lu Fan joked: "Old leader, keep it up, I'm rooting for you!"

After dinner, Li Mingzhou was walking around the courtyard alone to digest his food. Seeing this, Lu Fan went downstairs to accompany the leader for a stroll.

The two walked and talked. Li Mingzhou said: "Bian Jide came to 'run for office' this afternoon!"

Hearing this, Lu Fan was a bit surprised. He didn't expect the Secretary to be so casual with him. After considering it, he said: "Secretary, everyone wants to make progress! County Head Bian is a good leader; he has the grace of knowing me!"

"How so?" Li Mingzhou asked.

"Back then, when I was serving as an acting manager at a forest farm, just after I had made some achievements, I was replaced by someone else, which made me feel very frustrated and helpless. At that time, County Head Bian was the Organization Department Head of Ningyang and transferred me over to be his secretary. It can be said that without County Head Bian's help and promotion, I might still be stuck at the Baishu Bay Forest Farm!"

Li Mingzhou nodded and said: "This is his strength; he is loyal and honest, and his work ability is above average. Tell him to put his mind into his work and not to jump around; the organization will consider his demands!"

Hearing this, Lu Fan was ecstatic. He was very happy for his old leader, understanding that the position of Ningyang County Party Committee Secretary was in the bag!

As they walked, Li Mingzhou said again: "On Friday, bring two portions of Ningyang thyme lamb, as well as millet, red beans, and so on. Come back to Jingcheng with me to visit the elders. My father loves this; back in the day, they fought on this very land!"

Lu Fan hurriedly said: "Secretary, don't worry, I will definitely prepare it properly."

"Don't forget what I said: men should be more proactive! As the ancient teachings say, establish a family and a career—establish a family before establishing a career!"

Here we go again! Lu Fan could only cope: "Okay, Secretary, I will definitely implement your instructions!"

On Friday morning, Li Mingzhou dialed the number of Provincial Party Committee Secretary Chen Jiazhong to report his idea of adjusting the Ningyang County leadership team.

Secretary Chen Jiazhong did not raise any objections and told Li Mingzhou to coordinate with the Organization Department.

At 2:00 PM, the Municipal Party Committee held an ad-hoc Standing Committee meeting to specifically study the position adjustment of Ningyang County Party Committee Secretary Hu Chengwei.

When Li Mingzhou suggested adjusting Hu Chengwei to the Disabled Persons' Federation, the expressions of the Standing Committee members were quite rich.

After the meeting ended, Organization Department Head Zhang Rongqiu immediately set off for the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department to coordinate.

When the news reached Ningyang, it was like a bombshell, causing a huge uproar throughout the county. Except for a few insiders, the entire county compound exploded, and the leading cadres were like ants on a hot pan, with discussions rising one after another.

The Municipal Party Committee Secretary had just expressed dissatisfaction—how many days had passed since then? And a County Party Committee Secretary was directly removed?

At this moment, Hu Chengwei sat alone in his cold office, his expression extremely decadent. He silently packed his bags, and every item seemed to be mocking his incompetence and failure.

How pathetic, how shameful!

County Head Bian Jide had long anticipated this and was not disturbed at all. He worked diligently, carefully planning the various indicators for the year-end assessment, and kept finding various deputy county heads and department leaders to arrange and deploy work.

Just as he was giving work instructions to Deputy County Head Chen Muxue, the phone rang. Seeing it was Lu Fan calling, Bian Jide signaled Chen Muxue to avoid him, then asked with some trepidation: "I heard Hu Chengwei is going to the Disabled Persons' Federation?"

"Yes, it is estimated that they will go to Ningyang to announce it next Monday or Tuesday. Long story short, I'm about to board the plane. 'Put your mind into your work and don't jump around; the organization will consider his demands!' These are Secretary Li's original words. Does that count as a reassurance?"

"Lu Fan, thank you!" Bian Jide rubbed his hands excitedly, his voice trembling!

"County Head, this is what I should do!"