Chapter 328: Persistent Petitioners

The next morning, Ma Shaohua and Xia Ruo of Zhongqing Tourism came to Lu Fan's office to complain about Tourism Bureau Director Dong Pengxin, stating that he did not understand business operations at all and was dead set on 70% of the shares, making it impossible for negotiations to proceed!

Lu Fan offered kind advice, talking at length about the preciousness of tourism resources, and promised the two that he would talk to Dong Pengxin, as cooperation could only be a win-win!

After the two came out, Ma Shaohua said, "Little Xia, Secretary Lu's principles are too strong. It seems this path is blocked; we must find another way!"

Xia Ruo considered it and said, "Secretary Lu is indeed different from other officials. It would be better to start with Deputy County Head Li Junxia. He is the leader in charge, and his opinion is very important. This person should be easy to win over!"

"Hmm, handle it as soon as possible. Is there no way with that Dong Pengxin? He is the direct handler."

Xia Ruo shook her head and said, "Only Secretary Lu can command Dong Pengxin. He may not listen to others, and he wouldn't dare to!"

"Hmm, the share ratio must ultimately be decided by Lu Fan. You should go find Municipal Party Committee Secretary Guo Zhitao; his words carry a lot of weight."

Xia Ruo smiled and said, "Manager Ma, don't be too impatient. Negotiations will be very long. Secretary Guo can only speak to Lu Fan once, and it must be used at the most critical moment, when breaking the bottom line. For now, we can only find ways within Ganshui and try to communicate with the County Head again. After all, investment promotion is the government's main business!"

"Then do as you think; you are the expert in this area!"

Lu Fan sat in his office thinking back and forth, but still decided to report to Secretary Li Mingzhou, so he dialed the phone.

In less than three seconds, the call was connected. Li Mingzhou said, "Speak briefly; we are about to hold a Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee meeting."

Lu Fan hurriedly said, "There is an environmental pollution incident in Ganshui, with solid evidence and boiling public resentment. It is linked to County Head Wang Baoguo, and there are rumors that it has something to do with the Mayor."

"Use your own discretion! Remember one thing: as long as you occupy the high moral ground, you don't need to be timid in your actions. I am still in Yingjiang! In this regard, you should learn from Wang Hongtao; he caused a huge stir in two ministries and commissions, not sparing anyone, and became famous in Jingcheng!" After finishing, Li Mingzhou hung up the phone.

Holding the phone, Lu Fan stood there stunned, beginning to reflect on himself. Perhaps it was a personality issue, or perhaps his growth experience, but he was indeed a bit restrained in his actions, often looking forward and backward. He really needed to learn from his teacher!

Lu Fan secretly spurred himself on: overcome your shortcomings and improve your abilities in all aspects, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve great things in the future!

Thinking of it, he did it. Lu Fan immediately asked his secretary to notify County Head Wang Baoguo that there was something to discuss.

Ten minutes later, Wang Baoguo pushed the door and entered, asking, "Secretary, what are your instructions?"

Lu Fan directly handed over the photos of the environmental pollution in Laoshan Town and said, "Take a look first. This is a petition case I am responsible for. This enterprise is lawless!"

Wang Baoguo took one look and knew what was going on. He said calmly, "It is indeed very bad. Look at what they have ruined the good land into!"

Lu Fan asked, "The villagers have been petitioning, but the County Government, the Petition Bureau, and the Environmental Protection Bureau have been slow to act and have not given the villagers any response! They went to the enterprise and were actually threatened. I don't know who gave this enterprise the guts!"

Wang Baoguo said, "Secretary, it was my negligence! There have been too many things lately, and I haven't paid much attention to petition work. This enterprise is indeed outrageous; it must be rectified!"

"In my opinion, there is no need for this kind of enterprise to exist! Ganshui's economic development cannot be at the cost of destroying the environment!"

"The County Government will resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the County Party Committee and act according to the Secretary's instructions!" Wang Baoguo was secretly happy, wishing Lu Fan would make a big scene!

Lu Fan said, "Alright, let's hold a coordination meeting in the afternoon, call the relevant departments, and discuss this matter. It will be organized by the County Party Committee Office."

"Okay, Secretary, I will go back and learn more about the situation!"

After Wang Baoguo left, Lu Fan called in County Party Committee Office Director Li Xinbo and asked him to prepare for the meeting.

Then, Lu Fan began to study the remaining petition cases, one of which made him very troubled.

In 2000, a rape case occurred in Ganshui. The girl had no parents and was raised by her grandparents, and she also had an older brother.

The criminal was quickly caught and sentenced to prison, and both criminal and civil matters were concluded. It was thought to be a normal case, but in 2004, when Ganshui held recruitment exams for career units, the grandmother began to petition, saying that her granddaughter could not face people and would rather die, demanding that the County Government arrange a job for her granddaughter. It caused a huge stir at the time!

In order to settle the matter, the County Government privately agreed to this unreasonable request. But the grandmother changed her mind at the last minute, insisting on changing the arrangement for the granddaughter to an arrangement for the grandson. For unknown reasons, the County Government actually compromised again.

After her grandson started working, it was thought that this matter was concluded, but in recent years, the grandmother had become a persistent petitioner, basically coming to the Petition Bureau once a week and going to the provincial and municipal petition bureaus once a month. Her only demand was that her grandson had passed the exam on his own merits, and the County Government had broken its promise to arrange a job for her granddaughter.

Moreover, every time she came to petition, she wouldn't leave without travel expenses, and she ate and lived in the Petition Bureau, becoming a famous persistent petitioner in the whole county.

At over seventy years old, it was really impossible to "compete" with her, making the County Party Committee, County Government, and County Petition Bureau miserable. Because this case could not be cleared every year, Ganshui's petition and stability maintenance work had a fatal flaw, leading to poor rankings in assessments.

Lu Fan could not think of a good way to deal with such a person, but the task had been accepted, so he had to bite the bullet and go for it.

After work at noon, Lu Fan asked his secretary to notify the Petition Bureau to go to this persistent petitioner's home to take a look.

On the way, Petition Bureau Director Zheng Kuo reported the situation in detail again, sighing that this persistent petitioner could not be beaten, scolded, or detained, which was very helpless and speechless. It was purely unreasonable petitioning, and she was a "famous figure" and a "nail house" in the provincial petition system!

This persistent petitioner lived on the outskirts of the city. When they arrived at her courtyard, they found it was quite large, with six rooms on two floors.

Seeing the visitors, the grandmother said enthusiastically, "Director Zheng, have you come to solve my problem? My granddaughter is right here at home. Sigh, she doesn't go out, it's shameful!"

Zheng Kuo said, "Old Liu, don't tell me these useless things. Who doesn't know who? Your granddaughter was painting her nails in the county town two days ago; I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Sigh, people have to live!"

Zheng Kuo introduced, "Old Liu, this is our Ganshui County Party Committee Secretary, Lu Fan!"

Old Liu said excitedly, "Oh my, you are that young Secretary? So young! I heard you are a good official who gets things done. Can you solve my granddaughter's job?"

Lu Fan said with a smile, "Old Liu, I am here today to see our 'old petitioner.' Although we haven't met, you haven't let me worry any less!"

Old Liu smiled awkwardly and said, "If you solve my problem, I will definitely stop! Sigh, I am over seventy, I don't have many years to live. Now I don't even want my old face; I just want my granddaughter to have a way to make a living, otherwise I will die with regrets!"

Lu Fan said, "Old Liu, your request is a bit difficult for others. Now, to enter the public sector, one must pass an exam; no one has the ability to arrange people out of thin air. I think you must know that, right?"

"How can it be so absolute? You can handle special cases specially, after all, it is a special situation! Secretary Lu, to tell you the truth, I plan to go to the capital at the end of the month! You ask Director Zheng, I mean what I say! By then, you will not only be criticized, but you will also have to go to the capital to pick me up. Won't it cost thousands of yuan back and forth?"

Zheng Kuo whispered to Lu Fan, "Secretary, this is her usual trick; she wants money again!"

This habit definitely cannot be indulged. Lu Fan said, "Old Liu, you have been petitioning for so many years. Comrades must have told you the policy. Your persistent petitioning, disruptive petitioning, and non-normal petitioning to the province and the capital have already violated the 'Petition Regulations,' the 'Public Security Administration Punishments Law,' and the 'Criminal Law,' constituting suspected crimes of obstructing official business and picking quarrels and provoking trouble, which can lead to imprisonment! I hope you will not be obsessed. The County Party Committee will certainly consider reasonable demands. But unreasonable demands will absolutely not be compromised on by me!

If you are sentenced, it will affect your grandson's job. If you can't even manage your own family members, the organization will carefully consider whether he is qualified for his current job!"

Hearing the "big official's" thick threat, Old Liu became anxious and said, "Who dares to touch my grandson? I will die for them to see, and I will go to their house to 'hang a curtain'! I am so old, I am not afraid of anything!"

Lu Fan stood up and said, "Old Liu, I have said everything I should say. It is still the same sentence: the County Party Committee will resolutely not compromise on any abnormal or unreasonable demands! If you want to make trouble, then we will accompany you! However, people's patience is limited. When it is unbearable, we may take certain measures!"

Seeing Lu Fan about to leave, Old Liu hurriedly stopped him and said, "Secretary Lu, everyone says you are a good official; you can't be like this!"

Lu Fan stood and said, "Old Liu, I have an idea, listen to it. The county government service hall has set up a new window and wants to recruit two public welfare positions. The salary is not high, but it will pay for three insurances and one fund. Your granddaughter has graduated from university; if she has the willingness, I can help coordinate."

"Secretary Lu, I want to make it clear with you first: no matter what, you cannot make things difficult for my grandson; he is currently dating!"

Lu Fan said with a smile, "I am here to solve problems; I have never thought of making things difficult for anyone!"

"That's fine, please arrange for my granddaughter to go to work as soon as possible. Staying at home all day makes people annoyed!"

"Then it's a deal. If you go petitioning again, that would be too unkind!"

"Rest assured, I, an old woman, mean what I say!"

After the matter was settled, Lu Fan stood up to say goodbye.

On the way back, Zheng Kuo sighed, "Secretary, you are still the best. A 'nail house' of more than ten years was settled by you in a few words!"

Lu Fan said with a smile, "Just prescribing the right medicine!" In fact, he knew very well that he could handle these things because he could make decisions on some things, while others did not have this power and could not easily make promises, so things were dragged on and on. ===== CHAPTER 329 =====