Chapter 341

January 4th, the New Year's holiday ended.

A magnitude-12 earthquake struck the political scene of Qinchuan Province; the entire province was buzzing with rumors today that Wang Hongtao had made a sudden comeback and had "slaughtered" his way back!

At 11:00 AM, the Qinchuan Provincial Party Committee held an enlarged meeting of the Standing Committee. Accompanied by Lin Zifan, Director of the First Bureau of Cadres, Wang Hongtao walked into the Standing Committee conference room following Secretary Chen Jiazhong.

With the swiftness of a horse in the spring breeze, taking in all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day, Wang Hongtao was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, looking triumphant!

At the meeting, Lin Zifan solemnly announced the Central Committee's approval: Comrade Wang Hongtao is appointed as a member of the Qinchuan Provincial Party Committee, a member of the Standing Committee, and Secretary of the Chang'an Municipal Party Committee!

Secretary Chen Jiazhong took the lead in applauding, and enthusiastic applause erupted throughout the venue!

Wang Hongtao stood up, smiling, bowed to everyone to express his gratitude, and made a brief speech. At this moment, keeping a low profile was the best policy!

At 3:00 PM, Secretary Chen Jiazhong personally escorted Wang Hongtao to the Chang'an Municipal Party Committee to take office, helping Wang Hongtao establish his authority!

After the inauguration meeting ended, a scene that occurred in Chang'an City shocked the entire province again: three heavyweight members of the Municipal Party Standing Committee were taken away directly by the special investigation team!

The cadres of Sanqin sighed one after another, saying he was indeed the legendary Wang Hongtao. Even after going to the provincial capital, he could still stir up a massive commotion and whip up a bloody storm! On his very first day in office, he performed a "major surgery" on the Municipal Party Committee that shook its foundations, giving the leading cadres of Chang'an a "show of force"!

Hearing this news, Lu Fan was so excited in his office that he couldn't focus on work at all. He really wanted to run to Chang'an to witness the demeanor of Secretary Wang with his own eyes!

Being excited alone wasn't enough, so Lu Fan called Organization Department Head Guo Tongyu to his office to share the excitement in his heart!

Guo Tongyu sighed: "Secretary Wang started working in '02. At that time, I was the Deputy Director of the Forestry Bureau; he was promoted to Deputy Director of the County Party Committee Office, and I was promoted to Director of the Forestry Bureau. He was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee, and I was still the Director of the Forestry Bureau. Now, he has become a member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee. If it weren't for your promotion, I would still be in the same old state!"

"Secretary Wang is the pride of us Ningyang people. I am already at the age of forty, and in this life, I can't even catch up to his heels. Secretary, it's not that I'm flattering you, but seeing you is like seeing the Wang Hongtao of those years—equally young and promising, high-spirited, devoted entirely to work, and serving the people wholeheartedly. The only thing you lack now is Secretary Wang's dazzling political achievements! But looking across the country, how many people can even hope to match him?"

Lu Fan laughed: "You comparing me to Secretary Wang is just flattering me! He is the bright moon in the sky, and we are the twinkling stars; we can only whip our horses to catch up and follow in Secretary Wang's footsteps! Tongyu, our County Chief is about to arrive; it's Yuan Weiwei!"

"Yuan Weiwei? That Yuan Weiwei from our Ningyang? I heard he was in the inspection this time, but I didn't expect him to come to Ganshui!"

Lu Fan nodded and said: "I don't know him very well!"

Guo Tongyu recalled and said: "In my impression, he is very pragmatic, cautious in doing things, honest in character, and naturally has a smiling face; he is very easy to get along with. When he was the Deputy Director of the Education Bureau, I asked him to handle things twice; he agreed very readily and handled them very neatly. I have a good relationship with him, but we didn't have deep interactions. Since he went to the city, we haven't been in touch much."

"Hmm, I have a rough impression now, but I still have to observe his words, watch his actions, and know his heart to truly understand the person! Yuan Weiwei is different from Wang Baoguo. After he arrives, when it involves the adjustment of government constituent departments, you must seek his opinions more and support the government's work."

Although Guo Tongyu was a bit puzzled, he would resolutely implement Lu Fan's instructions.

After chatting for a while, Guo Tongyu suddenly asked: "Secretary, there is a rumor in the county that Wang Baoguo and Li Junxia have been taken in, and the next one will be Yang Chengyu's turn!"

Lu Fan frowned and said: "It's hard to say. He is a city-managed cadre; the county does not have the power to investigate and punish, and we cannot reach out too far. Let's wait for instructions from superiors!"

Seeing Guo Tongyu's concerned expression, Lu Fan realized and laughed: "Is this Organization Department Head of yours wanting to move positions?"

Guo Tongyu smiled awkwardly and said: "If there is an opportunity, of course I want to progress. Please promote me, Secretary!"

"Okay, I know, but the position must be vacated first. Let's wait for the opportunity!"

Having received Lu Fan's promise, Guo Tongyu left with satisfaction.

In the provincial capital, the inspection work was still continuing, extending to various cities.

Lu Yao volunteered to go straight into Le Xueren's "old nest." She went to Hanjiang City, where he had served as Municipal Party Secretary, with full confidence, determined to dig out all of Le Xueren's "dark background"!

On January 5th, Zhang Yuxuan, Executive Deputy Director of the Municipal Organization Department, came to Ganshui County to escort Yuan Weiwei to take office!

At 10:00 AM, a meeting of all leading cadres in the county was held.

At the meeting, Zhang Yuxuan read the notice of the Municipal Organization Department regarding the appointment and removal of Comrades Yuan Weiwei and Zang Jinfeng. Yuan Weiwei was appointed as Deputy Secretary of Ganshui County and nominated as a candidate for County Chief of the County People's Government.

In his speech, Zhang Yuxuan stated that this adjustment of the main leadership positions in Ganshui County was a decision made by the Provincial and Municipal Party Committees based on the overall work situation, the actual conditions of Ganshui, overall planning, and careful study. Comrade Yuan Weiwei has excellent ideological quality, a strong sense of career and responsibility, agile thinking, clear ideas, and is pragmatic and enterprising. The Municipal Party Committee believes that Comrade Yuan Weiwei is suitable to serve as the County Chief of Ganshui. It is hoped that Comrade Yuan Weiwei will live up to the trust, fulfill the mission, work diligently, and hand in a satisfactory answer to the vast number of cadres and masses in the county with practical actions!

In his inauguration speech, Yuan Weiwei stated that he would resolutely implement the decisions of the Provincial and Municipal Party Committees and happily come to work in Ganshui. He must perform his duties, work diligently, and never fail the expectations of the organization and the people. First, abide by discipline, follow the rules, and create an excellent political ecology. Second, always keep the purpose in mind at work, be pragmatic and hardworking, and serve the people sincerely. Third, maintain the unity of the leadership team, be brave in taking responsibility, live up to the trust, fulfill the mission, and closely surround the strong leadership of the County Party Committee, together with the vast number of cadres and masses in the county, to make due contributions to the economic and social development of Ganshui County!

In his speech, Lu Fan welcomed Yuan Weiwei to Ganshui and stated that he would fully support Comrade Yuan Weiwei's work in the future. He also required Yuan Weiwei to deeply understand the overall situation, familiarize himself with the situation as soon as possible, be good at grasping the key points, be brave in taking responsibility, adapt to the requirements of the post as soon as possible, focus on grasping development, improve people's livelihood wholeheartedly, consciously and actively maintain stability, and strive to promote the good and fast development of the county's economy and society!

After the meeting, Lu Fan enthusiastically entertained Director Zhang Yuxuan and insisted on having drinks, but was resolutely stopped by Director Zhang, who said in a low voice: "Secretary Lu, let's drink when we go back to Yingjiang; I guarantee we will drink to our hearts' content! We both have to get off work in the afternoon, so let's temporarily record this meal of wine, how about it?"

Lu Fan smiled and replied: "You came to me and didn't even drink a glass of wine; it's my discourtesy! Then let's set it; I'll host a banquet this weekend and call a few heavy drinkers to accompany you properly!"

During the year Lu Fan served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, he indeed made friends with many leaders in the city.

At 2:00 PM, Lu Fan washed his face and had just sat in his office chair when his secretary came in to report that County Chief Yuan Weiwei had arrived. Lu Fan hurriedly asked for him to be brought in.

After Yuan Weiwei entered, Chen Zemin prepared to make tea. Lu Fan instructed: "Use that box of tea in the cabinet, and also, from now on, the County Chief doesn't need to report when coming to me; you can come in at any time!"

Feeling Lu Fan's goodwill, Weiwei smiled and said: "Secretary, I'm here to officially report to you!"

Lu Fan laughed: "I've been looking forward to your arrival! I will completely hand over economic work and key project construction to you! As a top priority, there are several tasks: First, the cooperation with Zhongqing Tourism; my bottom line is a shareholding of over 51%. This involves the vital interests of the people of Ganshui and cannot be compromised.

Second, the reporting of various economic indicators; the deadline is the 8th to the 9th. This relates to the annual assessment and ranking and is your main job. This year, Ganshui's goal is to secure the top five and strive for the top three!

Third, ensure the construction of key projects, especially the 24-billion oil and gas comprehensive utilization project, the Dijiao Sheep smart farm, the coffin factory, the equipment manufacturing plant, and the 500,000-ton ethanol project of the Provincial Grain Group. Also, strive to land the second phase of silicon carbide in Ganshui; this project is a hen that lays golden eggs and can contribute more than 500 million yuan in tax revenue annually.

Fourth, vigorously develop the characteristic industries of each township.

Fifth, there is still 700 million in government debt. I have been trying to raise money recently, striving to get 100 or 200 million. This year, our Ganshui's fiscal revenue has increased significantly, and I have been suppressing it to prevent reckless spending; it is estimated that there will be a surplus of 100 or 200 million. Let's work hard and repay more than 300 million in debt first. My goal is to clear the government debt during my term, and I hope to get your support!"

Weiwei listened, his expression becoming more and more solemn, feeling great pressure.

After Lu Fan finished speaking, Weiwei said: "Secretary, under your leadership, Ganshui has had leapfrog development within a year, and all work is striving to catch up and surpass. Just now, I have noted down the tasks you assigned, and I will go all out to complete the work assigned by the Secretary. But I am worried that my ability is limited and I am afraid of not doing well, delaying the development of Ganshui. Therefore, I still have to ask the Secretary to point out and correct me at any time and in any place. Where there is any inadequacy, you should criticize as you see fit!"

Lu Fan smiled and said: "The County Party Committee sets the direction, plans the overall situation, determines policies, and promotes reform, while the government grasps implementation, acting as a good executor, action-oriented, and doer. You must familiarize yourself with the work and enter the working state as soon as possible. Of course, I will manage what should be managed, say what should be said, and you can report to me at any time when I need to come forward to coordinate.

Weiwei, it is a kind of fate that we can work together. I hope that based on the principle of developing Ganshui, we will be open-minded, mutually tolerant, mutually respectful, and communicate frequently. For major issues, emphasize principles; for minor issues, emphasize style. In work, for tasks clearly required by the County Party Committee that need to be implemented by the government with small expenses, they should be studied and solved by the government executive meeting. You should make decisions where you should, make final decisions where you should, and take responsibility where you should. For work not required by the County Party Committee, and for major issues with large expenses, they should be studied and solved by the County Party Committee, especially for 'triple large' matters."