Chapter 370: Closing Battle

December 23, the Provincial Party Committee convened a meeting of all leading cadres; Secretary Chen Jiazhong rose rapidly, heading to Jingcheng to display his ambitions.

At the same time, the meeting announced that Comrade Wang Hongtao would temporarily preside over the Provincial Party Committee's work, and the hall erupted in thunderous applause.

After receiving the news, Lu Fan felt puzzled; he waited for Secretary Li Mingzhou to return, then hurried back to Yingjiang to ask him directly.

Li Mingzhou smiled and said: "Some people scramble for positions; when a vacancy appears, everyone fights tooth and nail. Others prepare a position and wait for him—that's the organization's key cultivation. Liu Congfeng not presiding over Provincial Party Committee work shows he has a new posting, basically decided; he now needs to let Wang Hongtao occupy the governor's seat. Having Wang Hongtao preside over Provincial Party Committee work is to build momentum for his next step as governor. This man is extraordinary; if not for term limits, he would have been directly promoted to governor this time—by my count, he has served less than two years at deputy minister level."

Lu Fan suddenly understood, then asked: "Secretary, has the Provincial Party Secretary been decided?"

Li Mingzhou said: "It doesn't matter who; Qinchuan has Wang Hongtao! The month's end is near; from January 1 to 8, we must submit all economic indicators—you must personally oversee them, coordinate daily, ensuring nothing goes wrong."

"Please rest assured, Secretary; I've done much work recently, ensuring the economic indicators are fully counted and all grain stored."

January 1, the Provincial Party Organization Department held a provincial target responsibility assessment training meeting; Department Head Li Yi personally mobilized and deployed, revealing that the annual ranking and fruit distribution formalities were now on the agenda.

After a year of hard work, everyone wants rankings and honors; thus, all-level organization departments and departments involved in economic indicator assessment have become a "marketplace," bustling with people coming and going.

But Lu Fan has Secretary Li Mingzhou's "patronage," so he has no such worries, yet he must fulfill his own duties.

Starting January 4, under County Secretary Lu Fan's leadership, all county-level leaders and heads of departments involved in economic indicators went deep into 68 key enterprises to match output value, and coordinated 97 key projects one by one, ensuring total fixed asset investment was reported.

January 5, Yingjiang Municipal Party Committee held a standing committee meeting; the Municipal Organization Department issued documents; Ganshui County Deputy Secretary officially took office as acting county governor; Standing Deputy County Governor Guo Tongyu was adjusted to County Deputy Secretary; Deputy County Governor Chen Shifeng was adjusted to standing deputy county governor; Deputy County Governor Liang Qi was adjusted to standing deputy county governor; Industrial Park Management Committee Director Li Weihui was promoted to deputy county governor.

Ganshui County's three Zhengke-level cadres were transferred out; Ganshui County Economic Development Bureau Director Wang Licheng was promoted to deputy county governor of Zibei County; Longmen Town Party Secretary Li Longhao was promoted to deputy county governor of Ding Shui County; County Office Director Li Xinbo was promoted to deputy county governor of Red Flag County.

In the city, Liu Jin Zhu was promoted to captain of the Municipal Public Security Bureau Criminal Police Detachment; Personnel Bureau Xu Zheng was promoted to deputy county governor of Fangzhou County; Fang Hui was promoted to deputy county governor of Lu County; Zhu Jianglin was promoted to section chief of the Municipal Personnel Bureau Professional Title Section; Wang Meng'en was promoted to section chief of the Municipal Education Bureau Personnel Section; Huang Xiaoyu was promoted to deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment; Deng Junchi was promoted to section chief of the Municipal Organization Department Cadres Section.

Thus, Ganshui County has four important leadership vacancies, including the county's top Zhengke-level County Office Director; consequently, all townships and department leaders are working hard, seeking achievements and "running for office" with County Secretary Lu. They have long realized that to become an official in Ganshui, seeking help in the city or province is of little use; they must rely on performance. Unless they find a Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member, it won't help—but if they could really find such a high-level leader, they would have been promoted already; why wait until now?

Whenever personnel adjustments occur, most people say they need connections, but connections are hard to come by; how many can secure the County Secretary's help? Why would they help you? Bribe money? At that level, how many would take your money?

January 9, County Governor Zhang Qian'yuan came to Lu Fan's office holding a statistics table, beaming and saying: "Secretary, after last night's figures were submitted, I had the Statistics Bureau compile them; the situation looks great—take a look."

Lu Fan hurriedly took it and glanced: gross domestic product 26.8 billion yuan, fixed asset investment 37.9 billion yuan, primary industry achieved estimated added value 2.2 billion yuan, up 129%, projected to rank first in the city; secondary industry added value 18.7 billion yuan, up 598%; tertiary industry added value 5.9 billion yuan, up 7%...

As he read, Lu Fan said: "Qianyuan, the assessment requires added value and growth rate; we have no statistical formula for these, fearing inaccuracy; I think we should ask the Municipal Statistics Bureau to come down and recalculate for us."

Zhang Qian'yuan said: "Secretary, I'm not too familiar with the Municipal Statistics Bureau; I fear I can't move them; you need to go yourself."

"Fine, I'll call Director Haoran later and have him send a few professional cadres down. You think of a way, consult the Provincial Statistics Bureau, see how last year's top ten counties in the province performed, and see if we have a chance to break in."

"Okay, Secretary, I'll try to find out."

"Qianyuan, there's another matter: the County Office Director, Industrial Park Management Committee Director, Longmen Town Party Secretary, and Economic Development Bureau Director are vacant; let's discuss together who could fill these key posts."

Zhang Qian'yuan smiled slightly and said: "Secretary, I lack in this area; I'm not very familiar with the county's cadres, so I can't offer constructive suggestions; I'll refrain from commenting for now; I'll need to strengthen communication with comrades later."

Lu Fan chuckled and said: "I'm not a dictator; ponder it, share any opinions with me anytime. Don't think only four vacancies mean little disturbance when adjusted; we should as much as possible let comrades shift positions, mobilize everyone's work enthusiasm—this is also an important meaning of cadre adjustment. With year-end approaching, three things need to be conveyed to you: first, year-end bonus distribution—don't be too conservative; we won't compare with other districts; directly refer to municipal units; I recall the municipal excellent units' bonus is 38,000 yuan; our per capita GDP is high enough, so giving more is fine; it's better to give the money to cadres than to keep it in hand, boosting the tertiary industry."

"Secretary, once the county's cadres hear this, they'll surely be overjoyed!"

Lu Fan continued: "Second, redraft township industrial development support policies, using rewards instead of subsidies, to motivate farmers' enthusiasm for developing industry. Previously the county had no money, always pinching pennies; now the accounts hold several billion, we can splurge! Putting money into industrial development will never cause trouble! You plan well, refer to policies nationwide, and, within your capacity, formulate people-benefiting policies suited to Ganshui's actual conditions, so the common people truly gain benefits."

"Okay, Secretary, I'll return shortly to launch this work and strive to produce a plan soon."

"Third, after the fourth-quarter accounts receivable arrive, frankly speaking, Ganshui is the city's financially best county; we currently have no government debt. You first clear bank loans, then no interest will be paid. Then you must plan genuine people-benefiting measures, letting the populace enjoy the dividends of Ganshui's economic development—take from the people, use for the people."

Zhang Qian'yuan laughed: "Free education, healthcare reform, free public transport, free school uniforms—these are unparalleled nationwide, right? I can't think of anything else to do!"

Lu Fan also laughed, saying: "You don't have to worry about spending money—free uniforms, you can buy each child a pair of shoes; once they're uniform, students won't compare themselves. You can invest in education, improve schools' basic facilities; you can raise teachers' compensation to motivate them; you can invest in medical care—if we lack good doctors, we can acquire advanced equipment, which requires securing higher‑level funds and project support; we can match those funds; we also need to strengthen medical staff training, send doctors to provincial major hospitals for study, and provide subsidies, otherwise they lack motivation; we can also improve rural living environments, and so on—there are many things to do! Qianyuan, as long as you keep the people in your heart, everything is possible and nothing is difficult! Remember, don't waste money on image‑building or vanity projects; any government project must fully consider social benefits, economic benefits, and the people's evaluation."

"Thank you for your guidance, Secretary; I will certainly implement your instructions in government work!"

Afterwards, Lu Fan summoned Deputy Secretary Guo Tongyu and Organization Department Head Chen Muxue to the office, instructing them to plan the next personnel adjustments based on the vacancies.

Lu Fan emphasized that selecting and employing people must establish an orientation of responsibility for practical work and achievements, giving those who want to do things, can do things, and have done things the opportunity and stage, backing the practical doers, holding the responsible accountable, making the liable bear responsibility, and through personnel adjustments motivating the whole county's cadres to shoulder the burdens assigned by the times.

After work, Lu Fan felt Si Daiqiang should not be busy, so he dialed his number.

After a few rings, the call connected; Si Daiqiang laughed and said: "Great Secretary Lu, what instructions do you have?"

Lu Fan laughed and said: "I dare not instruct provincial leaders; Senior Brother Si, congratulations, you're a section chief in the Provincial Government Office—truly enviable!"

"Just presiding over work; I dare not compare with you; the ceiling for section-level cadres!"

"Senior Brother Si, let's stop flattering each other! Next time I go to the province, I'll definitely congratulate you!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you! Any matter on the call?"

"Indeed I have a request; you work in the provincial government's core, with well-informed news; if the Provincial Statistics Bureau's economic indicator reports reach you, please help me keep an eye on them, see what ranking we'll get this year."

"Okay, the province also pays attention; I heard Governor Liu told the Statistics Bureau, the bureau chief has already gone to Jingcheng, likely just these one or two days. Lu Fan, I hear your Ganshui is fierce this year; do you have any ideas? You little rascal, won't you ditch me again?"

Lu Fan laughed: "I've only been two years; rest assured, I'm waiting for you at the section-chief level!"

After hanging up, Lu Fan felt Secretary Wang Hongtao's governorship was certain; he had even arranged his secretary in the Provincial Government Office!