Chapter 380: with translation of chapter title

April 10, Lu Fan spent a day meeting separately with Wang Minghui, Yao Qian, Li Xiaofeng, Li Yi, Chen Yang, Mu Lankai, Qian Sen, Su Yunqi, and Su Xing, nine deputy section chiefs, to talk and understand their work and ideological situation.

April 12, the City Government held a standing committee meeting, and Lu Fan specially reported the personnel adjustment plan of the General Office, which was unanimously approved.

After filing with the Municipal Organization Department, the City Government General Office immediately organized personnel to assess the eight deputy section chiefs, and meanwhile more than ten section chiefs, deputy section chiefs, and cadres were also assessed; the personnel adjustment was settled, not a single outsider trying to get in managed to squeeze in, and the General Office was filled with joy and encouragement.

April 20, after the personnel adjustment was in place, Wang Minghui was promoted to head of the Administration Section, Yao Qian to head of the Secretariat Section, Li Yi to head of the Finance Section, Chen Yang to head of the Comprehensive Section, Mu Lankai to head of the Development Section, Qian Sen to head of the Agriculture Section, Su Yunqi to head of the Culture and Education Section, and Su Xing to head of the Commerce and Trade Section.

The remaining seven section chiefs likewise received good fortune, enjoying the treatment of a first‑level principal staff member; the remaining four deputy section chiefs enjoyed the treatment of a second‑level principal staff member; eight cadres were promoted to deputy section chief; and nine cadres received the treatment of a fourth‑level principal staff member.

At the same time, the Deputy Secretary‑General's work division was settled, documents were issued, and everyone was satisfied.

Apart from those lacking sufficient seniority, the cadres of the City Government General Office were either promoted or received a rank promotion; the unit's spirit and appearance underwent a complete transformation, the whole General Office fell into an ocean of joy, and everyone beamed with delight.

No one expected the Secretary‑General to have such a big hand; all the cadres gave him a thumbs‑up, Lu Fan's influence in the City Government General Office was unmatched, he received widespread praise and great acclaim from the cadres, won the support of the vast majority of people, the work style of the General Office markedly improved, its spirit and appearance were completely renewed, and all the cadres were energetic and decisive.

Yao Qian came to Lu Fan's office to express her thanks, and in a low voice she said to Lu Fan, "Secretary‑General, when I heard the mayor on the phone with Governor Hong Tao, he praised you for a while!"

Lu Fan laughed and said, "You must not talk like that from now on; as a secretary you have to keep your mouth shut and observe the confidentiality rules, but I still thank you for 'leaking the news'."

Yao Qian laughed and said, "Rest assured, Secretary‑General, my lips are sealed; I only told you this, and to anyone else I plead ignorance."

After a bit of small talk, Lu Fan, not knowing what came over him, couldn't help asking, "Yao Secretary, you're so outstanding—shouldn't you be thinking about settling down?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself.

Only to see Yao Qian's expression darken as she said, "If I cannot find a good match, what's wrong with cultivating oneself alone? Happiness, freedom, ease! Fate is like a dandelion: it rises when the wind blows, fades when the wind stops; it thrives if it lands on rich soil, suffers a lifetime if it lands on poor soil. If there's nothing I can do, then let things take their natural course—thank you, Secretary‑General, for your concern."

Lu Fan comforted her, saying, "To do something knowing it cannot be done is to force yourself; why bother? Life's predicaments are self‑imposed shackles; some things are destined to have no outcome. You should think of yourself; this world certainly has unexpected beauty waiting for you—only by letting go of the past can you step lightly toward tomorrow."

"Accepting what cannot be changed as fate! Secretary‑General, the mayor's side needs people, I'm heading over first! Thank you for your kindness!"

Hey, why bother? It not only makes oneself unhappy, but also brings gossip upon the teacher.

In May, the fourth Silk Expo was held; Mayor Li Ruifang arranged for Lu Fan to organize preparations for the Yingjiang delegation's participation, and suddenly he was busy nonstop.

Besides the mayor, the various Vice Mayors strongly supported Lu Fan's work, especially Zhang Rongqiu, Zhang Shibin, and Bian Jide, basically following his lead.

In his work, Lu Fan gave sufficient respect to the acting Vice Mayor Zhao Tianran, and in life he took meticulous care of him.

Respect is mutual; this acting Vice Mayor sent down by the National Development and Reform Commission felt great affection for Lu Fan, and in private they would occasionally have a few drinks together.

Vice Mayor Li Xiaoya had only just arrived in Yingjiang when several items of work stalled, and the lower‑level counties showed some superficial compliance but covert resistance. Upon learning of this, Lu Fan took the initiative to step in and coordinate, promptly resolving the problem, and naturally earned Mayor Li's approval and goodwill.

As for Vice Mayors Gao Ke, Zheng Kai, and Wang Wenhui, Lu Fan likewise gave full cooperation in his work, ensuring every matter received a response, every item was settled, every issue was accounted for, never perfunctory and never lax, earning deep praise from those leaders.

As for the Deputy Secretary‑General and section chiefs, they were even more obedient to Lu Fan's orders; whenever work was assigned, they vied to work overtime, almost wishing to sacrifice their lives.

In his spare time, Lu Fan invited a few brothers and classmates for a drink to celebrate himself. He also organized a gathering, having a lively time with Party Secretary Wu Xiaohua, Minister Zhang Ziqiang, and several Vice Mayors.

On weekends, as long as the mayor wasn't busy, Lu Fan was either at a bar or on his way there, chatting and laughing with the heads of municipal-level units and the leaders of various counties, exchanging cups and deepening revolutionary friendship.

May 8, under Lu Fan's direction, Deputy Secretary‑General Duan Yongjiao organized a selective examination; eleven cadres from Ningyang and Ganshui County were successfully admitted, all entering the City Government General Office at the deputy section level, all under thirty years old.

In mid‑May, the fourth Silk Expo, together with the East‑West Cooperation and Investment Trade Fair, opened grandly, and Lu Fan went to Chang'an with the Yingjiang delegation.

Wang Hongtao met with the Yingjiang delegation, welcomed its entrepreneurs, and urged Yingjiang to optimize work‑style construction to raise the business environment, firmly grasp industrial projects, strongly drive innovation, uphold quality coal, steady oil, expand gas and increase electricity, advance the construction of the agricultural industry chain, vigorously develop all‑domain tourism, and strive to push high‑quality development forward with new steps.

At this Silk Expo, as Secretary‑General Lu Fan coordinated arrangements and careful planning, meticulously organized, he created an exhibition hall full of the new‑era Yingjiang character, attracting batch after batch of domestic and foreign merchants to visit.

The 600‑square‑meter exhibition hall, modeled after a drum of a prosperous age, widely applied sound, light, and electricity multimedia means, fully integrating modern and technological sensibilities. The hall comprised five sections—Yingjiang image, publicity promotion, rural revitalization, product display, and the development zone—showcasing the "new look" of new‑era Yingjiang, highlighting the theme "New Yingjiang, Striding into the New Era," and leaving visitors impressed.

Through the City Government's unified coordination, Yingjiang planned 226 municipal‑level signed projects, with over 500 business counterparts matched; for Lu Fan this was child's play.

May 19, after successfully completing its mission, the Yingjiang delegation returned to the city, held a summary meeting to fully report and summarize its participation and exhibition activities, and arranged deployment for the next phase of work. The mayor attended the meeting and gave a speech, while Executive Vice Mayor Zhang Rongqiu chaired the meeting,

At this Silk Expo, the Yingjiang delegation invited over 1,000 enterprises to participate in investment promotion and project negotiations, signed 252 economic cooperation projects with a total investment of 129.5 billion yuan, and attracted 125.5 billion yuan of funds.

Mayor Li Ruifang pointed out in his speech that the various works of this Silk Expo were orderly, with numerous highlights, all‑round and multi‑angle publicity was given to Yingjiang's resource and locational advantages, as well as its industrial development ideas; it fully displayed Yingjiang's new economic and social achievements and new image, and specifically praised the organizational coordination of City Government Secretary‑General Lu Fan.

She emphasized that the City Government must follow up and ensure implementation, that all departments should take effective measures to implement signed contracts, cooperation agreements, and cooperation intentions, to ensure that investment‑promotion projects take root as soon as possible; they should also summarize experience, focus on targeted investment promotion, make good use of the platform, optimize the environment, and strive to raise investment‑promotion work to a new level.

At the end of May, Lu Fan returned to Langcha Village to attend the wedding of his cousin Lu Linxuan; Du Wenlong, Yang Minghao, Ceng Ming, Liu Jin Zhu, Su Xiaoyi, and Xia Li also went back, Linxuan having been watched grow up by them, and their relations were all very good.

After finishing the meal, Lu Fan sat on the kang and chatted with his second uncle and second aunt; Lu Linxuan brought his wife Liu Jing to see his elder brother.

Lu Fan pulled a big red envelope from his pocket, handed it to Liu Jing, and said with a smile, "I've been too busy these days; I owe you an apology—I only showed up as the elder brother after bringing the new daughter‑in‑law into the household."

Seeing the bulging red envelope, Liu Jing didn't know what to do, and her second uncle smiled broadly, saying, "Jingjing, it's from your brother—take it with peace of mind!"

Hearing that, Liu Jing shyly took the red envelope and politely said, "Thank you, elder brother!"

Lu Fan laughed and asked, "Lin Xuan, have you and Liu Jing both finished your service terms?"

Lu Linxuan said eagerly, "Elder brother, my service term is up, and Liu Jing, being an elementary school teacher, has also completed three years!"

Lu Fan nodded and said, "What are your plans? If you want to work in the county, I can help you think of a way; I have a good relationship with He Jiafeng, the county chief of Xiuyan County. By the way, I have a colleague who also went to Xiuyan County to serve as deputy county chief, named Zhou Jian."

Liu Jing exclaimed, "Is that County Chief Zhou? He came to our school for research just two days ago. Elder brother, what's your relationship with him? Could you ask him to help transfer me to the county town? That would make things much more convenient for my children's schooling."

Lu Linxuan thought for a moment and said, "Brother, next month there is a selective examination in the city; I want to apply to the Municipal Organization Department."

Hearing this, Liu Jing was completely astonished, looking at her husband in disbelief.

Lu Fan replied, "Fine, just register normally and study well." Then he turned to Liu Jing and said, "If Lin Xuan passes, you might as well come teach at a school in the city."

Liu Jing responded mechanically, feeling as if it were an Arabian night tale, full of doubts: Is it really that easy to transfer to the city? And to transfer two people at once?

After finishing the business, the second uncle satisfactorily took Lu Fan to visit the in‑laws next door.

Liu Jing whispered, "Husband, was the elder brother speaking the truth just now, or was he bragging?"

Lu Linxuan snapped, "Don't speak like that about the elder brother! What he said definitely counts!"

"Husband, transferring two people—is it really that simple? For our school, sending one teacher to the county No. 2 Elementary costs fifty thousand! If we really could go to the city, wouldn't it start at a hundred thousand? What's the market like in the city?"

"If the elder brother says it's doable, then it's done—don't worry needlessly, just wait for the good news!"