Chapter 432

On July 21 at 8 a. m., Lu Fan was preparing to come to the office, and saw Secretary Mu Lankai organizing documents; the office had already been cleaned spotlessly.

Seeing the leader enter, Mu Lankai happily said, 'Mayor, you're back! I didn't even go to meet you!'

Lu Fan smiled and said, 'No need to meet over such a short distance; from now on you don't have to go. Is the Mayor here?'

'I just glanced in and went into the office.'

Lu Fan poured a cup of tea, holding the water cup, and went to Mayor Zhao Tao's office.

After entering, Lu Fan smiled and said, 'Mayor, the middle-youth class has finished; I'm here to cancel leave.'

Zhao Tao lifted his head, smiling and said, 'You've finally come back; now I can relax! Come, look, Yingjiang ranked eighth in the six-month evaluation, falling four places!'

Lu Fan took the economic operation analysis report, looking at it while saying, 'Mayor, why is fixed investment only ranked sixth?'

'Hey, some projects haven't been invoiced, so the numbers can't be reported, or it's just not enough effort! Look at investment attraction, zero-indicator, urban and rural residents' two incomes, value-added of industries above designated size, cultivation of enterprises above scale—all rankings are behind! Lu Fan, we can't continue like this in the second half; we must catch up head-on and surpass!'

As for work matters, Lu Fan felt confident, so he straightforwardly said, 'Mayor, I'll do my best; the problem shouldn't be too big.'

Zhao Tao laughed and said, 'As long as you don't leave Yingjiang, you must hold the last post! Lu Fan, congratulations on winning the most substantial honor of the middle-youth class.'

Lu Fan replied with a smile, 'Mayor, you overpraise me! Honor is just the past; work still must be done diligently, and no rule says receiving honor means promotion.'

'Alright, stop being modest; I guarantee you won't stay in Yingjiang for a year!'

Lu Fan didn't want to discuss this, shifted the topic, and said, 'Mayor, I have an idea I'd like to discuss with you.'

'Go ahead, I'll definitely support whatever I can support!'

Lu Fan said solemnly, 'Yingjiang's agricultural population is about 1.85 million; I've tallied that, after excluding those who have paid the enterprise coordination, there are still about 1.8 million. If we take the lowest tier of 400 yuan as the standard and assume the pension insurance burden for the city's entire agricultural population, the fiscal input needed would be around 720 million yuan.'

'720 million?' Zhao Tao showed difficulty, repeatedly tapping the table, and after a while said, 'Over seven hundred million, the finances can't bear it!'

He thought, even if the finances had 720 million, wouldn't it be better to do some infrastructure projects? Moreover, taking this money this year means needing it again next year—it's simply a bottomless pit! Only a fool would engage in such a showy, crowd-pleasing foolish act!

Lu Fan advised, 'As an official serving one term, benefit one locality! No matter which country or dynasty, any good official who does good deeds, handles practical matters, and solves problems for the people will not only influence future generations but also be remembered by the common folk, his name praised for thousands of years! Although 720 million seems a lot, if we save elsewhere and grit our teeth, we can still come up with it!'

'Lu Fan, you're in charge of finance; you know the situation—money is needed everywhere. Cut any expenditure and comrades will have opinions! 720 million is too much; if it were tens of millions, even one or two hundred million, I'd grit my teeth and agree!' Zhao Tao is no three-year-old child; how could he lose his mind over just a few words from Lu Fan?

Lu Fan continued, 'What if the city and county share the burden? The county bears 20%!'

Zhao Tao calculated that even if bearing 80%, it would still be 5.76 billion, and said, 'Still unaffordable; last year the finances had a surplus of over 100 million, which was unprecedented, thanks to Governor Wang Hongtao when he was provincial leader helping the city and county clear debts. Think about it—every penny has a source; I can't create five or six hundred million out of nothing!'

Lu Fan roughly knew Zhao Tao's limit, began shifting strategy, and said, 'Mayor, for a great deed that benefits the country and the people and leaves fame for ages, tightening our belts is worth it; why not have the city government put up three hundred million? For the rest, we can try to find ways and seek support from the province.'

Zhao Tao furrowed his brows, thought for a while, then said, 'I also want to do some practical, good deeds for the people, but I really lack the strength! Here's an idea: if you can secure the funds, the city will contribute two hundred million. Don't keep haggling; if others bring me such demands, I'll just ignore them.'

To accomplish things, one not only needs the courage to break the cauldrons and sink the boats, but also needs later skills.

Lu Fan stopped haggling, smiling and said, 'I really do want to strive for it; the province will definitely need to be approached, but my 'influence' is too low—such a major matter must be led by the mayor, and the credit will surely also be the mayor's.'

Zhao Tao laughed and said, 'Showing up is no problem, but whether we can secure the funds is another matter. I know you want to do something for Yingjiang, but money is hard reality; some things are indeed willing but unable. Lu Fan, now that you're in position, the downtown and sports center projects must be restored to their original state!'

Lu Fan replied, 'Mayor, I can't just run to Secretary Si and demand work! This matter needs you to communicate with Secretary Rui Fang; I've never shirked work.'

Zhao Tao nodded and said, 'Alright, I'll talk with the secretary; key projects are originally your main responsibility.'

Leaving the mayor's office, Lu Fan went straight to the Municipal Party Committee to report work to Secretary Li Ruifang.

Being an official but not a chief, trying to accomplish things as a deputy is too difficult; nothing can be done as the main lead, and one still needs strong support from top leaders. Lu Fan now has an infinite desire to become the top leader.

Arriving at Yao Qian's office, Lu Fan smiled and asked, 'Secretary Yao, is anyone with the secretary?'

Yao Qian hurriedly stood up and replied, 'Secretary Wu of the Discipline Inspection Committee is inside; I'll go give notice.'

'Never mind, I'm just chatting with the comrades here.'

Unexpectedly, Yao Qian walked over and lowered her voice to say, 'Mayor, I have something to report to you.'

Lu Fan nodded and walked out.

Next door is the office of Deputy Secretary-General Liu Wei of the Municipal Party Committee; Lu Fan pushed the door open, entered, and smiled, saying, 'Make some space, I want to talk to Secretary Yao about something.'

Liu Wei hurriedly stood up and said, 'Mayor, let me pour you a cup of tea.'

'No need, no need, it's just a few words.'

After Liu Wei left, Yao Qian embarrassedly said, 'Senior leader, the mayor has been sending me messages lately with ambiguous wording, really annoying!'

'Huh?' Lu Fan asked in surprise, 'Have you told Secretary Rui Fang about it?'

Yao Qian shook her head and said, 'I haven't told anyone; he's the mayor, and I also don't feel comfortable speaking too strongly.'

Lu Fan asked again, 'Just messages?'

Yao Qian scornfully said, 'What else could he dare? Saying he'll buy me a car and a house—at fifty years old, he has no shame, not even bothering to look at himself!'

Lu Fan also didn't know how to handle this, so he could only say, 'Yao Qian, just ignore him, or directly block his WeChat and phone number!'

'Hey, he still has work coordination with the secretary; during this period he basically doesn't contact the secretary, each time just calling me directly—speechless!'

Looking at that face that brings disaster to the country and harm to the people, Lu Fan really wanted to ask, 'What exactly is your relationship with Teacher Wang?'

'Senior leader, let's not talk about it; if he goes too far, I… well, it's annoying!'

After a few minutes, Wu Xiaohua came out of the secretary's office, saw Lu Fan, and smiled, saying, 'Outstanding trainees, outstanding team, welcome back! When you're free later, come sit with me.'

Lu Fan smiled and said, 'Probably about half an hour; have the tea ready.'

After pushing the door open, Lu Fan said, 'Secretary, I'm here to cancel leave; today I officially start work!'

Li Ruifang's face showed a smile, her eyes full of appreciation, and she slowly said, 'Performance not bad, the honor is of high value, unique in the province; Secretary Yong Jiang specially talked with me about the middle-youth class, indicating that your batch of trainees should be used according to ability. Lu Fan, you probably won't stay in Yingjiang much longer!'

Lu Fan modestly said, 'Secretary, you overpraise me; through this training I genuinely felt my shortcomings—such as weak overall perspective, not comprehensive in considering problems, lacking overall awareness, etc. —there's still much to improve.'

Li Ruifang said, 'No gold is pure, no person perfect; we each improve ourselves on the basis of striving for excellence—what you've done is already enough! Before promotion, you still need to hold the last post; our six-month evaluation results are not ideal, economic work is your main responsibility, I won't say more—over the remaining two quarters we must push into the province's top tier. When the collective improves, the individual improves even more; focusing on work brings you only benefits, no drawbacks.'

Lu Fan nodded and said, 'Please rest assured, Secretary; I will definitely implement all indicators solidly, meticulously, and on the ground, accelerate the city's key project construction, achieve comprehensive inclusion and storage of grains, and inject strong momentum into the city's high-quality development.'

'I trust your work! Lu Fan, a few days ago Dai Qiang mentioned to me the rural population pension insurance matter, saying it was your proposal?'

Lu Fan said solemnly, 'Yes, Secretary.'

Li Ruifang asked, 'Have you reported it to the mayor? What was his attitude?'

Lu Fan truthfully replied, 'The mayor agreed to put up two hundred million.'

Li Ruifang laughed and said, 'This Zhao Tao rarely approves documents; he tightly controls the funds of all counties, districts, and departments—your face is not small!'

Lu Fan smiled and said: "I think this way, the agricultural population of 1.8 million needs to raise funds of 720 million; the city and county levels share the burden, a 20-80 split, the municipal finance needs to provide 576 million; there remains a shortfall of 376 million yuan, we can only turn to the Party Secretary for help!"

Li Ruifang said: "The city-wide proxy payment is of great significance, worth a try; we definitely need to do something for the people of Yingjiang, I support this! First, have the Human Resources Bureau produce the plan and put forward the concept; the 'hat' should be fastened larger, the slogan feel brighter; then follow me to the province for a trip to see how much the Party Secretary of Yongjiang and the former Governor of Hua Province can support. If it's not enough, we can just go to Yancheng for a trip; such an initiative beneficial to the country and the people, I'm sure the Party Secretary will strongly support!"