Chapter 434

The next afternoon, Duan Yongjiao brought the Finance Bureau Chief Zhang Qianyuan and the Human Resources Bureau Chief Li Guanglei to Lu Fan's office, delivering the initial draft of the pension insurance fund application documents.

Lu Fan took the document and examined it carefully; after a while, he picked up a pen, marked the problematic parts, and made revisions.

He might not be as good at writing materials as they are, but his ability to read materials is surely stronger; after all, one's position determines one's thinking, and Lu Fan's standpoint is higher.

Ten minutes later, the three left the office and continued revising the document according to the leader's instructions.

As for this document, saying it's unimportant would be wrong; it must be taken seriously.

July 24, after Li Ruifang, the Municipal Party Secretary, and Mayor Zhao Tao reviewed and approved it, the fund application document was formally finalized.

July 25, the inspection team from the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department arrived in Yingjiang to conduct an organizational inspection of Anbao County Party Secretary Ma Yajun.

July 28, Lu Fan and Si Daiqiang accompanied Li Ruifang, the Municipal Party Secretary, to the provincial capital to strive for special support funds for pension insurance.

Li Ruifang is a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee; Xu Yongjiang, the Secretary, reserved an hour for her. Lu Fan waited outside the office to be ready to answer the leaders' questions at any moment. Si Daiqiang, meanwhile, went to the provincial government, where he basically had no interaction with Xu Yongjiang.

After meeting, Li Ruifang handed over the fund application document, elaborating in detail on the purpose and significance of Yingjiang's implementation of pension expense reimbursement and payment, emphasizing Yingjiang's special position, and the necessity of carrying out this work.

To Xu Yongjiang, 600 million is nothing; he considers what he can gain from it.

After a moment's thought, Xu Yongjiang said: "Yingjiang's handling of pension insurance payment is of great significance, a pioneering move; I in principle support it. Ruifang, Wu Xiaohua is going to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, leaving a vacancy in Yingjiang's Discipline Inspection Committee. In a few days I plan to convene a secretary's office meeting to discuss this. What do you think of Comrade Wang Kai, the Vice Mayor of Chengcang City?"

As for Yingjiang's affairs, as long as Xu Yongjiang and Li Ruifang reach an agreement, other leaders will not voice opinions.

Li Ruifang understood; since the secretary had mentioned this person, it indicated a clear intention, and it would be unwise to oppose it outright. She thus said: "Comrade Wang Kai is indeed a suitable candidate, but I originally intended to recommend to the Provincial Party Committee the adjustment of Organization Department Head Zhang Ziqiang to the Discipline Inspection Committee, and the transfer of United Front Work Department Head Lu Junchen to the Organization Department, to increase the turnover rate of cadres and stimulate everyone's enthusiasm for entrepreneurship; doing so would disrupt the entire deployment. Secretary, could you find a suitable post for Comrade Ziqiang?"

After weighing the pros and cons, Xu Yongjiang said: "It's not easy to place the Organization Department Head; how about this: let him go to the Provincial Human Resources Department as a regular vice director, clearly holding a bureau-level rank."

This also counts as a small step forward; Li Ruifang immediately replied: "The secretary has considered things thoroughly; I will obey the Provincial Party Committee's decision."

After reaching agreement, Xu Yongjiang turned the topic back to pension insurance, smiling and saying: "600 million—your appetite is not small; aren't you planning to contribute some money yourselves? However, the money matter needs Qianhua's opinion; when it is submitted to the Standing Committee, I will support it."

Seeing Li Ruifang smile as she walked out of the secretary's office, Lu Fan hurried out to greet her, asking in a low voice: "Secretary, is everything going smoothly?"

Li Ruifang said while walking: "It's not easy to get things done! There are gains and losses; Secretary Yongjiang has agreed to implement the pension insurance payment, but you need to go back and work on Ziqiang—he will go to the Provincial Human Resources Department as a regular vice director, which also resolves the rank issue."

"Okay, Secretary, I'll communicate with Ziqiang." Lu Fan showed no surprise; he estimated that Li Ruifang had long wanted to adjust this Organization Department Head!

However, Lu Fan didn't mind; gains and losses vary with time, and Ziqiang and Zijun's departure now might not be a bad thing. Stepping out, there are higher mountains beyond; the future world will be even broader!

Upon arriving at the provincial government, the governor's secretary went in to report, and Si Daiqiang came out with the secretary, whispering to Li Ruifang: "The governor has promised two hundred million; if you want to break through further, you'll need to exert more effort!"

Li Ruifang nodded and entered Governor Niu Qianhua's office.

Seeing the visitor, Niu Qianhua smiled and said: "Ruifang, is this about what you discussed with Daiqiang?"

Li Ruifang laughed and replied: "Governor, you are wise! We will mobilize the whole city to seek welfare for the people of Yingjiang, and we hope the governor will give strong support!"

Niu Qianhua said: "It's a good thing, and it's your plan; I will certainly support it. I have already expressed my stance to Daiqiang earlier, and I will strive to provide two hundred million to support your work!"

Li Ruifang replied: "Governor, you are a senior leader; whatever I say, you won't mind. After all, I am now a top official; you ought to give me some face, uphold my authority in the city—surely it should be greater than Daiqiang's? I am not making an extravagant demand; if you can resolve four hundred million, we will figure out the rest, and the people of Yingjiang will surely remember your deep affection and sincere concern."

Niu Qianhua laughed and said: "Ruifang, flattering me won't help; even a landlord's family has no surplus grain. I am now worried—where would these two hundred million come from, and under what name would they be allocated to you? If the water isn't level, other cities' comrades will have opinions!"

Being able to sit at this level, one's skin isn't thin; tenacity and perseverance are beyond ordinary people. Li Ruifang laughed and said: "This isn't because I'm relying on the governor's special favor toward me and Yingjiang that I dare to daydream about implementing pension insurance payment! Moreover, what can other cities compare with Yingjiang? Yingjiang has made special contributions in history, so receiving special treatment is perfectly justified; whoever dares to object, I'll go and reason with them! Governor, we have now shaken off the heavy burden of government debt; the provincial government is vast and mighty—where couldn't we squeeze out four hundred million? Please, for Secretary Hong Tao's sake, let the people of Yingjiang enjoy more, more direct, and more tangible gains and happiness! We will also widely publicize this, inviting national-level media interviews, which will certainly highlight the provincial government's concern."

In recent years, Niu Qianhua has also reached a critical juncture; if he pushes forward, he can still work another ten or so years, so he too needs political achievements. This conversation also moved Li Ruifang's words, and he said: "Ruifang, I will certainly support your work and provide the funds, but you can't milk a single sheep to death! We need to give the ministries and commissions a chance to contribute to Yingjiang as well. How about this: I'll accompany you to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Human Resources; they'll leak a bit from their fingernails, filling your gap. Besides, we'll also report to Secretary Hong Tao, and in passing pay a visit to the leadership; I've heard that Lingnan is about to be finalized!"

Niu Qianhua's proposal, Li Ruifang naturally raised both hands in approval.

In the afternoon, Lu Fan and Si Daiqiang returned to Yingjiang.

Along the way, Si Daiqiang laughed and said: "As deputy officials, no matter how much we do, it's in vain; at critical moments, we have nothing to do!"

Lu Fan replied: "But if the people of Yingjiang can receive genuine benefits, that's enough!"

Si Daiqiang asked: "You are from Yingjiang, so you naturally think this way. If you were a deputy official in another city, would you still do these thankless tasks? Moreover, doing too much could also invite taboo."

Lu Fan thought for a moment and replied: "The top leader sets the direction and makes decisions; the deputy is responsible for implementation. Nowadays, most deputies are like 'only sweeping their own doorstep snow, not caring about others' roof frost,' holding the mindset of 'the more you do, the more mistakes; the less you do, the fewer mistakes; doing nothing means no mistakes,' especially at the grassroots, where many people are lying flat; we will encounter this situation in the future as well."

Si Daiqiang nodded in agreement and said: "After taking up a post in Zhenbei District, I feel that the grassroots and provincial direct agencies indeed have a gap. Now supervision is too strict—various inspections, patrols, and audits come in an endless stream, wearing everyone out, and each time they can find faults. The more work you do, the easier it is to make mistakes; conversely, doing less or even nothing avoids errors. It's like a taxi driver who must obey traffic laws and also operating regulations; even with skilled technique and rich experience, one inevitably runs a red light or speeds, and the more passengers one carries, the higher the chance of error."

Lu Fan replied: "Some people simply don't want to shoulder responsibility, finding all kinds of excuses and using 'discipline enforcement getting ever stricter' as a shield to justify their lying flat with proper justification."

"Lu Fan, you summarize and refine this issue into a document; I will report it to Secretary Hong Tao. The leadership requires me, after taking up my post, to submit a research report within one month, mainly concerning the problems existing at the grassroots."

Lu Fan felt a tinge of envy and said: "Brother Si, thank you! I'll get it done as soon as possible."

August 2, the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department issued a document, and the Yingjiang Municipal Party Committee team underwent a major adjustment: the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Wu Xiaohua was adjusted to become Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee; the Organization Department Head Zhang Ziqiang was adjusted to become a regular vice director of the Provincial Human Resources Department; the United Front Work Department Head Lu Junchen was adjusted to become the Organization Department Head; and Anbao County Party Secretary Ma Yajun was promoted to Vice Director of the Provincial Education Department.

Next, the Municipal Party Committee will conduct a new round of adjustments centered on the two heavyweight posts of United Front Work Department Head and Anbao County Party Secretary.

The Organization Department Head, the Discipline Inspection Secretary, the Municipal Party Committee Secretary-General, plus the upcoming United Front Work Department Head—Li Ruifang's grip on the Municipal Party Committee is gradually strengthening; she must demonstrate her ability, because a Municipal Party Committee Secretary who cannot control the situation will not be promoted or entrusted with important roles.

August 3, Li Ruifang returned to Yingjiang in high spirits and immediately convened an expanded standing committee meeting.

At the meeting, Li Ruifang announced with fervor that Yingjiang's work of paying pension insurance for the agricultural population had received strong support from superior departments: the finance and human resources departments each provided 150 million yuan in special funds, and the provincial government supported 200 million yuan.

Then Li Ruifang laughed and said: "Mayor, the major part is settled; the remainder is for the municipal finance to handle!"

Zhao Tao replied: "According to preliminary estimates, funding the pension insurance payment requires 720 million yuan; we have now resolved 500 million. Earlier, I discussed with Lu Fan and planned to split this portion according to a 2:8 ratio between the city and the counties, which should pose no problem."

Li Ruifang felt somewhat amused in her heart; did she really want to take all the money for herself?

"Mayor, show some style—let the municipal finance bear the full 220 million, so as not to increase the burden on the counties and districts!"