Chapter 476

After returning home, Lu Fan immediately conveyed the original words to Li Lao.

Li Lao sighed and said, 'Everyone has their own choices; when the sky rains, the mother will marry off—let him go! Lu Fan, you must seize this opportunity, achieve convincing results, and lay a solid foundation for the next step of progress!'

"Grandfather, I will work hard!"

On Sunday morning, Lu Fan dialed Weiwei's phone, laughing as he said, 'Director Yuan, sorry to disturb you!'

Weiwei replied with a smile, 'Old leader, I haven't yet congratulated you in person on your promotion; Hong Tao called, and if there's anything at work where I need to cooperate, just tell me anytime!'

Lu Fan responded, 'I can't take credit for that, but this time running the project indeed needs your help; are you free this afternoon? Let's sit together.'

Weiwei thought for a moment and said, 'Also call Dahua and Xiaojun; Dahua is your subordinate!'

"That's great; I'll set the place, you contact the people."

Weiwei's position is special, with broad contacts; over the past two years he has been thriving, and some of Wang Hongtao's affairs often have him 'step forward and face the public,' acting as coordinator.

At 4 p. m., Lu Fan entertained the three at the Korean BBQ Wan Restaurant.

Everyone was from Yingjiang; Weiwei and Dahua had worked under Lu Fan, Xiaojun served in the county district and had also been led by Lu Fan, and the three held the old leader in warm respect.

After three rounds of drinks, the Yingjiang people's generosity and hometown camaraderie showed; the four exchanged cups, and the atmosphere was very lively and harmonious.

Lu Fan raised his glass and said to Weiwei, 'I'll drink to you; tomorrow morning we go to the Education Ministry, afternoon to the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine—whether we get support for the project and funding depends on you!'

Weiwei clinked glasses and drained his, smiling, 'Old leader's matters definitely require full effort; I guarantee I'll pull the strings and build the bridges, but whether it succeeds still depends on how well you coordinate—sometimes things depend on human effort, and worldly wisdom is always needed; the necessary 'procedures' must be followed!'

Lu Fan said, 'I understand this; resources are limited, if you don't strive and grab, nothing will just fall into your lap, 'empty talk' definitely won't cut it—we know our own worth!'

Weiwei added, 'Hong Tao has already said hello; they'll definitely give face, but how much depends on the coordination effort—we'll act as circumstances dictate; in short, prepare whatever needs preparing.'

Lu Fan raised another glass and said to Dahua, 'Finance Sir, you now hold great power, overseeing economic construction—won't you lend a hand?'

Dahua voluntarily clinked glasses, joking, 'Old leader, being an official not a deputy, my words don't count now; I'm willing but unable—wait for me to try harder, and once I become a chief I'll be able to swing freely!'

The two downed their drinks cheerfully, and Lu Fan then toasted Xiaojun, saying, 'The city is planning projects; please look after us when it reaches the approval stage!'

Xiaojun straightforwardly said, 'Rest assured, old leader, there's no problem at all with agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries!'

After the four finished five bottles, Weiwei kept saying, 'Just drink well,' and Lu Fan had to suggest ending the gathering.

After seeing off Dahua and Xiaojun, Lu Fan and Weiwei chatted a bit about coordinating with the ministries; Weiwei is well versed in this, offering many valuable opinions and suggestions, and he often helped Qinchuan and Southern Ridge provinces run projects under Hongtao's arrangements.

Monday morning at 8 a. m., Lu Fan met Deputy Provincial Governor Lei Juan at the entrance of the Education Ministry, introduced Weiwei to her, exchanged warm greetings, and then the group proceeded to the minister's office.

Including Lei Juan, everyone was shocked that Lu Fan had brought Weiwei, the bureau chief, as a 'spokesperson,' knowing that the organizational vetting for promoting bureau-level cadres is strict; Weiwei's influence is indeed considerable—wherever he goes, he's a guest of honor!

Huayuan Province had made an advance reservation, and Minister Chen Shaobo set aside half an hour.

Seeing Weiwei accompany Lei Juan, Lu Fan, and Huayuan Province's Education Department Director Zhao Xiao'ao entering, Minister Chen's level of attention increased a notch.

After Deputy Provincial Governor Lei Juan stated her purpose, Lu Fan reported in under ten minutes, clearly and concisely, the ten major livelihood education projects of Nanyuan City to Minister Chen, mainly proposing items requiring the Education Ministry's support.

Because the minister is busy and has no time for lengthy speeches, whether to support isn't decided by the report; the project's importance or lack thereof doesn't matter much—what matters is the background and interests behind your support.

After hearing the report, Minister Chen Shaobo had his secretary bring Deputy Minister Jiang Ping over, arranging: 'Just now I heard Comrade Lu Fan's report; I can sense the importance Huayuan Province and Nanyuan City place on education! Their ten-project basic education quality improvement initiative focuses on developing students' core competencies, centering on cultivating virtue, teaching effectively, and teaching excellently, comprehensively building a talent-cultivation system—it's of great significance; we should give strong support! This work is for you to take charge of and propose supporting opinions.'

Jiang Ping nodded seriously and said, 'Okay, Minister, I will quickly communicate with Huayuan Province to push the project's implementation and draw up preliminary supporting opinions.'

Afterwards, Jiang Ping brought Lu Fan, Weiwei, and Zhao Xiaoa to his office to coordinate on the project situation, while Lei Juan and Chen Shaobo held a separate discussion.

Just after entering Jiang Ping's office, Weiwei laughed and said, "Minister Jiang, Mayor Lu is my former superior; please lend your strong support to Nanyuan City's education work!"

Jiang Ping personally brewed tea and replied with a smile, "Director Yuan is coming in person—how could I not give it my all? Mayor Lu, to gain a detailed understanding of the project and better support Nanyuan City's education work, I plan to go to Nanyuan for research."

Lu Fangu replied enthusiastically, "Nanyuan will certainly clear the mats to welcome you; we warmly welcome Minister Jiang's inspection and guidance, and will spare no effort to provide logistical support!"

Jiang Ping added, "Actually, I'm very interested in the work to improve and upgrade Nanyuan's student cafeterias; I've been watching your videos a lot these past two days, with view counts over a million, and netizens are eagerly awaiting—I'm going to Nanyuan with a mindset of learning."

At this moment, Nanyuan City's Vice Mayor Ma Caihong and Education Bureau Director Chang Zhichao are shuttling between various departments, exchanging feelings, to lay the groundwork for the project application. If the groundwork isn't done well, the application process could wear you out.

Around 9:30 p. m., Lei Juan finished her discussion with Chen Shaobo and also came to Jiang Ping's office, where some polite conversation was inevitable.

Ten minutes later, Weiwei and Chen Shaobo agreed to have lunch together at noon; everyone stood up to say goodbye, as it's not good to take up too much of the leaders' time, and even deputy positions in the ministries are extremely busy.

At 3 p. m., Lu Fan followed Governor Lei Juan and Weiwei to the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where Deputy Director Jia Luhao handled the reception, and the director accompanied the leaders down for the inspection.

Director Jia expressed strong interest in Nanyuan's plan to rebuild the Zhang Zhongjing National University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; after asking in detail about Nanyuan's planning and measures, he said, "The lifeblood of traditional Chinese medicine lies at the grassroots; the focus of TCM work is at the grassroots, but its shortcomings and weak points are also at the grassroots. I'm delighted that Nanyuan City has such lofty ambitions; the director specifically instructed me yesterday to strongly support local TCM development."

We can explore joint construction with the provincial bureau; the bureau will provide policy and financial support in areas such as TCM education reform, discipline construction, talent cultivation, faculty strength, scientific research, and cultural heritage, driving the Zhang Zhongjing National University of TCM toward the goal of becoming a first-rate TCM university and first-rate discipline, promoting high-quality development of the TCM cause, advancing TCM inheritance and innovation, and truly preserving, innovating, and developing this precious wealth of TCM to better serve the national TCM cause and local economic and social development!

Lu Fan solemnly stated, "Please rest assured, Director Jia; with the attention and support of the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, we have the ability, confidence, and determination to build and develop the Zhang Zhongjing National University of TCM well, and to make it a model for provincial-bureau joint construction in Nanyuan!"

The two sides exchanged views for nearly an hour, conducting an in-depth discussion on the joint construction of the Zhang Zhongjing National University of TCM; this also benefited from Secretary Hong Tao's approval of the project, and as a matter of course, Jia Luhao will surely do well.

After a day of great gains, in the evening Lu Fan hosted Governor Lei Juan at the Korean Barbecue Wan Restaurant to express gratitude for her wholehearted assistance; Weiwei, this "mascot" akin to a Maitreya Buddha, accompanied them throughout.

On Tuesday, the group went to the Health Commission, feeling strong emphasis; the director personally received them, giving Nanyuan unreserved support, with policy and funding promises especially forthcoming, because Secretary Hong Tao personally said hello, and this unit harbors deep awe for Secretary Hong Tao!

At noon, Governor Lei Juan concluded her mission and returned to Huayuan.

Before departing, she specifically instructed Lu Fan to increase coordination efforts, and the more courtesy, the better!

Lu Fan once again expressed his sincere thanks to Governor Lei Juan for her support, and asked the leadership to continue helping Nanyuan coordinate with the ministries, after all, the governor's face carries great weight.

Lei Juan laughed and said, "My influence only goes this far; when the project application reaches a critical point, you'll need to ask Secretary Guangqi and Governor Tang Bing to step in!"

At 3 p. m., Lu Fan waited at the entrance of the Transportation Department and met with Deputy Provincial Governor Huang Chongzhou of the Standing Committee, and together they visited Minister Mo Xuan.

This exchange was very pleasant, because everyone is "one of our own," and Minister Mo Xuan's promotion is closely tied to Li Lao.

Regarding Nanyuan's ten major transportation projects, Minister Mo clearly stated that he would provide strong financial support.

After drinking tea for half an hour, the two then turned to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Lu Fan was completely reduced to a "follower," basically having no presence, but Huang Chongzhou exerted great coordination, chatting and laughing with the other leaders, and won their attitudinal support.

Lu Fan knew that pursuing a project cannot be achieved overnight; without enduring hardship, you would be tormented to the point of wanting to die, and the project and funds would not come easily; he had already prepared himself for a protracted struggle.