Chapter 478

December 17, Vice Mayor Zhao Haorui, Vice Mayor Ma Caihong, and several bureau chiefs returned to Nanyuan City, reporting to Mayor Lu Fan on the project docking situation; basically, the situation was very promising.

Lu Fan instructed them, saying that across the country, projects and funds are being closely watched; opportunities are fleeting, and we must have a spirit of striving, proactively reporting work and strengthening contacts, striving to the greatest extent and magnitude to get Nanyuan City's projects included in the national and provincial lists to secure more financial support, laying a solid foundation for steady growth across the city. At the same time, we must hold high standards and strict requirements to solidify and refine foundational work such as application materials, push forward all work as much as possible, and improve the success rate of securing project funding.

Lu Fan emphasized that the leaders in charge must personally take the lead, bringing along department heads and the corresponding superior units to wage a 'protracted battle', increasing efforts to strive and run. Especially the provincial departments, which can play a role of connecting upper and lower levels, we must firmly hold onto them; only with thick skin can one eat one's fill!

December 20, the Nanyang City Government convened a meeting to push forward the annual target tasks; members of the City Government Party Group attended, as did the principal persons in charge of each county/district and departments involved in provincial assessment indicators. The meeting also invited Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee Su Xiang Hai, Secretary of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee Fang Yang, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee Yang Jiahe, and Head of the Propaganda Department Li Mu Ci.

The meeting heard reports on the construction of key projects in each county and city, was briefed on the city's overall economic operation, and arranged for the deployment of year-end rush work.

At the meeting, the Executive Vice Mayor individually issued the assessment target baselines to each county/district and department, requiring all units to complete tasks with both quality and quantity.

Mayor Lu Fan pointed out that only one month remains in this year's work, a critical moment for deciding the battle to achieve the annual goals; the entire city must uphold the notion of judging heroes by actual results, unite efforts, and go all out in the sprint, keeping unchanged the goal, direction, and intensity of breaking into the top three in the province, giving full effort to seize the fourth quarter, ensuring a prosperous year.

Lu Fan emphasized that each county/district and department must identify problems, make up shortcomings, and catch up; closely monitor economic indicators, analyze each item, and ensure the completion of goals and tasks. They should blaze a trail through mountains and build bridges over waters, overcome difficulties, achieve success, and make new and greater contributions to accelerating the high-quality construction of a provincial sub-central city.

Lu Fan especially emphasized that investment is an important support for economic growth; today's investment is tomorrow's development. Everyone has done a lot of work in project planning, but there remain problems such as unreasonable project reserve structure, few large projects, imbalance among counties/districts, and weak preliminary work. Next, the entire city must genuinely strengthen project planning and reserves to lay a solid foundation for Nanyuan City's transformation and development and for gathering momentum to rise.

Each county and department should fully unleash work initiative and subjective initiative, rack their brains, go all out, pool collective wisdom, carefully plan projects, actively attract funds, and break development bottlenecks, using new breakthroughs in project planning to promote Nanyuan City's economic development to catch up, surpass, and exceed. In project planning, they must closely follow superior policy guidance, fully explore their own advantages, plan projects at a high starting point, package them with high quality, and strive to have more projects enter the central and provincial project lists.

Furthermore, we must firmly establish the idea that 'big investment promotion drives big development', organize and carry out targeted investment promotion work, strengthen professional, cluster, and business-to-business investment promotion, and continuously attract major projects and strong enterprises. We must deeply plan and reserve a batch of foundational infrastructure and leading industry projects with strong supporting, radiating, and driving effects, adopting the approach of 'going global and bringing in', and increase investment promotion efforts.

Finally, Lu Fan solemnly said: 'I give you ten days to conduct high-quality project planning, from January 4 to January 15. The secretaries and chiefs of each county/district, and the heads of each municipal department, must personally come to my office to report on their project planning. I will score you, which will serve as an important basis for promoting and adjusting cadres. For cadres who do not act, act slowly, or fail to implement the City Government's work instructions, decisions, and orders, we cannot simply let it be; the City Government will advise the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee to hold them accountable through measures such as resigning out of responsibility or being ordered to resign.'

The mayor's words left the attendees sighing; they never imagined that project planning would be tied to their own 'official hats'! Although dissatisfied, they had to treat it seriously, and no one dared to test the waters.

After the meeting, Lu Fan again summoned the vice mayors to his office for a small meeting, still focusing on the rankings of various economic indicators in the province.

After everyone arrived, Lu Fan said: 'I roughly estimated with the Development and Reform Commission that this year Nanyuan City's GDP could reach 460 billion, still 100 billion behind the second-place Luojun City, though the gap could be narrowed a bit. However, our growth rate is higher than Luojun's, and the assessment looks at added value and growth rate, so we still have a chance to reach second place, even first! This requires effort on soft indicators, such as party building, ideology, and business environment; those scores go to whoever puts in more work. You, in charge of your respective areas, should produce a few highlights to go to the province for points and rankings; if you lag behind, you will inevitably fall behind, as other cities won't wait for you—this is also a helpless move.'

Executive Vice Mayor Wang Hong said: 'We will firmly implement the mayor's instructions; this is old news, and everyone knows what to do.'

After the other vice mayors expressed their positions, Lu Fan said: 'The key project planning I just mentioned at the meeting must be treated as a top priority; you must personally participate and personally guide the project planning in your respective domains to lay a solid foundation for surpassing Luojun City's GDP next year. Mayor Caihong has returned, but the ten major education projects must not be neglected, and we must continue to strengthen coordination efforts. Moreover, you must firmly hold onto the work of improving and upgrading student cafeterias; this winter break must be fully prepared, which is my solemn promise to the city's people, and we must never betray their trust.'

Ma Caihong replied: 'Please rest assured, Mayor, I guarantee to complete the task!'

After finishing the work arrangements, Lu Fan kept Executive Vice Mayor Zhao Haorui behind alone, briefing him on the issue of Ma Li, director of the Water Bureau, and told him to stay vigilant and report any problems promptly.

December 23, entering the twelfth lunar month, Mayor Lu Fan, carrying the government's warm care and New Year blessings, went to Yuan Zhuang Village in She County to visit and comfort the registered poor households, sending them holiday greetings.

Lu Fan then visited the poor households' homes, delivering consolation items, cash, spring couplets, and Fu characters; he sat on the kang to chat with villagers, offered New Year greetings, and inquired about their family income and production and living conditions.

The Town Party Committee Secretary reported that Yuan Zhuang Village has changed its old appearance for a new look, with a newly built village cultural square and village tract road, the safe drinking water project completed, and medical security for the poor households ensured. Photovoltaic power stations and chicken farming, among other poverty-alleviation industry projects, have enabled the poor households to continuously increase income, and their living quality and mental outlook have greatly improved.

However, an incident occurred during the consolation of poor household Li Shuzhong, leaving the leaders of She County embarrassed and panicked.

When the staff carried the rice, flour, and oil into Li Shuzhong's home, this poor household suddenly flew into a rage for no reason, spewing profanity and throwing all the consolation items out!

He even shouted at Lu Fan: 'Aren't you here to take photos? Come on, I'll pose with you—I don't care for these things! What junk is this! The government feeds you lot who eat for free and do nothing!'

Seeing this scene, the County Party Secretary Gu Yu was dumbfounded; he never expected that a consolation visit would slap him in the face so hard! This is the mayor, after all, and this bunch of damned bastards!

Seeing Gu Yu's knife-like gaze, the Town Party Committee Secretary panicked completely, quickly had cadres take Li Shuzhong away, and hurriedly gave an explanation to the mayor.

But Lu Fan ignored him, walked straight up to the poor household, and said sincerely: 'I am Lu Fan, mayor of Nanyuan City. Is it that the poverty alleviation policies have not been implemented properly, or is there unfairness in their implementation?'

Upon hearing that the person before him was actually the mayor, Li Shuzhong's indignant expression vanished, replaced by nervousness as he stammered: 'Mayor, I wasn't cursing you; I thought you were a leader from the county. I've heard people say you're a good mayor. Ah, the county is completely unfair—part of the poor households' subsidized housing is in the county, part in the town. Who wouldn't want the county housing? It's just that I have no connections, no influence; I don't run around, give gifts, or flatter people, so they gave me the town housing.'

'Mayor, what good is that stuff to me? The town's subsidized housing is still far from the town—what would I do living there? Move from this village to that? Farming would be inconvenient, and the cost would be high! For years, the leaders and cadres just shout slogans; my assigned poverty-alleviation cadre makes me keep accounts every day, demanding I increase my income year after year, yet they do nothing themselves—how could I possibly increase my income out of thin air? Even if I were poorer, I wouldn't lack this bit of rice, flour, and oil; I refuse to bear this title! Moreover, my house has been deemed a dilapidated dwelling, but it's not even listed in the dilapidated housing renovation plan; they refuse to give me compensation, deliberately making things difficult for me! My wife's subsistence allowance and disability benefits still haven't been implemented!'

Li Shuzhong grew more agitated, venting all his grievances from the past two years.

The leaders of She County stood aside awkwardly, feeling panicked and uneasy inside.

After hearing Li Shuzhong's grievances, Lu Fan said: 'This is our work not done well; I first apologize to you. The government will certainly rectify the existing problems and will certainly give you a satisfactory answer!'

Then, Lu Fan looked sternly at She County's Party Committee Secretary Gu Yu and said in a deep voice: 'Poverty alleviation projects are the people's hope for escaping poverty and becoming wealthy; poverty alleviation funds are effective assistance for escaping poverty and becoming wealthy, a strong guarantee for the people to live well. Poverty alleviation and advancement is a major political task, and moreover a genuine virtuous governance project and a people's livelihood project! The Municipal Party Committee and the City Government will seriously investigate and deal with cases where poverty alleviation decisions are not firmly implemented or are insufficiently implemented, cadres who do not take responsibility or act, and work that is perfunctory, merely going through the motions, and other dereliction of duty and negligence.'

Having said that, Lu Fan left Yuan Zhuang Village without looking back, leaving the She County leaders staring at each other, at a loss.