Chapter 502

On the afternoon of June 10, Municipal Party Secretary Lu Fan had finished dinner and was taking a walk to aid digestion in the Municipal Party Committee compound, with Municipal Party Secretary-General Dou Zhengyang following closely behind.

Some officials working overtime upstairs were discussing: "Section Chief Liu, you see Secretary Lu is thinking about something again; could he be planning to make personnel moves?"

Section Chief Liu laughed and said: "It's possible! Secretary Lu is decisive and acts once he decides."

"Look, Secretary Lu has assigned work to the secretary-general!"

……

Their guess was correct; Lu Fan stopped, turned to Dou Zhengyang behind him and said: "Notify Su Xiang Hai, plus the Organization Department and Discipline Inspection, and call a five-person meeting."

"Okay, Secretary, I'll notify them right away."

Twenty minutes later, several leaders arrived at the secretary's office.

Lu Fan said: "Sorry to disturb everyone's rest; let's hold a brief meeting to discuss staffing the vacant positions."

Hearing this, the several people immediately perked up; personnel matters are closely watched and are the core work of Nanyuan City.

Lu Fan continued: "To make a long story short, I propose that the director of the Water Bureau be Deputy Director Li Shuzhong, who is strong in principle and outstanding in ability; the mayor's secretary-general be Lai JiaJun, who has been overseeing the government office work and has done well; the director of the Commerce Bureau be Deputy Secretary-General Xie Siming of the municipal government, who previously served as deputy director of the Commerce Bureau and can seamlessly connect in business; the director of the Education Bureau will continue to be concurrently held by Vice Mayor Ma Caihong, for whom we have not yet found a suitable candidate. As for the vacant positions of chairman of the Disabled Persons' Federation and deputy director of the Education Bureau, please share your opinions. Oh, by the way, should the Discipline Inspection Committee also adjust its leadership team?"

Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Fang Yang had already let the deputy secretary promoted by Wang Haiyang sit on the "cold bench"; after hearing the secretary's instructions, he immediately reported the Discipline Inspection Committee's personnel adjustment plan, fully embodying the principle that cadres can rise or fall, involving the adjustment and promotion of 18 leading cadres.

Deputy Secretary Su Xiang Hai and the Organization Department head had no objections; Lu Fan said: "The Discipline Inspection Committee's plan is set as such. Xianghai, do you have any suitable candidates for chairman of the Disabled Persons' Federation?"

Given the opportunity by the secretary, Su Xiang Hai seized it and recommended a deputy director from the Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau.

Lu Fan expressed approval, and others had no objections.

Many people underestimate the chairman of the Disabled Persons' Federation, but the position is a civil-service reference post with substantial weight, implementing numerous projects each year with ample funding, surpassing marginal functional bureaus.

The remaining deputy division-level posts and some deputy positions in counties and districts, Lu Fan entrusted to the Organization Department head to recommend candidates, so that Feng Guanqiao would not become a mere yes-man.

Finally, Lu Fan emphasized that for Nanyuan to develop, it must guide entrepreneurship and initiative through correct personnel orientation, selecting honest, clean, responsible, hardworking cadres who get things done, and selecting those who are willing, able, and capable of accomplishing tasks, to provide strong personnel guarantees for Nanyuan's high-quality development.

On June 11, Organization Department Head Feng Guanqiao took the personnel adjustment plan drafted overnight to the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department for approval.

Lu Fan also spoke with Zhao Lingyun, head of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department, reporting on this personnel adjustment work.

In such cases, the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department usually does not obstruct, as long as the qualifications of those proposed for promotion are unproblematic.

In the afternoon, the Municipal Organization Department held a cadre inspection mobilization meeting, forming four inspection teams to conduct organizational inspections of cadres slated for promotion or lateral transfer.

After the news spread, it again sparked heated discussion among cadres, all saying Secretary Lu's "personnel moves" are simply lightning-fast!

Thus, the cadre adjustments in Nanyuan City are fully in place, allowing everyone to focus their energy on work, because even if you have ideas, all positions are now filled.

Everyone knows Secretary Lu values work performance, so effort must be put there. Many officials keen on "running for office" have found that things in Nanyuan are not easy to "manipulate"; provincial leaders are reluctant to intervene in Nanyuan's personnel adjustments, and there are too few who can "stand up to" Secretary Lu's leadership, and even those who can are not able to "move" him.

Nanyuan City has formed a consensus: to advance, one must speak with work achievements.

Municipal Party Secretary Lu Fan insists on treating cadres with impartiality, evaluating them by their undertakings, setting a single standard, measuring with a ruler, treating people fairly, upholding righteousness and correcting deviations to win public trust, employing only those who get things done, so that the good practice of employing people according to tasks flourishes throughout Nanyuan.

On June 20, the Municipal Party Committee Office began preparing for the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee meeting, which attracted widespread attention from cadres and the masses, as everyone knows this standing committee will decide on many major matters.

On June 22, Lu Fan went to the central urban area to investigate the ten major urban construction projects.

At the construction site of the North People's Road renovation project, work was in full swing, a scene of bustling activity.

Director Lu Jing of the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau reported: "Secretary, this year's urban construction projects mainly revolve around the 'cross, one ring, three radiations' and 'one river, nine gardens, nine districts'; combining the actual conditions of current urban development and construction, we are implementing the 'ten major projects' of urban construction. A total of 552 projects have been planned, with a total investment of 3200 billion yuan, of which municipal fiscal investment is 35 billion yuan, district-level investment is 95 billion yuan, and the remainder is superior matching funds, platforms, and enterprise investment 2. This year's planned investment is 1250 billion yuan."

Lu Fan nodded and said: "We need to research and explore new models for urban village renovation, seize the tail end of the state's shanty-town renovation policy, adhere to government leadership and social participation, continually improve public supporting service facilities, fully promote urban construction projects to increase speed, quality, and efficiency, perfect urban functions, enhance urban quality, and make the city more livable and the people happier."

Next, Lu Fan visited the construction sites of the Nantai Road project, the sewage and rainwater separation renovation project, the Jianshe Road upgrade and renovation project, the Wolong Road upgrade and renovation project, etc., to inspect progress on site, pointing out that we must raise our sights, reverse-schedule timelines, implement plan-based operations, work hard and fast, accelerate progress, and as much as possible form more effective investment and tangible progress.

On the way back to the city, Lu Fan told Vice Mayor Zhu Xinlan: "The Ministry of Finance's 'sponge city' project is about to launch; I'm assigning you a 'hard task'—Nanyuan must enter the 'major list,' and the funding support for this project is not insignificant!"

Zhu Xinlan attached great importance, replying: "Secretary, I will personally arrange and deploy the foundational work, and actively coordinate with higher-level departments. However, for such a major undertaking, at critical moments you still need to personally take the lead."

"Well, hurry up and finish the planning and application materials, and you go with me to the province and Jingcheng for a trip."

On June 25, Huayuan Province released the college entrance examination scores; Municipal Party Secretary Lu Fan attached great importance to them, saying that if education is not handled well, everything else is just nonsense!

The Municipal Party Committee Office notified the municipal education bureau and all counties and districts to report the college entrance examination scores immediately.

Leadership's emphasis is the foundation and prerequisite for doing work well; Vice Mayor Ma Caihong has already gone to the Municipal Education Bureau, and the top officials of each county and district are personally participating in the score-checking work.

At a little past ten o'clock, the first to report to the Municipal Party Committee was Xichuan County; County Party Secretary Ren Zhao, over the phone, reported the good news to Secretary Lu Fan: Xichuan County's college entrance examination scores have reached a new historical high, with the number of students qualifying for first-tier undergraduate programs exceeding 2,500, 510 students meeting the score lines for '985' and '211' universities, and an estimated 14 students expected to be admitted to Peking University and Tsinghua University, making the Xichuan education brand shine even brighter and become the most proud calling card of the people of Xichuan.

Lu Fan congratulated Ren Zhao and encouraged Xichuan County to keep up the effort and reach new heights next year.

Next, a call came from Dengzhou City; with the number of examinees remaining basically stable, the number of students qualifying for first-tier undergraduate programs for the first time broke through the 2,000 mark, a net increase of nearly 400, a growth rate of 25%, and has risen continuously for three years. The top science scorer got 688 points, with a chance to rush into Peking University's medical school; the top liberal arts scorer got 655 points, ranking 250th in the province! The first-tier undergraduate admission rate is 23%; the proportion of those attaining undergraduate or above is 65%, both reaching new historical highs.

By 3 p. m., eight counties and districts had reported their college entrance examination scores; overall it was steady with improvement, but most had not met Lu Fan's expectations. The remaining counties and districts, 'too embarrassed to report,' submitted their scores to the Municipal Education Bureau.

As it approached four o'clock, Vice Mayor Ma Caihong came to report the city's college entrance examination scores: first-tier undergraduate admission results were gratifying; the city had 105,000 participants in the ordinary college entrance exam, with 25,959 reaching the first-tier undergraduate cutoff; the number reaching the first-tier undergraduate cutoff increased by 2,600 compared to last year, accounting for 45% of the province's increase, and the first-tier undergraduate admission rate continued to rise, exceeding the provincial average by eight percentage points.

Efforts to cultivate excellence have achieved a breakthrough. Across the city, ten students scored above 700 in science, accounting for 13.5% of the provincial total; the number of students expected to be admitted to Peking University and Tsinghua University citywide is projected to reach 40.

The quality of all counties 'showed red across the board,' with every county and district seeing an increase in first-tier undergraduate admissions, the first time in recent years.

After looking at the results, Lu Fan said lightly: "There are achievements, but they still fall far short of the expectations of the Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, and the city's populace! They are not commensurate with the fiscal investment! This shows that our efforts in education work lack sufficient strength, fine measures, clear goals, high standards, and a strong sense of responsibility!"

Why is the director of the Education Bureau still being held concurrently by you? This is the Municipal Party Committee's emphasis on education! Since last year, the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have unswervingly adhered to prioritizing education development, providing a green light for personnel, funds, and materials for education development; now it's up to your work results.

Look at these results; have they met the three requirements I set? Comrade Caihong, I tell you clearly: I am not satisfied with this year's performance!

Education concerns the future, carries families' hopes, pertains to descendants, is a people's livelihood project that benefits the present and future generations; providing satisfactory education to the people is our inescapable duty! We must grasp it solidly, meticulously, and well, achieve results, and continually enhance the sense of gain and happiness among the people of Nanyuan.

My requirements for the college entrance examination results remain unchanged; the Municipal Party Committee is giving you another year, so please be sure to raise your political stance, strengthen your sense of responsibility, dare to take responsibility and act, increase work intensity, refine work standards, and complete the tasks assigned by the Municipal Party Committee with high quality.

You should organize a municipal education conference; I will give a speech, and have the party secretaries of all counties and districts attend in person.

The secretary's criticism left Ma Caihong feeling ashamed and unable to bear it, while also sensing immense pressure, for she knows her future and fate are in the secretary's hands.