Chapter 522

To be an official, one must seize the opportunity early; age is a 'treasure'. Even though both are ministerial-level, the Municipal Party Secretary and the Mayor are worlds apart—just a single step away, yet some people spend their entire lives unable to cross it. Deng Guoqiang naturally wants to achieve it in one step.

Ban Zhang, if I get the chance to strive for the Municipal Party Secretary, my career could be very different. I could then closely follow your lead, serving you wholeheartedly, like a dog or horse.

Lu Fan shook his head and said: 'That's too serious! I naturally hope you can be assigned as Municipal Party Secretary, but this mainly depends on Secretary Tang's attitude.'

After their discussion, Lu Fan said: 'No matter what, let's try again; I'll give Secretary Tang Bing a call.'

With Deng Guoqiang full of anticipation, Lu Fan dialed Tang Bing's number and said: 'Hello, Secretary, am I disturbing your work?'

Tang Bing laughed and said: 'No, I'm looking at your materials. Your boldness is impressive—nearly 200 people have been double-opened; hasn't it affected the operation of Nanyuan City's medical system?'

Lu Fan replied: 'In handling these issues, we have zero tolerance for management, but for frontline medical staff we mainly use criticism and education; if they improve, they remain good comrades, and we need to improve the supervisory system. After all, the overall environment is like this. Secretary, do you have time this afternoon? I and Guoqiang would like to treat you to a simple meal and briefly report on our work.'

'Deng Guoqiang of the Discipline Inspection Committee?' Tang Bing considered for a moment, then replied: 'Alright, you reserve a spot at 'One Move'; I'll come over for a while; there's an important reception there tonight.'

After hanging up, Deng Guoqiang excitedly asked: 'Ban Zhang, did Secretary Tang agree?'

Lu Fan nodded and said: 'Being willing to have a meal with you indicates a big chance; in personnel adjustments, Secretary Tang certainly won't make light promises, and we'll know the outcome only after the five-person group meeting.'

'Ban Zhang, thank you! I will firmly keep this kindness in my heart!'

Lu Fan gave some instructions to Secretary General Dou Zhengyang, then followed Deng Guoqiang to the province.

At 8 p. m., Secretary Tang Bing, accompanied by her secretary, arrived at the private room booked by Lu Fan, smiling and said: 'Sorry to keep you waiting; I can only stay a short while, as the leaders from the Ministry of Transport are next door.'

Lu Fan hurriedly said: 'Secretary, you have countless affairs to handle and must also look after your health; I had the chef make a bowl of minced meat noodles—please have a couple of bites to relieve the alcohol.'

Originally Tang Bing had no appetite, but upon hearing 'minced meat noodles' she immediately felt hungry; just then the server brought the noodles over, and she began to eat slowly, praising: 'These minced meat noodles are still the most comfortable to eat!'

Deng Guoqiang looked admiringly at Lu Fan; no wonder the server kept bringing a bowl of noodles every so often—it turned out they were waiting to serve Secretary Tang. People from Qinchuan are most proud of this minced meat noodle dish. Indeed, details are everywhere; I still have much to learn.

After eating a bowl of noodles, Tang Bing said lightly: 'There's an online meme saying Jiangning Province is scattered. Actually, Pingshan City is also scattered. Between the two cities, four counties, and four districts, nobody submits to another; they often label each other and mock one another. The reason is nothing more than late city establishment and the decline of the coal industry, which leads to a lack of local belonging and insufficient appeal, making it hard to unite into a cohesive fighting force. So where exactly does the future of scattered Pingshan City lie?'

Deng Guoqiang, having conducted in-depth research on Pingshan City, immediately replied: 'Rather than passively complaining, we should face the situation and strive for change, cooperate and plan development together; when all of Pingshan City can enjoy the benefits of transformation and upgrade, perhaps we can better cooperate and achieve mutual benefit. Like Nanyuan, we can become another hardcore unit driving the rise of central Huayuan.'

Tang Bing nodded and said: 'We can't keep the guests waiting; you two chat, I have to go.'

The two hurriedly rose and saw Secretary Tang to the door.

Returning to their seats, Deng Guoqiang eagerly asked: 'Ban Zhang, do you think there's a chance?'

Lu Fan smiled and said: 'Being inside the bureau, one doesn't see the whole picture; I feel the secretary's words are already clear—she is talking about ideology, which falls under the Municipal Party Committee's duties, and I see great hope. Guoqiang, when you go back tonight, 'put in some effort', make a simple plan for Pingshan City's future development, and report it to Secretary Tang tomorrow. Remember: speak with substance, act effectively, talk about solid facts, solid goods, strictly avoid empty boasting, false talk, and clichés. Then I will take you to the Governor's office to report on work as well.'

Hearing these words, Deng Guoqiang felt a surge of endless gratitude and firmly said: 'Ban Zhang, everything depends on you; I won't waste words on thanks—they're in my heart! I am absolutely not an ungrateful person!'

December 15, the Huayuan Provincial Party Committee held a standing committee meeting to discuss personnel matters; the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, Deng Guoqiang, was nominated as Party Secretary of Pingshan City; Secretary Tang Bing and Governor Liu Linghao expressed unanimous agreement, and Deng Guoqiang's wish was fulfilled.

After the meeting ended, Lu Fan received a phone call from Deng Guoqiang, who thanked him effusively, expressing deep gratitude and righteousness.

Lu Fan encouraged him, saying that after taking office as Municipal Party Secretary, he must be wholly loyal to the Party, courageously take responsibility, be perceptive to the people's needs, uphold integrity in his duties, and with heart, effort, and emotion handle people's livelihood matters well, remedy shortcomings in livelihood, and be accountable to Pingshan City.

December 20, Ceng Ming called to report good news: he had been promoted to Director of the Municipal Judicial Bureau; Xia Li was promoted to County Chief of Ganshui County; Yang Minghao was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Political and Legal Committee; Liu Jin Zhu was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee and concurrently Secretary of the County Political and Legal Committee; all had assumed important leadership posts.

Lu Fan congratulated the brothers and required them, in their new posts, to faithfully fulfill their duties, conscientiously guard their responsibilities, courageously take responsibility, and act with diligence and determination.

As noon approached and work was ending, Lu Fan dialed Si Daiqiang's phone, laughing and said: 'Secretary Si, thank you!'

Si Daiqiang laughed and replied: 'Why be polite with me? There's really nothing to thank for; discovering the cultivation and selection of outstanding young cadres is a foundational project for strengthening the leadership team and cadre workforce—they are naturally excellent and are the key targets for cultivation.'

Lu Fan said: 'In short, I will keep this kindness in my heart; next time we definitely must not return until we're drunk!'

Si Daiqiang suddenly asked: 'Lu Fan, may I ask you a question?'

Lu Fan replied: 'I dare not presume to be asked; we can discuss any question, and I will certainly speak without reservation, saying everything I know.'

Si Daiqiang earnestly said: 'I want to emulate Secretary Hong Tao and implement free medical care in Yingjiang City; do you think it's feasible?'

Lu Fan thought for a moment and said: 'There's a saying online: ideals are plump, reality is frail. To implement free medical care for all, one first needs a strong fiscal revenue base; as far as I know, Yingjiang's fiscal revenue hasn't reached that level, and forcing it could impose a heavy burden on Yingjiang's finances, so I think it's better to be cautious.'

Si Daiqiang asked: 'You often accomplish big things quietly; you must have a plan for free medical care, right?'

Lu Fan truthfully replied: 'Nanyuan's development this year has indeed been good, with fiscal revenue doubling, but I also lack the confidence to implement free medical care for all in a city of ten million people. To be frank, I plan to implement free medical care for minors and the elderly.'

Si Daiqiang laughed and said: 'Look, I knew you were going to make a big move! Don't say otherwise—this idea is truly good; go ahead and implement it quickly, and I will 'copy' your homework and do the same in Yingjiang.'

'Can't you come up with some innovation yourself?'

'Copying is also a skill! Some people have the template right there, yet they don't even bother to copy!'

……

December 25, the leaders of the Municipal Party Committee and City Government of Nanyuan City all went down to the front line, doing two things: first, to connect with key projects and key enterprises, laying the groundwork for the final annual economic indicator report, ensuring comprehensive coverage and full storage; second, to demand 'work positions' from each enterprise, laying the groundwork for the targeted training to be launched by the Municipal Human Resources Bureau, solving the employment problem of Nanyuan residents.

Gold Horse Color Printing Group Co., Ltd. is an upstream packaging enterprise for food, medicine, etc. During the research process, Lu Fan learned that the company had encountered a 'stuck shell' difficulty in its IPO process.

Lu Fan and the enterprise's person in charge jointly addressed the difficulty, carefully analyzing and clarifying the train of thought; within half an hour, he made three phone calls to coordinate, helping the company bridge the obstacle and press the 'fast-forward' button for its IPO.

December 26, the Municipal Party Committee and City Government received notice from the provincial government that a provincial preliminary evaluation of Nanyuan City's effort to create a national food safety demonstration city would be conducted at the end of the month, and a national acceptance would arrive in mid-January.

After receiving the notice, the Municipal Party Committee and City Government immediately convened a special meeting to deploy the inspection preparations. The top party and government leaders of each county and district, as well as the heads of relevant departments, attended the meeting.

At the meeting, Mayor Su Xiang Hai emphasized that we must further strengthen our confidence and determination in the creation effort, accurately grasp the key points of the creation work, focus on improving the construction of the 'four major supervision platforms' and 'six major work systems', including food safety grid management, food safety traceability system construction, agricultural input quality control technical support, inspection and testing resource integration, etc. We must lock in the ultimate goal, ensure that our city takes the lead in entering the national food safety demonstration city, and continue to promote the creation work at a high level, high quality, and high intensity, so that Nanyuan's food safety work remains at the forefront of the country.

Municipal Party Secretary Lu Fan pointed out that we must closely align with the creation standards, compare against the five major aspects and thirty-four items required by the national food safety city work goals, item by item benchmark and streamline, optimize plans, and implement responsibilities, truly making each job meticulous, thorough, and solid. We must adhere to the basic principles, always uphold 'high-point positioning, high-standard construction, high-efficiency supervision', striving for the best and creating first-class.

Lu Fan emphasized that with the national acceptance imminent, time is tight and the task is heavy; all levels and departments must take the creation of the 'food safety city' as their top current work, letting 'attention' jump off the paper, truly imprint it in mind, grasp it in hand, and put it into action, so that after attention there is genuine effort, real results, and tangible effectiveness, only then can the work truly shift from 'making an impact' to 'taking root and growing'.

Finally, Lu Fan solemnly warned: any county, district, or department that dares to hold back the city's efforts in this work will have no say—one-vote veto! Go wherever it's cool and stay there! Resolutely adjust their work positions!