Chapter 550: The First Five‑Person Group Meeting

Lei Xingxing said politely, "Just a small token, not a sign of respect; please, Minister, accept it with a smile!"

Seeing the tea leaves Lei Xingxing set down, Lu Fan frowned and, without pretense, said, "Take the thing back; you must have heard that I don't accept gifts, right?"

Lei Xingxing's face remained unchanged; he calmly put away the tea leaves, smiled, and said, "I've long heard that the Minister is Integrity and Cleanliness, truly a model for us, a lighthouse for the voyage! Last week back in Yancheng, I had the honor of a few drinks with General Manager Li of Tianhui Energy, and we spoke of the Minister with utmost admiration!"

Lu Fan's expression was as calm as water, his eyes steady and clear, and in a light tone he said, "Mayor Lei, I am a straightforward person; during work hours we won't reminisce!"

Hearing Lu Fan's frankness, Lei Xingxing's face showed a hint of an awkward smile, but soon returned to normal.

He slightly nodded and said, "Minister, your achievements in Nanyuan have drawn worldwide attention and inspired people—a historic accomplishment, a benchmark for cadres across the province and the nation! I would like to volunteer to inherit the Minister's fine tradition and solid work style in Nanyuan, to follow in your footsteps and devote all my strength to Nanyuan's development! Please, Minister, mediate and make it possible!"

Estimating that he was the one most eager to pick the peach, Lu Fan nodded and said, "Wanting progress is good, but you must balance your mindset and rely on hard work for advancement. I understand your request; the Organization Department will give it priority consideration." He then picked up his brush and saw the guest off!

Seeing this, Lei Xingxing stood up and said, "Minister, you are busy; I will definitely work hard!" He then stepped out.

A short while later, Lei Xingxing arrived at the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department Minister's office.

Minister Qin Mengyang asked, "How did the talk go?"

Lei Xingxing shook his head and said, "Not well; with a few words they sent me away, saying a couple of pompous lines. I didn't expect him to become the Organization Department Minister!"

Qin Mengyang sighed and said, "Killing a snake without finishing it leaves its harm! Were the earlier small moves untimely?"

"Baseless and unfounded; I merely stirred the waters, leaving no trace!"

Qin Mengyang said earnestly, "Words spoken and deeds done always leave marks; besides, do some matters need evidence? Suspicion alone is enough! Never mind, let's not discuss the past. I think you shouldn't contend for the Nanyuan Municipal Party Committee Secretary, to avoid direct conflict. The road to Rome is long; Huayuan has dozens of cities, there will always be a place for you."

"I have to say Lu Fan truly has two brushes; he can lift tiny Nanyuan to a trillion‑GDP! From the current view, Nanyuan is the best stepping stone; if you go, go to the best place!"

"Then you must seek external support. Secretary Tang and Governor Liu Linghao both value Lu Fan highly; if he insists on blocking you, you have no chance! The Organization Department 'blocking' a person is like holding them by the throat, especially when that person is Lu Fan!"

…

On the morning of September 15, Lu Fan brought the personnel adjustment plan to Secretary Tang's office.

After seeing the candidates for the Minister of Industry and Information Technology and the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Tang Bing gave a slight nod.

Having reviewed everything, she said, "The overall direction meets the principle of matching people to posts and appropriate staffing. For the Vice Mayor position of Yingjun City, you can deliberate further and consult Comrade Yongchang's opinion. Once everything is unified, we will convene the Five‑person Group Meeting."

"Alright, I will implement the Secretary's suggestions as soon as possible." Lu Fan understood that Yingjun Municipal Party Committee Secretary Peng Yongchang had approached Secretary Tang to remove the Vice Mayor. This is normal, after all he is a Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member with great personnel authority in the city.

Back in his office, Lu Fan dialed Peng Yongchang's phone and said with a smile, "Secretary Yongchang, regarding the Vice Mayor candidate for Yingjun City, I will discuss with you again; if there are no issues, we can submit it to the meeting for study!"

Peng Yongchang replied with a smile, "Thank you, Minister, for supporting Yingjun City's work. I will stick to the opinion I reported last time and recommend the Secretary of Yangcheng County."

"Very well, I will draft the plan according to your view. Regarding the Secretary of Yangcheng County, we will consider it together this time; important leadership posts should not remain vacant for long, which is also Secretary Tang's view. The leadership instruction says cadre exchanges are an inevitable path for cadre growth; we can carry out horizontal and vertical exchanges, reasonably allocate outstanding cadres from different regions, allowing them to be tempered in broader scopes, varied environments and posts, continuously improving the overall quality of the provincial cadre team."

Hearing this, if Peng Yongchang did not grasp Lu Fan's meaning, he would have wasted decades; this is about "one step forward, one step back"!

The Organization Department Minister's face cannot be contradicted, especially since this is Lu Fan's first time speaking up. After weighing pros and cons, Peng Yongchang said, "Secretary Tang's directive is important and timely. Cadres staying long in one place tend to become routine, conservative, and detached from the masses. Implementing cadre exchanges can overcome experientialism and work inertia, eliminate the negative impact of the objective environment on power use, eradicate the soil that breeds corruption, and foster a good atmosphere. The Secretary of Yangcheng County can serve as a pilot; please consider, can the Deputy Secretary of Zhongyuan District be exchanged to take a post elsewhere?"

"I don't want to lose any point!" Lu Fan laughed, "The Organization Department will coordinate the cadre exchange appointments, Secretary Yongchang, when you have time we can sit together and exchange work experiences!"

Peng Yongchang responded enthusiastically, "Since you took office, you haven't gone deep into the grassroots to understand the people. Yingjun City is ready to receive you; please come to inspect and guide the work, and give our economic work a 'pulse diagnosis'. Otherwise the 'big brother' position will be snatched by Nanyuan, and now it's in danger!"

After a round of mutual flattery, the two hung up the phone; this exchange was extremely harmonious.

On September 16, Lu Fan reported the personnel adjustment plan to Secretary Tang again, including two County Party Committee Secretaries and two County Mayors.

Tang Bing did not mind and approved the plan; unless there are special circumstances, her gaze does not reach this level of personnel adjustment. Moreover, Lu Fan's situation is special, and Tang Bing consciously gave him a certain degree of personnel autonomy.

On the afternoon of September 18, Lu Fan received a notice from the Provincial Office to convene the Five‑person Group Meeting.

This was Lu Fan's first time attending the Provincial Party Committee Five‑person Group Meeting, participating in major provincial decision‑making.

At exactly 4:00 p. m., the Five‑person Group Meeting was held to hear the comprehensive report on the second round of provincial inspections and to study the deployment of deepening inspection work.

The province's eight inspection teams adopted a "one‑to‑three" method, conducting routine inspections of two provincially‑administered cities and twenty counties/districts, and carrying out mobile inspections of two provincial enterprises.

Tang Bing pointed out that for the corruption issues among the masses uncovered during inspections, municipal and county Party committees and Discipline Inspection Committees must take real responsibility and resolutely punish the "micro‑corruption" around the people, continuously enhancing the people's sense of gain; for leaders who fail to fulfill the "dual responsibility" of a post, accountability must be forced and dealt with sternly; for the widespread problems discovered, we must draw lessons, plug loopholes, improve systems, and strive to build a system that does not allow corruption, cannot allow corruption, and does not want corruption.

After studying the routine work, Tang Bing said, "Currently, some important leadership posts are vacant; in August we launched a cadre motion, and now I ask the Organization Department to report the adjustment plan for discussion."

Lu Fan opened the document and said, "Secretary Tang, leaders, according to the provincial arrangement, based on work needs and the actual construction of the cadre team, and using the Regulations on Selection and Appointment of Party and Government Leading Cadres as a basis, combined with the relevant requirements of the provincial inspection rectification implementation, adhering to the principles of democratic centralism and incentivizing cadres to innovate, and following the principles of overall consideration and matching people to posts, we adjust certain leadership positions."

Based on the vacant posts and adjustment targets this time, the proposed adjustments are: two principal‑hall‑level leadership positions, six deputy‑principal‑hall‑level positions, four chief‑division‑level positions, involving twelve leading cadres, as follows:

Propose to appoint He Bin, Executive Vice Mayor of Chaoge City, as Minister of the Provincial Industry and Information Technology Department;

Propose to appoint Yang Yongsen, Executive Deputy Director of the Provincial Culture and Tourism Department, as Minister of the Provincial Culture and Tourism Department;

Propose to appoint Zheng Tong, Director of Division One, Provincial Government Office, as Deputy Secretary‑General of the Provincial Government;

Propose to appoint Song Chao, Secretary of Yangcheng County Party Committee, as Vice Mayor of Yingjun City;

Propose to appoint Xu Yaoshan, Director of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee Office, as Deputy Director of the Provincial Water Resources Department;

Propose to appoint Wang Muyi, Secretary of Zhenping County Party Committee, as Deputy Director of the Provincial Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department;

Propose to appoint Huang Wenbin, Deputy Director of the Provincial Agriculture Department, as Executive Vice Mayor of Chaoge City;

Propose to appoint Wu Zhengyu, Deputy Director of the Provincial Education Department, as Director of the Organization Department of Bianliang City;

Propose to appoint Lin Pengxin, Deputy Secretary of Zhongyuan District Committee, as County Mayor of Nan County, Nanyuan City;

Propose to adjust Gu Jun, County Mayor of Nan County, Nanyuan City, to become Secretary of Yangcheng County, Yingjun City;

Propose to adjust Cheng Qing, County Mayor of Zhenping County, Nanyuan City, to become Secretary of Zhenping County;

Propose to adjust Cheng Haohao, Deputy Secretary‑General of Nanyuan Municipal Party Committee, to become Deputy Secretary of Zhenping County Party Committee and nominate him as a County Mayor candidate.

"If there are any inappropriate points, please leaders criticize and point them out!"

Personnel adjustments focus on pre‑meeting communication; once they reach the meeting for discussion they are already settled. Governor Liu Linghao, Deputy Secretary Li Mingyang, and Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Zhao Lingyun all expressed agreement.

Tang Bing said, "Cadre adjustments must firmly embed the ideal‑belief ballast, establish the correct talent‑selection wind‑vane, seize the lifeline of close contact with the masses, resolutely eliminate the pollution source of corruption, tighten the iron cage of discipline, and promote a pristine political ecology in Huayuan. Since there are no objections, we will pass unanimously, and the Organization Department shall report according to regulations, carry out the assessment procedures, and submit the results to the Provincial Standing Committee for deliberation."

After the meeting, Lu Fan walked out of the conference room side by side with Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Zhao Lingyun.

Zhao Lingyun whispered, "When you sit in the meeting, do you have any evening plans?"

Lu Fan replied, "I have some fine tea for you to taste, how about it? Want a drink? Whatever you arrange!"

Arriving at the office, Zhao Lingyun laughed, "Let me count, good fellow, twelve people moved, and you occupy five or six!"

Lu Fan laughed back, "The insignificant post leaders don't pay attention; it's mostly normal promotions—one is an external exchange assignment, two are internal adjustments within Nanyuan City, and only one involves a promotion."