Chapter 583: Opportunity Arrives

Ten minutes later, Lu Fan got into the official car and sped toward the high‑speed rail station in Xingjun City.

At 10:30, the high‑speed train that Secretary Xiao Bin was on arrived. As soon as he got off, he saw Lu Fan.

After meeting, Xiao Bin whispered, "Let's go to the hotel first."

Lu Fan replied, "Secretary, the hotel has already been arranged, it's nearby. How many rooms do you need?"

"Two rooms. Don't worry about the rest."

After getting in the car, Xiao Bin said, "You've been making quite a splash lately; everyone is talking about Huayuan's public‑institution reform, and you have real guts!"

Lu Fan replied, "Facing the new situation and new requirements, public institutions generally suffer from unclear functional positioning, a mix of political and administrative duties, blurred lines between public and enterprise roles, inactive mechanisms, unreasonable resource allocation, low quality and efficiency, and weak supervision, all of which hinder the healthy development of public welfare. It is urgent to resolve these by categorically advancing institutional reform. Huayuan's reform has indeed made a firm decision; the reform of provincial‑level departments is wrapping up, and the city‑ and county‑level reforms have been fully launched. Our approach is 'first get in place, then straighten out; first operate, then perfect.' We estimate that by June we can establish the province‑wide institutional framework, and then improve it step by step."

Xiao Bin nodded and said, "Reform cannot be achieved in one fell swoop; problems will surface as we go, and we must fill the gaps. Lu Fan, this work has attracted national attention, and it is a huge opportunity for you. You must see it through successfully."

At the hotel, a few attendants returned to their rooms to rest, while Lu Fan kept Secretary Xiao Bin company for a chat.

"Secretary, would you like something to eat?"

"No need, I already ate this afternoon. Lu Fan, during this visit to Huayuan, don't mention it to anyone, including Tang Bing."

"Understood, Secretary, I will observe confidentiality discipline."

Xiao Bin suddenly asked, "Is there any connection between Tang Bing and Li Mingyang?"

Hearing that, Lu Fan was startled and replied honestly, "Secretary, I'm not very clear on that, but personally I think Secretary Tang and Li Mingyang cooperate politically, and there shouldn't be much entanglement over interests."

Xiao Bin said, "Many things can't be judged by appearances; Tang Bing's adjustment is imminent, and we must ensure there are no problems."

Lu Fan tentatively asked, "Secretary, is Li Mingyang's problem quite serious?"

Xiao Bin nodded and said, "We have some leads, and the nature is very vile. During his tenure in city, county and provincial governments, he acted arbitrarily, covertly paved roads, misused public resources for private gain, operated behind the scenes as a shadow, brokered platforms, colluded and built ladders, unilaterally made decisions in state‑owned enterprise project investments and equity acquisitions, acted recklessly, and amassed huge amounts of corruption. I'm here to conduct a comprehensive sweep of these corruption leads. Sigh, corruption in the engineering sector is rampant! Lu Fan, you have spent a long time at the grassroots and have rich experience; do you have any good methods or systems to eradicate this recurring corruption?"

Lu Fan thought for a moment and replied, "In the past twenty years, massive engineering projects have been launched at all levels and regions, which also created fertile ground for corruption. The construction transaction chain is long, the capital investment is huge, and the interests are tightly linked, making corruption easy to breed and its harm enormous and not to be underestimated. It not only severely damages the local or industry political ecology and the Party and government's image, but also raises the cost of restoring the political ecology. Especially when some leading cadres collude with contractors, forming interest‑exchange relationships that undermine market fairness and a normal business environment, leading to projects detached from reality, regulatory gaps, frequent accidents, and ultimately the siphoning of state assets and harm to the public."

Corruption in the engineering construction field often hides perpetrators' identities, constantly innovates its methods, uses family members as shields, and some even collude up and down, forming internal‑external joint schemes, which makes supervision harder. How to strengthen oversight, reinforce source‑level governance, and deepen both symptom and root treatment? I can't think of a better solution now; we can only improve and perfect the institutional mechanisms, lock power into a cage of limits, strengthen daily supervision, coordinate departments, investigate every case, use cases as warnings, and make an example to deter others. I rely on Nanyuan's big‑data supervision platform, using data matching to improve supervision quality and efficiency in construction, with some effect. In short, we must solidify political responsibility, adopt multiple measures, combine forces, enforce strict and continuous governance, decisively cut off the corrupt profit chain in construction, and fundamentally curb corruption."

Xiao Bin suddenly said, "Li Mingyang will be taken down or transferred sooner or later; if you have ideas, you can start moving them now!"

Lu Fan said gratefully, "Thank you, Secretary, for your concern!"

"We're both from Ningyang; I've watched your work over the years, and you must persist, just like Hong Tao, making the people's interests the starting point and ultimate goal of all work."

After chatting a while longer, Lu Fan again tentatively asked, "Secretary, I have a request: could you mentor Du Wenlong, the Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary of Nanyuan City?"

Xiao Bin laughed and said, "I just helped Hong Tao cultivate a Du Wen, and now you bring up Du Wenlong! I've heard of that comrade, so I'll take him under my wing, but only a lateral transfer, to a supervisory office as deputy director."

Being able to charge into the fray under Secretary Xiao Bin, what more do you need, a bicycle? Lu Fan hurriedly agreed on behalf of Du Wenlong.

At eleven o'clock, Lu Fan stood up to take his leave, saying, "Secretary, it's getting late, you've worked hard all day, please rest early. If there's any place I can be of service, just give the order at any time."

Xiao Bin said, "I'll first pull Du Wenlong out, the paperwork will follow later. This time I'm here for a secret investigation; I may stay a day or two, so you don't need to worry about me."

Back at the Standing Committee Hall, Lu Fan dialed Du Wenlong's number; after two rings, the call connected.

"Wenlong, still pulling overtime?"

"Yes, I've recently been covertly assessing the integrity of county secretaries and county heads; we can't lift them up and then have problems arise."

Lu Fan asked, "How's it going?"

"Overall it's good; some have flaws, but the issues aren't major. I plan to give them a tap to strengthen their self‑discipline and build a solid Integrity and Cleanliness defense line."

"I just talked with Secretary Xiao Bin, and I expect you'll be assigned to a case in the next couple of days, and later your work ties will be transferred; wrap up your current tasks as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Du Wenlong said happily, "Nanyuan is now breezy and upright; Discipline Inspection work is basically without challenge. Being able to handle cases with Secretary Xiao Bin is simply wonderful!"

"Indeed it's rare; you must seize the opportunity and plant your feet firmly there!"

Lu Fan checked the time, didn't go to disturb Grandfather, and lay on the bed to ponder by himself.

If I were to compete for the Deputy Secretary position, my three biggest rivals would be Peng Yongchang, the Party Committee Secretary of Xingjun City, Executive Deputy Huang Chongzhou, and Zhao Lingyun of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee; they all have longer seniority than me. Yet I am not without advantages—trillions of GDP and the ongoing institutional reform are dazzling achievements, and the three of them don't have such impressive records.

Those seeking promotion often involuntarily fall into internal friction and struggle, their hearts filled with hesitation and wandering, constantly weighing pros and cons, thoughts tangled like a knot, both body and mind exhausted—a most painful torment!

As dawn broke, Lu Fan dialed Li Lao's number.

Li Lao smiled and said, "Xiao Fan, is there something urgent?"

Lu Fan's voice was a bit hoarse as he said, "Grandfather, last night I met Secretary Zhang Xiao Bin; Li Mingyang is likely to be taken down, the Deputy Secretary spot will be vacant. Do you think I have a chance?"

Li Lao said firmly, "When opportunity arrives, seizing it is the real chance; regardless of hope, you must exert all effort to strive—that's indisputable. This Li Mingyang is selfish, his downfall is inevitable. Your top priority is to see the institutional reform done properly, to produce results, momentum, and experience; no one may become a roadblock or stumbling stone!"

"Alright, Grandfather, I know what to do. My competitors should be Zhao Lingyun, Huang Chongzhou, and Peng Yongchang."

Li Lao said, "The Deputy Secretary is a very important post; the competition isn't only within the province—ignore that, just focus on doing our own work. Xiao Fan, the institutional reform of Huayuan's public units is even more important to Tang Bing; she needs dazzling achievements, so you must learn to leverage strengths against challenges in your work!"

"Grandfather, I understand!"

Opportunity is fleeting; being a step ahead, a beat earlier, adds a marginal edge over others. Hence, Secretary Xiao Bin's early tip provides Lu Fan with tremendous help.

At ten in the morning, Secretary Tang Bing summoned a meeting to hear the progress of the public‑institution reform; Lu Fan made brief preparations and went to the secretary's office.

After meeting, Lu Fan gave a detailed report on each city's 'Reform Plan' and the convening of mobilization meetings, stating that the cities and counties will fully launch reforms this month, and the leading group's office will intensify supervision to ensure the province‑wide reform meets the Party Committee's set goals.

Secretary Tang asked, "What difficulties exist at present?"

Lu Fan thought and said, "Other cities are proceeding with reforms step by step, but Xingjun City seems less smooth; it's the only city in the province that hasn't held a mobilization meeting, and there's some resistance to reform. Comrade Yongchang has repeatedly pointed out that Xingjun's situation is special, personnel are hard to digest, and the reform cannot be achieved in one stroke, requiring gradual progress. So far, Xingjun's 'Reform Plan' has not been approved; it's been sent back twice."

Secretary Tang frowned and said, "Institutional reform inevitably involves cadres' promotions, demotions, and transfers. If other cities can push reforms forward, why is Xingjun special? Advancing reform is not only needed for the province's development but also reflects the aspirations of cadres and the masses, including leaders at all levels. Sacrificing personal interests for the greater reform picture is the proper mindset and realm for leaders. As a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, he should lead by exemplifying Party spirit, caring for the overall situation, observing discipline, and supporting, endorsing, and cooperating with reform."