Chapter 592

The position of Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee is more awkward than that of the Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Government, because the Provincial Party Committee currently has only one full-time Deputy Secretary; if the Deputy Secretary-General cannot directly serve the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary, he can only liaise with other Standing Committee members. But other Standing Committee members each have their own entourage "in attendance," while the Deputy Secretary-General can only coordinate, not directly serve, so his speaking weight is light. In contrast, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Government is different: each can keep close to the leaders, often speaking on behalf of the Deputy Provincial Governor on routine matters, carrying significant speaking weight in the Deputy Governor's portfolio, and moreover the departments under the Deputy Governor are more numerous.

Put plainly, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee is a senior secretary, a high‑level secretary. If the leaders trust you, your status, power and influence are high; if the top leaders do not trust you, you can only read newspapers, drink tea, and sit on a cold bench—this is unlike other departments. For example, a Deputy Minister of the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department will always be assigned a portfolio, whether it be organization, Party building, or cadres, etc., and within his own "small plot of land" he enjoys considerable autonomy.

With the transfer of the Provincial Party Committee Secretary of Jiaozuo, there are now only three Deputy Secretaries‑General: Deputy Secretary‑General and Director of the Provincial Party Committee Policy Research Office Yang Fei, Deputy Secretary‑General and Director of the Provincial Party Committee Reform Office Chen Xi, and Qi Shengyin. Their gazes coincidentally turned toward the post of Director of the Provincial Party Committee General Office, because some Provincial Party Committee Secretaries do not also hold the General Office directorship, while the Deputy Secretary‑General who does hold that post is the First Deputy Secretary‑General, and promotion and being entrusted with important responsibilities naturally come first.

Qi Shengyin gave a detailed report on the situation of the Provincial Party Committee General Office: total staffing 625, of which administrative staffing 259, public institution staffing 366, including 228 retirees. It has 16 functional divisions and 12 public‑institution affiliates directly under the office, namely the Provincial Party Committee Supervision Office, Secretariat, Documents and Telecommunications Office, Comprehensive Division One, Comprehensive Division Two, Comprehensive Division Three, Information Office, Confidential Communications and Transport Office, Administration and Finance Office, Office of Security, Personnel Office, etc.; Comprehensive Division One serves the Secretary, and Comprehensive Division Two serves the Deputy Secretary.

After staying in the office for a while, Lu Fan went to Secretary Wang Jingchen's office for a courtesy visit.

Seeing Lu Fan enter, Secretary Wang Jingchen gave him full courtesy, not only rising to greet him but also personally brewing tea.

After sitting down, Secretary Wang Jingchen laughed and said, "Working with such an outstanding young cadre like you makes me feel at ease! I plan to spend two weeks going down to learn about Huayuan's situation; you just keep the home front secure."

Lu Fan replied with a smile, "Secretary, I am young and lack leadership experience; there is still much I need to learn and improve. If there are any oversights, please point them out and correct them promptly, Secretary."

"Don't be overly modest," he said. "Looking across the country, I see no one who does better than you! A few days ago I reported work to Secretary Hong Tao, and he specifically mentioned you, his words full of appreciation. Working together is a rare affinity; let us join hands, be of one heart and virtue, move in the same direction, and spare no effort to handle Huayuan's affairs well."

"I will certainly, under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee, serve well and coordinate well with the Secretary's work!"

Secretary Wang Jingchen said, "Your division of labor remains unchanged: you are responsible for the daily work of the Provincial Party Committee, chiefly overseeing Party building, cadre organization, spiritual civilization, social management, and institutional reform, coordinating the work of the province's four sets of leadership teams, and concurrently serving as president of the Provincial Party Committee Party School and dean of the Provincial Administration Institute."

"All right, Secretary, I will follow the organization's arrangements."

Looking at the current situation of the provinces, aside from a few ethnic autonomous areas that need to appropriately increase the number of deputy secretaries, all provinces implement the "one top, two deputies" secretary configuration; the full‑time deputy secretary is the highest deputy post in a province and is often called the "chief deputy."

In practice, full‑time deputy secretaries are not "exclusive"; most hold multiple posts, occupying various key positions. Several belong to the "one full‑time, many concurrent" category: some concurrently serve as secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Education Work Commission, some as secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, some as party secretary of important cities within the province, and are only half a step away from a provincial‑ministerial‑level leadership post.

Lu Fan asked for instructions: "Secretary, do you have any specific directions regarding the secretary?"

Secretary Wang Jingchen thought a moment and said, "Let the head of the Information Office, Wang Tian, try it first; if unsuitable we'll adjust. I plan to select the Provincial Party Committee Secretary-General from within the province; as the Organization Department Head, do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

Lu Fan smiled slightly and replied, "Secretary, I won't overstep; on the candidate for Secretary‑General I will stay highly consistent with you." This position is not for others to point fingers at, even if it is a superior department, they will fully respect Secretary Wang Jingchen's opinion.

Secretary Wang Jingchen added, "I will promptly look for candidates. Lu Fan, I have recently examined Huayuan's economic structure; Nanyuan is 'outstanding alone,' and you are the chief contributor. It can be said that over the past two years Huayuan has relied on Nanyuan to keep its image; without Nanyuan's extraordinary growth, Huayuan would surely fall into the bottom five, which deserves our heightened attention! This shows that Huayuan faces many problems in economic development—inaccurate positioning, unclear goals, muddled thinking, impractical measures, weak capability. You are an expert in economic work; I have an idea: let you cooperate with Governor Linghao to take charge of overall economic work."

After a moment's thought, Lu Fan said, "Secretary, being in office, one should plan one's duties, bear responsibility, and accomplish tasks; if I have a good idea, I will certainly propose it to the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Government, and the comrades of Chongzhou, contributing my share to Huayuan's economic development." Not meddling in affairs outside one's post, and since I am not a blockhead, running to interfere in the Provincial Government's work and deliberately creating trouble—Secretary Wang Jingchen is really no pushover!

Secretary Wang Jingchen shifted the topic and said, "Some leadership posts in the Provincial Party Committee General Office are vacant; as the leader in charge, please promptly identify candidates, and once the Secretary‑General is in place, quickly staff them."

"All right, Secretary, I will implement it promptly."

"Count the vacant provincial‑managed cadre positions and the leading cadres who have reached retirement age this year; important leadership posts must not remain vacant for long, otherwise the normal operation of the party and government organs will be affected," Secretary Wang Jingchen instructed.

"Okay, I basically have mature materials ready; I'll send them over this afternoon for you to review, Secretary."

While they were chatting, Deputy Secretary‑General Yang Fei came in to report that Governor Liu Linghao had arrived, and Lu Fan stood up to yield his seat.

Back in the office, Lu Fan pondered; it was obvious that Deputy Secretary‑General Yang Fei and Information Office Director Wang Tian had already lined up their sides.

Not long after, the head of Comprehensive Division Two, Guo Wen, came to "pay his respects," Lu Fan gave a few casual replies and sent him away.

Comprehensive Division Two is dedicated to serving the Deputy Secretary, but Guo Wen is a person promoted by the fallen Li Mingyang, and he is not within Lu Fan's personnel considerations.

After a while, Deputy Secretary‑General and Deputy Director of the Provincial Party Committee Reform Office Chen Xi came to report on work.

Lu Fan was relatively familiar with him, because Chen Xi is a member of the Reform Leading Group and has been quite cooperative in the institutional reform of public institutions.

To be able to "survive" in this department, none of them is a mediocrity.

After setting down the tea leaves, Chen Xi beamed and said, "Working under the Secretary's leadership is something the comrades have long looked forward to; it is truly what everyone hopes for! This is a bit of 'Pu'er' I picked up while studying elsewhere recently—it's not expensive, but the taste is good; Secretary, please don't disdain it."

Lu Fan laughed and replied, "I just enjoy drinking tea; you can put it down."

"Secretary, if you have any instructions at work, please feel free to issue them at any time; I will keep a clear mind, exert myself fully, and unswervingly implement and carry out your directives!" Chen Xi had no alternative: on one hand, Deputy Secretary‑General Yang Fei had already aligned himself with Secretary Wang Jingchen; on the other hand, he is a direct descendant of Tang Bing.

Sometimes it's not that you want to join a faction; the faction seeks you out. But if you have no faction, you are a "motherless child"—grandmother doesn't dote, uncle doesn't love, good things never come your way, and when someone is needed to "fill the gap," you are the first to come to mind.

"Hardship and adversity shape jade. Chen Xi, leading cadres must place entrepreneurship and hard work at the forefront, always retain that tenacious spirit, preserve the fighting spirit, endure hardship and labor diligently, strive vigorously, and endeavor to be the fighters who overcome tough obstacles, not be 'mud Buddhas' who fear wind and rain." Lu Fan could not fail to understand Chen Xi's meaning, but he did not directly accept it, for he still needed to weigh words and observe deeds, and good and evil will become evident.

"Thank you for your guidance, Secretary; as the saying goes, 'a long road tests a horse's strength, time reveals a person's heart'—I will certainly not let you down."

Chen Xi had just left when the head of Comprehensive Division Three, Hou Wenwei, entered; he used to be responsible for coordinating with the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department, but the Organization Department has a Secretary‑General and an office director, so there was no chance for him to "exert his function."

After setting down the tea leaves, Hou Wenwei said respectfully, "Secretary, at last I can carry out work under your direct leadership. In this year of serving the Secretary, I have benefited greatly, felt many emotions, gained deep insights, and feel I have improved a lot. If you do not disdain me, I would like to go to Comprehensive Division Two to work, serving the Secretary's work."

Lu Fan replied, "I have just arrived and still need to familiarize myself with the situation for a period; moreover, the Secretary‑General is not yet in place. Little Hou, I am quite familiar with your circumstances; at work you must clearly recognize 'who I am, for whom I do it, and on whom I rely,' always placing observance and maintenance of political discipline and rules first, and placing high‑quality completion of work tasks first."

"Please rest assured, Secretary; I will always remain loyal, clean, and responsible, uphold integrity in governance, practice pragmatic dedication, and high‑quality finish every task you assign me."

As they were speaking, the Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Zhao Lingyun pushed the door open and entered, smiling and saying, "Secretary Lu, I'm here to report for duty."

Hou Wenwei hurriedly returned the greeting, sensibly withdrew and left.

Sitting on the sofa, Zhao Lingyun said, "I was preparing to go to Secretary Wang Jingchen's office to sign in, but the office said Governor Liu Linghao was inside, so I came first to you to 'punch the clock.'"

Lu Fan laughed and replied, "Isn't it all the same? Just a different office."

"How could it be the same? What a joke—you, as Deputy Secretary, are a Provincial Party Committee leader, while we Standing Committee members are merely members of the leadership team; worlds apart, so don't try to give me a hard time in the future!"