Chapter 40: Promoted to First Deputy Town Mayor!

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of November, and the final decision regarding the handling of Xu Yiping and the others had been reached.

The County Commission for Discipline Inspection issued a notice regarding the removal of Xu Yiping from his post.

Besides this, Xia Haiqiao was also caught in the crossfire.

The County Party Committee Organization Department announced the appointments: Chen Zhiyuan to serve as Party Committee Secretary, and Wang Kaicheng to serve as Town Party Committee Deputy Secretary and Acting Town Mayor.

Xu Yiping and Xia Haiqiao vacated two positions, which were filled by two Deputy Section Level Officials from the county bureau to cover the vacancies.

At the subsequent Party Group Leadership division-of-labor meeting, Chen Zhiyuan announced the division of duties for the leadership members.

"Comrade Tang Ye has outstanding work capabilities!

After communicating with the leaders of the higher-level departments, it has been decided that he shall serve as a Party Committee Member and Deputy Town Mayor, responsible for economic development work such as finance, fiscal taxation, industry, and the service sector."

Once these words were spoken, everyone was astonished.

Especially Cao Debiao, who had been determined to secure the position of Party Committee Member.

Xia Haiqiao had originally been a strong candidate for Party Committee Member; now that he had left, it should have been Cao Debiao's turn according to the order of succession.

He had looked into the two people filling the posts from the county, and since they had previously served as deputies in the county bureau, he felt his own chances of winning the competition were superior.

He never expected that Tang Ye would ultimately overtake him.

Tang Ye also did not expect that he would be chosen as a Party Committee Member.

At the time, Chen Zhiyuan had mentioned it to him, but Tang Ye had not taken it too much to heart.

Don't look at it as just adding the term "Party Committee Member," but the nature of the position was completely different.

There were four Deputy Town Mayors in Pinghu; with the status of Party Committee Member, one became the First Deputy Town Mayor—in some places also called the Executive Deputy Town Mayor—meaning that when the Town Mayor was not present, the First Deputy Town Mayor called the shots.

Tang Ye was a Seconded Official, yet he was actually being arranged in this core position.

Upon careful reflection, it was actually quite reasonable.

The achievements Tang Ye had made in the position of Deputy Town Mayor were plain for all to see.

In the contest between Chen Zhihua and Xu Yiping, Tang Ye had played a key role, and Chen Zhihua needed Tang Ye to enter the Party Committee to serve as his right-hand man.

The meeting was long and tedious.

Tang Ye held his fountain pen and wrote rustlingly in his notebook:

"If you want to thrive in officialdom, never forget to bring two things before going out: one is a mask, and the other is a lie. Without these two props, you will not be able to take a single step on the official path!"

"In doing things, one must calm the mind, take rigor as the foundation and solid work as the base, put effort into the details, advance step by step, fight steadily, not speculate, not take shortcuts, not fear hardship, and not play to the gallery."

"If you want to make a name for yourself, you must have a heart as vast as the sea; if you are petty and vindictive, you won't even be able to manage being a Village Chief..."

The leader from the County Party Committee Organization Department thought Tang Ye was taking notes seriously, and a gratified smile appeared on his face.

This young official was so earnest and so focused; he truly was a rare and excellent steed!

The meeting adjourned.

Just as Wang Kaicheng returned to his office, there was a knock at the door, and he called out, "Come in."

Deputy Town Mayor Cao Debiao walked in with a face full of resentment.

Wang Kaicheng knew Cao Debiao's grievance and said with a smile, "Old Cao, you don't seem to be in a very good mood!"

Cao Debiao sat on the sofa and said gloomily, "I've worked hard in Pinghu for so many years; even if I haven't made great contributions, I've put in the effort, right? That guy Chen Zhihua is too narrow-minded. Back when he was down on his luck, didn't I just argue with him a few times? Now he's directly promoting a young official who has been seconded for less than three months; isn't this just purely disgusting?"

Wang Kaicheng tossed a cigarette to Cao Debiao, lit one for himself, took a deep drag, and said slowly, "Haste makes waste."

Cao Debiao looked at Wang Kaicheng strangely, "What do you mean?"

Wang Kaicheng patiently analyzed it with him, "Why was Chen Zhihua able to pull Xu Yiping down from his horse?"

Cao Debiao puffed on his cigarette and frowned, "Blind luck, running into the power struggle between Du Chengfeng and Gao Zhanjun for County Party Secretary."

Wang Kaicheng shook his head, "You're wrong. The key lies with Tang Ye. Tang Ye is no ordinary Seconded Official. How many Seconded Officials can bring in investment projects worth hundreds of millions all at once?"

Cao Debiao was so angry he bared his teeth, "I know the guy surnamed Tang has a deep background, but he's blocking my path; I can't stand it!"

Wang Kaicheng glared at Cao Debiao irritably, his thumb skillfully flicking his prayer beads, "One must have foresight. Tang Ye's secondment period is only one year. Chen Zhihua was able to play the fool for four years; can't you wait even one year? Tang is definitely going to move up; you just wait a year and reap the rewards."

Cao Debiao suddenly realized, "Now that you put it that way, I feel much better."

After Cao Debiao left, Wang Kaicheng suppressed his smile, his eyes filled with depth.

Who could have imagined that Xu Yiping would collapse so quickly?

The once-arrogant Xu Clan forces had also become like rats crossing the street!

Analyzing the cause, Tang Ye's arrival had broken the original balance.

If Xu Yiping had shown goodwill toward Tang Ye from the beginning, his end might not have been so miserable.

As for Chen Zhihua, he was relatively wise.

Wang Kaicheng believed in Feng Shui and destiny.

Tang Ye belonged to the type of person who possessed good fortune.

Privately, he liked to study the almanac.

He had a theory that ordinary people did not know.

Whether it was the national exam or the Provincial Examination, according to the standards of choosing an auspicious day in the almanac, this day was a day "unsuitable for anything," but the more it was a day unsuitable for anything, the more it could filter out people with good luck.

As for Tang Ye being the Top Scorer in the Provincial Examination, that was a dragon among men who had stood out from hundreds of thousands of elites; he belonged to the heaven-chosen, a child of fortune.

When working with such a person, one must never be antagonistic, but one could appropriately borrow their luck to influence one's own fortune.

Once the appointment came down, Tang Ye immediately felt the attitudes of the people around him change.

Those who used to take a detour when they saw him now would respectfully call out, "Good day, Town Mayor Tang!" when they saw him.

Looking at the fawning smiles, Tang Ye inevitably felt uncomfortable.

What he was most uncomfortable with was Wang Kaicheng's attitude toward him.

The speed at which he changed his face was astonishing; for the past few days, he had been arranging drinking parties and asking Tang Ye to accompany him.

At the table, patting Tang Ye on the shoulder, Wang Kaicheng took the initiative to show goodwill to Tang Ye: he had wanted to get to know him before but couldn't find the right time; from now on, they were all one family and must work together to contribute to the development of Pinghu, and so on.

Tang Ye felt that before, he had been like a stray dog that no one bothered to look at twice.

Suddenly, overnight, he had become a sweat-blood horse that everyone looked up to.

When he went to eat wontons in the morning, the proprietress actually insisted he didn't need to pay; it seemed she already knew Tang Ye's identity, but Tang Ye naturally didn't take advantage of this, threw the money into the box, and left without looking back.

The proprietress chased after him for over ten meters but couldn't catch up to Tang Ye, muttering to herself, "He's actually quite a good person; eh, how did he disappear in the blink of an eye?"

Fearing he would be caught, Tang Ye turned into a corner, only to find it was the back door of the vegetable market's restroom, and he was instantly overwhelmed by the pungent stench.

Afterward, he walked around the area and discovered that the sanitary conditions in Pinghu Town had serious problems, especially with plastic trash bags and broken liquor bottles scattered in every corner.

He finally saw the true face of the impoverished town clearly: the dilapidated streets were lined with old brick and tile houses, some still unfinished, and the road surface was pitted and bumpy, with stagnant water in many places, from which a foul odor constantly wafted.

Returning to the office, Tang Ye found Chen Zhihua.

"Secretary, I just took a walk around the market town; the sanitary environment is extremely poor. The quality of the environment is like a person's face—even if you don't use high-end cosmetics or wear designer clothes, you should at least wash your face with clean water every day and keep your clothes clean."

Chen Zhihua nodded slightly, "I have noticed this as well. I wanted to improve the environmental sanitation before, but while Xu Yiping was in office, he sought only to avoid mistakes rather than achieve success. Later, I will have the Comprehensive Office of Housing and Governance take charge of the sanitary environment. We will increase the budget and hire more environmental workers."

Tang Ye thought for a moment and said softly, "I suggest we start with the cadres. Starting tomorrow, all Party and government cadres must participate in sweeping the streets, striving to give Pinghu Town a brand-new look within a month."

Chen Zhihua understood what Tang Ye meant.

If one cannot even sweep a single town, how can one sweep the world?

It might seem like formalism, but it was actually about rectifying the spirit and outlook, starting with government staff and gradually influencing and permeating the bones of all the townspeople!

Chen Zhihua announced this decision at the Party Committee meeting, which aroused the anger of many.

Especially Cao Debiao, who cursed up a storm in the office immediately after the meeting!

A new official's first three fires, and venting the grievances suffered over the past few years—that was understandable!

The group in the Government had grown accustomed to living in comfort, and Chen Zhihua was actually making them sweep the streets early in the morning!

You can't just bully people like this, can you?

It was said that it was that dog Tang Ye who came up with this rotten idea!

"At the joint Party and government meeting, I will let Tang Ye know what it means to be 'the older the ginger, the spicier it gets'!" "Data during the new book period is very important; everyone, please leave comments and help out—bowing in thanks!"