Chapter 414: The Tool Man

"What?"

Shen Mingcheng stood up abruptly, his expression shifting instantly from anticipation to shock.

"Secretary Song, you must be joking! Tianling County has been doing everything in its power to compete for this project. On what grounds are you not giving it to us? We completed our economic targets for the first half of the year, leaving Suiyuan County far behind!"

"Comrade Mingcheng, calm down!" A flash of displeasure crossed Song Weiping's eyes. "This is the result reached after multi-faceted research by leaders and experts at both the provincial and municipal levels."

"I cannot accept this! Why choose Suiyuan?" Shen Mingcheng asked angrily.

Song Weiping sighed deeply. "As far as I know, Suiyuan put in a great deal of effort for this project. You may have forgotten one key point. The Hanxing Group rectification project was initially submitted to the province by Mayor Jiang Jing, and who was the primary author of that project proposal?"

Shen Mingcheng's eyes were full of confusion. "Who was it?"

Song Weiping shook his head inwardly.

This Tianling Party Secretary probably hadn't even grasped the background of his competitor.

"Mayor Jiang Jing's former Secretary, named Tang Ye. He was recently transferred to Suiyuan County as Deputy County Magistrate through a public selection process, and he happens to be in charge of industry. Furthermore, Suiyuan just secured national-level green industry guidance funds, which is a significant bonus."

"Tang Ye?" Shen Mingcheng stared at Song Weiping in disbelief.

He was actually the key figure!

What qualifications did he have to be a key figure!

In his eyes, Tang Ye was nothing more than a tool.

In his impression, Tang Ye had always deliberately curried favor with him, his speech always carrying a hint of sycophancy, and he had even repeatedly emphasized that Suiyuan was just there to make up the numbers.

Now it seemed he had been played by him.

Suiyuan had always been the biggest rival.

Yet he had focused his attention on others.

This kid's craftiness was far too deep!

Although he knew one shouldn't trust anyone, he had still experienced the treachery of the world through Tang Ye.

"You perhaps don't understand him." Song Weiping, unaware of the familial relationship between Shen Mingcheng and Du Chengfeng, continued, "His father-in-law is the Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, Du Chengfeng. Han Guangyao has gained a surprise move this time, relying on Tang Ye to secure the Hanxing project. Actually, Secretary Zhou was originally hesitant, as Tianling's foundation is better. But at the critical moment, the problems at the Dongfeng Factory were exposed..."

Shen Mingcheng hurriedly defended himself: "The Dongfeng Factory is a mess left behind by my predecessor; if we are to trace the source, the former Party Secretary should be blamed."

Was Shen Mingcheng trying to push the responsibility onto Du Chengfeng?

Du Chengfeng had left behind some loose ends, but he had also left him many points for political achievement to explode!

Song Weiping frowned upon hearing this.

These words were far too lacking in substance.

"No one said you should take the blame; it is your way of handling problems that is the issue. The Suiyuan Industrial Park was also a mess left by the predecessor, yet they handled it so beautifully? Moreover, Suiyuan involves dozens of enterprises; the situation is much more complex than in Tianling. Once the Municipal Party Committee compared them, the decision was naturally made."

To put it plainly.

Both counties received a test paper before the project landed:

Suiyuan turned in a perfect paper!

Tianling's questions were simpler, yet they didn't pass!

Which was superior and which was inferior was clear at a glance!

Song Weiping patted Shen Mingcheng on the shoulder and comforted him: "Tianling still has many key projects in hand; your focus should be on the implementation of those projects. As long as you do those projects well, it is enough to support Tianling's rapid development for the next three to five years."

Shen Mingcheng took a deep breath, suppressing the resentment in his heart.

"Secretary Song, I lost my composure today. After working for so long only to end up with nothing, I couldn't turn my mind around for a moment. But please rest assured, Tianling will definitely follow the requirements of the Municipal Party Committee and make every task more solid."

Walking out of Building No. 1 of the Municipal Party Committee, Shen Mingcheng climbed into the back seat of his sedan and slammed his fist hard against the backrest in front of him.

The driver was startled!

Shen Mingcheng ordered in a low voice, "Drive!"

Although the thorny problem of the Dongfeng Factory was temporarily resolved, he couldn't feel happy at all.

The Hanxing Group project, for which he had run around with all his might since taking office, had now become a cooked duck that had flown away.

He suddenly remembered that he had hinted to Tang Ye many times, inviting him to join the Tianling County camp, promising that he would do everything to help him, promote him, and cultivate him.

Thinking about it now, if Tang Ye had chosen to defect to him back then, the Hanxing project would likely have been a sure thing long ago.

He had visited the Du Residence quite often during this period, but he never expected to be backstabbed by the Du Family!

The more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt; his throat suddenly grew hot, and he subconsciously raised his hand to cover his mouth.

When he opened his palm, he saw a patch of glaring, bright red blood.

He finally knew that the allusion in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* about Zhuge Liang infuriating Zhou Yu three times was not fiction.

When anger strikes the heart, one really can vomit blood!

At the same time, under the guidance of Du Chengfeng, Han Guangyao and Tang Ye walked into the Municipal Party Secretary's office.

Zhou Chengwu took off his black-rimmed glasses, a smile appearing on his face, and pushed a document toward Han Guangyao.

The moment he took the document, Han Guangyao's fingertips were actually trembling slightly.

The title page of the document was clearly imprinted with the gold-stamped logo of Hanxing Group.

Settling in Suiyuan County!

The ink of these few words seemed to shimmer with luster.

This major project, which exceeded expectations, was both within and outside of his anticipation!

Han Guangyao finally calmed down from his excitement, his tone filled with deep emotion: "Secretary Zhou, thank you for the Municipal Party Committee's care and support for Suiyuan. We will definitely go all out to implement this project well and will never let down your expectations."

Zhou Chengwu looked at Han Guangyao and solemnly explained: "I am very reassured to hand the project to Suiyuan. You have put in a great deal of effort to fight for the project, finding ways to overcome difficulties. More importantly, the new leadership team in Suiyuan has demonstrated strong fighting power. I hope you will continue the current momentum of forging ahead, let Suiyuan regroup, and once again become the industrial benchmark of Hanzhou."

A firm light flashed in Han Guangyao's eyes, his tone resonant: "Please rest assured, Secretary Zhou, we will definitely do our utmost and strive to achieve our goals."

Zhou Chengwu turned to look at Tang Ye and instructed: "Tang Ye, you have been following this project for a long time and are relatively familiar with the situation; the specific execution work will be left to you. If you encounter any problems, communicate with the city at any time."

Tang Ye immediately sat up straight and responded sternly: "Understood, Secretary Zhou."

Zhou Chengwu wore a smile as he continued to lay out the plans: "Next, we will discuss the unveiling ceremony for the National Environmental Protection Industrial Demonstration Base. Both the Mayor of Chaoyang and I will be in attendance, and the province will also send important leaders; it is currently confirmed that Provincial Governor Fu will participate. You must coordinate closely with the municipal Reception Office to ensure there are no mishaps in the reception process."

"In addition, the Central Television station will send a Reporter to conduct interviews, and provincial and municipal media will carry out promotional coverage; even central media will pay attention. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you must grasp it firmly."

Han Guangyao's expression was grave as he solemnly promised: "Please rest assured, Secretary Zhou, we will certainly do a solid job with all the preparatory work."

Zhou Chengwu broke from his usual brevity and added an emphasis: "The unveiling ceremony is by no means mere formalism; its core significance lies in strengthening the effectiveness of our publicity through the ceremony and expanding the influence of the demonstration base."

Tang Ye and Han Guangyao walked out of the office.

Not until they were seated inside the car.

Han Guangyao still had not recovered his senses.

Hanxing's new factory is settling in Suiyuan!

This is a project that can cause a huge sensation nationwide.

This will create many job positions.

The existing problems of the Industrial Park will all be solved with ease!