Chapter 952: The New Secretary's Olive Branch!

Once the handshake ceremony concluded, the standard inauguration procedure began.

Jiang Anbang presided over the meeting.

Immediately following, Deputy Minister Zhai of the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department announced the decision.

Then, Shi Yao delivered her first inaugural address.

Tang Ye noticed that Shi Yao had meticulously designed the content of her speech.

It was confident yet not boastful, and the duration was not long.

She both affirmed the achievements Dayu County had made previously and precisely pointed out the areas for improvement.

She also provided a clear, explicit plan and commitment regarding the goals for her term.

"I hope that all the comrades present here will think with one heart and exert strength in one direction, to build a more beautiful tomorrow for Dayu."

Shi Yao's inaugural address ended quickly; there were no startling remarks in the speech.

Once the procedures were completed, Deputy Minister Zhai rose to take his leave.

The group saw Deputy Minister Zhai out of the County Party Committee Compound.

Immediately after, Jiang Anbang smiled and said, "Today, we have prepared a modest meal at the County Party Committee Reception House to welcome Deputy Minister Zhai and the delegation from the City Organization Department, and also to host a welcome banquet for Secretary Shi."

The dining hall was brightly lit, and the kitchen was a scene of busyness.

Shi Yao stood in the center of the stage to give a toast, and the banquet began immediately after.

Shi Yao wore a smile at the banquet table; whenever someone came to toast her, she greeted them enthusiastically.

Using the banquet as an opportunity, she secretly observed everyone, such as County Magistrate Jiang Anbang and Deputy Secretary Tang Ye.

Jiang Anbang's status in Dayu County was quite evident; from time to time, people would lean in to whisper in his ear.

As for Tang Ye, not many people surrounded him.

From Shi Yao's perspective, Jiang Anbang was her most important deputy, but he posed a threat to her control.

As for Tang Ye, he was a target she could win over.

Shi Yao's gaze fell on Tang Ye's face again, and she discovered that Tang Ye's gaze had met hers.

Her first reaction was: has Tang Ye been observing her the whole time?

Tang Ye rose naturally, walked toward Shi Yao, picked up his wine glass, and said softly, "Secretary Shi, welcome to Dayu County. Your arrival makes me feel that the pressure has suddenly eased. There is a lot of work starting up in Dayu County; when you find the time, I would like to report to you in detail."

Shi Yao nodded slightly, "Then let's set it for tomorrow morning. After the Standing Committee meeting, we will have a private chat."

Tang Ye said, "Very well, I'll finish this glass; please feel free to drink as you wish!"

Shi Yao gave a faint smile and also downed her glass of wine, even showing the bottom of the cup.

Tang Ye couldn't help but exclaim inwardly.

She is quite a bold female leader!

Jiang Anbang naturally saw this scene.

In truth, his feelings were quite complex.

No wonder Ou Xiye had told him before that he had tried to secure the position of County Party Secretary for him, but it had been rejected by those above.

Shi Yao's background was simply too strong; Jiang Anbang had no chance of winning in a competition against her.

Jiang Anbang knew clearly that Shi Yao's arrival was definitely a good thing for Dayu County, but he still felt somewhat aggrieved.

When Dayu was half-dead before, or even when it was being cyber-bullied, why didn't anyone come then?

Now that results had been achieved, all sorts of monsters and demons had appeared.

However, deep down, Jiang Anbang warned himself that if one cannot endure small matters, one will spoil great plans.

As long as he followed in Shi Yao's footsteps and did not act as a foil to her!

Once Dayu County achieved good results, he could, like Ou Xiye, use this opportunity to rise rapidly in his career.

The next morning, the County Party Committee Standing Committee meeting was convened.

At the meeting, it was Shi Yao's first time presiding; the first step was to coordinate and handle some legacy issues.

Although Shi Yao was young and had not worked at the grassroots level, her mind was agile and her logic was meticulous; she could often grasp the key points immediately, demonstrating a composed and capable side.

"Next is the discussion on the plan for the Yuyan Highway. The experts from the City Transportation Bureau have a preliminary design plan; we need to approve the design plan so that we can carry out the next steps of the work."

Tang Ye had seen the plan.

The design principles were fine, relying as much as possible on the original route to minimize costs.

The old highway was built along the mountains and had many curves.

After surveying, many sections needed to be straightened, two places required bridges, and one place required a tunnel to be bored.

The City Transportation Bureau had built many roads in recent years and had extensive experience in building mountain highways; there were no technical problems with building this road, the key was funding and land.

After some discussion, Shi Yao began to state her position.

"I agree in principle with the design plan from the Transportation Design Institute. Everyone's point of contention is mainly the issue of the tunnel and the viaduct; some comrades think the cost is too high, but I think our vision should be long-term, and we need to consider the issue of rationality more, rather than the issue of money."

Jiang Anbang couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Straightening the road, building bridges, and boring tunnels—it sounds easy, but it will increase the investment by at least two hundred million. Two hundred million yuan is nearly half of Dayu County's fiscal revenue for the last six months. Now we are not just a poverty-stricken household, we are going to become a major debtor."

Shi Yao insisted, "We must update our concepts. As long as we can get the money to be used in Dayu County and increase investment, we can try. Successfully opening up a development channel will naturally cause our ability to repay debts to rise with the tide."

Jiang Anbang thought to himself that the new secretary had a big appetite, "Raising funds is also a very difficult task; I have no way to raise that much money."

Shi Yao said confidently, "Where there is a will, there is a way!"

Executive Deputy County Magistrate Chen Qing watched the disagreement between Jiang Anbang and Shi Yao with cold eyes, thinking to himself that although the new County Party Secretary was a woman, she was truly fierce; at the very first Standing Committee meeting, she had already increased the intensity for County Magistrate Jiang.

County Magistrate Jiang had clearly shown his dissatisfaction.

In the future, it was highly probable that the two of them would not see eye to eye.

Next, he would have to consider how to find a suitable position for himself in the cracks.

Tang Ye also felt the assertiveness of the new secretary.

After she took office, she wanted to open up the situation as quickly as possible.

Building roads was the breakthrough point for political achievements she chose.

Shi Yao must have taken office with the answer to how to solve the two hundred million in fundraising.

However, standing from Jiang Anbang's perspective, the financial difficulties had to be stated.

Therefore, in principle, the point of conflict between the two lay in their different positions.

……

After the meeting ended, Tang Ye drank a cup of tea in his office before dialing Shi Yao's desk phone.

"Secretary Shi, are you free now?"

"Yes!"

Shi Yao had been waiting for Tang Ye to take the initiative to come find her.

A few minutes later, Tang Ye pushed open the door to her office.

He smelled a faint, elegant fragrance.

It was a natural floral scent, coming from a pot of spring plum in the corner.

Shi Yao's office had been rearranged; it looked no different from an ordinary office.

But in fact, observing the details, one could still see the characteristics of a female cadre.

Shi Yao handed Tang Ye a cup of tea.

Tang Ye took it with a smile and took a sip; besides the tea's aroma,

there was also a subtle fragrance, which should have been the scent of the hand cream on Shi Yao's hands.

Immediately, Tang Ye opened his notebook and reported to Shi Yao item by item on the progress of several important projects in Dayu County.

Shi Yao listened while taking notes.

She had already looked into these key projects!

"These projects are very forward-looking, especially the E-commerce related projects, but do you think that with Dayu County's existing foundation, we have any advantages?"

Tang Ye said, "If there is no advantage, then we create one. Many places haven't realized that this is an opportunity to overtake on a bend."

Shi Yao did not express her stance immediately, but instead asked, "Regarding the Yuyan Expressway, what are your thoughts?"

Tang Ye stated the ideas he had not brought up at the meeting.

"The main thing is to solve the loan problem, and I think there are two lines of thought.

First, to seek support from national policies that support impoverished counties;

Second, to take out loans from banks.

Secretary Shi, you understand the policies of the Development and Reform Commission and should have the relevant resources and connections."

Shi Yao thought to herself that Tang Ye was very smart and understood her way of operating.

"Regarding the funding issue, I will find a way to solve it.

However, I hope that at the leadership team meeting, I can clearly receive your support."

After Shi Yao finished saying this, she began to observe Tang Ye's reaction……

Tang Ye knew that the new secretary was extending an olive branch to him……