Chapter 814: with translation of chapter title

Su Yang heard these words, his heart still felt warm and cozy.

Whether genuine or feigned, at least these few people are still on his side now.

Of course, the information they have is incomplete; at most they can think the newly arrived County Party Secretary is just like any other ordinary County Party Secretary.

These few people have already laid some groundwork, and with the current measures, the cadres below will also support them, which can be considered a force.

But if they truly found out that the newly arrived County Party Secretary also holds the Municipal Party Committee Secretary post and has tremendous influence and background, would they still be able to say such things then?

One would think Chen Bo should know some of this information.

Result, Chen Bo shook his head: "I'm not sure; I only know that several of them are from provincial government agencies. These people have little grassroots work experience; some are just here to gild their resumes, but some might not be easy to deal with. We must definitely ask County Magistrate Su to hold up this banner for us."

Su Yang chuckled and said: "You really think too highly of me; someone like me, who's counted from the back in the standing committee, might not even be looked at straight in the eye."

After the meeting dispersed, Su Yang plunged back into a tense busy schedule.

Originally these tasks required several people, even involving many units, but now the situation doesn't allow him to dawdle.

If so many people take office, in the standing committee some issues might not pass, some things might not be done as he wishes; he must seize every moment.

Within three days, the Transportation Bureau and Finance Bureau have already submitted the relevant proposals.

Su Yang took a look; it was basically as he imagined, except he didn't expect the road renovation to cost so much money.

Just the renovation and widening of the old roads already amount to several tens of millions, and adding the Yingbin Dadao to be built pushes the total over 150 million.

He hardly dares to think about the expressway, so he still has to go to the province.

But the connections he can use are all out in the open, and he has already approached Vice Provincial Governor Huang more than once. For now, although he gained the upper hand in this round of maneuvering against Governor Zhao, his other work might be hampered.

Although he is only a grassroots cadre, he also knows how powerful a local bigwig can be when he throws his weight around.

Before, he could still make use of his connection with Vice Provincial Governor Huang to speak up in the Finance Department or the Transport Department, but now, if Governor Zhao merely coughs, those people might not be so favorable toward him anymore.

At most they'd just follow procedure, meaning there's basically no hope for either getting money or building the expressway.

But since the words have already been spoken, this matter cannot be left undone.

Moreover, building roads is indeed beneficial to the Common People; they're watching eagerly, and it's impossible to just shout a slogan and drop it—how is this different from the slogans they mocked during meetings?

After thinking it over, he dialed Qiao Yin Yuan's number.

Qiao Yin Yuan's side quickly picked up the phone: "Oh, County Magistrate Su, are you missing your aunt? It's been a few days without hearing from you; I thought since you became Vice County Magistrate you wouldn't acknowledge me."

"Or did you take advantage of us and then disappear there, playing hide‑and‑seek? I can tell you, some of your projects are still under construction; even though you're gone, I can shut them down with a single word—do you believe me?"

Su Yang said: "My aunt, how dare I? I haven't even had time to show my filial piety to you; I've just been tangled up in all kinds of county affairs lately, unable to get away, so I'm not specially calling just to pay my respects."

Qiao Yin Yuan giggled and said: "Come on, you know me—if there were nothing, would you call me? If there's something, just say it directly."

Su Yang, having been called out by her words, saw no need to pretend politeness: "Aunt, you've probably heard about the situation in our county. Now it's truly a case of myriad neglected affairs awaiting revival—on one hand we're conducting investment promotion and building an industrial park; on the other hand we also need the corresponding supporting facilities. Water and electricity we can naturally handle, but there's a hard problem: the roads."

"The widening and hardening of our county's roads can still be managed with some struggle, but when it comes to development, to the growth of enterprises after they settle, and to contributing to our county's economic development, we have no choice but to consider building an expressway from Lieshan Xian to Jinzhou."

"To be honest, Lieshan Xian has these years been immersed in false prosperity, never even considering a diversified economic model; day after day they only know how to fight for power and profit, only knowing how to exploit the common people."

"You can hardly imagine that our Lieshan Xian is actually one of the few county seats without an expressway; if that's really the case, few large enterprises would be willing to take root here."

Qiao Yin Yuan didn't let him finish before cutting him off: "Do you think you're crazy? I won't go into the related approval procedures, but do you know how much money a single expressway costs?"

"From your county to Jinzhou, there's no expressway passing through; building one directly would entail an even greater cost, and some places inevitably require bridges and tunnels."

"According to the lowest standard, each kilometer costs at least 20 million; you'd need at least 100 kilometers, which is a full 2 billion. Do you think your Transport Department could have that much money, or do you think the province would give you such a large project?"

"I've worked in infrastructure for many years; for a project like this, others usually start the application process two years in advance, then raise funds everywhere, and only then proceed to actual evaluation and approval—even the fastest takes over a year."

"These might not be the core issue; the problem is that as the local government, even for an expressway you'd have to put up at least 20% to 30% of the funds—can your county's finance come up with several hundred million? Moreover, there's a saying I'm sure you've heard: "Those who kill and set fires wear golden belts, while those who build bridges and pave roads leave no corpses.""

"Although this sounds like underworld slang, the words are rough but the reasoning is sound. You're merely a Vice County Magistrate on the standing committee; even after the procedures are completed and the project officially approved, it's uncertain whether construction can actually start—you might not even be in the county by then."

"In the end, the ones who will actually gain political credit from this expressway are the County Party Secretary and the County Magistrate; you're just stirring up trouble here for nothing—it's pure thankless labor."

"If you mess this up, your behavior will make the county's other leading officials think you're stealing the spotlight and acting self‑important; any slip‑up will definitely bring you a torrent of criticism, so I advise you to think it through clearly."