Chapter 873: A Handy Saboteur

Jiang Tao, who set down the phone, couldn't help but let a smile appear at the corner of his mouth.

Then he said to Qi Guohui, who was sitting opposite him, "It seems I really guessed right; our County Magistrate Su truly is that especially responsible leader, you could even call him a doer."

"At the standing committee meeting it was just decided to let him take full responsibility; originally we thought that when money was needed later we could force him to go to the bank for a loan to solve the problem, but it turned out he seemed to have anticipated this step already."

"Moreover, he applied for the loan under the guise of planting and breeding; guess how much he wants? He opened with three hundred million, really bold. And guess how the bank replied? The loan is possible, and the bank now has a special support loan with ultra‑low interest. But the limit is only 5 million; take it or leave it."

After speaking, the two burst into laughter. Qi Guohui said, "Honestly, that's not enough; you should have called us in advance so we could go see him eat his words."

"Does he really think that being in the county lets him control everything? What kind of place is the bank? The bank doesn't take local government orders; who does he think he is?"

"And with this kind of loan, the money we lend out here is also used elsewhere. Fine, this good thing can ease some of my frustration."

"If later you don't sign off on the Finance Bureau's money, blocking its disbursement, and the bank refuses the loan, then I wonder what he'll do."

"The shortfall here can easily reach hundreds of millions; even if he has some connections at the provincial level, we can't just indulge him and allocate funds at a whim."

"So then, won't these projects have to stop? When he's the direct person in charge, if the Common People don't curse his ancestors eighteen generations, you can ask me."

Jiang Tao also laughed heartily: "Su Yang is truly oblivious to the limits of his power; County Magistrate Zhao and I have already taken office, yet he still thinks he's running the whole county's work, and so far he hasn't even come to report to us."

"His behavior and conduct are completely immature; if we don't teach him how to be a person, when he leaves Lieshan Xian in the future, people will mock our Lieshan Xian officials for not knowing how to be officials."

"However, we can't keep this stuck forever, so this time we'll give him a little squeeze; didn't you want to assign a Political Commissar to the Public Security Bureau earlier?"

"It fits perfectly to use this as leverage; I don't think he'll stay defiant, and once we've squeezed enough, we'll discuss the loan again."

After speaking, the two burst into another round of laughter, seeming to think they've done a great deed for the nation and the people, feeling no shame but pride.

This deeply reflects a real phenomenon: why does development in some places always stall? The root cause is their infighting, their mutual shirking and pulling each other down; even when someone tries to get things done, they're crushed by the behind‑the‑scenes saboteurs, and those who try to accomplish real work end up being forced into a corner, unable to do anything.

But they ran into Su Yang, destined to thwart their vile conduct.

Even if Su Yang knows, he probably won't bother with it. All the preliminary work for the road has been completed, and now construction is about to officially begin.

Normally the bidding process should be followed, but time is urgent, and he can't worry about that, so he directly called Zhou Yanru and Hou Junlai, the two local leaders.

"Secretary Zhou, the preliminary work for this road construction is already finished, and we need to start the project immediately. In principle we should go through the bidding process, but that back‑and‑forth would waste a lot of time, so I think we should find a trustworthy, qualified engineering firm. I have no acquaintances in our county, so I ask you and Secretary Hou to each find a reliable team."

"Even if the qualifications aren't top‑notch, the construction quality must be up to standard; otherwise the final inspection will fail and I definitely won't settle the final payment."

"And the Common People also won't agree."

Zhou Yanru understood at once; this was about giving him and Old Hou some benefits.

In principle, Su Yang could decide this alone; after all he's the primary responsible person, the main promoter and initiator of the project, and now holds absolute status in the county, so when he calls people to come build the road, others have no grounds to object.

But the fact that they are willing to give up this benefit shows how big their outlook is, even can be called political wisdom. Whether it's these recent personnel adjustments or other county matters, he and Hou Junlai actually didn't receive the most direct benefits, so Su Yang's action is a compensation for them.

Such people, having achieved early success, rise step by step.

"Thank you for County Magistrate Su's trust; you really found the right person. I have a classmate's nephew who has been doing road engineering these past years; as for construction quality, rest assured, if any inspection fails, you won't have to trouble yourself—I'll have him redo everything entirely, and they will bear all the raw materials and labor for the second overhaul themselves."

"I'll have him come over tonight to meet you; I'll be the host, and I'll treat you all to a meal."

Su Yang laughed, "That's unnecessary; there's no need to keep our relationship so formal, otherwise I'd feel embarrassed."

Later Su Yang communicated with Hou Junlai again. Hou Junlai was even more straightforward: "That's great, these years everyone has been living a hard life, and my family hasn't stopped complaining that I don't look after our relatives at all."

"My second uncle works in this field; he truly started as a small subcontractor and worked his way up, and being a local, we don't need to say more about his construction quality—if he ever does a poor job, the villagers could even dig up his ancestral tomb."

Originally we planned to have Aunt Xiao help with these projects, but now the money is secured, so we don't need to trouble a big company to handle such small works.

Good steel should be used on the blade; highway projects inevitably attract jealous eyes wanting a piece of the fat, and with his current position and ability he may not be able to stop it, so having Aunt Xiao step in is the best choice.

Finally, he invited Chen Bo over and briefed him on the road construction matter, meaning he hoped Chen Bo would be especially accommodating.

Chen Bo chuckled, "Do you think I'm a petty person? The few of us are wholeheartedly supporting you because you truly serve the Common People; if we didn't support you, our conscience would be uneasy."

"Besides, I'm not a local, I don't have such resources, and as a woman I don't need this."

"But I'm still worried about subsequent funding issues; everyone knows how tight the county's finances are. Jiang Tao is the hurdle here—he now heads the Finance Bureau, and if he doesn't sign, can those construction teams ever get the money? If he raises more problems, we'd become the villains."

Su Yang recounted his recent trip to the bank, omitting that he had met Jin Yuting, and added, "Don't worry, the road will appear before the car reaches the mountain."

"It's estimated that before the year ends we can hold the final standing committee meeting, so the previously designed Yingbin Dadao project should be brought up again; ideally it can be finalized and, if possible, start construction after the new year. As for funding, it's the same old saying: the road will appear before the car reaches the mountain."