Chapter 875

After quite a while, Zhao Nanxing's voice came from inside: "Come in."

Su Yang then pushed the door open and entered, seeing Zhao Nanxing intently examining documents on his desk, and realized this county magistrate wanted to test him.

But he still said, "County Magistrate Zhao, I've come to report on my work."

Zhao Nanxing didn't even look up, directly saying, "Fine, I still have an important document sent down from the city; let's talk after I finish reading it."

After saying that, he left Su Yang standing aside—this is the usual trick people like them use.

But to Su Yang, this meant nothing; back when he was still a town mayor, he had already undergone such tests. Now he is also a vice county magistrate, with no reason to keep standing, so he simply sat on the sofa, took out his phone, and started playing a mobile game.

Remember how Fang Jingwen had spent half a day playing games in the office, and he had waited there foolishly. So this time, if County Magistrate Zhao wants to keep me waiting, let him wait; I'll mess around with my phone here for a bit.

Although Zhao Nanxing's eyes were on the document, his peripheral vision swept over Su Yang, seeing him sit directly on the opposite sofa; he was really annoyed: I didn't tell you to sit, yet you sat down on your own—sitting down is one thing, but you actually started playing your phone there without restraint.

This doesn't exist elsewhere—no deputy county magistrate would dare behave so undisciplined and unorganized in the county magistrate's presence.

But that's still the same thing: this is Su Yang, not anyone else.

The demonstration failed, so Zhao Nanxing could only affectingly put down the document in his hand and say:

"Actually, calling you over isn't a big deal; mainly we just want to chat about normal county work. The New Year is coming up, and we need to draft next year's plans. Of course, all plans must follow one premise: act within our means, avoid heavy borrowing, and not leave the government with a huge deficit."

"Especially for a small county like ours, the provincial government has clearly stated that county development should not come at the cost of mortgaging the future. Even if we temporarily produce some achievement projects, those so-called achievement projects trade the future for the present, and we may end up stuck in a debt‑repayment mode. Such development is unhealthy and is not advocated by higher leaders."

He was laying it on thick here, and Su Yang already knew this was just an attempt to shelve his earlier Yingbin Avenue proposal. The Yingbin Avenue project is the county's facade; hearing it, it does seem absolutely unnecessary, but from the perspective of attracting investment, it is indispensable.

Yet Su Yang did not interrupt Zhao Nanxing's speech; he simply listened quietly.

Zhao Nanxing went on for a long while, speaking for over ten minutes before saying, "County Magistrate Su, you previously mentioned a Yingbin Avenue project; getting it started would require tens of millions. Although the ordinary people welcome it and even look forward to it, we must act within our means and not develop through borrowing. In the end, if we truly leave this mess to the people, they will surely curse us."

Su Yang said, "As for Yingbin Avenue, it indeed looked unnecessary before—after all, our county has always been stuck in a deformed pattern, relying entirely on the Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery. Now things are different; we need diversified economic development, so attracting investment is inevitable."

"These investors are very selective; they won't put money just anywhere. Given the same conditions, why would they choose us? Yingbin Avenue is the first impression our county gives investors, and that first impression can to some extent win their favor."

Zhao Nanxing cut him off: "Based on your earlier design, I'm afraid our county's finances can't support it, right? Besides, this is a typical face‑project, image‑project, seriously violating the provincial government's steady‑development spirit and being irresponsible to the entire county's populace."

"This project cannot be approved, not even if it goes to the standing committee. If necessary, I will personally go to the city to explain the matter; I believe both Municipal Party Committee Secretary Guo and Mayor Wang will support my proposal. Moreover, our top leader hasn't taken office yet, so this matter must wait for his final decision."

Hearing this, Su Yang suddenly had a strange thought: Zhao Nanxing has suffered successive defeats in the standing committee, so he probably lacks the confidence to bring this up there.

Moreover, Zhao Nanxing has no special connection with Municipal Party Committee Secretary Guo; he is now suddenly using his old tactics against himself, and the first mention of the county party secretary—well, this project will have to wait until the county party secretary takes office to be confirmed.

Who gave him that confidence? Is it someone from the provincial government? Probably not; at least the provincial situation still looks stable for now.

Then there is a possibility: Zhao Nanxing has already made contact with Zhang Jiangbo, and it's likely that Zhang Jiangbo himself called Zhao Nanxing; otherwise, given Zhao Nanxing's standing, he could hardly reach Zhang Jiangbo. If that's the case, the pressure on this project would be enormous.

But this was also within his expectations; the project's priority hasn't been placed ahead of current road repairs and highway projects. So, originally it was slated to start after the New Year.

The reason to delay until after the New Year is that investment promotion has shown some progress, or perhaps an investor has put forward such a request, making a later start not too late. Otherwise, it would be hard to get approval in the standing committee, especially since Zhang Jiangbo is targeting him personally, so he had already prepared himself mentally.

So he said, "All right then, let's discuss the project after the New Year. I believe our top leader will definitely be in office by then. If there's nothing else, I'll head back first."

County Magistrate Zhao said, "Comrade Su, I heard you went to the bank for a loan and it didn't go smoothly. Your idea is good, but personal ability is limited; sometimes we need to pool wisdom and seek help from comrades. I've heard that County Magistrate Jiang still has good connections in the banking sector—go ask him for help, and maybe you'll secure the loan."

"Once you have the loan, whether it's for breeding and planting projects or road repairs, it will be up to us to decide. Otherwise, if a funding gap appears, those projects will be hard to advance. A penny can stump a hero—this needs no explanation from me; you understand it."

Su Yang didn't take the bait; Zhao Nanxing would certainly not point him toward a clear path for no reason. He quietly waited for Zhao Nanxing's next words.

Sure enough, Zhao Nanxing said, "Comrade Su Yang, I heard Secretary Qi say that the Public Security Bureau chief and political commissar are both held by Comrade Mo Tai, who is also nearing retirement. The bureau can't be left without someone in charge, so I propose transferring a deputy prosecutor from the Procuratorate over."

"I haven't discussed this with Comrade Zhou Yanru or Comrade Chen Bo yet; I wanted to consult you first. If you agree, we can then bring it to the standing committee—there shouldn't be a problem."

Su Yang immediately understood: this is Zhao Nanxing trying to strike a deal with him. If he agrees, the bank loan won't be an issue; if he doesn't, he won't get the loan and the later projects can't proceed.

Seeing Su Yang lost in thought, Zhao Nanxing felt a secret satisfaction: even if you've laid some groundwork in the county before, what can you do? Many resources aren't something one person can control; in the end you'll have to compromise, and you'll have to comply willingly.

So he added, "County Magistrate Su, just the main road projects in our county alone need two hundred million yuan; add the two hundred million yuan allocated for highway support, and that's four hundred million."

"Besides, you still need to fund the breeding and planting base and the dairy factory you've planned—none of those come cheap. And since these problems can be solved through joint effort, you agree, right?"