Chapter 666: Gan Lu

Gan Lu brought me a piece of great news: her classmate in Beijing was willing to help me upgrade the nature of the Industrial Park, provided I had a detailed planning proposal.

Hearing this news, I was almost impulsively going to hug her and kiss her. Gan Lu smiled and didn't let me hug her, pointing at the wide-open door to remind me of the people coming and going outside.

She was passing through Hengyue City on her way back to the Provincial Capital and stopped by to see me.

I was greatly moved; being missed by a woman is a man's pride.

The planning proposal Gan Lu mentioned was exactly the problem I had thought about a thousand times in my heart. The positioning and functions of the past Industrial Park were limited to relocating urban industrial enterprises, without leaving any space for attracting investment. This was like fighting with one's left and right hands, moving a bun from the left hand to the right, not even increasing half a bowl of thin porridge.

This was what I least wanted to see. If the Industrial Park played the game of fighting with left and right hands, I would have no sense of achievement.

But to attract foreign investment, the road ahead was bumpy and tortuous. People nowadays are shrewd and won't be fooled into investing a large sum of money. Only solid hardware can allow outside capital to come in.

And only with foreign investment will the Industrial Park have life, have a reason to exist, and have hope for vigorous development.

After hesitating for a long time, Gan Lu said hesitantly, "Chen Feng, I don't know if we will ever meet again after this parting."

My heart jumped, and I asked, "Mayor Gan, what is the implication of your words?"

Gan Lu smiled without a word, pointed at a suitcase at her feet, and sighed faintly.

"Where are you going?" I asked, a thousand questions circling in my heart. Since I met her, I had been fascinated by her elegance. She was a woman who combined beauty and wisdom, giving people a sense of soft strength both in life and work.

"I've resigned!"

"Resigned?" It was like a bolt from the blue; I was stunned. She was doing fine, why did she suddenly resign? Could something have happened?

"Yes. I've resigned," Gan Lu deepened her tone. "Because I am a woman, I want to do what a woman should do."

I shook my head, staring at her in disbelief.

This news came too suddenly; I had no mental preparation. Gan Lu was my classmate at the Party School and also my signboard in the province. Her sudden resignation seemed like child's play to me. You must know she had been the Deputy Mayor of Yongning City for less than a year.

"No!" I said nervously. "There doesn't seem to be a conflict between being a woman and being a mayor? Losing a river for the sake of a mountain—how does that feel like anything but a loss?"

"Life always has gains and losses," Gan Lu sighed long and said. "Do you know, Chen Feng, I am a member of a democratic party. Even if I go to the end of this road, I can only be a supporting role. This is determined by the system, and no one can change it. More importantly, if I am a supporting role for a lifetime, I will never be a real woman, a good wife, or a mother."

I was a bit confused and baffled.

"He won't come back because I returned to the country," she said, looking at the jumping light and shadow on the curtains, a light smile on her face. Although it was a bit bitter, it made people feel resilient.

"If the mountain won't come, I will go. I am a woman, and I want a lifetime of happiness."

"Are you not happy now?" I asked, puzzled.

"Do you think I'm happy? Alone, cold and desolate, miserable and sad; at the time of sudden warmth and cold, it is the hardest to rest." She suddenly laughed, her fingers winding around each other, entangled endlessly.

"Did he agree?"

"This was also his idea." Gan Lu glanced at me and pondered for a moment. "There was a time I almost gave up."

"Why didn't you give up then?"

"Because I knew that even if I gave up, I wouldn't get what I wanted."

"What do you want?"

"I want..." She struggled and hesitated, unable to say it for a long time.

My heart was heavy. A good friend suddenly had to go far away; this was the feeling of life and death separation.

"Forget it," she sighed. "It's all in the past. We are both fine, and we will be fine in the future."

I had an urge to cry. Of course, I understood what she wanted to say, but in life, how many regrets are impossible to satisfy?

I walked to her side, supported her thin shoulders with both hands, patted her gently, and said, "Gan Lu, we must both be fine. In this lifetime, we must think of each other. As long as you are happy, I will be happy."

Her shoulders trembled slightly, then she opened her arms to wrap around my waist, resting her head on my crotch, breathing quietly.

I stroked her dark hair, a million grass-mud horses galloping through my heart.

"If you want, I am willing to give it to you," she said shyly, not daring to raise her head to look at me.

I was moved to the extreme, but reason told me I must leave her a beautiful regret. So I firmly and unromantically said, "Thank you, Gan Lu, I don't want your life to be stained with any blemish."

Ten days after Gan Lu left, I announced my plan to the park's leadership team.

My plan was divided into five parts. The center of the entire park was the administrative center. In addition to building an office building to serve the park, I wanted to build a grand square.

Of the four plots of land in the southeast, northwest, and center, one was reserved for urban enterprises with development prospects. In the east, I wanted to build an electronics base; in the west, a clothing, footwear, and hat processing enterprise area; and in the north, I reserved space to attract a batch of high-tech research and development institutions.

The plan was out, and there were no objections. Next, it was time to do it with great fanfare.

I sent the planning proposal to the Mayor for review. After asking a few questions, he said happily, "Xiao Chen, I have no objections; it's all up to you."

The Mayor's words were actually my Shangfang Sword.

I also proposed to go to Beijing to report the idea of upgrading the park.

The Mayor asked me with interest, "Are you confident?"

I shook my head and said, "Mayor, I want to strive for it. If we don't strive, there won't be any chance. If we strive, perhaps there will be unexpected gains."

The Mayor laughed loudly, stared into my eyes, and said word by word, "Fine! But I want to remind you, some things cannot be too ambitious; you must be down-to-earth."

I laughed along with him, but my heart became increasingly firm in my idea.

After laughing, the Mayor said, "I will assign the Director of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission to you. Whether it succeeds or not depends on how you perform."

Coming out of the Mayor's office, I went straight back to my office and called Xiao Yu to have him send the prepared materials.

Xiao Yu hesitated for a long time and didn't bring them. I got a bit angry and shouted in the office corridor, "Director Xiao, did you go to buy the materials?"

Xiao Yu didn't come out, but Xu Meili did. She hurried to my side and whispered, "He lost the materials."

"Lost them?" A layer of cold sweat broke out on my body. This document contained many confidential data—not to mention top secret, it should be classified as confidential.

"How did they get lost?" I felt my tone trembling.

"According to him, he lost them in a taxi." Xu Meili signaled me to go back to the office to talk.

I thought about it; I couldn't make a scene at this time. I had to go back to the office and scold, "Director Xu, how could you let him take such materials out?"

"He is the Director, I am a deputy. Can I stop him?" Xu Meili said with a difficult expression.

"You are all fools!" I scolded. "You can't accomplish anything but can ruin everything."

Xu Meili's face was almost twisted by my scolding, but she didn't dare to argue, just stood in front of my desk, head hung low, saying nothing.

"Call Wan Ju for me," I directed her. "I don't believe they can't be found."

Actually, losing the materials didn't affect the work; after all, there were backups on the computer. Just printing another copy would be enough. The problem was that this document not only had various data of the entire park but also ideas for future development. If it leaked into society, it would cause unimaginable trouble for the park's work.

Xu Meili heard me say I wanted to find Wan Xiao and threw back a sentence, "If you want to find him, find him yourself."

I looked at her in surprise. Xu Meili had never spoken to me in such a tone. What was wrong with her?

Sure enough, she said faintly in my surprised expression, "Even if I find him, he won't give me face."

"No way?" I said. "Old Wan is not that kind of person."

Xu Meili sneered and said, "You men are all in a fixed pattern. Once you cross the river, you usually have to tear down the bridge."

I didn't understand what had happened between her and Wan Xiao. When Wan Xiao came out, he had been living at her house. Now it hadn't even been two months; could it be that the two of them had turned against each other again?

"What's wrong with you two?" I asked suspiciously.

"Not you two, it's him and me. He and I are separate individuals, and there is no relationship between us," Xu Meili said angrily. "Please don't lump me together with him in the future, Director Chen."

"Okay, okay," I nodded and said. "Director Xu, don't worry about anything else now. In the face of work, all selfish thoughts must give way. Asking you to find Wan Ju now is for work!"

Xu Meili finally stopped talking and turned to walk out. At the door, she looked back and said, "Whether they can be found or not, I don't care!"

I waved her away. This woman must be angry because Old Wan went back to his second wife.

I laughed, thinking that compared to Wan Xiao's second wife, although both were beautiful, Xu Meili couldn't compete with someone younger. Youth is capital!

Xiao Yu losing the materials was a major dereliction of duty!

But among the people in the Industrial Park, Xiao Yu was currently the person I found most useful.

But if I didn't deal with him, my prestige in the park would definitely be greatly reduced!

I decided to kill the chicken to scare the monkey!

The chicken is easy to kill, but the monkey might not be afraid!

I closed my eyes and began to think about how to take the next step. The current Industrial Park was calm on the surface, but underneath it was surging. You must know that the people who could come to this unit in the past were all people with great backgrounds. Not to mention the royal relatives, just the number of old, weak, sick, and disabled people was nearly double that of the Petition Bureau.

Many people knew that the Industrial Park was a place for retirement. Anyway, the finance provided the money, and there was no model before, so there was no comparison between doing well and doing poorly.

If I don't kill a batch of people, I can't establish my authority! But killing a batch of people is fraught with danger.

If I don't handle it well, I will set myself on fire!

Xiao Yu gave me this opportunity! I secretly thanked him in my heart. I suddenly opened my eyes, my gaze fierce.

And at this moment, what caught my eyes was a graceful figure flashing in from the door. ===== CHAPTER 667 =====