Chapter 670: I

I want to play a big game of chess.

Before playing chess, I laid out the overall plan for the Industrial Park on the Mayor's desk. He put on his reading glasses and looked at it carefully several times, took off his glasses, looked at it several more times, and then raised his head to look at me with a smile.

Only when the Mayor smiles do I have confidence in my heart.

The Mayor is a very emotional person. It is said that he would step into the conference room on time after telling the General Office the meeting time.

The Mayor who stepped into the conference room would first scan the people who arrived. If he found many people in the conference room, he would ask for the sign-in sheet and then point to the heads of several unrelated units and say, "Is there any meaning in you coming to this meeting? It has nothing to do with you, go back."

The attendees would be embarrassed and explain that the General Office notified them to come.

Hearing this, the Mayor would get angry and roar at the people in the General Office, "What are you all eating? Everyone is so busy, you call so many people to a meeting, are you bored?"

The people in the General Office wouldn't dare to make a sound at this time. They wouldn't dare to have a straight face either, and could only laugh awkwardly.

If he was in a good mood, he would say to the unrelated attendees, "Ah, you're all here? It's good that you're here, listen."

Because of this, the people in the General Office were most afraid of the Mayor notifying a meeting. Because they really couldn't grasp who should come and who shouldn't. Later, the people in the General Office found a rule: for any mayoral meeting, the people who were mainly not notified were those from the Finance Committee. In the Mayor's view, the Finance Committee and the Finance Bureau were two completely different yamen. The Finance Bureau belonged to the Municipal Government, and the Finance Committee belonged to the Municipal Committee. One manages money, the other manages talking.

People who manage money are all close people to the leaders. Except for the leaders, no one can direct them. Whoever dares to touch this taboo is not far from death.

"Xiao Chen, you have ideas!" the Mayor said approvingly, his gaze leaving me to look outside the door.

The door was closed, and there was no sound outside. I knew that everyone who passed by the Mayor's office would practice light kung fu at his door. Even someone as strong as an ox would become as light as a swallow at his door.

"It's not very mature yet," I said modestly, my face full of smiles. In front of the Mayor, one must maintain an optimistic and upward attitude; even if Mount Tai collapses in front, one must be as calm as still water.

"According to your plan, are you confident?" the Mayor asked me, his gaze beginning to sharpen.

My heart jumped, and I quickly said, "I am confident. I have done preliminary investigations and obtained some support."

"What level of support are you referring to?" The Mayor's face showed another smile, looking at me and then at himself, saying, "Don't have any ideas about me, I have no money."

The Mayor's words made me want to laugh. I came to report, and I didn't want money from the Mayor. I knew that the province had already allocated tens of millions, and this money was still lying in the city's special financial account sleeping; I hadn't moved a cent yet.

"If I had money, I wouldn't have asked you to be this director," the Mayor said bluntly. "Not only can I not give you money, but the money you bring back, you have to slow down for me."

My heart was startled; the Mayor wanted to move my money.

The provincial allocation was special funds with strict usage regulations. The Mayor dared to move this money; his courage was really not small.

I didn't speak, just looked at the Mayor and smiled.

The Mayor was made uncomfortable by my smile, so he darkened his face and said, "What are you laughing at?"

I shook my head and said, "I feel that it's best not to move special funds."

The Mayor said with difficulty, "Xiao Chen, you are not the head of the house, so you don't know the cost of firewood and rice! It's almost the end of the year, and this year's fiscal deficit is large, and the over-budget is too high. I want to slow down, do you have any objections?"

"Of course I have no objections," I said, thinking in my heart, even if I had objections, what use would it be? The money is in your hands; whatever you want to do is your word.

"Good!" The Mayor was a little happier and breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as you don't ask me for money, I will definitely agree to your plan. But I still have to give you a preventive injection first: only success is allowed, failure is not."

I nodded and said, "I will definitely not disgrace the mission."

The Mayor nodded approvingly and said, "My eye is still good. You young man have ideas and courage. Walk well, I hope you walk steadily."

The Mayor's words had many implications, and I didn't have time to over-analyze them. I had been in his office for more than an hour, which was rare in the Mayor's office hours. For anyone to talk to him alone and get fifteen minutes was already very honored. And I occupied him for an hour, which was how heart-moving it was.

I said, "Mayor, I have another idea, see if it's appropriate."

"Speak," the Mayor said briefly. He didn't mean to drive me away yet.

"It's almost Spring Festival, I want to invite people to come home for the New Year."

"What do you mean?" The Mayor looked at me in astonishment. "Make it clear, invite whom to come home for the New Year?"

I paused and said, "We have more than fifty entrepreneurs outside the city, a considerable number of whom have assets of over 100 million. These people left Hengyue City to fight outside in their early years. Except for rushing back to their hometown for the New Year, they have no intersection with the government. As far as I know, these successful people most hope to be recognized by their hometown government. Even if they can't return home in glory, being recognized by their hometown government is an incomparably glorious thing no matter what."

The Mayor pondered for a while, holding a pencil, and said, "Continue."

I said, "Chinese people have a nostalgia for their hometown. Especially those who have done well outside. Any Chinese person, no matter how glamorous they are outside, if their hometown doesn't recognize them, they will feel very failed and have no face. Therefore, these people, while they have ability, funds, and resources, all want to do something in their hometown. My planning proposal is aimed at this piece. I want to invite successful Hengyue City-born entrepreneurs outside to come back to their hometown to see, give them a platform outside, and let them perform."

The Mayor was excited by what I said. As soon as I stopped, he urged me, "Continue."

I was about to open my mouth when the door was knocked, and I saw his secretary walk in lightly.

"What's the matter?" the Mayor asked with a frown. He was obviously very unhappy that the secretary came in to interrupt the conversation outside.

"It's time for the meeting," the secretary said, looking at my side and smiling, revealing a row of neat white teeth.

"What meeting?" The Mayor seemed to have forgotten about the meeting. He thought for a while and said, "Change the time, meet at two in the afternoon."

The secretary hesitated and said, "It won't be work time at two."

"Can't we have a meeting if it's not work time?" The Mayor seemed a bit angry, staring at the secretary and roaring, "Just notify them like this, I want to see who dares not to come."

After the secretary left, the Mayor smiled and said, "Xiao Chen, speak slowly, I want to understand."

I hesitated and said, "Mayor, why don't you go to the meeting first, and I'll find another time to report?"

"Are you the Mayor or am I the Mayor?" the Mayor asked me unhappily.

"Of course you are."

"Know that, then. Why are you wordy? Continue."

I had to clear my throat secretly and said, "My idea is, in the name of the Municipal Government, to invite entrepreneurs outside to return home for the New Year, have the Municipal Government unify the reception, visit the scenic spots of our Hengyue City, introduce the Industrial Park by the way, and actively encourage and welcome them to return home to start businesses."

"Good!" The Mayor slapped the table, his eyes shining, and said, "This idea is good!"

"It might cost some money," I said hesitantly. "We invite people to come home for the New Year, we can't just invite one person, we should invite the whole family. If possible, it's best to invite their parents in their hometown together. In this way, the cost of eating, drinking, and pulling won't be too little."

"If you don't give up the child, you can't catch the wolf." The Mayor suddenly laughed and said, "This is to strive for them to invest and start businesses in their hometown; this little money is nothing. You make a budget, and I will give special approval!"

My heart was happy; I didn't expect the plan to pass so smoothly.

In the current Hengyue City, the right to speak is all here with the Mayor. Secretary Chen will retire after the New Year, and he rarely interferes with government affairs.

The Mayor agreed, and no one dared to oppose it.

My game of chess started smoothly. Although I hadn't eaten a pawn yet, the layout was clear, and the killing moves were obvious. As long as I successfully crossed the Chu River and Han Boundary, I could move horizontally and vertically in the future, deciding victory thousands of miles away.

Coming out of the Mayor's office, the sunshine outside was bright, and the warmth made people want to sing.

Arriving at the Municipal Government, the Petition Bureau was just a stone's throw away.

I looked at the Petition Bureau building across the street; the gray walls looked even darker in the bright sunshine.

This was a rare winter day, with breezes blowing, without any cold. The French plane trees by the street had long since shed their leaves. Instead, the layer of green grass under the trees was green and exuded the breath of spring.

Xiao Yu had been in the Petition Bureau for a while, and he had been deliberately not contacting me; there wasn't even a phone call.

Xiao Yu doing office work was incomparable to Xu Meili. At least in terms of writing, the materials from Xiao Yu's hands, not to mention every word being a pearl, were also watertight.

But I couldn't keep Xiao Yu because his fate made him a chess piece. This chess piece was a crucial part of my whole game. If I took one wrong step, my chariots, horses, and cannons wouldn't be able to exert their effectiveness. He was like a stumbling block on my path forward; only by moving him could I be unimpeded.

However, I would eventually bring him under my command; it was just a matter of time.

I decided to go to the Petition Bureau, just to sit for a while. ===== CHAPTER 671 =====