Chapter 1013

In the few days after taking office, Tian Xiaopeng had been familiarizing himself with the situation in Shangjun County at the county government. Starting next week, he planned to take a look at the townships below, and Pengjiawanzhen was the first stop of his inspection.

In the eyes of others, this was also an honor for Pengjiawanzhen, making them green with envy. However, for Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya, this was not a good thing; it disturbed their Valentine's Day.

Although she was very unhappy, Lu Xiaoya was still very understanding and said to Su Xinghui, "Xinghui, it's okay. If you have work, go do your work first. After the work is done, we can celebrate Valentine's Day."

Su Xinghui smiled, "Then let's have a candlelight dinner together on Valentine's Day?"

Lu Xiaoya felt sweet in her heart and nodded, "Okay. Actually, as long as I can be with you, every day is Valentine's Day for us."

On the morning of February 14th, Tian Xiaopeng came to Pengjiawanzhen to inspect. Before coming, he specifically called the Pengjiawanzhen Government, telling them not to hold any grand welcome ceremony and just wait at the town government.

Therefore, at a few minutes before eight o'clock in the morning, Qi Jian and Su Xinghui led the town cadres to wait in front of the town government gate.

At eight o'clock sharp, a small motorcade consisting of three cars drove over from the county seat. This was Tian Xiaopeng's motorcade. With a creak, the motorcade stopped in front of the town government gate.

Tian Xiaopeng got out of the car first. He extended his hand to Qi Jian with a smile. After shaking hands with Qi Jian, he shook hands with Su Xinghui, and then shook hands with the other town leaders of Pengjiawanzhen one by one. His attitude was very amiable, and he was full of affinity.

When Tian Xiaopeng shook hands with Tong Yuejin, Tong Yuejin's face was excited. He bowed, held Tian Xiaopeng's right hand with both hands, and shook it vigorously up and down, refusing to let go for a long time. That fawning look was unbearable to watch. Qi Jian felt a bit embarrassed, but he couldn't say anything, so he could only turn his head and shake hands with those who came with Tian Xiaopeng.

Tong Yuejin's fawning made even the profound Tian Xiaopeng feel a bit overwhelmed. He pulled his hand out of Tong Yuejin's hand without a trace, patted Tong Yuejin on the shoulder, and said, "Comrade Yuejin is not bad."

Tian Xiaopeng was more than ten years younger than Tong Yuejin, but this praise immediately made Tong Yuejin's bones go soft. He said excitedly, "County Magistrate, you overpraise me."

To tell the truth, Tian Xiaopeng was not the kind of shallow person. He also didn't like fawning sycophants like Tong Yuejin who liked to flatter at first sight. However, he also needed to cultivate his own strength, especially in Pengjiawanzhen, where he needed people who would take the initiative to lean towards him even more.

Although Tong Yuejin was unbearable, he was the first town-level cadre to take the initiative to show goodwill to him when he came to Pengjiawan to inspect. Tian Xiaopeng certainly couldn't put on airs. He encouraged Tong Yuejin a few more words and then asked Su Xinghui, "Comrade Xinghui, where are you, the great town mayor, going to take me to see today?"

Tian Xiaopeng's words were very humorous and kind. However, he intentionally or unintentionally bypassed Town Party Secretary Qi Jian and asked Su Xinghui directly. Su Xinghui understood that this was likely Tian Xiaopeng trying to plant a thorn between him and Qi Jian again.

To tell the truth, now in Pengjiawanzhen, Su Xinghui's prestige was no less than Qi Jian's, or even more so. Qi Jian was also very low-key. Except when Su Xinghui was on a long business trip, he basically wouldn't ask about the work Su Xinghui was in charge of.

In fact, when Qi Jian was the town mayor of Chengguan Town, he was also an expert in developing the economy. But coming to Pengjiawan to be the Party Secretary and working with Su Xinghui, he strictly kept to his duties and never overstepped.

Of course, Qi Jian doing this was out of respect for Su Xinghui, and respect was mutual. Qi Jian respected Su Xinghui, and Su Xinghui naturally respected Qi Jian. No matter the occasion, he pushed Qi Jian to the front and showed his respect for Qi Jian anytime and anywhere. Therefore, the two of them worked well together.

Now, Tian Xiaopeng doing this was clearly to create a rift between Qi Jian and Su Xinghui. He must have done his homework before coming, knowing that the relationship between Qi Jian and Su Xinghui was good. He wanted to destroy their relationship, and there were two ways: one was to directly win over Qi Jian, but that would be slow and require certain chips, and it might not be effective.

Doing it like this now could be considered alienation, and this move was much faster.

In ancient times, when two armies were at war, if the enemy general was too powerful and could not be defeated on the battlefield, they would often use this move, saying that the general was much more powerful than his monarch, that others only knew of the general and not the monarch, making the monarch feel uncomfortable, changing the general in the middle of the battle, or even killing the general, destroying their own Great Wall.

Today, Tian Xiaopeng ignoring Qi Jian's existence and directly asking Su Xinghui to arrange where to visit was to make Qi Jian feel uncomfortable. He might not hate Tian Xiaopeng, but if he was narrow-minded, he would definitely feel that Su Xinghui was stealing his thunder.

Even if he hated Tian Xiaopeng, Tian Xiaopeng didn't think it was a big deal.

If Su Xinghui were too straightforward or slow-witted, he would definitely fall for it. But now, this Su Xinghui was a reborn person, and he saw through Tian Xiaopeng's intentions at a glance.

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "County Magistrate Tian, did you get it wrong? All arrangements today must be decided by Secretary Qi."

The people around changed color a bit. Su Xinghui was tough enough; this was equivalent to directly pointing out the County Magistrate's mistake. How many people dared to directly say the County Magistrate was wrong? Not to mention a County Magistrate with such a strong background.

However, everyone thought about it again: Su Xinghui had even confronted the Vice Mayor of Jiangcheng, so speaking to Tian Xiaopeng like this was nothing.

Tian Xiaopeng was not very angry. Besides alienation, this sentence was also a test of Su Xinghui. He didn't believe that Su Xinghui, at such a young age, could handle things so maturely; he would always be negligent.

However, hearing Su Xinghui's words, Tian Xiaopeng knew that Su Xinghui was indeed very mature and would not easily give him any opportunity. Of course, Tian Xiaopeng would not be discouraged. Next time, if there was an opportunity, he would still release his hidden arrows.

Tian Xiaopeng nodded and smiled, "Oh, Comrade Xinghui is right. This was indeed my negligence. Comrade Qi Jian, where are you planning to take me to see today?"

To tell the truth, Tian Xiaopeng's words did make Qi Jian feel uncomfortable for a moment. After all, he was the number one in the town, and his achievements in developing the economy were not bad. But Tian Xiaopeng intentionally or unintentionally ignored him, as if Su Xinghui was the number one.

This feeling of being ignored was not good, even if he knew the other party was sowing discord, it would still make people feel uncomfortable.

However, Su Xinghui's response was very appropriate and gave Qi Jian enough face. Qi Jian also adjusted his mentality immediately. He knew that Tian Xiaopeng didn't get along with Su Xinghui and was doing this on purpose. Su Xinghui had done nothing wrong; he had always been very respectful to him.

Qi Jian then smiled, "Why don't we go to the vegetable wholesale market first? It was strongly advocated by Comrade Su Xinghui and is one of his masterpieces. It can be put into use by April or May, and it will have a very large impact on the town's vegetable industry by then."

In officialdom, there is a saying: "Flower sedan chairs are carried by people." Su Xinghui gave Qi Jian face, so Qi Jian naturally had to give him face, saying a few good words. It cost nothing, so why not say them?

From this aspect, Qi Jian was much stronger and much smarter than those who couldn't stand others doing well and were jealous when others achieved results.

Tian Xiaopeng nodded, "Okay, then let's go to the vegetable wholesale market."

Qi Jian's words made Su Xinghui very gratified. He knew that Qi Jian understood his meaning. For a partner like Qi Jian, Su Xinghui cherished him very much. He could develop the economy in Pengjiawanzhen without distractions, which was inseparable from Qi Jian's silent support behind him.

If it wasn't a last resort, Su Xinghui didn't want to be at odds with Qi Jian.

However, Tian Xiaopeng's almost zero reaction to Su Xinghui's thorny words just now also made Su Xinghui a bit surprised. He was even more vigilant against Tian Xiaopeng; this person's city was too deep and too terrifying.

The reason Su Xinghui's words were thorny just now was, of course, also to test him. When he and Lu Xiaoya met Tian Xiaopeng in the Provincial Party Committee compound, Su Xinghui had pricked him once, and Tian Xiaopeng had no reaction that time either.

However, the situation today was different. Today, in front of so many cadres in Pengjiawanzhen, Su Xinghui made him lose face in public, and Tian Xiaopeng still didn't get angry. This cultivation of temperament could be considered remarkable.

Tian Xiaopeng didn't react, so Su Xinghui didn't speak either. If he spoke too much, it would make him look like he had no bearing.

Tian Xiaopeng was his direct superior after all. If Su Xinghui was rude to him repeatedly, then he would be the one in the wrong. ===== CHAPTER 1015 =====