Chapter 1937

The next day, after starting work in the morning, Yuan Yifu saw Su Xinghui go upstairs from his window. He waited five minutes before giving Su Xinghui a call.

After the phone rang three times, Su Xinghui answered: "Hello, this is Su Xinghui!"

Yuan Yifu said in a gentle voice: "County Magistrate, it's Old Yuan! Have you arrived at your office? Do you have time to come to my office for a moment?"

Su Xinghui said quite straightforwardly: "Sure, I'll be right over."

Yuan Yifu put down the phone, took a breath to steady himself, and prepared himself mentally. Less than two minutes later, a knock sounded on his office door. A kind and amiable smile immediately appeared on Yuan Yifu's face as he said: "Please come in."

Su Xinghui pushed the door open and entered, carrying a briefcase in his hand. Yuan Yifu didn't pay it any mind; he knew Su Xinghui's habits. Over the past few days, Su Xinghui would generally process documents in his office after arriving at work, and then head out with his briefcase.

Yuan Yifu smiled and said: "Sit."

Su Xinghui sat down on a guest sofa and placed his briefcase to one side.

Yuan Yifu stood up from behind his desk, making a gesture to take a cup to pour tea for Su Xinghui. Su Xinghui stood up, took the teacup from Yuan Yifu's hand, and poured the tea himself, also taking the opportunity to refill the water in Yuan Yifu's large canned-fruit jar.

Yuan Yifu never used those high-end teacups for drinking tea; he always used this kind of large canned-fruit jar. These jars held a lot of water, and since he liked to gulp his tea and preferred it strong, he could put half a jar of tea leaves in it with a large amount of water, which made drinking it satisfying enough.

He had plenty of those high-end teacups at home, all given to him by others—small, delicate thermal mugs costing hundreds of yuan each—but he just couldn't get used to them, so he threw them all at home and only used these jars.

Because of this habit of his, many cadres in Chongjin County also learned from him and liked to use these canned-fruit jars.

Seeing Su Xinghui's actions, Yuan Yifu sighed inwardly. Su Xinghui's etiquette was still impeccable, leaving one with nothing to say. This young man was truly a rare talent; compared to him, Luo Chuanyong was really far behind.

Yuan Yifu nodded and smiled: "Sit."

Su Xinghui sat back down, and Yuan Yifu also sat down holding his large canned-fruit jar. It was already the end of October, and the weather had turned quite cool. Today, the wind had picked up and there was a bit of light rain—one autumn rain after another brings the cold. Yuan Yifu was getting on in years and feared the cold, so he liked to use this large jar to warm his hands.

Su Xinghui asked: "Does the Secretary have any instructions?"

Yuan Yifu laughed: "County Magistrate, you overstate it. I have no instructions. It's just about that lunch the other day; I asked about it afterward, and those animals really are national second-class protected animals. I have severely criticized the County Committee Reception Center and told them they are never allowed to buy such wild animals again."

Su Xinghui said: "Oh, that's good. Protected animals really shouldn't be eaten. A few days ago, I took a tour of the lake area and saw that the behavior of hunting wild protected animals is still quite rampant. I think the county still needs to raise its vigilance against this and severely crack down on such behavior!"

Yuan Yifu listened patiently as Su Xinghui spoke about these matters, smiling and nodding as he listened. When Su Xinghui finished, he said: "These matters are the responsibility of the County Government. If you, County Magistrate, feel it is appropriate, then just go ahead and do it."

Su Xinghui added: "By the way, Secretary, I have inspected the county's river and lake embankments over the past few days. The situation of the embankments being in disrepair for years is quite serious. I have already raised the funds and am preparing to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the embankments."

Yuan Yifu said: "For such matters, you can make the decisions, County Magistrate. If you need my support, just let me know. By the way, I've been too busy these past few days to invite those investors to a meal. How about I invite them to dinner tonight?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said: "Sure, I'll ask them in a while and then give you an answer, Secretary."

Yuan Yifu said in a casual tone: "County Magistrate, Luo Chuanyong that guy went to my house last night."

Su Xinghui's expression remained unchanged: "Oh, really?"

Yuan Yifu said: "Luo Chuanyong has quite a few flaws, and he was really out of line yesterday. I criticized him severely. How could he have that kind of attitude toward the County Magistrate? He is also very regretful. He said he was accompanying investors for lunch and had too much to drink, which caused him to lose his composure for a moment. He wanted to apologize to the County Magistrate in person but didn't dare to, so he came to me to admit his mistake. He still wants to apologize to the County Magistrate in person."

Su Xinghui still said indifferently: "Oh, really?"

Yuan Yifu was somewhat displeased. Do you really have to keep up this act? Do you have to slap my face to be satisfied?

However, since Su Xinghui wouldn't budge, Yuan Yifu could only smile and say: "County Magistrate, Luo Chuanyong is still young and a bit hot-headed. Please don't take it to heart, County Magistrate."

This sounded somewhat incongruous; Su Xinghui was only twenty-six, while Luo Chuanyong was over ten years his senior, yet Yuan Yifu told him that Luo Chuanyong was still young and asked him not to take it to heart.

Yet, neither of them felt anything strange about it. Yuan Yifu had already come to view Su Xinghui as his peer, a rival worthy of matching him, so Luo Chuanyong was naturally "young" by comparison.

Su Xinghui said: "Secretary, you should know that I am not suspending Luo Chuanyong because he doesn't respect me. He has made a complete mess of the Economic Development Zone; he is truly not competent and is no longer suitable for this position."

Yuan Yifu said: "Luo Chuanyong also has his difficulties. Those people in the Economic Development Zone Management Committee are all family members of leaders. You know how it is in a small place like ours; it's hard to refuse anyone's face, and as the Director, Luo Chuanyong finds it hard to manage these people."

Su Xinghui said: "Then hasn't the Economic Development Zone become just a display piece? Secretary, I have invited some investors over. The Hou Group wants to build a home appliance manufacturing base in Chongjin County, with an investment of no less than 300 million. The Hong Kong Mi Group wants to build a medical equipment company, with an investment of no less than 200 million. The Xie Group wants to build a warehousing and logistics company, with an investment of no less than 250 million..."