Chapter 2179: Unappreciative?

Amidst the gazes of envy, jealousy, and hatred from everyone, Premier Nan smiled and held Su Xinghui's hand, even patting him on the shoulder as he said, "Comrade Xinghui, you've worked hard this time!"

Su Xinghui said, "I haven't worked hard; it is you, Premier, who have worked hard. You have been inspecting everywhere these past few days; you must take care of your health."

Although Premier Nan's spirit was still quite vigorous, if one observed closely, one could still see some fatigue between his brows. These days, he had been inspecting everywhere, laboring day and night; he was indeed very tired.

Premier Nan shook his head and said, "I am fine. It is you cadres and masses on the front line of flood control who are working harder. Alright, let's not stand here; let's go directly to the river dike. Comrade Xinghui, you will be my guide today; my itinerary will be arranged by you."

The river dike was to the north of the Economic Development Zone, only a little over a kilometer from the management committee's courtyard. Su Xinghui pointed to the river dike and said, "Premier, that is the river dike there. Let's take a car over."

Premier Nan turned his head to look and said, "It's so close, there's no need to take a car. Let's walk over."

Since Premier Nan wanted to walk, no one had any objections, so this large group of people followed Premier Nan and walked over together.

Su Xinghui arranged for police to be responsible for security along the way. He accompanied Premier Nan, while a large group of people followed behind them, walking toward the river dike.

The treatment Premier Nan gave Su Xinghui made many people's eyes red with jealousy. Premier Nan not only knew this small county magistrate but was clearly quite familiar with him, and he actually let him arrange his itinerary in Chongjin County. What kind of honor was this?

Of course, Su Xinghui was the commander-in-chief of the Chongjin County Flood Control and Disaster Relief Headquarters, so it was justifiable for him to arrange Premier Nan's itinerary, and thus no one dared to have any objections.

Both sides of the road leading to the river dike were also part of the Economic Development Zone. The weather had been good these days, so the enterprises that had invested in the Economic Development Zone were taking advantage of this time to speed up the construction of their factory buildings, presenting a scene of bustling activity.

Wherever Premier Nan had been these past few days, those places were basically going all out for flood control and emergency rescue, so many construction sites had stopped work. A scene like Chongjin County, where both flood control and production were being handled without neglecting either, was quite rare, and Premier Nan couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

Premier Nan asked, "Is this the county's Economic Development Zone?"

Su Xinghui introduced, "Yes, Premier. The place where the helicopter landed just now is the management committee of the Economic Development Zone. These are all enterprises that have come to invest in Chongjin County. The weather has been good these days, so they are stepping up construction to make up for the time lost during the consecutive days of heavy rain a while ago."

Premier Nan had indeed heard Su Xinghui mention that he had introduced quite a few investments to Chongjin County, but looking out and seeing so many construction sites starting work at the same time, he still felt it was quite magnificent. He nodded and said, "You are managing both flood control and production without neglecting either!"

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "There is no other way. Our Chongjin County is a poor county; not only must we control the floods, but the common people also need to be fed. This year, we canceled the agricultural tax and the retained levies, and then such a flood occurred. I estimate that early rice will see a large-scale reduction in production. If we don't speed up construction, I fear this year's fiscal revenue will decrease by more than half. When I canceled the agricultural tax, I signed a military pledge."

Premier Nan became curious: "What kind of military pledge did you sign?"

Su Xinghui said, "I signed a military pledge at the Standing Committee meeting that if this year's fiscal revenue does not increase by more than 30 percent compared to last year's, I will resign as county magistrate!"

Many people gasped. Many provincial and municipal leaders did not know that Su Xinghui had actually signed such a military pledge. They knew that Chongjin County was a traditional agricultural county, and in the past, most of its fiscal revenue came from agricultural taxes and retained levies.

This year, Chongjin County took the lead in canceling the agricultural tax and retained levies. It would have been good enough if Chongjin County's fiscal revenue didn't decrease, yet it was supposed to increase? What was even more terrifying was that it was supposed to increase by 30 percent? This was too inconceivable!

Fiscal revenue is not like GDP; GDP can be inflated, but fiscal revenue is real income that must be deposited into the treasury; it cannot be inflated.

Even Premier Nan was moved. He certainly understood such logic. Was Su Xinghui a bit rash to have signed such a military pledge?

However, upon second thought, he understood why Su Xinghui had signed this military pledge. It must have been that he encountered great resistance when he wanted to cancel the agricultural tax and retained levies, and to eliminate this resistance, he signed this military pledge, which could be considered burning his bridges.

Premier Nan nodded and smiled, "Comrade Xinghui, you have ambition!"

Su Xinghui smiled with some shyness, "Premier, I am the county magistrate; this is what I should do."

Premier Nan said, "Comrade Xinghui, it is good that you have ambition, but I think that since such a major flood occurred this year, the disaster situation in Chongjin County should be quite severe, so this military pledge of yours should no longer count, right?"

Premier Nan was, of course, providing Su Xinghui with a way out. If Su Xinghui happened not to meet this goal this year, he would have a step to step down from.

Everyone present certainly understood this point, and they became even more jealous of Su Xinghui. What virtue or ability did Su Xinghui have to be favored by Premier Nan, who even personally spoke up to smooth things over for him?

Jiang Fangping nodded and smiled, "Indeed. If it weren't for such a major flood this year, I think Comrade Su Xinghui would have been able to achieve this goal. However, since such a major flood occurred this year, if this goal is not met, it is still understandable."