Chapter 2879: Quick Meeting

Hearing Su Xinghui come in, Wei Ziming looked up, and seeing it was Su Xinghui, he pointed at a sofa and said, "Comrade Xinghui, sit."

Su Xinghui sat down. After a while, Xin Jing arrived. She hesitated for a moment, then sat on the sofa opposite Su Xinghui. She very much wanted to get close to Su Xinghui, but she was afraid others would see through her little secret—after all, her behavior was not something to be spoken of to outsiders.

She knew her own thoughts didn't conform to traditional moral standards, yet she simply couldn't suppress her own thoughts. This gave her a sense of guilt, but it was precisely this guilt that made her feel a strange excitement.

Su Xinghui nodded to Xin Jing as a greeting. Xin Jing also smiled and nodded back at him, then sat up straight and proper.

The other vice mayors arrived one after another. Bian Shuangxi also came in, brewed tea for everyone, then sat to the side taking notes.

Wei Ziming also walked out from behind his own desk and sat down on a sofa. His office was very large, with a ring of sofas in front, perfectly usable as a small conference room.

Wei Ziming laughed and said, "Happy New Year, everyone. Did you all have a good New Year?"

Miao Leshan said, "Had a wonderful one, Mayor. I heard your new daughter-in-law came home for New Year this year—her first time. She seems quite pretty. So, has she had a drink with you, her father-in-law, yet?"

Miao Leshan was waggling his brows and making faces, looking thoroughly lecherous. Wei Ziming felt a bit disgusted. This Miao Leshan, relying on his age and seniority, always disregarded Wei Ziming's image, saying things that damaged his leadership image.

Wei Ziming of course couldn't really lose his temper, but Miao Leshan's joke was just too lecherous. Wei Ziming could only laugh and say, "Looks like Old Miao, you often drink with your wife at home."

Miao Leshan burst out laughing, beside himself with mirth.

Wei Ziming stopped talking with him and said, "Today is our first day back at work after the New Year, so let's hold a quick meeting together. If anyone has thoughts on the work they're each in charge of, feel free to speak up. Let's start with Old Miao."

Miao Leshan wiped the smile off his face and gave his report, talking about some of his post-holiday plans and arrangements for the work he oversaw. His main responsibilities were finance and the municipal government organs, and he mainly spoke on issues in these areas—such as this year's funding for the municipal government organs, and the budgets of some municipal-level units.

This year his budget allocation for the municipal government organs was equally high, which was the issue everyone cared about most. The municipal government organs' budget affected their spending for the whole year—what expenses could be reimbursed—and with a sufficient budget, they could spend more freely.

Su Xinghui always had a thorn stuck in his heart. He recalled the large envelope Wang Shangqian had given him before the New Year. That envelope contained fifteen thousand yuan, which was merely the money he could collect for the holiday. Inside were also several thousand yuan that didn't even require a signature—reportedly the surplus from appropriations to the municipal government organs.

To him, this fifteen thousand yuan might not amount to much, but for those private-school teachers, it was nearly equal to their entire teaching income over more than ten years. Was such a distribution system fair?

Weren't all these surpluses simply because the budget for the municipal government organs was set too high? In fact, the municipal government organs hadn't economized on their expenses. As far as Su Xinghui knew, there were plenty of loopholes where money was spent lavishly, yet there could still be such a large surplus—one could well imagine how much water was in that budget figure.

Naturally, Miao Leshan setting the budget this way won the favor of the vice mayors present. If the executive vice mayor were to choke them on finances, being a vice mayor wouldn't be nearly so comfortable.

Being a vice mayor in Baizhou City, basically everyone had a dedicated car. Each month, they received ten or so cartons of the best cigarettes for hospitality use, and could get more once those ran out. The tea for hospitality was also the best. They all had the power to sign for meals, not to mention other perks.

Su Xinghui had calculated that on each vice mayor, monthly expenses ran at least several thousand, even over ten thousand yuan. Some mayors with heavy hospitality duties spending over a hundred thousand in a month was nothing unusual. Were all these expenses necessary? Su Xinghui didn't think so.

Su Xinghui didn't smoke, so his office didn't draw hospitality cigarettes, and no subordinates smoked in his office either—this saved a considerable sum. He also rarely ate on public funds; only when higher-ups came for inspections would he have a work meal. His car was seldom used for private purposes. On just these few items, Su Xinghui could save several thousand yuan a month.

But Su Xinghui knew that doing so was futile; he might even be laughed at for being foolish. Some leaders, when they went traveling, bought clothes, or even went to sing-song halls to enjoy the company of young ladies, would have those expenses invoiced and reimbursed.

Though it was futile, Su Xinghui kept doing it, just for peace of mind. He also knew Xin Jing had always done the same, which made him feel gratified.

Xin Jing's reason for not drawing hospitality cigarettes was basically the same as his. She also rarely went out socializing, except for counterpart inspections. She almost never went home, so there was no question of using the public car for private use.

It could be said that Xin Jing and Su Xinghui shared quite a few similarities, which was also why Su Xinghui chose to become political allies with her.

Right now Su Xinghui was only a vice mayor in charge of culture, education, and health. The time wasn't ripe to reform the organs' financial system. Once he had secured his position and established his authority, he would speak up.

After Miao Leshan finished, a vice mayor laughed and said, "Old Miao, you really know how to run a household—arranging the city government's budget so neatly."

Miao Leshan said, "Naturally. We have to make sure everyone can work with peace of mind, no worries at home. The perks that should be enjoyed, should be enjoyed."

This sentiment was the inner thought of most leading cadres. They had toiled their whole lives to climb to such high positions—if not to enjoy such perks, were they any different from ordinary masses? Ride a bicycle to work? Smoke a few-yuan pack of cigarettes? Eat a few-yuan boxed meal? What would that look like? Where would the dignity of leadership be?

So they enjoyed such perks with a clear conscience, with no psychological burden at all. If one day they could no longer enjoy them, they would surely be full of complaints.

So when Xinghui once carried out financial system reform in Changshan and Chongjin County, what enormous risks he took, what tremendous pressure he bore. He was facing a privileged class, but at that time, relying on his strong background, outstanding ability, and tactics, he still managed to push the reform through.

The fact that these places now save tens of millions in annual fiscal spending each year is the foundation Su Xinghui laid.

After Miao Leshan finished, the other vice mayors also each briefly spoke about the work they oversaw. Since it was only a quick meeting, they didn't go into much detail, just gave a general overview.

Cai Jianguo focused on the recent joint-stock cooperation between state-owned enterprises and investors. Due to the intervention of the Provincial State-Owned Assets Management Group, many enterprises had carried out debt-to-equity swaps, so the joint-stock cooperation was proceeding fairly smoothly, and negotiations were expected to succeed one after another within a month.