Chapter 86

Shan Guozhi’s chaotic governing style also meant that Shangjun County had no major development in the ten years under his hands. Shangjun County’s GDP ranking had dropped from the second in the whole region when he first took office to the fourth in the whole region now. Thinking that Shan Guozhi would still be the county magistrate of Shangjun County for five years, Su Xinghui felt his scalp tingle.

Su Xinghui made up his mind that he must topple Shan Guozhi as soon as possible.

Three days after Shan Guozhi inspected Menghuling Township, Shangjun County Party Secretary Ji Tao also came to Menghuling Township for an inspection.

This was an unusual move. In the past, few leaders would come to Menghuling Township, but now a whole string of them came, and almost all the leaders in the county had taken turns to come once.

There were not many people accompanying Ji Tao to Menghuling Township, less than ten in total. The county-level leaders were Agricultural Deputy County Magistrate Zhang Kaishan and County Party Committee Office Director Gu Kangping. Only two reporters came, one was a photographer, and the other was still that correspondent of the "Yulin Daily" in Shangjun County, Wang Congliang.

This was the second time Zhang Kaishan had come to Menghuling Township this month. Last time he came alone, but this time his arrival was even more eye-catching because he came with County Party Secretary Ji Tao. What did this mean?

Ji Tao had been in Shangjun County for so long, and the only member of the County Party Committee who truly leaned towards him was Gu Kangping. Gu Kangping was the director of the County Party Committee Office, and this position naturally required leaning towards the County Party Secretary. The County Party Secretary would never tolerate having a County Party Committee Office Director who was incompatible with him by his side.

Zhang Kaishan’s relationship with Ji Tao was very ordinary before. At this sensitive moment, the two appeared in Menghuling Township together. What did this mean? Many people were thinking about this question.

Of course, Menghuling Township had become a pilot unit for agricultural reform in the province, so it was normal for Ji Tao to come for an inspection, and it was also normal for Zhang Kaishan to accompany him as the Agricultural Deputy County Magistrate. But was the matter really that simple?

How many simple-minded people are there in politics?

Ji Tao’s style was much more low-key than Shan Guozhi’s. He only came with two cars, and it was only when they set off that the County Party Committee Office notified Menghuling Township, asking Chen Hongfu and the others to wait at the township government.

After arriving at Menghuling Township, Ji Tao and his party ran to several villages in the whole township of Menghuling. They arrived at eight o’clock in the morning and didn't return to the county seat until four o’clock in the afternoon. They climbed quite a few mountains, which could be said to be a solid day of running in Menghuling Township. They had lunch at a villager’s house in Qishuping.

Ji Tao didn't let Menghuling Township send too many people to follow. Among the township leaders, he only let Chen Hongfu, Dong Jianshu, and Li Maofa accompany them throughout the whole process. In addition, he also named Su Xinghui and let Su Xinghui accompany them.

Many people were so jealous of Su Xinghui’s treatment that their eyes turned red, especially Peng Kehong. He looked at Su Xinghui with eyes that almost spewed fire. Why was he able to get the favor of the County Party Secretary?

Although Ji Tao was a weak County Party Secretary in the county, in any case, he was a top leader. Who in the township below didn't want to curry favor with him?

Ji Tao not only had a very different style of doing things from Shan Guozhi, but he also had a great contrast with Shan Guozhi in image. He was only in his early forties this year, while Shan Guozhi was already in his fifties. His figure was very capable. If he stood with Shan Guozhi, people who didn't know would probably think Shan Guozhi was the top leader.

Because Ji Tao was young, he also appeared energetic when climbing mountains. Fortunately, these attendants today also had good bodies, so they could keep up with his pace.

In Wild Boar Gully Village, Ji Tao stayed the longest. He looked at the wild game being raised in the special breeding farm and asked some questions, asking very detailed questions. When he learned that the first batch of wild game would be sold in late November, he appeared very happy.

For Professor Rao and his students who were providing technical guidance at the breeding farm, Ji Tao asked more questions. He also expressed his gratitude to these experts for coming to Menghuling Township to guide the breeding technology.

He was also very interested in the bamboo weaving crafts of the bamboo weaving factory, especially a bamboo weaving painting "The Country Is So Beautiful" woven by Xia Zhu. After seeing it, he couldn't stop praising it and gave it a comment of "ingenious craftsmanship." When he heard that this bamboo weaving painting was worth one thousand yuan, he also exclaimed repeatedly.

And when he learned that the women in the village could now earn an average monthly income of nearly one hundred yuan by relying on this bamboo weaving craft, he nodded happily and said, "This is truly women holding up half the sky!"

Zhang Kaishan introduced to him that the average annual cash income of the people in Wild Boar Gully Village was only twenty or thirty yuan before, and now just the income from this bamboo weaving craft for one month was worth several years. This contrast was indeed too big.

Ji Tao said that this proved the necessity and correctness of vigorously developing the rural economy, and that the efforts to develop the rural economy should be further increased in the future.

At the seedling breeding base of the Eucommia protection forest, Ji Tao met Professor Luo Ping and several of his students. Huang Chuanxiong and some of their other students had gone to other villages to provide technical guidance.

Ji Tao asked them some questions with great interest. When he learned that this Eucommia was a rare plant and also a precious Chinese medicinal herb, he asked the villagers to expand the planting area year by year. After more than ten years, this Eucommia forest would become the treasure bowl of Wild Boar Gully Village.

Ji Tao also very carefully asked the villagers on the spot whether the state subsidies for planting this Eucommia forest had been distributed to the villagers. The villagers told him that the subsidies had been distributed to them according to the planting area. Only then did he nod happily.

During the inspection, Ji Tao asked Su Xinghui, "Comrade Little Su, how did you think of so many ways to get rich?"

Su Xinghui said, "Secretary Ji, I read newspapers and saw stories of poverty alleviation and getting rich in economically developed areas. I felt that our township’s conditions were relatively similar to theirs, so I felt we could try it. Of course, this also thanks to the agricultural experts. These specific implementation plans were all proposed by them."

Ji Tao said with deep emotion, "Comrades, we all read newspapers, and some common people even say that our agency’s work is drinking tea and reading newspapers every day. But why didn't we see any fame when we read newspapers, while Comrade Su Xinghui could see so many ways from them?"

"This shows that we must be a thoughtful person, our work ideas must be broader, and we cannot act recklessly. We must know how to ask experts for advice in areas we don't understand, so that our rural economy can be well developed."

"Comrades, this year Deng Gong’s southern tour determined that economic construction is our main work focus in the future. We must be like Comrade Su Xinghui, be bolder, take bigger steps, and have a more flexible mind..."

While praising Su Xinghui, Ji Tao didn't forget to praise the township leaders of Menghuling Township. After all, some specific work still needed to be done by them.

For Ji Tao, Su Xinghui in his previous life didn't have much understanding of him. Ji Tao was the County Party Secretary of Shangjun County for three years and was transferred to another city in Hudong Province to serve as the Deputy Mayor. Later, Su Xinghui didn't pay too much attention to his career path, only knowing that he certainly didn't rise to the provincial level.

During the three years Ji Tao served as the County Party Secretary in Shangjun County, Su Xinghui was still in Menghuling Township, a standard officialdom rookie, who was confused. Of course, he wouldn't have any intersection with Ji Tao, and he didn't know much about Ji Tao’s personality and ability.

Speaking of which, in his previous life, Ji Tao’s impression on most people in Shangjun County was also blurred. Because Shan Guozhi was powerful, Ji Tao didn't reveal his edge. He didn't find any good opportunities and just steadily spent three years padding his resume before rising one step.

However, judging from the process of his inspection in Menghuling Township today, Su Xinghui’s first impression of him was not bad. At least his work style was more pragmatic than Shan Guozhi’s, and being able to climb so many mountains during the inspection was not something an ordinary person could do.

You say he is showing off, but leaders like Shan Guozhi are too lazy to even show off. No matter where they inspect, they are just skimming the surface and will not go deep at all. From this point of view, leaders who can show off are still better than leaders who are not even willing to show off.

Of course, judging from his experience in his previous life, Ji Tao was still a bit slick. In the absence of certainty and opportunity, he would absolutely not take the risk to fight Shan Guozhi. He would rather steadily spend three years padding his resume.

However, among the current officials, how many are not slick? Su Xinghui didn't think this was a big evil.

Judging from the inspection process today, Ji Tao seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding with Zhang Kaishan. This showed that Ji Tao’s political sense was still very sensitive. As long as he found an opportunity, he would decisively strike. His decisiveness was still quite good.

Seeing these advantages of Ji Tao, Su Xinghui believed that Zhang Kaishan and Ji Tao still had a basis for cooperation. No matter what kind of person Ji Tao was, if Zhang Kaishan and he could cooperate to disintegrate Shan Guozhi’s power, then Shangjun County would not become worse than in his previous life. This was worth it.

At least Zhang Kaishan could also get what he wanted in the cooperation with Ji Tao.

Of course, Ji Tao didn't know that the young man in front of him was evaluating him in his heart. After delivering an impromptu speech, he cordially said to Su Xinghui, "Comrade Su Xinghui, work hard!"

Su Xinghui made an excited appearance and nodded repeatedly.