Chapter 42: I'll Think of You Too

  Liu Siyuan was just about to sit down and get busy when the phone rang again. It turned out to be Hu Tianfang.

  "Director Hu, how do you have time to look for me?" Liu Siyuan walked to a deserted place and said in a low voice. Last time this kid put some aphrodisiacs in the wine, which caused him and Ouyang Qian to accidentally get intimate, bringing another huge trouble for him. So his feelings towards Hu Dabigongzi were very complicated.

  "Heh heh, I got some inside information, and it's related to you." Hu Tian said casually over the phone.

  "Oh? Mr. Hu, please instruct." Liu Siyuan was slightly interested.

  "The provincial government is planning to organize a cadre exchange activity, mainly targeting county-level cadres. The 13 prefecture-level cities in Qianhu Province and our provincial capital Hanjiang City will exchange cadres with each other. Are you interested?"

  "What city does the Han River communicate with?" Liu Siyuan asked immediately. What he said seemed to be the same as what Minister Ouyang had said, and it seemed that it couldn't be faked.

  "It's not decided yet, but my old man also has a say in this matter. Coincidentally, Gaofeng also wants to change his environment. And the news that Qiao Provincial Governor is transferred to Heihe Province as the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee has been basically settled. Zhexuan will also be demoted. Since everyone has fate and it's interesting to form a group, haha, let's just go to one place." Hu Tianfang burst out laughing.

  Liu Siyuan felt a chill run down his spine. Could this also be a group outing? But he still asked politely, "Oh, where do Director Li and Young Master Zheng want to go?"

  "They said listen to your opinion, what do you say?"

  Liu Siyuan was taken aback, "Why should the great Provincial Governor listen to my opinion?" He thought for a moment and said: "My opinion? This matter is too sudden, what opinion do I have? It's better to ask Director Li who has a broader vision or Zheng Ge who has a good father, their opinions are more important than mine."

  Hu Tianfang pretended not to hear the second half of his words and continued: "Okay, no rush in a day or two, think about it carefully. By the way, exchange cadres usually get promoted one level when they come back, this opportunity is hard to come by."

  "Got it, thank you General Hu."

  After hanging up the phone, Liu Siyuan sorted out his thoughts. The idea of going to the grassroots level was first proposed by Ouyang Xinghua, who seemed to agree that young people should experience it. Liu Siyuan was indeed moved, but after all, he had to change cities and start a new life, which wasn't an easy decision to make. So he dialed Fang Xinyi's phone number again and invited her to meet at the tea house in the evening. She agreed readily.

  Still in the corner of the tea house, Fang Xinyi wore a pink top today, paired with a knee-length skirt, looking quiet and playful.

  "An exchange of cadres is indeed an opportunity, because as long as you come back, you can solve the problem of becoming a deputy director. However, it's just recently that you've been staying in the inspection room and being promoted to deputy director. So maybe it's a bit wasteful, the best thing is that you are now in the inspection room and get promoted to deputy director, then go out and come back as a deputy department head."

  She took a sip of tea and continued: "But I'm just saying, it's not possible to promote you to the regular department now. After all, you've only been in the deputy department for a few months, and promoting you again would be a bit too much, unless something major happens. Of course, having grassroots experience is indeed very beneficial for future development." Fang Xinyi analyzed seriously. "By the way, if you go down, you can also make room for Minister Ouyang's daughter to take over your deputy department position and solve her problem, which would be a good thing to do."

  Liu Siyuan thought to himself that it was no wonder Ouyang Xinghua had sent his daughter here, he must have been planning this all along, indeed a farsighted move.

  "Does your heart agree with me going down?" Liu Siyuan also asked uncertainly.

  Here is the translation:

  "Let's put it this way, but you have to be prepared to suffer. The local conditions are not like those in our city, and the work style is completely different. There are also many cadres who, after being sent down to the grassroots level, fail to adapt and are automatically eliminated, which often means that their career prospects are hopeless."

  Liu Siyuan nodded and said: "But if I go somewhere else, I won't be able to see you often..." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he was in trouble, that he had misspoken.

  Fang Xin Yu smiled slightly, seemingly not particularly surprised. After looking at him for a while, she suddenly said very calmly: "If you go, I'll miss you too."

  After Liu Siyuan sent Fang Xinyi back to her dormitory, he thought about the conversation between the two of them on his way home. He had basically made up his mind to go to the grassroots for training. If what Hu Dabao said was true, with Li Zhexuan and Zheng Gaofeng going down together, there would be someone to take care of him in the upper echelons. The only problem was that he didn't know how to bring it up with Ding Hui. She had been living on campus recently, preparing for the national exam, so he decided to wait until after the exam to talk to her, lest he affect her performance.

  It was Fang Xinyu's unintentional words that caused ripples in his heart, would she really be like me? Was it just a casual remark? Or did it represent the bond of friendship? Or perhaps it represented a deeper implication...

  With the mayor's personal instruction, the efficiency of the entire municipal government was greatly improved. In just one day, the New Source Chemical Plant Environmental Pollution Control Task Force was established, with Secretary Zhang as the leader and Director Yu Ke of the Environmental Protection Bureau as the deputy leader. The names of Liu Siyuan and Ouyang Qian from the Supervision Office were also on the list of members. The leaders in charge of each bureau and commission also participated, and a temporary office was set up in the Environmental Protection Bureau.

  This made Liu Jianguo, who had originally vowed to get involved, extremely embarrassed. His name was not even in the working group, and if he intervened again, it would be said that he did not know the current situation.

  Liu Siyuan was worried about his own affairs and didn't bother to care about Liu Jianguo's ugly face.

  In the temporary office of the working group, seeing a group of people rushing in and out, Ouyang Qian looked very excited: "Si Yuan Ge, it's really relieving! You didn't see that previously arrogant factory leaders were like 258 million, but as soon as they saw the Labor Security Bureau, Court, Planning Commission, Legal Reform Commission, State-owned Assets Commission, and Propaganda Department personnel appear, they immediately became flustered and their attitude was extremely good."

  Liu Siyuan thought to himself that the people from the chemical plant were indeed a bit too arrogant, they didn't take you seriously even when speaking nicely to them, and only when Mr. Chen had to resort to extreme measures did they finally understand that the city government was playing for real this time, and it was then that they realized they should be afraid, but unfortunately it's already too late, with so many departments gathered together, they wouldn't be able to leave without achieving some results, and this time the chemical plant would definitely suffer a great loss.

  After all, it's their own fault, they're in the wrong from the start. As Liu Siyuan said, environmental protection is a national mandatory requirement. If you don't meet the standards and get shut down, who can you go to for help? Even if they have a strong background in the province, they wouldn't dare openly defy policy. First, Liu Siyuan mobilized the media, then Chen Guo pulled in the propaganda department, putting the issue on the table. Now the whole city of Hanjiang knows that the municipal government is doing practical things for the people, setting up a special task force to tackle pollution from chemical plants and giving the people a clean environment. At this point, whoever jumps out to help the chemical plant is going against the ordinary people.

  But just because it's not obvious doesn't mean there isn't pressure being applied behind the scenes. Take Zhang Zhengtong, the secretary-general, for example. During meetings, he's always full of vigor and enthusiasm, but as soon as they're over, he starts to frown and sigh, looking worried and troubled. It's because as the head of this group, he's a high-profile figure who's under pressure from all sides, and it's clear that his already thinning hair is about to disappear completely, which is really heartbreaking to see.

  After a few days, the old man estimated that he really couldn't hold on anymore, so he made up his mind to let go and let Deputy Director You Kefor take charge of the daily work of the working group, and he himself hid behind the scenes. Liu Siyuan also had some sense of crisis, the storm was too big, even Secretary Zhang was having trouble holding on, not to mention him, a small shrimp, if he wasn't careful, he would be overturned and left with nothing.

  So he took a look at Ouyang Qian, who was in high spirits beside him, and felt a sense of emotion. The children of officials are indeed good, for example, she, even if implicated, would at most change jobs and start again, but what about himself? Once implicated in something, it's very possible that he wouldn't be able to turn his life around for the rest of his life.