Volume 2: County Government Chapter 3: Work

  Tang Yi had wanted to persuade Qijie to get married again, but that night when he arrived at the fragrant chamber, Qijie instead led him downstairs to the second floor, took out a key and opened the anti-theft door on the east side of the second floor. In Tang Yi's astonishment, she pulled him into the house. The house had probably just been renovated, and there was still a pungent smell of paint, but the renovation was quite beautiful, with milk-yellow marble tiles that could reflect people's shadows, and white walls. Qijie smiled and said: "This is your future new home, after a few days when the smell is gone, I'll help you buy furniture."

  Tang Yi furrowed his brow, but Qijie seemed to have been prepared for this, gently leaning into his arms and softly saying: "You often staying upstairs isn't a big deal, now the county committee people all know you live in Yongsheng Building, who knows if someone will pay attention to you. Besides, later on, you'll have more social engagements, some close friends should also bring their families over for a visit to show affection, can't just take them upstairs, right? I was worried about this earlier, coincidentally the house downstairs hadn't been sold yet, so I took the initiative to buy it. When you go to Beijing to study, I'll get Junzi to find someone to renovate it, what do you think? Are you satisfied?" As she spoke, she giggled and her red lips brushed against Tang Yi's ear, whispering: "Don't be angry, now you're the emperor, if you miss me, just call me down, I'll come immediately..."

  Qijie's fragrant breath tickled Tang Yi's ears, making his heart itch even more. He hugged her slender waist tightly and smiled: "That won't do, I want to visit your chambers every night." Qijie smiled and nodded, provoking another wave of heat in Tang Yi's mind. However, he knew that he had been thoroughly charmed by her. Qijie's skill at whispering sweet nothings was increasing rapidly, just like his own rapid rise through the ranks. But Qijie did all this for his sake, using a woman's tactics to persuade him with coquettishness and spoiled behavior, showing great care and consideration. Tang Yi felt warm in his heart once again.

  She struggled free from Tang Yi's invasion, panting and saying: "No, no... not here..." Tang Yi laughed and let go of Qijie, looking at the empty house with a frown: "Two houses, nearly 200 square meters, it's too tiring for you to clean by yourself. I think we should find a nanny."

  Qijie laughed: "You really think I'm too precious, and cleaning up the house would exhaust me? Besides, don't you cadres always emphasize thriftiness? Using a nanny wouldn't look good, right? And besides, there's nowhere to find one anyway." That was actually true, now only big cities have a nanny market.

  Tang Yixiang thought so too, but it's not that he thinks it's a bad influence. In economically developed areas, many leading cadres use nannies, and high-level leaders even have life secretaries assigned by the organization, just to free up their energy for work. This is also a kind of change in concept. As long as the organization doesn't spend money on it, hiring a nanny oneself isn't inappropriate. The main thing is that there's no nanny market at all in Yanshan.

  Qijie originally had a smiling face, but suddenly furrowed her eyebrows and said: "No way, no way, I still have to help you find an nanny. My house I can clean myself, but I can't come every day to help you tidy up." Every day during the day, going in and out of Tang Yi's house, those two living separately would be meaningless.

  Actually, Tang Yi didn't care about these things. He knew that his relationship with Qi Jie wouldn't be hidden from the old cunning folks in the county for long. After all, many people had seen him and Qi Jie together, but as long as they weren't caught cohabiting before marriage, others couldn't say much even if he and Qi Jie were close. At most, they would gossip behind his back, which was nothing to be afraid of.

  "So what? If others ask, just say she's my girlfriend."

  Qijie shook her head repeatedly, and Tang Yi analyzed the relationship for her: "You say it yourself, how many people know that we are close? Not to mention others, just Zhang Ziqiang, can still speak well of me behind my back? Sooner or later, this little thing will reach the ears of those old foxes in the county, and when rumors fly everywhere, you'll cry. On the other hand, if you admit that you are my girlfriend now and date me openly, they won't have any excuse to make trouble."

  Although Qijie still shook her head, it was clear that Tang Yi's words had made her think twice. Tang Yi took advantage of the situation and smiled: "I'm not forcing you to marry me, it's just a temporary measure, we can announce our separation at any time, after all, unmarried cadres breaking up doesn't violate the party's organizational principles."

  Qijie's mind was in a mess, Tang Yi's words were reasonable, but no matter how she thought about it, it didn't feel right to become his legitimate girlfriend. How could Qijie not have such beautiful fantasies, only to throw them away every time they arose, afraid to think further, just like she said, she was very afraid that her current happiness would also be taken away.

  Her head was dizzy and heavy, but she heard Tang Yi say in her ear, "Don't worry, I won't force you, think about it again." As he spoke, Tang Yi's lips came down, and Qi Jie's body went soft in his arms...

  ……

  Secretary Tao did not expect that Tang Yi would really put his words into action. As long as it was about the party's mass work, he would tirelessly report to him, and Tang Yi had a good sense of proportion: he made decisions on small matters himself, but only reported to Secretary Tao for approval when it came to decisions involving various interests.

  At first, Secretary Tao thought he was just pretending, but after a few months, Tang Yi's consistent performance made Secretary Tao feel a bit surprised. If it were someone else in the position of First Deputy Secretary, they would not have shown such respect to him. Moreover, Tang Yi's work style was swift and decisive, as if he wasn't afraid of offending other committee members at all. Some tasks that gave Secretary Tao headaches were handed over to Tang Yi, who executed them with exceptional decisiveness, without any hesitation or delay. For example, a few days ago, the county party committee had an opportunity for a young party member to study at the provincial party school. At that time, Secretaries Yao and Jiao both wanted to recommend their own people, and they almost quarreled over this quota, giving Secretary Tao a big headache. Whoever was given the quota would offend the other side. In the end, it was handed over to Tang Yi to handle. Tang Yi didn't say much, but directly gave the quota to an outstanding staff member in the county party committee office, which almost made Secretaries Yao and Jiao so angry that they vomited blood.

  Secretary Tao sometimes thought about it and decided to let Tang Yi stay in Yanshan to play the role of a white face for himself.

  Tang Yi has his own ideas, and his current strategy is to first appease Secretary Tao, trying not to make him feel threatened. Second, he will show a fair and just attitude, which is the best way to establish his influence in a short time, although it may make those committee members who have been offended dislike him, but it will also make them take his existence seriously and not ignore him because of his young age. Besides, Tang Yi always weighs things carefully before acting, and none of the thorny issues he handled would completely offend anyone. This approach will also make these old foxes think that they are not deeply involved in the world and will not consider themselves as a real opponent. Moreover, there is another subtle trick: if one day he helps someone with personal feelings, his good impression will rise sharply.

  After handling the Yan Shan County Youth Party Member Training Incident, Secretary Tao and Tang Yi sat in the office chatting, sitting side by side on the sofa, looking intimate and close, with Secretary Tao occasionally bursting into hearty laughter.

  Seeing Lao Tao's good mood, Tang Yi took the opportunity to take out a document from his briefcase and handed it over: "Secretary Tao, I have an immature idea about economic construction, please advise me?"

  Secretary Tao took over the document, flipped through it casually, and said with a smile: "This is your responsibility, you can make the decision, we'll discuss it at the Standing Committee meeting later."