Chapter 24: A Small Test of Skill (Part 1)

  At the county party committee meeting, the agenda was to discuss the construction issues of several small leisure areas near Guangming Square. Since it is a government-funded project, which construction company in Yanshan will be assigned to undertake the project also became a topic for discussion at the standing committee meeting.

  The small leisure district is probably the most profitable part of this new city construction, as it is fully invested by the government, making it a risk-free deal for construction companies. Unlike commercial pedestrian streets and other projects, where the government provides some loans but construction companies still need to invest heavily upfront, the small construction companies in Yanshan are somewhat powerless when it comes to undertaking large-scale projects.

  So an engineering project that seemed insignificant at first glance became a topic of discussion for the Standing Committee, and several heads of relevant units also attended the meeting, such as Director Du from the Construction Bureau. However, they basically only had a listening role, knowing that their participation was just going through the motions.

  In front of everyone at the meeting, there were several thick stacks of materials, which were the materials of several construction companies participating in the competition. Tang Yi flipped through the materials and couldn't help but smile, Li Baozi and Yao Nei were indeed inside.

  County Magistrate Li held the materials of Zhengdong Construction and expressed his own views: "This construction company is an old brand in Yanshan, with good reputation and strong economic strength. It was rated as a 'Youth Civilization' enterprise by the county youth league committee two years ago, and has been rated as a 'Contract-honoring and Credit-worthy' unit by the Administration for Industry and Commerce for two consecutive years. It has also been rated as an 'Excellent Enterprise' and 'Safety Demonstration Site' by the Construction Bureau many times." He turned his head to ask Director Du: "Director Du, what I said is correct, isn't it?" Du Dawei smiled and nodded in agreement.

  Tang Yi looked at County Magistrate Li with a profound meaning, unexpectedly finding that Li Baozi's backing was County Magistrate Li. The Oriental Construction Company was actually Li Baozi's company. After careful consideration, although the two shared the same surname "Li", they shouldn't have any close familial relationship. Judging from Li Baozi's timid behavior in front of Yao Yi Nei that day, he must have only recently established a connection with County Magistrate Li, or their relationship wasn't deep. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so tolerant of Yao Yi Nei. No matter what, County Magistrate Li was the second-in-command of the county.

  "County head Li continued: "I think, our government project is to build a leisure and entertainment place for the people of Yanshan, it's a project that benefits our hometown, benefits our descendants. The legal representative of Zhongdong Construction is a native of Yanshan, he will definitely work hard to do this project well, won't leave any substandard work and run away with his tail between his legs, he's afraid of being scolded by the people of his hometown."

  Secretary Yao's face turned somewhat unsightly after listening to County Magistrate Li's words, and it was clear that the tone of his voice was criticizing the Daxing Construction Company, which is still in court with people due to unfinished buildings.

  Secretary Yao coughed and asked Chen, the director of the United Front Department sitting next to him: "Director Chen, what do you think?"

  Minister Chen smiled and said, "No investigation, no right to speak. Logically speaking, I am not familiar with the construction industry, so it's not good for me to express my opinions. However, looking at these materials, I recall my old line of work and have some feelings about it. I think we shouldn't draw circles and squares around everything. Why do we need to distinguish between local and non-local? We are all one big family. Our united front work is supposed to unite all forces that can be united. Why do we artificially divide lines within our own people?"

  He didn't explicitly say he supported anyone, but everyone could tell he was speaking for Secretary Yao.

  County Magistrate Li felt a bit humiliated. Secretary Yao, the fifth-ranking secretary in the standing committee, didn't take himself seriously, and Chen, the small head of the United Front Department, also openly refuted his words. As county magistrate, he was indeed somewhat embarrassed, but there was no way around it. At that time, the political system gave more weight to the party than the government, and Secretary Yao intentionally or unintentionally marginalized County Magistrate Li, making him a nominal second-in-command with little actual power.

  In fact, the official ranking of several standing committee members is a trivial matter. In the minds of the county party committee leaders, there is another scale that ranks the secretaries and county magistrates according to their performance and influence. Of course, this order is very unstable and is constantly being adjusted. Currently, in the hearts of the leaders of various bureaus and departments of the county party committee and government, the ranking of the standing committee members' influence is as follows:

  The first one goes without saying, it's Secretary Tao. Old Tao usually has a smiling Maitreya Buddha-like appearance, but the county committee's major and minor events are all in his grasp. Even the personnel rights that can be influenced by Tang Secretary, the third-in-command, are firmly held in his hands.

  The second was Secretary Yao, although he ranked fifth in the Standing Committee, but his proposals often got the support of Secretary Tao, and he won several times in the competition with County Mayor Li at the Standing Committee meeting, gradually surpassing County Mayor Li in the minds of the leaders.

  Third, the young Secretary Tang, young and vigorous, not afraid to make enemies with anyone, often argues reasonably at meetings. As people gradually understand his personality, no one takes him seriously anymore. His proposals often receive high votes from the Standing Committee. With his recent impressive performances, his position has become increasingly prominent in the minds of various leaders. If it weren't for Old Tao's unclear attitude, I'm not sure if he would suppress this young secretary. It's likely that Tang Yi's position has already surpassed Secretary Yao's.

  Fourth, it was the deputy secretary of the county party committee and county mayor Li Xiuzhi. Since taking office, Mayor Li has rarely had any notable achievements to show for it. The big deal of attracting investment was also strongly promoted by the party committee, and even the newly established Investment Promotion Bureau, the leadership of the county government office towards it is already in name only.

  However, at today's Standing Committee meeting, County Magistrate Li came prepared. In fact, he didn't know the legal representative of Zhengdong Construction before, but a few days ago, Director Li Chengwei from the Armed Forces Department brought his nephew Li Pangzi to persuade him. At first, County Magistrate Li didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing, but when Director Li mentioned that the predetermined contractor was Secretary Yao's nephew, he immediately got angry. After some thought, although Director Li's vote is very light, it's still a vote, and if he can win him over, it will be somewhat helpful to himself. Although County Magistrate Li also knew that Director Li was a slippery person, at most, he would support himself for his nephew's sake in this Standing Committee meeting, but next time, who knows, he might change direction again. Still, County Magistrate Li agreed with a full mouth, thinking that if I help you once, I won't be afraid of you betraying me in the future. He had already planned to reveal the relationship between Director Li and Li Pangzi after the Standing Committee meeting, and see if Old Yao would still treat him as before.

  County Magistrate Li looked at the eleven standing committee members present, with a total of four votes on his side: himself, one vote; Propaganda Minister, one vote; Deputy County Magistrate Wang Hongmei, one vote; Armed Forces Minister Li, one vote; and unexpectedly, Discipline Inspection Secretary Lei Hao also expressed support for him after speaking. It seemed that as a native of Yanshan, he too was not fond of the outsiders from Daxing Construction.

  Four votes in hand, County Magistrate Li is somewhat pleased. Old Yao's interpersonal relationships are not good. If Secretary Tao hadn't strongly supported him, he shouldn't have gotten the support of three standing committee members. This matter doesn't concern old Tao, so he should abstain.

  The speeches of the various Standing Committee members were either implicit or explicit, gradually revealing their stances. Chen, the Minister of United Front Work Department and another Vice Secretary in charge of party school propaganda and youth league affairs, supported Old Yao. Jiao, the Minister of Organization Department, and Ye, the Secretary of Political and Legal Affairs Commission, made neutral speeches, which was equivalent to abstaining.

  Only Tao Secretary and Tang Secretary were left without speaking, County Magistrate Li was even more pleased, thinking that Old Tao and Little Tang would definitely abstain, himself with four votes, Old Yao with three votes, today he finally got his revenge.