Volume 2: County Magistrate's Office Chapter 25: Testing the Blade (Part 2)

  Comrade Tao smiled meaningfully before speaking: "Comrades, I've been listening to everyone's opinions. Why? Because our Standing Committee rarely discusses construction contracting issues. After all, we're not experts, and being well-versed in Marxism doesn't mean we're proficient in everything. Issues like this should be left to the Construction Bureau and other relevant departments to decide. However, since this government investment project is related to Yan Shan's future, us outsiders can only pretend to be insiders and speak freely. But ultimately, I think the decision-making power doesn't lie with our Yan Shan Standing Committee, but rather with the Construction Bureau, Metrology Bureau, and other frontline comrades present here. After all, each profession has its own expertise!"

  He said with a smile to Du Dawei: "Director Du, you say it's this kind of reason." Du Dawei smiled and agreed, but secretly scolded him in his heart. The old fox always uses this kind of rhetoric, but in the end, isn't it up to your Standing Committee to decide? Are you saying that the tone of your meeting is to agree to let Zhengdong Construction take the contract, and then we'll just go through the motions with another company? If so, I've had enough of being the director.

  Secretary Tao smiled and said, "As for me, I follow the principle of listening more and speaking less in this meeting. Comrades have all made very reasonable remarks. I just want to say a few words. When it comes to government-invested projects, we don't emphasize terms and conditions when contracting out to foreign companies. We only recognize the qualifications and strength of construction companies. Just like Secretary Tang has always advocated for provincial construction companies to undertake all projects, I also hold the view that strength is supreme in project contracting, without distinguishing between close or distant relationships."

  Secretary Tao's words were ambiguous, but who among them hadn't spent most of their lives figuring out such vague language? Everyone could understand that Secretary Tao was supporting Secretary Yao's Daxing Construction. Among the several construction companies, Daxing Construction had the strongest strength and also had the "Construction Engineering Professional Contracting Secondary" certification. Although at that time, qualification certification had just started, and the rules were relatively chaotic, people had gradually accepted the concept of enterprise certification. Secretary Tao said "strength is supreme", naturally supporting Daxing Construction.

  County Magistrate Li's face changed, and he couldn't help but add a few more hateful gazes at Old Tao. He had thought that he had already suppressed his nominal second-in-command to the point of being almost useless, but who knew that just as he was about to win a round against Secretary Yao, Old Tao suddenly gave him another blow on the head. This was clearly an attempt to completely undermine him and make him lose all credibility in the county committee.

  Lao Tao spoke up, and originally neutral Politburo member Ye Secretary also smiled and changed the subject: "Not bad not bad, I completely agree with Secretary Tao's views."

  This way, Secretary Yao had five votes and County Mayor Li had four. County Mayor Li looked at Tang Yi, the only one who hadn't spoken yet, and sighed inwardly. Secretary Tang would definitely make a passionate plea again to have the project contracted out to the provincial construction company. This vote was equivalent to abstaining. Five votes against four, he lost again.

  County Magistrate Li sighed, and Tang Yi smiled: "It seems that only I haven't spoken yet. Just now, after listening to Secretary Tao's words, it's better than reading books for ten years. Secretary Tao is right, strength comes first, no distinction between kinship or distance." County Magistrate Li twitched his mouth, here we go again, trying to lead the conversation back to the Provincial Construction Company.

  "But what is strength? A few certificates? Registered capital? I don't think so." Tang Yi smiled and swept his gaze across the room, "I think that the buildings that have been built can truly reflect a construction company's real strength. Whoever builds better buildings has greater strength."

  He smiled and said: "Even if you get the certification of the American Building Association, but the building collapses on the second day, can that prove your strength? I think it's more like espionage."

  The audience burst into laughter, and County Magistrate Li couldn't help but laugh too. He thought to himself, "This little Tang is still so good at adjusting the atmosphere." Suddenly, he was taken aback - wait a minute, what did this kid just say? After savoring his words carefully, he realized that... had he actually voted for himself? County Magistrate Li looked up and saw Tang Yi nodding and smiling at him.

  County Magistrate Li's eyes were so moved that he almost shed tears, thinking to himself: "I didn't expect young Tang to be such an upright and selfless person, coming to support me at this critical moment. What can I say about myself?"

  Secretary Tao smiled and looked at Tang Yi, his smile was full of meaning.

  Five votes against five votes, Minister Jiao of the Organization Department remained neutral, and the meeting seemed to have reached an impasse.

  Secretary Tao smiled and said: "It seems that discussing it back and forth doesn't yield any results, let's just have the comrades from the Construction Bureau and other frontline units decide."

  County Magistrate Li sighed and said, "Old Tao is right, but will those units in the Construction Bureau listen to him?"

  At this time, Director Jiao coughed and said: "I agree with Secretary Tang's view."

  What? The meeting room immediately buzzed with noise. Some of the leaders were not calm enough and started discussing in huddles.

  Minister Jiao's stance was determined, and he supported Secretary Tang. What does this represent? It represents that Secretary Tang and County Magistrate Li won with six votes, representing the first time County Magistrate Li defeated Secretary Tao at a Standing Committee meeting. It also represents Secretary Tang's powerful intervention in the Yangshan political landscape for the first time, and his first contest gave Secretary Tao a heavy blow.

  Everyone was excitedly discussing, how sharp were the political senses of these leaders? Everyone knew that this meeting would have a far-reaching impact, and it might be the beginning of a new political landscape in Yan'an. Perhaps, from now on, Yan'an would no longer be dominated by Secretary Tao's single voice, but would develop through a series of open and secret struggles and compromises.

  Secretary Tao's smile looked awkward, he took off his glasses and slowly wiped them with a cloth, also calming the unease in his heart.

  Minister Jiao couldn't help but let out a wry smile. He had originally maintained a neutral stance, but after Tang Yi's words, he revealed a thought-provoking smile to him. Minister Jiao naturally understood what that smile meant - Secretary Tang had drawn his sword, and he also needed to take a stand.

  Minister Jiao hesitated for a long time. He wanted to show kindness to Tang Yi, but he didn't want to take a stand in this kind of venue where everyone was watching his every move. If he supported Tang Yi today, it would be impossible for him to maintain a good relationship with Secretaries Tao and Yao again. Everyone would think he was Secretary Tang's loyal follower.

  Minister Jiao was inwardly struggling, with a bitter smile in his heart. But when he looked up and saw Tang Yi's gaze becoming increasingly sharp, Minister Jiao gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "Forget it, I'll just take a gamble." From then on, he no longer hesitated and spoke out in support of Tang Yi.

  When he saw Secretary Tao's sinister gaze, Director Jiao's heart gradually calmed down. People are like this, before making a decision, they fear this and that, worrying about gains and losses. Once the decision is made, they become fearless.

  "Director Tao, let's vote!" said County Magistrate Li enthusiastically.

  Secretary Tao put on his glasses slowly and smiled: "What's the vote for, it's not a Standing Committee decision, didn't we set the tone long ago? We're just expressing our own opinions for reference by frontline comrades." He turned to Du Dawei and said: "Director Du, you've heard our speeches, what do you think? You're an expert in urban construction, which of these architectural companies do you think is most suitable? Don't worry, speak your mind."

  County Magistrate Li's face turned green with rage, but the old fox was too cunning and managed to gloss over the failure of this Standing Committee meeting. Instead, he asked for the opinion of the Urban Construction Bureau, and Du Dawei, the slippery head of the bureau, didn't hesitate to provide a convenient excuse. He would definitely choose Yao's Daxing Construction, which meant that Old Tao had completely fooled himself and Secretary Tang, along with several other Standing Committee members.

  Magistrate Li thought about it more and more, getting angrier by the minute. He wanted to stand up and argue his case, but accidentally glanced over at Tang Yi sitting next to him on the right side. To his surprise, he saw that Tang was smiling as he sipped his tea, looking like a carefree person who didn't have a worry in the world. Magistrate Li was taken aback for a moment, and couldn't help feeling a twinge of shame in his heart. What's wrong with him? He wasn't even as calm as a young man in his twenties. Shaking his head, he leaned back against the chair. Actually, it wasn't strange that Magistrate Li lost his composure. When someone is about to taste the fruit of victory, only to discover that it was actually a trap of failure, the huge psychological reversal would make him lose his usual calm demeanor.

  Tang Yipin sipped his tea, coldly gazing at Secretary Tao, thinking to himself: Old Tao, you're really stubborn just for the sake of appearances. If you really choose Dahsing Construction, what about that scoundrel Yao? I won't let him off easy if he doesn't stir up some trouble with the project; it would be a waste of his reputation.

  Secretary Tao smiled and asked for Du Dawei's opinion, but Du Dawei was in a dilemma. He couldn't afford to offend either side, as each of the two permanent committee members had more power than he did. Now that the two major factions were vying for control, would he dare to intervene and become a scapegoat?

  Director Du turned his eyes and smiled: "This, this issue I myself can't make up my mind, after all we must be cautious! Let's go back to the bureau and ask experts to hold a seminar, then consult with other relevant departments, when there is a specific opinion I will report to the county committee."

  Secretary Tao was somewhat dissatisfied that Director Du didn't openly express his support, but thinking about it, this was also good. He hadn't lost face and had managed to hold his own against County Magistrate Li. Just as he was about to nod in agreement, Old Yao spoke up with a stern expression: "Director Du, what is your Construction Bureau doing? This meeting was notified three days in advance, shouldn't you have made the necessary preparations and decisions by now? What kind of work efficiency is this? I think you're not very competent as the head of the Construction Bureau!"

  It's no wonder Old Yao is angry. Originally, this Standing Committee meeting was supposed to be a contest between him and County Mayor Li. But after each of the Standing Committee members expressed their views, Old Yao suddenly found himself relegated to the periphery. The actual confrontation unfolded between Secretary Tao and County Mayor Li Tang Yi, while he inexplicably became just one of the eleven Standing Committee members, his weight seemingly equivalent to just one vote out of eleven. How could this not make him, who thought of himself as the second-in-command of Yan Mountain, seethe with anger?

  When Du Dawei failed to make a clear statement, Old Yao directed his anger at him.

  Upon hearing Old Yao's harsh rebuke, Du Dawei felt somewhat annoyed, furrowing his brow and turning to glance at Tang Yi. Seeing that Tang Yi nodded slightly in his direction, he steeled himself and said: "Secretary Yao is right, we should indeed conduct a self-examination. In fact, we had already decided on the enterprise candidate, but were being cautious and wanted to study it further. Since Secretary Yao is in a hurry, I'll announce it ahead of time - our Construction Bureau's opinion is that the Xiaohuayuan project contract should be awarded to Zhengdong Construction." After finishing speaking, he let out a sigh in his heart, thinking that since he had been trying to curry favor with Tang Yi by addressing him as "brother" these past few days, this move would surely make Tang Yi appreciate him more. As for Secretary Tao's side, he could think of ways to slowly smooth things over later - after all, it was Old Yao who had pressured him into this, and Secretary Tao couldn't blame him for it.

  When Director Du expressed his support for County Mayor Tang Yili, he also saw the exchange of glances between Du Dawei and Tang Yi. The expressions of each committee member became richer, and probably everyone's mind would simultaneously think of one thing: when did Secretary Tang have a considerable degree of control over the administrative affairs bureau below?

  Secretary Tao's face turned iron-green, looking at Du Dawei, then at Secretary Yao, and again at Tang Yi, not knowing who to scold. Anyway, his own face had been lost big time, and in a few days, the news would spread all over Yanshan. At the Standing Committee meeting, County Magistrate Li suppressed Secretary Tao's momentum, but what was even more frightening were the rumors that flew everywhere, exaggerating how much his influence had declined, and how weak his voice was within the county party committee.

  Even if we don't bother with these rumors, just look at the inscrutable expressions of everyone present, and look at the heads of the departments whispering to each other. They will definitely come up with their own ideas, and it's unlikely that things can go back to normal as before.

  When the meeting was over, County Magistrate Li warmly shook hands with Tang Yi and smiled: "Secretary Tang, thank you!"

  Tang Yi smiled and shook his head, just about to leave the meeting hall, when Secretary Lei Hao of the Discipline Inspection Commission came over again, smiling: "Secretary Tang, we're old acquaintances now, let's have a drink together sometime?" He was the secretary of the Political and Legal Committee in the previous term and had also severely criticized Tang Yi at the Standing Committee meeting. However, after Tang Yi became the county party secretary, the two only exchanged polite nods when they met, and Tang Yi knew that Lei Hao might not be able to accept the change, after all, a former subordinate had suddenly become his leader, which would make anyone uncomfortable.

  Tang Yi also knew the meaning and never took the initiative to talk about how they used to be friends, as if the two had never met before. This time, hearing him bring up this topic, he smiled and said, "It's settled."

  Secretary Tao looked at Tang Yi smiling and shaking hands with each of the standing committee members, then glanced back at Old Yao who was hanging his head in despair, gave him a fierce stare, and strode out of the meeting room.