Chapter 55

The location for the investment promotion conference held by Qinglin City was set at the city stadium, lasting for six days. During these six days, Qinglin City and its various counties and county-level towns were all eligible to participate. Companies would invest in the projects they were interested in. Regardless of the final outcome, as long as the result was satisfactory, everything else was irrelevant.

By the time Su Mu arrived at the stadium, it was almost noon. After asking where the Xingtang County Investment Promotion Bureau's booth was, Su Mu hurried over, fearing that he would be late and they would leave for the day.

It was important to note that the participating units were at least the top-ranking towns within Qinglin City, with most being county-level investment promotion bureaus. A place like Heishan Town was absolutely unique. Due to the tight schedule, Su Mu had not had time to arrange for anyone to set up, so he came alone, planning to adapt as he went.

"Comrade, is this the registration desk for the Xingtang County Investment Promotion Bureau?" Su Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked a young man sitting behind the desk.

The young man wore a sun hat and was dressed flamboyantly. After glancing at Su Mu, he ignored him and continued on the phone.

"Xiaoli, I'm free tonight. How about it? Want to have dinner with me? What, you're busy? Come on, I hardly ever come here, and this time I even brought you a gift..."

Su Mu lifted his wrist to check the time; it was just past eleven, far from the end of the workday. So he cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Comrade, can you please register me first?"

The rule for Xingtang County's participation in the investment promotion conference was that one must register in person. Only after registering with the bureau would they arrange a spot for you.

However, to Su Mu's surprise, the young man still showed no intention of helping, holding the phone and grinning in a despicable manner as he tried to please the woman on the other end.

Bang! Bang!

Su Mu was not without patience, but he was unwilling to waste it on such a wait. He knocked hard on the desk and glanced at the young man's name tag.

"Fan Junming, right? I'm Su Mu from Heishan Town. Now, I ask you to put down the phone and register me immediately!" Su Mu said coldly.

"Hey, hey, Xiaoli, Xiaoli..."

Hearing the beeping sound from the phone, the smile on Fan Junming's face vanished. He looked up at Su Mu, his eyes filled with unhidden hatred.

"Why are you rushing? Can't you wait a bit? Didn't you see I was on the phone? Now, she won't go out with me, and you're satisfied. If you want me to register you, fine, come back in the afternoon! Now, it's time to leave!" Fan Junming shouted angrily.

In the afternoon, little brat, just wait. This time, there won't be a booth for your Heishan Town at the conference. Heishan Town, such a poor place, even thinking about coming here for investment, dreaming! Hmph, daring to disrupt my good time, not only will I not help you find investors, I won't even give you a chance. Registration? Forget it!

"If I'm not mistaken, your shift ends at twelve. It's not even an hour away, and you're saying it's time to leave. That's dereliction of duty! On duty but making phone calls, not doing your job, and deliberately making things difficult for the participants. That's malfeasance! With just these two charges, I can sue you. Now, I ask you one last time, will you register me or not?" Su Mu asked calmly.

"Not doing it, not doing it. Scaring me? Who's afraid of whom? Do you know who the head of the Investment Promotion Bureau is? He's my uncle. I won't give you any face today. What can you do to me?" Fan Junming shouted loudly.

"Is that so? Are you really sure you won't do it?" Su Mu asked with a playful smile.

"I..."

"You what? Shut up!"

Just as Fan Junming was about to stand up and continue shouting, a fat man ran over from the side. Despite his bulk, he ran quite fast. The moment he appeared in front of the desk, he glared fiercely at Fan Junming and shouted loudly.

"Stand aside, don't you see who this is? Town Mayor Su, don't take him seriously. He's just a nobody. I'll handle your registration. The booth for Heishan Town is already arranged, right over there."

"Who are you?" Su Mu frowned.

"I'm so flustered I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Fan Changsheng, the head of the Xingtang County Investment Promotion Bureau." Fan Changsheng smiled apologetically.

"You're Director Fan?" Su Mu asked indifferently.

"Yes, that's me. Town Mayor Su, you don't need to show me your letter. County Chief Zhao has already called me. I'll handle your registration right away." Fan Changsheng started working and quickly finished the registration, handing Su Mu a name tag and pointing to a booth.

"Town Mayor Su, that's the booth for Heishan Town. This time, besides Heishan Town, Longjing Town and a few others have also sent representatives. Since the venue is large, the scale of the conference is not small. Don't worry, if you need anything, just let me know, and I'll take care of it." Fan Changsheng said with a smile.

"Thank you, Director Fan!" Su Mu smiled.

"Not at all, not at all. Do you have a place to stay, Town Mayor Su? If not, I can arrange it for you. Also, do you have any staff to set up the booth, or do you need help with that?"

"Director Fan, don't trouble yourself. I came alone this time. Due to the tight schedule, there's no need to set up the booth. You're busy, I'll leave first!" Su Mu said and turned to leave.

"Take care!"

Only after Su Mu's figure disappeared from sight did Fan Changsheng turn around, his previously smiling face now cold and stern. He glared fiercely at Fan Junming and shouted, "If you don't want to work, quit now. Don't drag me down!"

"Uncle, he's just the mayor of Heishan Town, what's so great about him? Everyone knows Heishan Town is so poor. What's so impressive about being a mayor there? Why do you have to treat him like that?" Fan Junming asked angrily, showing no remorse.

"Shut up! From now on, you don't need to stay here. Go back to the bureau immediately." Fan Changsheng shouted without hesitation.

"Uncle, I..."

"What? Not listening to me now?" Fan Changsheng shouted angrily.

"I wouldn't dare, I understand. I'll go back this afternoon!" Fan Junming conceded.

Seeing Fan Junming's expression, Fan Changsheng couldn't help but shake his head and said sternly, "Junming, you're my nephew. I won't harm you. I'm doing this for your own good. If you stay here and get noticed by Town Mayor Su, you'll be in real trouble. Remember, even Lu Yining was taken down by him. What are you compared to him? If he wants to, even I could be dismissed!"

"What?" Fan Junming was stunned.

Secrets in the political arena are rarely hidden. Su Mu didn't know that he was already being taken seriously in Xingtang County. Anyone with connections could find out that last night's incident was ultimately due to Lu Ming offending Su Mu.

When Su Mu was a deputy mayor, he managed to take down the town mayor Yang Song. After becoming the mayor, he took down Lu Yining and promoted Xu Zheng. Who would dare to underestimate such a person?

Su Mu was truly unaware of all this. After leaving the stadium, he looked up at the scorching sun and shook his head in frustration. This damn weather was unbearable. Thinking about it, he had stayed at the Yazu Hotel in Qinglin City before, so he didn't hesitate and took a taxi there.

Su Mu wasn't someone who was particularly picky about his living conditions. Having grown up in the countryside, he could adapt to any environment. However, since he wasn't short of money, he saw no reason to deprive himself of comfort.

While on the way, his phone rang.

"Su Mu, it's me!" Liang Changgui's voice came from the other end.

"Old Secretary, what's up?" Su Mu asked, "Is there something wrong in the town?"

"Nothing major, just that the head of Lu's Construction, Mr. Lu, is here. He said you mentioned signing the contract today, and if possible, they can start construction this afternoon. They can guarantee to complete the Heishan Town primary school project within a month and ensure the quality," Liang Changgui said.

"Oh, Old Secretary, you remind me, I did mention that. I've already signed the contract. Just have Lu Kanghua sign it. I'll leave this to you, Old Secretary. Also, tell Lu Kanghua that time isn't the issue; the key is quality. It's better to take a bit longer than to end up with a shoddy project," Su Mu said.

"Got it, I know what to do!" Liang Changgui smiled and gave Su Mu a few more instructions before hanging up.

To be honest, Liang Changgui was quite reassured that Su Mu had entrusted the project to Lu's Construction. Compared to Xie Minghao's Tianwei Company, Lu's Construction was much better.

Finally, one thing was settled, and Su Mu relaxed. He believed that if Lu Kanghua was smart, he would build the Daliushu Primary School well after hearing the message Su Mu had Lu Lin bring. The 400,000 yuan construction budget might seem substantial, but it wouldn't be much for Lu's Construction, just enough to quench their thirst.

But Su Mu believed that Lu Kanghua should understand that if he could quench their thirst now, he could drink from the spring later.

"Lu Kanghua, I hope you don't disappoint me again!" Su Mu murmured, stroking his phone.

The car soon stopped in front of the Yazu Hotel. Su Mu went in and quickly checked in. As he was enjoying his meal in the air-conditioned room, he didn't realize that in the Qinglin City government building, a phone call was made, and after a brief conversation, the name "Su Mu" was mentioned.