Chapter 76

Chapter 32: The First Meeting with Li Dongxing

Fang Mingyuan was greatly surprised; he had not expected Zhao Guirong to come up with such a suggestion. Suing officials was a daunting task in China, a fact that had always been true. Even in the previous life, in the year 2000, it was still extremely difficult. Since ancient times, officials have protected each other, and this saying is not without basis. To bring down an official, the effort required is so great that it would make ordinary people hesitate.

However, upon further reflection, he realized that Zhao Guirong's suggestion was not purely a whim or a wild idea. New officials often start with three fires, aiming to shake up the previous officials, making them recognize the new situation, show their stance, and align themselves, thereby establishing the authority of the new county magistrate. At the same time, it would free up some positions, creating conditions for the new county magistrate to promote personnel. If the new official is an outsider, this would be even more necessary. If these officials' positions were not affected, who would obey the new county magistrate?

At this moment, exposing Cheng Gong's misdeeds would provide the new county magistrate with ammunition. Since the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory is a major tax contributor in Pingchuan County, Hai Zhuang Town is the most important town in the county. Capturing the deputy mayor in charge of actual power here and replacing him with someone loyal would allow the new county magistrate to take over as mayor when the current old mayor retires, thus controlling Hai Zhuang Town. This would be a perfect start for the new county magistrate, leaving everyone in awe.

Fang Mingyuan's eyes immediately lit up. If he could use this opportunity to bring down Cheng Gong and get to know the new county magistrate, the Fang family's foundation in Pingchuan County would be solid. This risk was worth taking.

Zhao Guirong smiled and said, "Mingyuan, don't think that Auntie is trying to harm you. Your actions do carry risks, but they are not as great as you think. I've heard that your family has asked Zhao Jianguo, the factory's director, and Zhu Dajun, the deputy director, to intercede on your behalf? Cheng Gong did not give them any face, and they must be quite frustrated. However, if your family closes the restaurant, Cheng Gong will have no way to deal with you. You are workers at the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory, and your relationships are all within the factory. As long as the factory does not make things difficult for you, Cheng Gong will have no power over you. These are two different systems. Cheng Gong can ignore Zhao Jianguo within his jurisdiction, but Zhao Jianguo can also ignore Cheng Gong within his jurisdiction. You are already somewhat well-known in the factory. As long as the factory leadership does not speak up, you can treat Cheng Gong's threats as barking dogs! If he dares to use underhanded methods, Zhu Dajun is about to be transferred to the county as a deputy director, and he will think twice."

"Auntie, do you have the resume of this County Magistrate Li?" Fang Mingyuan suddenly asked.

"Of course, I've already prepared it for you!" Zhao Guirong picked up a piece of paper from the desk and placed it in front of Fang Mingyuan.

"Li Dongxing, ... former deputy secretary of the Weinan Railway Station Party Committee..." Fang Mingyuan's eyes lit up again. This was a situation where the path seemed blocked but then suddenly opened up.

"Auntie, what do you plan for us to do?"

Two days later, early in the morning, the leaders of the town committee and government, along with a deputy factory manager from the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory, were waiting by the road leading from Hai Zhuang Town to Pingchuan County. Today was the first visit of the new county magistrate, Li Dongxing, to Hai Zhuang Town, and these people naturally did not dare to be negligent.

Deputy Mayor Cheng Gong stood slightly behind Party Secretary Ji of the town committee. The old mayor had been unwell for a few days and was currently recuperating in the Pingchuan County Hospital, so the town government's work was currently being handled by him. Cheng Gong was quite pleased with himself. The old mayor was clearly not in good shape, and he was the most likely candidate to succeed as mayor. Party Secretary Ji of the town committee would also be retiring in two years, and at that time, he would naturally take the next step, becoming the party secretary of Hai Zhuang Town. Before he retired, he would definitely enter the county party committee, and even become the deputy county magistrate or the county party secretary.

The only thing that troubled him was that Li Dongxing's arrival was somewhat sudden, coinciding with the five-day deadline he had given the Fang family. Government officials like the county leaders usually dined at the Fang family's restaurant when they came for inspections in recent years. If the Fang family said anything unfavorable, it would be very detrimental to him. However, upon further reflection, he thought he was being overly cautious. The Fang family was just a small family, and none of them held middle or high-level positions at the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory. What was there to worry about? He had already sent people to warn them that if they dared to speak out of turn in front of the leaders, not only would their restaurant be shut down, but their lending library would also be closed!

As for Zhao Jianguo, he was not in the same system, and although he was a director, his words... well, even Zhao Guirong, a woman, was better than him.

And Zhu Dajun was about to be transferred to the county as a deputy director. By the time he was firmly established in the county, everything here would be settled. As a person within the system, he would not choose this time to speak out of turn, as that would be going against the entire system.

At 9:00 AM, the convoy from the county arrived at the intersection of Hai Zhuang Town. County Magistrate Li Dongxing got out of the car and warmly greeted the leaders of the town committee and government, as well as the deputy factory manager of the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory. After the formalities, according to the schedule, they were supposed to go to the town committee and government offices to listen to the reports from the leaders. However, this time, Li Dongxing proposed to first visit the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory. Although everyone was surprised, as the largest state-owned enterprise in Pingchuan County, it was reasonable for the new county magistrate to do so, showing his emphasis on the work of the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory. Thus, everyone drove to the factory.

The group toured a few workshops at the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory, and then Li Dongxing proposed to visit the newly constructed computer room. "Our entire province has only about twenty computers, and Pingchuan County has been allocated three. This is a great honor for your factory and for all the people of Pingchuan County, demonstrating the central government's attention to us."

When they entered the computer room, Lei Xin was already waiting outside the door. The leading five or six people changed their clothes and shoes outside the computer room. As soon as they entered, they saw Fang Mingyuan and two young men sitting in front of the computers.

Zhao Guirong was somewhat surprised. According to the original plan, Fang Mingyuan was not supposed to be here. Moreover, this was the computer room, which the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory considered a treasure, with a total value of hundreds of thousands of yuan. What was a young boy doing here?

As expected, the deputy factory manager accompanying them had already frowned and asked Lei Xin, "Director Lei, who is this child? Don't you know the importance of this place? How can you let a child in here!" This would show that the management of the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory was not strict, especially in front of the new county magistrate.

Lei Xin was also nervous. Yesterday, Fang Mingyuan and Zhao Jianguo had talked to him for two hours and made countless promises before he reluctantly agreed to let Fang Mingyuan be here. But now, his heart was still pounding. However, since the deputy factory manager asked, he could only harden his resolve and answer according to the script they had agreed upon yesterday: "Factory Manager Lu, this is Fang Mingyuan, the child who made the solar water heater. His family runs the Fang family restaurant in town. Since computers are a new thing for us, and we are all unfamiliar with them, Fang Mingyuan has some experience with computer operations. I asked him to teach Zhang Lu and Li Hai so that they can master the operation techniques as soon as possible, allowing the computers to be put into production work sooner."

Factory Manager Lu looked at Fang Mingyuan with surprise. He was not unfamiliar with the name Fang Mingyuan, but this was the first time he had met him. Moreover, where had he learned computer operations? There were only about twenty computers in the entire province, and everyone treated them like treasures. How could a young boy be allowed to operate them casually?

"Fang Mingyuan? The little prodigy who has been the top student in his grade for eleven consecutive times at the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory's school?" Li Dongxing asked with a smile.

"That's him," Lei Xin replied, secretly wiping the sweat from his forehead, seeing that Li Dongxing's expression was not unusual.

Li Dongxing glanced at Factory Manager Lu and said with a smile, "Factory Manager Lu, it seems that the education at your factory's school is quite unique. I heard about him as soon as I arrived in the county. Director Lei, call him over, I want to ask him a few questions."