Chapter 94

Watching the two leave, Qin Lanqing couldn't help but let a faint, cold smile appear at the corner of her mouth. Reality was beautiful yet cruel. The people from Donghai Fuxi had such perfect aspirations, wanting to obtain the share originally designated for "Aiko Materials" without any price or product advantages!

They even wanted more shares!

Qin Lanqing had no good feelings towards this Donghai Fuxi, which seemed to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere, speaking with the tone of a big player, which was nothing short of ridiculous.

She even suspected that they had no production lines at all, just playing a shell game!

She took out her phone and called Su Caiwei, detailing the situation.

After listening, Su Caiwei had similar feelings to Qin Lanqing. She smiled elegantly and put her phone back in her bag, "Donghai Fuxi... what kind of background do they have?"

"Manager Gu, the women from Su Meng Culture don't seem to like us much!"

On a street not far from the International Building, a man in his thirties wearing sunglasses spoke to a young man in an Audi car, clearly displeased.

The young man called Manager Gu smiled faintly, fiddled with his fingers on the window, and said calmly, "Don't rush. Su Meng Culture is a big company and naturally won't take us, a newly established company, seriously. It's only natural! But... they will eventually pay attention to us."

The sunglasses man grinned, took off his sunglasses, and twirled them in his hand, "Since Su Meng Culture won't budge, why don't we put some pressure on Aiko? Make them give up the signed contract?"

Manager Gu shook his head, "They are a materials company. We have no market advantage and no leverage over them. It won't be easy to make them give up the contract!"

"There's always a way!" the sunglasses man sneered.

But he also understood that the contract between Su Meng Culture and Aiko Materials was worth 60 million yuan per year, 300 million over five years. Aiko Materials wouldn't give up such a big piece of the pie.

Although Aiko Materials wasn't as large as Su Meng Culture, its profit chain was relatively clear, making it difficult to intervene. Moreover, such material suppliers had significant influence in the industry, especially with the increasing support from the national environmental protection industry, Aiko Materials had channels to communicate with higher-ups.

Touching them would inevitably cause trouble. Instead, Su Meng Culture was easier to handle.

Su Meng Culture was a stationery production and sales company with a wide range of operations, making it easier to find a weak point.

Put some pressure on them, and they will eventually compromise!

"Manager Gu, let me handle this!" the sunglasses man chuckled, his eyes narrowing into slits.

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Ke Cai zhi, the vice mayor of Haizhou in charge of education, science, culture, and health, sat in his spacious office and glanced at the materials that Secretary Xiao Li had prepared that morning, then casually tossed them onto the desk.

"This Xiao Li, he really doesn't understand. Collecting all this useless information all day, doesn't he worry about tiring the leadership?"

What does a secretary do? A secretary helps the leadership reduce work pressure and facilitates communication. Some things the leadership can't say, the secretary should take the initiative to mention. Yes, that's what a secretary is for; the leadership hasn't said it!

Xiao Li has been the vice mayor's secretary for over a week, and he has no political awareness at all!

"Such a secretary is really not useful..." Ke Cai zhi sighed sincerely.

He knew that as a vice mayor in charge of education, science, culture, and health, he was actually a somewhat marginalized leader in the government.

But, nonsense! Don't underestimate a vice mayor! The Haizhou government has one mayor and six vice mayors, only six vice mayors!

Thinking of himself as one of the six vice mayors, he felt he should have a lot of power, fitting the role of a "mayor"!

But the reality was that only two of the seven "mayors" were in the Standing Committee, and the remaining five non-standing vice mayors felt like they were just there for show.

He had power, but it was useless, and this stark reality made Ke Cai zhi, the vice mayor, lose a lot of hair.

He wasn't from a democratic party, wasn't an independent, wasn't a minority, wasn't an intellectual, and certainly wasn't a female official. He was a legitimate member of the ruling party, so why was he marginalized to the point of having no power at all?

There are just too many people in China, and there are bad people among the masses!

After a bout of random thoughts, his gaze returned to the materials on the desk.

He couldn't help but grumble, "This Xiao Li, all he does is gather a bunch of materials every day, like sewage discharge in some place, hygiene issues in some restaurant, or a cable being dug up. All trivial matters!"

He didn't know how to help the leadership, and his enthusiasm was useless. Not knowing the priorities, what was the point of having him as a secretary? Next time, he would hint to him again. If he still doesn't get it, his political awareness is just that. He must have the secretary-general of the government replace him!

"Knock, knock, knock!" The knocking on the door interrupted Ke Cai zhi's thoughts.

"Come in!"

He straightened up, picked up the materials on the desk, and started reading seriously. Seeing Xiao Li come in, his face immediately turned stern, "What is it? So restless, not at all composed!"

Xiao Li took a deep breath, feeling depressed. After a few days of interaction, he had some understanding of his leader. This was a man with lofty ambitions, always complaining about his unappreciated talents, and now living a somewhat aimless life, occupying a position without doing much.

He knew that his leader's favorite thing to do was to put on a show and scold subordinates, as if that really highlighted his leadership status. On ordinary days, he also liked to go to subordinate departments for inspections, enjoying the feeling of being high and mighty.

As if he was an indispensable brick in the revolution.

"Vice Mayor Ke, there's a man outside who claims to be the son of a deputy director of the provincial Development and Reform Commission who wants to see you."

"What son of a deputy director? Can't you see I'm busy, with so much work every day, I can't even split my time in two? I won't see him, I won't see him!!"

"Oh, I'll go and get rid of him."

Xiao Li was about to leave.

"Wait, what son?"

"The son of Deputy Director Jiang from the provincial Development and Reform Commission." Xiao Li paused and repeated the man's claim.

"Is there a Deputy Director Jiang in the provincial Development and Reform Commission? Have you confirmed it?"

Xiao Li replied, "I called to confirm before coming in. There is indeed a Deputy Director Jiang, ranked third in the department."

"Alright, go and bring him in!"

Ke Cai zhi perked up, trying to show the dignity of a vice mayor.

A moment later, a man in his thirties wearing sunglasses walked in. Most people would be a bit nervous entering a mayor's office, but this man walked in confidently, completely unaffected by Ke Cai zhi's authority. Ke Cai zhi nodded, starting to believe his identity.

He stood up and warmly greeted him.

"Thank you for coming! I heard your father is Director Jiang from the Development and Reform Commission?"

The sunglasses man grinned, giving a sharp look at Ke Cai zhi's beer belly, and joked, "Vice Mayor Ke, you have a good appetite!"

"Ha ha, for the revolution, for the revolution!"

Ke Cai zhi enjoyed this. The more disrespectful the sunglasses man was, the more it confirmed his identity. In the political arena, being tough but not soft was a subtle and unspoken rule. It was quite frustrating that he was at the same level as the man's father, but the actual power was vastly different. To connect with him, he had to be pleasant to his son.

The sunglasses man looked at his watch and said, "Vice Mayor Ke, it's almost noon. I have prepared a simple banquet, hoping the mayor will honor us with his presence..."

"Where, where..."

Ke Cai zhi felt his pores relax at the flattery.

Yes! As a leader, this is the treatment you should get!

He turned and commanded his secretary, "Xiao Li, the leaders from those departments are coming to report this afternoon. Help me cancel them..."

Xiao Li smiled humbly. He knew Ke Cai zhi was putting on a show. In fact, there were no arrangements for the afternoon, and no department leaders were coming to report. But as a secretary, sometimes you have to support the leader, so he nodded tacitly, "Sure, Mayor, I'll cancel those arrangements for you."

"Ha ha, Mr. Jiang, please!"

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