Chapter 40: Personnel Adjustments in the Township

The next day, Wang Jian was sitting in his office when he received a call from Hu Yongbiao. Hu told him with a smile that Wang Erfang had been severely criticized after sobering up and that the trees in the field no longer needed to be cut down.

Wang Jian quickly expressed his gratitude and said some welcoming words about Hu coming to Xianhe Township to guide the work.

After hanging up, Wang Jian thought about calling Fang Zhiming to ask why the dilapidated house renovation had not been carried out. Although this matter was initiated during Zhang Zeguang and Li Jiarong's tenure, now that Zheng Shiguang and Wang Jian were in charge, they had to inquire about it to avoid any issues.

Wang Jian asked Du Xiaobei to call Fang Zhiming and notify him to come to his office. Fang Zhiming received the call without much concern and arrived half an hour later, sitting down on the sofa and asking, "Township Chief Wang, what do you need?"

Seeing Fang Zhiming sitting there nonchalantly, Wang Jian said calmly, "I heard that the funds for the school's dilapidated house renovation have been in place for a long time. Why hasn't it been carried out yet?"

"It has been done. How could it not have been done? A lot of money has been spent. Who said it hasn't been done?" Fang Zhiming said loudly.

Lying through his teeth, Fang Zhiming could do anything. Wang Jian felt angry inside but knew he couldn't easily lose his temper, especially since Fang Zhiming was still a deputy township chief, different from ordinary staff.

"Did you carry out the renovation of the dilapidated houses at Xinhhe Village Primary School?" Wang Jian asked, suppressing his anger.

Blinking his eyes, Fang Zhiming felt that Wang Jian wouldn't have called him without a reason. He must have heard something about the renovation. After a brief hesitation, he said, "Yes, I gave the money to Principal Lu and asked him to fix the houses!"

Wang Jian didn't expect this. If the money had already been given to Xinhhe Village Primary School, why hadn't the work started? Seeing Fang Zhiming's indifferent attitude, Wang Jian couldn't let it go and asked, "As the person in charge of the renovation, have you personally inspected the houses to see if they have been fixed? Have you supervised the use of the funds? What if the houses haven't been fixed and problems arise? Have you considered these issues?"

"Ha ha, I planned to inspect them, but I haven't had the time. Anyway, I'm no longer in charge of education and health. Township Chief Wang, please assign someone else to check it out!" Fang Zhiming laughed and stood up.

Fang Zhiming's words left Wang Jian puzzled. He was in charge of education and health, yet he said he was no longer doing it. What was going on?

While deep in thought, Fang Zhiming started to leave, saying, "Township Chief Wang, if there's nothing else, I'll go now!"

As he spoke, Fang Zhiming opened the door. Wang Jian felt that further discussion was pointless and waved him off.

Wang Jian felt very uneasy. He didn't know what was happening in the township. It seemed that Fang Zhiming was no longer in charge of education and health, and no one had informed him about the leadership adjustments. Zheng Shiguang was treating him with little respect.

Analyzing the root cause, Wang Jian realized that the power imbalance was too great. Zheng Shiguang controlled most of the committee members, while he had none. He needed to change this situation. After Zheng Shiguang became the township party secretary, a deputy position was vacant, and many people were vying for it. If Han Yuting could come to Xianhe Township, it would be great.

"Township Chief Wang, notify the personnel to convene a committee meeting!" Just as he was thinking, Zheng Shiguang called and instructed him.

Wang Jian instinctively agreed but, after hanging up, realized that he was the township chief, not Zheng Shiguang's subordinate. However, Zheng Shiguang's tone made it seem like he was a subordinate. He also remembered that he was still the director of the party and government office, which was a demotion in status. If he had known, he would have let Guo Qiang take the position.

He quickly called Du Xiaobei to notify the personnel for the meeting. After giving the instructions, Wang Jian thought about how to break the current deadlock. Everyone in the township was loyal to Zheng Shiguang, and he was just the township chief in name. To gain respect, he needed to arrange his own people and achieve some significant results. Arranging his own people was difficult, so he had to focus on his work.

Since a committee meeting was being held, he would use the opportunity to discuss work issues, such as the rural dilapidated house renovation and the agricultural structure adjustment. Achieving these goals would strengthen his position and increase his influence.

After a short while, feeling that the time was almost up, Wang Jian went to Zheng Shiguang's office. As he approached the door, he heard voices inside, which seemed to be from Organization Commissioner Zheng Qingzhi and Fang Zhiming, likely reporting on their work.

Seeing this, Wang Jian felt a mix of emotions. Zheng Shiguang's office was bustling, while his was deserted. The difference in power and status between the top and second-in-command was significant.

He pushed the door open and walked in. Zheng Qingzhi and Fang Zhiming stopped talking when they saw Wang Jian. Zheng Qingzhi nodded at Wang Jian and left, as he wanted to be promoted to deputy party secretary and was close to Zheng Shiguang. Fang Zhiming just glanced at Wang Jian and left.

"Township Chief Wang, I plan to adjust the division of responsibilities within the party committee. Li Xiangshan will be in charge of education and health, and Fang Zhiming will be in charge of family planning. The director of the party and government office will still be Guo Qiang, as Old Feng is too old to continue." After the two left, Zheng Shiguang looked at Wang Jian and said with a smile.

It seemed that Zheng Shiguang had not taken his advice and was surrounded by people like Fang Zhiming and Guo Qiang. Wang Jian remained expressionless. What could he say?

"Everything will be decided by Secretary Zheng. I would like to report on the agricultural structure adjustment and the school dilapidated house renovation." Wang Jian said calmly.

"Please give a brief overview. You can provide more details at the meeting." Zheng Shiguang knew that Wang Jian might be unhappy but didn't care. He was the leader in the township, and Wang Jian was just a young township chief.

Wang Jian briefly mentioned the two issues. When he heard that the dilapidated house renovation had not been completed, Zheng Shiguang frowned slightly but said nothing.

"Alright, let's go to the meeting." As soon as Wang Jian finished, Zheng Shiguang stood up and said.

Seeing that Zheng Shiguang didn't comment, Wang Jian followed him to the meeting room.

The meeting room was already full. Zheng Shiguang and Wang Jian sat together, and Zheng Shiguang chaired the meeting.

"Comrades, after discussing with Township Chief Wang and consulting some comrades, the party committee has decided to adjust the division of responsibilities for some leaders and the heads of the family planning office and the party and government office. Now, let Commissioner Zheng explain the adjustments." Zheng Shiguang looked at everyone and said, clearing his throat.

Clearly, Zheng Shiguang had not discussed this with him at all. Wang Jian was very dissatisfied with Zheng Shiguang's use of others as a shield but couldn't say anything. Hearing that the family planning office would also be adjusted, he immediately thought of Gao Rongmei's possible reassignment and wondered who would take over.

Zheng Qingzhi said, "I will briefly explain. After discussion, the division of responsibilities for Deputy Township Chief Li Xiangshan and Deputy Township Chief Fang Zhiming will be swapped. Li will be in charge of education and health, and Fang will be in charge of family planning. Gao Rongmei will no longer be the head of the family planning office and will be transferred to the women's federation. Deng Meina will be the new head of the family planning office, Guo Qiang will be the director of the party and government office, and Wang Jian will no longer hold this position. Liu Yan will be the head of the forestry station."

Such a significant change was made, and Zheng Shiguang had only informed Wang Jian about Guo Qiang's appointment. Wang Jian was irritated. Assigning Fang Zhiming to family planning was a promotion, while Li Xiangshan was being marginalized. Deng Meina's appointment as head of the family planning office suggested she was close to Zheng Shiguang, and Liu Yan's appointment as head of the forestry station surprised him. It turned out that Liu Yan had refused the party and government office position to become the head of the forestry station!

"Commissioner Zheng, do you have any comments?" Zheng Shiguang looked at everyone and asked.

Wang Jian wanted to oppose these appointments but knew that doing so would create a public conflict with Zheng Shiguang. This would force all committee members to take sides, supporting Zheng Shiguang and opposing him, making his position as township chief untenable. He needed to be patient.

Although Li Xiangshan was unhappy, he had no choice but to remain silent. Only the older township people's armed minister Tang Linzheng spoke up, saying, "Deng Meina has never worked in the family planning office. Can she handle the position?"

Tang Linzheng had previously opposed Zhang Zeguang's appointment of Gao Rongmei and now opposed Zheng Shiguang's appointment of Deng Meina.

Zheng Shiguang remained silent, and Zheng Qingzhi explained, "Although Deng Meina has not worked in the family planning office, she has done well in village family planning. She should be able to handle the position."

With this explanation, Tang Linzheng said nothing more, and everyone agreed.

Zheng Shiguang then said, "Now, let Township Chief Wang speak about a few issues."

Wang Jian looked at everyone and said, "I will discuss two issues. The first is the agricultural structure adjustment. Although policies have been issued by the province, city, and county, we have not been proactive enough. The people have not been mobilized, and they have not benefited. We need to focus on this work soon. The second issue is the school dilapidated house renovation. I visited Xinhhe Village Primary School yesterday, and the work has not progressed. This cannot be delayed. If problems arise, both Secretary Zheng and I will be held accountable. Since Fang Zhiming is no longer in charge of education and health, he should hand over the responsibilities to Li Xiangshan after the meeting, especially regarding the funds. Fang Zhiming told me that the money has been spent, but the houses have not been fixed. This cannot be reported to the higher authorities. I hope the handover will be done properly. Additionally, the county youth league has a youth poverty alleviation fund project for our township. This is a good opportunity. Li Xiangshan should contact Secretary Han of the county youth league after the meeting to handle this matter."

Wang Jian's words had a hidden meaning. Fang Zhiming felt uneasy, and Zheng Shiguang watched him closely, enjoying the conflict. The others were impressed that Wang Jian had secured a project so quickly.

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