Chapter 25 of 100

Chapter 25

17 min read4,150 words

Chapter Seventeen: Breakthrough at Qianchi

The air was fragrant with the scent of jasmine, but Lin Ruoshui was in a foul mood, her chest heaving with agitation. She was so frustrated! She fiercely threw the initial draft of the personnel plan on the desk and slumped into her swivel chair, her mind replaying the scenes from the Standing Committee meeting.

The Standing Committee had overwhelmingly approved the candidates for the Director of the Audit Bureau and the Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau, as proposed by Yang Zixuan. Only Deputy County Magistrate Fang Ling raised objections, but they were negligible.

Su Nan and Huang He, being new to the county, did not want to strain their relationship with Yang Zixuan over the positions of these two county government-affiliated units, so they went along and voted in favor.

However, the position of the Party Secretary of Honghe District was a different story. The Standing Committee members had differing opinions. After all, Hongshui County had only one district, Honghe, making the position of its Party Secretary crucial.

Su Nan was unwilling to give up this position. Although she knew that Lin Ruoshui had the backing of the City Party Secretary Lin Pei, she was still hesitant. It would be extremely difficult for her to be controlled by a young woman. She had spent most of her life working under her old leader and had finally been appointed as the county magistrate. How could she be controlled by a young woman? It would be embarrassing. Moreover, as long as her old leader was still in power, his protégés in the province would still look after her, so she was not particularly wary of Lin Pei. After all, if Lin Pei wanted to advance to a provincial position, he would have to consider many factors and would not easily suppress her.

Therefore, she was determined to keep the position of the Party Secretary of Honghe District firmly in her hands. However, being new to the county, she was still unfamiliar with the situation and could not find a suitable candidate for promotion. The best strategy was to delay the decision until she was more familiar with the work and had a suitable candidate.

Thus, Su Nan concluded the meeting by saying that the selection of the Party Secretary of Honghe District needed further deliberation and would be discussed at a later date. She also instructed Lin Ruoshui and Huang He to continue evaluating and proposing candidates, and to keep her informed.

Yang Zixuan, who had gone with the flow, emerged as the biggest winner of the Standing Committee meeting, securing two important positions in the county government, significantly enhancing his prestige.

After a while, Lin Ruoshui's breathing calmed down. She picked up the personnel plan from the desk and sighed. Yang Zixuan was no fool. Although he was a year younger than her, he was more adept at using various tactics.

In the past, when Lin Ruoshui worked in management at the Zijin Auto Manufacturing Plant in the provincial capital, everything had gone smoothly, and she had not experienced much adversity. She had not expected to stumble so badly when she came to the county.

She was still too young!

In the morning, a stream of motorcycles converged towards the county government building.

"Hey, Old Wang, have you heard about the county Standing Committee meeting yesterday? What was discussed?"

"I heard a few things from our boss. The main topic was the personnel adjustment plan. The candidates for the Director of the Audit Bureau and the new Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau, both recommended by County Magistrate Yang, were approved. However, the position of the Party Secretary of Honghe District was quite contentious. Secretary Su Nan and Minister Huang He did not express any opinions and suggested delaying the decision."

"County Magistrate Yang is so capable? Was he just pretending in the Standing Committee meetings before?"

"Definitely. We should have Old He treat us to a meal. He's been promoted quickly, like a rocket, to the position of Director of the Audit Bureau."

"Connecting with County Magistrate Yang means a bright future ahead!"

A few junior officials and clerks chatted casually on their way to work, admiring and respecting the new county magistrate for quickly establishing a foothold in the county government.

Yang Zixuan sat in his office, flipping through the report on the establishment of the Hongshui Economic Cooperation Development Zone, which had been delivered by Lan Le. A tall woman in ordinary attire knocked on the door and entered.

"County Magistrate Yang, you wanted to see me?"

"Oh, Li Ling, come in and take a seat." Yang Zixuan raised his head slightly, glanced at the woman, and then returned his attention to the report.

Li Ling had received a call early in the morning from the county government office director, Song An, saying that County Magistrate Yang wanted to talk to her. Yang Zixuan had not yet chosen a secretary, so Song An was happy to act as his temporary assistant.

"How is Qiu Nan's condition? Is he still in a coma?" Yang Zixuan asked without looking up.

Li Ling, Qiu Nan's wife, was under a lot of pressure, and Yang Zixuan could see that she looked very tired.

"Yes, he is still in a coma. The doctors say he has passed the critical stage and should wake up in a few days," Li Ling said hesitantly.

"Qiu Nan's suicide attempt has had a significant impact. The City Party Committee has also heard about it. Last night, a City Party leader called me to inquire about the reason for his suicide. They asked if it was a problem with the leadership of Qianchi Town," Yang Zixuan finished reading the report, folded it, and placed it on the desk. He looked into Li Ling's eyes and said, "I called you here today to understand more about Qiu Nan's family situation."

"County Magistrate, our relationship is fine. We were classmates in junior high school. He came back after graduation and we got married. He has taken good care of me over the years," Li Ling spoke slowly.

"Did he often mention Secretary Li Zu or any issues in the town to you?" Yang Zixuan continued.

"After he started working in Qianchi Town, he often stayed overnight in the dormitory behind the town government to write reports and such, so I didn't hear much about his work. I haven't heard much about Secretary Li Zu, but I have heard him mention Deputy Town Mayor Li Tian a few times. It seems their relationship is not good..." Li Ling's voice was hesitant, but she spoke up.

"Really?" Yang Zixuan raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this new information.

Yang Zixuan asked a few more questions, but seeing that Li Ling was hesitant and not providing much information, he let her go.

It seemed that the issue lay with Qiu Nan himself. Everything would be revealed once he woke up.

As he was thinking, Song An quietly entered and whispered, "County Magistrate, I just saw Deputy County Magistrate Fang Ling go to Secretary Su Nan's office."

Yang Zixuan frowned. He did not have the habit of spying on others. Although he could glean some information from the movements of the Standing Committee members, he preferred to use open strategies. Of course, he would resort to underhanded tactics when necessary, but there was no need to constantly spy on others.

However, Song An had good intentions, and Yang Zixuan did not want to scold him. "Old Song, you can keep an eye on these things, but there's no need to be overly focused. Just let me know when it's appropriate, okay?"

Song An, a seasoned official, immediately understood Yang Zixuan's meaning, responded, and left.

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