Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four: Xu Shaonong's Miscalculation (Part 2)

Li Zhengyu jumped up in anger!

Dare to hang up on me?

Stunned for a second, he quickly dialed another number.

Vice Principal Xu sat leisurely in his swivel chair, surveying the office. For over a decade, Qian Ning had been the principal, and he had been the vice principal.

Though only a single character different, the gap between principal and vice principal was vast.

Being an official without the title of "chief" means your words carry no weight; being an official with the title of "vice" means your words are not taken seriously.

For years, Xu Shaonong's heartache had been the desire to remove the "vice" from his title.

However, no matter how hard he tried, the "vice" remained.

Sigh, it's all about timing and fate!

Just as he was lamenting his bad luck, the phone on his desk rang again.

Xu Shaonong grumbled, "The principal's office phone is different; it rings more often than mine!"

"Hello, this is Vice Principal Xu Shaonong. Principal Qian Ning is on a business trip. Who's calling?" Xu Shaonong said politely.

A young, arrogant voice came from the phone, "Is this Nan Da? I need to speak to Li Yi!"

Xu Shaonong was immediately furious, "There's no such person! You've dialed the wrong number!"

Bang! The call was hung up again.

"Annoying! Changing your number and calling again? Do you think I can't recognize you?" Xu Shaonong smiled smugly and hummed a classic segment from "The Taking of Tiger Mountain": "Today we drink to celebrate our victory, vowing not to rest until our goals are achieved. In the days to come, we will show our true strength, willing to shed blood to write the annals of history—"

Before he could finish the word "history," the phone rang again.

Xu Shaonong ignored it, letting it ring for about ten times. Only after he finished the word "history" did he pick up the phone. Just as he was about to speak, a deep, resonant male voice came from the other end, "This is Wen Yuxi from the Provincial Committee! Please connect me to Li Yi!"

Hearing that it was another call for Li Yi, Xu Shaonong was already very impatient. He replied humorously, "No such person found!"

He hung up the phone with a thud, thinking, "This kid is really bold, daring to impersonate someone from the Provincial Committee! You can change your number all you want, but I won't pay attention to you!"

Hmm, Wen Yuxi from the Provincial Committee? The provincial party secretary's surname is Wen, right? Is his name Wen Yuxi? Who cares! The provincial party secretary has nothing better to do than to play with a kid like Li Yi?

Wen Yuxi never imagined that his personal call would be hung up!

These past two days, the province was about to hold an industrial conference, and he had been invited to attend. Thinking about Li Yi's performance at the steel summit, he wanted to invite him to have a good talk. If he could get some useful information from Li Yi, it would be beneficial for the industrial conference.

Wen Yuxi was a parachuted official who had always developed in the central government. Although he had been posted to a city before, the country's industry was not well-developed at that time, and the city he was in was primarily agricultural with a weak industrial base. Therefore, he was a complete novice in industry.

Now, as a high-ranking official in the province, although he was mainly responsible for party affairs and cadre work, he also had to oversee the overall situation. With the economy as the main focus, he did not want to achieve nothing during his term. Recently, he had been intensively studying economic and industrial knowledge, gaining many insights and feelings.

"Agriculture ensures stability, industry brings wealth, and commerce ensures vitality." This ancient saying is a true reflection of the present.

To ensure the stable development of agriculture, the gradual prosperity of industry, and the rapid circulation of goods, thereby driving the entire market, the economy of Southern Province could achieve a qualitative leap in a few years. With economic development, the government would have the financial resources to invest in the people, infrastructure, water conservancy projects, public convenience projects, the "basket" project, healthcare, housing, and more, all of which could be improved!

At Wen Yuxi's level, the most important thing to consider is how to achieve development while maintaining stability, how to improve people's livelihoods, and how to benefit the region. Political intrigues and power struggles, unless necessary, he would be very cautious and try to avoid them. After all, a person's energy is limited, and constant struggles cannot withstand the relentless passage of time.

Wen Yuxi actually detested political struggles. He felt that such officials were similar to those described in the poem, "Pitifully, the emperor in the middle of the night leans forward in his seat, not asking about the people but about ghosts and gods." The only difference is their focus: one cares about ghosts and gods, while the other worries about their official hats.

Wen Yuxi's former secretary died in a car accident, and he died in a rather scandalous manner. This greatly angered Wen Yuxi, who was always strict with himself. He severely reprimanded the person who recommended the secretary, the director of the Provincial Committee General Office, Zheng Zhihong, and ordered him to select a better secretary.

Zheng Zhihong did not expect that the secretary would be so easily swayed. He had only been in power for a few days before he ended up in the underworld, causing him to suffer as well. This time, Zheng Zhihong learned his lesson and selected several candidates for Wen Yuxi to choose from.

After careful examination, Wen Yuxi chose the current secretary, Huang Shuqi.

Huang Shuqi's name sounds feminine, but he is actually a burly man from Northeast China, in his thirties, with a sharp appearance. He had been a deputy section chief for five years and remained at that level. After Wen Yuxi took a liking to him, he was immediately promoted to a full section chief, removing the "deputy" from his title.

Generally, the secretary to the provincial party secretary is a deputy department-level official, also serving as the deputy director of the Provincial Committee General Office. However, Huang Shuqi's experience was insufficient, so he had to start at this level.

Huang Shuqi was a first-generation college graduate after the resumption of the college entrance examination. After graduation, he directly entered the Provincial Committee General Office and was assigned to the Second Comprehensive Department. After working for over ten years, he had seen the ups and downs of the political world. This time, being favored by the provincial party secretary, he was very pleased. He knew that as long as he followed Secretary Wen for two to three years, he could be promoted to a deputy department-level position. After another two to three years, he could be promoted to a full department-level position, and at that time, he would be in his early forties, becoming a regional leader! His bleak future suddenly became bright.

Therefore, he worked extra hard. On his first day of work, he arrived very early, cleaned the office until it was spotless, and prepared a cup of good tea for Secretary Wen at the right time.

When Wen Yuxi arrived, he habitually opened the cup and saw a cup of tea that was neither too hot nor too cold, emitting a fragrant aroma. He nodded in approval. After handling official business, he thought about the upcoming industrial conference in the province and called Huang Shuqi in to find Li Yi.

Huang Shuqi was taken aback. Who is Li Yi? Which Li Yi? Being new, he did not dare to ask casually, fearing that if the boss got angry and kicked him out, he would lose face.

Just as he was hesitating, Wen Yuxi said, "Oh, he's from Nan Da!"

Huang Shuqi immediately responded, "Okay! Secretary Wen, I'll call him right away."

He couldn't help but wonder, "Who is this Li Yi? The president of Nan Da?" But he did not dare to ask more. Leaders dislike subordinates who don't understand anything and need everything explained before they can act. What are subordinates for if everything has to be explained by the leader?

This is similar to "The Message to Garcia."

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