Chapter 86

Chapter 42: Beauty is the Passport of the Beautiful

Li Yi and Ouyang Jinxuan arrived at the county magistrate's office door.

The secretary, upon seeing them, smiled and stood up to greet them, "Is this Mr. Li, the section chief? County Magistrate Xue is waiting for you inside. Please come in." Li Yi shook her hand and walked in.

As soon as the secretary pushed open the inner door, County Magistrate Xue stood up, walked around from behind her desk, and smiled, "Hello, Mr. Li. I've always wanted to visit, but I've been tied up with official duties. Your visit is timely. I have some matters I'd like to discuss with you. Please sit down."

Li Yi and Ouyang Jinxuan exchanged glances, both reading the same sense of amazement in each other's eyes.

The County Magistrate Xue turned out to be a beautifully simple and dignified woman!

Everyone in Lianshui, as long as they paid a little attention to politics, knew that County Magistrate Xue was a woman.

Li Yi had naturally heard of this, but he never expected her to be such a stunningly beautiful young woman, tall and slender, with an oval face and shoulder-length hair. She appeared efficient and mature, but her eyes and brows betrayed a delicate grace.

County Magistrate Xue, seemingly used to people's surprise, smiled without a care, "Please sit down, both of you."

The secretary served tea and smiled, "Isn't our County Magistrate Xue beautiful? Everyone who meets her says the same thing!"

County Magistrate Xue laughed, "Xiao Han, stop talking nonsense and go out."

Xiao Han smiled and walked out, gently closing the door behind her.

Li Yi laughed, "County Magistrate Xue, you are truly young and capable!"

County Magistrate Xue replied, "Comparing goods leads to discarding, comparing people leads to death. Compared to Mr. Li, I'm just an old comrade who doesn't strive for progress. I spent two whole years as a clerk before being promoted to deputy section chief, and every step was a struggle. Unlike Mr. Li, who rose like a rocket, beyond normal explanation."

Ouyang Jinxuan smiled, "County Magistrate Xue, you look so young! You look younger than I do!"

County Magistrate Xue gestured for them to drink tea, "Don't be fooled by my youthful face. I'm in my thirties, and my child is already in elementary school."

Li Yi and Ouyang Jinxuan both sighed, saying that time spares no one, but on County Magistrate Xue, it had left no trace.

This conversation brought the three of them closer, and the atmosphere became quite warm.

Li Yi took the opportunity to say, "County Magistrate Xue, I've come to disturb you today because I have a few questions and would like to hear your opinion."

County Magistrate Xue replied straightforwardly, "Is it about the reservoir project funds? Mr. Li, please ask. I will certainly cooperate with your investigation."

Li Yi didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "When the reservoir was initially designed, did it include demolition costs?"

County Magistrate Xue said, "I used to work in the Provincial Youth League Committee and have only been in Lianshui for a little over a month. I'm not very familiar with many things."

She first distanced herself from the matter, then continued, "This project has always been overseen by Deputy County Magistrate Qu. However, since I took office, I have gained a considerable understanding of the project. To my knowledge, the initial design of the reservoir was finalized in the early 1980s. The original site did not involve demolition, and the people at that time were more aware and prices were much lower. Even if there were some demolition cases, the amounts were not significant. The problem is that the proposal was submitted to the provincial water resources department for project funding, and it took nearly ten years, with the leadership changing several times. This inevitably led to some discrepancies."

Li Yi nodded slowly. County Magistrate Xue's explanation was quite fair. He said, "To be honest, County Magistrate Xue, to quickly uncover the truth, I reviewed a lot of documents. According to my understanding, the original budget did include demolition costs. Of course, due to the time difference, the demolition costs would have changed. However, Director Xie seems unaware of this. He said the budget did not include these costs, and the demolition funds were added later." As he spoke, he handed the conversation record with Xie Limin to County Magistrate Xue.

County Magistrate Xue read it carefully, her fair face flushing with anger.

Bang!

She slammed the pages on the coffee table, furious, "How can he be a water resources bureau director? He can't even remember the reservoir's budget plan! How can he manage such a large project? Mr. Li, I'll call him in for questioning."

Li Yi said, "County Magistrate Xue, there's no rush. This is just one aspect of the issue. I also want to ask if it's true that the county retained several million yuan as a reserve fund, as Director Xie mentioned?"

County Magistrate Xue softened her tone, "That's true. This decision was made collectively by the previous leadership. At the time, the county's finances were very tight, so they retained several million yuan. They planned to withdraw and subsidize from the county's financial account this year, but the financial situation hasn't improved. The previous county magistrate specifically mentioned this to me during the handover, asking me to make up the shortfall. I've been working on it."

Li Yi nodded and glanced at Fan Siyu, who was taking notes in her work diary.

Li Yi said, "Then we can set aside that amount for now. I have one more question: Is it true that there was an initial investment, as Director Xie mentioned?"

County Magistrate Xue sighed helplessly, "Mr. Li, you're also a provincial official. Do you know less about these intricacies than I do? Although the province approved 55 million yuan, they only allocated 50 million to us. We shouldn't even dare to argue with them."

Li Yi smiled, "In that case, we only need to investigate the 10 million yuan in demolition funds. I plan to visit the countryside tomorrow. Do you have any objections, County Magistrate Xue?"

Although he was asking for her approval, his tone left no room for refusal.

County Magistrate Xue said, "Fine! I also plan to visit Fenglin Town. We can go together. Mr. Li can ride with me, and I'll send a driver to pick you up tomorrow morning."

Li Yi, upon hearing it was Fenglin Town, thought, "That's my grandfather's hometown. Last time I went home, my eldest uncle mentioned that several of my uncles were working as day laborers at the reservoir." He smiled, "That's perfect. My grandfather's family is from there. I can combine work with a family visit."

County Magistrate Xue's face lit up with surprise, "Oh, so Mr. Li is from Lianshui County!"

Being an official in a place naturally makes one a part of that place, a way to win the people's hearts.

The three of them became even closer, and after chatting for a while, County Magistrate Xue said, "It's lunchtime. Let me treat you to a working meal."

Li Yi couldn't refuse and nodded in agreement.

The working meal County Magistrate Xue mentioned was indeed a working meal, served in the government canteen with a few stir-fried dishes and a small bottle of wine.

County Magistrate Xue sighed, "I'm truly sorry, but our county is too poor. I can only offer you a simple home-cooked meal. When our county's economy improves, I'll invite you back for a proper feast."

Li Yi said lightly, "We had a feast when we arrived, but it's a pity you weren't there to join us."

His words were clearly barbed. He genuinely believed that County Magistrate Xue's behavior today was a show, a performance for him to see that the officials in Lianshui were all clean and could withstand the inspection team's scrutiny.

Unfortunately, the first impression Li Yi had of Lianshui's leaders was extremely bad.

Water Resources Bureau Director Xie Limin was a thoroughly slick character, smooth-talking and deeply calculating.

His office director, Fu Qiaoqiao, was seductive and sexy, not at all like a government official but more like a socialite or a public relations girl.

And the county magistrate was overly young and beautiful, yet also extremely shrewd, none of whom met Li Yi's standards.

County Magistrate Xue could never have imagined that the officials of Lianshui, big and small, were viewed so negatively by Li Yi.

Li Yi picked up a piece of cured meat with his chopsticks, chewed it, and smiled, "This is quite good. There's fish and meat. I remember when I was a child, I didn't eat meat for three months. One day, a female classmate brought some meat to school, and I was so hungry that my mouth was watering. During the break, I skipped the exercise and hid in the classroom to steal and eat all the meat from her dish. The girl was so angry she cried, and I bet she still doesn't know where the meat went."

"Ha ha!" County Magistrate Xue and Ouyang Jinxuan laughed heartily.

Ouyang Jinxuan teased, "Mr. Li, what about that girl? Where is she now? I'll report you and have her come to claim her meat money."

Li Yi shook his head, "After junior high school, we went our separate ways. I don't know where she is. If you can find her for me, I'll give you some meat as a thank you."

As soon as he said this, he realized it sounded ambiguous, and indeed, Ouyang Jinxuan blushed.

County Magistrate Xue smiled, "I never would have thought that the serious Mr. Li has such a humorous side."

Fenglin Town is located on the outskirts of Lianshui County, with an underdeveloped economy and backward agricultural production.

Since taking office, County Magistrate Xue had paid close attention to Fenglin Town and the surrounding towns, investing a lot of effort into studying their environment, ecology, human relations, agriculture, and livestock, hoping to find a quick path to prosperity.

Unfortunately, in the past two months, she had been tied up with various matters and couldn't conduct more detailed research and planning.

County Magistrate Xue's smooth career was largely due to her gender and appearance.

Beauty is the passport of the beautiful.

The provincial government officials, all men, would naturally show some favor when they saw such a beautiful female subordinate. Thus, she rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the county magistrate.