Chapter 97

Chapter 53: Undercurrents

The next morning, the standing committee members of Lianshui County received a call from the Party Secretary's office, notifying them to attend a standing committee meeting at 9:10 AM.

At 9:00 AM, the standing committee members began to arrive at the meeting room one after another. As they entered, they couldn't help but pause for a second.

In the meeting room, Xue Xue was already seated, and the secretary for the meeting was in place. Next to the secretary was another person, who, although not a Lianshui County official, had become familiar to the Lianshui officials over the past few days.

This person was none other than Li Yi, the deputy leader of the provincial government's water conservancy inspection team.

Each standing committee member glanced at Xue Xue and then cast a surprised look at Li Yi for a second before calmly walking in and sitting in their designated seats.

Standing committee meetings were common, but unusual meetings were not.

This meeting was clearly unusual.

Firstly, the ranking of personnel within the government had an unspoken but well-understood order, and the number of participants in the standing committee meetings was strictly limited. Apart from the standing committee members and the meeting secretary, no one else was qualified to attend such a high-level meeting representing the peak of local power.

The order of entry and seating arrangements were always carefully planned. Generally, the person ranked last would enter first and sit at the end, while the Party Secretary and County Magistrate would be the last to enter and the first to leave.

This rule, though not explicitly stated, had severe consequences if violated.

Therefore, everyone was surprised to see Xue Xue sitting in the meeting room first.

Xue Xue was not a newcomer to the standing committee meetings. In previous meetings, her timing was always perfect, entering just as the other standing committee members were seated but before Wu Qingyuan arrived.

One's political maturity could be gauged by their behavior at meetings and banquets.

Based on her past performance, Xue Xue was clearly not a political novice. Her early arrival today and her friendly greetings to each standing committee member indicated that this meeting was unusual.

Although Nie Lei did not reveal the content of the standing committee meeting over the phone, the presence of Li Yi suggested that the meeting was related to the reservoir funds.

Each standing committee member wore a solemn and serious expression. They usually exchanged pleasantries before the meeting, but today they remained silent.

Li Yi, seemingly nonchalant, was actually paying close attention to the expressions of each standing committee member. Seven out of the nine standing committee members of Lianshui County were already present, with Wu Qingyuan and one other still missing.

Just as he was thinking, a loud voice came from outside the door: "What kind of meeting is this? There are meetings every day. Wouldn't it be more efficient to just notify us by phone?"

A burly man quickly walked in, and from his uniform, it was clear that he was the County Party Committee Standing Committee member, Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and Chief of Public Security, Shi Guozhu!

Shi Guozhu clearly did not expect Xue Xue to be already seated. He chuckled, scratched his short hair, and joked, "Oh, did I arrive late, or did someone arrive early?"

Under normal circumstances, someone would have responded to his comment, but today no one spoke. Xue Xue merely glanced at him and then looked down at the documents on the table.

Shi Guozhu's rank in the standing committee was not high, but he was arrogant and held significant power, often looking down on the other standing committee members. He always arrived third to last and left third, as if he didn't care about anyone's face except the Party Secretary and County Magistrate.

After sitting down, Shi Guozhu noticed Li Yi, frowned, placed his water bottle on the table, and remained silent.

The large quartz clock on the wall showed that it was already 9:15, but Wu Qingyuan had not arrived.

No one was anxious; after all, the Party Secretary had the right to be late.

Three minutes later, a light cough was heard from the doorway.

Everyone in the meeting room straightened up and looked towards the door.

Wu Qingyuan nodded satisfactorily, sat in the main seat, and looked around, saying, "I received a call from the Municipal Party Committee, so I was a few minutes late. I apologize to everyone."

No one responded, as it was difficult to comment. If they said it was fine, he was indeed late, and being late was not a good behavior. However, he had a valid reason, having received a call from a superior. Who would dare to verify if the call was real? If they said it was not fine, he was the top official of Lianshui County, the County Party Secretary, and offending him would have serious consequences.

"Comrades, before the meeting, I have an announcement to make." Wu Qingyuan paused, scanning each standing committee member's face to ensure they were listening, and then continued, "The Municipal Party Committee Secretary Ma just called, giving important instructions on the current work situation in Lianshui County."

Wu Qingyuan glanced at Li Yi, who was seated beside him, and said, "Secretary Ma said that our Lianshui County leadership team is a united, healthy, and combat-effective team. He has great trust in our officials."

Is that all?

"What does that mean?" Each standing committee member's face showed confusion, and those who were familiar with each other exchanged silent glances.

Li Yi's heart sank. It seemed that the Municipal Party Committee Secretary Ma supported Wu Qingyuan! In other words, Secretary Ma did not want a major upheaval in the Lianshui County leadership team and did not want to see a major case of corruption. He wanted stability and unity!

The standing committee members had varied expressions but did not speak.

Xue Xue felt a surge of silent anger. At this critical moment, Wu Qingyuan invoked the Municipal Party Committee Secretary Ma Hongqi to gain the upper hand and indirectly rallied the other standing committee members. As for whether what he said was true, who would dare to confront Ma Hongqi?

Wu Qingyuan looked at Xue Xue and Li Yi with satisfaction, like a skilled fighter who had already injured his opponent before the duel began. He appeared confident, picked up his water cup, lifted the lid, blew on the steaming hot water, and savored the fragrance of the tea, feeling extremely comfortable.

He had to counter immediately; otherwise, the outcome of this standing committee meeting could be predicted without even starting!

Li Yi raised his hand and stood up, saying, "I have something to say!"

Wu Qingyuan was displeased, thinking that as an outsider, Li Yi was allowed to attend the meeting only because of his position. He should not be so presumptuous! Just as he was about to scold Li Yi, Xue Xue spoke up, "What does Comrade Li have to say?"

Although Wu Qingyuan was angry, since Xue Xue had spoken, stopping her would offend both Li Yi and Xue Xue and make him appear petty. He had to endure it and said, "We value democracy, and everyone can speak. Comrade Li, please sit down and speak."

Li Yi smiled and looked around, saying, "Thank you, Secretary Wu and County Magistrate Xue for giving me the opportunity to speak. Secretary Wu just conveyed the instructions from the Municipal Party Committee, which I think are very good and timely! We must resolutely implement and enforce them. I believe that the Lianshui County leadership team is generally united and healthy, but we cannot ignore the small group of corrupt elements. If we do not unite and use the revolutionary spirit to cut out this corruption, it will lead to greater decay! In my understanding, Secretary Ma also wants us to adhere to the principle of curing and saving, and resolutely remove these corrupt elements from the revolutionary ranks!"

Li Yi's words were brilliant, building on Wu Qingyuan's statement and turning a disadvantage into an advantage. His argument was unassailable!

Li Yi paused for a moment and continued, "We must not辜负 Secretary Ma and the organization's trust. We must take action to complete this major surgery!"

"Cough!" Wu Qingyuan, who was drinking tea, started to cough violently, first lightly and then intensely, as if he would not stop until he coughed up his internal organs.

The standing committee members had varied reactions; some were enlightened, while others frowned. They were impressed by Li Yi's brilliant counterattack.

Xue Xue secretly gave Li Yi a thumbs up.

Using his own words against him, a perfect counterattack!

Wu Qingyuan finally stopped coughing, caught his breath, took out a blue handkerchief, wiped his mouth, and stopped the secretary from helping him. He slowly folded the handkerchief, as if pondering an important matter, and then said, "Comrade Li's words are excellent! Our officials must have the ability to understand the intentions of superiors! Alright, let's start the meeting!"

Xue Xue was waiting for this moment and was about to speak when Wu Qingyuan suddenly coughed and said, "First, let's discuss personnel issues."

Personnel issues?

What personnel issues?

Xue Xue was taken aback. Wasn't this meeting about the reservoir funds? Why were they discussing personnel issues? She looked at the other standing committee members, who were all looking at their notebooks, but their faces showed excitement.

Personnel issues were always of great interest to officials. After all, their hard work was for the sake of promotion.

Li Yi thought, "Wu Qingyuan is truly cunning. When one plan fails, he comes up with another. By bringing up personnel issues at this moment, his intention is clear: to remind the standing committee members that the power of personnel appointments is in his hands. They should support the right person!"

Wu Qingyuan picked up his teacup and sipped his tea slowly. His gaunt face, clean-shaven, and broad forehead made his eyes appear small. Such a person was often shrewd and calculating.

Having successfully shifted the focus back to himself, Wu Qingyuan scanned the room again and said, "Ma Xiaoli, a staff member of the Statistics Bureau's Comprehensive Department, has worked diligently for seven or eight years, making significant contributions to our county's statistical work. The Statistics Bureau's Party Committee has decided to promote Ma Xiaoli to Deputy Director of the Statistics Bureau, in charge of the Social and Economic Survey Team, with a deputy section-level administrative position. Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone's expression froze. At this critical moment, they expected Wu Qingyuan to raise a significant personnel issue, but it turned out to be a minor one. A deputy section-level promotion was a big deal for the individual but a trivial matter for the standing committee members.

"No objections?" Wu Qingyuan smiled and said, "Then it's settled. Congratulations to Comrade Ma Xiaoli!"