Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"I abstain from this vote!"

He abstained, neither approving nor opposing, passing the buck back to the Standing Committee. He Mengsheng sighed. Of the eleven Standing Committee members present, aside from his opposition and Cai Shengju's abstention, there were nine votes in favor. Lai Zhanggao's appointment as director of the development zone was already irreversible.

He Mengsheng wasn't unaware of these intricacies; he simply didn't want to. Having served as the Organization Minister for over a decade, he had handled at least eight hundred or a thousand cadre appointments, always adhering to the rules. But today, those rules were shattered by Ji Lianjun's ironclad principle of "the capable rise, the mediocre fall."

He took off his glasses and slowly wiped them clean. There was no dust on the lenses. He knew better than anyone else that he was just wondering if he was really getting old, so old that he couldn't understand the world anymore.

Cai Shengju tapped the table with his pen. The sound wasn't loud, but it drew everyone's attention. "Now that the vote has been decided, let's proceed according to the Standing Committee's decision. The Organization Department should expedite the procedures and issue the appointment documents. Meeting adjourned."

One by one, everyone got up and left the small conference room. He Mengsheng walked out of the small conference room and stopped to look at Lai Zhanggao as he passed by him in the corridor. His gaze was complicated. Lai Zhanggao was puzzled, but he stood up straight and did not look away. He was a little confused by Minister He's ambiguous look. He Mengsheng just glanced at him, said nothing, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Ji Lianjun walked over and patted Lai Zhanggao on the shoulder. Watching He Mengsheng's figure disappear at the end of the corridor, he suddenly said, "Little Lai, I proposed you to serve as the director of the Beilun Economic Development Zone at the Standing Committee meeting. Nine members of the Standing Committee voted in favor, and only Minister He voted against."

Lai Zhanggao suddenly realized, "No wonder he was looking at me with such a strange look when he and the minister came out. I thought he noticed that I hadn't styled my hair today."

Looking at Lai Zhanggao's messy hair, which he hadn't tidied up in the morning because he had stayed up all night to finish his manuscript, Ji Lianjun couldn't help but laugh and said, "Minister He is a very principled person when it comes to work. He's not just targeting you, so don't take it to heart."

Lai Zhanggao reached out to scratch his head, but Ji Lianjun glared at him, so he could only smile and say, "Leader, I know. Actually, whether I take on this director position or not, I won't blame the minister for voting against it. I still hope to learn and work alongside you for a few more years."

"real?"

"Hehe! But actually, the position of director of the economic development zone is not bad either," Lai Zhanggao chuckled. Ji Lianjun laughed and scolded him, pointing at him with his finger, "You little rascal, you're not being honest. Come on, come with me to see Zai Dong and the others."

When Ji Lianjun and his group arrived, Chen Dong was on the phone with Zhou Haimin, the Party Secretary of Tuocheng, discussing in detail the equipment upgrades and channel expansion of Tuogang Port. Chen Dong said to Zhou Haimin, "Secretary Zhou, I can provide the funds for the port, but we need to set up a company specifically to manage it."

"What I mean is to establish Tuogang Port Services Co., Ltd. I'll handle the equipment upgrades and such. As for the widening of the waterway, your municipal government will take the lead. I'll invest another 300 million yuan, and I'll hold 55% of the company's shares. No, no, no, Secretary Zhou, that won't do. 45% is too low."

"How about this, Secretary Zhou, we each take a step back, how about a 50/50 split? If you agree, once I've finished my project in Ningcheng, I'll fly back to Tuocheng immediately," Chen Dong said, looking up to see Ji Lianjun and the others come in. He gestured for them to sit down for a while.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Haimin on the other end of the phone asked, "Zaidong, weren't you supposed to be in Shanghai for an inspection? Why are you in Nanjing, Zhejiang Province now?"

"Well, this is a long story, like a child without a mother. I'll tell you about it as an interesting tale when I get back to Tuocheng. Mayor Ji Lianjun from Ningcheng is here right now, so I won't talk to you any longer on the phone. I'll hang up now."

Chen Dong casually placed his mobile phone on the coffee table and asked Ji Lianjun, "Uncle Ji, how did today's Standing Committee meeting go?"

"Everything is as you said yesterday, unanimously approved. This is the draft contract. Zai Dong, take a look first. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, just let me know, and I'll have Director Lai revise it for you anytime," Ji Lianjun placed a copy of the draft contract in front of Chen Dong and pointed to Lai Zhanggao, who had followed him in.

"Director Lai?"

Ji Lianjun smiled and explained to Chen Dong, "Today at the Standing Committee meeting, not only was the contract with Xiaochi Company approved, but the personnel appointment of Comrade Lai Zhanggao as the director of the Beilun Economic Development Zone was also approved."

Chen Dong immediately extended his hand, smiling and congratulating him, "That's wonderful! I hope you'll take good care of me in the future, Director Lai."

"Mr. Chen, you're joking," Lai Zhanggao's face flushed slightly as he stood up and extended his hand. "It's you who took care of me."

"Hahaha," Chen Dong laughed and withdrew his hand, looking at the draft contract. After reading it, he said to Ji Lianjun, "Uncle Ji, Director Lai, there are no problems with this contract. As long as the land approval documents from Beilun are officially issued, we can sign the contract at any time."

"Then I'll have to expedite things with the Land and Resources Bureau," Chen Dong said. Ji Lianjun was also eager to get the project finalized as soon as possible; he didn't want to wait a moment longer.

After discussing many details about the Beilun Auto City with Chen Dong, Ji Lianjun and Lai Zhanggao left Chen Dong's room and went downstairs. Ji Lianjun suddenly said to Lai Zhanggao, "Xiao Lai, remember, the development zone is not an ordinary government department. After the Xiaochi project is launched, more and more foreign companies will come in. When dealing with those people, you need to be both principled and flexible."

"You must stand firm on what you should stand for, and yield on what you shouldn't. You need to be able to grasp the right balance."

Lai Zhanggao nodded. "Boss, I understand. You told me before to ask more questions, learn more, and not to pretend to know what you don't."

The two left the hotel. Ji Lianjun saw that Lai Zhanggao had stayed up all night writing contracts, so he didn't need to go to work in the afternoon. He told Lai to go home, wash up, and catch up on his sleep.

When Lai Zhanggao returned to his dormitory, he bumped into his aunt, Qiu Yuying. "Auntie, did you come to see me about something?"

"Xiao Gao, why do you have such dark circles under your eyes? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Lai Zhanggao didn't say that he hadn't slept well at all, but rather that he hadn't slept at all. In order not to worry his aunt, he couldn't tell the truth. He could only say, "The city has been quite busy lately because of the Xiaochi Auto City project. My boss, Mayor Ji, has taken over the project, so I've been busy with it and haven't had enough rest."

"You silly child, work is important, but health is the foundation of everything. You can't just ruin your health like that," Qiu Yuying said, holding up the pork ribs she had bought from the market. "Come on, Auntie will make you some pork rib soup to nourish you. I also have something to tell you."

"What's up, Auntie?" Lai Zhanggao opened the door and asked curiously. Qiu Yuying smiled mysteriously, "Your life's most important event!"

"Oh no, Auntie, you found out so quickly?"