Right path to power

Ten days later.

A city-wide meeting of leading cadres was held in Quanzhou.

Duan Xinghuo, Executive Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee, attended the meeting on behalf of the Provincial Party Committee, read out the Provincial Party Committee's personnel appointment and removal decisions, and delivered a speech.

The meeting announced that Ma Guanghua has been appointed as a member, standing committee member, and deputy secretary of the Quanzhou Municipal Party Committee, and is nominated as a candidate for mayor of the Quanzhou Municipal People's Government.

Ran Zhaolan was appointed as a member, standing committee member, and deputy secretary of the Quanzhou Municipal Party Committee.

Subsequently, Ma Guanghua delivered his acceptance speech, expressing his gratitude to the Provincial Party Committee for its trust and stating that under the leadership of the Municipal Party Committee headed by Comrade Wang Yuanze, he would diligently perform his duties, maintain integrity, and promote all aspects of the city's work to a new level.

Ran Zhaolan also made a brief statement.

She previously served as the deputy inspector of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department and was the director of the Second Cadre Division, having long been deeply involved in the organization system.

This time, the deputy inspector, who was a non-leadership position at the deputy department level, was promoted to the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, a position with real power at the deputy department level. Although the ranks are the same, the real power and career prospects are vastly different.

Clearly, she has someone above her.

Of course, given the systemic corruption scandal and leadership upheaval in Fuchuan County, which is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture, it is entirely plausible that the provincial party committee would send a cadre from the organization system to serve as the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, responsible for the rectification of the cadre team and the assessment of personnel matters in the county.

Following the conclusion of the cadre meeting, the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress convened a meeting promptly.

The meeting reviewed and approved the appointment of Ma Guanghua as Vice Mayor of Quanzhou Municipal People's Government, and decided that he would serve as Acting Mayor.

Following this, meetings were held at all levels in all counties, districts, and units throughout the city to convey the instructions of the provincial and municipal party committees, and to express their commitment to fulfilling their duties and ensuring a smooth transition in all tasks.

A few days later, the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee convened.

The meeting summarized recent key tasks, planned for the next phase of work, and discussed relevant personnel proposals.

After the meeting, Lin Xiao received a call from Su Anji, the secretary of the Municipal Political and Legal Committee.

"Congratulations, Xiaolin! You must treat us to a meal another day!"

Lin Xiao was completely confused: "Secretary Anji, treating us to a meal is no problem, but what exactly is it about?"

Su Anji smiled and said, "The Standing Committee has just discussed the relevant personnel matters and is already leaning towards you. They plan to nominate you as the acting county magistrate of Fuchuan County to take full charge of the county government's work. However, the relevant procedures have not yet been completed."

Lin Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

He had hoped for this before, but he hadn't dared to think about it. He never expected that the city would eventually put this responsibility on his shoulders. It was as if everything was just as Liu Yun had suggested when he was slightly drunk that night.

"This is really...unexpected," Lin Xiao exclaimed.

Su Anji smiled and said, "Today's meeting went very smoothly. The vast majority of comrades recognized your work ability and felt comfortable entrusting the work of the Fuchuan County government to you. In short, it was unexpected, but also reasonable. Keep up the good work, young man."

"Thank you, Secretary Anji."

During the phone call, Su Anji also revealed a few details:

The municipal party secretary, Wang Yuanze, had communicated with him in advance.

The newly appointed mayor, Ma Guanghua, also made it clear that Fuchuan County needs a young cadre with the courage and drive of Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao knew in his heart that his uncle Wang Yuanze must have played a key role in Ma Guanghua's successful succession as mayor.

Now, Ma Guanghua is reciprocating the favor by strongly supporting him in presiding over the work of the Fuchuan County government.

As for the newly appointed deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, Ran Zhaolan, being new to the position, was not familiar with the cadres in the city. In his first participation in personnel discussions, he mainly focused on observation and did not express many opinions.

The top two leaders of the municipal party committee reached a consensus, and the third leader of the municipal party committee went along with it. Even if others had objections, it was to no avail.

In addition, Su Anji specifically reminded Lin Xiao that since the appointment involved exceptional promotion, the provincial Party committee's organization department still needed to complete the relevant procedures, and asked Lin Xiao to wait patiently while keeping the matter confidential.

After hanging up the phone, a congratulatory text message from Zhou Zizheng, the Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, followed immediately, and Lin Xiao quickly replied with a thank-you text message.

Sitting in her office, Lin Xiao let out a long sigh.

This unexpected surprise stirred his emotions.

It can be said that he has already sat on the threshold of the full-fledged division chief level. As long as he doesn't make any major mistakes, his official promotion will be a natural outcome when the time comes.

More importantly, he will fulfill his "two-year promise" ahead of schedule, and the girl he has been longing for can finally be officially put on the wedding agenda.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but dial Song Wanqing's number.

"Hey, why are you calling me at this hour?" Song Wanqing's voice was tinged with laughter.

I miss you!

"Hmph." Song Wanqing gave a light reproach. "Speak, what is it?"

Even though they were separated by a telephone line, she still keenly sensed the turbulence in Lin Xiao's emotions.

"It's nothing much, it's just that the municipal party committee just held a meeting and decided that I would be in charge of the work of the Fuchuan County government."

"What? You're the county magistrate?" Song Wanqing exclaimed in surprise, then lowered her voice, "That's great! Now..."

"What, you're so eager to become Mrs. Lin? Haha..."

"you......"

Anyway, I really want to be your Mr. Lin.

"Okay, I know!" Song Wanqing's voice softened. "I guess it's the acting county magistrate?"

"That's right, he's the acting county head, in charge of the county government's work. He'll probably have to wait until next year to be officially appointed."

Song Wanqing smiled and said, "An acting county magistrate is still a county magistrate. Let's go back to Beicheng this weekend. We haven't treated Auntie to a meal yet because of the invitation from last time."

"Okay, this weekend then."

After hanging up the phone, Song Wanqing looked up and found several colleagues staring at her with gossipy eyes and inquisitive expressions.

"Wanqing, your boyfriend became the county magistrate?"

"What's their background?"

"When should we introduce him to everyone? Who knows, he might become our leader someday, so let's curry favor with him in advance!"

Colleagues chattered and joked amongst themselves.

Song Wanqing blushed slightly, but felt a surge of pride: "His name is Lin Xiao, and he works in Fuchuan County. You may have heard of him. However, he's not the official county head yet, just the acting county head."

She introduced it without any hesitation.

"Oh, Lin Xiao."

"No wonder!"

"The youngest division-level cadre in the province."

"Indeed, I guess only someone like him is good enough for you."

"That's right, they are a perfect match."

Song Wanqing rolled her eyes: "You talk as if I have no talent."

"Yes, yes, she's talented and beautiful, she has everything, haha..."

Several girls were laughing when a fair-skinned man wearing metal-rimmed glasses walked in. Seeing everyone gathered around Song Wanqing, he smiled and asked, "What are you talking about? Why are you all so excited?"

"Director Wang..."

Everyone immediately dispersed back to their respective workstations, leaving only one person who explained the reason with an awkward smile.

After listening, Director Wang smiled and said, "Xiao Song, when are you going to introduce your boyfriend to everyone?"

"this......"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, we're all colleagues."

Song Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, I'll find time."

Meanwhile, Zhu Lishu walked to the door of Lin Xiao's office.

"Hello, Secretary Zhu."

Upon seeing Zhu Lishu enter, Wang Xinghong quickly stood up to greet her.

"Is Secretary Lin here?" Zhu Lishu stopped and asked.

"Yes, Secretary Zhu."

As Wang Xinghong responded, he quickly walked to the door of the inner room, gently knocked, and pushed it open. Lin Xiao, who had heard the noise, also quickly came out to greet him.

"Secretary Zhu, you could have just given me a call and I would have come over. Why did you have to come all the way here in person?"

Zhu Lishu smiled and said, "Xiao Lin, congratulations! I never thought my wish would actually come true."

Lin Xiao grasped her hand and said politely, "Thank you, Secretary Zhu. The news came so suddenly; I was quite surprised myself."

As he spoke, he led her to sit down on the sofa.

Wang Xinghong quickly made a cup of tea and then quietly slipped out.

He was secretly curious—why did Secretary Zhu come in person to congratulate Secretary Lin?

Is Secretary Lin about to get promoted again?

Wang Xinghong still feels guilty about the attack on Lin Xiao last time.

Although he didn't have any martial arts skills, if he had been there, the thugs might have been less courageous, and he might even have been able to shield Lin Xiao.

Although Lin Xiao patiently explained afterward that the other party had planned it in advance and that it would be difficult to avoid an attack no matter how many people were present, Wang Xinghong still had a lingering unease in his heart.

It's not that he's being pretentious; it's just that without realizing it, Lin Xiao has become his role model.

About ten minutes later, Julie Shu came out of the office.

Ma Guanghua told her the news. He also said that Lin Xiao's appointment had been highly recognized by the provincial party committee's main leaders and was currently just going through the relevant procedures.

At the same time, Ma Guanghua explicitly asked her and Lin Xiao to work closely together to turn around the situation in Fuchuan as soon as possible and strive to leave a significant mark on Fuchuan.

Therefore, Juliet rushed over immediately.

Soon, news spread like wildfire that Lin Xiao would soon take charge of the county government as acting county head.

However, due to different sources of information, most people were skeptical and dared not believe it completely.

Only those who were close to Lin Xiao, such as Liu Yun, He Zhiqiang, and Yang Xueting, dared to ask directly.

Everyone else was observing and making their own preparations.