Right path to power

On June 10, the Quanzhou Municipal Party Committee issued official appointment and removal documents, announcing the decision to adjust the positions of Lin Xiao and others.

That morning, Fuchuan County held a meeting of all its leading cadres.

The meeting was chaired by Zhu Lishu, Secretary of the Fuchuan County Party Committee. Kang Tao, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Yan Suqian, Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee and Director of the Second Cadre Division, read out the appointment and removal documents of the Municipal Party Committee.

After deliberation by the municipal and prefectural party committees, the following decision was made:

Lin Xiao was appointed as a member, standing committee member, and deputy secretary of the Fuchuan County Party Committee, and nominated as a candidate for county magistrate of the Fuchuan County People's Government.

Gao Chengce was appointed as a member, standing committee member, and deputy secretary of the Fuchuan County Party Committee.

An Xu was appointed as a member and standing committee member of the Fuchuan County Party Committee.

Gao Chengce was originally a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Director of the Research Office of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. Although this was a lateral transfer, his future career path has become much brighter after being sent from a government agency to a powerful position in a county. This is probably due to the close cooperation between Hao Yongren, Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Wang Yuanze, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee.

An Xu was formerly a member of the Party Committee of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and the head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. His transfer to the position of Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of Fuchuan County reflects the considerations of the Municipal Party Committee: Fuchuan faces heavy tasks in maintaining stability, has a poor public security environment, and is prone to mass incidents, so it needs a strong leader in the government sector.

Following this, Lin Xiao delivered a brief speech.

The content was short, the same old three points—thanking the leaders, expressing commitment to fulfilling duties, and adhering to bottom lines. But everyone in the audience listened very attentively, as if afraid of missing any exciting moments.

In the past few months, the number of cadres who have fallen at Lin Xiao's hands has made everyone take him seriously, and some have even developed a deep-seated sense of awe.

Moreover, everyone wants to understand his next steps from his speech so that they can be fully prepared and take the initiative.

Next, Gao Chengce and An Xu also delivered their acceptance speeches.

Then, Kang Tao, the Organization Minister of the Municipal Party Committee, delivered a speech on behalf of the Municipal Party Committee, outlining the requirements for the three individuals and also making demands on the work of Fuchuan County.

Finally, Zhu Lishu made a statement on behalf of the Fuchuan County Party Committee.

Immediately after the conference, Zhu Lishu convened the first Standing Committee meeting of the new leadership team, with Kang Tao in attendance.

At the meeting, Kang Tao conveyed the relevant instructions from the municipal party committee, and required the Fuchuan County Party Committee and County Government to seriously learn from the lessons of Yang Qinghui, Ding Junning and others, vigorously rectify conduct and enforce discipline, and improve execution.

"Comrades, in recent years, Fuchuan County has not only had problems with its cadre team, but its economic development has also lagged behind. The municipal party committee is very dissatisfied with Fuchuan County's previous work. We hope that the new leadership team can learn from this shame, strive harder, and reverse its backward image..."

As everyone listened, they took notes in their workbooks, while secretly trying to figure out the leader's intentions.

Finally, the meeting voted and approved the appointment of An Xu as the Secretary of the County Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

After lunch, Kang Tao led his team back to the city.

In the afternoon, the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Fuchuan County held a meeting and unanimously approved the appointment of Lin Xiao as the deputy county magistrate of Fuchuan County and decided to appoint him as the acting county magistrate.

A round of applause immediately filled the conference room.

Of course, despite the applause, everyone simultaneously made up their minds: it was best not to provoke this young man, and everyone should just stay out of trouble.

In a short time, Lin Xiao's prestige in Fuchuan soared.

Back at the county government building, the moment the elevator doors opened, Nie Haixing, the director of the county government office, greeted him with a humble smile and bowed, saying, "Good morning, County Head Lin. I am Nie Haixing from the county government office. I would like to ask you about your office..."

Lin Xiao nodded: "Hello, Director Nie. I also have something to discuss with you."

"Please let me know if there's anything you need, and I'll do my best to fulfill it."

Nie Haixing held a notebook and pen in his hand, ready to write down Lin Xiao's requests at any time.

It was a small matter—transferring Wang Xinghong and Ji Jianghua's relationship to the county government office.

In fact, Nie Haixing had already considered this issue after learning that Lin Xiao was about to take on the role of acting county head.

He used to be Ding Junning's man, but now the situation has changed drastically, and he has to consider his own future and destiny.

Therefore, he started "self-rescue" early on, trying his best to achieve a better outcome.

Seeing Lin Xiao nod in approval of the new office setup, Nie Haixing finally breathed a sigh of relief, at least it meant that his efforts had not been in vain.

"Just to let you know, there will be an office meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Please have the heads of the audit, finance, and development and reform departments attend the meeting," Lin Xiao instructed.

"Yes, County Head."

Nie Haixing quickly jotted it down in his notebook and reminded himself: This is the first county mayor's office meeting, so we can't afford to make any mistakes.

After a while, Lin Xiao went to Zhu Lishu's office and briefly explained her thoughts.

Zhu Lishu told him to go ahead and do it, and that the county party committee would fully support his work.

"Now I can finally relax a little," Zhu Lishu smiled. "The municipal party committee is relieved to have you in charge of the county government's work, and I can relax too."

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "I'll still need Secretary Zhu to help me with the selection."

"We can communicate more if there are any issues. I've taken a look, and there are a few things that need to be resolved as soon as possible. First, the personnel of several departments of the county government need to be finalized as soon as possible. Second, the development plan needs to be accelerated, especially the mining industry. There was already some unrest among the people, and if the specific regulations are not clarified as soon as possible, I am worried that there will be more people causing trouble."

Lin Xiao nodded: "I already have some initial ideas. I plan to hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss personnel issues and try to come up with a preliminary plan within a week for Secretary Zhu to review."

"Okay, you should communicate more with Minister He then. Also, it's already June, half of the year has passed, we have to hurry up, otherwise we will be last in the city's assessment again this year, which would be really embarrassing."

As they were talking, the internal phone on the desk rang. Zhu Lishu glanced at it and said, "It's Minister Kang calling... Please wait a moment."

"Minister Kang, what are your instructions?"

Upon answering the phone, Zhu Lishu greeted the caller with a light laugh, but after a few words, her expression suddenly turned grim, and her tone somber as she said, "There are always people who thrive on chaos. Do you know who wrote this? Okay... I understand. Thank you for your concern, Minister Kang... Goodbye, Minister Kang."

After hanging up the phone, Zhu Lishu said in a deep voice, "The provincial leaders received an anonymous report alleging that your appointment was not in accordance with regulations and that certain leaders in the city are engaging in nepotism..."

Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then asked, "What's the attitude from above?"

Zhu Lishu smiled calmly and said, "It's just a baseless accusation. There's nothing to say about it. The municipal party committee had already communicated with higher and lower levels before discussing it, and the main leaders of the provincial party committee also approved it. The provincial party committee's organization department has also given a formal written approval. This matter has already been concluded. Minister Kang called mainly to remind us that there are still some comrades in Fuchuan County who are not focusing on their work and are just engaging in petty tricks and internal strife. The atmosphere is indeed not good."

Lin Xiao smiled: "So, the city thinks someone on our side wrote the whistleblower letter?"

Zhu Lishu nodded: "Anonymous reports are hard to investigate, but it's not difficult to analyze who it is. Maybe the other party just felt that you were blocking their way, so they pulled this stunt. But why doesn't he reflect on his performance? With his performance, do you think the province and city would agree to let him take over as county magistrate? It's just wishful thinking."

Juliet's words were pointed, and Lin Xiao naturally understood.

Although there is no evidence, who else could it be but him?

Lin Xiao sighed: "The most valuable thing about a person is self-awareness. If a position becomes vacant and is automatically filled by someone else, what will those who work hard think?"

"That's right. It seems we still need to give them a good talking-to. We can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch. Fuchuan can't afford any more internal strife. We must focus on development."

That evening, the new leadership team had dinner together at the guesthouse.

During the meal, Jia Anpeng raised his glass and smiled as he toasted Lin Xiao: "County Chief Lin, I'd like to propose a toast to you. I hope that under the leadership of Secretary Zhu and you, I can achieve even greater success in the future."

At this moment, Zhu Lishu interjected, "Comrade An Peng, from now on, the work of the county government will be fully managed by County Chief Lin, and the county party committee will provide full support. We hope that you will consider the overall situation, obey and fully cooperate with County Chief Lin in carrying out the work, and completely reverse the backward image of Fuchuan County in the eyes of the municipal party committee leaders."

A hint of annoyance flashed in Jia Anpeng's eyes, and he said with an embarrassed smile, "Secretary Zhu, don't worry, I will definitely cooperate fully. I'm just afraid that my abilities are not enough to meet the expectations of the municipal party committee leaders."

"First and foremost, it's a matter of attitude; only then comes the matter of ability. If you don't do your job well, you have to be held accountable. Fuchuan has many problems, and time is of the essence. We can't afford to have anyone distracted by anything other than work. Although today is a day to celebrate, let's treat this dinner as a chance for colleagues to connect. Time waits for no one, so I hope everyone will focus on their work, cooperate with each other, support each other instead of undermining each other, and work together to get the job done."

Everyone expressed their determination to work hard and diligently, but they could all sense that Zhu Lishu was intentionally giving Jia Anpeng a dressing down in front of everyone.

At this moment, Jia Anpeng's face turned bright red.