Right path to power

After hesitating in the car for a few minutes, Huang Zaichuan finally started the car and left the municipal party committee compound.

Although this unexpected situation was not enough to disrupt his plans, he still felt that today was not the best time to report to Wang Yuanze alone.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao had originally planned to meet Zhou Zizheng and Su Anji in the city for drinks and a chat, but when he thought about taking his uncle to visit other counties and townships the next day, and considering that he still felt his relationship with the two men wasn't that deep, he gave up the idea and went straight home.

The next day.

Lin Xiao also arrived at the municipal party committee compound early in the morning. The difference today was that he could drive his car in directly because Wang Yuanze had already informed the gatekeepers yesterday, and in fact, the gatekeepers already recognized his face.

Being a security guard in a place like this is quite different from working in other large shopping malls. It requires a much sharper eye, because anyone who comes here, besides being a leader, must have an extraordinary relationship with the leaders residing there. If you still can't recognize someone after a few meetings, and you accidentally offend them, it might be a greater loss than gain.

Today, Lin Xiao took his uncle to try another specialty breakfast—taro, egg, and peanut soup. Unlike rice noodle soup, this was a sweet soup, but that didn't stop it from being served with a fried dough stick.

Wang Yuanze was also pleasantly surprised, but today he went to a different old street and did not encounter the same group of men, women, and children as yesterday.

After breakfast, the two set off. Yesterday they were experiencing local customs and traditions, and today they were going to observe life at the grassroots level.

He first visited several counties and townships with relatively good economic development, and then visited several counties and townships with relatively slow development. On the surface, it seemed like a whirlwind tour, but in reality, Wang Yuanze remembered many of the things and problems he encountered during the process.

By the end of the day, the two of them were almost exhausted, but they still felt that there wasn't enough time.

That evening, the two had a simple braised noodle dish, and Lin Xiao then took Wang Yuanze back to the municipal party committee compound.

On his way back to the county town, he received a somewhat unexpected phone call.

"Kobayashi, are you still busy?"

The other party's tone was very polite. If I remember correctly, this should be the first time Lin Xiao had been sent back to Nangang.

"It's alright, Secretary Yan. What's the matter? Please tell me."

Lin Xiao drove while using speakerphone, maintaining a very polite demeanor.

"Okay, here's the thing. Secretary Huang wants you to come to his office at nine o'clock tomorrow. He wants to hear your report on the development plan for Songmao Village. So, you need to work overtime tonight to review your ideas and try to make the plan as detailed as possible."

After a pause, Yan Zhao said earnestly, "Xiao Lin, this is a rare opportunity, so you must seize it and not let down the leaders' expectations of you."

"Okay, Secretary Yan, thank you."

"Oh, by the way, you can go directly to the county committee tomorrow; you don't need to report to the township."

"Okay, thank you, Secretary Yan."

The more polite Yan Zhao was, the more puzzled Lin Xiao became. Although he didn't know why County Party Secretary Huang Zaichuan suddenly wanted to see him, he thought it was probably not because Yan Zhao wanted to know about the development plan of Songmao Village.

Moreover, during her time as the county magistrate's secretary, Lin Xiao had also gained some understanding of Huang Zaichuan's behavior and knew that he was a person who paid great attention to official hierarchy. To put it simply, Huang Zaichuan was an official with some bureaucratic tendencies.

Therefore, in theory, he would not make a separate meeting with a grassroots village cadre for a specific job.

However, since the leader had spoken, Lin Xiao couldn't possibly refuse. He hadn't prepared anything special; even if the question concerned Songmao Village, Lin Xiao already knew the answer.

For Lin Xiao, the county party secretary's summons didn't pique his interest much, because he had a very fulfilling weekend. While serving as a mentor to his uncle Wang Yuanze, he was also learning from him. Such an opportunity was truly rare.

Early Monday morning, Lin Xiao asked Liu Yun to pick up the car at the entrance of the county government, and then he slowly walked into the county party committee office building.

Seeing that there was still some time, Lin Xiao went to visit Gong Lei first.

"Xiao Lin, you've worked hard these past two days," Gong Lei said with a smile.

"Secretary Gong, you flatter me. I think being a guide is a pretty good job. It might be a good way to make a living when I can no longer make a living in the system in the future."

Lin Xiao also replied with a smile. Although he had accompanied his uncle Wang Yuanze to many counties and townships in the past two days, they had not encountered any major problems. However, Wang Yuanze would always bring up the situation in Fengshan County, and gradually he felt that Wang Yuanze had made a preliminary decision on the candidate for the position of county magistrate of Fengshan.

"You've only just started, and you've already thought about a backup plan. You could call that being prepared for a rainy day, but you need to stop thinking like that. Besides, I believe you'll do very well in the future."

"Secretary Gong, you flatter me. Nobody knows what the future holds. I just think it's more important to do the things at hand well."

"I'm not just praising you, but your kind of thinking and attitude are indeed rare among young people within the system, so I have high hopes for you."

"Thank you, Secretary Gong."

While expressing his gratitude, Lin Xiao took out a document from his backpack, tidied it up a bit, and handed it to Gong Lei.

"Secretary Gong, this is the detailed plan I have drafted for the development of Songmao Village. Please review it. Secretary Huang asked me to come to his office later to report on this plan."

"Did Secretary Huang specifically ask you to come today?"

"Yes, he had Secretary Yan call me last night."

"oh."

Gong Lei replied thoughtfully. Having worked with Huang Zaichuan for several years, he certainly understood the county party secretary better than Lin Xiao. However, he couldn't quite figure out why Huang Zaichuan wanted to see Lin Xiao.

After a moment, Gong Lei nodded and said, "It seems we've thought of the same thing. I also think we can't rely on the township for this. Instead, we should follow your plan, with the county setting up a pilot group, relevant county departments cooperating, and Songmao Village taking charge of the specific implementation, so as to achieve the effect of full-scale promotion."

Furthermore, if Songmao Village proves successful, its development experience can be disseminated throughout the county and even the city, thereby promoting the overall development of the rural economy. This is another core principle of your plan.

"Yes, Songmao Village is indeed a typical example. During this visit with Secretary Wang, we also found that many villages are facing considerable difficulties in their development. If Songmao Village succeeds in the future, other villages can learn from it."

"Xiao Lin, I'm not just praising you, but look at yourself. You pay attention to details and have a big picture in mind. These are qualities and abilities that are not commonly found in young people. No wonder Secretary Wang's family values ​​you so much. You're going to surpass us in the future."

"Secretary Gong, if you keep praising me like that, I'll really get arrogant."

"Haha, it's okay for young people to be a little arrogant, as long as they stay true to themselves, there won't be any problems."

For Gong Lei, his behavior towards Lin Xiao was not solely due to Wang Yuanze; rather, he genuinely recognized Lin Xiao's unique qualities from the proposal.

"Here's what we'll do. Once things are settled, you can go back to the county government office and keep a close eye on things. As for Nangang Township, it's time to find an opportunity to make a move. Otherwise, it'll be full of people who don't do anything useful, and then nothing will get done in the future."

After chatting for a while, Lin Xiao said goodbye and left the office. It was almost time for the appointment, and he couldn't keep the county party secretary waiting no matter what.

However, an uninvited guest appeared at the elevator entrance.

"Lin Xiao?"

Approaching Lin Xiao was Cheng Junjie, Hong Feng's secretary, who looked puzzled.

He continued, "What are you doing here at the county committee instead of staying in the village? Do your township leaders know about this?"

Lin Xiao chuckled coldly, "Secretary Cheng, this kind of thing doesn't seem to be within your scope of responsibility! Or is it that Secretary Huang needs to inform you before speaking to me?"

"What? You say Secretary Huang is looking for you? Who are you kidding? You're just a village-based official, why would Secretary Huang want to see you? Wake up! Going back to the county is just a dream, haha!"

Lin Xiao was too lazy to waste any more words with Cheng Junjie, so she walked straight into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

Cheng Junjie didn't react for a moment and hurriedly pressed the up button, but the elevator had already gone up.

When he saw the elevator go straight to the fifth floor, he was stunned, because the county party secretary's office was indeed on the fifth floor.