Right path to power

The following day, the Quanzhou Daily published a lengthy report detailing the relevant details of the large-scale central enterprise inspection and negotiation.

Jia Hongbo and his team stayed in Quanzhou for five days, and the accompanying professional exploration team went to several districts and counties to carry out geological exploration work.

After comparing various options, the inspection team finally decided to invest in and construct iron, lead, zinc, and manganese mining projects in Fuchuan. The main mining area will be located within Fuchuan, with related supporting projects extending to several surrounding districts and counties.

On the fifth day, the Fuchuan County Government and Zhongdingyuan Fengdu Branch officially signed an investment cooperation framework agreement, with the total investment expected to be no less than 2 billion yuan.

The person who signed on behalf of Fuchuan was Lin Xiao, the acting county head, while the person who signed on behalf of Zhongdingyuan was Gao Pengxuefeng, the general manager of the Fengdu branch.

Both parties agreed that Zhongdingyuan will subsequently register and establish an independent project company in Fuchuan to undertake the relevant investment matters under this framework agreement and promote subsequent work such as mineral rights application and project establishment.

This is the largest single investment project in the history of Fuchuan County, and also the largest investment project to be implemented in the city in recent years.

When the news spread, the main leaders of other districts and counties were envious.

Many people rushed to the municipal party committee and the municipal government to report, hoping that the city would coordinate to allocate a portion of this large project to their respective jurisdictions.

The reasons given by everyone were similar: their respective counties also have mineral resources, and since some of the supporting projects for this project are planned within their jurisdictions, they should share the benefits of development.

Everyone had their own opinion, but all wanted a piece of the pie.

The city is also caught in a dilemma: it needs to coordinate balanced regional development, but it cannot go against the company's overall development plan.

Fortunately, Wang Yuanze and Ma Guanghua maintained a consistent stance: the project was introduced by Fuchuan County itself, so it was only natural to place it within Fuchuan County.

Finally, after Wang Yuanze criticized several of the people who had caused a great disturbance, the storm gradually subsided.

However, some people still believe that "there are always more solutions than problems"—after all, some of the supporting projects are located on their territory.

Lin Xiao soon heard some rumors, and he knew that there were undercurrents beneath the surface of this project.

"Xiao Lin, my phone's been ringing off the hook. I'm getting calls from other districts and counties, even from the city. Some are genuinely congratulating me, but most are just trying to get a share of the project. Ugh, why are these people so eager to freeload?"

Zhu Lishu arrived at Lin Xiao's office, looking helpless.

However, she quickly broke into a smile.

With so many calls from other units, whether they were genuine congratulations or just jealousy and a desire for a share, Fuchuan County's reputation has been thoroughly established.

The two recent projects, with a total investment of 3 billion yuan, will undoubtedly play a significant role in boosting the economic development of Fuchuan County.

In other words, Fuchuan County will definitely not be at the bottom of the assessment this year.

Moreover, the two projects have an immediate and significant impact on the county's fiscal revenue.

More importantly, once the Changning River cultural tourism project begins operation, the county's economy will become more active, inevitably driving consumption growth and increasing tax revenue.

Only when the county has sufficient funds can it better promote the overall development of the social economy.

Previously, we mainly relied on transfer payments from higher-level governments, and even after begging and pleading, we couldn't actually get much money.

After all, the city's finances aren't very abundant, and they don't have strong connections in the province, so getting money is really difficult.

Now that these two projects have been implemented, Fuchuan County will soon be able to get rid of the situation of relying on transfer payments from higher levels of government to make ends meet.

Just thinking about it makes me feel so proud and elated.

Although Zhu Lishu and Lin Xiao's personal experience was not as intense, they had already experienced it in Fengshan County, so their understanding was not much less than that of the local officials.

"There's nothing we can do about it. We can only let them be envious. We just need to focus on doing our own work well. These two projects are the key priorities for the second half of the year, and we must ensure their smooth progress. At the same time, we should leverage them to promote the upgrading and restructuring of the county's industries."

"The five million yuan that Mayor Ma specially approved some time ago is intended for the renovation of transportation facilities related to these two projects."

Lin Xiao said with a smile that he had also received quite a few calls.

In his view, the Zhongdingyuan project was like a piece of Tang Monk's flesh, and everyone who saw it wanted to take a bite.

Zhu Lishu nodded in agreement with Lin Xiao's arrangement.

Lin Xiao's abilities are so outstanding and her work results are so remarkable that she could easily achieve political success without lifting a finger.

Therefore, there's nothing wrong with letting Lin Xiao make these decisions.

At the same time, she also instructed Lin Xiao to quickly find suitable candidates to fill the vacant positions in departments such as the Finance Bureau and the Development and Reform Bureau, which would help carry out the relevant work.

The fact that the top leader relinquishes personnel authority is enough to demonstrate their stance.

In fact, during this period, some cadres would occasionally come to her to report on their work, all with their eyes on those few vacant positions.

Moreover, some people even used their connections in the city to make requests.

However, Juliet has not made any explicit statement.

From the very beginning, she wanted to fully respect Lin Xiao's opinion regarding these positions.

Not long after getting off work, Lin Xiao received a call from Liu Yonggui.

"County Chief, we've found out about that woman. She's the niece of Cui Liqin, the Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau. She had been working outside the province and only recently returned to the county. She recently had tea and a meal with Cui Liqin and Deputy County Chief Jia Anpeng."

Liu Yonggui was very efficient and quickly figured out Yao Lili's background.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiao let out a cold laugh.

Sure enough, the woman's appearance was too sudden—it turned out that someone was directing it all.

Cui Liqin has been quite proactive lately, coming to report on her work from time to time, and each time she is dressed up in a flamboyant manner.

Now, she's arranging for her niece to get close to her.

What are they trying to do?

Perhaps they wanted to test his resistance to sweet talk?

Lin Xiao smiled.

He then called Wang Xinghong and asked several people to come to his office the next morning.

The next morning, when he arrived at his office, he saw a woman in her thirties, wearing glasses and a business suit, already waiting in the secretary's office.

"Hello, County Head! I am Wei Wenjuan from Zhangmu Town."

Upon seeing Lin Xiao enter, the woman stood up and greeted him respectfully.

Lin Xiao nodded: "Okay, come in and let's talk."

"Yes, County Magistrate."

After entering the office, Lin Xiao took a sip of tea and smiled at the nervous Wei Wenjuan, saying, "Don't be nervous. Speaking of which, you're actually my senior from university. I know you used to be the head of the budget section of the county finance bureau, and you've been working in Zhangmu Town for almost three years now..."

Hearing Lin Xiao recount her resume in great detail, Wei Wenjuan gradually calmed down.

In fact, she knew that Lin Xiao was her junior, but she never dared to report to him about her work.

On the one hand, she wasn't sure if this legendary junior would acknowledge her as his senior; on the other hand, she was just a deputy in the town, and her job wasn't relevant to his, so she might run into trouble if she came here rashly.

As a top student from the School of Accounting at Fengdu University, she passed the civil service exam for Fuchuan County immediately after graduation and started working at the county's Finance Bureau.

Because of her outstanding professional skills, she was promoted to deputy head of the budget section in just one year, and then to head of the section two years later. Not only outsiders, but even she herself believed that it would be no problem for her to be promoted to deputy director before the age of thirty.

However, it is counterproductive.

Because she was too principled at work, she offended the county leaders and was demoted in name only, being assigned to the remote town of Zhangmu as deputy mayor, in charge of environmental protection, work safety, and petitions.

As a result, she felt her future was bleak and her mood was constantly depressed.

When she received Wang Xinghong's call last night, she was very puzzled, wondering why this junior county magistrate had suddenly summoned her.

When asked casually, Wang Xinghong said he didn't know the specifics and only asked her to be there on time tomorrow.

She was anxious all night because of this.

Of course, she also wondered if her junior, the county magistrate, wanted to reinstate her.

Filled with nervousness and anticipation, she arrived at the office of her junior, the county magistrate. However, after chatting for nearly half an hour, the junior county magistrate dismissed her.

When she left the office, her head was spinning—the two had talked about all sorts of things, but hadn't gotten to the point.

What does this mean?

This question kept lingering in her mind.

At the entrance, Wei Wenjuan saw a familiar face. The two nodded to each other in greeting, but both felt a sense of unease.