Right path to power

Deng Guanglin gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence after a few seconds: "In the industrial park, three companies have submitted their plans to resume work, and two more are going to increase their investment."

Yang Songfeng's teacup froze in mid-air, and his face immediately darkened.

"What exactly happened?" Yang Songfeng asked, putting down his teacup.

"What else could it be? All our previous efforts have been wasted," Deng Guanglin said angrily. "When Zhou Huayu's case was at its worst, didn't we talk to several established companies in the park? We told them to slow down production and hold off on new projects, and to tell the public that the district committee's policies were unstable and they dared not invest. It did have a good effect at the time; several companies stopped work, and their data dropped significantly. I was even waiting to see Lin Xiao make a fool of himself with his 1 billion yuan investment attraction plan."

"And now?"

"Now? Now they've all turned against us!"

Deng Guanglin slapped his thigh, his brows furrowed in anger, and said, "After Zhou Huayu's case was classified, and Zhang Changming was placed under investigation, who in the entire district doesn't know that Lin Xiao's position is secure? Businessmen are all opportunists, only chasing profits. As soon as they saw the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, they all found excuses to resume work. Some said the equipment had been repaired, others said the funds were in place, and naturally, the previous excuse of 'not daring to invest due to unstable policies' was no longer mentioned."

Yang Songfeng's face grew increasingly gloomy, and he remained silent for a long time.

This tactic was his idea. He initially thought it was covert and effective—by not reporting individuals or addressing procedural issues, he simply relayed the companies' concerns and the industrial park's predicaments to the city, which would then make its own judgment.

But despite all his calculations, he didn't anticipate that Lin Xiao would definitively define Zhou Huayu's case, and that Zhang Changming would also be implicated.

The business owners had all seen Lin Xiao's domineering nature. After some deliberation, they naturally scattered like leaves in the wind.

Lin Xiao managed to stabilize the table after all.

"Forget it." Yang Songfeng waved his hand. "This trick is useless now, no need to dwell on it anymore."

Deng Guanglin took a few deep breaths, suppressing his anger, and said, "What about the investment promotion conference? Lin Xiao has left us behind, are we...?"

"Let's put this matter aside for now. Let him show off if he wants; we'll just watch the show from the sidelines," Yang Songfeng interrupted him, his eyes sharpening again. "We need to change our approach. After all, he's the top leader, and we are indeed quite passive in some matters. But we can put more effort into the old city shantytown renovation project and try to get it done. Once it's successful, the achievement will be there for all to see, which is better than anything else."

Two days later.

Lin Xiao led the team to Beicheng.

The eight people attending the investment promotion conference included Lin Xiao. They were Guo Yuanzheng, member of the Standing Committee of the District Committee and Deputy District Mayor; Nie Haibin, Director of the District Development and Reform Bureau; Luo Liqiong, Director of the District Commerce Bureau; Liu Yulong, Director of the District Agriculture Bureau; Ye Mingjian, Deputy Director of the District Government Office; Xu Lingling, Investment Promotion Specialist; and Ji Xiuwu.

Among the group, Luo Liqiong and Xu Lingling are lesbians and can look after each other.

The plane landed at Beicheng Airport on time.

After exiting the terminal, Luo Liqiong answered a phone call and turned to Lin Xiao, saying, "Secretary, the car that's supposed to pick us up is stuck in traffic and will be a little late."

This time, everyone is staying at the Quanzhou Municipal Government's Beijing Office, and the investment promotion meeting is also planned to be held in the office's conference room, which will save on venue fees.

Lin Xiao didn't say anything, but she understood perfectly well. The plane landed on time, but the pick-up car was late, which could only mean that the Beijing Liaison Office hadn't paid much attention and hadn't planned the departure time properly.

Besides, it's not rush hour now.

That's normal, though. As a district party secretary leading a team, the Beijing office couldn't possibly be as attentive as when receiving city leaders. Besides, Luo Liqiong had coordinated with the Beijing office in advance, so he couldn't say much.

"I'm going to my parents-in-law's house later, so I won't be with everyone. Let's all rest today, because we'll be busy tomorrow. I hope we can achieve something this time."

At this moment, Ji Xiuwu had already taken out his luggage.

Luo Liqiong quickly stepped forward: "Secretary, let me help you contact a vehicle..."

Guo Yuanzheng put her in charge of external liaison, which made her quite happy, since serving the top leader of the district committee was a rare opportunity to show her abilities.

But she didn't expect Lin Xiao to act alone without a car. In addition, the car that was supposed to pick her up was late, which made her very uneasy, fearing that Lin Xiao would think she was unreliable.

Lin Xiao waved her hand: "No need, someone is coming to pick me up. You guys go about your business."

Just then, a black Toyota Prado with a Beijing license plate (Beijing A) pulled up on the side of the road.

As soon as the car door opened, Song Minghao, wearing sunglasses, got out of the car.

Lin Xiao dragged her suitcase over.

"I told them to arrange an indoor shuttle, but you insisted on coming out yourself," Song Minghao said with a smile as he stuffed his luggage into the trunk.

"Forget it, I don't do that kind of thing," Lin Xiao said with a smile.

"I know, I was just saying, haha."

Lin Xiao glanced at her brother-in-law speechlessly, then smiled.

He knew that his brother-in-law simply didn't like politics; otherwise, he followed the Song family's strict traditions. Therefore, he knew that his brother-in-law wouldn't do anything outrageous.

Watching the car drive away, Luo Liqiong couldn't help but say, "A license plate from Beijing (北A), that's quite a special license plate number."

She had worked in the Commerce Bureau for many years and had dealt with people in Beicheng. She knew that Bei A was a license plate number for the core area of ​​Beicheng. Ordinary companies and individuals simply couldn't get one. People who could drive such cars were either from large government agencies or had powerful connections.

The others didn't respond, but they were all quite shaken.

People have heard rumors about Lin Xiao's background to varying degrees. But the only thing that is certain is that Lin Xiao is a capable assistant to Wang Yuanze, the municipal party secretary, and also has some connections in the province.

Now it seems that it's much more than that.

His wife is from Beicheng, so it seems her family background is quite impressive.

The group couldn't help but ponder the future of Zhenxing District—perhaps following Secretary Lin would be the right path forward.

Lin Xiaoxian went to the courtyard to visit Grandpa Song and Grandma Shen Shuzhen.

The two elderly people were all smiles when they saw their grandson-in-law, and they pulled him aside to ask about Song Wanqing's situation.

Although Song Wanqing often called back, the elderly people were still very worried.

Grandma Shen Shuzhen kept urging them to have a child soon, saying that she was not in good health and hoped to see her great-grandson.

Lin Xiao could only say that she would try her best.

In fact, he and Song Wanqing had been quite diligent. However, Song Wanqing's belly hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy, and Lin Xiao was thinking that if there was still no progress after a while, they would go to the hospital to check.

In a family like the Song family, children are not just a matter for the young couple, but also the hope of the whole family. The old man and woman are getting old and look forward to four generations living together.

Instead, Old Master Song asked more about Lin Xiao's work. After listening to him talk about environmental protection and investigating Zhou Huayu's case, he nodded in agreement and didn't say much more.

Afterwards, the old man asked about the situation at the grassroots level, especially the implementation of central policies at the grassroots level.

Although the old man has retired, he has always been concerned about these matters.

"When doing our work, we must remember one thing: keep the people in our hearts. This way, we won't go astray. The better the people's lives get, the better our work will be. Of course, no work can be accomplished overnight. We need determination, perseverance, and confidence to truly do our job well."

The old man spoke earnestly and attentively to his grandson-in-law. To be honest, he wouldn't have said so much if he wasn't truly satisfied with his grandson-in-law.

Lin Xiao knew this and naturally kept these words in mind.

Song Minghao chatted with the old man's secretary on the side, not daring to get too close to the old man. He always felt that his grandfather disliked him, and whenever he came to the courtyard, he would try to hide to the side.

In fact, the old man was by no means an unreasonable person.

He felt a little regretful that his eldest grandson didn't want to pursue a career in government, but he would never force his son to walk a path he didn't like. On the contrary, when he learned that his eldest grandson's own career was also quite successful, the old man smiled and nodded.

Song Minghao felt guilty and always felt that his grandfather was not satisfied with him, so he tried to avoid him whenever he came.

With Lin Xiao around today, Grandpa's attention was all on his grandson-in-law, leaving him with some peace and quiet.

After lunch, Lin Xiao and Song Minghao chatted with their grandparents for a while before saying goodbye.

The elderly person is used to taking a nap during the afternoon, and is usually accompanied by staff members, with their children only coming over on weekends.

Song Minghao brought Lin Xiao to the company to make tea. He then took Lin Xiao to the Ministry of Finance's family building during dinner, greeted Song Guoqiang and his wife, and left, saying he would pick Lin Xiao up again the next morning.

Lin Xiao's mother-in-law, Gu Yongling, specially prepared several dishes that Lin Xiao liked, and her father-in-law, Song Guoqiang, also returned home early.

It's clear they're quite satisfied with their son-in-law.

Of course, during their casual conversation, the father-in-law and mother-in-law inquired about Song Wanqing's situation while also urging them to have a child soon.

Lin Xiao was a little embarrassed, but said she would try her best.

While sitting idly in the living room after dinner, Song Guoqiang inquired about the work in Zhenxing District. After listening to Lin Xiao's plan, he was quite satisfied with it.

He put down his teacup, his expression slightly serious: "You've been promoted a bit too quickly these past few years, and you haven't held any of those positions for very long. Now that you're the district party secretary, settle down and work hard for two years, making some real achievements. Once you've taken this step steadily, the landscape will be completely different when you move up further."

Lin Xiao nodded and kept those words in mind.

Song Guoqiang paused, then said, "Also, there might be some personnel changes in Fengdu recently. Wang Yuanze has done a good job these past few years, so he might need to be reassigned. You should think about how to proceed with the follow-up work in advance."

Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment—Wang Yuanze, her martial uncle, was being transferred?

He thought he was just taking advantage of his business trip to visit his elders, but he didn't expect his father-in-law's words to make him reconsider the overall situation of the city.