Right path to power

The middle-aged man at the head of the group glanced at everyone present, then walked towards Bai Fan and Pan Ping, and said in a deep voice, "Bai Fan, Pan Ping, we are from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. We need your cooperation in investigating some issues. Please come with us."

Bai Fan's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his body went limp, sliding directly under the conference table. Pan Ping, on the other hand, sat motionless, his eyes glazed over, his body trembling slightly, and a stench of urine filled the air.

"take away!"

The middle-aged man gave the order, and several staff members behind him stepped forward and, in pairs, helped Bai and Pan out of the conference room.

"Kobayashi, have someone come and clean up."

"Yes, County Magistrate."

Lin Xiao immediately made a phone call, and soon cleaning staff came up to clean.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Lin Xiao glanced at Hong Feng, who was sitting in the first seat on the left. He was also motionless, his face was gloomy and a little pale, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his gaze was focused on one spot, as if he was thinking about something important.

A few minutes later, Gong Lei tapped the table, looked around, and then said with a sigh, "As you all just saw, Bai Fan and Pan Ping proved the saying true—'Don't reach out, or you'll get caught.' So, don't take chances if you make a mistake. I hope everyone will learn from this, be strict with themselves, uphold the bottom line, and remain honest and upright. County Chief Hong, what do you say?"

Hong Feng was taken aback, and his face became even more unpleasant. However, as the executive deputy county head, he had already made his position clear, regardless of whether Gong Lei did it intentionally or not. After a moment of silence, he finally said in a low voice, "County Head Gong, you are absolutely right. As leading cadres, we must abide by the rules and regulations."

Gong Lei smiled slightly and said, "We'll discuss the specifics of Bai Fan and Pan Ping's case after the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection's investigation, but the county's work cannot be halted. So, County Chief Chu, please take on their responsibilities temporarily, and we'll adjust the arrangements later."

"Yes, County Chief Gong." Chu Mingjing indicated that he would obey the arrangement.

Then, Gong Lei officially got to the point of the meeting: "Today's meeting is mainly to discuss two plans. Our county government needs to reach a consensus first, and then submit them to the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee. In the future, we need to establish rules of procedure so that any issues concerning the county government must be discussed and agreed upon at the meeting before being submitted to the Standing Committee..."

Listening to Gong Lei's eloquent speech, everyone immediately understood his true intention—to take the opportunity to fully integrate the power of the county government.

He had previously extended an olive branch to Chu Mingjing, successfully "winning over" a member of the county party committee standing committee. Today, he had the people from the municipal discipline inspection commission take away two deputy county heads in public. This was undoubtedly his special arrangement. The purpose of all this was to intimidate everyone and establish absolute prestige in the county government.

If this situation had happened in the past, Hong Feng would have already jumped out and made sarcastic remarks, expressing his opposition openly or covertly. But now he hasn't uttered a single word, which means he is well aware that "danger" could befall him at any moment.

In less than a month since taking office, Gong Lei has already taken complete control of the county government, a feat that has impressed everyone.

At the same time, everyone's eyes fell on Lin Xiao, who was sitting in the back row taking meeting notes. To get to their current positions, everyone had their own channels of information, and the information they had recently received all pointed to one thing: all the things that had happened recently were related to Lin Xiao, the deputy director of the county government office.

What everyone is curious about is that Lin Xiao's performance when she was Gao Dayong's secretary was quite ordinary and she didn't have any particularly outstanding performance. But now she seems like a completely different person.

When the meeting room suddenly fell silent, Lin Xiao subconsciously looked up. To his surprise, everyone's eyes were on him. After a few seconds of stunned silence, a faint smile appeared on his face.

In the afternoon, Lin Xiao followed Gong Lei, becoming the second to last person to enter the small conference room of the county committee, and sat in the back row. He then calmly opened the document and began to read it silently.

What's going on?

The members of the county party committee looked at each other, and all of them turned to look at Lin Xiao, their eyes filled with doubt and surprise.

These past few days have been a period of upheaval in Fengshan County. First, the county's Public Security Bureau chief was investigated and punished, then two deputy county heads were simultaneously placed under detention, and Qingqi Group, a landmark enterprise in Fengshan County and even the entire city, was also liquidated, with its controller, Cai Qingqi, currently at large...

In addition, a number of mid- to low-level cadres are awaiting investigation and punishment, causing widespread panic. Some are unable to sleep at night, while others are filled with anxiety.

As the joint task force from the municipal party committee moved into Fengshan County, the county discipline inspection commission's office began to be brightly lit.

And all of this is inextricably linked to the young man they are watching.

There are even rumors that this guy played a very important role in Gong Lei's eventual victory as county magistrate.

In short, this young man is really too much of a troublemaker!

Finally, Huang Zaichuan, the county party secretary, walked briskly into the meeting room. After sitting down in the main seat, he first glanced at the various standing committee members, and then looked at Lin Xiao.

"Comrades, everyone is here, so let's begin the meeting. Before we start, I'd like to briefly emphasize a few points. Some things have happened in the county these past few days. I hope everyone here will maintain your composure, cooperate fully with a strong sense of responsibility and a positive attitude, and do a good job in all aspects to ensure that all work can move forward steadily. The reform and development of Fengshan County will not be allowed to be disrupted."

Huang Zaichuan, with the authority of a Party Secretary, delivered an opening speech before moving on to the first item on the agenda: "The first item on the agenda is to discuss the 'Pilot Program for Creating a New Type of Rural Village in Songmao Village,' drafted by the county government. Please have Comrade Lin Xiao from the County Government Office provide a detailed explanation."

In fact, Lin Xiao was not originally required to explain the plan at the Standing Committee meeting, but Huang Zaichuan specifically asked him to attend before the meeting and said that he was most familiar with the plan and could explain it in light of the actual situation in Songmao Village. Lin Xiao could not refuse.

Although it was his first time attending such an important meeting, Lin Xiao appeared very calm and not flustered at all, perhaps because he had spoken fluently and confidently in front of the municipal party secretary before.

In short, Lin Xiao provided a detailed explanation of the plan from beginning to end, interspersed with the actual situation of Songmao Village.

The members of the Standing Committee present, except for those who did not accompany Wang Yuanze on his inspection last time, actually showed a hint of emotion upon hearing about the backward state of Songmao Village.

That's why we are human – because we can resonate with each other emotionally!

"Just now, Comrade Lin Xiao gave a detailed explanation of the plan. I have also carefully reviewed the plan, and it should be in line with the actual situation of Songmao Village."

At the same time, the plan itself demonstrates a broad development approach and vision, and is highly instructive and practical. It addresses both the current difficulties and the long-term development needs. Once implemented, Songmao Village will be completely transformed, which will not only rapidly increase the income of the villagers, but also provide a useful demonstration for other townships and villages.

As everyone knows, Secretary Wang of the Municipal Party Committee is very concerned about rural development and even personally inspected and investigated Songmao Village. Therefore, it is very necessary to promote this pilot program. Our county party committee must take the lead and make every effort to do a good job in the pilot program and develop Songmao Village well, so as to provide experience for the rural revitalization work of the whole county and even the whole city…”

Huang Zaichuan expressed his views on setting the tone and took the opportunity to praise Lin Xiao again. He also instructed Lin Xiao, as the director of the pilot work office, to do his best to carry out this work and effectively complete all tasks.

Since the top leader has set the tone for this, and it's not something of paramount importance or that would affect interests, the other standing committee members affirmed and supported the plan in their subsequent speeches, and expressed their full cooperation in accelerating its implementation.

Lin Xiao quietly observed from the side. The expressions of the various standing committee leaders were all different. Some of them seemed absent-minded, probably because they hadn't even read the plan carefully. Others, on the other hand, paid attention and even pointed out the specific work content.

After everyone had finished speaking, Huang Zaichuan smiled and said to Lin Xiao, "Okay, that's the end of the topic. Comrade Lin Xiao, you can go back and get back to work now. I hope you can continue to carry forward the spirit of daring to think and act, work hard and practically, and do your best to promote the pilot work to achieve practical results and gain experience. I will personally recommend you to the Municipal Party Committee for commendation."

"Thank you, Secretary Huang. I will definitely work hard."

Lin Xiao bowed slightly, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly. Then he stood up and walked out of the meeting room with steady steps, under the watchful eyes of all the members of the county party committee.

Just as I returned to the secretary's office and picked up my teacup to moisten my throat, Xu Jingnan walked in with a smile, casually placed a box of tea on the ground, and then bent down and whispered:

"We've caught a big fish!"