Right path to power

Upon seeing Lin Xiao, Kang Tao paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "Hmm, not bad. Comrade Lin Xiao, you are a selected graduate of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department, a key candidate for development. No matter what position you hold, you must remain focused, demonstrate a spirit of hard work, and accumulate more experience. If you have the opportunity, please come and visit the Organization Department."

Lin Xiao stood ramrod straight and said respectfully, "Thank you, Minister Kang. I will definitely work diligently and strive to complete the tasks assigned by the leader, living up to the leader's expectations."

Kang Tao nodded and walked out of the secretary's office with his hands behind his back.

It was clear that he maintained a smile on his face after coming out of the inner room, and he must have been in a very good mood, perhaps because his conversation with Wang Yuanze had gone quite well.

Immediately afterwards, Guo Yuanzheng knocked on the door and went in to announce: "Secretary, Comrade Lin Xiao has arrived."

Wang Yuanze glanced at the time, put down the documents in his hand, stood up and said, "Well, it's about time. Let's set off now."

Guo Yuanzheng felt a surge of joy and hurriedly stepped forward to open the door to the inner room.

"Hello, Secretary Wang!"

Upon seeing Wang Yuanze come out, Lin Xiao hurriedly greeted him.

"Okay, let's go, we'll talk on the way."

Guo Yuanzheng picked up his briefcase and followed behind. When they reached the elevator, he quickly stepped forward and pressed the button to go downstairs.

When they arrived downstairs, the car was already waiting. Guo Yuanzheng stepped forward and opened the right-side door. After Wang Yuanze got into the back seat, he closed the door, then gave Lin Xiao a look before opening the passenger door and getting in.

Lin Xiao was stunned and didn't react for a moment.

According to rank, Lin Xiao should be sitting in the passenger seat, but he was personally summoned by Wang Yuanze, so there must be some special reason. Guo Yuanzheng's role is still just secretary, so it is more appropriate for Lin Xiao to stay by Wang Yuanze's side.

"How has the task force's work progressed these past few days?"

Wang Yuanze leaned back, squinted his eyes, and asked casually.

After thinking for a few seconds, Lin Xiao said, "Secretary Wang, the results are quite obvious so far. Yesterday, two deputy county heads were placed under detention, and this morning, Ning Changfeng, a member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, was also detained. More than a dozen other section-level cadres are also involved."

Furthermore, Cai Qingqi of the Qingqi Group is wanted for allegedly plotting to assassinate County Chief Gao, and several of his businesses are under investigation for suspected illegal activities. Because he obtained various municipal engineering projects, coal mining, and logistics projects through bribery and other improper means, other private enterprises were either swallowed up or suppressed, making their development extremely difficult and resulting in a significant lack of economic vitality in the county.

Wang Yuanze didn't comment, only nodding slightly occasionally, and asked, "Yes, what's your opinion on this?"

Wang Yuanze asked abruptly, which surprised not only Lin Xiao herself, but also Guo Yuanzheng in the passenger seat. Even if the two were very close, shouldn't this kind of thing be brought up like this?

Seeing Lin Xiao hesitate, Wang Yuanze spoke again: "It's okay, just speak boldly, I'll listen."

Lin Xiao took a breath and said, "Secretary Wang, this is my opinion on this matter. Based on the impact of Qingqi Group, I think Fengshan County should improve its public security environment and optimize its business environment as soon as possible. Only when investors feel safe and confident can Fengshan County launch a new round of investment promotion policies."

Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then continued, "Of course, providing a sense of security and restoring investor confidence are only one important aspect. Ultimately, businesspeople are driven by profit. Regarding this, I believe that once the market enters an orderly and healthy competitive cycle, business opportunities will increase significantly. Therefore, vigorously rectifying market order is also crucial. The government needs to provide preferential policies, and the public security bureau needs to ensure a stable business environment…"

After Lin Xiao finished speaking, she waited quietly for Wang Yuanze to comment. Guo Yuanzheng, who was in the passenger seat, was somewhat emotional. He seemed to understand why Lin Xiao was favored by Wang Yuanze and why Lin Xiao was so close to Wang Yuanze.

After a moment, Wang Yuanze asked, "Who is currently in charge of the county public security bureau? What's the situation?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao was immediately pleased and said, "The county public security bureau is currently being temporarily overseen by Deputy Director Xu Jingnan. Since he took charge, he has been vigorously rectifying the work style internally, making breakthroughs in the case of County Chief Gao's murder, and actively cooperating with the special task force and the county in carrying out various tasks."

Wang Yuanze nodded slightly and said, "The fact that a single Qingqi Group could turn Fengshan County into such a mess fully exposes the various drawbacks encountered in the county's development, and it is indeed necessary to vigorously rectify and govern it."

Why is a small county town in dire need of development attracting fewer and fewer investors, and even when businesses do invest, they struggle to grow? Besides the lack of local business connections, are there other unusual factors at play?

Wang Yuanze frowned, thinking as he continued, "These problems seem commonplace, but they actually require deep consideration. In some places, there's a recent proliferation of officials, rent-seeking, and an extremely poor business environment. Outside investors can't get in, and even if they do, they're lambs to the slaughter."

Therefore, optimizing the business environment, as you mentioned, is indeed a very important aspect. However, this is something that not only your Fengshan County, but the entire city and prefecture urgently need to strengthen, as it is a foundation for economic development.

After Wang Yuanze finished speaking, he paused for a few seconds and then asked, "Do you have any new ideas in this regard?"

This series of questions clearly had a strong exploratory tone, but in reality, these were questions that the mayor or county magistrate should be considering more deeply. For Lin Xiao, who was the county magistrate's secretary, this was clearly "jumping the gun."

However, when faced with the question from the municipal party secretary and his senior, he had no choice but to answer seriously. Fortunately, during this period of time, he would often look through relevant materials in his spare time and summarize and sort out these materials along with the actual situation in Fengshan County and Songmao Village.

Lin Xiao then went on to explain how to transform functions, improve mechanisms, and empower people efficiently, and combined this with the situation in Songmao Village, Fengshan County, and even the whole city.

After he finished speaking, Wang Yuanze smiled with satisfaction and said, "Not bad. It seems you have thought about this in depth. If the points you mentioned can be implemented, they can indeed play a significant role in improving the business environment."

"Secretary Wang, actually I'm just cramming at the last minute. I happened to have looked at some information on this topic recently, and then combined it with the situation in Songmao Village and the county, so..."

"No need to be modest," Wang Yuanze waved his hand, interrupting Lin Xiao. "Having this kind of thinking is already quite good. I dare say that many people, even those in much higher positions than you, may not have this kind of understanding, and even if many people were in your current position, they wouldn't have this insight into you. So, praise them when they deserve it, and don't be lenient with criticism when it's necessary."

As Wang Yuanze spoke, he grew increasingly satisfied: This kid is indeed a promising talent, worthy of being nurtured...

This scene filled Guo Yuanzheng, sitting in the passenger seat, with envy and jealousy once again. Clearly, Wang Yuanze, the municipal party secretary, valued Lin Xiao, the county head's secretary, far more than he, the legitimate secretary of the municipal party secretary. If this continued, Guo Yuanzheng feared his position as secretary would be in jeopardy.

At this point, a sense of worry arose, and he secretly resolved to work even harder and not let Lin Xiao take his place.

Little did he know that if he had broadened his horizons a little, Lin Xiao's future path would definitely not have been here.