Nominal: Intercepting Zhong Xiaoai, Dominating Handong

He turned around abruptly, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Gu Mingyuan: "Your suggestion is priceless! Not just because of the project itself, but also because you astutely seized this window of opportunity and pointed out our greatest potential advantage over Ningchuan! If we can get ahead of the curve, it will be of great significance!"

"Secretary Pei, you flatter me. I only did some information sorting and analysis," Gu Mingyuan replied modestly, feeling a great weight lifted from his heart and a warm feeling of being recognized.

"No need to be so modest!" Pei Yihong waved his hand.

"Your strategic vision and pragmatic approach have once again impressed me. This matter must be put on the agenda immediately and treated as a top priority!"

He immediately pressed the internal intercom button: "Notify the Standing Committee members who are at home that an emergency Standing Committee meeting will be held in half an hour! Also, please have the principal leaders of the Development and Reform Commission, the Transportation Bureau, and the Planning Bureau attend!"

After hanging up the phone, Pei Yihong said to Gu Mingyuan, "Mingyuan, you should participate too. You should not only be an advisor on this project, but also be deeply involved."

"I will propose the establishment of a leading group for the Pingzhou Airport project, with myself serving as the group leader. You will be assigned to the leading group's office and play your role!"

"Yes, Secretary Pei! I will do my best!" Gu Mingyuan straightened his back, feeling an unprecedented sense of responsibility and mission.

The atmosphere at the Pingzhou Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee meeting was more solemn and enthusiastic than ever before.

After Pei Yihong finished explaining the core content of Gu Mingyuan's report, especially the importance of competing with Ningchuan and seizing the high ground at the airport, the meeting room was briefly silent before erupting into a heated discussion.

Some members of the Standing Committee expressed their support, believing that this was a forward-looking strategic decision that could greatly enhance Pingzhou's urban level and competitiveness.

Some members of the Standing Committee also had concerns, worrying that the investment was huge and the return period was long, which Pingzhou's current financial resources could not support, and that the approval process was complicated and the uncertainty was too high.

Executive Vice Mayor Qian Yongjin raised a question: "Secretary Pei, this idea is very bold, and I also acknowledge that the airport is very important."

"However, the investment scale is huge, and our city's finances... Moreover, the national-level approval involves multiple departments such as the military and the Civil Aviation Administration, so you can imagine how difficult it is."

"Shouldn't we be more cautious and focus our efforts on the highway and railway upgrades that have already been approved?"

Pei Yihong listened patiently to all the opinions, and then calmly said, "Comrades, the difficulties that Comrade Yongjin mentioned are all objectively real, and we cannot avoid them. However, everyone should also see the other side of the problem."

He stood up, walked to the huge map hanging in the conference room, and pointed to the locations of Pingzhou and Ningchuan: "Development is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind. Compared with Ningchuan, we don't have an advantage in terms of traditional industries."

"Comrade Zhao Anbang is making great strides in reforming and attracting investment in Ningchuan. If we follow the same old path, the gap will only widen. The airport is our key asset for overtaking others, or at least for turning the tide!"

His gaze swept across the room, and his tone was firm: "As for the issue of money, we can actively seek funding support from the national and provincial governments, while exploring market-based financing and introducing strategic investors."

"The difficulty in obtaining approvals highlights the importance of being proactive! By the time everyone realizes this and starts scrambling, the barriers to entry will be even higher, and the chances will be even slimmer!"

"Now is the policy window of opportunity; we must show the courage to change the world and give it our all!"

Pei Yihong's determination and inspiring explanations gradually unified the thinking of the Standing Committee members.

Ultimately, the meeting unanimously passed a resolution to officially launch the preliminary work for the Pingzhou Civil Airport project, establish a project leadership group headed by Pei Yihong, set up an airport office under the group, and draw on capable personnel from relevant departments to work together immediately and strive for project approval.

Gu Mingyuan, as the key proposer of the project concept and Pei Yihong's secretary, was appointed as the head of the comprehensive coordination group of the airport office. Although his rank was not promoted, he actually undertook a lot of communication, coordination and document writing work.

He knew that this was Pei Yihong's great trust in him and a test of his abilities.

For the next month or so, Gu Mingyuan worked non-stop.

He accompanied Pei Yihong on several trips to the provincial capital to report on the planning and ideas for Pingzhou Airport to the main leaders of the provincial party committee and government, and to seek their support.

He assisted the airport office in drafting countless reports, project proposals, and preliminary feasibility study reports, striving for accurate data, thorough argumentation, and concise writing in each one.

He also needs to communicate repeatedly with departments such as the National Development and Reform Commission, transportation, planning, land and resources, and environmental protection to coordinate and resolve various problems encountered in the project's progress.

Often, he makes and receives dozens of phone calls a day, shuttling between several meeting rooms, so busy that he doesn't even have time to drink water.

Seeing her husband grow thinner and thinner, Zhong Xiaoai felt heartbroken and could only try her best to take care of him in daily life.

Although she was still experiencing morning sickness, she always mustered her strength to prepare a hot meal and soup for Gu Mingyuan, who was coming home late.

"Xiao Ai, you've worked so hard. I'll definitely spend more time with you after this busy period is over." Gu Mingyuan looked at his wife's haggard face and felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm fine, you can focus on your work. This is a big deal, and the baby and I support you." Zhong Xiaoai always comforted him gently like this.

In early April, a crucial battle began.

The provincial Party committee and the provincial government held a special meeting to hear reports from Pingzhou and Ningchuan on major infrastructure projects.

In reality, this was also an informal contest over the ownership of the airport project.

Before the meeting, Pei Yihong and his core team, including Gu Mingyuan, made careful preparations.

They anticipated the proposals and arguments that Ning Chuan might put forward and prepared sufficient response materials.

Gu Mingyuan was responsible for compiling and editing "Key Points of the Pingzhou Airport Project Demonstration and Comparative Advantages Analysis", which became an important trump card for Pei Yihong's speech at the meeting.

As expected, at the meeting, Zhao Anbang, Secretary of the Ningchuan Municipal Party Committee, reported on the expansion of Ningchuan Port and the planning of emerging industrial parks, which was equally impressive.

However, during the open discussion, Pei Yihong seized the opportunity and proposed the idea of ​​Pingzhou Airport.

From the perspective of the province's overall development, he elaborated on the strategic significance of the airport for optimizing the transportation network of Hanjiang Province, driving the development of remote areas, and enhancing the level of opening up to the outside world. He also emphasized the unique advantages of Pingzhou in terms of location, geological conditions, and airspace resources, as well as the solid preparations made in the early stages of the project.

"...More importantly, we believe that a strong aviation hub is needed in the eastern region, especially in the Pyeongju-Nyeongcheon economic corridor."

"Based on the principles of optimal resource allocation and avoiding redundant construction, this hub should be identified as soon as possible."

"Pingzhou has the confidence and capability to shoulder this responsibility and build it into a core airport that radiates throughout the province and serves the region!"

Pei Yihong's speech was well-reasoned, supported by evidence, and full of confidence.

Zhao Anbang was clearly caught off guard.