Nominal: Intercepting Zhong Xiaoai, Dominating Handong

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Pei Yihong's voice came from inside.

Pushing open the door, he saw Pei Yihong reviewing documents. Upon seeing him enter, Pei Yihong put down his pen and pointed to the chair opposite him: "Mingyuan is here, have a seat."

Gu Mingyuan sat down as instructed, his back straight, his posture respectful yet relaxed.

Pei Yihong sized him up for a moment, a satisfied smile appearing on his face: "How is it? Are you settling into the new office?"

"That's fine, thank you for your concern, Secretary Pei."

"That's good." Pei Yihong nodded, his expression turning serious.

"Mingyuan, it was my suggestion that you go to the municipal government office this time, and it was also the consensus of the Standing Committee."

"You're still young and need more training in various areas."

"The city government office directly deals with specific administrative affairs, which is more down-to-earth and also puts a person's comprehensive coordination and problem-solving abilities to the test."

"I understand, Secretary Pei. I will familiarize myself with my new position as soon as possible and live up to your expectations," Gu Mingyuan said sincerely.

"Yes, I believe in your abilities." Pei Yihong leaned back in his chair and tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

"However, I have a few things to remind you of."

"First, once you're in your new position, you need to understand your place. You're now the deputy director, so you need to be able to work independently while also learning to cooperate with the main leaders. You can't overstep your bounds, and you certainly can't neglect your duties."

"Second, continue to maintain your style of going deep into the grassroots and conducting investigations and research. Decision-making cannot be done by sitting in the office and making assumptions; you must go out, listen to the truth, and see the facts."

"Third, and most importantly—" Pei Yihong looked at him intently.

"We must uphold our bottom line. Power is a double-edged sword; if used well, it can bring benefits to the people. If used poorly, it can harm others and oneself."

"You are still young, and you have a long road ahead of you. You absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes in this area."

These words, spoken with great earnestness, filled Gu Mingyuan with a chilling aura.

He stood up solemnly: "Secretary Pei, I will keep your teachings in mind."

"I assure you that no matter where I go, I will always remember my original aspirations and never cross the red line or the bottom line."

"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that." Pei Yihong smiled with satisfaction and gestured for him to sit down.

"You need to keep an eye on the airport project."

"The real battle has only just begun."

"Land acquisition and demolition, construction bidding, quality supervision... problems can occur at any stage."

"Especially land acquisition and demolition, which involves the vital interests of thousands of households, must be handled with utmost care."

"Yes, I understand. I have already held a meeting with the comrades in the demolition command center and formulated a detailed work plan. We will adhere to transparent operations and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the people," Gu Mingyuan reported.

"Yes, I trust you to handle things." Pei Yihong nodded.

"In addition, there will be a key project construction experience exchange meeting at the beginning of next month in the province. You should prepare to represent Pingzhou and give a speech, focusing on the process of the airport project from conception to implementation. This is also an opportunity to showcase Pingzhou and your personal capabilities."

"Yes, I will definitely prepare carefully."

As Gu Mingyuan left Pei Yihong's office, he felt both pressure and motivation.

Secretary Pei's trust and expectations are his greatest motivation to move forward.

Back in his office, he immediately threw himself into his work.

Several documents that needed to be processed were already piled up on the table—one was the city's road maintenance plan submitted by the Transportation Bureau, another was the Development and Reform Commission's report on the investment progress of key projects in the second half of the year, and the other two were letters from the public reflecting problems related to urban construction.

Gu Mingyuan brewed a strong cup of tea and began to process each item one by one.

He reviewed documents quickly, but he examined each one carefully, marking important parts in red and writing down his opinions on how to handle them.

If he encounters something unclear, he will directly call the relevant department for clarification.

"Director Li? This is Gu Mingyuan from the Municipal Government Office. I saw your road maintenance plan, specifically the section of Longquan Road, where the budget has increased by 30% compared to last year. I'd like to understand the specific reasons..."

"Section Chief Zhang, regarding the demolition compensation issue raised in this letter from the public, has your Housing and Construction Bureau been aware of it beforehand? Have you conducted any on-site investigations?"

His voice was calm, but his questions were very precise, making the department head on the other end of the phone take him very seriously.

Throughout the morning, the office was almost constantly filled with the sounds of telephones ringing, documents being flipped through, and keyboards being typed.

It was 12:30 pm when Gu Mingyuan finally finished dealing with the urgent documents at hand.

He rubbed his throbbing temples and remembered he should call home.

When the number was dialed, the mother, Ling Fei, answered the phone.

"Mingyuan, have you eaten yet?"

"Mom, not yet, just finished. Where's Xiao Ai?"

"Xiao Ai is taking a nap; she gets sleepy easily when she's pregnant. Your dad went to the market; he said he's going to buy a fish to make soup." Ling Fei's voice was full of satisfaction.

"Mingyuan, no matter how busy you are with work, you must eat on time. Health is the foundation of everything."

"Okay, Mom, I'm going to the cafeteria now. You and Xiao Ai should eat more too."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Mingyuan felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

The warmth of his family was the best comfort for him when he was tired.

At 2 p.m. sharp, Gu Mingyuan appeared on the third floor of the municipal government conference room.

This was the first inter-departmental coordination meeting he attended as deputy director of the municipal government office. The topic was to study and resolve several bottleneck issues in the construction of the airport's supporting roads.

The heads of seven or eight departments, including the Transportation Bureau, Planning Bureau, Land and Resources Bureau, and Longkou District Government, have all arrived.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment when Gu Mingyuan entered.

Many people were seeing this legendary "rocket cadre" up close for the first time.

Young is everyone's first impression.

However, Gu Mingyuan's calm demeanor and peaceful attitude made him someone not to be underestimated.

"Distinguished leaders, let's begin." Gu Mingyuan sat down to the right of the head of the table and got straight to the point.

"Today's meeting mainly aims to coordinate and resolve several issues in the construction of the airport expressway, a supporting road for the airport. Let me first give you a brief overview..."

He didn't have a prepared speech, but he explained every piece of data and every point clearly.

Next, he asked each department to report the problems they encountered.

The Transportation Bureau said the design drawings were slow to be approved, the Planning Bureau said the procedures for changing the land use were complicated, and Longkou District said they encountered several holdout households during the demolition process...

Gu Mingyuan listened attentively, occasionally taking notes in his notebook.

After everyone had finished speaking, he looked up and scanned the room: "I understand the issues. Let's address them one by one."

"The Transportation Bureau will send all the materials to the Planning Bureau tomorrow morning for the design drawings approval. The Planning Bureau has promised to complete the initial review within three working days and provide direct feedback on any necessary modifications. Can you deliver on that promise?"

The planning bureau director hesitated for a moment: "Director Gu, three working days is a bit tight..."

"Director Li, the airport project is a key project for the entire city, and time is of the essence." Gu Mingyuan's tone was calm but firm. "I know you have a heavy workload, but special times call for special measures. If you don't have enough manpower, you can temporarily draw personnel from other departments. If you need me to coordinate, I can call Vice Mayor Wang right now."

The planning bureau director quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need, we'll coordinate internally, it will definitely be completed within three working days!"

"Okay, it's settled then." Gu Mingyuan ticked it off in his notebook and moved on to the next question.

The one-and-a-half-hour meeting resolved five specific issues and clarified the responsible persons and timelines.

When the meeting ended, the way the bureau chiefs looked at Gu Mingyuan changed—this young man was not only clear-headed but also decisive in his actions. He was principled yet knew how to coordinate effectively; he was truly capable.

The August nights in Pingzhou were still sweltering.

When Gu Mingyuan got home, it was almost nine o'clock.