Me! A high-ranking official!

Having said all that, arguing any further would be rude. The top leader has already prepared a backup plan, clearly intending to take the safe route. For a mere deputy section chief who's only been there for two days to try and teach the bureau chief how to do things is a major taboo in officialdom.

Moreover, I'm new here and have no foundation. If I force this manuscript on him and something goes wrong, the blame will fall squarely on my head. Since Zhang Baocheng doesn't want to use it, that's actually a good thing. Old Xie's clichéd rhetoric will fool the pragmatic Zhou Qingyan, and Zhang Baocheng will suffer the consequences.

"Director Zhang's criticism is correct." He immediately smoothed out the angularity on his face, replaced it with a sincere and receptive expression, and lowered his head slightly: "I'm new to our bureau, and I really don't have a deep enough understanding of the county's cultural tourism development plan. My ideas were too hasty, and I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I will definitely learn more from you and Director Xie in the future."

After admitting his mistake, he turned around briskly and gently closed the door to Zhang Baocheng's office.

As he stepped out the door, Zhao Jianguo stopped, glanced back at the closed director's office, and smirked. Good advice is useless against a damned devil. He could imagine that at 3:30 pm, when Lao Xie handed over that same old, tired draft, given Zhou Qingyan's temper, things were going to get interesting.

At 3:30 p.m., in the county party secretary's office, the blinds were half-drawn, and the central air conditioning vents emitted a low "humming" sound, but it couldn't suppress the low air pressure in the room.

"Snapped!"

Zhou Qingyan slammed a thick report, "Work Report on the Development of Culture and Tourism in Our County during the May Day Holiday," onto the mahogany table. Although Zhou Qingyan was only in his thirties, he sat in a large leather chair with a stern face, and the oppressive feeling of his superior position made people's hair stand on end.

"This is what you, Director Zhang, and your team produced after staying up all night? The language is certainly ornate, and the formulaic writing is flawless!" Zhou Qingyan sneered, pointing heavily at the document. "But looking at the whole thing, is there a single sentence that can be implemented immediately during this May Day holiday? Tell me, what does it mean to vigorously promote wheat field culture? Do you expect tourists to take a long holiday and travel all that way just to stand in the furrows and drink the northwest wind from your county?!"

Zhang Baocheng stood obediently two steps away from the desk. In the early summer weather, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and stung his eyes, but he didn't even dare to raise his hand to wipe them.

He felt a surge of bitterness welling up inside him. In the past, when he took this set of stable drafts suitable for all ages to report to the old county magistrate, at most he would just say a few words that were neither painful nor meaningful, such as "you need to broaden your thinking." Who would have thought that this new woman would have a temper as explosive as a powder keg and would directly overturn the table!

Zhou Qingyan gave him no time to breathe, her tone growing increasingly cold: "Director Zhang, the Bureau of Culture and Tourism has been under your care for two years, and in every quarterly horizontal data assessment of the city, our county has never moved from last place! If you're allowed to sit in this director's position so comfortably and without any innovation, then it's a dereliction of duty on the part of the county party committee!"

Zhang Baocheng's calf suddenly twitched.

That's too harsh! This isn't criticism; it's practically tearing off his official hat! The Bureau of Culture and Tourism is, after all, a top position, overseeing dozens of people. If Secretary Zhou were to demote him in a fit of anger to a mere researcher with a fixed salary and no real power, he wouldn't even have anyone to open the door for him or make him tea anymore!

Zhou Qingyan leaned forward, staring at him menacingly, and issued an ultimatum: "Zhang Baocheng, I'll ask you one question: putting aside your nonsense, do you have any other comprehensive considerations regarding the cultural and tourism foundation of our county?"

Zhang Baocheng's Adam's apple bobbed up and down with difficulty, and alarm bells rang in his mind.

If he couldn't produce anything substantial, he'd be stuck at the CPPCC for a chat tomorrow. In that split second of life-or-death situation, his mind raced, and he suddenly grabbed the two thin sheets of paper Zhao Jianguo had handed him that afternoon. Although he had verbally abused Zhao Jianguo and thought his ideas were pure nonsense, he was now forced into a corner and had no choice but to try anything!

"Secretary Zhou... Secretary Zhou." Zhang Baocheng quickly bent down even further, swallowing hard. "Actually... regarding this May Day holiday and long-term development, I still have two somewhat immature ideas in mind. Because the steps are a bit too ambitious, I'm afraid they might not be safe, so I didn't dare have the office include them in the report..."

Zhou Qingyan's face remained icy, and he didn't reply. Instead, he gave Zhou Qingyan a very slight chin movement, signaling him to speak.

Zhang Baocheng's palms were sweating profusely. He quickly recalled Zhao Jianguo's two points from memory: "One was to create a borderless ancient-style living experience in Xiaozhai Village, fence off idle village houses and abandoned land, and have villagers act as interactive NPCs, creating a very low-cost immersive tourism experience. The other..." Zhang Baocheng gritted his teeth, "was to reposition the existing fantasy martial arts city into a 'Classic of Mountains and Seas' zoo, and then use that as leverage to intercept Yong'an County's zoo relocation project in the city!"

After saying all that in one breath, Zhang Baocheng didn't dare to breathe loudly, staring intently at Zhou Qingyan's expression, bracing himself for another round of scolding.

However, upon hearing these words, especially when the Shanhai Zoo snatched the municipal project, Zhou Qingyan's tightly furrowed brows suddenly trembled slightly.

Instead of continuing to get angry, she slowly leaned back in her leather chair.

The office suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

"Tap...tap...tap..."

Zhou Qingyan's slender index finger began to tap rhythmically on the mahogany table. This usually decisive and pragmatic county party secretary was actually looking out the window and seriously starting to ponder and think.

Seeing the leader's micro-expression, Zhang Baocheng's heart, which had been hanging in his throat, suddenly fell back into his stomach, followed by a surge of ecstasy.

He'd made the right bet! Those two seemingly bizarre ideas had actually caught the eye of the new Party Secretary! This was exactly what she wanted—something she could actually hold onto! A cold wind blew against his soaked shirt, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Zhao Jianguo, that pen-wielding idiot, had managed to produce a copy; otherwise, he would have been dead inside this door today.

Just as Zhang Baocheng was about to strike while the iron was hot and express his determination, Zhou Qingyan suddenly raised his wrist, glanced at the silver ladies' watch, and grabbed the landline receiver on the table: "Arrange car number two, downstairs, yes, immediately."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Qingyan stood up abruptly, grabbed the thin suit jacket from the back of the chair, and swept his sharp eyes toward Zhang Baocheng, who was still standing there in a daze: "Director Zhang, come with me. We're going to Xiaozhai Village and Wuxia City to take a look at them in person now."

Zhang Baocheng was suddenly stunned. Go see for himself? This wasn't just listening; he really had his eye on it and was ready to dig it up!

"Yes, Secretary! I'll arrange it right away!" Zhang Baocheng suddenly felt strong again and hurriedly opened the mahogany door. Like a dutiful follower, he followed closely behind Zhou Qingyan downstairs.