Me! A high-ranking official!

These words were perfectly worded, both answering Zhou Qingyan's pointed questions with concrete data and resolving Zhang Baocheng's earlier boast of 30 million by presenting it as a long-term plan, thus saving the leader's face.

Zhou Qingyan paused for a moment, his sharp gaze softened slightly, and he nodded slightly.

At this moment, Lian Wei, who was sitting on the sofa, closed the report in his hand, picked up his thermos and blew on the tea floating on the surface, and smiled knowingly: "Secretary Zhou, I have carefully read this plan, and it is indeed well thought out. It is different from the old approach of large-scale demolition and construction. You and I both know the cultural and tourism foundation of our county. If we learn from other places and spend a lot of money to develop famous mountains and rivers and in-depth tours, that would be like imitating Dong Shi. But this project is interesting, with less investment and a high margin for error."

Lian Wei paused, pointed to the cover of the proposal with his finger, and pointed out incisively: "The most crucial point is that the dilapidated houses left over from the demolition in Xiaozhai Village have always been a festering sore that affects the appearance of the county. If this project can succeed, it will not only create a tourist attraction, but also revitalize historical problems and idle resources. I think it is worth a try."

After listening to Lian Wei's words, Zhou Qingyan pondered for a moment, then decisively made a decision: "Okay, County Chief Lian, this is your responsibility. You take the lead and make sure this report is thoroughly reviewed. We'll have a small meeting tonight to go through it first. If there are no problems, we'll approve it at the Standing Committee meeting next Monday."

"Okay." Lian Wei glanced at his watch, stood up, and said, "Time is tight. I'll go back and go over the details with them again. I'll report back at tonight's meeting."

Zhou Qingyan nodded, said nothing more, and pulled out a new document to read. This was the meaning of serving tea and seeing the guest off.

Lian Wei picked up his notebook and walked out. Zhang Baocheng, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, quickly bowed to Zhou Qingyan and said, "Secretary, you're busy. We'll go and prepare first."

As soon as Zhang Baocheng stepped out of the secretary's office, he was like a deflated balloon. But when he turned around and saw Lian Wei walking ahead, he immediately perked up again, not even bothering to wipe his sweat. He followed after him eagerly, bowing and smiling obsequiously: "County Chief Lian, what do you think of the materials for tonight's meeting? How can our bureau cooperate..."

Following Lian Wei to the deputy county head's office, Zhao Jianguo politely stopped in his tracks and stood in the outer room.

Although the heavy soundproof door was closed, it couldn't block out Lian Wei's angry reprimanding voice from inside. Although the specific words were unclear, the stern tone with its ups and downs rolled back and forth in the corridor like muffled thunder. Lian Wei's liaison, Xiao Wang, sat in the outer room typing without even lifting his eyelids, clearly used to it.

A good ten minutes passed before the door opened a crack. Zhang Baocheng took out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead and waved to the outside: "Jianguo, come in for a moment."

Upon entering, the oppressive atmosphere in the room hadn't yet dissipated. Lian Wei leaned back in his office chair, pointed to the plan on the table, and went straight to the point: "Zhao Jianguo, please repeat the specific implementation details of the traffic acquisition plan, and how will the profits be distributed with the village collective?"

His mind raced, going through each point clearly. As he listened, Lian Wei made annotations on the plan with a red pen, occasionally adding a few details. It wasn't until the clock on the wall was approaching six that Lian Wei closed his pen, stood up, and said, "Alright, it's almost time. You two come with me to the meeting room on the third floor and wait outside. Be ready to go in and answer questions if the secretary asks for specific data during the meeting."

The two followed closely to the small conference room on the third floor. Several heads of relevant bureaus and commissions were already standing in the corridor. They nodded to each other and greeted each other, but no one spoke.

At 6:00, steady footsteps echoed from the stairwell. County Party Secretary Zhou Qingyan, carrying a water glass, was the last to walk in. Everyone instinctively moved closer to the wall. Zhou Qingyan walked in expressionlessly, and with a bang, the two heavy doors of the conference room slammed shut.

As soon as the door closed, Zhang Baocheng gasped sharply, belatedly realizing that cold sweat had soaked the back of his shirt.

He grabbed Zhao Jianguo's arm and dragged him to the corner at the end of the corridor, his voice trembling: "Jianguo, hurry, hurry! Go through those sets of data you just reported to County Chief Lian, including the error tolerance rate and return cycle, right now!"

According to the rules, if someone really needs to be called in for questioning at such a meeting of county leaders, only the bureau chief can go in alone to report. Zhao Jianguo's rank is not high enough, and he can't even cross the threshold. Just thinking about having to face Zhou Qingyan's gloomy eyes alone made Zhang Baocheng's legs cramp.

Seeing his director's last-minute cramming attempt, Zhao Jianguo shook his head inwardly, but dared not show it on his face. He could only lower his voice and break down several key data points, trying to cram them into Zhang Baocheng's brain.

For two hours, there wasn't even a bench in the corridor outside the conference room. His calves ached from standing, and Zhang Baocheng was so nervous that he kept running to the toilet, afraid of being called on at any moment.

Around eight o'clock, the creaking sound of a chair being moved finally came from inside the heavy door.

The door opened, and the leaders came out one after another. Lian Wei walked in front, glanced at Zhang Baocheng in the corner, nodded almost imperceptibly, and gestured with his chin toward his office.

Zhang Baocheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly led Zhao Jianguo back to the door of Lian Wei's office.

This time, after waiting outside for less than fifteen minutes, when Zhang Baocheng came out again, the gloom on his face had vanished, and his mouth was practically stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

He walked downstairs with a light, swaying gait. As soon as he stepped out of the glass doors of the county government building, he patted Zhao Jianguo on the shoulder heavily and exclaimed sincerely, "Jianguo, you truly are a top student who has worked your way up from the county government compound. Your pen and your brain are really sharp!"

Zhang Baocheng lit a cigarette, took a satisfying drag, and exhaled smoke rings as he said, "County Chief Lian just gave the briefing, and the project is basically approved at the small meeting! Next Monday's work meeting will just be a formality. The preliminary work will be led by our Culture and Tourism Bureau, which will be responsible for project initiation and approval. Once the formalities are completed, the specific development and capital investment will be handled by the County Investment Group."

He nodded silently; this was entirely expected.

The Industrial Investment Group is a wholly state-owned enterprise directly under the county government. To put it bluntly, it is the county's money bag and construction team. For government projects, the bureau takes the lead in obtaining policies and handling procedures, while the Industrial Investment Group provides funds for construction and operation. This is the most common internal power struggle within the system.

"Alright, I've passed this hurdle. I need to hurry home and get something to eat; I'm starving." Zhang Baocheng opened the car door, climbed into his Passat, and sped out of the compound.

He walked to the bike shed, pushed his electric scooter aside, and rode towards the budget hotel, braving the hot night wind.

All the way there, he kept thinking about this. Zhang Baocheng thought everything was fine, but the real skinning and dismemberment had only just begun.