Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

Time flies, and the weekend is here in the blink of an eye.

Qi Tongwei and Zhong Xiaoai got up exceptionally early today; they had already made plans.

Today I'm going to the city to buy school supplies and also to visit Wang Quanyou.

As soon as the two stepped out of the guesthouse, they saw Baimaiti next to the Santana.

Baimaiti had a mischievous grin on his face, shrugged his shoulders, and looked at Qi Tongwei, clearly waiting for him.

Before Baimaiti could speak, Qi Tongwei spoke first to the driver, Xiao Li, who was standing next to him.

"Dajun, take a day off today. Go home and visit your family. I'll drive myself..."

Having experienced the previous shooting incident, Xiao Li was completely obedient to Qi Tongwei.

He handed the car keys to Qi Tongwei, turned around and left without saying a word.

Seeing that Xiao Li had left, Qi Tongwei opened the driver's side door and gestured with his chin to Bai Maiti.

"County Magistrate Bai, get in the car quickly. What's wrong... are you waiting for me to open the car door for you?"

Baimaiti was taken aback, gave an awkward laugh, got into the passenger seat, and muttered something under his breath.

"I don't know either, are you going to drive yourself..."

The three got into the car, and the Santana, crushing the rising sun, drove towards the western part of the city.

Throughout the journey, Zhong Xiaoai appeared quite excited.

How many books and stationery should I buy? What teaching aids should I get? When will the piano sponsored by Han University arrive?

She was in the back seat, counting on her fingers and chattering away.

Qi Tongwei responded casually while driving, occasionally interjecting with a few words.

As soon as the car left Fuyuan County, Baimaiti began to regret it.

He regretted why he had to be angry with Qi Tongwei and insist on hitching a ride, becoming a third wheel.

As he was thinking, Zhong Xiaoai's next words instantly caught his attention.

"Oh dear, senior brother, we went to Secretary Wang's house for dinner... and we didn't even bring him a gift..."

Was it too impolite of me to visit my elders for the first time...?

Qi Tongwei glanced at the rearview mirror and said softly to comfort her.

"Don't worry about it, I've already made preparations... I brought some local specialties from Fuyuan for Secretary Wang..."

White garlic, and some wild Cistanche deserticola... perfect for making him some wine...

Upon hearing this, Baimaiti frowned slightly, glanced at Qi Tongwei, and asked softly.

"You...aren't you going shopping with your wife...are you going to Secretary Wang's house?"

Qi Tongwei rolled his eyes at him and replied with a smile.

"You really think I'd let you run yourself ragged by yourself... We're comrades-in-arms..."

Baimaiti was taken aback, sighed, shook his head with a wry smile, and muttered something under his breath.

"Ugh, I shouldn't have ridden in with you... I didn't even cause you any trouble, but I ended up being a third wheel..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Tongwei and Zhong Xiaoai burst into laughter, and the awkward atmosphere instantly disappeared.

Before the laughter had completely subsided, Qi Tongwei replied with a smile.

"What's wrong with being a third wheel? We can chat while you listen to the opera, isn't that wonderful..."

After saying that, he paused slightly, his tone becoming more serious.

"It seems we won't be able to get together if we go back... Once your end is finished, we'll have to ask the city for a car..."

......

The Santana drove in silence until it stopped in front of the Bianxi Municipal Government office building.

As they parted, Qi Tongwei clung to the car window and whispered a reminder to Baimaiti.

"Brother Bai, no matter how he behaves... you must control your temper."

Our task is to sound them out. Once we get back to the county, we'll discuss countermeasures and come up with a solution...

Baimaiti smiled and patted Qi Tongwei on the shoulder, saying softly.

"Don't treat your Brother Bai like a fool. Having lived in the city for so long, I know him better than you do..."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei waved to Baimaiti, and the Santana slowly drove away from the city government building.

Qi Tongwei and Zhong Xiaoai went to the city to make purchases, while Baimaiti went into Cheng Shizhong's office.

When Cheng Shizhong saw Baimaiti arrive, he was very enthusiastic.

He gestured for Baimaiti to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and asked with a smile.

"How's it going? Is Fuyuan's work going smoothly? Is he able to adjust to life there?"

You've been living in the city for so long, you probably aren't used to working in the county...

Baimaiti's answers were also very appropriate, and the two had a back-and-forth conversation in a very harmonious atmosphere.

The two chatted for about ten minutes, but Cheng Shizhong kept dodging the question and never got down to business.

Baimaiti knew he was doing it on purpose, and too lazy to cooperate, so he took the opportunity to get straight to the point.

"Secretary Cheng, you know me, I'm straightforward, please don't mind... I'll just say what I have to say."

I came to the city this time because I had no other choice but to ask you for help..."

Cheng Shizhong glanced at Baimaiti, his expression exaggerated, and asked in a deep voice with a frown.

"Oh? We're all old-timers... No need to hide anything, just say whatever you want."

Whether for public or private reasons, I will definitely help you solve anything I can...

Baimaiti didn't mince words and directly recounted how the supplies had been cut.

After saying that, he looked at Cheng Shizhong and said with a wry smile.

"These two projects are related to the development of Fuyuan and are key projects of the county."

Water conservancy is related to people's livelihood, and electricity is even more so, affecting not only people's livelihood but also...

It's also related to Fuyuan's industrial development... Do you think you can think of a solution...?

Cheng Shizhong glanced at Baimaiti, slowly put down the thermos in his hand, and said in a deep voice.

"Yes, I am aware of both of Fuyuan's projects."

In particular, the secondary funding for the water diversion project was even discussed by the Standing Committee.

However, as you know, these two projects overlapped with key municipal projects...

There are only so many supplies; even if we can help you with 40%, that's quite a lot...

The rest you'll have to figure out yourselves...

After listening to Cheng Shizhong's words, Baimaiti frowned slightly.

He'd heard this story countless times, and today he'd finally found its source...

He had already prepared his response, and when Cheng Shizhong used this excuse to decline, he immediately chimed in.

"Secretary Cheng, I understand what you're saying... How about this?"

The city's projects are all multi-year projects, and they occupy the planning quotas that can't be used immediately...

"Could you perhaps reschedule this time to allow Fuyuan's two projects to proceed first...?"

While speaking, he kept observing Cheng Shizhong's expression.

Seeing Cheng Shizhong's displeasure, Baimaiti immediately changed the subject and added a sentence.

"Don't worry, I can guarantee it."

At most one year, no, just six months, Fuyuan's two projects will be launched...

On behalf of the 120,000 people of Fuyuan, I implore you to allocate some quotas to Fuyuan first...

Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Shizhong snorted coldly and interrupted him.

"Comrade Baimaiti, how come I never noticed before that you have such a strong peasant mentality..."

You're using ordinary people to hold me hostage... Fuyuan has 120,000 people, but Bianxi City doesn't have any?

"You're only thinking about Fuyuan, but what about the 1.3 million people in the West Market...?"

He paused slightly at this point, his tone softening a bit.

"Comrade Baimaiti, I understand your difficulties; shortages of supplies are a common phenomenon..."

You think it's easy for me, the Party Secretary? I'm in the same boat, worrying about supplies too...

Seeing that Baimaiti still wanted to speak, he waved his hand, pointed to the clock on the wall, and said in a deep voice.

"Oh, it's time... You just happened to bring up the issue of supplies, I have a reception to attend to at noon..."

"Why don't you join in too? Maybe it can help solve your supplies problem..."

After listening to Cheng Shizhong's words, Baimaiti frowned but didn't respond.

He traveled over 100 kilometers to beg for alms from Cheng Shizhong, but Cheng Shizhong arranged to receive him.

For a moment, he couldn't figure out what Cheng Shizhong was really up to...