Chapter 160 of "1011 New Urban Farmers": Officials and Businessmen Gather (10,000 words) - Updated Now
"Mayor, I've heard that many businessmen have come to the capital. They come from all over the country, mostly jade merchants, very wealthy people. Many well-known hotels are fully booked," said Xiao Xie, the full-time secretary of the Executive Vice Mayor of Sichuan City, while delivering documents.
"Oh? Jade merchants? What are they all doing here?" Li Daolin looked up and asked, puzzled. He had only been in office for two months and was currently focusing on attracting investment; this news was timely and useful.
Seeing that he had piqued the leader's interest, Xiao Xie immediately said, "A friend of mine mentioned it casually. He's the deputy manager of a big hotel and said the hotel is full of big bosses and jade merchants from all over the country. He hasn't found out the mayor yet. Should I have him come over and report to you in person?"
“No need!” Li Daolin said after thinking for a moment. “Go and sound out what those merchants are saying first. If necessary, I can meet with them myself!”
"But we must figure out their purpose in coming, and also see if they have invested in this as a dedicated task!"
"Okay, Mayor, I'll go right away!" Xie said happily. Finally, he could do something for the mayor! For the past two months in office, he had been constantly anxious; these two months were a period of adjustment with his superiors. One wrong move, and he'd be finished back in the secretariat. Therefore, demonstrating his abilities was crucial.
This is the opportunity.
Li Daolin watched as Xiao Xie happily left. He smiled slightly. This secretary is quick-witted, but it remains to be seen how capable she is.
He was very curious about the gathering of jade merchants from all over the country and felt that this should be a good opportunity. It would be a real pity to give it up.
His daughter's inexplicable recovery, in particular, greatly invigorated him, giving him a renewed surge of energy at work. He always needed to keep himself occupied; otherwise, his authority as the executive vice mayor, which hadn't even been established yet, would be severely damaged.
Just then, his phone rang; it was a call from his wife, Lin Hui.
"It seems that Xiao Zhang from Daolin has arrived in Sichuan!" Li Daolin said excitedly to Lin Hui as he answered the phone.
"Xiao Zhang?" He didn't understand for a moment. Which Xiao Zhang? "Zhang Guodong?"
"Yes, the people in that village said they saw Xiao Zhang in Chuandu, but they still can't get through to him on the phone," Lin Hui said. "Why don't you take some time to visit him?"
Lin Hui was convinced that Zhang Guodong was behind her daughter's inexplicable recovery. She secretly chatted with Ya Ya and finally managed to extract some useful information. Ya Ya said the two candies were very pretty, round, and felt comfortable eating them.
But what exactly was that drug? No one can say for sure because no evidence has been preserved.
Therefore, Lin Huishi and Zhang Guodong were very grateful.
Li Daolin thought about his work schedule for the day and said, "Okay, I'll come pick you up!"
Outside the Education Bureau, a sneaky-looking guy kept craning his neck to look inside. The security guard kept a close eye on him and wouldn't let him in several times.
This guy is Xiao Gangben.
He inadvertently saw Zhang Guodong with a woman and immediately remembered Lin Hui bringing her daughter to the Dinosaur Village to find Zhang Guodong.
Lin Hui happened to run into Xiao Gangben'er at that moment. She learned that Zhang Guodong had already left. Xiao Gangben'er, of course, had met Lin Hui and her father-in-law, Da Mi Daolin, a high-ranking official, and was eager to curry favor with his superiors. He had taken notice of Zhang Guodong and was surprised to see him today, so he immediately went to Lin Hui's place.
Report.
Lin Hui went back to the bureau to ask for leave, but he didn't leave and just waited outside. "This thick leg won't let me go!"
Soon Lin Hui appeared, and the security guard immediately greeted her respectfully: "Director Lin!"
"She's actually the bureau chief?" Xiao Gangben was astonished. He had assumed her husband was a high-ranking official, but this amiable woman was also a bureau chief? That was an official even higher than a branch bureau chief. He thought he had struck it rich.
Normally, I pay by the pound. The restaurant has a ton of debts. Some guys from the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Public Security Bureau eat there and just put it on their tabs. Sometimes they don't even bother with the bills. Now that's settled, let's see who still thinks I'm a free lunch spot.
"Hello, Director Lin!" Xiao Gangben greeted him with a smile.
"Hello, thank you for your help this time!" Lin Hui said with a smile.
"No trouble at all, it's just a small favor!" Xiao Gangben immediately felt his blood boiling. "I know where Mr. Zhang lives, I'm sure I can find him!"
"That's good!" Lin Hui exclaimed with delight.
Li Daolin's car quickly appeared outside the Education Bureau. The appearance of the executive vice mayor's car at the Education Bureau caused quite a stir. However, the car did not enter the bureau but only stopped outside.
Director Huang rushed out from afar upon hearing the news. He wondered to himself, "Is Mayor Li here to inspect our work? We weren't notified." But he decided to treat him well nonetheless.
"Welcome, leaders! Hello, Mayor Li!" Director Huang appeared excited, followed by the other deputy directors.
Li Daolin had no choice but to get out of the car, smile at him, shake his hand, and say, "I'm here to pick up my wife today, I have some business to attend to. You all go about your business!"
"Mayor Li, we are really looking forward to your visit to our Education Bureau!"
"Next time, Director Huang, please come to my office!" Li Daolin said warmly.
"Yes, Mayor Li, please, Director Lin, please!" Director Huang said excitedly.
What a great opportunity! I've finally made contact with Mayor Li!
Li Daolin nodded, and he, Lin Hui, and Xiao Gangben, who was so excited his blood was boiling, got into the car and drove off quickly.
"Director Li is quite amiable!" someone nearby remarked.
Harmony? Huang Xingguo wouldn't see it that way. The second-in-command of the municipal government wielded immense power; he'd only heard about it once at a standing committee meeting. He'd become familiar with two...
"Li Daolin of Huizuo suddenly intervened and rejected the appointment of a district party secretary. Originally, a simple traffic accident was reportedly caused by the car of the soon-to-be-appointed district party secretary, which seriously injured someone. Unfortunately, Mayor Li witnessed the incident, and the final aftermath left the family dissatisfied, which also displeased Mayor Li, who was paying attention to the matter."
How can a cadre who cannot face his own responsibilities shoulder the heavy responsibility of a district party secretary?
As a result, the district party secretary was reassigned to the Tourism Bureau as a deputy director (equivalent to a section chief), a demotion rather than a promotion. He was essentially sidelined. This was Li Daolin's way of putting things on hold!
That person was unlucky.
But in any case, it shows that Li Daolin is quite powerful; the second-in-command of the municipal government is not just a figurehead.
However, these are things that can't be said to others. Otherwise, if Li Daolin hears gossip, his impression of him will probably suffer.
"Return to your posts. Mayor Li said he might inspect our Education Bureau soon, so everyone should cheer up and prepare!" Director Huang turned around and said authoritatively as the car drove away.
Zhang Guodong was unaware that his trip with Zheng Le had been discovered. He was at a Western restaurant with Zheng Le, having just finished taking wedding photos online. But Liu Neng interrupted their romantic moment, causing Zhang Guodong to frown.
Liu Neng was also helpless. This craze for jade slag was actually getting more and more intense, and some merchants were even planning to hoard jade slag? Hearing this news, Liu Neng was anxious, but Zhang Guodong found it funny.
"Boss Zhang, all those jade merchants want to meet you. What do you think we should do?" Liu Neng quickly reported to Zhang Guodong when he saw that things were not going well.
He can't make that decision.
However, the fact that these people have all lost control of the 100 tons of jade slag might affect his acquisition.
"See me? What do they want? Are these people just bored or something?" Zhang Guodong said. "You're the acquirer, you're the boss!"
"But government officials have also come to our door. They said they want to discuss some technical matters with you," Liu said weakly.
"Tell them to get lost!" Zhang Guodong, his mood soured, slammed down the phone.
"What's wrong? Why are you so angry?" Zheng Le looked at her man with amusement, but he was indeed a bit busy. Even a romantic Western meal couldn't be peaceful.
“This Liu Daneng makes such a fuss over everything he does. These jade slag suppliers are demanding to see me, and government officials are even coming to my door; what kind of exchange is this?” Zhang Guodong said. “What is there for me to exchange with them?”
Yes, what is there for him to talk to people about?
"Alright, don't be angry. I guess Liu Neng was forced into it too," Zheng chuckled. He fed Zhang Guodong a bite of steak.
On the other end, Liu Neng hung up the phone with a troubled expression. He shrugged and said to the person from the Science and Technology Commission in front of him, "There's nothing I can do. Boss Zhang is very busy right now, and I can't see him."
Two people from the Science and Technology Commission arrived: one was a section chief surnamed Niu, and the other was a staff member. They had somehow heard that someone was buying jade slag at a high price and approached Liu Neng, requesting to discuss jade slag refining techniques with the mastermind, Zhang Guodong.
The State Science and Technology Commission (SASTIND) is generally responsible for developing self-reliant technology and industrial projects; this department can be quite powerful. However, it can also be a relatively insignificant department. The key is whether it can secure good projects and generate profits.
This jade slag acquisition has caused quite a stir. They actually approached Liu Neng.
Section Chief Niu frowned and said, "Mr. Liu, I've inquired, are you a local and own a trading company?"
Liu Neng's expression changed. Was there a threat in his tone? He knew his company had a lot of shady dealings involved.
"All your technologies are very important to the country's science and technology. This is a cooperation required by the country, so you can handle it yourself. I'll only wait ten minutes, Mr. Liu. Think about it yourself, if I still can't contact you after ten minutes, I'll be powerless to help!"
"Section Chief Niu and Boss Zhang are big bosses. I just have a small company, how can I possibly control them?" Liu Neng was anxious. Although he was rich, his connections were limited; they were from the Municipal Science and Technology Commission, and he had no say in their affairs.
“Mr. Liu, we at Niu Ke aren’t trying to make things difficult for you, this is a task assigned from above. Do you know about this? I think you’d better figure something out, you only have ten minutes left,” the clerk said.
The two sat down next to each other and leisurely drank tea.
Actually, they're anxious too. All that talk about "the higher-ups" is pure nonsense. Whoever gets it first is the hero, the one with the achievements. If the leaders want to promote someone, they only look at their achievements and seniority. Anyone who's been a section chief for years and doesn't want a promotion is a fool.
Even the more important newspapers have made such a big fuss. Do you think people in other departments are insignificant? They're racing against time! Whoever gets there first gets it.
Knock knock.
"General Manager Liu, people from the District Investment Promotion Bureau are here to visit you!" The alluring secretary entered, looking at Liu Neng with delight. Has Liu Neng become a celebrity now? So many officials are visiting him? He just joined the Municipal Science and Technology Commission, and now he's at the District Industry and Commerce Bureau.
After he finished speaking, the expressions of Section Chief Niu and the clerk changed.
Liu Neng was even more dumbfounded; he had no idea what to do. Call Zhang Guodong again? He was prepared to be in trouble. And now, someone else was showing up! At this moment, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He usually couldn't even establish connections with anyone of any significant influence, but now, this person had taken the initiative to come to him.
Bi: I rushed out this third update, which is almost 10,000 words today! Please subscribe and vote!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com