As foxes with a thousand-year history, they certainly knew the hidden meaning behind Zhang Weiguo's words. I believe some people have already started to feel uneasy.
In the afternoon, Zhang Weiguo called me into his office. After closing the door, he sat opposite me on the sofa.
"Hongjun, what are you going to do with the area you are in charge of this year?"
He came open to me, and I didn't hold back.
I said, "The top priority right now is the implementation of the Daxun Group project in Tongxiang Town. I promise to do this to the satisfaction of the leaders and the companies. The next step is to further diversify the industrial categories of the town. I plan to reduce the proportion of coal industry by half in a few years."
He nodded in agreement and said, "Very good, I'm more relaxed about attracting investment and launching projects than you. But you can't be careless about the coal mine, especially in terms of safe production."
I said, "Okay, Mayor Zhang."
He thought for a moment and suddenly asked me, "Are you familiar with Mr. Zhang from Taixiang Coal Mine?"
There was no insider trading, so I answered without hesitation: "Not very familiar with each other, we have met a few times."
He glanced at me and said in a concerned tone: "Although I have been here for a short time, I heard that the relationships here are very complicated when I was in the county committee office. Since you want to get involved in this mess, you must protect yourself."
I looked at him with gratitude and told him my thoughts: "Over-border mining is not just a problem for Zhang Weitang and Zheng Tong's coal mines. Many neighboring coal mines in the town have this problem to varying degrees. I have some immature ideas to solve this problem. I drafted a document to solve this problem from a management system perspective."
After that, I took out the "Suggestions" from my briefcase and handed it to him.
He took it and quickly glanced through it, then said to me, "It's well written, concise and to the point. Are you going to submit it to the county government?"
I nodded.
He shook his head and said to me, "The county government doesn't have enough influence. If we want to solve this problem, we have to start from the city."
I said helplessly, "I also know that it is difficult to solve this problem in our county. The county's land and resources bureau and coal bureau correspond to the city's competent bureau. If the city does not adjust the division of responsibilities, the county cannot come up with a new system on its own. But I have no idea how to solve the problem at the municipal level."
He smiled and said to me: "Regarding this matter, I think we need to advance it in two steps. First, we need to transform this "Suggestion" into a "Proposal" and promote it from the perspective of the authority to urge the municipal government to pay more attention to and attach importance to this matter. Secondly, I will visit an old leader who is now the deputy mayor in charge of industry and transportation in the city, and ask him to give some help and support in this matter."
Of course I knew that the old leader he was referring to was Xu Guangming, who had just been promoted from the position of county party secretary to deputy mayor.
Zhang Weiguo's idea far exceeded my expectations. I knew that this greatly increased the possibility of turning this "Suggestion" from text into an actual decision. I couldn't help but pat my thigh excitedly and said with joy: "That's simply great! This matter is all thanks to Mayor Zhang for pushing it forward and implementing it."
He said slowly: "Hongjun, it is not uncommon to use personal connections to promote work. The key is that we must have a fair and selfless heart and ensure that our actions are worthy of the good of the party."
He paused for a moment, a hint of curiosity flashed in his eyes, and suddenly asked, "I heard that you and the newly appointed County Magistrate Zhang are old friends. Is that true?"
After going a long way, this sentence is the finishing touch.
Since he seemed like a friend rather than an enemy, I didn't want to hide it, so I answered, "When I was studying at the Provincial Administrative College, County Magistrate Zhang, who was then the deputy director of the Training Division of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department, gave us several classes. Because we got along well, we established a personal friendship. I never thought that he would come to our county to be the county magistrate."
He said calmly: "Very good."
I know that his heart is definitely not as calm as he appears.
Sharing or using each other's connections to achieve common success has become an unspoken idea between him and me.
This is the only common rule of the game in the world.
I just left town on Friday when Wang Yanshu called me on the plane. She invited me to a small gathering at the hotel in the evening, but I found an excuse to decline. She said angrily on the other end of the phone, "Guan Hongjun, you are no longer with me, and you don't even give me face when I invite you to dinner. To tell you the truth, it was our Principal Xu who wanted to find an opportunity to talk to you. He was very excited about the automotive parts industry economic belt you mentioned last time, and he praised your idea and even wrote a detailed feasibility report. Tell me, are you coming or not?"
I certainly had no reason to refuse.
What surprised me was that in addition to Xu Shaojia and his wife, there was also Director Wang of the County Coal Bureau, whose full name was Wang Fusheng.
After a brief greeting, Principal Xu opened a glass and gave me some blatant compliments, which made my face a little hot. I was really not used to this kind of flattery.
After two glasses of wine, I started to feel a little dizzy and relaxed my guard. I chatted with him about the industrial economic belt. Under the influence of alcohol, he and I became more and more excited as we talked, and we both had the heroic spirit to speak out.
The two of us were having a great conversation, but Wang Yanshu seemed to be hesitant to speak, and kept signaling her husband with her eyes.
Xu Shaojia understood and changed the subject, patting me on the back and saying, "Hongjun, let's talk a little bit about brotherhood before I get too drunk. What do you think of this old man of mine?"
As he spoke, he pointed at Wang Fusheng beside him.
I mumbled incoherently, "We are all good friends. This is Director Wang."
I said this while giving a thumbs up.
Xu Shaojia slapped the table and said, "Well, a gentleman will die for his friend. If you say that, Brother Wang will sacrifice his life for you. Am I right?"
He looked at Wang Fusheng with a questioning look.
Wang Fusheng obviously had an amazing alcohol tolerance. Even after drinking the same amount of wine, he didn't show any signs of being drunk.
"Brother Xu is absolutely right. Let me offer a toast to Brother Guan." He stood up and held up the glass and came to my side.
I stood up slowly, clinked glasses with him and drank the whole drink.
That night I was a little bit drunk, not only because of the anesthesia of alcohol, but also because of the flattery of these two people at the table.
Tang Xiaomei said that my drinking habits have never been very good, and I still haven't improved. I dare to agree to anything at the table, and I am very easy to be taken advantage of.
I didn't argue because what she said was absolutely true.
This drinking party made me realize how "evil" people are. I was "used" by Wang Yanshu and his wife. It turned out that Wang Fusheng wanted to move to another position and had his eyes on the vacant position of the director of the County Safety Supervision Bureau. I patted my chest and promised to smooth the relationship between my grandfather, the head of the organization, and strongly recommended Wang Fusheng to the organization.
To be honest, even without these two people as lobbyists, I would have to agree to Wang Fusheng. After all, he really helped a lot in the Taixiang Coal Mine incident.