His restraint was obviously much better than mine. Facing the increasingly obvious disrespect in my words, he did not lose his temper. Instead, he took a deep breath and forced himself to suppress the anger in his eyes. He deliberately slowed down his voice, with a soothing and persuasive tone: "Hongjun, calm down, don't let your emotions get the better of you. You are right, they are all county-level cities." He changed the subject, his eyes became deep and solemn, "But our city is not Wuxi, let alone Suzhou! Try to think about it from my position--" He leaned back slightly, and his tone was full of heavy pressure, "Last year, the financial situation of several districts under the jurisdiction of the city was almost at the bottom of the province! In this case, if I agree to your withdrawal of the county and establishment of a city, and give up greater financial power, how can the whole city play this game? Who will cover the big plate of the city's finances?!"
The heavy sense of helplessness and pressure in his words was like cold water poured over my head, instantly weakening the evil fire in my head. I forced myself to take a deep breath, pinched my fingernails into my palms a few times, and finally suppressed the surging emotions. My voice also tried to slow down, but my core demands were still clear and firm: "Instead of... being tied together and waiting to die," I chose my words carefully, "why not let us go and try to find a way out! We are definitely not going to "fly solo". In the final analysis, aren't we still under the unified leadership of the city? Is it so difficult to give us some necessary policy flexibility and autonomy?" I looked straight at him, trying to convey my sincerity, "If we develop and our lives become better, won't it also be a new source of income and support for the city? This is a win-win situation, bro!"
He shook his head helplessly, knowing that he couldn't easily convince me, so he changed his angle and said, "I'm quite pleased that you have this idea, which shows that you always want to do a good job. But we can't be divorced from reality. Have you ever thought about whether you can cross the threshold of changing from a county to a city with your current indicators?"
I said confidently: "According to the requirements of existing documents, we have already met the standards and basically have the conditions."
He thought I was daydreaming and reminded me, "When I was studying at the Central Party School, my teacher studied the topic of urbanization and the integrated development of county economy, so I paid special attention to materials in this area. Hongjun, this matter is not as simple as you think. You use the document issued in 1993 as the standard. Isn't it a bit like trying to find a sword by carving a mark on the boat? More than ten years have passed, and the standard is no longer the same as it used to be."
I said stubbornly: "Brother, I understand what you said, but the original intention of this matter is to have both results and process. The process of striving itself is a test and promotion of the work of the whole county. If we don't give it a try, how can we know where our gap is?"
He seemed to be thinking about something, and his attitude seemed to soften: "Let's eat first. We have already digested all the food on the plane. You are starving too, right?"
Seeing his attitude change, I naturally understood the situation and quickly responded with a smile: "My stomach has been protesting for a long time."
He smiled heartily, stood up and called me: "Let's go eat."
When we were walking side by side, he suddenly looked at me carefully, pulled me to his side, and lowered his voice: "Brother, you have to be moderate in that kind of thing. Overdoing it can hurt your body."
I was confused for a moment: "What do you mean?"
He put his arm around my shoulders and laughed, "Look at how dark your eyes are, and you're still being stubborn!"
I looked at him and couldn't help laughing out loud.
On the way back, I had no time to appreciate the scenery passing by the window, and I also lost interest in exchanging glances with Lu Yuting through the rearview mirror.
What kept circling in my mind was Hu Haiyang’s parting words: “Think twice before you act, don’t act impulsively. Improve your political awareness, and don’t put yourself in a passive position.”
This statement may have a deeper meaning that I have not yet understood, which is tantamount to sentencing the "abolishing the county and establishing a city" to death.
The heavy and depressed mood and the sore waist and back made me feel extremely depressed about this fruitless journey.
Perhaps it is not to say that there was no gain at all - at least, I have a new understanding of Hu Haiyang: he appears to be modest and kind on the surface, but he is actually very strong and unfathomable on the inside.
Of course, what's worse is that I "harvested" Peng Xiaomin without knowing why. I can't imagine how I will face her sister Peng Xiaohui in the future, let alone how I will get along with her under the same roof.
I was a little timid. I didn't want to go home, nor did I want to go to Peng Xiaohui's place.
I asked Xiang Qianjin to take me to the county government building, saying that I had some official business to attend to. When I got off the car, Lu Yuting turned around and gave me a meaningful look. I pretended not to see it and turned around and walked away.
Dragging my legs that felt as heavy as lead, I moved to my floor. I opened the door, not even bothering to turn on the light, and fell into the office chair, letting out a long sigh.
In the dark, I took out my phone. The light from the screen made me squint unconsciously. There were more than a dozen unread WeChat messages, most of which were from Peng Xiaomin, asking her if she was home or if she had dinner. There was also one from Peng Xiaohui, which was concise and to the point: "Are you coming over late?"
I replied: “Something’s up.”
After much hesitation, I finally called Lin Xun and said, "Lin Xun, to make a long story short, please help me find a house in the provincial capital, preferably one in the school district."
"Buy or rent?" she asked.
"If it's suitable, buy it," I replied.
She paused and asked, "Are you planning to send Xixi to study in the provincial capital?"
"Well, she's almost school age." I paused and added, "I also have another consideration. I want her to see if she's interested in piano. Xiaomei mentioned Xixi's one-year-old birthday celebration last time. Maybe... she really has some talent like Qingwan."
"Okay, since you've thought it through, leave the rest to me." She agreed, and then asked, "Will Xixi's grandparents go over to accompany her?"
"They are not used to living in the city, and I don't want them to be too tired. I plan to let the nanny accompany Xixi."
"Babysitter? That girl from Xiao Min?" She asked questioningly, "Will you let her go?"
"Let it go." I answered firmly.
"Guan Hongjun," she said with concern in her voice, "Why do you sound unwell? What happened?"
"No. I'll thank you after I'm settled." After saying that, I hung up the phone without waiting for her to ask any more questions.
I was trapped in darkness, not wanting to think about anything. I just wanted to empty myself and seek a moment of peace.
However, the tree wanted to be still but the wind did not stop. Just as I was in a daze, there was a sudden knock on the door.
I stood up and opened the locked door. In the dim light of the corridor, I saw Lu Yuting standing at the door carrying something.
I said nothing, just turned sideways and made a "please" gesture.
She looked around vigilantly, then quickly stepped in.
I locked the door again and turned on the light.
She quickly drew the curtains and said, "The lights were off in your office. I thought you had left long ago."
I sat back in my chair. She had taken out the lunch box from her bag and placed it in front of me. "It's a little simple, but it'll fill your stomach." She handed me the chopsticks.
I took it and put it on the table: "Put it aside for now, I don't have an appetite."
She sat down opposite me, and seemed to be talking to herself, but also seemed to be saying to me: "Everyone envies being an official, but who knows how hard it is."
I deliberately retorted, "Who forced you to be the boss?" There was a hint of argument in my tone.
She was not annoyed, but laughed: "You are such a weird person, you can't tell whether it's good or bad."
I leaned forward, my brows furrowed. “Are you saying I’m blind?”
She rolled her eyes at me in reproach: "What a shame! Are you still excited?"
A dirty thought suddenly popped into my mind, and I couldn't help but sneer: "What's the point of being so energetic? If I still had a little bit of energy, I wouldn't be leaning against the wall, sighing, and crying at the sight of X."
When she heard this, her face instantly flushed and she spat, "You rascal! Apart from that, don't you have anything else in your mind?"
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