0152 161 Dark clouds loom over the city, threatening to crush it.
As soon as Zhou Xiye arrived at his office, before he could even settle into his chair, news of the appointment of the new provincial party secretary arrived. The new provincial party secretary was Wu Qiong, 56 years old, a woman, and the youngest provincial party secretary in history. She had previously served as the party secretary of Guangzhou City in Guangdong Province. This transfer was both unexpected and expected.
However, Secretary Wu Qiong didn't seem to be in a hurry to meet everyone. She planned to meet with the heads of various cities at the Provincial Party Committee plenary session. Zhou Xiye put down the phone, thought about his speech for the plenary session for a few seconds, and then gave up. He opened the drawer and took out a document—this was a more important and urgent matter than the speech.
What should be done with the land where the agritainment business is located?
Zhou Xiye looked at the various reports submitted, and they all suggested that the land for the agritainment business should be used for that purpose or that a large amusement park should be introduced to boost the surrounding economy. No one mentioned selling the land to real estate developers; not a single word was mentioned. Apart from Ling Xingzhi, he analyzed the current predicament of the real estate industry and its future prospects.
Over the next decade, due to declining birth rates, housing prices will stabilize or even decrease. After all, houses are for living in, and not so many people are speculating on them. With fewer people, supply and demand will naturally lead to lower housing prices. Although traditional Chinese marriage customs require men to provide housing, the number of women is decreasing, while their purchasing power is increasing... Gender imbalance, economic downturn, and increased social pressure mean there won't be enough people with the qualifications and ability to have children.
Moreover, with the economy slowing down, rampant inflation, mortgage defaults, bank bad debts, tightened lending, and reduced market liquidity, economic activity declines, creating a vicious cycle. Investing in agritourism or introducing large international amusement parks and leasing out the land may reduce government revenue, but it revitalizes the economy, and the tourism industry's prospects should not be underestimated.
Zhou Xiye finished reading Ling Xingzhi's professional report and tossed it aside. Yes, the real estate market is sluggish right now, but land revenue is inextricably linked to the Chinese economy. To protect the economy, you have to protect the real estate market. Not long ago, Country Garden came to inquire about land prices, showing interest in leasing land to build buildings.
She was unsure what to do, as the government's attitude towards the real estate industry was still unclear. Land was limited, and once the houses were built and sold, real estate developers needed to transform. But this is where the problem arose: without a smooth transition period, a rift appeared between the past and the future of real estate developers.
The government needs to step in and build a bridge, but Zhou Xiye doesn't know when or how. If things are to be on the safe side, her best course of action is to continue the agritourism project, allowing the economic cycle to function and internal resources to be utilized internally.
After much deliberation, Zhou Xiye decided to choose between the farm stay and the international amusement park projects.
Once you've made up your mind, things become easier to do. Zhou Xiye picked up the phone and called his secretary. After a few rings, Qiao Senxi answered, "Please inform the Municipal Construction Committee, the Mayor, and District Chief Zhang that there will be a meeting tomorrow afternoon to discuss the issue of the land for the agritainment business."
Qiao Senxi quickly agreed, "But... Secretary, I'm at the Municipal Public Security Bureau right now. Your car accident case hasn't been solved yet, the security cameras in the restaurant's parking lot are all malfunctioning, and all the historical records have been deleted. The security guards don't know what happened either..."
Hearing him say that, Zhou Xiye remembered that Qiao Senxi had been sent to the Municipal Bureau by her, so she leaned back in her chair leisurely and asked, "How's your work over there? Has Director Meng given you any trouble?"
This is a crucial question.
Those who are oblivious might think he's concerned about them, but those with political acumen would know that Zhou Xiye's question carries absolutely no intention of showing concern. You are my subordinate, not my family member; there's no need for concern. You've done your mission, received your pay, and that's enough.
Qiao Senxi paused, thought for a moment quickly, and said cautiously, "Director Meng is a very good person. We've cooperated quite well in handling matters... and this is my old profession. Don't worry, I will definitely complete the task diligently."
"Okay, no need to rush... Here's what we'll do: don't worry about notifying me of the meeting, I'll have Comrade Pan Yun handle that. You just focus on finishing your work."
"OK."
Zhou Xiye hung up the phone, then called Pan Yun, briefly explained the contents of tomorrow's meeting, and hung up again. Ling Xingzhi received the notification and thought Zhou Xiye's ambitions were truly enormous. She hadn't even resolved her car accident, and now she wanted to take over the agritourism land; she really wasn't afraid of having many enemies.
However, perhaps for her, with so many enemies, one or two more wouldn't matter.
The next day, at a small meeting, Wei Zhou, the director of the Municipal Construction Committee, and Ling Xingzhi got into a dispute. Ling Xingzhi felt that it would be better to introduce a large international amusement park. Although it would create a grand atmosphere, the construction of a large amusement park would inevitably require the construction of roads and subways, and infrastructure projects could also be undertaken.
However, Wei Zhou believed that agritainment was closer to people's lives and more down-to-earth. The two argued about this, while Ling Xingzhi smiled nonchalantly, "I'm afraid Director Wei has received a lot of small gifts from travel agencies and vendors, which is why you're so persistent. When the road had problems a while ago, I didn't see you working alongside the workers like everyone else."
Wei Zhou's cheeks trembled with anger, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He waved his hand in the air. "Mayor Ling, aren't you making baseless accusations? Am I doing this for myself? I'm doing it for the people and for Kunming's economic development! An international amusement park—do you think you can just bring it in like that? It would cost so much manpower and resources..."
"Infrastructure construction can boost the economy, so why can't amusement parks? Highway toll booths have already recouped their money, and even if amusement parks only collect rent, they should be able to recover their costs, right? Do you know how long the construction period will take? You have no right to speak without investigation."
Wei Zhou was taken aback, then continued, "Now the people all want to continue running the agritainment businesses! Secretary Zhou's idea was good at first, it catered to the people and benefited the local area. Now the public opinion is to continue running the agritainment businesses. What, Mayor Ling, are you going against the will of the people?"
Ling Xingzhi wasn't afraid of his scolding. He bent his five fingers, made a fist, and tapped it on the table. "Director Wei, public opinion is sometimes good, but you also have to be careful of populism. If the government just listens to the people and has no independent ideas, it can't lead the people forward. We are public servants, not slaves of the people."
Zhou Xiye watched the two of them go back and forth, observing them with amusement. Ling Xingzhi then turned to look at her, passing the buck to Zhou Xiye, "Neither you nor I can decide this matter, Secretary Zhou, what do you think?"
“Both are good,” Zhou Xiye said with a smile, setting the tone first. “However, we definitely have to choose one… Mayor Ling is right, we can only have a say after we have conducted our investigation. Please ask people in the consulting industry to help us analyze which of these two projects has more room for development. Let the professionals handle the professional matters, and we shouldn’t force ourselves.”
Ling Xingzhi nodded. "Secretary Zhou, do you mean the last report wasn't detailed enough? Or professional enough?"
"Mayor Ling's undergraduate and master's degrees are both unrelated to economics. As I said before, professional matters should be left to professionals."
“But my resume in Beijing is very impressive. I have experience in this area, and you previously assigned me the economic projects you were in charge of.”
Zhou Xiye nodded. She had been waiting for Ling Xingzhi to say this. She turned to look at Ling Xingzhi and said, "Beijing is the capital. The economy won't be bad no matter who goes there... Since you are so successful in Beijing, then go back to Beijing. Kunming is too small."
Ling Xingzhi was taken aback by Zhou Xiye's words and momentarily lost his composure. He quickly regained his composure and said, "Zhou Xiye, what are you talking about? If I had the ability to stay in Beijing, I wouldn't have come to Kunming."
Didn't your dad help you stretch your legs?
As soon as he finished speaking, the people in the room, each with a different expression, fell silent, pondering the words. For Party Secretary Zhou Xiye to say such a thing at a municipal party committee meeting, his political motives were quite clear and undisguised, yet it certainly left everyone in an awkward position.
Ling Xingzhi reacted quickly and said with ease, "I sit in the mayor's position based on my own merit. If Secretary Zhou doesn't believe me, you can look at my resume."
Zhou Xiye said indifferently, "Since you're going to do things based on your abilities, then show a professional attitude. This report of yours is all subjective conjecture. Where is the objective analysis? Is there any theoretical support?" As she spoke, she threw the report in front of Ling Xingzhi, "Everyone has their own expertise. Mayor Ling, your tricks to bluff and intimidate people are outdated."
After the performance ended, Zhou Xiye picked up his teacup, pushed open the door, and left. The remaining people looked at each other, glancing at Ling Xingzhi.
Ling Xingzhi still had a calm smile on his lips, but his eyes were fixed on Zhou Xiye's back. His hand, which was loosely clenched into a fist, was already clenched tightly, and the veins on his wrist were bulging.
The conflict at the meeting quickly spread within the system. Some people thought that Zhou Xiye simply didn't want to introduce the international amusement park, and that her outburst was actually a diversionary tactic, given that Ling Xingzhi and she had always had a good relationship. Others believed that there had been a rift between Ling Xingzhi and Zhou Xiye, possibly because Ling Xingzhi had made the decisions on all matters, big and small, while Zhou Xiye was abroad.
Zhou Xiye's return was not only to seize power, but also to make an example of someone. After dealing with Hu Rui, her next target was Ling Xingzhi. This was ostensibly her intention, but the subtext was to tell those hiding deeper within that she would not let any of them go.
Typical Stalinism.
But these are all just their guesses.
As Ling Xingzhi left the municipal party committee building, she kept wondering if Zhou Xiye had discovered that he had orchestrated the car accident. But without evidence, even if she suspected him, she couldn't do anything about it. If... if Ling Xingzhi hadn't caused the car accident, then according to normal logic, he should have maintained a peaceful attitude.
He figured it out himself, so he calmed down and thought, even if Zhou Xiye knew he was the one who did it, what could she do? With this thought, Ling Xingzhi's anger completely dissipated. In the following days, Zhou Xiye didn't do anything, walking to work and doing her job as usual.
But even the slightest movement within the city government is perceived by the public as an impending storm. The city government is about to make a big move, but no one knows what it will be.
The unknown is what's scary.
This fear, lurking deep in people's hearts, is like a giant python winding and coiling deep in the mountain valley, quietly awakening during a massive tremor.
This also surprised Zhou Xiye—
The subway she took that morning had an accident. All the people on her train were trapped in the dark tunnel.
There was no signal, only the loud screams of the still-not-fully-conscious crowd and the desperate pounding on the car door windows.
Zhou Xiye squeezed into the crowd, so noisy that only his own heartbeat could be heard.
"Thump—thump—thump—"
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