Official Career Storm
Chapter 357

Chapter 357: Chapter 357

Mayor Zheng was inaccessible, so they had to speak with Secretary Lu.

Huayuan District had to be cut loose.

Wu Qiangwei and Secretary Lu talked in the office until the end of the workday.

Song Guanchao waited outside; when he saw her emerge, he approached immediately.

"Let’s talk when we get back."

She looked somewhat weary; the negotiations had clearly been draining.

Back in the office, Wu Qiangwei pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and after two puffs, snuffed it out.

"Secretary Lu agreed."

Wu Qiangwei said, "The County Party Secretary and the County Magistrate will be decided by me and Minister Zhou, and the Deputy County Magistrate and Huayuan District Party Secretary will be arranged by Secretary Lu."

"Mayor Zheng’s side, he will handle it."

This was different from Minister Zhou; Wu Qiangwei had actively sought Minister Zhou’s cooperation, knowing she had to handle everything herself.

With Secretary Lu, it was an exchange of interests.

"You can have Huayuan District, but you must handle Mayor Zheng and Jiang Yuan."

If they couldn’t manage that, all was in vain.

Song Guanchao felt a slight relief.

He didn’t know how Secretary Lu intended to handle the city government, but that was his concern.

"Has County Magistrate Fu arrived?"

"He has."

"Let’s go."

As they left the office and got into the car, Wu Qiangwei dialed Secretary Wang’s number.

Meanwhile, Song Guanchao also received a text from Wu Yun, informing him she was back.

Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of the restaurant.

Fu Ying was waiting in the private room ahead of time.

"Secretary Wu."

"Hello, County Magistrate Fu."

Wu Qiangwei glanced at her watch and said, "Secretary Wang will be here shortly."

They didn’t have to wait long; Secretary Wang arrived promptly after receiving the call.

He didn’t know Fu Ying, and was quite puzzled why Wu Qiangwei had suddenly invited him to dinner, unaware of what the situation entailed tonight.

"This is Secretary Wang from the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee."

After he took his seat, Wu Qiangwei began the introductions, "Secretary Wang, this is Deputy County Magistrate from Dujiang County, Fu Ying."

"Hello, Secretary Wang."

"Hello, County Magistrate Fu."

Secretary Wang maintained a smile, wondering about his role tonight.

The food arrived, but no wine was ordered.

None had much appetite.

Wu Qiangwei didn’t drag on too long and directly addressed, "Secretary Wang, County Magistrate Fu has some materials to hand over to you."

Fu Ying passed over a USB drive and a stack of documents.

Secretary Wang laid them in front of him, unopened, "County Magistrate Fu, what is this?"

Fu Ying said, "It involves Dujiang County’s bank and some other department leaders engaged in illicit financial activities. Developers encountering obstacles in obtaining bank loans; this is the evidence I collected."

Secretary Wang’s heart skipped a beat, inwardly cursing.

Not another troublesome issue!

He looked towards Wu Qiangwei, "Secretary Wu, Dujiang County is about to be upgraded to a county-level city, is this really the right time?"

Wu Qiangwei said, "Just keep the evidence for now, it’s enough that you know about it, don’t mention it to anyone else."

"I understand," Secretary Wang inwardly sighed.

Being a secretary of the Disciplinary Committee was no easy job, always having to handle matters that offended people.

Although he wasn’t familiar with the exact situation in Dujiang County, from these few incidents, it was evident that Dujiang County was not at peace.

And this fourth-in-command at the county, together with Wu Qiangwei, had even collected some evidence on the officials and the banks.

What was all this for?

A major shakedown in Dujiang County?

After the meal, Secretary Wang left with the items.

Song Guanchao said, "Secretary, let me take you home."

"I’ll go back on my own, you take County Magistrate Fu to the hotel."

"No need, I’m returning to the county tonight."

Song Guanchao glanced at Wu Qiangwei and then at Fu Ying before saying, "Did County Magistrate Fu drive over here?"

"Yes."

"Then be sure to drive safely tonight."

He had wanted to say, "Send me a message when you get home," but it didn’t seem appropriate with Wu Qiangwei there.

As Fu Ying drove away, Song Guanchao said, "Secretary, let me escort you."

The car headed towards Li Lake Mansion.

On the way, Wu Qiangwei suddenly dialed Bai Ruyi’s number.

She thought of something.

Since the bank in Dujiang County was taking kickbacks so blatantly, had Bai Ruyi’s factory in Dujiang experienced the same?

Bai Ruyi was resilient, and unless asked, she never shared her troubles.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is turned off..."

After several attempts, all she got was the switched-off message.

Wu Qiangwei put down her phone, planning to contact Bai Ruyi the next day.

As they neared the residential area, Wu Qiangwei suddenly warned, "Be more vigilant these days."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Song Guanchao didn’t understand.

Wu Qiangwei said, "Mayor Zheng is no good man. If this negotiation doesn’t go smoothly, it’s uncertain what he might secretly do."

Song Guanchao asked, "Are you worried that Mayor Zheng might play dirty with me?"

"We can’t rule out that possibility."

Wu Qiangwei sighed, "Lately, Mayor Zheng has been at a disadvantage quite a lot—I’m afraid he might resort to underhanded tactics."

"Alright, I’ll be careful."

Though Song Guanchao was confident and feared no one when it came to scheming,

there was a saying that one only needed a day to be a thief, but preventing theft forever was impossible.

Even the most secure plans have their flaws.

If someone really targeted him, Song Guanchao wasn’t entirely sure he could defend against it.

The next day.

At 9:30 AM, Secretary Sun suddenly came over.

"Brother Song, please inform Secretary Wu that we’re convening a brief meeting in the conference room."

Song Guanchao asked, "Who else will be there?"

"Mayor Zheng, Minister Zhou, and Mayor Jiang."

Hearing who would be attending, Song Guanchao realized what this meeting was about.

Secretary Lu was planning to clarify things at today’s meeting.

Who would have thought? Secretary Lu turned out to be quite decisive.

Just yesterday, Wu Qiangwei had met with him, and today he had already summoned everyone.

Ten minutes later, in the City Committee’s small conference room.

Five standing committee members.

This was neither a regular Standing Committee meeting nor a group meeting, but just an internal discussion.

The topic was about personnel changes in Dujiang County.

"For the position of County Party Secretary of Dujiang County, who do you propose we consider?"

No sooner had Secretary Lu finished speaking than Wu Qiangwei immediately said, "I recommend Secretary-General Zhang Meilin of the Political Consultative Conference."

Mayor Zheng’s expression turned sour.

Just yesterday, Wu Qiangwei and Secretary Lu had sought him out separately, but neither had mentioned that Minister Zhou was also involved.

Now the meeting had barely started and the top leader had posed a question, and the third in command was ready with a suggestion.

This left him, the middleman, feeling superfluous.

Without waiting for him to speak, Minister Zhou spoke first, "Yes, Secretary Zhang is excellent, I support Secretary Wu’s recommendation."

Secretary Lu also nodded, "I have no objections here. Mayor Zheng, Mayor Jiang, what are your thoughts?"

This wasn’t a discussion; it was a fait accompli set beforehand, merely a meeting to inform them, a formality!

Mayor Zheng couldn’t stand it any longer.

He snapped, "The best candidate for County Party Secretary should have grassroots governance experience. I think County Magistrate Xu from An County is suitable."

An County?

Everyone knew Mayor Zheng would likely disagree, but the candidate he proposed surprised them.

They were unfamiliar with the so-called County Magistrate Xu, merely curious as to why Mayor Zheng would suddenly nominate him.

Like Dujiang, An County was also under the jurisdiction of Lingjiang.

When had he cultivated his own people in An County?

Then, Mayor Jiang spoke up.

"Yes, I also think County Magistrate Xu is suitable. Although he’s a Deputy County Magistrate, his governance experience is substantial, he has worked diligently over the years, and his reputation in An County is quite strong, with high evaluations from the County Committee. Having him lead Dujiang County would indeed be more appropriate."

Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.