44: Chapter 44 Flipping the Table and Covering the Plate

In the evening, Yang Shiguang ran over to An Miaomiao's house to bum a meal.

An Tian was still busy at the shop, Liu Qing was washing dishes in the kitchen, and An Miaomiao was busy doing who knows what in her bedroom.

Yang Shiguang was sitting on the sofa, smoking a cigarette and lost in thought.

Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming surely didn't support the proportional subsidy scheme of his own volition. It could only be because he was under some kind of pressure.

Through his previous interactions, Yang Shiguang had gathered that this was a man of ambition who didn't want to push pollution reforms by the book; he wanted to achieve impressive results. Therefore, the tiered incentive scheme, which could accelerate pollution reform, was his true intention.

However, his own intentions were at odds with the source of the pressure, yet he couldn't directly confront them.

Therefore, he needed to convene this special symposium and use the "public opinion" of the enterprise representatives to support him.

However, the symposium couldn't only invite enterprises that supported the tiered incentive scheme; that wouldn't represent a "consensus."

Thus, he was at a dead end.

How to break the deadlock? There had to be a new scheme, one that all enterprise representatives would accept, or perhaps be forced to accept.

That was when he thought of Shuicifang, which had turned decay into magic last time, or rather, Yang Shiguang himself.

Thinking of this, Yang Shiguang finally understood.

He understood the significance of the peculiar scheme drafter and the true purpose behind the strange symposium.

So, how should this scheme be executed?

"Brother Shiguang~ Does... does it look good?"

Yang Shiguang looked toward the voice and saw An Miaomiao wearing a black suit jacket, a white shirt, and a pencil skirt. Her long, slender legs were wrapped in black pantyhose, and she was teetering on 10-centimeter high heels.

Combined with her sweet, cute, baby face and twin tails, while she was still very pretty, the sense of dissonance was off the charts.

The chopstick-thin heels made her walk unsteadily, and she even had to hold onto the wall.

After much difficulty, she reached the sofa, plopped down, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Brother Shiguang, maybe I shouldn't go after all. I'll just embarrass you."

An Miaomiao rubbed her ankle, looking at Yang Shiguang with a pitiful expression.

"Uh, where did you get this outfit?"

"Sister Lili took me to buy it this afternoon."

Yang Shiguang sighed and said:

"Miaomiao, you really don't need to force yourself to dress so formally."

"Eh? But I see other secretaries dressing like this."

Yang Shiguang patted her little head and said gently:

"We don't need to copy others. If Shuicifang had just copied that seafood restaurant in Star City, would we have been able to develop so quickly?"

"We are the ones who break the rules."

An Miaomiao blinked her peach-blossom eyes, looking at him curiously.

"Then what should Miaomiao wear?"

Yang Shiguang thought for a moment and said:

"Dressing formally doesn't have to mean a professional suit. A casual suit jacket is also quite good—convenient, stylish, appropriate, and you can wear it at other times too."

After thinking about it, a smile blossomed on An Miaomiao's pretty face.

"That's perfect! I saw one at the mall today, and they were even giving out consumption vouchers. I'll go buy one tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Shiguang paused, lost in thought.

That's right, consumption vouchers. That's a good thing.

Suddenly enlightened, he hugged his sister tightly.

"Miaomiao, you're amazing!"

"Eh eh? What's with the sudden outburst?"

"Miaomiao, you've given me an idea. I have a way to solve Shuicifang's problem now."

Hearing that Brother Shiguang had an idea, An Miaomiao was very happy. She let him hug her and even snuggled into his arms.

She kicked off the high heels that had been torturing her and rested her legs on Yang Shiguang's lap, kicking them playfully.

She acted spoiled in a soft, sweet voice:

"Brother Shiguang, it hurts. Rub it for me~"

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll rub it for you."

The next morning at nine o'clock, Yang Shiguang arrived at the Municipal Government at the agreed-upon time.

Just like last time, Director Yang brought him to Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming's office, poured tea, and then closed the door and left.

Yang Shiguang and Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming exchanged a few pleasantries before quickly getting to the point.

"President Yang, you're here today because of the symposium, right? If you have any thoughts, please speak freely."

Yang Shiguang chuckled.

"Since Mayor Tianming has said as much, I'll get straight to the point. Please don't take offense."

Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming made a gesture of invitation.

"Mayor Tianming, would it be convenient to disclose which leader is leaning toward the proportional subsidy scheme?"

Upon hearing this, Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming paused, then burst into laughter.

This kid had grasped the core of the matter so quickly. The others at the symposium were probably still completely in the dark.

"As expected of you, President Yang."

Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming didn't say who it was; instead, he reached out and pointed upward, then held up two fingers.

Seeing that Yang Shiguang understood, Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming continued:

"I can also tell you one more piece of information: Huang Zhibin from Jianhua has already had preliminary contact with him."

"Oh? And between them..."

Yang Shiguang didn't finish the sentence, and he didn't need to.

"No. I know him; he is a very cautious person. He's doing it for the sake of stability, and besides, they are classmates."

Yang Shiguang nodded and began to think.

He wasn't thinking about the response strategy—he had already figured that out yesterday. He was thinking about bargaining chips.

If I, Yang Shiguang, and Shuicifang are being dragged out to be your pawns, we can't end up doing all the work for no reward, right?

"The Total Retail Sales Growth Award, and the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award."

Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming knew he would ask, and he knew Yang Shiguang's style of not throwing the eagle until he saw the rabbit. Naturally, he had prepared in advance.

Yang Shiguang pretended to be hesitant upon hearing this.

"Mayor Tianming, I'm afraid that's going to be difficult. If I mess this up, I might offend the entire industry."

"Headquarters economy, a fifty percent subsidy for purchasing office space. I recall that the store at Hexi Bridgehead is still rented, right? The city will help you coordinate with the developer, and you can get a certain discount. I'll call the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau in a moment."

Upon hearing this, Yang Shiguang's brow relaxed.

"Haha, that's too much trouble for you. Thank you to the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government for their support of Shuicifang. We will definitely make even greater contributions to the development of Jianning!"

The two exchanged a smile; the deal was done.

Yang Shiguang took out a cigarette, handed it to Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming, and helped him light it. Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming took a puff and looked at him.

"Back to the main topic: is there any feasibility in modifying the tiered incentive scheme?"

Yang Shiguang shook his head immediately.

"Not likely. That would be equivalent to flipping the table. If it were executed that way..."

"You would be flipping the table on 'Number Two,' and I would be flipping the table on the Jianhua chain and the others."

"It's fine on my end; at most, I'll just be targeted by them. But once a stalemate ensues, it won't be easy for you to explain things to 'Number Two.'"

Executive Deputy Mayor Zhu Tianming frowned upon hearing this, but Yang Shiguang changed the subject.

"However, instead of flipping the table, we can cover the plate."