108: Retreat as an advance

All County Party Standing Committee Members attended the county's year-end economic commendation conference.

Unsurprisingly, Heping Town won several first-place awards. Lin Zifeng and Wei Ting took turns going on stage to receive the awards, and they also received an incentive bonus of three million.

This made the various township secretaries and town (township) mayors extremely envious.

Wu Dexing, who was attending the meeting, thought to himself, "Just let this kid, Lin Zifeng, be smug for a little while longer!"

"Back then, I didn't manage to snatch the investment from his hands, but in the end, he will still be working for my benefit. This is the difference between having connections and not having them."

"At his age, being able to reach the position of Deputy County Mayor is just pure dumb luck."

"If it weren't for silencing public opinion, he wouldn't even be able to be a Deputy County Mayor. The seat of the County Party Standing Committee Member should be left for me to sit on!"

Thinking of this, Wu Dexing felt a surge of smugness.

What he didn't expect was that Lin Zifeng had long known about his wishful thinking and had already decided to fight back.

After the meeting ended, Lin Zifeng and Wei Ting, as previously discussed, went separately to the Offices of Wan Guoliang and Xu Yanjun.

Wan Guoliang looked happily at Lin Zifeng, who was sitting in front of him, listening to his report on the work in Heping Town over the recent period.

He couldn't help but think, "This young man in front of me is truly not simple!"

"In less than a year, he pushed a backward, impoverished town into the top spot for GDP in the entire county, and it even exceeded the second-ranked Yushu Town by more than double."

"He made the entire Yushu County rise three places in the ranking of Chunhua City. To me, he is definitely a lucky general."

"Some people are green with envy, jumping around and scheming to replace others to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It is truly damn shameful; they are just too shameless."

"To be able to join the Standing Committee, they don't even want their own faces."

"If it weren't for certain people, I would definitely have to give that Wu Dexing a good scolding."

"However, regarding some matters, that person might not be able to help Wu Dexing achieve his goal."

"The young man in front of me is not without connections! The deputy secretary of the municipal party committee and the Organization Minister of the Municipal Party Committee both think very highly of this young man."

"These two are the ones who directly control the official positions of the entire city. Two against one, that person has no chance of winning. The key is that Lin Zifeng's political achievements were all obtained through his own hard work."

"Those two leaders hold the initiative! No one is a fool; who can't see the trickery in this?"

"How could they let that Wu Dexing succeed? Looking at his performance over the past six months, he doesn't even have the qualifications to serve as a Deputy County Mayor."

"If there were a suitable candidate, I wouldn't mind giving a push to let that guy who specializes in scheming lose everything. There is an idle position in the CPPCC that is quite suitable for him, so he won't be jumping around in the future."

Thinking of this, Wan Guoliang also thought that this matter was not a secret. The person in front of him should have received the news long ago. He had thought the other party would have been furious and come looking for him!

"I didn't expect him to be so composed, only coming over until now."

What he didn't know was that certain leaders were using the ulterior motives of some people to accelerate the entry of the Heping Town Secretary into the Standing Committee, which is why he was holding his ground. He should not reveal this news to him yet.

Thinking of this, Wan Guoliang's gaze towards Lin Zifeng became somewhat playful.

After Lin Zifeng finished reporting his work, Wan Guoliang smiled and said, "Secretary Zifeng, the work in Heping Town over the past six months is obvious to all."

"The year-end data can explain everything."

"It's almost the end of the year. While grasping all kinds of work, we must pay special attention to safety production work. The string of safety production must be kept taut at all times."

"Please rest assured, Secretary, I will definitely keep your instructions in mind."

"Secretary, besides reporting my work to you today, there is another matter I would like to report my thoughts on."

Wan Guoliang knew that Lin Zifeng was about to get to the main point of today, so he smiled and nodded, signaling him to continue.

He then spoke again: "Secretary, I know that there is still a vacancy for a Deputy County Mayor in our county. I will overstep my bounds a bit and take this opportunity to recommend our Heping Town Mayor, Comrade Wei Ting, to you."

"Although Comrade Wei Ting hasn't been in the position of Town Mayor for long, Comrade Wei Ting, as the Town Mayor, has made indispensable contributions to the current development of Heping Town."

"This Comrade has a great sense of the overall situation, is serious and responsible in her work, and is definitely a conscientious and good Comrade."

Hearing what Lin Zifeng said, Wan Guoliang's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but think that this was actually a good option.

But he still asked, "You rate Comrade Wei Ting so highly, which shows that you cooperate very tacitly at work. Are you willing to let such an excellent Comrade leave?"

"Secretary, even if I am reluctant, I have to think about her future! Just because she is excellent, I can't hinder her progress!"

"Besides, one radish for one pit. Only by vacating the position can the Comrades below have a chance, right?"

"We can't let them work themselves to death without seeing any hope of progress, right?"

His words were very candid, and he was qualified to say them, as these were all things he had achieved through hard work.

Wan Guoliang smiled and nodded, saying, "There is indeed some truth to it. As the saying goes, if you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass."

"Listening to what you said just now, if Comrade Wei Ting can really be promoted to Deputy County Mayor, do you already have a candidate for the new Town Mayor?"

Lin Zifeng knew that this was not the time for him to be reserved. Fighting for the progress of his subordinates was his bounden duty.

So he nodded and said, "Secretary, in order for the work in Heping Town to proceed in an orderly manner, I think the candidate for Town Mayor should be selected from the members of the Heping Town leadership team; that would be more beneficial to the work in Heping Town."

He bluntly stated his opinion.

"Do you have any thoughts about your own position?" Wan Guoliang asked tentatively.

"Secretary, I have also heard some rumors, but I didn't take them too seriously. According to my own wishes, I still want to work in Heping Town for a while to solidify some foundations. Not seeing the flowers bloom and bear fruit is always a regrettable thing."

"However, I will obey the overall situation and accept all arrangements made by the County Party Committee."

He expressed his wishes and played another move of advancing by retreating.

Hearing his answer, Wan Guoliang cursed him as a slippery fox in his heart, thinking that some people had gone to great lengths to arrange a position for you, and you turned around and wanted to arrange for your deputy to fill it, blocking this path completely.

Now, besides this Deputy County Mayor position in the county, there is also a position of Vice Chairman of the CPPCC.

If the deputy section-level position of Deputy County Mayor is gone, you can't be arranged to serve as the Vice Chairman of the CPPCC as an excellent Cadre in your twenties, right?

Transfer to another county? I, as the Secretary, cannot agree to that.

This young man, this strategy of secretly maneuvering and advancing by retreating, he plays it well! He is as cunning as a monkey.

Thinking of this, he asked again, "Did Comrade Wei Ting go to Deputy Secretary Xu to report on work?"