152: Pressuring the Executive Deputy County Head

When Lin Zifeng arrived at the County Party Committee Guesthouse, Wan Guoliang had already arrived and was currently accompanying several leaders for breakfast!

Several County Party Standing Committee Members, who were to accompany the inspection tour group to Heping Town, were waiting in the courtyard of the County Party Committee Guesthouse.

Seeing Lin Zifeng get out of the car, several people gathered around.

After greeting each other, Zhang Yuhan said with a smile, "County Magistrate, yesterday was quite a close call for you!"

"The vegetable farmers of Miaoshan Town almost did a bad thing out of good intentions."

"In the end, didn't the County Magistrate turn a misfortune into a blessing? Yesterday, the County Magistrate really made a name for himself in front of the leaders."

"However, I must say, the County Magistrate's luck is truly good!"

"Those who don't know the inside story might think those vegetable farmers were bribed and did it on purpose!"

"This matter is just too coincidental; there will surely be people who speculate like that."

Executive Deputy County Mayor Xu Minghao seemed happy for Lin Zifeng, but his words were full of bitterness and intentional misdirection.

If someone with ulterior motives heard these words, who knows what kind of gossip would spread!

Although he seemed unintentional, it was actually deliberate.

During the three months Lin Zifeng was away from work at the Party School, the daily operations of the County Government were temporarily presided over by Xu Minghao, the Executive Deputy County Mayor.

This feeling of holding great power made Xu Minghao incredibly infatuated.

Now that Lin Zifeng was back, he had returned to how things were three months ago, which made him feel very unwilling.

After what happened yesterday afternoon, he became even more jealous of Lin Zifeng, which is why he wanted to take the opportunity to cause some trouble for him.

He knew these small tricks couldn't shake Lin Zifeng, but making Lin Zifeng uncomfortable would make him feel better.

Hearing what Xu Minghao said, Zhao Liqiang, Secretary Li Minghao, Qiao Zhenyu, Zou Dekai, and Zhang Yuhan were all taken aback.

None of them expected Xu Minghao to be so bold as to dare to cause trouble for the currently highly successful Lin Zifeng at a time like this.

The corners of Zhao Liqiang's mouth curled up slightly, showing an expression of watching a good show.

But he quickly withdrew that expression; he had only recently been transferred to Yushu County and had not yet established a firm foothold.

Although the deputy secretary of the county party committee is one of the three giants of Yushu County, he didn't yet have the strength to challenge Lin Zifeng. Offending Lin Zifeng now would be very unwise.

The remaining four looked at Lin Zifeng with varying expressions, wanting to see how he would respond to Xu Minghao's subtle provocation.

Lin Zifeng said unhurriedly, "For Deputy County Mayor Xu to say such things so early in the morning is somewhat inappropriate, isn't it?"

"I remember after the forest fire in Gangou Township, rumors were rampant within the County Committee Compound."

"Because of the rumor storm, not only were several Cadres severely disciplined, but that Wu Dexing also ended up in prison because of it."

"Although he didn't go in because of the rumors, the rumors were indeed the fuse."

"How long has it been? We should all be wary of such lessons!"

"Coincidentally, our Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission is also here!"

"Secretary Qiao, please make a record. If such rumors as Deputy County Mayor Xu just mentioned appear in the future, Deputy County Mayor Xu will be the source of those rumors."

"We must protect Deputy County Mayor Xu! We can't let Deputy County Mayor Xu's remarks just now be exploited by people with ulterior motives."

"If that happens, it would harm Deputy County Mayor Xu. We must nip it in the bud."

Lin Zifeng was all smiles, and his words were light and gentle, as if he were looking out for Xu Minghao.

But in reality, the meaning behind the words was directly telling Xu Minghao: if such rumors appear in the future, you, Xu Minghao, will be the culprit.

If that happens, you will be held accountable.

Hearing that Lin Zifeng's form of address for him had changed—he used to call him County Magistrate Xu, but now he specifically added the word 'Deputy'—

And then hearing his words, Xu Minghao broke into a cold sweat, feeling regretful. He thought to himself that he had truly outsmarted himself.

Why did I have to look for trouble when there was none?

Now look what happened. Not only did I offend him, but he also directly labeled me and turned the tables on me.

If I don't handle this properly and end up with a reputation for creating rumors, it will be very disadvantageous for me!

Thinking of this, Xu Minghao gave an awkward smile and quickly said, "County Magistrate, I spoke without thinking just now. My words didn't go through my brain. I apologize to you and will definitely pay more attention to this in the future."

Seeing Xu Minghao take the initiative to back down and apologize, Zhao Liqiang curled his lip inwardly, thinking that with such little combat power, this Xu Minghao was truly fragile!

Such a person isn't worthy of being my ally.

The other four had similar thoughts: Xu Minghao brought this on himself. Lin Zifeng had been away from work for three months, training at the Provincial Party School, and hadn't returned to Yushu County once during that time.

He only just returned yesterday with the inspection tour group. Since he wasn't in the county, would he dare to trust someone else to bribe vegetable farmers for him and create such a scene?

Besides, what he achieved was a solid political achievement; there was no need for such an unnecessary move.

You, Xu Minghao, ran straight into the line of fire and looked for trouble yourself! You deserve it.

Qiao Zhenyu added fuel to the fire, saying, "County Magistrate, since Deputy County Mayor Xu has already realized his mistake, shall we forget about the record?"

Seeing that Xu Minghao had backed down, Lin Zifeng didn't push him further.

He said with a smile, "I was just saying that. We are all Comrades. I only wanted to use this method to warn Deputy County Mayor Xu. Secretary Qiao, don't take it seriously."

Seeing the young Lin Zifeng finish warning Xu Minghao and then casually brush the matter aside—

Playing the game of 'a slap and a sweet date' to perfection, several people secretly gave him a thumbs up.

Xu Minghao also breathed a sigh of relief, unable to even bring himself to hate Lin Zifeng.

He thought to himself that he must never underestimate this young County Magistrate again.

When he was appointed Executive Deputy County Mayor, the other party was only a town head. He used to be his superior, and the other party was so young.

So after Lin Zifeng became County Magistrate, while he was dissatisfied, he also looked down on him.

His actions had now become a lesson. After being warned in public, he had to change his previous mindset.

If he continued like before, he would surely be the one to suffer. This time was a profound lesson. After all, the other party was already the legitimate head of the County Government.

Thinking of this, Xu Minghao's inner thoughts began to change quietly.

Just then, a large number of students came out. Lin Zifeng greeted the others and quickly went to meet them.

After greeting Yu Mingying and the others, Lin Zifeng also asked about their rest last night.

Lin Zifeng chatted with everyone for over ten minutes before Chen Yuanhua walked out of the guesthouse, surrounded by several people.

Seeing Chen Yuanhua come out, everyone stopped chatting. Knowing they were about to depart, they all got into their cars.

Ten minutes later, the motorcade left the County Party Committee Guesthouse and headed toward Heping Town.