455: The matter was accomplished in secrecy.

Hearing the knock on the door, Lin Zifeng snapped out of his thoughts, turned toward the door, and called out, "Come in."

Wang Zhongyu pushed the door open and walked in. Looking at Lin Zifeng, he said, "Secretary, Mayor Qin Xiao wants to report on her work and is waiting outside. What do you think?"

"Please invite Mayor Qin in!" Lin Zifeng said very readily.

Wang Zhongyu acknowledged and turned to leave. Soon, he brought Qin Xiao in. After the two exchanged greetings, they sat down on the sofa together. Wang Zhongyu poured tea for Qin Xiao and then left the Office once more.

Qin Xiao had come to report to Lin Zifeng today mainly regarding the work related to adding a Performing Arts Department to the Vocational Technical School.

Although the approval of various documents had taken some time, it had been relatively smooth. The planning and layout work within the vocational school was even less of an issue.

There would be no problem with recruiting students for the Performing Arts Department after the New Year and before the start of the semester. However, hiring teachers with strength and reputation in performing arts presented a certain level of difficulty.

After all, Yushu City was ultimately just a county-level City Level. Why would those reputable and capable teachers come to Yushu City from the big cities?

If they hired inexperienced teachers, she feared they wouldn't achieve results. If the first shot didn't ring out loud, it would affect the future development of the major.

Hearing the difficulties Qin Xiao mentioned, Lin Zifeng smiled and said, "Mayor Qin, I will have a word with Chairman Li of Yanran Entertainment Media Company in a moment. You should go see Chairman Li tomorrow."

"Have Chairman Li introduce a few performing arts teachers to us. This shouldn't be difficult for her."

"When the Secretary steps in, it counts for two. With the strength of Yanran Entertainment, this matter is indeed nothing for Chairman Li."

"I thought about asking Chairman Li for help before, but considering she is an Investor and I haven't had much personal interaction with her, I felt too embarrassed to ask."

"Now that the Secretary is going to communicate with Chairman Li, everything will be easy to handle."

Qin Xiao said happily.

Afterward, Qin Xiao intended to take her leave, but just as she was about to stand up, Lin Zifeng reached out to stop her.

"Secretary, do you have any other instructions?" Qin Xiao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Mayor Qin, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Your work report is finished, and the problem to be solved has been addressed. Let's chat about other matters!"

Lin Zifeng said with a chuckle.

"What aspect of work does the Secretary want to talk about? I am all ears."

Qin Xiao sat back down and said with a serious expression.

"Mayor Qin, in the personnel adjustments at the beginning of this year, you were originally the most suitable candidate to take over as Party Secretary of Heping Town and directly enter the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee."

"However, subsequent developments exceeded our expectations. Secretary Yuhang's arrival blocked your possibility of taking a step further."

"Secretary Yuhang's abilities prove that the higher-level leadership's decision was very correct. But I also believe that if you had been appointed Party Secretary of Heping Town back then, you wouldn't have been any worse than Secretary Yuhang."

"But all of this has become a fait accompli, so we must look further ahead."

"Since there are no suitable positions in Yushu City in the short term, let's turn our gaze to the entire Chunhua City."

Hearing Lin Zifeng's words, Qin Xiao immediately understood what he meant: he wanted to arrange for her to take up a post in another part of Chunhua City.

This meant it definitely wasn't a lateral transfer. If it were a lateral transfer, there would be no need for Lin Zifeng to have her transferred out of Yushu City.

Therefore, there was only one possibility—a promotion. Thinking of this, while her heart was filled with joy, she also felt a lot of reluctance.

After all, she had worked in Yushu City ever since she started her career. Leaving Yushu City to take up a post elsewhere made her feel somewhat sentimental.

Qin Xiao said with complicated emotions, "Secretary, I still want to work under your leadership. Our political environment in Yushu City is good; one only needs to work hard without having to consider too many other factors."

"Going to another place, the political environment might not be this good."

"Mayor Qin, we are all within the system. As a grassroots Cadre, we are like bricks of the revolution—moved to wherever we are needed."

"Take me, for example! It's impossible for me to stay in Yushu City forever. Sooner or later, we will all go our separate ways."

"As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. If you are already satisfied with the status quo, I won't push this matter further."

"But if you still have ambitions in your career, there are two positions whose leaders will be changing at the end of this year: one has reached retirement age, and the other is moving to the second line."

"One is Qian Yuhua, the Executive Deputy Minister of the Chunhua City Municipal Party Committee Organization Department, and the other is the deputy secretary of the county party committee of Jianyang County."

Lin Zifeng directly gave Qin Xiao two choices: one was a Division-Head Level position, and the other was the deputy secretary of the county party committee, the ceiling of deputy section-level positions.

Hearing Lin Zifeng's words, Qin Xiao set aside her complicated emotions. After a quick mental calculation, she spoke up, "Secretary, first of all, I want to thank you for your strong support and your concern for my career."

"Both of these positions are somewhat challenging for me. I'm a bit undecided for the moment; could you give me a suggestion?"

Since things had reached this point, Lin Zifeng didn't demur and spoke directly: "I suggest you take a post in the City Level. Not only can you be directly promoted to Division-Head Level, but the working environment will also be relatively stable."

"I don't mean to discriminate against women, but we have to admit a fact: in officialdom, women still have certain disadvantages compared to men."

"If you were a man, I would suggest you serve as the deputy secretary of the county party committee in order to go further in your career."

"However, it is very difficult to take another step forward from the position of deputy secretary of the county party committee. Do you understand what I mean?"

Facing Qin Xiao, a trusted subordinate who had worked with him for several years, Lin Zifeng spoke very bluntly.

Hearing Lin Zifeng's suggestion, Qin Xiao didn't think for long before nodding and saying, "I understand that the Secretary is considering things from my perspective."

"Your suggestion is also what I was thinking. I will follow the Secretary's lead."

Hearing Qin Xiao's answer, Lin Zifeng nodded with satisfaction and then said with a smile, "Do not reveal this matter to anyone before it is finalized."

"Within the Chunhua City Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee, some people have been targeting me. If those people find out my intentions in advance, they will certainly do their best to block me."

"If they happen to succeed, you will be caught in the crossfire."

"Please rest assured, Secretary. I understand the principle that confidentiality leads to success. Those targeting the Secretary are definitely not good people."

"I'll have to trouble the Secretary with this matter. I won't say words of thanks, because they are far too light."

"No matter how far I can go in the future, I will always be the Secretary's soldier."

Although Qin Xiao didn't say thank you, her face was full of gratitude.

Lin Zifeng smiled and waved his hand, saying again, "It's fine to say these words in front of me."

"If others were to hear this, they would say that I, Lin Zifeng, am building a clique."

"You must remember in the future that you are a Cadre of the Party and a servant of the people."

"I understand, Secretary, but what I said isn't entirely wrong. Even if I go to work in the Municipal Party Committee Organization Department, you, as a Standing Committee Member of the Municipal Party Committee, are still my direct leader. It's not wrong for me to say I'm your soldier."

Lin Zifeng smiled and shook his head. He said nothing more regarding Qin Xiao's defense.