Chapter 116: Inspection (2)

  Li Ming's body shook a few times, he lifted his head and looked at Xu Shaojie carefully.

  "Secretary Xu, we both took office on the same day. You became Secretary Ding's secretary, and I became the deputy county head of Shalong County. Anyone with discerning eyes could see what was going on. At the time, I felt resentful. Although you had achieved success in Yudu District, I thought that was just grassroots work and couldn't compare to being a secretary. It must be that Secretary Ding favored you. Although I made mistakes, they weren't serious ones. I unintentionally made errors and shouldn't have received such severe punishment. So, I've always been somewhat puzzled. After hearing your words, it's like a sudden enlightenment. If someone had told me these things earlier, I wouldn't be so disheartened now. I admit defeat, Secretary Xu. I really am not as good as you."

  "County Magistrate Li, you're being polite. As the saying goes, 'those who are in power are confused, while those who observe from the side are clear.' You've been wronged and your heart isn't feeling good, which is normal. Unless you had a prior agreement with Secretary Ding, I was reinstated and can look at this issue from an observer's perspective. However, based on this morning's meeting, you should understand that the municipal party committee held a standing committee meeting yesterday, and this morning, Secretary Ding came to Shalong County. Shalong County reported their work, but Secretary Ding didn't give any instructions. You're familiar with Secretary Ding, so you should understand why he chose Shalong County as his first stop."

  "I'm also surprised, just now I listened to your words and thoroughly understood, ashamed, having worked in the municipal party committee office for so many years, encountering a little setback, losing all judgment ability."

  "Director Li, I think you should understand the purpose of our conversation better. Director Li, I hope you can give me some guidance. I've already felt that something is not quite right. Secretary Ding's identity is special and there are some things he won't say, so Secretary Ding asked me to have a detailed talk with you."

  "No need to say more, I've already understood. Secretary Ding is here to comfort me on the one hand, and also to let you know about everything, so that you won't be manipulated by others, and even speak up for them."

  Xu Shaojie and Li Ming both lit cigarettes, the atmosphere in the room became much more relaxed, and once Li Ming opened up, his words were much more incisive.

  "I went to Shalon County as the deputy county head, in charge of education and health. As a deputy county head, I was ranked last, so I also did a lot of self-reflection. When I served as Secretary Ding's secretary, there were many things that I didn't do well. I thought I wasn't worthy, didn't take my colleagues seriously, always thinking about doing big things. The longer the time went on, the more obvious it became. Moreover, I rarely could provide good advice for Secretary Ding, always thinking that being a secretary just meant following the leader's intentions and that was enough. In reality, Secretary Ding's situation later became increasingly difficult, and I couldn't help share his worries. Originally, I wasn't qualified for the job. You serving as Secretary Ding's secretary will definitely be better than me."

  Xu Shaojie smiled, Li Ming was able to have such a realization in adversity, which is not bad. Generally speaking, people can only self-reflect in adversity, some people don't know how to reflect, they just think of blaming others, thinking that everything is unfair to themselves, such people are hard to make progress.

  "I know you need to understand some things, but these are my personal views, I haven't discussed them with Secretary Ding, whether they're right or wrong, you need to observe for yourself. At the same time, I'm trying to take a neutral stance when discussing these matters, so as not to mislead you."

  Xu Shaojie nodded in agreement with Li Ming's words.

  The situation in Huaiyang City has always been complicated, with a long-standing division into two factions. One faction is led by Secretary Ding Yuan, known as the "outsiders", while the other faction is led by Mayor Huang Haitao, known as the "locals". The two factions have never joined hands and are like two parallel lines that will never intersect. Of course, within each faction, there may not be unity, but rather individual interests at play. Relatively speaking, the outsiders in Huaiyang City do not have much to worry about and think more about promoting local economic development. However, they cannot live in a vacuum and need to unite with various forces. On the other hand, the locals have lived in Huaiyang City for a long time, their families and friends are all here, and they have too many concerns. They think that any change will affect everything, so they want to maintain the status quo and not make any changes.

  Xu Shaojie listened very attentively, Li Ming has already gotten to the point.

  "On the one hand, development is necessary, and reform must be carried out. If one side is unwilling to move, contradictions will arise. When Secretary Ding first arrived in Huaiyang City, he understood the situation but didn't take much action, so he could still get along with Mayor Huang Haitao peacefully. After a period of time, Secretary Ding became dissatisfied with Huaiyang City's slow development pace and wanted to take action. At this point, contradictions between the municipal party committee and government began to emerge, first in annual work planning and then in specific implementation processes. Everywhere was a contest, specifically, a contest over personnel, what kind of people to use, and what kind of work strategy to adopt. After several years passed, Huaiyang City didn't change much on the surface. It seemed that Secretary Ding was at a disadvantage, but actually not. To do things, one must pay more hardships and get support from all sides. Those who are unwilling to change will take advantage of the situation, pointing fingers and stabbing in the back. Therefore, every step forward for Huaiyang City is so difficult."

  When Li Ming said this, Xu Shaojie felt that he had to speak up and clarify the situation on behalf of Secretary Ding Yuan.

  "Director Li, I have a few words to say from the heart, and I hope you won't mind. Your analysis is very fair and pointed out the focus of the conflict, making me understand that the conflict between Secretary Ding and Mayor Huang cannot be reconciled in a short time. I know you are a local, so what kind of view do you support? What kind of view do you support in your heart? Also, what specific aspects does the conflict between Secretary Ding and Mayor Huang manifest itself in? What is the attitude of the municipal party committee leadership?"

  "Secretary Xu, I knew you'd ask that. Although I'm a local, over the years of following Secretary Ding, my perspective has changed. I firmly support the development of Huaiyang City. Don't ask me why - my home is in the countryside, and after all these years, there's been no change whatsoever. The lives of farmers remain impoverished, which makes me very uncomfortable.

  Secretary Ding has always been worried about making a change, but it's extremely difficult. Mayor Huang Haidong is satisfied with the status quo and doesn't want to make any significant changes. More than 95% of Huaiyang City officials are locals, so to shake up this force, there are only two ways: one is to change the thinking of officials, which means liberating their minds - but that's not something that can be done overnight; it's a difficult task with slow results.

  The other way is to use leaders who are willing to reform, such as county or city leaders. This is the best approach. The conflict between Secretary Ding and Mayor Huang arose from this aspect, and later on, it became irreconcilable."

  Li Ming apparently thought of something, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his eyes wandered slightly.

  "No one is perfect, Secretary Ding is considering the development of Huaiyang City with all his heart. However, Secretary Ding has many concerns, thinking about maintaining the unity of the team and stability, while also thinking about economic development, which is difficult to reconcile. Secretary Ding is the main leader, if he doesn't have a bold vision, Huaiyang City will be hard to develop. This is my true feeling, it's precisely because Secretary Ding thinks about maintaining the unity of the team that Mayor Huang becomes more and more unscrupulous."

  Xu Shaojie felt that Li Ming had a very deep prejudice against Huang Haitao, so he temporarily changed the subject.

  "Shalun County is Mayor Huang's hometown, I suppose Mayor Huang has a good reputation here."

  "It's not just good, it's gone to heaven! Who in Shalong County doesn't know Mayor Huang Haitao? With a big official emerging from here, the common people are all proud and boastful, saying 'our Mayor Huang' with every word. It seems like no one else is in their eyes. As for the county committee and government, except for the main leaders, there's no need to mention the others. I don't even know what these people are thinking. Their lives are still the same, they haven't benefited from the glory."

  "It seems like County Magistrate Li is in a bit of a tough spot."

  "Can be good, I suppose you know some of my business, the deputy director of the municipal party committee office, the secretary of the municipal party committee secretary, came to serve as vice mayor, as long as it's not a fool, will understand what it means, but people in officialdom are particularly clever."

  "Director Li, I think that adversity is nothing to be afraid of, as long as there's hope. If there was no hope, I wouldn't be saying these words. It's just like you now, you can ignore what others think and focus on doing your own thing well. My words may sound a bit too optimistic, I understand that you might be restricted in many ways and have limited abilities, so it's necessary to keep a low profile at times, but the spirit must not collapse."

  "Secretary Xu, I know you're telling the truth, but I need some time to adjust."

  "Director Li, I believe in you, you will definitely succeed. By the way, what are the views of several main leaders of the municipal party committee?"

  "Lu Secretary, in charge of organization, is experienced and seasoned, with a bit of a 'sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight' attitude, prioritizing self-preservation and not wanting to get entangled in conflicts, which is also a normal choice. Lang Secretary, in charge of agriculture, is familiar with rural situations and firmly supports Ding Secretary. Zhu Secretary, in charge of politics and law, and Mayor Huang are 'wearing the same pants', hence the current situation. Vice Mayor He, who is also the executive vice mayor of the municipal government, has strong abilities but is somewhat arrogant, he and Lu Secretary share a similar style of working independently."

  "So in this case, Secretary Ding has an advantage, after all, the municipal party secretary has the final decision-making power."

  "That's not necessarily the case, I don't know the specific situation. When researching personnel adjustments, I need to recuse myself. However, if Lu Secretary doesn't clearly express support for Ding Secretary, and Huang Mayor opposes it, and Zhu Secretary follows suit, think about it, can it pass? Adjusting deputy positions is no big deal, but adjusting main leaders, Ding Secretary has considered too much, how could he force a decision?"

  Xu Shaojie fell silent, Li Ming was speaking the truth, the municipal party secretary is not all-powerful, there are some influences that must be considered, Secretary Ding Yuan is in such a predicament, Xu Shaojie had not expected this, if the municipal party secretary cannot firmly control personnel adjustments, the difficulty of the situation can be imagined.

  "Director Li, you have been following Secretary Ding Yuan for a long time. Do you think there is a good solution to this situation or any suggestions?"

  "Director Xue, if I had such abilities, would I have ended up in this situation today? I couldn't even outdo Yu Huixiang, what good methods could I possibly have? That's why I'm reflecting on it now."

  Xu Shaojie was speechless, Li Ming had been serving as Secretary Ding Yuan's secretary for more than 4 years, which is equivalent to 5 years. He hadn't thought about these issues, and this secretary was quite capable. Which municipal party committee secretary could tolerate this? It's also a testament to Secretary Ding Yuan's good temper. If it were me, I would have kicked such a secretary aside long ago.

  "Heh heh, County Head Li, this afternoon when toasting Director Ding, don't speak too much, Director Ding will naturally understand. We're actually all the same. If Director Ding's work goes smoothly, our work becomes easier. When Director Ding encounters difficulties, we're the first to rush forward. Many times, there are things that Director Ding can't do himself or say himself, and we need to take care of them. Our identities don't matter; if we make mistakes, we'll take responsibility ourselves, it has nothing to do with our leaders. Leaders always understand the underlying meaning."

  Li Ming looked at Xu Shaojie for a long time and said almost the same thing as he had said to Secretary Ding Yuan.

  "Secretary Xu, if I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I wouldn't believe it even if you killed me. You're only 24 years old. When I was 24, all I thought about was making the world a better place, dedicating myself to the cause with passion and purity, like a blank sheet of paper. If I had been Secretary Ding's secretary back then, who knows how miserable my death would have been? I'm ashamed to say that I'm not as good as you. Even now, after all these years of grinding away, I still can't compare to you. It seems that a person's character is largely predetermined."

  "County Magistrate Li, you can't say that. I don't agree with your point of view. I just think more than usual and won't imagine everything to be so beautiful. Think about it some more and you'll naturally understand."

  When Li Ming said goodbye, his complexion had changed a lot. Although he was still not in good spirits, the depressed mood was gone. Li Ming repeatedly promised that he would give Secretary Ding Yuan a toast in the afternoon and return to Huaiyang City to visit Secretary Ding Yuan. He hoped that Xu Shaojie could tell him about Secretary Ding's whereabouts. Xu Shaojie readily agreed.

  After Ding Yuan returned to his room, he washed up and went to the dining hall. The arrangement for the afternoon was different because there was no work at night, so they still had to drink some wine. At this time, Xu Shaojie was carrying a heavy load, but since they were in Saloon County, Secretary Ding Yuan wouldn't let go, and Xu Shaojie didn't need to do so either.

  The atmosphere was very harmonious, when Li Ming held the wine glass and stood respectfully in front of Secretary Ding Yuan, a smile appeared on Ding Yuan's face, and he drank the cup of wine with Li Ming very happily. Next, Li Ming drank three cups in one breath, each time Secretary Ding Yuan only needed to take a sip, this was a sign of respect for the leader, the meaning of the three cups of wine, Ding Yuan, Xu Shaojie and Li Ming all understood, it meant that Li Ming had come around, no matter what, he would work hard.

  Because of Li Ming's matter, Secretary Ding Yuan was very happy and drank several more cups of wine. Fortunately, the wine cups were not large, with only three coins per cup, so the banquet time was slightly longer.

  At night, Secretary Ding Yuan went to rest directly, perhaps after drinking a few more cups. He Xuxiong invited Xu Shaojie to have some fun, but Xu Shaojie politely declined, citing that he had drunk too much and needed to rest. During the Spring Festival, he had been drinking constantly and his body hadn't recovered yet; now whenever he saw white wine, he felt dizzy. He Xuxiong and Chen Dazhi burst out laughing, not forcing Xu Shaojie. Li Ming watched Xu Shaojie from the side, his eyes filled with admiration. How could Xu Shaojie not understand that this was Mayor Huang Haitao's hometown? If he were to create any interesting rumors, it would be a loss of face for Secretary Ding Yuan and also affect his own future prospects.

  The next day at dawn, Secretary Ding Yuan left Shalong County.