Chapter 122: Speech at the People's Congress

  Ding Yuan's face was gloomy as he looked at the government work report in his hand, and the opinions of the Standing Committee. The government had not taken it seriously, and the party building work was still just a passing mention. Huang Haitao remained unchanged, and this situation had already occurred more than once. Xu Shaojie's added paragraph had not been adopted by Huang Haitao. After talking with Xu Shaojie, Ding Yuan had already formed some ideas. Compromising on some minor issues to maintain stability in Huaiyang City seemed like a wise move at first, but it would only allow Huang Haitao's attitude to become more and more arrogant in the long run. By then, even if he wanted to control him, he wouldn't be able to.

  Ding Yuan is not unwilling to do things, but after a long time in politics, Ding Yuan has become accustomed to the mediocre way. Born into an ordinary family and working in the provincial government, without a background is a sad thing that makes it impossible for you to stand up straight. Lower-level officials need care and support from their superiors, mid-level officials need recommendations and promotions from above, and high-level officials need a broad foundation to grasp the situation. Ding Yuan had no background at all when he started out, relying on his own efforts to rise step by step. The person who influenced him the most was Xu Guangkun, the former vice governor of the province and current deputy secretary of the provincial party committee. When Ding Yuan served as the deputy secretary-general of the provincial government, he followed Xu Guangkun to do coordination work. Xu's gentle yet firm, elegant and dignified, and situation-controlling work attitude and style gave Ding Yuan a lot of inspiration. After Ding Yuan became the secretary of Huaiyang Municipal Party Committee, he tried to use this way and attitude to carry out his work, but it was clear that the effect was not good, which is because the level was different, and Ding Yuan also understood this.

  Everyone has their own temper, Li Ming, Ding Yuan's former secretary, and Ding Yuan's former personality have similarities, also being rigid and cautious. Therefore, Ding Yuan did not feel much resentment towards the situation in Huaiyang City. Every time he went to visit Xu Guangkun, he would report on the work situation in Huaiyang City. The provincial party committee and government had a general impression of Huaiyang City, and its exclusivity was also known to Xu Guangkun, who often warned Ding Yuan to boldly carry out his work.

  After Xu Shaojie became Ding Yuan's secretary, a series of actions made Ding Yuan see hope. Some things that he couldn't do himself or didn't want to show his face for, Xu Shaojie could take care of. Moreover, Xu Shaojie had a keen sense of the situation's development, making him a rare and valuable secretary. As a result, Ding Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit impatient. After 5 years in Huaiyang City, he hadn't achieved anything significant, and even he himself felt that it was getting hard to justify his position.

  "Shao Jie, come to my office for a moment."

  Xu Shaojie saw the gloomy face of Secretary Ding Yuan, then looked at the government work report in Secretary Ding's hand, and suddenly understood everything. He had already read the revised draft of the report.

  "Shao Jie, have you read all the reports? What's your opinion?"

  "Secretary Ding, I think it's unnecessary to dwell on the report. You can emphasize the party building work in your summary speech."

  Ding Yuan looked at Xu Shaojie, Xu Shaojie's expression was calm.

  "Shao Jie, why would you have such an idea?"

  "Secretary Ding, I think it's mainly about looking at the outcome of things. Since the municipal government is unwilling to change its attitude, it means they have gone through careful consideration and long-term preparation. You might as well focus on the outcome too. The process can be diverse, some may make people feel comfortable, while others may be full of ups and downs."

  "Hmm, you make some sense, what about the thing we talked about last time?"

  "Secretary Ding, no problem, I've already made it clear. Director Qian and I have talked many times, he has been somewhat opposed to Li Ming's approach for a long time, thinking that secretaries should maintain the leader's authority, make plans and strategies, he is firmly supporting reform. The most important thing is that he understands what kind of things a secretary should do."

  "Well, after the People's Congress, the Municipal Party Committee will discuss personnel adjustments, so let's follow this opinion and handle it accordingly."

  Xu Shaojie began to ponder over the draft of Ding Yuan's speech, which was written by the Policy Research Office. The draft was conventional and didn't have any problems, but it gave people a feeling that saying something and not saying anything were almost the same. When Xu Shaojie picked up the draft again, he suddenly realized that this speech had been revolving around the government work report from start to finish, discussing various aspects of the problem, but the entry point was somewhat inappropriate. Of course, the Policy Research Office's writing was not wrong, they drafted Ding Yuan's speech according to convention, but now Ding Yuan's ideas had changed, and he wanted to emphasize economic work while also taking into account party building work.

  Thinking of this, Xu Shaojie suddenly felt relieved. He didn't have to make a big speech, the writing skills of the policy research office were much better than his in drafting materials. Xu Shaojie just added some content about party building work in the middle of the speech draft. This was a speech at the People's Congress, and he couldn't just speak freely. Sometimes it felt dry, but still had to be read out loud. After all, maintaining high consistency with the Party Central Committee was the greatest political requirement.

  Xu Shaojie revised the speech, like a tailor, who used to make Zhongshan suits with complete fabrics, now only changed to Western-style suits, still using those materials. Xu Shaojie's general principle is to compress the content of economic work and expand the content of party building work. The government work report has already talked about economic work in enough detail, there is no need to repeatedly rehash old ideas.

  Xu Shaojie didn't have high hopes for the speech, as such speeches are given countless times a year and the more formal they are, the less likely they are to grab people's attention. For example, government work reports seem impressive but in reality, county and city leaders and heads of municipal units pay more attention to certain meetings that take place regularly.

  When the municipal party committee's standing committee was finalizing the draft of the government work report and Ding Yuan's speech, a subtle situation emerged. Both speeches were to be delivered in public, so they had to go through collective research and could not be decided by individuals. Most of the standing committee members looked at the government work report and Ding Yuan's speech without any expression on their faces, but Lu Changzheng's attitude was different. He spoke first, expressing his support for Ding Yuan's speech, but made no evaluation of the government work report. Next, Lang Shifu also expressed his support for Ding Yuan's speech, but did not evaluate the government work report. Zhu Zongxiang supported the government work report, but did not comment on Ding Yuan's speech draft.

  Xu Shaojie bowed his head and recorded on his notebook, and in his heart, he had already begun to understand the nuances of officialdom. The expressions were truly sophisticated, and anyone who was not quick-witted would struggle to grasp their implications. On the surface, the speeches by Lu Changzheng, Lang Shifu, and Zhu Zongxiang seemed similar, but they actually conveyed completely different meanings, representing two distinct directions. In particular, Lu Changzheng had made a statement in the conference room, indicating that Secretary Ding Yuan must have spoken with him, resulting in a subtle shift in his attitude. If this momentum could be further fueled, future secretary office meetings would likely produce a power imbalance.

  Secretary Ding made the final summary, praising the Municipal Party Committee's Policy Research Office and the Government Office, thinking that both documents were well-written, and the staff below worked very hard. The next task is to prepare well for the People's Congress and the CPPCC conference. During the meeting, Huang Haitao's face was not very good, with no expression.

  "Secretary Xu, I've finished revising the materials, would you take a look?"

  Huang Meng still personally delivered materials to Xu Shaojie, without any unnatural behavior. Xu Shaojie didn't mention the computer incident, Huang Meng's birthday, or what happened in the dance hall, as if these things had never occurred. In dealing with all matters, Xu Shaojie and Huang Meng were highly tacit, adopting a silent approach. This made Xu Shaojie feel that Huang Meng was not simple, not an ordinary woman, but rather someone with a mind of her own. If given the opportunity, this woman could stir up a storm in the political arena. Xu Shaojie had already thought it through: when facing Huang Meng, it's best to keep a respectful distance. When his own strength was insufficient, he would try to provide possible help, and once the timing was ripe, he could utilize Huang Meng to serve him. What Huang Meng said, Xu Shaojie had found an opportunity to tell Liao Hongyun, who immediately expressed his stance: there were three girls in the typing room, but they didn't need that many; Huang Meng had already worked in the typing room for four years and could be reassigned.

  Qian Dazhi's work attitude in the unit has not changed, but Xu Shaojie knows that Qian Dazhi has undergone a huge change. In the past, after work, Qian Dazhi often went out to eat and have fun with colleagues in groups of three or five. Now, after work, Qian Dazhi returns home on time, always carrying a canvas briefcase filled with materials from the comprehensive department. There are many files there, but they're not confidential, if someone wants to see them, they can just ask and return them on time. Xu Shaojie knows that in just a few days, Qian Dazhi has read through a large number of files, all of which were done at home, so no one else knows about the change in Qian Dazhi. Because Qian Dazhi returns home on time, someone joked with him, asking if his wife is managing him strictly and not allowing him to go out at night. Qian Dazhi just smiled and didn't explain much, still insisting on going home after work.

  "Qian Kechang, what do you think of Ding Yuan's speech draft?"

  "Secretary Xu, I think it's high time to say this. In recent years, the phrase 'economic work is at the center' has been supreme and has overshadowed all other work. Everyone only talks about economic work, while other work is almost an afterthought. I don't think this is normal. The municipal party committee is supposed to be in charge of comprehensive work, but if the economy is doing well while social order and safety are poor, or if there are problems with grassroots organization construction, or any other issues arise, the municipal party committee bears responsibility. It can't just say that its work has been done well. On the other hand, the municipal government focuses solely on economic work, making it seem like the municipal party committee is just an accessory to the municipal government."

  "Qian Kechang, I didn't expect you would see it this way."

  "What's the big deal, I'm not a fool, don't I know what's been going on all these years? The government has been grasping at economic work, if it can be said that great achievements have been made, but in fact, the economy has not developed rapidly, still slow and sluggish. As a result, neither end is taken care of, in my opinion, it's losing both wife and soldiers."

  "Qian Kezhang, what's your view on this?"

  "Economic work is of course the central work, and we must spare no effort to grasp it. Speeding up development is an urgent matter that brooks no delay. Party building work cannot be neglected. As I have always said, we must do two things at once, and both hands must be firm."

  Xu Shaojie and Qian Dazhi's conversation was constantly reported to Ding Yuan, who became increasingly satisfied. Now, when Xu Shaojie and Ding Yuan talked, there was no need to hide anything, and many questions and views were unified between the two. Sometimes, Qian Dazhi's understanding was even deeper than Xu Shaojie's.

  Finally, Xu Shaojie saw Lu Changzheng enter Ding Yuan's office. Ding Yuan instructed that no one should be seen, and after nearly two hours, Lu Changzheng left Ding Yuan's office with a smile on his face. Xu Shaojie knew that Ding Yuan had already taken action.

  Xu Shaojie was always puzzled as to why Ding Yuan would agree to let him find Qian Dazhi. Wouldn't it be better for Secretary Ding to talk to Qian Dazhi directly?

  The People's Congress and the CPPCC were held as scheduled, with no particularly notable news, all going through the motions. The CPPCC opened a day earlier, and both meetings lasted for 5 days. The government work report and Secretary Ding's speech did not spark any discussion, after all, they were just ordinary speeches that didn't break out of the usual framework.

  The meeting has just ended, and something good happened to Xu Shaojie. Liao Hongyun specially found Xu Shaojie and gave him a set of keys. It turned out that the city committee dormitory had vacated a house, and Xu Shaojie was allocated one, building 6, room 201, three bedrooms and one living room, which had been renovated. This means that Xu Shaojie will no longer have to rush to the city committee dormitory early in the morning to greet Secretary Ding Yuan. Secretary Ding Yuan's residence is on the third floor of Building One, with four bedrooms and two living rooms, a different specification.

  Xu Shaojie went into the newly allocated house to take a look. The floor was made of water-milled flat ground, with wooden windows and walls and ceiling that had been repainted. The room was empty and bare. Standing in the empty room, Xu Shaojie felt somewhat unreal. He had been working for so long, but this was his first time being allocated a house. However, the excitement of being allocated a house quickly dissipated. Xu Shaojie's face turned sour as he thought that his happy life with Zhang Xiaoyu would have to come to an end. Being allocated a house meant that he had to move into the municipal committee dormitory, otherwise it wouldn't be acceptable. But Xu Shaojie had already gotten used to being with Zhang Xiaoyu and almost every day he fell asleep on her chest. Now, he would have to move into the municipal committee dormitory, but Zhang Xiaoyu couldn't possibly come over.

  Zhang Shao Cai and Yan Yu Huan fully supported, Zhang Xiao Yu still lived at home, Zhang Shao Cai and Yan Yu Huan moved back to live. From now on, Xu Shao Jie can go home for dinner anytime, if it's late, he can sleep upstairs, anyway the third floor has always been empty. As for Zhang Shao Cai and Yan Yu Huan's arrangement, Xu Shao Jie was gritting his teeth but couldn't say a word.

  The day of the move, Xu Shaojie himself did not exert any effort and did not manage it. The room was helped to be packed up by Yan Yuhuan and Zhang Xiaoyu. The three-bedroom, one-living-room house, Xu Shaojie couldn't use that much space. One bedroom, plus a study, another room for storing cigarettes and white wine, were usually locked. Looking at the neatly packed house, Xu Shaojie sighed, "A life of luxury is really coming to an end. From now on, I'll have to live the life of a bachelor."