When he returned to the County party committee's compound, it was already filled with cars. The workers were busy hanging banners and putting up slogans. It was a busy scene. Banners on the left and right sides of the building flowed down like a waterfall. On them were the words, "Welcome to Nanyang Tong Ya Group for investment. We sincerely look forward to first-class enterprises taking root in Flaming Sun City and cooperating sincerely." From the looks of it, Su Qiming was going to make an initial contact with the enterprise.
Logically speaking, Deputy County Head Bai Yuxin was in charge of the enterprise, so he should be participating in the whole process. However, the higher-ups didn't tell him to attend the meeting. They didn't even leak any information. From this, it could be seen that Su Qiming was expressing his attitude. On one hand, he was saying that he was the one who invited the enterprise and no one could interfere. On the other hand, he was giving Bai Yuxin the cold shoulder. Who asked Bai Yuxin to be so close to Zhang Zhiyuan?
When they were about to enter the County party committee building, they bumped into Li Jianwei, who was rushing down the stairs. Lu Yiwei quickly asked about the situation. Li Jianwei was sweating profusely. "Tomorrow, the Tong Ya Group's CEO will personally come to Nanyang for business. Mayor Su is very concerned about it. Isn't he holding a meeting to discuss tomorrow's reception?"
Lu Yiwei caught a detail. Bai Yuxin, who was beside him, slightly leaned forward. Although it wasn't obvious, he still noticed it. He asked, "Is County Zhang also in the meeting?"
"Of course. County Zhang is the head of the government. This kind of thing is definitely related to him. Do you need something from County Zhang?" Li Jianwei sneaked a glance at Bai Yuxin and asked carefully.
"Alright, Director Li. You can go first. I'll wait!" Lu Yiwei said perfunctorily.
Li Jianwei reminded, "This meeting probably won't end anytime soon. If it's really urgent, why don't you go straight to the meeting and look for him?"
They waited in Bai Yuxin's office for nearly an hour, but there was still no news of the meeting ending. Bai Yuxin paced back and forth anxiously. He couldn't wait any longer. He fiercely extinguished the cigarette in his hand and said, "Let's not wait any longer. Let's go to Bei Zhou Daily now."
As they went down the stairs, Bai Yuxin remembered something and whispered to Lu Yiwei, "Find a way to get 50,000 RMB now. Keep it with you for emergencies."
Lu Yiwei did not have that much cash on hand. After thinking for a while, he thought of Gao Dakuan, the Chief of the Logistics Department. He went upstairs and barged in without knocking. Before he could calm down, he said, "Chief Gao, I'm in urgent need of 50,000 yuan in cash. Do you have it with you?"
Gao Dakuan saw Lu Yiwei panting and knew that he was in a hurry, so he didn't ask too much. "Yes, but this money is for tomorrow's meeting. I'm preparing to allocate it. This …"
Lu Yiwei couldn't care less. "I'll take it first. I'll give it to you later."
Gao Dakuan remembered that Lu Yiwei had arranged for his son. He took out the money from the safe and gave it to Lu Yiwei without hesitation.
It was already night when they arrived at Bei Zhou Daily. The chief editor, Meng Jizhong, had already gotten off work and returned home. When Bai Yuxin called him again, he was very annoyed. He still expressed his original intention and hung up.
Bai Yuxin knew the consequences of publishing the proposal. Once it was published, Zhang Zhiyuan would be in a difficult position. At first, Bai Yuxin had planned to skip the provincial government and start a new business. But now that Baitai had agreed to the original proposal, the matter could be solved. The most important thing now was to make the newspaper stop printing and delete the proposal.
Bei Zhou Daily was the official newspaper of the Municipal Party Committee. It represented a certain level of authority. Moreover, the chief editor of the newspaper was also the deputy director of the Municipal Party Committee's Publicity Department. Bai Yuxin was a few ranks lower than the chief editor. It was not convenient for her to talk to him.
Bai Yuxin could have asked the deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Guo Jinzhu, to mediate and solve the problem. However, Meng Jizhong was a loyal ally of the Municipal Party Committee's Secretary, Tian Chunqiu. He did not fall for Guo Jinzhu's rude and arrogant ways. Because of this, Bai Yuxin had to bite the bullet and go to him personally to plead.
At night, the Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters was extremely busy. People came and went like a night market. However, most of the people who went in and out were more mysterious. It was as if they were afraid that others would discover their whereabouts.
The Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters was built in the eighties. Although a few new apartment buildings were built later, it still retained the style of that era. The image of a 'simple' public servant remained. There were even a few old-fashioned tube-shaped buildings in between. The leaders who lived in them were at least at the deputy director level.
Logically speaking, people of this level were fully capable of buying one or more houses elsewhere, but they still "refused" to leave. When outsiders asked why, they would reply humbly, "You'll develop feelings after staying in a place for a long time. Moreover, this place is close to work. It's only a few steps away. The house is old, but it's livable. "Whether what they said was true or not, only they knew in their hearts.
Of course, Lu Yiwei did not believe them. Who would not want to live in a bigger and more spacious house when the conditions were good? It could only mean that they had inexplicable feelings.
Although the Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters was not a high-end residential area, it was definitely considered a sacred place in Bei Zhou City. All the officials of Bei Zhou City lived there. The secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and the mayor all lived there. One could imagine their identity and status. As a result, the commercial houses built near the Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters became the most expensive prime location in Bei Zhou City. Some of the old buildings in the Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters were even more ridiculously expensive. According to the average price of a house in Bei Zhou City at 1,800 yuan per square meter, an old house in the Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters could sell for more than 4,000 yuan per square meter. It was shockingly expensive. However, this did not stop some people from frantically buying. Among them were some low-level officials and businessmen who would rather live in tube-shaped buildings than live in spacious and bright houses in the suburbs. Why? At the end of the day, it was all because of their vanity.
If they bought a house first and walked out and asked where they lived, they could pat their chest and say proudly, "The Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters!" When they said these words, they had to be loud and clear so that more people could hear them. Then, they would wait for the envious looks of others. They could even confidently hail a taxi. Their eyes would tell him contemptuously that this was a symbol of status.
After talking about outsiders, they would talk about their own factors. Some officials had stayed in the Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters for a long time and had a certain degree of affection. However, this was only on the surface. Most of the time, they wanted to be as close to the center of power as possible. Even if there were any disturbances, they could respond in time. They lived here, but it did not mean that their children lived with them. Perhaps their children enjoyed the modern and superior environment, and this place was just a memory of growing up.
China's officials were the most pitiful. They did not dare wear famous brands, did not dare to enjoy luxury, and did not even dare to enjoy the normal activities of a natural person. They called themselves "servants of the people." Every word and action of theirs was watched by countless pairs of eyes. If they did anything inappropriate, they would immediately be criticized. It was unspeakable. Most of the time, it was their children who fulfilled their impossible wishes on their behalf.
Giving gifts to the Municipal Party Committee's Family Quarters was definitely a skill. One could not give gifts during the day. It would be too eye-catching. One could not carry large and small bags in and out. It would not be good if others saw it. This was especially so for some retired officials. When they were still in office, there was an endless stream of people who came to see them. But after they retired, there were very few people who came to see them. They had to endure the coldness and warmth of the world. Feeling jealous and unbalanced, they had nothing to do. Intentionally or unintentionally, they observed which officials' house every day to see how many people came to visit and how few people came to visit. From there, they could grasp the political trends of the Northern State.
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