The moment Liang Guan raised his hand, he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart…
Especially Zeng Su, who had been the first to speak out at the meeting, was now looking down, silent, clearly trying to avoid Liang Guan's gaze.
As long as they didn't make eye contact, he could pretend he didn't see him!
Liang Guan stared at Zeng Su for three seconds, but he didn't raise his head. He could only look at the others; as the county party secretary, he couldn't be the only one raising his hand, could he?
His gaze swept over Cheng Gang, who hesitated for only a second before raising his hand.
He was the director of the county party committee office; if he didn't align himself with the county party secretary, the consequences would be dire.
Next came the organization minister, Lei Ming, and the deputy county party secretary, Gao Qiang. These two hesitated for a moment, but only Gao Qiang raised his hand, while Lei Ming chose to ignore him!
The situation, which had been a sure win with five votes, instantly became three!
Liang Guan's face turned incredibly ugly!
Three minutes later, he lowered his hand.
"Now, please raise your hands if you support canceling the free cafeteria service, lowering the standards, saving expenses, and using the funds for infrastructure!"
Qin Mu finished speaking and was the first to raise his hand, followed by Xu Lu and Qi Zhenghao!
Zheng Yushi and Zeng Su raised their hands in turn!
They quickly garnered five votes, more than half!
"What about Comrade Lei Ming?"
Qin Mu turned his gaze to Lei Ming, the Organization Minister, and asked.
"I don't know much about the cafeteria situation, so I can't make a decision yet. I abstain!"
Lei Ming took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
Abstain?
He's afraid of offending Liang Guan, isn't he?
Qin Mu could understand. He nodded slightly and said, "Alright, then you abstain. If you want to know any specific details after the meeting, you can come to me."
"Okay!"
Lei Ming readily agreed.
"Secretary Liang, the result is clear now. There are enough votes to cancel the free cafeteria service. What do you think…?"
Qin Mu looked at County Party Secretary Liang Guan and asked with a smile.
"Since the vote is over, we should naturally follow the result."
Liang Guan said calmly, "County Head Qin, you take charge of the cafeteria matter. I won't interfere."
"Meeting adjourned!"
With that, Liang Guan stood up and left, his face extremely grim. Clearly, the vote result had greatly angered him.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. The county party secretary, who had made meticulous preparations beforehand, still suffered a major setback at the last minute.
He had victory assured, but instead, he suffered a complete defeat!
It's too humiliating!
Gao Qiang, Lei Ming, and the others exchanged glances, all bewildered. No one had expected the county head to have such a hidden trick up his sleeve!
The appearance of the name of Municipal Party Secretary Li instantly shattered the balance of the meeting!
"County Chief Qin, when you reported to Secretary Li of the Municipal Party Committee, wouldn't you need a detailed record of the meeting? I've written some notes here, perhaps... you could use them?"
Zeng Su eagerly ran to Qin Mu's side, handing him his notebook, densely filled with meeting minutes.
Qin Mu only glanced at it before understanding Zeng Su's little scheme!
He simply wanted Qin Mu to report his support for free canteens to Secretary Li, so that Secretary Li would know who he was.
"Comrade Zeng Su, no need. Even if you wrote a lot, Secretary Li wouldn't actually listen. He just wants to hear the final result. He's too busy with all the details; he doesn't have time to listen carefully!"
Qin Mu smiled, saying regretfully, "Don't worry, I'll praise you to Secretary Li properly another time!"
Another time?
Zeng Su's face was full of disappointment.
He risked offending Secretary Liang to support County Chief Qin's proposal, all to gain favor with Secretary Li.
But look what happened!
County Chief Qin simply said he wouldn't give a detailed report, only the result.
This made Zeng Su instantly feel like he'd been tricked!
Damn it!
He failed to gain favor with Secretary Li and offended Secretary Liang…
Isn't this a classic case of total failure?
He's doomed!
"Well… alright then!"
Zeng Su gave an awkward smile, replied, and left.
"County Chief Qin, that was brilliant!"
After Gao Qiang and Lei Ming left, Qi Zhenghao approached Qin Mu, gave him a thumbs up, and said, "I really didn't expect you to have such a trick up your sleeve, turning the tide so quickly!"
He knew this wasn't a coincidence; it was definitely Qin Mu's pre-planned scheme, deliberately using Xu Lu to say it.
"I had no other choice but to resort to this."
Qin Mu smiled awkwardly and said, "Luckily, Secretary Li didn't mind and even agreed to let me do it. He's truly a good leader!"
What was there to mind?
Qi Zhenghao knew that Secretary Li of the Municipal Party Committee agreed because he appreciated County Head Qin.
Arranging for a vice mayor to concurrently serve as the county party secretary would definitely increase the difficulty of County Head Qin's work. If Secretary Li didn't offer any support at this time, it would be too heartless.
"Your ability to turn the tide this time will greatly improve the situation."
Qi Zhenghao pondered for a moment and said, "Comrade Lei Ming, I think you can try to win him over. He worked for Mayor Qiu, but he also worked in the Municipal Party Committee's Organization Department. He has experience in both areas. Now it depends on who can truly gain his support!"
"I understand!"
Qin Mu nodded. He could also see that in the Standing Committee, the people he clearly had the support of were Qi Zhenghao, Xu Lu, and Zheng Yushi!
If Qin Mu could win over Lei Ming, the Organization Minister, he would be virtually invincible in the County Party Committee Standing Committee.
After briefly explaining, Qin Mu returned to his office with Xu Lu.
"Comrade Xu Lu, I plan to assign the canteen renovation work to you as well."
Qin Mu said, "You haven't been in the county government for long, and you urgently need this kind of work to establish your position and build your authority. Discuss it with your colleagues in the Finance Bureau and other departments. You only need to grasp the general principles; let them handle the details!"
"Okay, I'll take charge of this!"
Xu Lu readily agreed. She knew that County Head Qin was giving her an opportunity. This kind of work wasn't actually very difficult, just a bit tedious. Fortunately, the tedious tasks could be delegated to other colleagues; her task was simply to summarize.
Using this work, she could gain some influence and mobilize some resources, naturally making it easier to cultivate her own people within the county government and quickly establish her authority.
"County Chief Qin, what about the funding for the road construction... do you have a solution?"
Xu Lu asked with concern, "If the funds aren't sufficient, the county government's finances will be under great pressure once construction begins. Perhaps... I could ask the city leaders for help and see if we can secure some subsidies to ease your burden?"