"Who's in control?" Qin Mu's question was interpreted by everyone as a call for accountability!
Whoever controlled the direction would bear primary responsibility and face County Chief Qin's wrath.
"Comrade Pan Wen, please be truthful. Don't try to shift the blame onto other comrades. Be brave enough to admit the facts!"
Chen Xin, growing impatient, quickly spoke sharply.
This was a reminder, a warning. If he tried to shift the blame again, he would get angry.
Damn it!
Pan Wen immediately cowered after Chen Xin's outburst.
The other party was, after all, the deputy county chief, a rank higher than him. If he really angered him, he would definitely suffer the consequences.
Forget it!
He'd just have to take the responsibility!
So what if he gets scolded by County Chief Qin?
"County Chief, this plan was mine."
Pan Wen took a deep breath and said, "Deputy County Chief Chen only assisted from the sidelines. The core part was all my idea. If you have any complaints, please speak up, feel free to criticize. I accept all criticism. It was my fault for not doing a good job..."
He had to accept the consequences!
Since he was going to admit his mistake, he should admit it. If he was sincere, maybe County Chief Qin wouldn't scold him too harshly.
How pathetic!
The others watching this scene naturally understood the problem. Pan Wen had clearly fallen into Chen Xin's trap, creating an abnormal plan that embarrassed County Chief Qin.
But for a mere bureau chief like Pan Wen to do this, he was bound to get scolded!
He tried to share the blame with Chen Xin, but the latter ruthlessly distanced himself from Pan Wen, leaving him alone to bear the county chief's wrath.
"The plan is well done, very capable, and deserves praise."
Just as Pan Wen was mentally prepared to be scolded, Qin Mu's casual remark echoed throughout the conference room, leaving Pan Wen instantly stunned. His eyes widened, almost unable to believe what he had heard.
"County Chief, you... what did you say?"
Pan Wen thought he had misheard and quickly asked again.
"What, did my ears stop working when I praised you?"
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Your plan is very well done, meeting my expectations and showing great consideration. Road construction is meant to be done for decades to come. Just building haphazardly would be a waste of money."
"If we're going to build it, let's do it once and for all, eight lanes in both directions, basically meeting the transportation capacity requirements. I think it's fine!"
Hearing this, not only was Pan Wen dumbfounded, but everyone in the conference room was stunned.
Especially Chen Xin, who was completely dumbfounded.
Has he gone mad?
A plan costing 500 million yuan, and he's satisfied?
"County Chief Qin, this total cost is a whopping 500 million! I think that's way too much of an overstatement!"
Chen Xin couldn't help but remind him, "The county finances can't possibly afford such a large expenditure!"
"Comrade Liangping, you're the head of the Finance Bureau. Tell me, how much funding does the Finance Bureau currently have to support road construction?"
Qin Mu looked at Song Liangping, the deputy director of the Finance Bureau, and asked.
This…
Song Liangping was conflicted. He was just a deputy director; the director, Lu Dong, had been investigated and punished, and he was forced to fill in. He'd just taken over, and now this was happening!
Wasn't this putting him in a difficult position?
"County Chief Qin, to be honest, before I came, I carefully checked the county finances and found that we only have 10.8 million available!"
Song Liangping said awkwardly, "Some of that needs to be used to pay salaries, so…"
"Five million? Can you come up with that?!"
Qin Mu didn't waste any more words and asked directly.
Only five million?
Really?
Song Liangping had assumed County Chief Qin would take all ten million yuan with a stroke of his pen, but it turned out he only wanted half?
"Five million isn't a big problem!"
Song Liangping nodded repeatedly. "But… with a project costing five hundred million, what…what use is five million?"
He simply couldn't understand it. For such a massive project, the county's entire ten million yuan was practically useless, and now they only wanted five million? Wasn't that a drop in the ocean?
"We can't afford the total cost of five hundred million, but this road must be built. We'll finish it, even if we have to sell everything we own," Qin Mu said calmly.
"What are your thoughts on this road construction plan? Feel free to speak your mind!"
What else was there to say?
County Chief Qin himself approved of the plan; anything they said was pointless.
"County Head, personally, I think this road construction plan is too risky."
Chen Xin pondered for a moment and said, "With the county's financial resources, simply renovating the road and filling in the potholes would suffice. Spending five million on road construction is truly unrealistic!"
Oh?
Here comes another dose of cold water?
"I agree with Comrade Chen Xin's suggestion, but Secretary Liang has assigned a task for attracting investment. So, Comrade Chen Xin, please complete that task, how about that?"
Qin Mu said calmly, "Road construction is for attracting investment. If you can solve this problem, then whether or not the road is built won't really matter."
Uh…
You want me to complete the investment attraction task?
Isn't that ridiculous?
"County Head, you're joking, aren't you? The investment attraction task is so arduous, how… how can I complete it alone!"
Chen Xin smiled awkwardly and quickly declined jokingly.
If he had that ability, would he still be just a deputy county head?
He would have been promoted long ago.
"Bang!"
"You started this joke!"
Qin Mu slammed his hand on the table, his voice filled with displeasure. "Chen Xin, you know better than anyone the purpose of building this road!"
"I emphasized to you two days ago why we needed to build this road, and now you're pouring cold water on it, talking about risks and impracticality."
"The finances are tight, but instead of solving the financial problems, you just want to stay put and do nothing. Do you have any sense of responsibility?"
"You're just occupying a position without doing anything! Either resign, or shut up!"
The sudden outburst of anger instantly silenced the entire meeting room.
No one had expected that the usually polite and easygoing County Head Qin would slam his fist on the table and berate someone in public!
He gave Chen Xin a thorough dressing-down.
This was also a veteran deputy county head, but now he was completely stunned by the outburst, unable to recover for a long time.
After a dozen seconds of silence, Chen Xin finally came to his senses.
"County Chief Qin, I don't agree with what you said."
Chen Xin, being an experienced veteran, couldn't swallow his anger after being publicly reprimanded. He said, "I've worked in Huaining for so long, and I also hope it will become better. But where will we find the 500 million yuan for road construction?"
"Without that money, how can we build the road?"
"Anyone can talk big, and bragging is meaningless!"
"I'm just stating the facts, County Chief Qin. I feel that what you just said was disrespectful. You need to apologize to me!"