The next morning, as soon as Qin Mu entered his office, Jiang Haoxuan had already cleaned it and served him a cup of hot tea.
"County Head, we just received a notice from the County Party Committee Office. You and Secretary Liang both need to attend the Municipal Government's investment promotion mobilization meeting at 10:00 AM."
Jiang Haoxuan replied, "I've moved some of your regular work to the afternoon. You'll probably be leaving around 9:00 AM."
"Okay, I understand."
Qin Mu nodded. This investment promotion mobilization meeting had been brewing for several days, and the top two leaders of each county and district were required to attend.
Jiangzhou's economic development was relatively lagging behind the rest of the province, so they could only focus on investment promotion. If each county and district could boost their investment promotion efforts, the city's overall economic development and data would improve.
This was essentially distributing the city's investment promotion tasks to all counties and districts, getting them all involved.
Jiangzhou currently administers three districts, three counties, and one city. The best-performing county-level city is undoubtedly Qingcheng, followed by Xiujiang District and Dahu District. As for Huaining County, it was almost tied for last place with Songhu County. Qin Mu was mentally prepared for a harsh reprimand and being forced to take on more tasks at this conference. This was evident from the smug expression on Liang Guan's face.
On the way to the meeting, Qin Mu and Liang Guan rode in the same car, with Liang Guan and Qin Mu's secretary in the front.
"County Chief Qin, our Huaining's economic work is lagging behind, there's been no progress. You need to pay more attention!"
Liang Guan said in his characteristic condescending tone, with a lecturing air, "Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you at the meeting today, help you out, and try not to embarrass you too much!"
Really?
Hearing this, Qin Mu had a feeling of unreality. Could the other party really be so kind as to help him out?
It felt like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken.
"Secretary Liang, then I must thank you."
Qin Mu knew in his heart that this old man was up to no good, but for now, he should still be polite to lower the other party's guard.
"No need for formalities, we're comrades in the same team."
Liang Guan waved his hand slightly and said, "I was a bit too aggressive before, but now that I think about it, it wasn't necessary. Let's be polite, friendly, and harmonious, and just get the job done, what do you say?"
"You're absolutely right, I completely agree."
Qin Mu was naturally more than happy to accept this. He had never wanted to fight with anyone, only to do his job well, but unfortunately, the leaders he encountered didn't think the same way.
Liang Guan's words today were all nonsense; he must already have a way to deal with him, which was why he seemed so friendly.
Someone who had been constantly radiating hostility suddenly becoming friendly could only mean that the other party was preparing a more ferocious attack, and could take his life at any moment.
The car pulled into the municipal party committee building. Inside the conference room, most of the top officials from various counties and districts were already seated, waiting for the arrival of their leader.
"Vice Mayor Liang, you're here early!"
"Today we should call him Secretary Liang!"
"With Secretary Liang here, Huaining County's economy is sure to take off."
…
As soon as the two sat down, the top officials from several other counties looked over. Most of them chatted and laughed with Liang Guan.
After all, Liang Guan was not only the secretary of the Huaining County Party Committee but also the vice mayor. He had previously conducted research in other counties and districts, and his rank was higher, so they treated him with more respect.
As for Qin Mu, they didn't know each other.
Naturally, no one greeted him.
"You're all joking. Economic development has always been a weak point for Huaining County, and we'll need your help in the future!"
Liang Guan clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute, looked around, and laughed, "Mayor Qiu will probably criticize me today, so please don't laugh at me then!"
"Hahaha, Secretary Liang is too kind."
"Huaining County's economic work isn't your responsibility, you don't need to worry about it."
"Everyone has their expertise. I've long heard that County Head Qin Mu is very capable in economic work. With him here, you don't need to worry!"
...
As they talked, the battle turned to Qin Mu.
Judging from the situation, they were targeting Qin Mu, clearly intending to place the heavy responsibility of economic work on him. If the task wasn't completed, Qin Mu would naturally bear the responsibility.
"The mayor is here!"
Just as Qin Mu was about to say something, a group of people entered from outside, the first being Qiu Xiangqian.
Qin Mu swallowed the words he was about to say.
"Comrades, you're all here pretty early!"
Qiu Xiangqian glanced around and said, "Is everyone here? I won't waste time with small talk, let's get straight to today's topic!"
"The economic situation in Jiangzhou this year is particularly severe. When I went to the provincial capital, the leaders kept me behind for a private meeting, saying some very unpleasant things. I really lost face!"
"Comrades, economic work is of paramount importance. Aren't you worried about it?"
"With millions of people in the city, and looking at the total economic output, isn't it shameful?"
Qiu Xiangqian launched into a tirade, and the atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became deathly still.
Qin Mu was attending such a large meeting for the first time, and he felt a bit curious. He looked at everyone else; they all had their heads down, seemingly taking notes, but no one knew what they were actually writing.
Qin Mu felt like he was back in school, getting caught fighting and having to write a self-criticism.
He never expected that these people, now county magistrates and county party secretaries, would all be getting criticized.
"I believe you comrades are all people of pride; you don't want to lose face, and you don't want me constantly criticizing you."
Qiu Xiangqian said calmly, "How about this, everyone proposes their own goals and strives to achieve them. Who wants to go first?"
This…
Upon hearing that they had to voluntarily propose goals, everyone fell silent for a moment.
Economically strong counties might not care, but those with weaker economies naturally didn't want to be the first to step forward. Setting goals too high would be impossible to achieve.
Setting them too low would surely get them scolded by Mayor Qiu.
"Songhu County, you were last in economic ranking last year, so you'll go first."
Finally, Qiu Xiangqian directly called out names.
He didn't call Huaining County, but he did call out Songhu County first.
Songhu County Head Qian Wen stood up and said, "Mayor, Songhu County has a weak foundation, and attracting businesses has always been quite difficult. We..."
"I asked you to state your goals, not your difficulties! I only need specific targets!"
Before Qian Wen could finish speaking, Qiu Xiangqian interrupted him, saying, "This year, Songhu County aims to attract several companies with investments of 100 million yuan and several with investments of tens of millions of yuan. You name it!"
This...
Hundreds of millions of yuan companies?
Qian Wen's forehead was sweating. At present, attracting companies with investments of 100 million yuan was indeed quite difficult for Songhu County.
But the mayor had spoken, so he had to answer.
"This year, Songhu County strives to attract one company with an investment of 100 million yuan, three companies with investments of tens of millions of yuan, and several companies with investments of millions of yuan!"
Qian Wen had no choice but to continue.
He even specifically used the word "strive," because attracting companies with investments of 100 million yuan was no easy feat.