"County Chief, it's so quiet!"
Han Ying, Xu Lu, and the others got out of the car one after another, looking around curiously. "Where did everyone go?"
"Come on, let's go inside and see!"
Qin Mu nodded slightly and walked towards the building.
"County Chief Qin, you're back!"
At this moment, a person came out of the restroom. Seeing Qin Mu and the others, he said in surprise, "Secretary Liang organized a large meeting for all staff members in the county committee compound today, not allowing anyone to be absent. I really couldn't hold it any longer, so I came out to use the restroom."
A large meeting for everyone today?
There are hundreds of people in the county committee compound, what kind of large meeting is this?
"Since Secretary Liang has requested it, then you should go to the meeting quickly, don't delay important matters."
Qin Mu smiled, waved his hand, and told the person to leave.
"Okay!"
The young man replied, then asked, "County Chief, should I tell the Party Secretary? Everyone in the county knows about your investment promotion efforts; we should give you a grand welcome, a ceremony."
"No need!"
Qin Mu immediately rejected the idea. "Just focus on your meeting and listen to the Party Secretary's instructions. Don't worry about anything else."
"Alright, I'll go now."
Having received Qin Mu's request, the young man didn't insist and quickly left.
Qin Mu couldn't help but laugh as he watched the young man's retreating figure.
This kid has some nerve, daring to tell Party Secretary Liang he's back. Wouldn't that only incur Party Secretary Liang's displeasure?
He's got a death wish!
Qin Mu didn't want this kind of petty comrade dragged into his conflict with Liang Guan.
"County Head, the Party Secretary is being incredibly petty."
Han Ying couldn't help but express her dissatisfaction in a low voice. "Knowing we were coming back today, he specifically arranged a large meeting for everyone. It's obvious he doesn't want us to stand out. This move is truly underhanded!"
"Secretary Liang's magnanimity is indeed quite poor."
Xu Lu nodded in agreement, adding that she didn't quite understand either. How could a county party secretary, who was also the vice mayor, be so narrow-minded?
Couldn't he stand to see his colleagues in the leadership team get a little recognition?
County Head Qin clearly put in so much effort in the provincial capital to successfully attract investment, but upon returning to the county, instead of a welcoming ceremony, he didn't even receive a warm welcome. It's truly unreasonable.
After all, with the investment success, Liang Guan, as the county party secretary, should have benefited as well. Why is he being so stingy?
"Let's not talk about that."
Qin Mu waved his hand slightly and said, "Everyone, go back to your offices, pack your things, and then get some rest."
If you have complaints, just say a few words. Too much talk is bad; nothing stays secret forever. It might reach Liang Guan's ears.
As the leader of the team, Qin Mu's job was to promptly stop unnecessary complaints and lead the team to do their jobs well.
The group went upstairs and returned to their offices.
As soon as Qin Mu entered, he saw a mountain of materials, a thick stack. He flipped through it a few times; they were all documents from the county government that he needed to process in the next few days.
After being out attracting investment for three or four days, no one had handled this work?
Qin Mu could only sit down and approve and sign off on the important matters one by one.
"Tap tap tap..."
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps sounded outside, and then County Party Secretary Liang Guan led a group of county committee members in.
"Our hero is back!"
Liang Guan burst through the door, laughing loudly, "Everyone, give a warm welcome to County Chief Qin for returning from the provincial capital with his investment promotion mission! He's successfully completed his task! Applause!"
"Clap clap clap!"
A round of enthusiastic applause followed.
"Thank you, thank you all for the applause."
Qin Mu smiled and thanked them. "Our success in attracting investment in the provincial capital was also thanks to the excellent logistical support you all provided, allowing us to focus wholeheartedly on our work. This is what we call working together with one heart and one mind—it's sure to get things done!"
This…
Qin Mu's words left everyone somewhat silent.
After all, they hadn't done much logistical work back home. In fact, following Liang Guan's instructions, the county government's work had been temporarily postponed until County Chief Qin's return.
This wasn't the kind of behavior a good team of comrades would do.
"County Chief Qin is right!"
Liang Guan himself seemed completely unfazed, a broad smile on his face, as if he hadn't noticed Qin Mu's sarcasm at all. He immediately said, "Alright... Comrade Qin Mu, why don't you invite the members of the investment delegation? Let's have a feast together today to celebrate the success of the investment promotion. Have all the members of the County Party Committee Standing Committee attend!"
Oh?
Making such a big fuss?
A feast too!
Qin Mu wasn't stupid. At this time, the county government would be footing the bill, and the pretext was to welcome Qin Mu and his delegation.
What if the fuss got too big, the expenses too high? Who would be responsible then?
Definitely Qin Mu!
He had just told Vice Director Jiang that Huaining County's finances were very difficult, and now he was throwing such a big banquet?
What would Vice Director Jiang think of him if he found out?
And if the city leaders found out, wouldn't they have even more reason to reprimand him?
Qin Mu hadn't forgotten that he was being watched by Mayor Qiu, and it was especially important to keep a low profile at times like these.
"Secretary Liang, let's skip the dinner!"
Qin Mu said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, a verbal commendation from Secretary Liang is sufficient, or you could write a letter of praise in person, commending the success of the Huaining County investment delegation. Let's skip the dinner and save the money for our county's economic development."
Hearing this, a flash of displeasure crossed Liang Guan's eyes.
This kid… he's not falling for it at all!
He even wants me to write a personal letter!
What kind of nonsense is this?
"County Chief Qin, you don't need to be so frugal. With the results of your investment promotion efforts, our county's financial situation will definitely improve significantly."
Cheng Gang, the director of the County Party Committee Office, smiled and said, "The comrades have worked so hard; wouldn't it be more motivating for them to continue their efforts if we spent a little money to celebrate?"
Frugal?
Qin Mu's eyes turned cold as he retorted, "Director Cheng, you're wrong. As public servants, what's wrong with being frugal? So many people in the county are still struggling to make ends meet. It's just one less meal together, what's the big deal?"
"Ask the other comrades if what I'm saying makes sense."
Qin Mu's sudden attack stunned Cheng Gang.
He thought it was just a casual chat, but who knew that this County Head Qin, who was laughing and joking one second, would suddenly launch an attack!
Now, Cheng Gang had become the target of everyone's criticism!
"Secretary Liang, what do you say?"
Qin Mu didn't wait, immediately turning his gaze to Liang Guan and asking, "Do you also support Director Cheng's idea of throwing lavish banquets and spending public funds on food and drink just because of some achievements?"
"If Secretary Liang thinks it's right, then I have no objection!"
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down!
Qin Mu could tell that Cheng Gang had followed closely behind Liang Guan as he walked in, beaming and looking quite pleased with himself.
Clearly, during Qin Mu's absence, Cheng Gang seemed to have become Liang Guan's top henchman.
This time, while the other members of the county party committee remained silent, it was Cheng Gang, the director of the county party committee office, who was eager to express his opinion, so Qin Mu had no choice but to speak up.