"Do you know the specifics of what happened?"
Qin Mu looked at Jiang Haoxuan and asked, "How could someone in Dafeng have run into provincial leaders during working hours, and some officials were even causing trouble while drunk?"
Having received the news so hastily, Qin Mu was completely unaware of what had actually happened. He could only ask Jiang Haoxuan, whose sources were undoubtedly more comprehensive.
"County Chief, I've asked quite a few people. It seems some township leaders had lunch together, drank some alcohol, and were probably drunk. They started chatting and getting physical with some township government clerks, and then the provincial leaders caught them, leading to the conflict!"
Jiang Haoxuan explained briefly, "It seems the provincial leaders were on an unannounced inspection tour. Anyway, things are quite chaotic; everyone's saying different things."
Hearing this, Qin Mu and Xu Lu were all quite bewildered.
They simply couldn't understand how this had happened.
Leading officials drinking and having lunch during working hours!
Drunk and causing trouble!
Causing trouble was bad enough, but to make matters worse, they ran into provincial leaders!
So many coincidences piled up together—it's simply outrageous.
"County Head, could this provincial leader be Vice Director Jiang?"
Xu Lu pondered for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, does that mean our hopes of getting poverty alleviation funds from the provincial department are dashed?"
Qin Mu had actually considered this as well. After all, provincial leaders rarely made surprise visits to Huaining; even if they did, they were always notified in advance.
"Deputy Director Jiang definitely wanted to catch us off guard."
Qin Mu sighed. "I anticipated this, so yesterday I completed the work inspection of all the township governments in the shortest possible time, hoping to give them a wake-up call. But I didn't expect that these few bad apples would still ruin the overall work!"
"It's just fate, it's still because our work wasn't done well enough, disappointing the provincial leaders. We need to work harder!"
Hearing Qin Mu's words, Xu Lu and Qi Zhenghao were both full of admiration. County Chief Qin had thought of everything and made preparations in advance, but the result was still unsatisfactory.
What was most commendable was that County Chief Qin didn't lose control of his emotions at this time, nor did he blame anyone. On the contrary, he kept reminding and implying them to continue to work hard. His emotional stability was almost frightening.
If it were any other leader, they would at least be cursing and swearing!
Such a leader is rare indeed. He truly deserves to be called a leader of great ambition and ideals. Working under such a leader would definitely lead to a bright future.
"County Chief Qin, I believe that as long as we work hard, the provincial poverty alleviation funds will come sooner or later. If not, we can work harder on investment promotion and still have enough funds for poverty alleviation," Xu Lu comforted him.
"Yes, we still have to rely on ourselves. We can't expect much help from the provincial department," Qin Mu replied.
Qin Mu responded.
Qi Zhenghao, who had overheard the entire conversation between Qin Mu and Xu Lu, was even more impressed with Qin Mu.
Emotionally stable and clear-headed!
This kind of person is the material for great things!
Qi Zhenghao had only ever seen such composure in high-ranking leaders in their forties and fifties, but Qin Mu, not even thirty years old, possessed this kind of temperament—it was truly rare.
Half an hour later, the car stopped in the courtyard of the Dafeng Town government.
Liang Guan and Qin Mu entered the government building one after the other.
"Secretary Liang, County Head Qin, you've finally arrived!"
As soon as they entered, Qiao Yijun, the Party Secretary of Dafeng Town, hurried over, looking worried. "The provincial leaders are all in the conference room. I'll take you there right away!"
"Comrade Yijun, don't rush. Tell us the specifics of the situation!"
Qin Mu called out, asking directly.
They didn't know anything about the situation. Going in like this without any preparation was unwise.
"Oh right, I almost forgot."
Qiao Yijun slapped his forehead, only then remembering that he was nearing retirement age, and in his anxiety, his mind was inevitably a little foggy.
"Here's what happened. Today, Cao Yan brought Qian Gang from Wanghe Town and Cheng Mingyuan from Yangshan Town to our office. The three of them are close friends and were clearly drunk. There were three female college students assigned to participate in social practice in the first-floor office lobby. This was arranged by the municipal government. The three of them were probably drunk, and emboldened by the alcohol, they were joking and telling jokes to the three female students. Just then, provincial leaders came by for a visit and saw this. They couldn't stand it and reprimanded them. Cao Yan and the other two didn't recognize the provincial leaders, and in the ensuing heated argument… they almost came to blows…"
Qiao Yijun recounted the whole story, leaving Qin Mu and Liang Guan quite shocked and speechless. Liang Guan, in particular, felt a pang of fear.
You see, Qian Gang and the other two were people he had just protected at the Standing Committee meeting. He had protected them in the morning, and in the afternoon, they had clashed with provincial leaders.
Whose responsibility was this?
Liang Guan at least bore some responsibility.
Now he understood why Qin Mu had emphasized taking minutes of the morning's Standing Committee meeting—it was all a trap!
How infuriating!
"These three black sheep..."
Qin Mu couldn't help but curse, saying, "Secretary Liang, let's go upstairs now. The provincial leaders are all here; we can only go and get a scolding first, and see how to handle it!"
"Okay, let's go up and see!"
Liang Guan responded. In this situation, he had no other choice but to bite the bullet and go see.
The group quickly went upstairs and entered the conference room, where they saw Qian Gang and the other two standing nervously to the side, their faces filled with tension, and reeking of alcohol. It was clear they had drunk quite a bit.
Sitting in a chair to the side was Jiang Songshan, the Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department whom Qin Mu had met in the provincial capital!
His secretary, Song Jian, was also there, along with several other staff members.
"Vice Director Jiang!"
Liang Guan stepped forward first, greeting him. By rank, Liang Guan was also a vice-director, on par with Jiang Songshan. However, within the Jiangzhou municipal government, his ranking was relatively low, falling short of Jiang Songshan's position as vice-director of a provincial department like the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Furthermore, Jiang Songshan wielded considerable influence and held a higher position within the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, naturally placing Liang Guan at a disadvantage.
"Vice Mayor Liang, we meet again."
Jiang Songshan glanced at Liang Guan and said calmly, "It seems your work in Huaining County is quite impressive. These three cadres, even drunk, still remember your name!"
"They keep saying this is Secretary Liang's Huaining County, that they are Secretary Liang's most loyal subordinates, and that they are pledging allegiance to you. They even say that even the Emperor himself wouldn't be as powerful as Secretary Liang's words!"