"Secretary Fan, if you want to know, that's certainly not a problem."
Since the other party brought it up, Qin Mu couldn't back down. He said calmly, "I personally attended yesterday's official reception. Comrade Han Ying was in charge. Secretary Fan can come to the county government anytime to investigate!"
"Then I'll trouble County Head Qin to have Comrade Han Ying bring the relevant materials to my office for a detailed report. That shouldn't violate any regulations, right?"
Fan Chao smiled and said, "I'm new to the Huaining County Party Committee and don't know much about the situation here. I really can't find out who Comrade Han Ying is or which office she's in. I'll trouble you to inform her."
A show of force!
This was a declaration of war against Qin Mu!
Yesterday, the county government hosted Yaoyang Industry, signing an investment deal worth billions. A regular lunch wouldn't be a problem; they could have served delicacies without issue.
Even if it exceeded the regulations, the higher-ups would turn a blind eye and wouldn't do anything to Qin Mu.
By doing this, Fan Chao was openly telling Qin Mu: "Now that I'm here, I'm keeping an eye on you. If you dare to make a mistake, I'm ready to take action!"
"No problem. It's normal for Secretary Fan to be unfamiliar with Huaining since you're new here."
Qin Mu smiled slightly. "But now that you're here, you'd better get acquainted with things. Otherwise, if the county discipline inspection commission has to report everything to you, is this the discipline inspection commission office or the county party secretary's office?"
"Anyone who didn't know better would think that Secretary Fan came to Huaining to seize power!"
Upon hearing this, Fan Chao's face stiffened slightly.
This Qin Mu is really quick-witted!
Both openly and subtly, he's emphasizing that Fan Chao is arrogant, acting like a county party secretary when he's supposed to be a discipline inspection commission secretary.
Isn't this clearly a deliberate attempt to sow discord between him and Secretary Liang?
"County Chief Qin, you're quite the joker."
After a brief moment of surprise, Fan Chao smiled and said, "But you have a point. Since we're here, we should naturally familiarize ourselves with things. Don't worry, I'll correct this issue gradually."
"Thank you for the reminder, County Chief Qin."
"Secretary Fan, you're too kind. We're all in the same team; let's be polite. Being too arrogant, putting on airs, and acting superior is unacceptable!"
Qin Mu said calmly, "The work of the Discipline Inspection Commission is somewhat special, but that special treatment shouldn't be applied to all comrades."
His lighthearted comment left Fan Chao with no room for rebuttal.
This kid's sarcastic remarks are quite skillful.
"Comrade Fan Chao is new here, so he needs to adapt to his work as quickly as possible."
Seeing that the two had almost stopped arguing, Liang Guan immediately stepped in to smooth things over, changing the subject, saying, "New Year's Day is just a month away, followed by the Spring Festival. It's time we started preparing for the year-end activities."
"Visiting and comforting impoverished people, visiting retired cadres, and if possible, perhaps organizing a cultural event? After a year of hard work, they need to relax and have some fun!"
"County Chief Qin, you're the head of the government, what do you think?"
Hearing this, Qin Mu instinctively wanted to object, but upon reflection, these seemed to be routine activities for the county government. New Year's Day and the Spring Festival are so close together; the county government always has such tasks at the end of the year.
Visiting impoverished people and visiting retired cadres are basic tasks.
Opposing everything would seem a bit too rigid!
"I have no objection. Routine activities should be organized; it's part of the county party committee and county government's work!"
Qin Mu nodded slightly, saying nothing more. But clearly, he had underestimated Liang Guan's ulterior motives.
"That's good. With County Chief Qin's support, I can rest assured."
Liang Guan chuckled, then looked at the other comrades and asked, "Comrades, please offer your suggestions! Any good ideas are welcome!"
"It's almost the end of the year, shouldn't we hold a small party to entertain the guests and also reward those working at the grassroots level?"
"Yes, Huaining has worked hard and accomplished a lot this past year. Comrades in various places must have worked very hard; we should reward them."
"If we hold a party, many comrades on duty won't be able to come. Shouldn't we give everyone a higher year-end bonus and holiday benefits?"
...
Following Liang Guan's suggestion, Gao Qiang, Lei Ming, and others chimed in with their suggestions.
But as these words were spoken, Qin Mu felt something was amiss.
Were these suggestions normal?
This was clearly premeditated!
He had just thought he was being overly sensitive, but now it seemed it wasn't him being overly sensitive at all; the other party was genuinely plotting something.
Organizing activities, visiting and comforting the masses and leaders, and even distributing welfare to grassroots comrades!
What was the ultimate goal?
It was all about spending money!
They wanted to spend all the 35 million yuan in land sale revenue that Qin Mu had just secured.
"Comrades, what you've said is very good. Let me summarize briefly."
Liang Guan was satisfied and smiled slightly, saying, "First, we need to visit and comfort the masses and visit retired cadres; second, we need to hold a small party to reward all comrades; third, we need to distribute holiday benefits and subsidies to all comrades."
"That's basically it. County Chief Qin, you arrange it and make specific details. Any questions?"
Just these three points?
Qin Mu thought to himself: This Secretary Liang is really generous. These three points alone are no small expense.
This impoverished county, instead of thinking about how to cut expenses, keeps spending money!
But if Qin Mu refuses now, he'll be putting himself in opposition to all the grassroots officials.
No holiday gifts, no holiday subsidies, no parties—if Qin Mu does this, he'll definitely earn a new nickname tomorrow: Qin the Skinflint!
If he doesn't refuse, he'll have to go all out.
"Of course, no problem. I'll discuss it with the comrades in the county government."
Qin Mu said calmly, "Then, we'll come up with a feasible plan for Secretary Liang to review."
"Excellent!"
Liang Guan nodded in satisfaction. "With County Chief Qin in charge, I'm very relieved. The officials of Huaining County are lucky."
Lucky?
What does that mean?
Judging from Liang Guan's tone, he wants to empty the county's coffers?
What is he thinking!
Qin Mu wasn't stupid. He couldn't be too stingy, but there were limits to generosity. He couldn't possibly distribute all of Huaining's meager fiscal funds as welfare.
If he did that, Qin Mu would truly be a sucker!
All that hard work in attracting investment would ultimately become Liang Guan's tool for playing the good guy.
Right after the meeting, a bombshell announcement spread: County Party Secretary Liang Guan was strongly advocating for the County Head to provide welfare and subsidies to all cadres and to hold a gala to reward the leaders.