101: Chapter 101 Arrogant Posing

"Regarding the school uniform procurement," County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu said suddenly, "I suggest we choose the product of our local enterprise—Rainbow Garment. They have just passed ISO certification, so the quality is guaranteed."

Xiao Bei keenly noticed that a middle-aged man sitting in the corner straightened his back, a look of undisguised joy appearing on his face. This person must be the representative of Rainbow Garment.

"What is Rainbow Garment's quote?" Xiao Bei asked.

"580 yuan per set, including both summer and winter seasons." County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu answered quickly, clearly well-prepared.

Xiao Bei calculated quickly in his mind: 2,000 students, two sets each, that's 1.16 million. Yet the average market price for similar products is only around 180 yuan.

"The price is on the high side."

Xiao Bei said bluntly.

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu sneered: "County Magistrate Xiao, we shouldn't try to be cheap when it comes to clothes for students. Rainbow Garment uses eco-friendly fabrics and meets national standards."

"In that case, we should hold a public tender and let the market decide which offers the best quality-to-price ratio." Xiao Bei insisted.

Secretary Ma Wendong knocked on the table again: "Alright, let's leave this issue for discussion after the meeting. Now, let's vote by a show of hands. Those in favor of the Education Bureau's proposal, please raise your hand."

Except for Xiao Bei, everyone raised their hands. Secretary Ma Wendong nodded with satisfaction:

"The proposal is passed. The Finance Bureau should hurry to arrange the funds, the Education Bureau is responsible for the specific implementation, and I want to see the remaining tender plan by next Monday."

The meeting ended just like that. The whole process took less than half an hour, and the so-called "discussion" was completely just going through the motions. As Xiao Bei packed up his documents, he noticed Secretary Ma Wendong and County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu exchange a meaningful look.

Walking out of the meeting room, Director Du Jijun of the Education Bureau caught up with Xiao Bei: "County Magistrate Xiao, I will have someone deliver the list you requested to your office tomorrow."

Xiao Bei nodded: "Thank you. By the way, does Rainbow Garment have any relationship with County Magistrate Xuan?"

Director Du Jijun's expression changed. He looked left and right, then lowered his voice, sounding somewhat worried and fearful:

"This... I am not quite sure."

Xiao Bei knew Director Du Jijun was not telling the truth.

Returning to his office, Xiao Bei found Team Leader Zhang Yining organizing documents. She looked unhappy, as if she had been wronged—acting for the benefit of any potential monitors.

"County Magistrate Xiao, these are the documents that need to be signed today." Her voice had a nasal tone, as if she really had been wronged.

Xiao Bei understood and said coldly on purpose:

"Put them on the desk. By the way, help me check the corporate information of Rainbow Garment, including the legal representative, shareholder composition, and winning projects in recent years."

Team Leader Zhang Yining nodded and quietly slipped him a note while handing over the documents. After the office door closed, Xiao Bei opened the note:

"The cafeteria contractor is an affiliate of Jundun Security, and it has been verified that County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's cousin holds shares."

Xiao Bei burned the note and stood by the window in deep thought. Education funding, school uniform procurement, cafeteria contracting—every thread pointed to County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu and her network. But this was not enough to topple her; more concrete evidence was needed.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Xiao Bei received an anonymous envelope containing only one photo—the back view of him and Team Leader Zhang Yining at the teahouse. On the back, it was written in red pen: "Stop while you're ahead."

...

Putting aside whether or not County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu and her people were corrupt, just the fact that Xiao Bei had been working at the Jinhe County Government for less than a week was enough to make him dizzy from the bombardment of crazy messages in the work group. This WeChat group, named "Jinhe County Government Work Group," could pop up hundreds of messages a day, almost becoming a personal stage for County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu and others.

At six in the morning, his phone started vibrating. Xiao Bei squinted and tapped it open; it was a morning jogging photo sent by County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu, with the caption:

"The plan for the day lies in the morning. Leading cadres must lead by example and maintain a healthy physique to better serve the people!"

In the photo, she was wearing professional sportswear, standing at the gate of the County Government compound, with a deliberately posed determined expression on her face.

Immediately after, the group started flooding with messages:

"County Magistrate Xuan is truly our role model!"

"Learning from County Magistrate Xuan, I will go for a morning run tomorrow too!"

"Moving forward with one heart, daring to be the pioneer!"

"Moving forward with one heart, daring to be the pioneer! Following the lead of the leadership team!"

Xiao Bei rubbed his temples and checked the time—6:05 AM. He sighed, set his phone to silent, and turned over, wanting to sleep a little longer. But less than ten minutes later, the phone screen lit up again.

Within twenty minutes, County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu sent another photo: she was standing in front of the government building, holding a broom, sweeping a patch of ground that was already shiny clean. The caption read:

"Environmental hygiene must start with the leadership. Today, I am personally cleaning the government compound!"

It was another carnival of sycophants:

"County Magistrate Xuan is doing it herself, it's so touching!"

"With the leader taking the lead, we must work even harder!"

...

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu didn't just photograph herself; she photographed others too. Overall, looking at the work group alone, one would think that County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu spent the whole day inspecting, working, and discovering hardworking people...

Xiao Bei had completely lost his sleepiness. When he got up to wash, his phone was still vibrating constantly, so he simply muted the group. By the time he finished breakfast and was ready to leave, there were over fifty messages in the group—all various staged photos and thumbs-ups from the team members.

After the morning meeting ended, Xiao Bei had just returned to his office when Team Leader Zhang Yining knocked and entered, carrying a stack of documents.

"County Magistrate Xiao, these are the materials you requested."

Her voice was very soft, and her eyes signaled toward his phone.

Xiao Bei nodded and noticed a note pressed under the documents as he took them. After Team Leader Zhang Yining left, he opened it to look:

"The legal representative of Rainbow Garment is County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's cousin. In the past three years, they have won school uniform procurement projects in the county totaling over 20 million, with prices consistently more than 30% higher than the market price."

Xiao Bei muttered to himself about how this old woman had either a cousin or a nephew involved in everything, while putting the note away. At this moment, his phone vibrated again. In the work group, County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu had posted a photo of her inspecting work at the Education Bureau. She was leaning over to look at a document, her brows furrowed, with Director Du Jijun standing next to her, nodding and bowing in fear and trepidation. The caption read:

"There are no small matters in education; we must strictly control the gate!"

Xiao Bei sneered. This kind of "hands-on" approach was just for show. He flipped through the previous chat history and found that County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu posted over a dozen similar work photos almost every day—signing documents in the office, conducting research in the countryside, inspecting cafeteria hygiene, urging subordinates to work... Each photo was carefully composed, with perfect angles and expressions.

What was even more ridiculous was that others in the group followed suit. Some posted photos of sweeping corners of the office, some posted close-ups of organizing documents, and some even posted videos of themselves watering potted plants. Under every post, there was a group of people liking and flattering, as if the work didn't count if they didn't take a picture and send it to the group.

In the afternoon, Xiao Bei went to the Finance Bureau to understand the education funding situation. As soon as he walked in, he saw Director Zhou Dawei directing a subordinate to stage a photo—he was holding a document and standing by the window, appearing to be in deep thought, while a staff member held up a phone to find the right angle.

"Director Zhou Dawei, busy?"

Xiao Bei raised his voice on purpose.

Director Zhou Dawei was startled and hurriedly waved for the subordinate to step back:

"County Magistrate Xiao, why are you here? You could have just made a phone call."