Chapter 129 - 109: Regret (Extra for 5,500 Monthly Votes)

Xu Chunliang massaged the Yifeng acupoint for about five minutes before stopping.Although Yan Huaiyi felt somewhat better than before, he had not completely stopped hiccuping.

Xu Chunliang said, "Your hiccups are not simply caused by rising stomach qi but are due to the reversal of lung and stomach qi."

He held Yan Huaiyi’s wrist with his palm, bent his thumb, and pressed down perpendicularly with the thumb’s fingertip and nail tip. This was the Taiyuan acupoint. "Tai" means great. "Yuan" means deep.

This acupoint is the primary acupoint of the lung meridian and is one of the Eight Meeting Points. It is said that the qi of the meridian gathers here, broad and deep, hence the name Taiyuan, belonging to the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian.

Massaging the Taiyuan acupoint can achieve the effects of regulating blood circulation, clearing the lungs and easing asthma, and releasing stomach heat.

As Xu Chunliang massaged the Taiyuan acupoint, Yan Huaiyi’s hiccup sounds gradually subsided and disappeared completely after five minutes.

Tang Mingmei and Jin Yonghao watched the entire process. Tang Mingmei was filled with confidence in Xu Chunliang; ever since the incident last night, she considered Xu Chunliang to be almost omnipotent, and facts have proven her right.

Jin Yonghao only got to know Xu Chunliang after he landed on the island. Although he didn’t know him well, he could tell from Xu Chunliang’s performance since arriving that there was a reason this young man was valued by Zhao Feiyang.

Yan Huaiyi seemed to awaken from a dream, cautiously taking a few breaths, fearing that his breathing might trigger hiccups again. After breathing for about half a minute, he felt a smooth recovery in his breathing without a single hiccup, and only then did he relax and quickly thanked Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang told him not to be polite, saying that a subordinate’s duty is to alleviate concerns and solve problems for the leadership.

Yan Huaiyi took a sip of tea, feeling as if he had been reborn after a disaster. With his body returning to normal, his mood improved, and he asked about today’s quality control meeting.

Jin Yonghao gave a brief account, saying that all the staff were eagerly waiting for their wages to be paid. After their promises and persuasion, everyone had returned to work, and it was already good enough that the hospital could officially operate; currently, they could not demand too much.

Jin Yonghao emphasized that the sooner the wages are supplemented, the better. Only once wages are received can morale truly stabilize.

Today, the town called them over to discuss this issue, and the town leadership’s attitude was very serious, hoping that similar incidents would not occur again.

Yan Huaiyi said, "Similar incidents won’t happen again. Dean Zhao has promised that the wages will definitely be paid within two days."

Xu Chunliang sighed inwardly, thinking that he didn’t know Zhao Feiyang had changed his mind again. Initially, Zhao Feiyang surely intended to give the money, but after hearing that the branch employees protested in Hu Shan Town, he got the idea to use the incident to pressure the Hu Shan Town side.

One has to admit that Zhao Feiyang is a smart person. Xu Chunliang spent an entire afternoon understanding the situation and knew that Zhao Feiyang was making a big strategic move, also risking a gamble.

Xu Chunliang didn’t tell them that the wages were impossible to pay. By doing so, Zhao Feiyang had set Yan Huaiyi up again, with the intention of keeping the news sealed to create an unexpected situation and provoke a stronger backlash from the branch employees.

Xu Chunliang increasingly felt that Zhao Feiyang is an adventurist and even more of an opportunist. What if the situation gets out of control? Does he not fear that the personal safety of a few could be threatened?

However, in his own position, he might do the same. Since ancient times, Huashan has been the only path. Without showing a resolve to burn the boats, one cannot intimidate opponents; workplace scheming is much like Jianghu, and in a passive situation, one has to be harsher than the other!

Based on current information held by Zhao Feiyang, it’s highly likely that the Hu Shan Town Government intends to overturn the original contract. They don’t want to give away Weishan Island Hospital’s property for nothing to Changxing.

Weishan Island Hospital is positioned facing north with its back to Shiliang Mountain, and in front is the largest and most beautiful crescent bay of Weishan Lake. The geographical conditions here are uniquely favorable. Once the announcement for developing a national-level resort is officially made, this area will undoubtedly become the hottest piece of land on Weishan Island.

Weishan County merged Huahu Town and Shiliang Town into one to form Hu Shan Town, preparing to cooperate with Dongzhou City’s construction of a national-level resort.

Although Dongzhou is a historical city with many relics, it has faced years of warfare throughout history, and after the founding of the nation, it became a heavy industrial base in Jiangbei with many coal mines. In recent years, as resources have depleted, the city faces a transition, making the development of tourism a top priority.

What Dongzhou lacks most is a resort center integrating leisure, entertainment, and tourism. Several municipal leadership teams have considered this issue, but it has never been implemented. Early plans were limited to the city area. With rapid urban development, it quickly became clear that the location was not suitable. After multiple changes, the final decision settled on Weishan Lake.

Centered on Weishan Island, a national-level tourism resort plan radiating out to five provinces and eight cities is already in shape, thanks to the coordinated efforts of Dongzhou City and Jizhou City.

Zhao Feiyang received accurate information that the proposal to launch a national tourism resort and develop holistic tourism will be announced at the latest next month. By then, investors from all sides will flock. Therefore, if the property rights of Weishan Lake Branch cannot be secured quickly, it will become increasingly difficult in the future. This matter has become an urgent priority.

Zhao Feiyang has already liaised with the relevant departments of the city and Weishan County, attempting to resolve historical issues from the top level, but matters were more complicated than he had imagined. The city stated that the contract in their hands was jointly signed with the Shiliang Town Government and suggested that he directly approach the town government to resolve the issue.

The Shiliang Town Government has now been merged into Hu Shan Town. Gu Houyi had previously contacted Hu Shan Town, but the Hu Shan Town Government pushed him towards the county under the guise of historical problems.

Gu Houyi did not manage to resolve this issue during his tenure, nor did he have the chance to explain it.

Zhao Feiyang believed that Gu Houyi selectively ignored it, essentially planting a landmine for himself.

If Gu Houyi had slightly emphasized the property rights issue of the Weishan Island Branch during the work handover, the matter might have been resolved. Such matters should be handled early rather than late, and as the official announcement of the national-grade resort approaches, Changxing becomes increasingly passive.

From the contract itself, the merged Hu Shan Town Government is responsible for assisting Changxing in processing the property transfer procedures for Weishan Island Hospital.

However, when the contract from years ago was laid before Secretary Kong Xiangsheng, his first thought was of injustice. This contract was not mutual benefit at all, but rather the delivery of benefits.

Mei Ru Xue kept her promise and handed over the information about Changxing Hospital left to her that afternoon to Kong Xiangsheng. After all, she had just arrived in Hu Shan Town, and Kong Xiangsheng had previously been the secretary of Huahu Town. At forty-six this year, he was even older than her uncle.

He had worked on Weishan Island for seven years and continued to serve as the secretary after the towns merged. From an age perspective, he had no advantage and no further room for promotion.

According to the conventional age limit for township cadres of forty-eight, Kong Xiangsheng had at most one year left in his term. Rarely does anyone actually wait until forty-eight to leave.

Mei Ru Xue’s arrival made Kong Xiangsheng’s position somewhat awkward. At twenty-three, the position of town mayor and deputy secretary made everyone believe that she was there to replace Kong Xiangsheng.

Kong Xiangsheng had been eagerly awaiting the large-scale development of Weishan Island, but his term was almost over. Cooperating with young people is not that easy. Mei Ru Xue, having become the mayor of Hu Shan Town at such a young age, proved that her background was anything but simple.

Kong Xiangsheng tried to understand more about her, but with his capacities, he wasn’t able to uncover Mei Ru Xue’s background.

In Kong Xiangsheng’s eyes, Mei Ru Xue was like a Bodhisattva Guanyin, cautious when dealing with her, not daring to offend her, yet needing to keep a considerate distance. His position as secretary was particularly challenging.

Mei Ru Xue said, "What does Secretary Kong think?"

Kong Xiangsheng replied, "About this contract, it was spearheaded by the county, signed by the Shiliang Town Government. At that time, I was in Huahu Town, and I really wasn’t clear on the specifics."

Mei Ru Xue picked up on his undertone and continued, "Now Changxing Hospital is asking us to cooperate with them to complete the property transfer of Weishan Island Hospital."

Kong Xiangsheng said, "It seems they’ve already delayed their employees’ salaries for two months, right?"

Mei Ru Xue said, "They just promised to complete the salary payments within two days."

Kong Xiangsheng habitually reached for the cigarettes on the table, his hand tapping the pack twice before recalling that Mei Ru Xue was still around, ultimately deciding not to pick it up. His current situation was somewhat awkward, akin to smoking, where he had to mind Mei Ru Xue’s feelings.

Kong Xiangsheng said, "Paying salaries is what they should be doing, isn’t it? Weishan Island Hospital, under their management, has seen no substantial change, perhaps even worse than before, causing public outrage, and now the commotion is right at the town government’s doorstep."

"Secretary Kong, that’s not entirely fair. I’ve looked at the operational situation of Weishan Island Hospital over these years. Before Changxing took over, the hospital was already in serious financial deficit, with salaries halted for three months. If it weren’t for the county contacting Changxing, it might not have lasted till now."

"If not the Liu Family, then the Li Family. If not the Li Family, then the Liu Family. Weishan Island has huge potential for development. Even if Changxing didn’t come, someone else would have stepped in." Kong Xiangsheng felt more confident as he spoke.

Mei Ru Xue had gauged Kong Xiangsheng’s stance; he was clearly against transferring the property rights to Changxing. In fact, they both understood that Weishan Island Hospital’s location was exceptionally advantageous, occupying what could be regarded as the best lakefront resources on Weishan Island.

However, Shiliang Town and Changxing had signed the property transfer agreement three years prior, stipulating that as long as the hospital operated normally for three years, assistance with the property transfer procedures would be provided. If they reneged, where would the government’s credibility stand? Moreover, at the time of signing, there was no plan from the municipal level to develop a national-level resort.

Mei Ru Xue said, "Secretary Kong, how should we respond to Changxing?"

"Shiliang Town doesn’t even exist anymore. In matters like this, what we say doesn’t count. Let them go to the county." Kong Xiangsheng thought to himself, Mei Ru Xue was ultimately still young, unaware of even the basic push-and-pull techniques in politics. Slowly cultivate it, the road within the system is long and arduous.

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