229: Chapter 229 Lin Juncai, who won by doing nothing

Secretary Lin Juncai sat in his office, a thick stack of red-headed documents that had just come down from the provincial government spread out before him, each page stamped with a bright red seal.

He read them three times, and each time, he felt as if he were dreaming.

The Provincial Department of Finance, the Provincial Department of Industry, the Provincial Department of Commerce, and the Provincial Department of Agriculture had jointly issued a directive, allocating four major projects to Lüjiang City.

The special funds alone totaled nearly 200 million, not to mention the quotas for key provincial investment attraction projects, approval for the expansion of the provincial economic development zone, designation as a provincial modern agricultural industrial park, and a pile of supporting policies and honorary titles he hadn't even had time to examine closely.

Having served as a city leader for so many years, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen the province allocate funds and projects before.

But he had never even heard of such a concentrated, dense, and unreserved piling of resources onto a single municipality.

He leaned back in his chair and flipped through the documents again to ensure he hadn't missed anything.

The Agriculture Department's project was the deep processing of agricultural products that Xu Weidong had lobbied for last time.

The Industry Department's project was the automotive parts project that Xu Weidong had lobbied for.

The Commerce Department's investment projects were the ones for which Xu Weidong had already signed letters of intent.

The Finance Department's funds were specifically allocated to support these projects.

Four departments, four projects, 200 million in funds—all pointing directly at Changyuan County, all pointing directly at Xu Weidong.

He recalled what Secretary Wan Xiaohan had said to him before leaving: "The province might continuously channel policies and funds to Lüjiang City. All you need to do is receive them and use them well, especially ensuring nothing goes wrong."

Secretary Lin Juncai hadn't expected those words to come true so quickly. It felt damn good!

He picked up the desk phone and dialed Deputy Secretary You Chuan's number.

The phone was answered after one ring, and Deputy Secretary You Chuan's tone carried a rare lightness; clearly, he was also in a good mood after just reading the documents.

"Deputy Secretary You Chuan, have you seen the documents from the province?"

"I have. Secretary Lin Juncai, I was just about to call you. The scale of this is unprecedented."

"Four departments have jointly issued a directive, with nearly 200 million in special funds, plus so many supporting policies."

"I've been in Lvjiang City for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen the province be this generous, throwing money down as if it were worthless."

Secretary Lin Juncai chuckled and said: "Do you know who lobbied for these projects?"

"It must be our Comrade Weidong."

Secretary Lin Juncai laughed: "Correct. He's been the Executive Deputy County Magistrate of Changyuan County for less than a year, and how many projects has he secured?"

"Agricultural product deep processing, cold chain logistics, automotive parts—which one of them is a small project?"

"Which one of them was approved by the province casually?"

"He lobbied, and they gave, and they gave so readily, so decisively, and with such unreserved effort."

"The province's attitude is already very clear: they want to support Changyuan County, and they want to support Xu Weidong."

"If Changyuan County does well, Lüjiang City does well."

"If Lüjiang City does well, you and I both do well."

"You understand this logic better than I do."

Deputy Secretary You Chuan certainly understood. With these projects crashing down, the biggest beneficiary was Xu Weidong, but if Xu Weidong ate the meat, he, as the mayor, could also drink the soup.

GDP would go up, fiscal revenue would go up, employment rates would go up, and public satisfaction would go up. These figures would all be recorded in his ledger of achievements, one by one, clearly and distinctly.

Looking at the documents on his desk, the complex emotions he felt toward Xu Weidong were suppressed, replaced by a pragmatism that bordered on naked calculation.

"Secretary Lin Juncai, tell me, how do you need us to cooperate?"

Secretary Lin Juncai's tone turned serious: "I have only one requirement: speed."

"The provincial projects must be connected with immediately, implemented immediately, and started immediately."

"The city must provide the supporting funds and send them to Changyuan County along with the provincial special funds. Do not split the payments, do not delay, and do not make the county wait for projects or money."

"In addition, I want you, in the name of the Municipal Government, to summon the heads of the relevant municipal bureaus for a meeting and make our stance clear."

"Whoever shirks responsibility, whoever obstructs, whoever drops the ball at this critical juncture, don't blame me for being impolite."

Deputy Secretary You Chuan hung up the phone, sat in his chair, and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk twice.

He picked up the internal phone and dialed the number of the Director of the Municipal Government Office.

"Old Liu, notify the heads of the Finance Bureau, the Development and Reform Commission, the Industry and Information Technology Bureau, the Commerce Bureau, the Agriculture Bureau, the Natural Resources Bureau, the Ecology and Environment Bureau, the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, and the Transportation Bureau. Tell them to come to my office for a meeting immediately."

"Yes, immediately."

In less than twenty minutes, the heads of the nine municipal bureaus appeared in the Municipal Government meeting room.

Some had just returned from field research, some were in the middle of party group meetings, and some were eating at home; regardless, upon receiving the call, they all dropped what they were doing and rushed over.

When Deputy Secretary You Chuan walked into the meeting room, everyone was waiting for him.

He scanned everyone present and sat in the main seat. There was no small talk, no pleasantries, not even a "Hello, comrades." He spoke directly: "You have all seen the documents from the province, right?"

Finance Bureau Director Zhou Limin nodded: "We have, Deputy Secretary You Chuan."

"Four departments have jointly issued a directive, with nearly 200 million in special funds, plus so many supporting policies."

"The scale of this is unprecedented."

"Unprecedented!"

Deputy Secretary You Chuan repeated these four words, leaned back in his chair, and swept his gaze across everyone's face.

"Do you know what these four words mean? It means the province's support for Lüjiang City is unprecedented, it means the province's support for Changyuan County is unprecedented, and it means the province's attention to these projects is unprecedented."

"What does 'unprecedented' mean?"

"It means it has never happened before."

"Why must it be unprecedented?"

"Because these projects relate to the long-term development of Changyuan County, the industrial upgrading of Lüjiang City, and the strategic layout of the province."

"We didn't beg for this; the province gave it to us proactively."

"Do you know what it means that the province gave it to us proactively?"

"It means the province is watching. It means whether these projects can be implemented, put into production, and achieve results directly relates to the province's attitude toward Lüjiang City."

The meeting room was very quiet. No one spoke, no one whispered to each other, and no one looked down at their phones. Everyone's gaze was focused on Deputy Secretary You Chuan.

Deputy Secretary You Chuan picked up his cup and took a sip, his tone heavier than before.

"I called you here today not to discuss with you, but to lay my cards on the table."

"These projects and these funds must be implemented to the letter. There must be no shirking, obstruction, withholding, misappropriation, or delay."

"Whoever is responsible for the link where a problem arises will bear the responsibility themselves."

"The city's supporting funds must be in place by next week and sent to Changyuan County along with the provincial special funds. Do not split the payments, and do not delay."

"For project approval, land use, environmental impact assessment, and construction permits, every step must be handled as a special case and prioritized. If it can be done in parallel, don't do it in series; if it can be compressed, don't delay; if it can be advanced, don't lag behind."

"Don't tell me you don't have enough manpower, don't tell me the process is complicated, and don't tell me about policy restrictions."

"I want results, not excuses."

"I am giving you one week to complete all the paperwork. If you can't finish it, come to my office and explain it to me yourself."

"If your explanation isn't acceptable, submit your resignation to the Municipal Party Committee!"

After the meeting adjourned, the heads of the nine municipal bureaus filed out one by one.

The corridor was quiet, and they walked hurriedly, each lost in their own thoughts.