235: Chapter 235 Isn't this pressure a bit too intense?

Inside Secretary Wei Kuan's office, the deputy county magistrates went in one after another, and came out one after another.

There were fewer and fewer people waiting in the hallway, and each person didn't stay long—about ten minutes or so—but their expressions were different when they came out.

Some looked normal, some had furrowed brows, some were expressionless, and some had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on their lips.

Standing Committee member and Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo was the last one; he was one of only two vice county magistrates who were also on the Standing Committee, and his ranking in the county was slightly behind Xu Weidong, but half a grade higher than the ordinary vice county magistrates.

He was in charge of industry, investment promotion, and industrial park construction, which overlapped with Xu Weidong's areas of responsibility, but the two of them worked quite well together.

When he received the notice from the County Party Committee office, he was already mentally prepared.

People in the city were making calls, and people in the province were making their stances known.

The wind had changed direction; for someone like him who had been struggling in the officialdom for decades, it was impossible not to smell it.

When he knocked on the door and entered, Secretary Wei Kuan was leaning back in his chair, drinking tea.

Seeing him enter, Secretary Wei Kuan put down his teacup, pointed to the chair opposite him, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Comrade Baizuo, sit."

"Would you like some tea? It was just brewed, Longjing."

Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo sat down opposite him and took the teacup Secretary Wei Kuan handed to him.

"Secretary Wei, did you want to see me?"

Secretary Wei Kuan leaned back in his chair, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment, and his tone was as casual as if they were chatting about daily life.

"Comrade Baizuo, how many years have you worked in the county?"

"Twenty-three years. I started as a staff member and walked step by step to where I am today."

"Twenty-three years, that's not easy. You are an old hand in Changyuan County; you are more familiar with the situation in the county than I am."

Secretary Wei Kuan picked up his teacup and took a sip; his tone was still casual, but the topic had already begun to turn to business.

"You've also heard about some of the recent spirit from the provincial and municipal levels. The cultivation of young cadres must be considered within the big picture; we cannot force growth, nor can we leave them to their own devices."

"When it's time to add weight to their shoulders, we add it; when it's time to take it off, we must take it off."

"Xu Weidong, you've been working with him for a while now. What do you think of him?"

Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo's fingers moved slightly; this question seemed casual, but it actually hid a trap.

If he praised Xu Weidong, Secretary Wei Kuan might think he was siding with Xu Weidong.

If he disparaged Xu Weidong, Secretary Wei Kuan might think he was unkind.

He turned it over in his mind and chose a neutral way to phrase it.

"Comrade Weidong is young and promising; he has drive in his work, has ideas, and has methods."

"He did very well while in Hukuang Township, and he has also done very well since coming to the county."

"It's just that his scope of responsibility is too wide, and sometimes he can't keep up."

Secretary Wei Kuan smiled, and that smile carried the implication of "you really are a sensible person."

"I've noticed what you said, too. Comrade Weidong's division of labor is indeed too broad."

"After Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde had his incident, all of his responsibilities in science, education, culture, and health were transferred to Comrade Weidong."

"Plus his original responsibilities in finance, development and reform, housing and urban-rural development, work safety, human resources and social security, investment promotion, project construction, as well as the Government Office, the Government Affairs Administration Bureau, the Letters and Calls Bureau, and the Legislative Affairs Office—that's over a dozen departments, big and small."

"Managing so much, even someone with three heads and six arms couldn't keep up. It's good for young people to have drive, but we can't work them to exhaustion."

"I've been thinking recently about whether we should lighten his burden a bit and let the older comrades help him share it."

Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo picked up his teacup and drank slowly.

He understood Secretary Wei Kuan's subtext; it wasn't that no one wanted a share of Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde's responsibilities in science, education, culture, and health, but that no one dared to take them.

Those were taken over by Xu Weidong from Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde, and now that they were to be divided, who would they go to?

How would they be divided?

In whose name would they be divided?

These all required a reasonable explanation.

It seemed that Secretary Wei Kuan seeing him today wasn't to discuss matters, but to notify him.

The other deputy county magistrates had already been spoken to; those who needed to pick a side had picked their side, and those who needed to declare their stance had declared it.

Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo was the last one, not because he was important, but because he was a Standing Committee member and Vice County Magistrate; his stance carried more weight than others, and it was more necessary for him to say it himself.

"Secretary Wei, what is your meaning?"

Secretary Wei Kuan picked up his teacup and drank slowly.

"My meaning is that older comrades must play their role; we cannot let young people carry everything."

"You are in charge of industry, investment promotion, and industrial park construction; these tasks overlap with Comrade Weidong's areas of responsibility."

"I'm thinking, could we carve out the investment promotion and industrial park construction sectors from Comrade Weidong's hands and hand them over to you for unified management?"

"This would both lighten Comrade Weidong's burden and make use of your expertise."

"What do you think?"

Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo was silent for a moment; investment promotion and industrial park construction were the core areas under Xu Weidong's supervision.

Carving these two sectors out of Xu Weidong's hands was equivalent to cutting off half of Xu Weidong's territory.

Secretary Wei Kuan was causing trouble for Xu Weidong, and also applying pressure to County Mayor Bai Weijun.

If Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo accepted, it would be tantamount to publicly siding with Secretary Wei Kuan and drawing a clear line between himself and County Mayor Bai Weijun and Xu Weidong.

If he didn't accept, he wouldn't be able to get past Secretary Wei Kuan today.

He looked up at Secretary Wei Kuan's calm face, and suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

This County Party Committee Secretary, who was usually all smiles, was much more ruthless when he took action than he had imagined.

"Secretary Wei, I will follow your arrangements."

Secretary Wei Kuan nodded with satisfaction; he picked up his teacup, finished the last of the tea, stood up, walked over to Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo, and patted his shoulder.

"Comrade Baizuo, you are an old comrade; you understand the big picture and look out for the overall situation, so I am very assured."

"Regarding the two areas of investment promotion and industrial park construction, don't make any noise about it for now; when the time is ripe, I will bring it up at the Standing Committee meeting."

"You just need to cooperate when the time comes."

Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo stood up, nodded, turned around, and walked out.

The sound of the door closing was very soft; Secretary Wei Kuan stood in front of the window, watching Vice County Magistrate Mi Baizuo's car drive out of the County Committee Compound and gradually disappear into the twilight of early winter, before he let out a long sigh.

He turned around and walked back to his desk, sat down, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and slowly exhaled.

Was this wave of pressure a bit too much for those two young people?

Would they be able to withstand it?