48: Chapter 48 A Hot Potato

Secretary Man Chaojian paused for a moment and continued, "As for Comrade Huaijing himself, I know him very well; he has been tested and possesses strong principles."

"We don't want to see acquaintances pulling strings or even back-door dealings during the construction of the Chaojiang Bridge, right?"

"Furthermore, several vice mayors in charge will serve as deputy team leaders, and various functional departments will be member units. The structure is complete, leaving no one out. There shouldn't be any issues."

Zhang Huaijing sighed slightly, his expression revealing that he still did not want to accept this hot potato.

Indeed, once he became the executive deputy team leader, the various coordination efforts required—especially balancing the interests of all parties—would be a major headache.

Secretary Man Chaojian turned his head and asked the mayor, "Mayor, what do you think?"

"I agree. Comrade Huaijing will certainly live up to expectations!" Niu Panlong's voice was clear and resonant.

The mayor really wanted Zhang Huaijing to be the executive deputy team leader. He did not trust leaders like Executive Vice Mayor Zuo Youfa or Xiang Zhicheng, and he did not want the project to end up as shoddy construction, which would be bad for him and for Haizhou.

Niu Panlong had lofty political ambitions, did not like to chase money, and maintained relative financial integrity.

Secretary She Xionghan was so angry he nearly ground his teeth to dust, while the more calculating Executive Vice Mayor Zuo Youfa looked gloomy and said nothing.

Secretary Man Chaojian smiled with satisfaction and tapped the table lightly, saying, "I see everyone has no objections, so this motion is passed. I ask the Municipal Party Committee Office to draft the organizational structure and regulations of the leading group as soon as possible and issue a joint document with the municipal government!"

After the meeting, Secretary Man Chaojian called Zhang Huaijing into his office and said sincerely, "Huaijing, I want to thank you. Today, it was all thanks to you that we turned the situation around; otherwise, without Minister Wan Jinlong's vote, we would have been in a passive position. However, why didn't you tell me in advance? You had me on edge."

"Secretary, didn't you also not tell me in advance about the executive deputy team leader position?" Zhang Huaijing countered with a chuckle.

Zhang Huaijing was indeed not someone easily manipulated. Secretary Man Chaojian felt a bit annoyed inside, but he still kept a smile on his face and said earnestly, "Huaijing, that was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I didn't have time to discuss it with you."

"However, I made a comprehensive consideration in having you serve as the executive deputy team leader, and there is also political significance to it. Have you noticed? The mayor supported it vigorously. Why? Because like me, he does not trust those vice mayors."

"This project, it should be said, is the largest, most important, and most eye-catching major project in Haizhou in recent years. Who knows how many people want to make a profit from it, so we must hold the line. In this regard, you are the only one for the job."

"The problem is, I am a deputy Secretary on the Party Committee side; going to handle engineering is really not suitable, it doesn't fit."

"There's no problem with the responsibilities. Below you are the vice mayors in charge, and above you, isn't there me? You are in the buffer zone, and the final decision-making power still rests with the leading group meeting. You just need to leverage your strengths and do a good job of overall coordination."

"Fine. I am a Party cadre, I obey the organization and I obey the leadership, so I will take this hot potato." Zhang Huaijing couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense with him anymore.

He couldn't just quit the first time he was put in charge; that would make him seem too slick, and that was not Zhang Huaijing's character.

"Huaijing, this is not a hot potato; it is a good opportunity. You will understand later." Secretary Man Chaojian's eyes flickered with an indescribable mystery.

This matter was considered past.

Secretary Man Chaojian turned the topic to another matter: "There is a situation I will reveal to you in advance. This Thursday, the provincial committee investigation team regarding the re-election will arrive. You are in charge of the organization sector, so you must cooperate with the Municipal People's Congress to serve them well and coordinate properly."

Zhang Huaijing asked tentatively, "What does the province mean by this?"

"It is more serious than last time, and also of a higher standard. A deputy director of the Provincial People's Congress and a deputy minister of the Provincial Organization Department will lead the team. It will likely be led by the Organization Department, mainly investigating issues such as cadre appointment procedures."

Zhang Huaijing asked, "Who is coming from the Organization Department?"

"It should be Deputy Minister Xue Zhongkai," Secretary Man Chaojian said. "At this critical juncture, I hope to get through it smoothly. Don't let any more strange things happen; we cannot affect the current stable and harmonious overall situation in Haizhou."

Sure enough, Secretary Man Chaojian and Niu Panlong had formed a tacit understanding at the meeting without discussing it.

He was afraid that if problems were really found, he, as the team leader, would also be responsible or even implicated.

The next afternoon, Secretary Man Chaojian presided over the first plenary meeting of the Chaojiang Bridge Construction Leading Group.

At the meeting, the official red-headed document establishing the leading group was issued.

The Secretary, the Mayor, Zhang Huaijing, the Executive Vice Mayor, the Standing Committee Vice Mayor, the Vice Mayors in charge, and the heads of various functional bureaus including the two general offices, the Organization Department, the Propaganda Department, and the Discipline Inspection Commission were all present.

Since the main leaders of several departments such as the Organization Department, the Propaganda Department, and the Discipline Inspection Commission are Standing Committee members, such meetings are generally attended by their executive deputies. The meeting notices would list them separately, referring to them as "department heads," while others like the Transportation Bureau and the Construction Bureau are "main heads."

Today's meeting was mainly to clarify the division of responsibilities and accelerate the promotion of project construction.

The Secretary said with a serious expression, "Comrades, the 'four-to-six lane' conversion of the cross-river bridge is a livelihood project and a strategic project related to urban development. The Standing Committee has studied and approved it. Today, a special leading group is officially established—the Mayor and I will serve as dual team leaders, Comrade Huaijing will serve as the executive deputy team leader, three vice mayors will serve as deputy team leaders, and various relevant functional departments will be member units. This is the highest-level promotion structure in the city, intended to mobilize the whole city's strength to do big things!"

He looked like a ball, and the constant smile on his face had formed muscle memory. Although he tried hard to be serious, he still looked very comical, which undermined the seriousness of his speech.

Someone whispered below, as this was the first time in Haizhou that the Secretary and Mayor served as dual team leaders, and the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee served as the executive deputy team leader—an unprecedented configuration.

"Comrade Huaijing has clear thinking and strong coordination skills. The duty of the executive deputy team leader is to help the Mayor and me grasp the overall planning and solve difficult problems. Each deputy team leader must perform their own duties, and member units must absolutely obey the scheduling. The core goal is one: complete all preliminary work such as design changes, budget adjustments, and project approval within 3 months. There cannot be any delay!"

Accompanied by the humming of the central air conditioning, Secretary Man Chaojian's non-standard Mandarin continued to drift through the venue.

"Subsequent work will be led by the Mayor for specific deployment, and Comrade Huaijing will assist in overall coordination. When encountering cross-departmental or cross-level problems, Comrade Huaijing will take the lead in coordination first; if it cannot be coordinated, the Mayor and I will step in."

"Here, I want to emphasize again: this is not to negate the original plan, but to optimize and upgrade on the basis of four lanes to adapt to the city's long-term traffic flow, improve the level of regional interconnection, and avoid the waste of repeated construction. It is a major project to fill gaps and benefit the long term."

"Everyone must establish the idea of 'a game of chess,' work together with one heart, cooperate closely, and go all out to build the Chaojiang Bridge well, creating a quality project that can stand the test of history and the people!"

Secretary Man Chaojian, as the host, gave the concluding remarks to prevent others from causing any trouble when they spoke.

And the mayor's subsequent speech was indeed full of barbed remarks.