49: Chapter 49 A Show of Force

The mayor pressed the button on his desk microphone, swept his gaze across the meeting hall like a burning torch, and said in a clear voice: "As a Party member, I firmly support the decision of the Municipal Party Committee. Colleagues, I agree with this leadership structure."

"Since it is a dual-leader system, I will clarify the division of labor: the three vice mayors will respectively lead the three specific operational areas of design changes, land use guarantees, and approval coordination. The Transportation Bureau, the Natural Resources Bureau, and the Development and Reform Bureau will each perform their duties, advancing according to the one-month and one-and-a-half-month milestones, and report progress to the leading group weekly."

At this point, Mayor Niu Panlong paused, his brows furrowed, and he sighed, saying:

"The most critical issue right now is the tough nut of the additional budget. According to preliminary estimates, it will require 40 million. This is not a small sum, and the city's finances are currently tight, so we must exert efforts on two fronts: seeking special funds from higher authorities and securing bank financing. Comrade Huaijing is the executive deputy leader; he has a high standing, extensive connections, strong capabilities, and the ability to coordinate forces from all sides. I would like to trouble you to take the lead in this work, taking overall responsibility for the fundraising, accounting, and docking with the Provincial Department for the additional budget."

Zhang Huaijing had long been prepared for this.

Secretary Man Chaojian arranged for him to be the executive deputy leader precisely to counterbalance the municipal government, but how could the municipal government sit idly by and wait for death? They would inevitably trip him up and make things difficult for him, and this task of the additional budget would certainly be kicked to him.

He looked at the mayor with a smile, appearing calm and composed.

The mayor continued: "I will have the Finance Bureau prepare the basic data and financing plans in advance. Deputy Secretary Zhang, you can dispatch them at any time. If you need any department to cooperate, issue a notice directly in the name of the leading group. If anyone shirks responsibility, I will be the first to hold them accountable! The three vice mayors must fully support Comrade Huaijing. Even if your own work is busy, you must prioritize the material preparation and coordination work related to the budget."

Both the Secretary and the mayor highlighted Zhang Huaijing in their speeches, so he had to respond a few words:

"Thank you, Secretary and Mayor, for your trust, and thank you all colleagues for your support. As the executive deputy leader, taking the lead on the budget work is my duty. I will certainly go all out and live up to everyone's expectations."

After speaking, he paused and continued: "Moving forward, I will coordinate and dispatch in the name of the leading group. The Finance Bureau will be responsible for the detailed budget accounting, the Transportation Bureau will be responsible for docking with the Provincial Department to complete the budget adjustments, and the Urban Investment Company will be responsible for financing negotiations. I will mainly focus on overall coordination and closely monitor progress, organizing a special scheduling meeting every week. In terms of business, I am not as professional as the vice mayors and the 'top leaders' of the departments, so the specific work will still rely on everyone's efforts. I will set up the platform and provide support."

"If I encounter problems that cannot be coordinated, I will report them to the Secretary and the mayor in the first instance. I also ask all deputy leaders and member units to provide support and fill in the gaps. Let us work together to chew through this tough nut of the budget and clear the obstacles for the project's advancement!"

At this moment, Executive Vice Mayor Xiang Zhicheng said with a smile: "I fully agree with the mayor's division of labor. Comrade Huaijing leading the budget addition is the most appropriate arrangement. With the endorsement of the leading group, all departments will certainly cooperate fully."

"I just have a small concern: the Provincial Department's special fund quota before the end of the year is tight, and it will be quite difficult to secure 40 million now. Moreover, the budget accounting has not been finalized. In case of subsequent cost overruns, we will have to trouble Deputy Secretary Zhang to coordinate again. However, with Deputy Secretary Zhang's ability and connections, these are not problems. We will just do our own work well, not cause trouble for the leading group, and wait for the good news from Deputy Secretary Zhang."

This was completely passing the buck to Zhang Huaijing.

"The Secretary and the mayor have set the tone, and the structure is clear. We will certainly obey resolutely. Comrade Huaijing leading the budget as the executive deputy leader is justified. With you in charge, we feel more confident."

Executive Vice Mayor Zuo Youfa adjusted his glasses. His voice was a bit feminine and soft, yet it had strong penetration:

"I just want to add a reminder: budget fundraising and business advancement go hand in hand. Once our design plan is modified, if the budget doesn't keep up, the project still won't be able to move forward. But that's okay, Comrade Huaijing has strong capabilities and will definitely be able to advance in sync with us without holding us back."

"In general, we vice mayors will follow the division of labor and do the 'specific work' of design and land use solidly, while Comrade Huaijing focuses on the 'main event' of the budget. The leading group structure is clear, the division of labor is specific, and it will definitely advance efficiently. Of course, during subsequent scheduling, if it involves cross-departmental cooperation, I must ask Comrade Huaijing to put in more effort to coordinate. After all, you are the executive deputy leader, and your words carry more weight."

What could Zhang Huaijing say? He could only nod with a smile.

At this moment, Xiang Zhicheng came to make trouble again, saying: "The Secretary and the mayor have both given important instructions, the vice mayors have all made their statements, and the responsibilities have been clarified. Secretary, Mayor, next, should we ask Comrade Huaijing to assign specific work to each department?"

He reckoned that Zhang Huaijing was just a scholar with high expectations but low ability who had never engaged in engineering construction and was a layman. Let's see how you handle this move. Shirking the task or speaking nonsense would both lead to embarrassment.

Government project, who asked you to stick your oar in? Then let's give you a show of force!

Before Secretary Man Chaojian could help Zhang Huaijing out of the predicament, the mayor looked at Zhang Huaijing: "Good, then please, Comrade Huaijing, deploy the specific work."

Secretary Man Chaojian was worried that he didn't understand the business and would make a fool of himself, but he couldn't find good wording. Besides, if he served as executive deputy leader and couldn't handle the moves of the opposition, the people below would not be convinced, which would be even more detrimental to his work.

He remained silent, inwardly worried.

Zhang Huaijing didn't want to speak again, let alone make any deployments; the deployments of the Secretary and the mayor were enough. But facing the aggressive Zuo Youfa and Xiang Zhicheng, as well as the eyes of dozens of department-level cadres below, he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

In fact, he had spent so many years writing materials for leaders, especially drafts for the Provincial Party Secretary. Every word had been deliberated and pondered, and behind every number lay a large amount of referenced manuscript materials and on-site research. How could he not understand the ins and outs of those municipal engineering projects?

Zhang Huaijing spoke calmly:

"As the executive deputy leader, I will briefly deploy. We need to subdivide into several working groups and act separately."

"First is the Design Plan Adjustment Group. I ask the Transportation Bureau to take the lead, and form a joint team with the original design unit and experts from the Provincial Transportation Planning and Design Institute. Within one month, complete the six-lane optimization design, including landscape engineering, bridge load upgrades, approach bridge connection adjustments, and navigation standard adaptation. It needs to seamlessly connect with the existing road network on both banks and simultaneously issue a feasibility study report, focusing on demonstrating the consistency of the 'four-to-six lane conversion' with the 'Urban Master Plan' and 'Transportation Development Plan'."

"Second is the Budget Preparation and Audit Group. I ask the Finance Bureau to take the lead, combining with the Development and Reform Bureau and the Audit Bureau. Based on the new design plan, complete the detailed preparation of the additional budget within 20 days. The Audit Bureau will simultaneously conduct a pre-audit to prevent false reporting and fraudulent claims, ensuring the budget is compliant."

"Transportation and Finance are both under the direct management of Executive Vice Mayor Zuo. I ask for your full support, Executive Vice Mayor."

"Third, the Project Approval and Reporting Group. Fortunately, there is no need to re-initiate the project, only a project change is needed. However, time is very tight. I ask the Development and Reform Bureau to take the lead, with the Transportation Bureau and the Finance Bureau cooperating to organize the full set of approval materials within 15 days. First, submit it to the municipal government executive meeting for deliberation, and then report it to the Municipal Party Committee standing committee meeting for finalization."

"After passing the meetings, the Development and Reform Commission will take the lead, and the Transportation Bureau will send special personnel to the province to dock and apply to the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Department of Transportation for project changes. Vice Mayor Xiang Zhicheng is in charge of this area, so we will run to the province together more often then."

By the time he finished the deployment, many people were stunned. Who said Deputy Secretary Zhang was a nerd? Does not having worked in a prefecture-level city mean not understanding work processes? Isn't this very professional?

Zuo Youfa and Xiang Zhicheng both felt a burning sensation on their faces, but they had to smile and nod towards Zhang Huaijing, indicating their agreement with his requests or, rather, arrangements.