Chapter 139: The Work Focus of Huai'an City

  Huai'an City's vegetable greenhouses are famous throughout the province, and many merchants in Xishan Province know about Huai'an City's vegetable greenhouses. This has driven part of the transportation industry. The cycle of vegetable greenhouses is very short, so it's common to see many small trucks shuttling back and forth in the countryside of Huai'an City, all doing vegetable business.

  The provincial party committee and government leaders in charge arrived in Huaiyang City, specifically to inspect the development of large-scale vegetable greenhouses in Huaian City. The development of large-scale vegetable greenhouses is a real thing that Huaian City is doing. The leaders who came to inspect were very happy, especially with the changes in Huaguang Village, which are very obvious. Many new brick-concrete houses have been built in the village, and the farmers' faces are full of joy. Many young laborers who went out to work have returned, and each household has at least one able-bodied person dedicated to planting and managing large-scale vegetable greenhouses. Yudu Cement Factory seized the opportunity and expanded its scale in a short period, with very good annual benefits. Yudu has become one of the richest towns in Huaian City.

  Xu Shaojie followed Ding Yuan to Huaguan Village several times, and he didn't expect that Huaguan Village would undergo such great changes. The peasants haven't forgotten him, and whoever sees him greets him with a smile. If Xu Shaojie weren't following Secretary Ding Yuan, he would probably have been invited into a peasant's home for dinner long ago.

  Zhang Shi-kui and Huang Hai-tao are in high spirits, and their days of having money to spend are certainly better than before. The rest of the team members also have a strong fighting spirit. Now, thinking about working in Yudu is not as simple as it used to be. Salaries are paid on time, and there are some benefits. Although they can't compare with municipal units, they are already quite good among townships.

  Xu Shaojie's main thoughts have undergone a significant change. Previously, when working in Yudu, Xu Shaojie was always thinking about development issues. Now, Xu Shaojie is preoccupied with all sorts of messy things, which interfere with his thinking. As a result, when going to the county and city for inspections, Xu Shaojie rarely pays attention to specific thoughts below.

  Xu Shaojie did not expect that Huai'an City, due to the development of greenhouse vegetables, has become a typical case of industrial structure adjustment in the whole province. Many cities and counties have come to Huai'an City for inspection. Relatively speaking, the counties under Huaiyang City are much calmer and there is no big action, as if Huai'an City should appear alone.

  Xu Shaojie temporarily shifted his attention to Yuhong County, as Yuhong County is the second county that needs to adjust its industrial structure. The implementation of this adjustment is what Secretary Ding Yuan is most concerned about. What Secretary Ding Yuan cares about is also what Xu Shaojie needs to care about with all his might.

  "Director Xu, hello! Is Secretary Ding in his office?"

  "Secretary Zhao, hello, Secretary Ding is listening to the financial bureau's work report. Is there something you need me to tell Secretary Ding?"

  "Hehe, Director Xu, then I'll trouble you to report to Secretary Ding. I'm preparing to report my work to Secretary Ding, but I don't know when he will be available."

  "Secretary Zhao, wait a minute, I'll call you back in a moment."

  Xu Shaojie entered Secretary Ding Yuan's office and whispered in his ear, "Secretary Zhao Delei of Huai'an Municipal Party Committee wants to report on his work." Ding Yuan glanced at his watch and told Zhao Delei to come to the office an hour later. Ding Yuan's schedule was extremely tight, occupied by meetings and reports that took up too much time, which was unavoidable.

  "Secretary Zhao, you will go to Secretary Ding's office in an hour."

  "Haha, Director Xu, thank you, after all, it's our Huai'an city officials who went out."

  Xu Shaojie smiled and waited for Zhao Dekun to hang up the phone. Generally, when the county party secretary is required to report work to Secretary Ding Yuan, Xu Shaojie directly reports to Secretary Ding Yuan. Although Secretary Ding's schedule was arranged, no matter what he was doing, according to convention, Secretary Ding would also listen to the county party secretary's report and wouldn't delay any time.

  Zhao Deling arrived at Xu Shaojie's office 10 minutes early, carrying a black plastic bag. Without needing to be told, Xu Shaojie knew that it contained cigarettes. Whenever county leaders came to report to Secretary Ding Yuan, they always brought cigarettes with them. Xu Shaojie was used to this, as it was a custom in Huaiyang City. He had so many cigarettes that he couldn't finish them all, and often Zhang Shaocai would come to his home to take some away, usually taking several packs at a time.

  "Director Xue, you've been following Secretary Ding and rarely have time to visit Huaian City. When you're free, I'll treat you to a drink and ask you to go back home and take care of your family more often."

  "Secretary Zhao, you're joking. You're the leader and I'm here to serve you. When I have time, I'll go to Huaian City to learn from them. It's just a few steps away anyway."

  "Haha, Director Xu, you're saying this, but I don't dare to accept it. You are the advisor to Secretary Ding, please take care of Huaian City more, and the vegetable greenhouse has your heart and soul."

  Xu Shaojie and Zhao Deling were chatting when they saw the leader of the Finance Bureau come out. Xu Shaojie stood up to see off the leader of the Finance Bureau, taking Zhao Deling into Ding Yuan's office, making tea for Zhao Deling, clearing away the teacups on the table. Just as Xu Shaojie was about to leave the office, Zhao Deling was talking with Ding Yuan.

  "Shao Jie, if there's anyone else who wants to come and report on their work, tell them not to come today and schedule another time."

  Xu Shaojie nodded and left. Generally speaking, when the county or municipal party secretary or mayor reports to Secretary Ding Yuan, it's a relatively important matter that takes a bit more time. At this moment, Xu Shaojie was like a gate god, blocking all visitors, except for one situation - if the leaders of the municipal party committee and government came, Xu Shaojie would still need to go in and report.

  Xu Shaojie was organizing materials when the phone on the desk rang. Xu Shaojie thought it was a call from Secretary Ding Yuan, so he quickly put down the materials in his hand and answered the phone.

  "Is this Director Xu? Hello, I'm Xu Yunfei."

  "Mayor Xu, hello, I am Xu Shaojie."

  "Haha, it's been a long time since I've seen you. When are you coming to Huaian City? Let's get together and have a good time."

  Xu Shaojie responded with some surprise, what's going on today, the top leaders of Huai'an Municipal Party and Government all called themselves, Zhao Deling came to report work, and Xu Yunfei also made a phone call.

  "Director Xue, is Secretary Zhao reporting work to Secretary Ding?"

  "Is that so? Secretary Zhao has just gone in, does Mayor Xu have any words he'd like me to pass on?"

  "Hehe, never mind. I was originally thinking of discussing two numbers with Secretary Zhao, but it turns out that Secretary Zhao has already reported to Secretary Ding. Since that's the case, I think I'll take some time to report to Secretary Ding as well. There are some situations where I haven't yet reached a consensus with Secretary Zhao. Director Xu, can you help arrange this?"

  Xu Shaojie found it strange that the municipal party secretary and mayor had not unified their opinions, so Zhao Deling came to report to Ding Yuan, the secretary. What does this mean? Is it because the two men's opinions are inconsistent? Of course, when such a situation arises, it's not a big deal. Many times, the secretary and county or city mayor have different opinions, but before reporting to their superiors, they should unify their tone; otherwise, what will their superiors think?

  "Mayor Xu, maybe there's no time today, but it's hard to say. After Secretary Zhao finishes his report, I'll ask Secretary Ding, you'd better turn on your phone."

  "No problem, Director Xu, we'll wait for your call."

  After hanging up the phone, Xu Shaojie couldn't sit still. It seemed that there must be some problem between Zhao Deling and Xu Yunfei. Of course, this kind of problem must be related to work. At present, Huai'an City is in a good momentum, has become a model for Huaiyang City and Xishan Province. With such a good situation, the municipal party secretary and mayor should have highly unified opinions, which is normal.

  Xu Shaojie listlessly arranged the materials, occasionally glancing at the time. An hour and a half had passed when Zhao Deling finally left Director Ding Yuan's office. Xu Shaojie hastily stood up and escorted Zhao Deling downstairs. He had a rather special feeling towards the leaders of Huai'an City.

  Xu Shaojie re-entered Secretary Ding Yuan's office and saw that Ding Yuan was deep in thought.

  "Director Ding, Mayor Xu Yunfei called and said he had some work to report to you. He said he has some opinions but hasn't exchanged them with Secretary Zhao yet. I didn't say anything since it's getting late, now it's already past 5 o'clock. What do you think we should arrange?"

  "Don't worry, you call Xu Yunfei right away, I'll wait for him."

  Xu Shaojie quickly took out his mobile phone and dialed Xu Yunfei's number, telling him to come to Director Ding's office immediately. Director Ding was waiting for a report. On the other end of the line, Xu Yunfei hastily agreed, saying he would arrive at the municipal party committee within 5 minutes to make the report.

  Xu Yunfei also brought cigarettes, Xu Shaojie didn't say anything and took Xu Yunfei directly into Ding Yuan's office. When they came out, Xu Shaojie looked bitter. Today's work hours are probably over at 6 o'clock, maybe even 7 o'clock. It doesn't matter if it's late, the key is that my stomach wants to protest.

  6:40, Xu Yunfei came out. The leaders of Huai'an City came to report on their work. Secretary Ding Yuan did not receive them in principle. After Xu Shaojie sent Xu Yunfei downstairs, he returned to Secretary Ding Yuan's office.

  "Shao Jie, sit down, I'll ask you something."

  Xu Shaojie knew that Secretary Ding Yuan would definitely mention the issue of Huaian City.

  "What about the situation in Huai'an City, are you still not familiar with it? Now, the vegetable greenhouses in the city have developed and farmers have benefited from them. In this case, should we continue to consolidate the achievements of the vegetable greenhouses or find new economic growth points on the basis of maintaining their stability?"

  Xu Shaojie thought for a moment and said honestly, it's been a long time since he considered such a problem.

  "Secretary Ding, I think we should do two things at the same time. On the one hand, consolidate the achievements of the vegetable greenhouse, and on the other hand, find new economic growth points. Of course, for now, the focus is still on consolidating the achievements of the vegetable greenhouse."

  Ding Yuan shook his head, dissatisfied with Xu Shaojie's answer.

  "Shao Jie, you're not very familiar with the situation in counties and cities. You haven't worked in a county or city before, which is understandable. As the old saying goes, 'you can't have both fish and bear's paw.' Counties and cities have their own work priorities, and once these are established, all forces must be concentrated on completing one task. If you're distracted by too many things, you won't be able to take care of everything, and your work will be in a passive state. So, the question I'm asking is straightforward: should Huai'an City focus mainly on vegetable greenhouses or look for other new economic growth points?"

  Xu Shaojie's face turned a bit red, this was Ding Yuan teaching him that county and city work cannot be taken for granted, it can't be said that everything is fully equipped, each profession has its own specialty, the focus of county and city work is also the same, if there are too many focuses, then none of them are the focus, especially in terms of economic development.

  "Secretary Ding, I haven't thought it through yet. My understanding of the specific situation in Huai'an City is only based on materials, and previously I also worked at the district and township levels, not in the city, so I don't know what to say."

  Ding Yuan stared at Xu Shaojie for a while, making Xu Shaojie feel uneasy.

  "Shao Jie, this won't do. As my secretary, you're familiar with the daily work, and I believe it won't take much time to handle. So, for most of the time, you must grasp it well and become familiar with the work below, especially the county and city work. You need to enhance your vision and insight, and look at problems from a certain height. In the future, you can't always work by my side. I don't want you to leave me knowing only the rules of officialdom. Your focus should still be on enhancing your abilities."

  Xu Shaojie felt embarrassed and lowered his head, these days, things have become more complicated, indeed only considering how to familiarize himself with the implicit rules of officialdom and how to protect himself, neglecting aspects related to specific work.

  "Shao Jie, I'm not blaming you. These days, there have been a lot of things going on and many annoying problems, but we've all been through this. As the one in charge, you'll encounter even more issues and must adapt. Your abilities are outstanding, far surpassing those of your peers. So, I hope you can quickly get into your role and no matter what work you're assigned to in the future, you'll be able to adapt well and grasp it firmly."

  "Understood, Secretary Ding. I'll be more careful from now on."

  "Alright, I won't say anymore, let's go eat, my stomach is protesting."

  Xu Shaojie found it strange that Secretary Ding Yuan's words, which were originally meant to encourage him to grow up quickly, seemed to be in a hurry. Growing up takes time, so why was Secretary Ding in such a rush? Had something happened?