Official Career Storm

Chapter 1713: Chapter 1713

After Chairman Qian left, Han Lan struggled for a long time and said, "Director Song, be careful."

"Hmm?" Song Guanchao didn’t immediately understand what she meant.

Han Lan glanced towards the open meeting room door and said, "Cutting off someone’s financial path is like killing their parents. The City Government’s decision to shut down and transition businesses might be very difficult to implement. There’s a lot of resistance in this."

Although Han Lan usually wasn’t very noticeable at the City Government, she was very meticulous.

If the news hadn’t been exposed, it would have been fine. At least both sides could have sat down and negotiated properly; there would still be room for maneuver.

But now that public opinion has formed, and with Song Guanchao’s firm attitude, neither side is willing to give in, conflict is bound to erupt.

"I know." Song Guanchao stood up, "Let’s go."

"Director Yao, we’re leaving first. Make sure someone checks the park every day. If any enterprise restarts operations privately, report to me immediately."

"Alright."

Yao Linghua saw the two to their car, then turned around to go back upstairs after they drove off.

Back at City Hall, when Han Lan got out of the car, she finally couldn’t help but ask, "Director Song, there’s something I want to ask."

"Go ahead." Song Guanchao had already noticed she had something on her mind, probably holding it in the whole way.

Han Lan asked, "Why did you expose the pollution issue?"

Song Guanchao paused and looked back at her, saying seriously, "It wasn’t me who exposed it."

"It wasn’t you?" Han Lan didn’t expect such an answer.

Instinctively, she felt that Song Guanchao was lying.

But his tone, his expression, didn’t look like he was lying.

They had worked together for quite a while, and although they didn’t interact too frequently, she had a direct understanding of Song Guanchao’s style.

If he had done it, he wouldn’t deny it.

Han Lan was confused. If it wasn’t him, then who?

No leader within the system would do something that had no benefits and only drawbacks.

Not just Han Lan was puzzled, Song Guanchao had been thinking all day, still without a clue.

A little after returning to his office, he received a call from Wu Qiangwei.

He went to his office, Wu Qiangwei said, "The park contacted me, they invited me to dinner tonight, you should come with me," Wu Qiangwei said.

Song Guanchao pondered for a few seconds and said, "I won’t go."

Wu Qiangwei asked, "Why? Did you have a dispute with them?"

"Not exactly a dispute," Song Guanchao said, "They are convinced that I exposed the video online. If I go, the dinner won’t be enjoyable. Since they are willing to misunderstand, let them. If they bring it up tonight, just say you don’t know."

Wu Qiangwei asked, "Why?"

Song Guanchao said, "If they find out you’re firm about the shutdown and transition, they might act irrationally. Put the blame on me, and no matter how angry they are, they’ll only target me."

Wu Qiangwei’s heart warmed upon hearing this, and he continued, "I’m just a director; regardless of how firm my stance is, the decision won’t come down unless the higher-ups approve."

"As long as the decision isn’t made, if you don’t show an absolute attitude, they’ll feel there’s still hope. No matter how angry they are, they can still hold back."

Wu Qiangwei softly said, "Just be careful."

"Don’t worry," Song Guanchao said with a smile, "As a minor official, I can’t influence the leaders’ decisions; at most, they’ll be displeased with me, but they won’t actually do anything to me."

Finally, he asked, "What did Secretary Zhou say?"

Mentioning this, Wu Qiangwei frowned.

Song Guanchao said, "It doesn’t seem to be going well."

Wu Qiangwei nodded and relayed Secretary Zhou’s remarks to him. "

Song Guanchao held a teacup, pondering, "Secretary Zhou sure knows how to find excuses, but he also has a point. The internal disagreement within the City Government is indeed an issue."

The main responsibility of a leader is to foster good relations among colleagues.

If relations aren’t good, work becomes difficult to carry out.

This is a typical example.

It also doesn’t look good from above.

The provincial leaders promoted her to stabilize the situation in the City Government and coordinate all aspects.

It’s been nearly a year, and Wu Qiangwei still hasn’t established sufficient authority. If the provincial leaders find out, they’ll inevitably wonder if she’s capable enough.

Once labeled as "incompetent," it’s not easy to shake that off.

"Apart from Mayor Sun, the other issues aren’t particularly severe," Song Guanchao said.

Wu Qiangwei asked, "Do you have a solution?"

Song Guanchao smiled, "It’s quite simple. Tonight... oh right, you have a dinner tonight, so how about inviting Mayor Zhu over for lunch tomorrow?"

From Mayor Zhu’s remarks today, Song Guanchao judged that she leaned towards Wu Qiangwei.

It’s worth trying to rally her.

...

Though Song Guanchao didn’t attend the evening dinner, he still showed up.

He sat in a nearby private room with Wu Ming and Zeng Li, eating and drinking.

Even though he was sure these businessmen wouldn’t dare to act recklessly, just in case.

Being cautious never hurts, and it’s always wise to be prepared.

This dinner involved 22 companies, with most relevant managers present; some companies’ direct managers were not in Jiangzhou, so they sent representatives.

The joint invitation from 22 companies to Wu Qiangwei was itself a form of pressure on her.

During the dinner, they didn’t engage in any crude talk about giving gifts.

At their level, giving gifts would be considered lowly.

After all, sitting across from them was the deputy leader of the provincial city.

Leaders at this level generally aren’t that interested in money.

They prefer power, seeking to advance step by step.

So, they emphasized supporting all government decisions.

If there were any projects needing their investment, they were willing to use their money to boost Jiangzhou’s economy.

If she intended to further advance, they could also use their connections to organize some dinners with provincial leaders to foster relationships, smoothing her future political path.

But all of this had a premise.

Which was the pollution issue.

They didn’t explicitly mention it, not even a word, but it was clear to anyone what they meant.

During this, some people hinted at the online reports about park pollution.

Wu Qiangwei shook her head, indicating she’s unaware of the matter.

Which was true, she really wasn’t aware.

The dinner went on until almost ten o’clock, and both sides engaged very pleasantly.

After sending off Wu Qiangwei, they returned to the private room, where the waiter cleared the dishes and served tea.

"Those reports probably weren’t organized by Mayor Wu," said Chairman Qian.

"She indeed has no reason to do that," another businessman said.

"I heard from Mayor Sun that during today’s City Government meeting, Mayor Wu’s stance was firm about shutting down and transitioning. But just now at the dinner, I observed that Mayor Wu’s attitude didn’t seem like that," a businessman chuckled.

"Mayor Sun... haha, there’s disunity in the City Government."

"From what I see, Mayor Sun might be exaggerating a bit. How many fools can serve as mayors? Would Mayor Wu not realize how many troubles shutting down and transitioning might bring? Officials are evaluated by their achievements; bringing us down would leave her with nothing but a mess and no benefits."

"These aren’t the main points. The main point is, who exposed the interview video? Who is behind these little tricks? Who wants to take us down?" said an elder with graying hair, in a deep voice.

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