Official Career Storm

Chapter 1718: Chapter 1718

Chairman Chu knew that Xue Mingde was afraid of accepting benefits and then being unable to get things done.

He handled matters steadily, and since he had already spoken to such an extent, Chairman Chu couldn’t insist further.

After leaving Xue Mingde’s office, Chairman Chu went to find Zhu Shixian.

Zhu Shixian’s response was the same as Xue Mingde’s; he couldn’t take the money, nor did he make any firm commitments.

After bidding farewell to Zhu Shixian, Chairman Chu left directly.

There was no need to find Sun Jiajun; he had already accepted benefits, and his attitude remained firm and unchanged.

No need to find Chang Hai either, as long as others disagree, he won’t agree either.

The remaining Liang Jianfeng was Wu Qiangwei’s person; it was useless to look for him.

...

Zhu Shixian hesitated, pondering whether or not to report the matter to Wu Qiangwei.

She was inclined towards Wu Qiangwei but also worried that she couldn’t control these entrepreneurs.

Choosing Wu Qiangwei at such a time was a risky move that had to be approached with caution.

After much hesitation, Zhu Shixian still planned to report.

Anyway, what she told Chairman Chu was to follow the general trend.

If there are more than four votes in favor at tomorrow’s meeting, then her attitude wouldn’t matter, and she naturally wouldn’t be resented by Chairman Chu and others.

In private, she showed goodwill towards Wu Qiangwei, so once the situation settled, even if Wu Qiangwei dug into past matters, it wouldn’t reflect badly on her, as she was inclined towards Wu Qiangwei.

After figuring out the key points, Zhu Shixian immediately found Wu Qiangwei and reported everything clearly.

Wu Qiangwei was not surprised; if he were in the opponent’s position, he wouldn’t surrender either.

"Mayor Zhu has been considerate." Wu Qiangwei smiled and thanked her.

Zhu Shixian replied with a wry smile, "Tomorrow’s meeting may have unexpected changes."

Wu Qiangwei nodded lightly, already having guessed the opponent’s intentions when learning Chairman Chu had contacted Zhu Shixian.

After Zhu Shixian left, Wu Qiangwei called in Song Guanchao to discuss the matter.

Song Guanchao analyzed, "Mayor Zhu is indeed clever, appearing to pledge loyalty to you while at the same time not offending either side. In this case, you should inform Mayor Liang and Chang Hai in advance so they can express their stance at tomorrow’s meeting at the earliest opportunity."

With Liang Jianfeng, Chang Hai, and Wu Qiangwei, that already accounted for three votes.

The fourth vote was crucial!

But since Zhu Shixian didn’t want to offend either side, she wouldn’t cast a decisive vote.

Chang Youcai, threatened, wouldn’t vote either.

He didn’t know Xue Mingde well, but presumably, he wouldn’t vote either.

As for Sun Jiajun, that goes without saying.

After such an analysis, Wu Qiangwei frustratingly found that what seemed like a sure thing turned out to be quite difficult to handle.

"Chang Youcai," said Song Guanchao. "The fourth vote must be cast by him!"

Wu Qiangwei looked at him in inquiry, and Song Guanchao explained, "Let Mayor Zhu sit on the fence as she wishes; after all, she has shown good intentions, and it’s not appropriate to make things difficult for her now. The same goes for Xue Mingde."

"As for Chang Youcai... since the relationship is already broken, there’s nothing wrong with pressuring him a bit more."

Wu Qiangwei asked, "What if Chang Youcai opposes?"

"It won’t matter if he opposes," Song Guanchao replied. "We’ll still have Mayor Zhu and Mayor Xue!"

Wu Qiangwei said, "The park must have approached them too."

Song Guanchao shook his head: "Mayor Zhu’s idea is to go with the majority. But she hasn’t considered what to do if the votes are tied. If there’s a 3:3 vote tomorrow, she can only choose you. Mayor Xue is the same; if trailing in votes or tied, opposing you would offend you. He won’t do that."

What he said was a bit convoluted, but Wu Qiangwei understood.

Both Xue Mingde and Zhu Shixian responded to Chairman Chu with: not taking the initiative, following the general trend.

But in private, they had already reached a consensus with Wu Qiangwei to support her in the meeting.

So when casting the decisive vote is necessary, there would be no perfect choice; they could only stand by Wu Qiangwei.

Of course, they could choose to oppose Wu Qiangwei and cast a dissenting vote.

But Song Guanchao believed they wouldn’t be so foolish.

In fact, Song Guanchao could also suggest that Wu Qiangwei directly name Zhu Shixian to cast the crucial fourth vote tomorrow.

But he didn’t do that.

Doing so would be like Wu Qiangwei personally putting Zhu Shixian on the spot.

Even though Zhu Shixian might eventually still have to serve as the key player casting the decisive vote,

the former would be Wu Qiangwei forcing her to make a choice, while the latter would be driven by the situation.

One active, one passive, and there is a world of difference between the two.

Although Song Guanchao spoke with certainty, Wu Qiangwei still felt a bit uneasy.

If tomorrow the handling plan for the park still fails to pass with a large majority, her position as mayor would become quite a joke.

...

That evening, a group of people was, as usual, communicating in the group.

Chairman Chu recounted the process of today’s visits, at least confirming that Chang Youcai and Sun Jiajun would cast opposing votes.

Xue Mingde and Zhu Shixian would follow the general trend.

Chang Hai was also a confirmed vote.

So they were sure of at least five out of the seven votes.

If Liang Jianfeng wasn’t Wu Qiangwei’s person, in tomorrow’s special meeting, Wu Qiangwei would certainly find herself isolated, and the scene would be quite awkward.

Even with Liang Jianfeng’s vote, it wouldn’t change the fact that Wu Qiangwei was sidelined.

The situation was very optimistic, and the atmosphere among the group was full of a joyful vibe.

"Chairman Fang, have you caught Song Guanchao’s little slip?" someone asked.

"Still investigating." Mentioning this matter gave Chairman Fang a bit of a headache, and there was no previous confidence in his tone: "That kid’s background is very clean; I’ve looked into it for a day and found nothing."

"Is he really that clean?" Chairman Qian was very surprised; he really couldn’t believe someone holding a position as a deputy director could be so clean.

"Haven’t found anything yet."

"Really rare... Have you found the interviewing reporter?" someone asked again.

"Found her." Chairman Fang regained confidence and promptly shared a few photos in the group.

The photos showed a mature woman whose looks alone could stir a physiological impulse.

"Which station’s reporter is this?"

"Ministry of Propaganda, her name is Xu Zi."

"Ministry of Propaganda?" The entrepreneurs in the group were somewhat surprised.

They initially thought it was just a reporter from a city or provincial TV station, but it turned out she had backing from a ministry-level institution.

Chairman Fang gauged what they were thinking: "Don’t worry too much; this woman only posted the interview video online and didn’t get it published on TV, which means she might have taken a private job. I’ve already sent someone to contact her; if she’s sensible, this matter will be over. If not, well, it depends on your means."

Which one of the entrepreneurs here doesn’t have some connections in Beijing?

Xu Zi is just a reporter from the Ministry of Propaganda, not even considered an official.

If they really wanted to deal with her, it wouldn’t be much of a problem to have her journalism credentials revoked and her position removed, even if they couldn’t do something more severe.

...

The next day, at ten in the morning, in the City Government’s meeting room.

The seven mayors gathered again, and Xiao Chenlei, Han Lan, and Song Guanchao were also present at the meeting.

Once everyone was present, Wu Qiangwei spoke directly: "Today’s special meeting is mainly to vote on the handling of 22 polluting enterprises in the High-tech Zone Chemical Park."

"Those who agree to shut down, integrate, or reassign the polluting enterprises, please raise your hand."

After speaking, Wu Qiangwei was the first to raise her right hand in approval.

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