Chapter 7 The County Mayor's Tour Guide

  "County Magistrate Long! I didn't expect to meet you here! Are you here for an inspection at the Party School?" Zhang Qingyun hastily said with enthusiasm.

  "Are you Little Zhang? Come on, come on, get in the car! Accompany me for a stroll, I heard you're a local, familiar with the terrain. I've been driving around the county town for two days now!" Lei Gang said with a very warm smile, his facial expression not showing any unnaturalness.

  Zhang Qingyun was taken aback, took a closer look, and indeed Li Gang didn't bring any entourage, just a driver. So he also didn't stand on ceremony, walked around the car in a circle, and opened the door from the other side.

  Lai Gang nodded in approval of Zhang Qingyun's magnanimity, a young cadre should have some spirit, being timid and servile will not achieve anything.

  "Alright, I finally have a tour guide. Now that you're the tour guide, how are you going to arrange my itinerary?" Lijiang said with a smile.

  Zhang Qingyun looked at him and saw that his expression was not fake, so he cleared his throat and said:

  "Let's take a look at the western suburbs first! The western suburbs of the county seat are Liushui River, and Sanjiang Power Plant, the largest hydropower station in Yongping County, is not far from here. Moreover, there are several cement plants and a phosphate fertilizer plant in the western suburbs. Since the county magistrate is in plain clothes today, let's take a stroll and have a look!"

  "Great! You've really opened my eyes with this walk, I haven't been to these places you mentioned. Today, you're going to take me on a tour!" Lei Gang said excitedly, clearly pleased with Zhang Qingyun's quick reaction. He thought to himself, "This young man is not simple, humble yet confident, clear-thinking, and able to grasp the key points in just a few words. He's definitely worth cultivating."

  Having been affirmed by the county magistrate, Zhang Qingyun also had a bottom line in his heart. He guided the driver all the way along the county highway to the destination. Along the way, Zhang Qingyun's mouth was not idle, but constantly explaining the surrounding environment to Lijiang.

  Such as where each fork in the road leads, when various infrastructure projects were completed, controversies encountered during investment in these projects, main persons in charge of the project, etc. He rattled them off with ease.

  Arriving at the hydroelectric power station, standing on top of the dam, he began to explain to Lijiang the specific years for the transformation of Sanjiang Power Station, annual power generation, placement of employees after the transformation, and the name of the person in charge of the transformation of Sanjiang Power Station. He remembered everything clearly.

  At the same time, he also intentionally revealed to Lijiang some of the plans that the previous leadership team had for this area. These were all the result of Zhang Qingyun's diligent study over the past month. Some data may have been incorrect, but Zhang didn't go into details because today was just a casual inspection, and the most important thing was to give County Magistrate Li a general understanding, so that he would feel secure in his mind.

  At the same time, Zhang Qingyun took advantage of his leisurely stroll on the dam to secretly call Li, the principal of the Party School, and revealed that Mayor Li might come to the school for an inspection, implying that he should be mentally prepared to avoid being flustered at the last minute.

  But Lijiang was secretly shocked at this time, and he was also puzzled. He thought that Zhang Qingyun was a cadre in the village of Lizi Ping, how could he be so familiar with the area under the jurisdiction of Chengguan Town in the county seat? As soon as he thought of this, he hurriedly said:

  "Xiao Zhang, you've really opened my eyes today! You're very familiar with the situation in Chengguan Town!"

  Zhang Qingyun was startled, but he immediately smiled and said: "This is all professional habit, Chengguan Town has always been one of the three towns of Yongping, it has always been a model for other towns to learn from, their experiences are also worth learning from!"

  Lijiang nodded in approval, then suddenly changed the subject and said: "How's the work going on at Lizi Ping? Last time I saw Secretary Wan and Township Head Hu, they were both in high spirits!"

  Zhang Qingyun secretly thought that Lü Gang was indeed formidable. He knew that Lü Gang was just probing him, and he reacted quickly, only hesitating for a moment before saying:

  "The situation in Lìzǐpíng is special, it's a gathering place for the Tujia people. The county committee and government have always been very supportive of our work in Lìzǐpíng. Although it's located in a remote area, we've developed very quickly. I was sent there by the organization for two years, and I was deeply moved. Of course, I also benefited greatly from it!"

  Zhang Qingyun's words were carefully chosen because as an ordinary cadre, he had no right to judge the overall performance of the government, so he could only avoid the heavy and emphasize the light.

  At the same time, he also took the opportunity to let Lijiang know how many years he had been working there. He believed that with this, Lijiang must have made a preliminary judgment about his background. Having mixed in the mountains for several years before entering the youth training class, and being ranked last, this itself explains the problem.

  Lijiang nodded slightly without a word, his eyes gazing out at the rolling river waters, and suddenly said in a half-joking tone:

  "Xiao Zhang, your family is from the county town, you must have put in a lot of effort to move into the city these past few years!"

  Zhang Qingyun smiled wryly and didn't deny it. He knew that at this time, pounding his chest and saying something like "I'm a brick of the revolution" would be purely nonsense. After careful consideration, he said:

  "Yes! I myself haven't worried too much, but my parents have been worrying a lot. They both teach in Chengguan Town, and my grandfather and grandmother were also retired workers from the phosphate fertilizer factory, now living in the county seat. The elderly, after all, still have some localist ideas."

  After saying all this, Zhang Qingyun let out a long sigh in his heart. This question is not easy to answer, and it's definitely not okay to pat his chest, but admitting it outright isn't good either. So he had no choice but to cleverly shift the fire onto his family members.

  At the same time, Zhang Qingyun also indirectly explained his own background. His grandparents were workers, and his parents were teachers, with a good family background, but without any backstage or special connections. He was very clean in terms of his personal history, and in Yongping County, he was one of the few "clean" people.

  "Your grandparents are still alive, aren't they? They're not getting any younger! When you have time, you should show them more filial piety. The elderly are living on borrowed time." Lei Gang changed the subject again.

  Before Zhang Qingyun could respond, he continued: "Little Zhang, let's head to the next stop! Didn't you just mention the cement factory? Let's go take a look!"

  Then, Zhang Qingyun took Li Gang to visit the county's No. 1 and No. 2 cement plants, as well as the only phosphate fertilizer plant in the county. Along the way, Zhang Qingyun continued to explain everything from the construction of the factory to the sales of products, the source of raw materials, and the shareholding structure after the factory's restructuring. Li Gang nodded repeatedly, with a growing smile on his face.

  After more than three hours of back-and-forth, Zhang Qingyun invited Lijiang to take a look at the youth training class, and Lijiang, who was in high spirits, naturally did not refuse.

  When Lijiang's car arrived at the party school, Li Yong had already made preparations. Originally, he didn't understand when he received Zhang Qingyun's phone call, but he was always careful and cautious, and his preparation work was not sloppy at all.

  When he saw Li Gang and Zhang Qingyun getting off the car together, he even doubted whether he was seeing things. How could a township cadre walk with the county magistrate? Was there something fishy going on? As soon as this thought occurred to him, his eyes immediately turned to Zhang Qingyun, but the result was very disappointing. Zhang Qingyun's face was calm and serene, and he couldn't see any valuable information at all.