Qi Tongwei: Can I be young again?

However, as Qi Tongwei became the county magistrate, Qi Qingshan's status and position also changed subtly. Even his uncle, Qi Tongwei's great-uncle, brought cigarettes and alcohol and rushed over early in the morning.

After exchanging pleasantries, she asked Qi Tongwei to arrange a job for her.

Qi Tongwei was dumbfounded.

"Uncle, you're seventy years old, what kind of work do you want me to do?"

"Any job is fine, like security guard or gatekeeper, I'm not picky."

Are you kidding me?

"This child, at my age, what are you joking about! By the way, your uncle is also unemployed, why don't you look into arranging something for him too?"

Qi Tongwei understood.

It turns out the villagers really don't consider themselves outsiders.

However, we can't blame the villagers for this. Most of them have never been to school and are, frankly, ignorant of the law.

Another point is the issue of industry in Jinshan County.

Unlike other places, Jinshan County has no heavy industry.

The villagers here rely on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood, making a living from either agricultural or aquatic products, and getting rich entirely through hard work.

Can hard work really lead to wealth?

Obviously impossible.

The mountains and waters are beautiful, but there's no scale involved. All the output is small-scale and can't amount to anything.

The secondary and tertiary industries are even fewer.

In this situation, a stable job becomes extremely valuable.

After figuring out the problem, Qi Tongwei had no choice but to find another way.

Solve the problem at its root.

I got dressed, grabbed my keys, and was about to leave.

The villagers immediately panicked.

"Tongwei, you still have to go to work on the first day of the Lunar New Year?"

"No choice, it's work!"

"Then...then what about our work?"

Qi Tongwei stopped and looked at the expectant villagers, exhaling a breath of stale air. "You definitely can't handle the work at the county government, and I won't assign you to it!"

"However, please wait a little longer regarding the employment issue; the government will find a way to resolve it!"

After saying that, he didn't linger and drove away.

As the county head, Qi Tongwei wanted his hometown to prosper more than anyone else!

This is also one of his original aspirations.

……

On the way, he called Li Dakang, only to find that the guy was in the county government building.

When Qi Tongwei arrived at the location, he was shocked.

"Secretary Dakang, are you out of your mind? Sleeping on the floor of your office on the first day of the Lunar New Year? Don't tell me you slept here last night?"

Li Dakang rubbed his panda eyes, his voice a little hoarse, "There's nothing I can do, I had a fight with your sister-in-law last night and got kicked out."

"What did you argue about?"

"It's none of your business." Li Dakang rubbed his head wearily and said, "By the way, weren't you off today? What are you doing here?"

"I was forced into it." Qi Tongwei didn't hide anything. "Early this morning, a lot of relatives came to my house, saying they were here to wish me a Happy New Year, but they all had ulterior motives and wanted me to arrange work for them."

"You're the county head, assigning a few jobs shouldn't be difficult for you!"

“It’s not difficult, but we can’t start this.” Qi Tongwei said seriously, “We officials serve the people, not our relatives. What do you say, Secretary Dakang?”

Li Dakang smiled but didn't dare to say anything.

He was also involved in this matter, and for Ouyang Qing's sake, he did quite a few things to abuse his power for personal gain.

They're just lucky; they haven't been discovered yet.

"Tongwei, what are you planning to do next? Never go back? Hide from those relatives?"

"I have done nothing wrong, so why should I hide!"

"Why would I come here if I wasn't hiding from you?"

"Solve the problem!" Qi Tongwei took a deep breath, walked to the windowsill, and looked into the distance. "Jinshan County has been poor for so many years, it's time for a change."

Upon hearing about the proposed changes, Li Dakang perked up.

Achievements, achievements, all achievements!

"Tell me, how do you want to change this?"

"Targeted investment attraction!"

Could you be more specific?

“Okay!” Qi Tongwei nodded. “Let’s go to the archives first and get the financial reports of Jinshan County for the past few years while we’re at it.”

Chapter Ninety-Three: Reencounter with Chen Yang

"Secretary Dakang, look, this is Jinshan County's financial report for the past three years! The primary industry accounts for 90%, while the secondary and tertiary industries combined only account for 10%! In other words, what sustains our Jinshan County has always been agriculture, animal husbandry, fishery, and forestry! Among them, crabs and tea make up the majority."

Li Dakang nodded. "I noticed that a long time ago, so I've been attracting investment and developing secondary industries. The conditions I've offered are very attractive! Take the paper mill for example, we even waived the rent for ten years to bring it in! But as soon as you came, the paper mill went bankrupt. I think you should take the blame for that!"

"You're still holding a grudge against me because of Ruentex Paper Mill? Secretary Dakang, you're being too petty."

"Since it's not your achievement, of course you don't care."

“Secretary Dakang, I’m not trying to criticize you, but besides loving to shift blame and shirk responsibility, you’re also narrow-minded and short-sighted! Do you think it’s worth destroying the entire environment of Jinshan County for the sake of a paper mill?”

"Whether it's worth it or not is hard to say, but it's true that the paper mill has stopped and hundreds of people have lost their jobs."

“If the paper mill is not shut down, the primary industry of Jinshan County will suffer, especially the fishing industry, which will be completely gone in no time.”

Li Dakang rubbed his head. "You can't have your cake and eat it too! You can't have both the environment and the finances. If you keep emphasizing the environment, the secondary industry in Jinshan County will never develop."

"Why develop the secondary industry?" Qi Tongwei countered. "Jinshan County's advantage is not industry, but agriculture! In my opinion, we should set aside the secondary industry and focus on developing the primary industry!"

"Tongwei, I'm not trying to criticize you, but while you're very capable in criminal investigation and drug enforcement, you're a complete novice when it comes to people's livelihood!" Li Dakang said, somewhat agitated. "The financial report clearly shows that the primary industry already accounts for 90% of the total revenue. At this critical juncture, how can we develop further? How can we possibly grow? Only by upgrading industry and continuously attracting investment will Jinshan County have a future!"

"No, Secretary Dakang, you've missed the point."

"What's the point?"

"Currently, Jinshan County's primary industry is saturated, but it hasn't achieved economies of scale! To put it bluntly, it's a case of internal agricultural consumption without any external expansion! If we could scale up Jinshan County's agriculture and then collectively sell our produce outside the county, all the problems would be solved! We'd protect the environment, solve the employment problem, and resolve the fiscal deficit—that would be a win-win situation!"

“Uh…” Li Dakang paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, “That’s interesting. Go on, I’m listening.”

Qi Tongwei lit a cigarette and said slowly, "Think about it, our Jinshan County's tea is famous throughout the province, and white tea is a rare commodity! Not to mention crabs, they are comparable to the hairy crabs of Shanghai! As long as a company is willing to invest in purchasing them, we can scale up both tea and crabs to form a large industrial chain!"

After pondering for a long time, Li Dakang nodded vigorously. "This is a good idea. However, whether it's tea or crabs, the initial investment will definitely be substantial if we want to achieve a certain scale. Finding investors may not be easy!"

"If you agree, I'll take care of the investors' issues."

"Give it to you? Are you confident in your abilities?" Li Dakang seemed to still have reservations.

"You can give it a try!"

“Try it??? The risk is a bit too great!” Li Dakang frowned and analyzed in a low voice: “If we invest heavily in the primary industry and fail to make money, then we will miss the opportunity to develop the secondary industry.”

"Secretary Dakang, if you're afraid of everything, what can you do?"

"There's nothing I can do; I'm the top leader!"

"How about this?" Qi Tongwei compromised and said, "Let's find a village to pilot the program first, with a one-year timeframe. If the pilot is successful, we can continue; if it's unsuccessful, it won't take much time."

Which village?

“Of course it’s our Chunxi Village.” Qi Tongwei said matter-of-factly, “I know our village better, and it’s easier to plan for it. Besides… even if we lose money, we can just let them come to me.”

“Okay, I agree!” Li Dakang smiled slyly. “If the pilot project fails, you’ll take the blame.”

Li Dakang is the first person to blatantly shift blame.

However, Qi Tongwei didn't care.

As a reborn person, the greatest advantage is having a God's-eye view.

In the previous life, Jinshan County turned its fortunes around and became a model agricultural town by relying on tea and crabs.

In this life, Qi Tongwei's arrival merely adds fuel to the fire and accelerates this process.

……

The fifth day of the new year.

Qi Tongwei picked out some fine aged tea in the village, packed his backpack, bought a train ticket, and set off for Shanghai.

The purpose of this trip is to find someone!