The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

"You're the county head, you have the final say on finances, so why do you have to listen to Secretary Xuan Gui on everything?"

Jiang Yiming questioned, "If we listen to the Party Secretary in everything, why even have the position of County Head?"

“County Chief Yuntao, you and I are Party members and cadres of the people, not anyone’s follower. We cannot blindly follow superiors and ignore the vital interests of the people.”

"Secretary Yiming, I understand how you feel."

Zhang Yuntao thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll try to allocate three million to pay the teachers half a month's salary first, but what about Secretary Xuan Gui..."

“If Secretary Xuan Gui questions you, just push the responsibility onto me.”

Jiang Yiming said bluntly.

“Secretary Yiming, what are you saying? Do you think I, Zhang Yuntao, am the kind of person who lacks responsibility?”

Zhang Yuntao said, "To be honest, I feel the same way as you. We both want to do something practical for the people. But as you know, Secretary Xuan Gui is quite assertive, and he's the top leader. I can't force him even if I want to."

"When I first came here, I did confront him head-on, but what was the result? I ended up looking foolish and was even called in for a talk by my superiors. It wasn't easy for me either."

"Being a county magistrate isn't easy. You'll understand when you actually sit in that position."

“I understand your difficulties, but if we don’t take the initiative to assume responsibility and act proactively, it will be the ordinary people who suffer.”

Jiang Yiming said, "Thank you, County Head Yuntao, for allocating the funds. I will inform Director Chen Wei to write the application report as soon as possible."

"No problem, I will take care of it as soon as possible."

"Alright, then I won't bother County Magistrate Yuntao any longer."

"Don't talk about disturbing me."

Zhang Yuntao said, "Although we sometimes have disagreements, I personally admire and respect you. If we no longer work in the same place in the future, I hope we can still be friends like we were at the beginning and get together from time to time."

"I estimate we'll be fighting together in the same trench for a while longer."

Jiang Yiming smiled and said, "This is my hometown, and I will definitely come back often. Of course, I will have to bother the county leaders when I do."

His words were vague, and he did not respond to the other person's words.

After Jiang Yiming left, Ding Yi, the director of the county government office, walked in.

"County Chief, is Secretary Jiang here again asking for money?"

"Yes, I knew he wouldn't be able to sit still."

Zhang Yuntao took a drag of his cigarette.

"Wouldn't he have made a wasted trip?"

"No, I agree to allocate three million to him to alleviate the financial burden on faculty and staff."

Zhang Yuntao said, "I still have to give Jiang Yiming some face. This time, the Provincial Party School organized a training program for division-level cadres, and Jiang Yiming was one of them. The other two are Li Xinhou, deputy director of the Municipal Party Committee Office, and Song Zichen, member of the Standing Committee of the Dahong County Party Committee and executive deputy county head. Both of them are about to be promoted. From this, you can see that the city wants to promote Jiang Yiming."

"He's not even 25 yet, and he's already going to be promoted to a full-fledged department head?"

Ding Yi felt a pang of jealousy when he thought about how he was only a section chief in his early forties. It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy.

"There's nothing I can do. Although I'm a bit annoyed by his rebellious personality, I still admire his courage, sense of responsibility, and ability to get things done."

"The things he did did indeed achieve remarkable results. From the previous enterprise reform to the creation of provincial-level industrial parks and the work of optimizing the business environment, each of these is a remarkable achievement on its own."

Zhang Yuntao said, "In addition, Secretary Wei strongly promoted the work of optimizing the business environment proposed by Jiang Yiming. Under these circumstances, Secretary Wei's promotion of him can further demonstrate his emphasis on this work. If this work can achieve good results in the city, Secretary Wei will also gain huge political benefits. This is a win-win situation for them."

"But won't this affect our plans?"

Ding Yi worriedly said, "If those teachers stop causing trouble after receiving half a month's salary, won't our plan fall apart?"

"They're not that easy to appease."

Zhang Yuntao laughed and said, "Besides, if we don't pay a single cent next month, and with someone secretly instigating things, those faculty and staff won't be able to sit still."

"Moreover, the three million I allocated to the Education Bureau is intended to be deducted from the hospital's salaries next month. Next month, not only will the teachers and staff not receive their salaries, but the medical staff will also not receive their salaries. In addition, with some people instigating this, there will be even more people making a fuss."

“When the higher authorities investigate, they will only suspect that Jiang Yiming instigated it, since his conflict with Jiang Xuangui was public.”

"Furthermore, it was Jiang Yiming who took the initiative to ask me to allocate funds this time. When I report to Secretary Xuan Gui later, I will explain the situation clearly. I'm sure Jiang Xuan Gui will only dislike Jiang Yiming even more."

"County Chief, you're still the better strategist. Once Jiang Xuangui steps down, you'll be able to take over smoothly. Congratulations in advance, Secretary Zhang."

Ding Yi fawned over him.

"Haha, if this matter succeeds, you will deserve the most credit. Once your disciplinary period is over, I will recommend you for the position of Standing Committee Member of the County Party Committee and Director of the County Party Committee Office."

Zhang Yuntao's face beamed with pride.

"Thank you for your promotion, Secretary. I will do my best to do this job well!"

…………

Time flies, and it's May 1st. Today is the first day of Labor Day, and also the wedding day of Deputy County Head Luo Yan.

Jiang Yiming, Chen Zixin, and others personally attended to offer their congratulations.

"Secretary Yiming, County Head Chen, thank you for coming in person."

"Of course we should attend and congratulate Sister Luo on her wedding."

Jiang Yiming handed over the red envelope: "Congratulations, Sister Luo! May you fly wing to wing and have a baby soon."

"Thank you, Yiming."

Luo Yan took the envelopes and saw that there were two red envelopes. She asked in confusion, "Why are there two? Who else did you bring these for?"

“One is mine, and the other is for Minister Ma. He said he couldn’t attend to offer his congratulations, so he asked me to bring one.”

Jiang Yiming said.

"Oh, please thank Minister Ma for me."

Luo Yan's expression turned slightly unnatural, but it was fleeting.

She then waved to the man not far away: "Jiahe."

A man with an honest-looking face walked over quickly.

"Jiahe, these are County Leaders Jiang Yiming (Secretary) and Chen Zixin (County Head)."

Luo Yan introduced, "Secretary Yiming, County Head Zixin, and this is my husband, Sun Jiahe."

"Hello, Secretary Jiang, hello, County Chief Chen."

Sun Jiahe was a little nervous and his speech became incoherent.

Congratulations!

Jiang Yiming shook hands with him and said, "Teacher Sun, I'm entrusting Sister Luo to you. Take good care of her."

"I will, I will."

Sun Jiahe quickly said, "Please take a seat."

"Secretary Yiming, County Head Zixin, I'm busy here and can't keep you company. Please make yourselves at home."

Luo Yan led the two to the main table.

"It's okay, just go about your business."

After Luo Yan left, Chen Zixin whispered, "Yiming, could the rumors be true?"

"What rumors?"

"Ma and Luo".

Chen Zixin gave him a knowing look.