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

After the meeting, many leaders and cadres were complaining.

"Isn't the county head joking? We already don't have enough vehicles to go to the countryside. With this new arrangement, each township will only have two vehicles, one for the top party and government officials and one for the top officials. What about the rest of us? Are we just going to stop going to the countryside?"

“We’re in the same boat. When we need to go down to the townships from the county seat to provide guidance, we simply can’t go without a car. We can’t exactly walk, can we?”

“Let’s go talk to Secretary Niu. County Chief Jiang is doing this so that he’s not leaving us any way out.”

The crowd discussed the matter extensively, all agreeing that Jiang Yiming's approach was too harsh.

Some went directly to the office of Niu Baogen, the county party secretary, to complain.

"Secretary, our township cadres already work so hard. If we don't have vehicles, how will our cadres go to the countryside?"

"Yes, Secretary, rural work is already difficult, and now they're not even given vehicles, so they definitely won't want to go down there anymore. If the work isn't progressing in a timely manner, we can't be blamed for it."

Several township secretaries who had a good relationship with Niu Baogen came to complain.

"Personally, I don't really agree with this plan, but I have no choice but to agree because County Chief Yiming insists on conducting a pilot program within the government departments."

Niu Baogen said, "We can't have different standards between government departments and county party committee departments. In order to avoid trouble, I have no choice but to compromise."

"As for the difficulties you are facing, you should boldly tell him. If you are delayed in your work because you don't have a car, he will also bear some responsibility."

Niu Baogen chatted with the group for a while before sending them away.

Zhang Yufeng knocked on the door and came in.

"Secretary, are you really going to let him do whatever he wants?"

Zhang Yufeng said, "If something goes wrong, it will be a huge problem."

"He loves to show off, so let him show off."

Niu Baogen said, "Anyway, this is a thankless task. Even if it is successfully implemented, it will offend most of the party members and cadres."

"By the way, when will the National People's Congress convene?"

Zhang Yufeng's eyes lit up, and she smiled, "It will probably be held in March, after the Spring Festival."

"Secretary, do you not want Jiang Yiming to stay in Xichuan County?"

"How can I decide such a thing? Whether or not someone can stay depends on the opinions of the people's representatives."

Niu Baogen corrected, "If no one votes for him then, even Secretary Wei of the Municipal Party Committee can't change that. It has nothing to do with other people, but rather with his poor interpersonal relationships."

Zhang Yufeng smiled knowingly and said, "Brilliant, Secretary, you are truly brilliant!"

County Sheriff's Office.

Jiang Yiming kept Zhao Yuan from the Finance Bureau on the job.

Before Jiang Yiming could speak, Zhao Yuan sighed and said, "County Chief, although I admire your dedication to public service, I feel that implementing this standard at this time is inappropriate."

"Tell me how it's inappropriate."

Jiang Yiming poured Zhao Yuan a glass of water and invited her to sit down and chat.

"Have you forgotten that there's an 'Acting' prefix before your title of county magistrate?"

Zhao Yuan said, "You've cut back on official spending and asked everyone to lower their standards and tighten their belts. This has offended most of the delegates. If you don't get elected county head in next year's People's Congress election, this will cause a huge uproar."

"Therefore, I have always suggested that these plans can be implemented after you become the county magistrate. It's not too late, and a few months won't make a difference."

"What you said makes some sense; I've actually considered it too."

Jiang Yiming said, "But time waits for no one. We won't be back to work until mid-February after the Spring Festival. If we start pushing forward with various tasks again, and the roads are still not repaired by May or June when the vegetable farmers start selling their produce, then we'll be in big trouble. The vegetable farmers will definitely cause trouble then."

"In other words, I either offend the National People's Congress (NPC) deputies or the vegetable farmers. I can't afford to offend either side. But compared to the NPC deputies' voting rights, I'm more worried about the vegetable farmers' vegetables not being sold and rotting in the fields."

"I believe that most Party members and cadres will understand the significance of doing this. I also believe that the people's representatives will represent the interests of the people and elect a county head who is recognized by the people."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I have two things to tell you."

"The first thing is the issue of vehicle replacement."

"Except for the secretary's Audi, all other vehicles that exceed the standard will be replaced, and they must be replaced with used cars."

Jiang Yiming placed the car keys on the table and said, "This is my Audi. To set an example, I'll use it as the first car to be auctioned."

"If any unit is uncooperative, please let me know in time, and I will go to get the vehicle myself."

"Yes, County Magistrate."

Zhao Yuan said, "I plan to arrange a special team to contact several large used car dealers, and let them make offers. The highest bidder wins."

"Yes, I agree with this approach."

Jiang Yiming said, "The second thing is to build roads. You need to coordinate funds as soon as possible and reduce the expenditure on official receptions, official vehicles, and official travel to support infrastructure construction."

“County Chief, even if we cut back on operating expenses, we won’t be able to squeeze out much money. And the money saved from replacing vehicles will take another three months to be used up gradually. In other words, there is still a large shortfall in funding for road repairs.”

Zhao Yuan said, "Unless we only build one road to connect Linjiang City, we simply don't have the money."

"Director Zhao, you are an expert in finance, can you help me think of a solution?"

Jiang Yiming said, "Our county's basic conditions are too poor. The roads are far inferior to those of the surrounding counties. Now the provincial and municipal governments are providing 60% of the funding subsidies. If we don't seize this opportunity to build more roads at once, it will be even more difficult to build roads in the future."

Zhao Yuan thought for a moment and then smiled and said, "I'll give you an idea, and you'll have to treat me to a meal later."

"Sure, as long as you can solve my big problem, I'll do anything, even ten meals, let alone one."

Jiang Yiming readily agreed.

"Our county government has several ways to raise funds, and I would like to recommend two to you. The first is indirect financing. Our county government raises funds by borrowing from financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies. The cost of funds raised in this way is relatively high, but the loan size and term can be flexibly adjusted according to the government's needs. The second is project financing. Our county government attracts private sector investment through specific projects or policies to share risks and benefits. This method can attract more social capital to participate in government projects and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of project implementation."

Zhao Yuan explained, “The first type of indirect financing is usually through loans from the Agricultural Bank of China. They have policies to support farmers, and the interest rates are relatively low. However, our county's finances are quite tight, and the loan amount from the Agricultural Bank is estimated to be low, which may not be enough to meet our funding needs. Moreover, the procedures are quite complicated, and it may be difficult to obtain the funds in a short time. If we borrow money from insurance companies or financial investment companies, the good thing is that the procedures are simple and the funds arrive quickly. I estimate we can get the money within half a month. The disadvantage is that the interest rate is high, around 10 to 15 percent, and we also need to provide collateral to prevent the government from defaulting. The collateral can be used to offset the debt. Generally, hospital revenue is used as collateral.”