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

Jiang Yiming called Wang Weifa and asked him to send a truckload of Yusha wine to Jiangcheng.

Wang Weifa readily agreed and offered to deliver it personally.

Jiang Yiming didn't stop him.

After Tang Zhichao had everything ready, Jiang Yiming arranged two private cars and headed to Jiangcheng.

There aren't many people or organizations that Jiangcheng needs to visit, mainly Secretary Li of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary Guo of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

At the same time, we need to visit the relevant leaders and department heads of the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Department of Civil Affairs, and Department of Transportation.

The reason for visiting these units is mainly because the Department of Civil Affairs and the Department of Transportation provided funding, so it's natural to visit them to express gratitude.

Although the Department of Agriculture didn't provide any funding, Xichuan County's future development primarily revolves around agriculture, and in this situation, it cannot do without the Department's support. The purpose of this visit is mainly to establish a familiarity so that it will be easier to ask for favors later.

Jiang Yiming first visited Huang Yong, the director of the Civil Affairs Department, and gave him a case of Wuliangye liquor and two cartons of Huanghelou 1916 liquor. He also gave his secretary, Sun Wei, a case of Yusha liquor and two cartons of Huazi liquor.

"I'll take you to the Finance and Accounting Department and the Poverty Alleviation Office to visit the heads of each department. That way, it'll be easier to get along with them in the future."

Sun Wei politely declined, but accepted the gifts nonetheless, and warmly introduced Jiang Yiming to the heads of the other two departments.

Jiang Yiming was naturally willing, since the poverty alleviation funds of the Civil Affairs Department came from the Poverty Alleviation Office, and the Finance and Planning Department was the department that allocated the funds. If he could maintain good relations with these two departments, the funds would be disbursed more promptly.

Jiang Yiming didn't bring much with him. He gave each of the two department heads a file folder containing two packs of cigarettes.

After finishing his visit to the Department of Civil Affairs, Jiang Yiming went to the Department of Transportation, but Deputy Director Dai Wei was not there and the visit was not completed, so he went to the Department of Agriculture instead.

Jiang Yiming had dealt with the Department of Agriculture many times. When he was in Xinping County, he visited relevant leaders with the vice mayor in charge of agriculture and the director of the municipal agricultural bureau, and even obtained relevant project funds.

This time, he easily found the relevant department leaders and visited the two core departments: the Animal Husbandry Department and the Planting Department.

The development of agriculture in Xichuan County is not limited to planting grapes and vegetables, but also includes the diversified development of livestock and poultry breeding and the planting of other varieties.

Finally, we arrived at the Industrial Development Division, which has the most projects in the entire department.

Not long ago, Jiang Yiming and Tang Chen, the director of the county agricultural bureau, invited Zeng Decheng, the section chief, to dinner, but Zeng Decheng did not give them much face at the time.

Jiang Yiming did not give up on visiting the other party because of their initial lack of hospitality. After all, he needed their help, and only by maintaining the right attitude and making several trips could he possibly win them over and secure the relevant project funding.

"Director Zeng, I'm bothering you again."

Jiang Yiming greeted him politely.

Zeng Decheng stood up, shook hands politely, and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, County Magistrate Jiang?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to come and wish the director a Happy New Year in advance."

Jiang Yiming laughed.

"Thank you, I received your blessing."

Zeng Decheng pointed to the table and said, "I'm sorry, there's a lot going on at the end of the year, so I'm afraid I can't chat with you for long. I'll have Lao Zhao chat with you."

Jiang Yiming naturally understood that the other party meant to send him away, and smiled and said, "The director has a lot of things to do, so I won't bother you any longer."

He then placed a file folder on the table and prepared to leave.

"County Chief Jiang, you're making me make a mistake. Take the things away."

Zeng Decheng said sternly, "Our Department of Agriculture strictly prohibits these kinds of things. If you do this again, I will no longer allow you to enter my office."

Seeing that the other party didn't seem to be just being polite, Jiang Yiming apologized, "I'm sorry, I left something behind."

He then took his things and left.

Jiang Yiming still felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, everyone in the system was considerate of each other's feelings, and this was the first time he had encountered someone so heartless.

Although he dislikes receiving gifts and doesn't like others giving him gifts, he treats everyone equally, and he will still do what he is supposed to do.

But Zeng Decheng's situation is different; it means he doesn't intend to have any further contact.

Within the system, there are generally two situations in which gifts are not accepted.

One reason is that the two people have a very good relationship, or there are other reasons why gifts cannot be accepted. For example, when Jiang Yiming asked Sun Wei for help, Sun Wei refused his gift. In such cases, the intention is to maintain a long-term relationship, so the gifts don't need to be overly formal.

The second scenario is that I don't want to accept your gifts, and I don't want to ask you for favors; I don't plan to have any further contact with you.

Based on these two meetings, he concluded that Zeng Decheng was the second type.

After all, according to the information he had gathered, Zeng Decheng was not the kind of person who would not accept anything. On the contrary, because he was in the position of section chief, many people gave him gifts, and he accepted a lot of them.

"County Magistrate, how come there's still some left?"

Tang Zhichao stepped forward, took the item, and asked in confusion.

"Director Zeng of the Industrial Development Department was unwilling to accept our gifts."

Jiang Yiming shook his head and said, "I don't know where we offended this great figure."

“Some leaders are like that, they have very strange tempers, County Chief, please don’t take it to heart.”

"No, if you can't even handle this little bit of grievance, then you shouldn't be an official."

Jiang Yiming laughed and said, "Let's find a hotel to rest first. I'm going to meet up with some old friends around lunchtime."

"I've already made a reservation. You must be exhausted after traveling all night. Please get some rest."

Tang Zhichao opened the car door and invited Jiang Yiming to get in.

To save time, Jiang Yiming finished his work yesterday and rushed to Jiangcheng overnight.

I arrived in Jiangcheng around 8 o'clock and visited several departments. By then, I was feeling a bit sleepy.

After arriving at the hotel, Jiang Yiming fell asleep immediately. He didn't wake up until the phone rang, and he answered the call.

"Yiming, where are you? Now all that's missing is you."

Wang Chen's voice came through the microphone.

Jiang Yiming glanced at the time and said awkwardly, "Sorry, I overslept. I'll be there in about ten minutes."

"After traveling all night, you must be very tired."

Wang Chen smiled and said, "You don't need to rush. Be careful on the road."

"Okay, tell them I'll be there soon."

Jiang Yiming quickly washed his face and hurried to the restaurant.

Jiangcheng Hotel.

Wang Chen waited at the gate for Jiang Yiming's arrival.

Zeng Decheng, director of the Industrial Development Division of the Provincial Department of Agriculture, also came here for a meal. When he saw Wang Chen, he quickly walked over.

"Secretary Wang, you're having dinner here too?"

Zeng Decheng greeted him warmly.

"Yeah, waiting for a friend."

Wang Chen nodded, which was considered a greeting.

Normally, the director of the agricultural department would be incredibly enthusiastic when he met Wang Chen, the secretary of the provincial party secretary, let alone a section chief. Wang Chen didn't have much energy to deal with him.

"Secretary Wang, you're busy, so I won't bother you any longer."

Zeng Decheng was quite tactful; after saying hello, he went to eat.

A middle-aged man with Zeng Decheng asked, "Director Zeng, who was that just now?"