Chapter 8 Accidental Gain

  After the door of the "Dada" office was knocked, Director Jiao of the Organization Department walked in. Tang Yi smiled and asked him to sit on the sofa. Looking at Director Jiao's big belly, Tang Yi wanted to laugh and thought that it would be a waste if Maitreya Buddha didn't ask him to act.

  Minister Jiao quickly spoke up: "Secretary Tang, I'd like to report to you on the candidate for the deputy director of the Investment Promotion Bureau." Although the director of the Investment Promotion Bureau had been confirmed, there was still a fiercely contested vacancy for the deputy director position, and Minister Jiao naturally wanted to pass this thankless task to Secretary Tang.

  Tang Yi smiled and pointed at the hot tea that Secretary Little Wang had just brought to the coffee table, saying: "First taste the tea, then talk about business."

  It's rare for Secretary Tang to handle things in a slow and deliberate manner, and Minister Jiao is also unclear what he's getting at. He picks up his teacup and takes a casual sip, then pauses slightly, savoring the flavor carefully before asking in puzzlement: "The tea leaves have a very special flavor. Where did you buy them, Secretary Tang? To be honest with you, I'm not a big fan of tea myself, but my old man loves it, and over time I've become half a tea enthusiast!"

  Tea is top-grade Dahongpao, in the early 90s its price was still several hundred yuan per liang, you can tell how precious it is. Recently Xiao Jinhua sent Tang Yi a few tens of thousands of US dollars again, calling it the expenses for pursuing his future daughter-in-law. Tang Yi couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, thinking to himself that you're not afraid of people saying I'm corrupt, but on the surface he still said to his mother that he would enjoy what he should enjoy, after all he can't deliberately suffer just to pretend to be a clean official.

  Tang Yi smiled and said: "This was bought by a friend in Beijing, it's not easy to buy here, I'll ask Xiao Wang to pack some for you to send to your father later."

  Minister Jiao was a cautious man and couldn't help but ask: "Secretary Tang, how much does this tea cost per liang?"

  "About three or four hundred yuan."

  Director Jiao was stunned, looking at Tang Yi with a puzzled expression. Seeing Tang Yi's calm face, he immediately knew that the other party didn't care about being gossiped about economically, otherwise they wouldn't be so open and aboveboard with someone like him who had no relationship with them. His thoughts turned around, knowing that Tang Yi was a cadre from Beijing. There were many rumors among the county committee's busybodies about Tang Yi's background, some saying he had a big backer, others saying he just got lucky and wrote an article that impressed the leaders, which led to his rapid promotion. However, no matter what, the old foxes in the county committee who ranked higher than him basically kept a respectful distance from Tang Yi, not wanting to offend him too much, but also not getting too close to him. Of course, there were also some members of the standing committee who had a deeper prejudice against Tang Yi, such as Secretary Yao.

  Those old foxes who kept a distance from Tang Yijie were because they had no chance, now the young officials are getting younger and the age of retirement is being adjusted again and again. Even if they climb up some big tree, they may not be able to get on the bus, and it's possible that they will be drowned by even deeper water. But for Director Jiao, a 40-year-old official, it's not so thoughtless. If Tang Yijie really has a deep background, Director Jiao would absolutely not let go of this opportunity to climb high, only he didn't know Tang Yijie's way before, if he was pretending to be something he's not, then there's no benefit for him to mix with these high-ranking officials.

  When Tang Yi mentioned that the tea leaves were worth several hundred yuan per two, Director Jiao's mind began to wander, which shows that they don't rely on their salary to make a living, and whether or not they have any backing, it's certain that their family is wealthy. A wealthy family in Beijing might even know some big shots, and in Beijing, they would be considered a small-time official, but when they come to the local area, they are still very impressive.

  Director Jiao couldn't help but lower his posture, a smile spreading across his face: "It's too expensive, my old man is used to drinking it and I won't be able to afford it. I won't take the tea leaves, let me report back to Secretary Tang instead."

  Tang Yi didn't force it, and slightly nodded. Director Jiao began to introduce the deputy director candidates to Tang Yi, there were seven or eight people, it was rare for Director Jiao to remember their work experience, personality, and characteristics so clearly without looking at any documents, he talked incessantly for over half an hour. Tang Yi listened with some surprise, in the past when Director Jiao reported on this type of work, he would just read from the script, reciting their resumes and his own words, but never shared his personal opinions about their character like this before.

  Especially when mentioning several candidates, Director Jiao smiled and said that they were introduced and recommended by certain Secretary, certain leader, which made Tang Yi even more surprised. Isn't this clearly telling him who they are? Tang Yi did not expect a package of tea leaves to bring about subtle changes in Director Jiao's mind, nor did he bother to ponder his state of mind. After listening to Director Jiao's report, he asked: "What is Director Li's opinion?" As the deputy director, Li An still has the right to make recommendations.

  Minister Jiao hadn't thought to ask Director Li's opinion at all, and now he's somewhat regretful. He hastily explained: "Director Li has been busy running around the Ministry of Finance these past few days, I didn't get a chance to see him, it was an oversight on my part. I'll go find him right away."

  Tang Yi gave him a strange look, and gradually had an idea in his mind. He smiled and said: "That's not necessary, he just took office and is also at a loss, I estimate that he can't come up with any good suggestions either. So, Director Jiao, can you help me analyze which of these people are worthy of being used?"

  In the past, Director Jiao would have definitely brushed it off by saying that Secretary Tang had a unique perspective and had 100,000 troops in his heart, so I wouldn't dare to make any rash decisions. Now, when Tang Yi asked about it, he actually helped Tang Yi analyze it carefully, hinting at which candidates would affect the sensitive nerves of certain people, and gave Tang Yi an understanding of the complex personnel relationships within the county committee.

  Finally, Director Focal helped Tang Yi narrow it down to three people. Any one of these three would be the most advantageous for Tang Yi and would subtly win over some influential Standing Committee members. Tang Yi nodded repeatedly and smiled as he saw Director Focal out, saying: "Director Focal, please help me analyze more in the future, I'll be relying on you from now on."

  Minister Jiao was taken aback by the implication of Tang Yi's words, wondering if Secretary Tang wasn't just a impulsive and naive young man, but actually had a deeper understanding. To be honest, Minister Jiao was being polite to Tang Yi and offering him advice only because he suspected that Tang Yi had a powerful background, not because he thought highly of Tang Yi himself. He had heard that when Tang Yi was the town secretary, he loved to show off his power, which was typical of young officials who were arrogant and looked down on others. If it weren't for his strong backing, Tang Yi would have been brought down a long time ago.

  A few days later, when Minister Jiao heard about the candidates recommended by Tang Yi to Secretary Tao, he was stunned. The people Tang Yi had recommended were actually those who would offend several heavyweight Standing Committee members.

  At the Standing Committee meeting, Tang Yi was one of the people who spoke out boldly to support the candidate, although in the end the person approved by the Standing Committee was still one of the three originally recommended by Director Jiao. However, Tang Yi undoubtedly offended someone again.

  Minister Jiao couldn't figure out Tang Yi's thoughts no matter how hard he tried, but at the Standing Committee meeting, looking at Secretary Tao's faint smile and Tang Yi's confused and impulsive speech, Minister Jiao suddenly realized something, his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat, this Tang Yi is not simple at all.

  Although Tang Yi seemed to have offended someone, in fact, the person who used him was still one of the three people. Others would not really remember to hate him, at most, they would scold him a few words behind his back, and instead, would not offend the backers of the two people who were eliminated, and gave Secretary Tao and some standing committee members a politically somewhat naive impression. It seems that as long as the standing committee member is not stupid, he will not easily confront this young secretary who may have a big background and is naively lovely.

  Minister Jiao looked at Tang Yi's eyes again, and there was a hint of inexplicable meaning.