Volume 2: County Magistrate's Manor Chapter 13: Negotiation (Part 1)

  Tang Yi has been very busy these days, not only busy preparing to welcome the delegation of South Korea's Daewoo Electronics, but also mainly busy discussing with Xiao Jinhua the money laundering operation in Russia.

  Xiao Jinhua was in his element in Russia, but what was reported in the news was that Berezovsky, the vice president of the Russian State Bank, rose to prominence in the Russian reform group and soon became Yeltsin's most trusted reform expert. Berezovsky was the "big nose" of Russia in Xiao Jinhua's words. In Tang Yi's impression, among the seven major financial oligarchs who divided up the Soviet Union's national wealth, there was no mention of his name. It seemed that it was because his mother had a close relationship with him, and he himself came up with some ideas from behind the scenes, such as how to curry favor with Yeltsin's most trusted daughter, etc. The gossip news of the new century is now useful, and it's no wonder that Berezovsky was able to join Russia's reform decision-making layer.

  As for the delegation of Daxing Electronics, after Li An reported to him that day, he hastily verified and obtained Secretary Tao's agreement. He then sent a fax to Daxing Electronics in the name of the county party committee office. Daxing Electronics quickly confirmed that the person they had been communicating with was indeed the chairman of the group. At the time, Secretary Tao did not take offense at Tang Yi's mention of Han Chengzi's idea, and only said it was Li An's idea. Secretary Tao was in a good mood and looked at Li An with favor. These days, the Investment Promotion Bureau had fewer troubles, and Secretary Tao frequently extended an olive branch to Li An, who could only pretend to be crazy and ignore him.

  ……

  Winter came especially early to Yan Shan, not long after New Year's Day, a big snow floated down, the boiling and fluttering snowflakes quickly covered the streets and alleys of Yan Shan, wrapping the entire Yan Shan in a layer of silver.

  The second day, the sky was bright and sunny, and Old Li, the gatekeeper, and several security guards were busy sweeping away the snow at the entrance of the county government compound with iron shovels and brooms. Winters in Yanshan are particularly cold, and standing outside for a while would make your hands and feet numb from the cold. Old Li was over 50 years old this year, and he had been transferred from the county fertilizer factory to work as a gatekeeper at the county government last year. He was diligent and responsible in his work, which was also a common trait among people of his generation. Just like Old Gao, who drove for Tang Yi, he would never use the company car for personal purposes. Early that morning, he rode his bicycle from home, with icicles forming on his white mask due to the hot air from his breath freezing in the cold.

  Lao Gao got off his bike from a distance, and it was an unwritten rule to get off the bike when entering or leaving the county committee. Lao Gao and Lao Li exchanged greetings, pushed the bike into the shed, and then ran over to help the gatekeeper shovel snow with a spade. Lao Li couldn't help but tease: "What's going on, Lao Gao? Want to be the first one in? No need to show off in front of us!"

  "Go, go, go! If you keep spouting nonsense, I won't help you anymore." Old Gao shoveled the snow on the roadside with force, without even turning his head back. He didn't like to chat and was tight-lipped, so those friends who were curious about Tang Yi, the young secretary, couldn't get any inside information from him.

  Old Li chuckled a few times, glanced at his watch and said: "Old Gao, it's time to go pick up Secretary Tang. Be careful, Secretary Tang has a bad temper! In their impression, Secretary Tang must be that kind of strict leader, young people are definitely hot-headed, with a strong sense of punctuality.

  Lao Gao smiled silently, thinking to himself that they had misjudged Tang Secretary. Tang Secretary was a great person who never put on airs, especially when no one was around, and would often call him "Gao Dage" (older brother). Although Tang Secretary was the kind of leader who commanded respect without being angry, being called "Gao Dage" by him made Lao Gao's heart skip a beat. But the feeling of being valued by others was great.

  When Old Gao drove up to the entrance of Secretary Tang's building, he saw Secretary Tang walking out with a beautiful woman who looked like a model, and thought to himself that this was probably the girlfriend Secretary Tang often mentioned, she was even more beautiful than the actress who played Wang Xifeng in "Dream of Red Mansions".

  Tang Yi also saw Old Gao getting off the bus, smiled and introduced Qi Jie to him, then said: "Old Gao, after sending me over later, please send her to Liu Zhuang, she's going to her old house to take care of some things."

  Lao Gao readily agreed, helping Tang Yi and Qi Jie open the car door. The air conditioner in the Santana had just been turned on for a while, and the inside of the car was cool and refreshing. After Tang Yi got in, he smiled and said that if they had come from Lao Gao's house, the inside of the car wouldn't have been so chilly.

  Think about this master, everything is good, but the principle is too strong. He lives in a rural area, more than ten kilometers away from the county town. Every day he rides a bicycle to and from work. It's not easy for him to drive his car back home. Although these small details don't matter to himself, they are the easiest to cause gossip in the government compound.

  Qijie gently helped Tang Yi adjust the collar of his jacket, and Lao Gao couldn't help but glance at them through the rearview mirror, feeling a sense of nostalgia. It's hard to imagine how many years it would take for Secretary Tang to become like this. At this moment, the Santana slowly drove out of the neighborhood and onto the main street of the county town. Lao Gao stepped on the gas pedal, and the car sped quickly southward.

  ……

  Tang Yi walked into the office, just put down his briefcase, and pushed open the door. Tao Secretary came in with a clearly unpleasant expression. Tang Yi was somewhat surprised, as Old Tao had been all smiles these past few days due to the Great Star Electronics matter, so what's wrong today?

  "The delegation of Daxing Electronics was intercepted by Yanqing." As soon as the words were spoken, Secretary Tao's face showed some anger. Although he was an official promoted by Municipal Party Committee Secretary Lin, this time Daxing Electronics brought not investment, but a thick layer of political achievement. Secretary Lin suddenly appeared and took away the people from Daxing Electronics, although he called to encourage Secretary Tao for a few words. The more Secretary Tao thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. This godsend was invited by our Yan Mountain, how come in the end we Yan Mountain team didn't have any participation rights? It seems that all projects and investments must be uniformly planned by the city, even if Yan Mountain gets a large investment to build a pavilion, it would still be the achievement of the Municipal Party Committee.

  Secretary Tao got angrier the more he thought about it, thinking to himself that some people only know how to take care of themselves and don't care about others' feelings at all. He had been running around for him for over a decade, but when it came down to it, he still only looked out for himself.

  Tang Yi looked at Secretary Tao's iron-green round face and wanted to laugh. The conflict of interest was so realistic, what a big deal? It just made him and Secretary Lin have a rift, but this kind of rift wouldn't affect their relationship. Secretary Tao would probably force himself to forget about it soon, if he didn't even have this self-regulation ability, he wouldn't be able to make it as the county party secretary.

  Tang Yi handed Secretary Tao a cigarette and then took out the Zippo lighter his mother had sent from America to light it for him. Secretary Tao's eyes landed on the lighter, and although at that time in China, not only was Zippos a rare brand, but even lighters themselves were not something people paid much attention to, he still keenly sensed the heaviness and luxury of this black windproof lighter. Looking again at the small panda on his hand, he nodded to himself - he had heard before that this young man's family was wealthy, and it seemed true.

  Tang Yi's eyes were extremely sharp, and he smiled, saying: "This is an imported product. If Secretary Tao likes it, I'll help you bring one back next time."

  Secretary Tao sat on the sofa with some fatigue, spat out a mouthful of smoke, shook his head and smiled: "This high-end stuff I can't afford to use, I like to use disposable lighters the most, and it doesn't hurt to throw them away."

  Tang Yi sat down beside him, somewhat sentimentally saying: "A disposable lighter getting lost isn't heartbreaking, but a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity getting lost is enough to make one clench their fists in regret..."

  Secretary Tao's chubby face twitched slightly, and Tang Yi's words struck a chord in his heart. However, he still managed to put on an air of nonchalance: "We're all one family in Yan Shan and Yan Qing, no distinction between us. Besides, Daxing Electronics is our trump card. If they really invest, the municipal committee's policy will also lean towards us."

  Tang Yi smiled: "Since that's the case, then I was overthinking it. Originally, I was thinking that we might not necessarily be unable to get a direct investment from Yan Shan Electronics."

  Secretary Tao's eyes lit up: "You have a way?" He thought to himself, could it be that this young man is eager for quick success and wants to use some connection? That would be great, he can avoid offending Secretary Lin while also taking charge of the investment matter.

  Tang Yizhuo thought for a moment and said: "Director Li of the China Merchants Bureau does have an idea, I don't know if it's feasible or not, let me think about it again."

  Secretary Tao let out a sigh. Li An is such a clever kid, it's a pity he followed this foolish young master.

  Secretary Tao said slowly, "Let's count it slowly, don't rush," but in his heart he was burning with anxiety, and he couldn't wait to go out and ask Li An about it. However, he looked calm and composed as he walked back to the office with small steps, and no one could tell what he was thinking at that moment.

  Tang Yi stood in front of the glass window of his office, looking at Secretary Tao, and nodded slightly. This tempering skill was quite effective.

  Sitting back on the sofa, he was just about to pick up the phone to instruct Li An a few words, but the phone rang out of tune. Tang Yi picked up the phone and said hello, and the voice of Liu Dazhong came from the receiver: "Secretary Tang, I finally found you. It's like this, the county electricity department has sent a notice to your former dormitory, saying that the electricity department is being renovated again, and the classroom is temporarily moved to No. 1 Middle School. Also, in order to implement the spirit of the provincial electricity department's document, classes will be taken by roll call from now on, and late arrivals will deduct merit points. If the merit points are not qualified, the graduation certificate will not be issued."

  Tang Yi frowned upon hearing this, isn't it just an online university? Why bother with so much fuss?

  "Secretary Tang, did you hear what I said? Do you want me to repeat it for you?" Liu Da Zhong asked loudly again, not hearing any response from Tang Yi.

  Tang Yi hastily smiled and said: "Heard it, heard it, thank you Secretary Liu. Tomorrow when I'm free, let's come to the county and have a drink together."

  Cheng Cheng, Liu Dazhong hung up the phone after chatting with Tang Yi for a few more sentences. Tang Yi let out a sigh and said he would be busy on Sunday.