The car traveled on the bumpy road for four hours before finally arriving at Chunshui County.
Every time Ji Yang rode through this area, he shook his head; the road was indeed terrible.
This time, Wang Shuimin accompanied him; aside from the city’s official vehicle, Ji Yang also drove his own car.
Sitting inside Ji Yang’s car were two men, while the rest were in the vehicles from the organization department.
Ji Yang noticed something: County Mayor Cao Songxin and Executive Deputy County Mayor Wang Hongping didn’t talk much, whereas Chief Lin Wenfeng from the organization department was quite talkative.
This guy also sat in Ji Yang’s car, chatting about some recent events in the city during the trip.
Initially, Ji Yang wondered why this talkative guy never got into trouble; later, he realized that his father was a senior leader in the city, so many current leaders had to give face to his father.
Knowing this, Ji Yang felt relieved.
"Chief Lin, this road is in such bad condition; hasn’t the city ever thought about fixing it?" Ji Yang asked.
"Secretary Ji, there were plans to fix this road, and much was ready, but the leadership of Chunshui County squandered it."
"Really?" Cao Songxin also got curious.
Lin Wenfeng laughed, "You might not know, but actually, the people in Chunshui County never wanted to fix this road."
Wang Hongping curiously asked, "Isn’t fixing the road a good thing? Why would they stop it?"
"I also heard some rumors, not taking them seriously. Think about it, hasn’t Chunshui County been involved in a lot of issues with the anti-corruption strike?"
Lin Wenfeng continued, "If a place wants to protect its interests, it doesn’t need external interference."
Ji Yang finally understood; thinking about what those people in Chunshui County had done, he realized that not fixing the road was beneficial for local protection. In this isolated area, everyone could do whatever they wanted.
Cao Songxin said, "I really didn’t expect it to be such a situation!" He seemed to understand as well.
Lin Wenfeng added, "We found this out after arresting so many people; those guys would do anything for their own interests."
Ji Yang said, "It seems we need to submit a request to superiors to fix the road."
Cao Songxin said, "This road is indeed too difficult to travel on; I think fixing it is imperative."
"If we had moved forward with the initial project to fix the road, all sorts of planning and designs had been done. Later, it was shelved because someone raised that fixing the road wouldn’t be profitable. If you want to proceed, you can look up those design documents; they should be in the county," Lin Wenfeng said.
Cao Songxin said, "Without this road, it’s hard to get anything done; it must be fixed."
Ji Yang said, "Well said, we indeed need to fix the road, but funding could still be tricky."
Ji Yang knew his situation; he wasn’t favored by some people in the province, so his applying might just fall through.
"Old Cao, keep an eye on this matter and try to get it done."
Ji Yang directly handed the responsibility over to Cao Songxin, wanting to see if he was competent.
From the rearview mirror, Ji Yang immediately saw Cao Songxin’s face darken. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Seeing this, Ji Yang guessed that Cao Songxin might not have strong connections either.
After probing a bit, Ji Yang pondered the nature of these officials sent from higher up. As he couldn’t figure out their backgrounds right away, Ji Yang felt somewhat troubled.
Soon, the conversation shifted away from road fixing.
Lin Wenfeng kept talking throughout the journey, and Ji Yang heard some covert affairs from the city through him.
However, following the extensive issues with the officials, many matters lost their significance; it was just talk.
The most benefit came from Lin Wenfeng disclosing details about several female comrades in the county.
From his narratives, Ji Yang figured out that, apart from being beautiful, these women didn’t have strong backers, and some had always worked in the bureaucracy without ever going to the grassroots.
What was this situation?
Ji Yang felt increasingly unsure of the superiors’ intentions.
When the car entered the county party committee compound, Ji Yang and his party were the first to arrive; the other two vehicles needed more time.
Ji Yang had spoken with the two team members all the way, and somehow got the impression that they were not the kind of officials who were bold in innovation but rather those with limited capabilities.
Moreover, from their conversations, Ji Yang sensed that they were more inclined towards a stable approach, somewhat resistant to many things.
Also, seeing Lin Wenfeng’s attitude towards them made it clear that they were not very important in his eyes.
After observing all this, Ji Yang said no more and, after handing out cigarettes, waited for the other two vehicles to arrive.