Marry a female star at a bargain price

Chapter 183 182. Deputy Mayor Lin is put to the test
The dinner table.

In addition to Lin Xiao and Qiao Xuyang, there were three middle-aged men.

Qiao Xuyang introduced them one by one: "This is Mr. Fang from Excellence Architecture, Fang Jianhu, this is Mr. Peng from Donglai Consulting, Peng Dong, and this is the owner of this Junhao Restaurant, Mr. Wan Yuan!"

Lin Xiao nodded politely, smiling calmly.

They come, the security.

Since Qiao Xuyang had no martial ethics, there was no need for him to be polite and he just sat down in the main seat.

This sitting down left the four people with the immediate first impression that he was a "young man who is not worldly-wise".

Of course Lin Xiao did it on purpose.

Because of this, he will be able to follow this character and give them some of the sour and refreshing experiences of young people managing the workplace.

Qiao Xuyang was a little embarrassed.

As the person who organized the party, he should have sat in the main seat, but now he had to sit on the left side of Lin Xiao.

The two just sat down.

A fat black man on the right took out a cigarette and distributed it to the two leaders: "Mayor Lin, have a cigarette!"

The cigarette hasn't arrived yet, but the lighter is already in place.

Lin Xiao pushed his hand away and smiled warmly: "Thank you, no!"

I glanced at this fat black guy and it seemed that he was introduced just now as Fang Jianhu, the boss of some construction company.

Fang Jianhu was stunned for a moment, and quickly handed a cigarette to Qiao Xuyang. Deputy Mayor Qiao hesitated for a moment and ultimately did not take it.

So the other three people didn’t feel like smoking either!

The waiter started to serve the food.

Wan Yuan, the restaurant owner, took out two bottles of Maotai from under the table. Peng Dong, who was standing next to him, put the five people's wine dispensers on the turntable without hesitation. His movements were so fast and natural, as if they were engraved in his genes.

Lin Xiao watched quietly without saying anything.

Soon, the bottle of wine was poured out, and the small beads inside swayed crisply, sounding extremely pleasant.

Wan Yuan handed the first pot of wine to Lin Xiao respectfully and said with a simple smile: "Mayor Lin, this wine is old. It is my personal collection, specially used to entertain distinguished guests like you. Let's not go home until we are drunk today!"

The other two echoed.

Lin Xiao just smiled and pushed the wine jug aside: "Sorry, Mr. Wan, I really can't drink today!"

It was so straightforward that the four people were stunned.

Wan Yuan smiled and said, "Is Mayor Lin busy in the near future? Or..."

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Preparing for pregnancy!"

The four people originally thought that he was deliberately making an excuse not to drink.

I was already thinking that no matter what reason he gave, I had to fill his stomach with this jug of wine.

But I never expected him to say something like this.

Several people were really choked up. It was obvious that they had never encountered such a situation - mainly because most of the people they usually needed to please were over 40 years old, and they had almost no need in this regard!

Qiao Xuyang was stunned for a moment, then patted his shoulder in a friendly manner and said with a smile: "Brother, it's great, you're quick enough!"

Lin Xiao smiled and said nothing.

The other three understood and immediately followed the topic to flatter him.

"Mayor Lin is young and promising, and he doesn't look like he's married at all!"

"Mayor Lin looks like a good man who cares about his family and loves his wife!"

"Young people are strong and energetic. It's okay to drink a little. It won't affect their vitality!"

"..."

Lin Xiao just listened to their performance quietly, smiling politely, without saying a word.

Finally, Qiao Xuyang said, "My brother is in a special period, so he won't drink if he doesn't want to. Lao Wan, bring him some drinks!"

Only then did they stop talking.

Wan Yuan agreed and asked Lin Xiao what he wanted to drink, and he said anything.

Wan Yuan called the waiter.

Soon, several cans of seven or eight kinds of drinks, including cola, herbal tea, orange juice, etc., were brought up and placed in the middle of the turntable for Lin Xiao to choose.

Lin Xiao didn't move, and Fang Jianhu on his right took the initiative to bring him a can of herbal tea.

Seeing that he didn't refuse, she quickly opened the pull ring and placed it on his right hand.

"Mayor Lin, please!"

Fang Jianhu bit his back teeth and gave a fake smile.

Lin Xiao didn't even look at him, and poured the can into the goblet. His movements were calm, but it was obvious that he was dissatisfied with Fang Jianhu for not being able to serve people properly!

Fang Jianhu’s back teeth were almost bitten off.

The atmosphere at the table was extremely awkward.

Lin Xiao said nothing and drank the herbal tea calmly. The taste seemed much more upscale when he drank it from a high-heeled glass.

No matter how slow-witted Qiao Xuyang was, he realized that Lin Xiao was dissatisfied with him as the host. After all, it was just a private gathering for the two of them at the beginning, but now there were three outsiders.

He quickly smiled and said, "Brother, Mr. Fang, Mr. Peng, and Mr. Wan are all good friends of mine. We often drink and fish together. I had no other intention in asking them to come here today. I just thought it would be more lively with more people. Don't think too much!"

Several people quickly agreed: "That's right, we are all brothers!"

Lin Xiao smiled inconspicuously: "Brother Qiao, what you said is not me thinking too much, but you thinking too much. I really can't smoke, and I am really preparing for pregnancy so I can't drink alcohol, it's not an excuse!"

These two sentences made everyone look at each other awkwardly, and for a moment they didn't know whether he was serious or not.

In the end, I could only laugh heartily and treat him as if he was serious.

Qiao Xuyang raised his glass, and everyone at the table clinked their glasses together, and took a sip.

Lin Xiao thought this herbal tea tasted really good.

Fang Jianhu put down his cup and said with a smile: "Mayor Lin looks so young, but you can't tell that he is married at all!"

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Mr. Fang, you got it wrong. I don't just look young, I am young by nature!"

Fang Jianhu was stunned.

Wan Yuan quickly laughed and said, "Mayor Lin is really humorous!"

Peng Dong smiled and said, "Town Mayor Lin is a real young talent. If he hadn't gotten married, I don't know how many daughters of big leaders would have been interested in him, right?"

Several people helped each other to perform, and without Lin Xiao having to react at all, they promoted him to be the third place winner who even the emperor was attracted to.

Fang Jianhu then asked: "Chief Lin is so outstanding, your sister-in-law should also be outstanding, where is she employed?"

As soon as these words were spoken, even Qiao Xuyang looked over curiously.

He knew that Lin Xiao was married, but he couldn't find out anything about his wife's background no matter how hard he tried.

The more he kept hiding the truth, the more he felt there was something fishy going on.

Now, Lin Xiao just smiled calmly when asked: "It's not a high position, just an ordinary job!"

This made everyone lose interest, as they felt he was hiding something.

Peng Dong asked directly: "What kind of work is it? If your sister-in-law is not satisfied with her job, we can help solve it. If nothing else, we can arrange a job with a monthly salary of 4,000 to 5,000 yuan in Anyang County. It's just a matter of a word, and it will definitely make your sister-in-law happy!"

The other three all smiled, which showed that this promise was indeed a piece of cake for them.

Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows, not thinking that Peng Dong was bragging.

“A county Brahmin!”

He sneered inwardly.

Over the years, the country has used a fly swatter to kill countless flies at the grassroots level. I am afraid that each of them was formed under the temptation of such interests.

Perhaps the cadres were full of ambitions and dedicated to serving the public at the beginning, and had the dream of building the grassroots and their hometown.

But people living in this world will always encounter some difficulties.

Maybe parents are sick, or children are in school, or relatives need help...these are all difficult problems that one cannot solve because of one's wallet or face.

At this time, some good brothers will come over and offer you help very enthusiastically without asking for anything in return.

At times like this, no matter how important your integrity is, it is not as important as your parents' lives, your children's future, and your face in front of relatives.

So the spine that had been straight for a lifetime bent an inch.

With just one phone call from my good brother, the problem that you had to run yourself into is easily solved. You owe him a huge favor.

In a few days, my good brother will invite you to dinner, will you go?

A good brother introduces someone to me, who is working on a project. He calls you "leader" all the time and asks you to take care of him. You happen to have a project worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, so you would do it for anyone. Would you give a favor to the good brother?
The project was completed, and the results were unsatisfactory, but it barely passed the acceptance.

The good brother treated you to dinner again and stuffed two bottles of wine and two packs of cigarettes in your trunk. You saw that they were ordinary brands, so you accepted them.

When I got home and took out the cigarette, I saw an envelope underneath. I felt it and knew there was more than one month's salary.

Do you want to return it? How to return it? Do you think you are being hypocritical?
Then, one project after another, one drinking party after another, I became more and more familiar with these good brothers and became closer and closer to them.

You feel that this is the pinnacle of your life, and even think that your future path will become wider and wider.

Until one day, several staff members come to your office and ask you to go for an investigation.

……

At this moment, Lin Xiao listened to what Mr. Peng said and saw at a glance his future of winning the silver bracelet.

At this moment, I can only be thankful that I am not short of money!

He immediately smiled faintly and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Peng! My wife likes her current job very much, but her father is very strict and doesn't allow her to have much contact with the company... I can't make the decision on this matter!"

As soon as these words came out, the four people's eyes flickered.

Lin Xiao's words may seem humble, but they contain a lot of information.

Especially the sentence "don't allow more contact with enterprises"!
This sounds extraordinary!
It is impossible for an ordinary family to have such strange rules. Such rules can only exist within the system.

For ordinary families within the system, the restrictions are not so strict.

The only people who really need to discipline their children so strictly are high-ranking officials, and even those high-ranking officials they cannot reach.

The three businessmen present had been dealing with leaders for many years and knew a thing or two about these things. They immediately understood what Lin Xiao meant.

But all three of them thought he was bragging.

Where is this? Anyang County!

How could such a high-ranking official come from such a remote place? If there really were such a high-ranking official, who would place his son-in-law here?
Just blow it!

The three of them all looked disdainful.

Only Qiao Xuyang had a look of horror, with a hint of seriousness and earnestness in his eyes.

He knew that Lin Xiao was a native of Anyang County, and he also knew that he came from the provincial capital of Ninghai through the Qingmiao Program.

This background made him always feel that Lin Xiao’s backer must be extraordinary.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to revitalize the Xuefu Yaju project and the Laoyashan Hot Spring Hotel development project in less than a year after going to the countryside, help Chaobai Town to open up the highway, and introduce several large projects.

Any one of these achievements is enough for a grassroots deputy town mayor to regard as an outstanding deed, to write about it in the annual summary, and to praise it passionately at the commendation meeting for advanced individuals!

And so many achievements have been made by Lin Xiao, a young deputy mayor who is only in his early twenties!
Qiao Xuyang would never believe that he had no background or backing!
The main reason why he set up this seat today was that Fang Jianhu and Peng Dong had their eyes on the big fat piece of meat, the rural reconstruction project in Chaobai Town, and asked him to act as a go-between.

The secondary reason was that he wanted to get close to Lin Xiao and find out who his backers were. If he really was a great Buddha, he might as well pay his respects to him!
What's more, the main reason why Qiao Xuyang chose to be the deputy mayor of Chaobai Town was because of Lin Xiao.

Although Chaobai Town's economic indicators are only average among all towns in the county, it was ranked last a year ago.

However, Chaobai Town's growth rate and advancement speed are the fastest among all the towns.

He was also praised the most in meetings by county leaders in the past year.

As the saying goes, if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit!
Lin Xiao is a man of extraordinary abilities, and the entire Chaobai town team is proud of him. The former deputy mayor, Jia Boyan, was transferred to a lucrative and idle position in the county trade union at an age when he was about to retire. To put it bluntly, it was because of the revitalization of the Xuefu Yaju project, which benefited from Lin Xiao!

Qiao Xuyang is just in his early thirties. At this age, he is considered a young talent to be able to become deputy mayor.

He has his own background and connections.

When he decided to go to the grassroots level to gain experience at the beginning of the year, he had a choice. Then after some planning, he chose Chaobai Town, which was not outstanding in any aspect.

How much Lin Xiao had to do with this decision was unknown to him. Only he himself knew.

Now.

After listening to Lin Xiao's meaningful words, Qiao Xuyang felt that he had made the right move.

Seeing that the dinner was a little awkward, he quickly tried to smooth things over: "It seems that we are worrying too much! But it is also true that my brother is young and promising, and his sister-in-law will definitely not be bad, so there is no need for us brothers to worry about it!"

The other three quickly agreed and quickly changed the subject.

Because Lin Xiao doesn't drink, the host and the three guests didn't enjoy drinking either, so today's game was a failure.

Fang Jianhu and Peng Dong are both in the engineering field. They are sitting here today with ulterior motives. They have tried several times to steer the conversation towards the rural reconstruction projects in Jiajia Village and Xiaguan Village in Chaobai Town.

But they were all diverted by Qiao Xuyang.

The two men threw stones to ask for directions, but their attempts fell on deaf ears. They didn't dare to throw again and finished the meal in silence.

Lin Xiao sat from six o'clock to seven thirty, which was considered to be giving enough face to the four people.

Then he stood up and said goodbye.

Qiao Xuyang asked him to stay for a few words, left the other three in the private room, and personally sent him to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Brother, I didn't drink enough today. Let's meet again next time!"

"sure!"

Lin Xiao smiled, got in the car, opened the window and waved several times.

Only then did he drive his car into the traffic flow and leave this place of trouble.

He knew clearly the purpose of tonight's Hongmen Banquet as soon as he entered the room and saw those people.

The reason we didn't turn against each other was because there was no need.

He asked Jia Kai about Qiao Xuyang's background, which was quite strong in Anyang County.

Of course, this is not the reason why Lin Xiao did not break up with him.

The reason why we dealt with it that night was mainly because from the perspective of social etiquette, the other party did nothing wrong and no excessive demands were made throughout the banquet.

If he were to turn against me like this, then his image as an upright person would be too exaggerated!
What's more, the two of them will have to work together for a long time.

Within the system, nothing else matters, stability is the most important.

If he really took the initiative to break up with Qiao Xuyang, no matter how many faults Qiao Xuyang had, outsiders would think that all of them were his fault!
Lin Xiao knew this very well.

So even though he was unhappy in his heart, he still had to bite the bullet and deal with this situation. At the same time, he revealed that he had hooked up with a powerful father-in-law, and told them, "You county Brahmins, stop trying to take advantage of him and get close to him every day!"

In the second half of the dinner, Qiao Xuyang did not mention the original intention of holding the banquet.

From this point of view, Lin Xiao's strategy of taking advantage of the power of another was very successful.

As for whether Qiao Xuyang would give up trying to get close to him, and whether Fang Jianhu and Peng Dong would try to get in touch with him from other people, he had no idea!
But after this meeting tonight.

What Lin Xiao can be sure of is that the several projects he has on hand are indeed very popular. Before the project bidding is settled, there will definitely be flies flying around in front of him smelling the fragrance!
He has been very annoyed these days!
……

Lin Xiao was not wrong.

For two days in a row, there were crowds of people at the door of his office.

Ding Honghui, who was turned down by him last time, came again on purpose. He has always been the one to undertake the rural reconstruction project in Chaobai Town.

Learn from last time's experience.

Ding Honghui came this time at ten o'clock in the morning. What a coincidence, he had just finished a group meeting of the tourism special class and was sitting in the office when he knocked on the door and came in.

Lin Xiao became more and more certain that Mr. Ding had an insider in the town.

Now that people are here, we have to deal with them.

Ding Honghui still used the same old tricks, flattering, giving gifts, and treating people to meals.

Lin Xiao blocked them all.

Looking at the gas card on the table, he just wanted to say: You use this to test the cadres? Which cadre can't stand such a test?

This time he was really sick!

Compared to the last time when he just spoke in a stern tone, this time he slammed the table directly and said, "Boss Ding, although the development of our town cannot be separated from the support of private enterprises like you, to put it bluntly, we are now Party A and Party B. Instead of coming to my office to show your courtesy, you might as well prepare the bid well and think about how to do this project well within my requirements! Putting your mind on the right path is worse than anything else!"

After these harsh words, Ding Honghui was so ashamed that he walked out with his head bowed.

Lin Xiao knew that if he slammed the table, he would offend Mr. Ding.

But he was not afraid at all!

The reason why he didn't fall out with Qiao Xuyang was because he would have to work with a team in the future. But Ding Honghui was just the boss of a construction company. If he broke up with him, there would be many other construction companies bidding. Would he still be afraid that the project would not be able to move forward?
In this way, he was naturally full of confidence and directly scolded Ding Honghui out. At the same time, it was also a warning to the monkeys, so that the insider who secretly tipped off him would learn a lesson!
Ding Honghui was sent away, but the unrest caused by this big cake did not end there.

It was almost time to get off work on Tuesday afternoon.

Jia Minglu suddenly knocked on the door and came in with a smile on his face.

Lin Xiao knew something was wrong!
When he first arrived in Chaobai Town, Jia Minglu was extremely disdainful of him. Firstly, he felt very indignant that he was promoted to deputy mayor at such a young age. Secondly, he felt that the so-called Young Talent Program was nothing more than a way to gild the grassroots level and that he could not stay there at all, so he was even more indignant!
Who would have thought that after a period of contact, Lin Xiao successfully completed several large projects in succession, and his ability, means and ambition had all been verified.

Jia Minglu gradually changed his opinion of him and no longer picked on him in team meetings.

But it’s not that I’d say I’m very enthusiastic.

When he entered the door today, Deputy Mayor Jia's smiling face gave Lin Xiao goose bumps.

Lin Xiao’s inner thoughts: Deputy Mayor Jia, I still prefer your previous rebellious look.

"Busy?" Jia Minglu smiled.

"No, I'm getting ready to get off work!"

Lin Xiao also responded with a smile.

Although I knew he was up to no good, we had worked together for more than half a year after all.

Compared to Qiao Xuyang, Lin Xiao is more patient with him.

"Brother Ming, is there anything wrong?" he asked.

"It's okay. My waist hurts after sitting for the whole afternoon. I'm just going to take a walk!"

Jia Minglu said with a smile.

Lin Xiao also laughed: "In this case, you have to pay attention. I won't ask you to sit down!"

Jia Minglu nodded and paced back and forth in the office.

When it came to the third round, he finally spoke: "I heard that the Jiajia Village renovation project will soon go through the bidding process?"

Lin Xiao remained calm and said in his heart, "As expected!"
He nodded immediately: "Yes, if it's fast, it will be posted on the government procurement website this Friday, and the bid will be opened next month, and then we can start working!"

Jia Minglu smiled and said, "Very good, you are still very efficient! If this project is completed, the overall appearance of Jiajia Village will be qualitatively improved. On behalf of my fellow villagers, I have to thank you very much!"

Lin Xiao pretended to be surprised.

"Oh, if Brother Ming hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that you are from Jia Village!"

"Haha, what Jia Village or Lin Village? We are all public servants!"

"Brother Ming is still more conscious!"

Lin Xiao just smiled and ignored him.

Jia Minglu was a little embarrassed. He paced twice and finally couldn't help but speak: "Brother, you have been planning this project for so long. Do you have any intention of cooperating with any unit now?"

Lin Xiao's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself: Here it comes!
He immediately showed panic and embarrassment, and said hesitantly, "Brother Ming, what you are asking is... According to the internal control system, projects with a value of more than 30 yuan must be publicly tendered to prevent the transfer of interests and collusion between officials and businessmen! The control price of the Jiajia Village renovation project is more than 300 million yuan, so it must go through the bidding process. Before the official bidding, I don’t know which company will win the bid. Even if I have an interested company, it won’t work!"

Jia Minglu didn't expect that he would answer so eloquently and was stunned.

Then he smiled awkwardly and said, "Yes, of course I know about the procedures. This doesn't involve my hometown, so I'm afraid that I'll hire an unreliable Party B and ruin the good project. If the project is not done well, you can start over. If your hard work is wasted, it will be a waste!"

Lin Xiao quickly smiled and said, "So Brother Ming is worried about this. You can rest assured! Since the company was able to win the bid, it means that there must be no problem with their qualifications and capabilities!"

Since Jia Minglu was hiding it, he could just continue to pretend to be righteous.

He was silent for a moment, then laughed heartily, "Besides, winning the bid is only the first step. We still need to sign contracts and discuss details later. Our special team will also follow up on the progress of the project! If the company dares to be passive and lazy, they will not be able to get the project payment. We are not afraid that they will not work hard!
"Even if it's not for the overall tourism development of the town, just to improve the appearance of Brother Ming's hometown, I will devote 200% of my energy to this project, and I will definitely complete the project successfully, spend all the money on the right things, and make Jiajia Village a brand new one!"

Lin Xiao was smiling the whole time and spoke so passionately that he felt like his back was glowing with gold!

Jia Minglu had his own plans in mind.

But after hearing such a glorious speech, his little thoughts became even more shameless and he was too embarrassed to express them out loud.

He immediately smiled and said, "I feel relieved after hearing what you said... I'm almost off work, I won't bother you anymore!"

Lin Xiao nodded, smiling respectfully and friendly: "Brother Ming, take care, come and visit us often!"

Jia Minglu smiled bitterly and ugly, then walked away panting.

As soon as the door closed, the smile on Lin Xiao's face fell!
He knew how false what he had just said was!

According to the government procurement process, project bidding is completely entrusted to a third-party agency. Party A only provides the project requirements and bidding control price and is not allowed to interfere with the bidding process throughout the process in order to ensure the fairness of the bidding.

But in fact, there is a big trick here.

I won’t go into details, but just to say that these construction companies have been rushing to curry favor with me recently, you can see that this seemingly fair procedure actually has a lot of loopholes!

Lin Xiao just used these words to block Jia Minglu's way, so that he wouldn't have to make a request without any effort on his part to think of a way to reject him.

Now, neither of them can lose face.

After sending Jia Minglu away, Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

I have revitalized several unfinished projects before, and I also found it difficult, but it was the work itself that was difficult, so I could find a way to solve it.

But now, the work itself is not difficult, it can even be said to be easy.

But the human relationships, interests and connections outside of work are unimaginably tedious and complicated.

The reasons are nothing more than revitalizing unfinished buildings and developing hot spring hotels, which all involve selling land and taking money out of the developers' pockets.

The current rural reconstruction projects, on the other hand, involve paying out of one’s own pockets and letting businesses make money!
This essential difference creates a reversal of difficulty levels.

Lin Xiao is now a little overwhelmed!
But he knew that the matter would not be over until the bidding results were announced.

Now, two of the three deputy mayors in the town, except himself, have gotten involved. He doesn't know where this farce will end, and how much difficulty his "upright" personality will cause in his future work.

He just realized more and more that it was really difficult to do something down-to-earth at the grassroots level!

I was exhausted both physically and mentally and sighed repeatedly.

Seeing the clock on the wall pointed to five o'clock, he packed up and prepared to go home.

At this time, the phone on the desk rang.

At first glance, it was a call from Qin Zhenggang's office.

He frowned immediately.

(End of this chapter)