Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

The next morning, as soon as Qi Tongwei entered his office, his driver, Xiao Li, followed him in.

He closed the door, placed a briefcase on the desk, and muttered something under his breath.

"County Chief Qi, Qin Feiyue asked me to give this to you..."

Qi Tongwei shifted his gaze from the briefcase to his face and nodded slightly.

"Okay. You can go ahead and get back to work..."

A slight smile played on Xiao Li's lips, a hint of smugness in his eyes, as he turned and left.

Watching Xiao Li's retreating figure, Qi Tongwei's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

He frowned as he opened his briefcase, which contained two stacks of brand-new bills, each stack containing ten thousand dollars.

Qi Tongwei snorted coldly and muttered something under his breath.

"That's a huge sum... almost ten years' worth of my salary..."

He casually put down his briefcase, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed Wu Shanheng's number.

Wu Shanheng arrived in less than ten minutes, still a little out of breath when he entered.

"County Chief Qi, I was just about to report to you when you called..."

Qi Tongwei gestured for him to sit down and poured him a glass of water with a smile.

"I heard you all drink coffee in Shanghai, but I only have tea. I'm sorry to have to make do..."

Setting down his teacup, Qi Tongwei looked at Wu Shanheng and asked softly.

"July 1st is just around the corner, how are the preparations for the activities going?"

Wu Shanheng quickly sat up straight and answered with a smile.

"County Chief Qi, I guarantee that this event will be a great success."

"I hadn't noticed before, but after the notice was sent out, I realized there are many people in my situation..."

"Several couples signed up on the first day, and now the number of registered couples has exceeded twenty..."

"I'm even considering whether to round it up to a whole number, and let the others have a break..."

Qi Tongwei was also happy for him and asked with a smile.

"We can't postpone something as important as getting married. If you have any questions, just let me know, and I'll try to mediate..."

Wu Shanheng was a little embarrassed and awkwardly spoke up.

"The county isn't well-funded... There are too many people, it's too expensive..."

Qi Tongwei chuckled and casually handed over the briefcase.

"I'm afraid you won't dare to ask. Twenty thousand yuan, is that enough? If not, I'll apply for more."

Wu Shanheng was stunned. His eyes lit up as he looked at the money in the bag.

"Oh dear, this solves a big problem."

"To be honest, the venue setup, the food at the wedding, and the wedding attire..."

"Many of these things were donated by the public, and I don't know how to thank them enough."

"This money will solve a huge problem. Thank you so much..."

Qi Tongwei smiled and waved his hand, then slowly began to speak.

"Don't thank me, this was sponsored by General Manager Qin of the Leap Forward Project. If you want to thank someone, thank him at the wedding."

Wu Shanheng was taken aback, then nodded emphatically and said with a touch of emotion.

"Wow, the people of Bianxi are so warm-hearted... and this General Manager Qin is also a kind-hearted person..."

Qi Tongwei didn't reveal the secret, but smiled and gave a word of advice.

"Spend the money however you need to, don't be stingy. Make sure to keep good records."

Wu Shanheng was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly.

"Don't worry, I've kept records from the very beginning, and there's not a single penny off."

After seeing Wu Shanheng off, Qi Tongwei's smile gradually disappeared.

He lit a cigarette, pondered for a long time, then got up and walked towards Qin Xuefeng's office.

Qin Xuefeng was reading documents, and Qi Tongwei didn't disturb him, sitting quietly on the sofa and waiting.

It took Qin Xuefeng about half a minute to notice that Qi Tongwei had arrived.

He quickly took off his reading glasses and said with a smile.

"When did you get here? You didn't make a sound... You've come at the perfect time, I need to talk to you."

Qi Tongwei took the cigarette Qin Xuefeng tossed to him and asked with a smile.

"Oh? What do you need me for?"

Qin Xuefeng lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"Regarding the bidding for the Leitai Highway project... there's a lot of discontent from the lower levels because of the full upfront funding..."

He only said half of what he wanted to say, but Qi Tongwei understood it all.

These engineering companies approached Qin Xuefeng, wanting him to revise the bidding terms.

Qi Tongwei didn't respond, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and asked a question in return.

"Secretary, I've been thinking about something lately, could you give me some advice?"

"Businesses banded together and refused to bid, in order to coerce the government into changing the bidding conditions..."

"To put it bluntly, wouldn't this kind of behavior be considered hijacking the government?"

Qin Xuefeng was taken aback by the question; he had never considered it from this perspective before.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Qi Tongwei didn't press him for details and continued speaking.

"If you're not participating in the bidding this time, what about next time?"

"Will the project be stalled at critical junctures, forcing the government to increase investment?"

"Could they be using the inability to complete tasks assigned by higher authorities as leverage to force the government to allocate funds...?"

A barrage of questions made Qin Xuefeng's brows furrow deeper and his face grow increasingly grim.

Although he didn't speak, he understood what Qi Tongwei meant.

This is not a dispute over specific terms; it is a power struggle between the government and businesses.

A power struggle over whether the government or businesses should have absolute control in a project.

If the government withdraws this time, more companies will follow suit, putting the government in an even more passive position.

After a long silence, Qin Xuefeng was at a loss for words and felt somewhat conflicted.

Qi Tongwei knew he was in a dilemma, so he decided to add fuel to the fire.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, chuckled, and slowly began to speak.

"Secretary, actually I'm here today to report on something else."

Qin Xuefeng was taken aback for a moment, then immediately went along with it.

"Oh? Then let's talk about your matter first. We'll discuss the bidding issue later..."

Qi Tongwei nodded, got up, and gently closed the door.

When Qin Xuefeng saw him close the door, he felt a chill run down his spine; it seemed this was no small matter.

After closing the door, Qi Tongwei sat back down on the sofa and said in a deep voice.

"Just now, Qin Feiyue bribed me with 20,000 yuan!"

Qin Xuefeng was stunned, staring at Qi Tongwei's mouth, and remained silent for a long time.

After a brief silence, Qin Xuefeng slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice.

"This is outrageous! They dare to openly corrupt officials! I'm calling the disciplinary committee right now!"

Qi Tongwei narrowed his eyes, smiled, and waved his hand.

"Secretary, there's no need for that. Only you and I know the situation."

"I donated the money to the county in his name as a sponsorship fee for the group wedding."

"When we hold the wedding, we'll thank him properly and let him get some recognition throughout the province."

Qi Tongwei spoke casually, but Qin Xuefeng frowned deeply.

Qi Tongwei's handling of the matter was not in violation of regulations.

But he always felt a little awkward doing it, and he was considering the risks.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Qi Tongwei asked again.

"Secretary, I've finished reporting my situation... Do you think the full prepayment should still be cancelled?"

Qin Xuefeng was taken aback, but instantly connected the dots.

If he agrees to modify the terms at this point, what signal does that send to the company?

Where do I place myself? How will my superiors view me?

With these thoughts in mind, he quickly made a decision: the terms absolutely could not be changed.

He understood Qi Tongwei's actions and couldn't help but admire Qi Tongwei's skill!

Qi Tongwei's donation was a way to send a warning to Qin Feiyue without escalating the conflict.

If you have money and are willing to give gifts, then give as much as you want; Qi Tongwei will accept as much as you give.

This time it's a group wedding, next time it'll be a tent school, and the time after that it could be helping farmers and alleviating poverty...

It served as a warning, a signal, and Leishan also benefited... killing three birds with one stone.

After a moment of silence, Qin Xuefeng looked deeply at Qi Tongwei and suddenly felt somewhat tired.

"Tongwei, you're in charge of handling all this messy, ridiculous stuff..."

Having just turned sixty, he felt old for the first time and couldn't keep up with the pace of life.

Qi Tongwei, unaware of his thoughts, spoke again.

"Secretary, there's something else I wanted to let you know. I need to change drivers..."

Qin Xuefeng was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

He found it somewhat ridiculous and asked a question while frowning.

"Little Li? You've got some nerve?"

Qi Tongwei snorted coldly, his smile quite amusing.

"The second-in-command and the number one driver... these two have a lot of influence..."