Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

"The difference isn't that big," Qi Tongwei said. "Why can't we reach an agreement?"

The chairman hesitated for a moment: "Mainly... the villagers think the port is profitable and want more. Also, some people are stirring things up behind the scenes, saying that the land will be more valuable in the future, and that we are losing money by selling it now."

After listening, Qi Tongwei turned to the director of the Natural Resources Department next to him and said, "Your department should take the lead in this matter, together with the Binhai Municipal Government and the Port Group, to recalculate the compensation standards. Give them what they are entitled to, but don't ask for exorbitant prices. In addition, do a good job of communicating with the public, explain the policies clearly, and make the reasons clear, so that no one with ulterior motives can take advantage of the situation."

"Okay, Governor Qi."

"As for the port group," Qi Tongwei said to the chairman, "you also need to pay attention to your methods. Land acquisition and demolition cannot be done by force; it must be done in accordance with laws and regulations, and the people must be satisfied. If there are any difficulties, report to the provincial government at any time."

"Understood, Governor Qi."

Qi Tongwei toured the port, inspecting the docks, warehouses, and dispatch center, asking numerous detailed questions, ranging from throughput and cargo types to employee benefits and safety in production.

The survey ended at 5 p.m.

Qi Tongwei got into the car, preparing to return to the provincial government. Just as the car started moving, his secretary's phone rang.

The secretary answered the phone, listened for a few minutes, and then turned to Qi Tongwei and said, "Provincial Governor Qi, Secretary-General Liu from R University called and said he would like to invite you to dinner tonight. He has something to report to you."

Qi Tongwei shook his head: "Cancel it. Tell them I have plans for tonight."

"Ok."

The car drove out of the port and headed towards the provincial capital.

The secretary received another call from Chen Zhuxi of the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, who said that several important entrepreneurs wanted to meet Qi Sheng and hoped to arrange a dinner.

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei said, "Let's reschedule for next week. You can decide on the specific time."

After saying that, he leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes to rest, and didn't say anything more.

Now that he is the executive vice president, exercising some of the provincial second-level powers, these people swarm around him like sharks smelling blood.

At 6 PM, at the provincial government office building

After finishing his simple dinner, Qi Tongwei returned to his office, where the General Office had already laid out a thick stack of new documents to be approved on his desk.

He took off his coat, sat down, and began to look at the documents one by one.

There were requests for instructions, reports, plans, and suggestions, with a wide variety of contents.

The "Request for Additional Provincial Budgetary Infrastructure Investment in 2017" – submitted by the Finance Department – ​​requested an additional 15 billion yuan in investment for several key projects. Qi Tongwei read it through and wrote in the comments section: "Agreed, submit to the Provincial Government Office Meeting for review."

The "Three-Year Action Plan for the Development of the Digital Economy in Handong Province (2017-2020)"—submitted by the Department of Industry and Information Technology—was tens of thousands of words long. Qi Tongwei turned to the last page, read the conclusion, and then wrote in the comments section: "Agreed in principle, but the objectives should be clearer and the measures more specific. Please revise and resubmit."

The "Proposal for the Establishment of the Handong Provincial Industrial Investment Group"—submitted by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC)—planned to reorganize several provincial enterprises to form a trillion-yuan-level industrial investment platform. Qi Tongwei reviewed it carefully, marking and annotating the proposal, and finally wrote a lengthy commentary requesting SASAC to supplement the content regarding risk assessment and exit mechanisms.

Halfway through the approval process, the secretary came in: "Provincial Governor Qi, the Provincial Party Committee Office called and said that Secretary Gao would like to see you. They asked if you are available now?"

Qi Tongwei glanced at his watch; it was almost seven o'clock. "Now?"

"Secretary Gao said, 'If it's convenient for you, please go over now.'"

"Okay, I'm coming over now."

Qi Tongwei stood up, picked up his coat, and walked towards the Shengli Committee.

Gao Yuliang's office was on the third floor. When Qi Tongwei arrived, Gao Yuliang was looking at documents.

"Secretary Yuliang." Qi Tongwei knocked on the door.

"Tongwei is here, please sit down." Gao Yuliang put down the documents and gestured for him to sit down.

The two sat down on the sofa, and Gao Yuliang poured Qi Tongwei a cup of tea: "I heard you were very busy today. You had a meeting in the morning, received entrepreneurs at noon, and went to the port in the afternoon. You didn't stop all day."

"It's alright," Qi Tongwei said, picking up his teacup. "Just routine work."

Gao Yuliang spoke up: "Tongwei, I've called you here to talk to you about Li Dakang."

Qi Tongwei picked up his teacup, remained silent, and waited for him to continue.

“Secretary Sha means that Li Dakang’s matter is almost settled,” Gao Yuliang said. “He can’t get promoted in Handong anymore, so he’s no longer a threat to us. There’s no need to keep pursuing him.”

“I understand,” Qi Tongwei said.

“It’s good that you understand,” Gao Yuliang said, looking at him. “Tongwei, you’re the executive vice president now. It’s a very important position, but also a sensitive one. Everyone is watching your every move. Be more magnanimous, understand?”

"I know."

“Furthermore,” Gao Yuliang continued, “I’ve heard about the downgrading of the Guangming Peak project’s priority. Were you involved in this?”

Qi Tongwei paused for a moment, then said, "It was the result of the provincial government's executive meeting; I was just presiding over the meeting."

Gao Yuliang looked at him without saying a word. After a while, he finally spoke: "Tongwei, let's stop here."

"I see."

Gao Yuliang nodded: "That's good, you can go ahead and get busy."

Qi Tongwei stood up, said goodbye, and left.

It was already dark when I walked out of the building.

He stood downstairs and took a deep breath.

Teacher Gao has aged, not physically, but mentally. He's become a "Mr. Nice Guy," forgiving and forgiving whenever possible.

He even felt a pang of sympathy for his former rival, Li Dakang.

He had no prejudice against Li Dakang, but he wanted to make Li Dakang a wound for Sha Ruijin, causing Sha Ruijin to bleed continuously.

Therefore, he will not let go of the matter of Bright Peak.

He took out his phone and made a call:

"Mayor Zheng? This is Qi Tongwei... Yes, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. The municipal government must fully cooperate with the audit of the Guangming Peak project. ... I know, but this is a requirement from the provincial government and must be strictly enforced... Okay, that's settled then. Report any issues you may have at any time."

After hanging up, he dialed another number.

"Is this the Environmental Protection Bureau? This is Qi Tongwei... Please review the environmental impact assessment for the Guangming Peak project again, especially the dust and noise control during construction. It must be strictly in accordance with the new standards... Yes, we can't relax... Okay."

Then the call ended.

Qi Tongwei got into his car and returned to the provincial government building; he still had new documents to review.

Chapter 150 Sha Qi's Conversation

As soon as Sha Ruijin arrived at work, he received the news.

Bai Jingwen pushed open the door and came in, holding a document in his hand, with an indescribable expression on his face, as if hesitant or worried.

"Secretary Sha, the provincial audit office's interim audit report on the Guangming Peak project is out." Bai Jingwen placed the materials on the table. "In addition, news came from Jingzhou that Mayor Zheng Hong may formally propose a personnel adjustment plan for Guangming Peak at the next meeting of the municipal party committee standing committee."

Sha Ruijin was reviewing documents when he paused, looking up and asking, "Is this a routine audit or a special audit?"

“It’s a special audit,” Bai Jingwen said. “It was arranged directly by the provincial government’s office meeting, and the audit team has been there for a week.”

Sha Ruijin put down his pen, picked up the document, opened it, and quickly glanced through it.

The report was written very professionally, and the issues were listed very clearly:

Some bidding procedures were too rushed, with flaws in certain steps; in land procedures, the approval time for three plots of land was later than the actual commencement time; in fund allocation, the approval process for five large sums of money was incomplete, with some countersignatures missing; and some data in the environmental impact assessment report differed from the actual monitoring data.

The audit team recommended: suspending some projects and completing the necessary procedures; holding relevant personnel accountable; and reassessing the project's compliance.

After reading the report, Sha Ruijin closed it, leaned back in his chair, and remained silent for a moment.

These problems are common in large projects.

If you want to be serious about it, then it is indeed a problem; if you don't want to be serious, then it can be explained away.

The key question is: why is such a rigorous audit being conducted on this project at this time?

“Xiao Bai,” Sha Ruijin began, his tone calm, “call Qi Tongwei and ask him to come to my office at three o’clock this afternoon. I want to talk to him about work.”

"Okay, Secretary Sha."

Bai Jingwen left and gently closed the door behind him.

Sha Ruijin sat in the chair for a while, sorting out the details of the matter in his mind.

He spoke with Li Dakang and made it clear to him that he wouldn't be promoted, but he would protect him.

His attitude has been clearly demonstrated to the outside world.

But Qi Tongwei didn't stop; instead, he intensified his efforts: first, he downgraded Guangming Peak's priority at the executive meeting, and now he's conducting a special audit.

In Jingzhou, Zheng Hong is pushing hard for personnel adjustments, which is clearly supported by Qi Tongwei behind the scenes.

This is not simply a matter of targeting Li Dakang.

This was Qi Tongwei testing his bottom line.

To test the extent to which he would protect Li Dakang.

If he doesn't intervene, Qi Tongwei will continue. The Guangming Summit will be dragged out or its leader will be replaced; Li Dakang's authority in Jingzhou will be damaged; and outsiders will think he can't protect the people he wants to protect.

If he were to take action, he would do it skillfully: he would have to protect Li Dakang, give Qi Tongwei a warning, and avoid a complete breakdown in relations.

Sha Ruijin stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the provincial party committee compound.

This is a game of strategy.

It's not just about Li Dakang, but also about the power relationship between him and Qi Tongwei in the future.

Given his current power structure—first in the province and fourth in the province over Qi Tongwei—winning would be easy. The difficulty lies in getting Qi Tongwei to accept it willingly, so as not to affect the team formation a year later.

This will test his ability to maintain checks and balances.

3 PM, Provincial Party Committee Office Building

Qi Tongwei arrived on time. Bai Jingwen was already waiting at the door to greet him, then knocked and opened the door.

"Secretary Sha, Governor Qi has arrived."

"Secretary Sha."

“Tongwei is here, please sit down.” Sha Ruijin stood up and gestured for him to sit on the sofa opposite him.

The two sat down, the atmosphere was peaceful, and there was no sign of tension.

Sha Ruijin poured Qi Tongwei a cup of tea: "Comrade Tongwei, you've been working hard lately. You must be very busy with so many things to do?"

"It's alright," Qi Tongwei said, picking up his teacup. "It's all part of the job."

“I’ve read the provincial government’s recent work report,” Sha Ruijin said in a gentle tone. “The new energy industrial park project is progressing well, and the port expansion is also accelerating. You’ve done a great job.”