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

"Assistant Qi, I had no choice. The Liang family came knocking on my door; how could I, a mere county party secretary, have the right or the courage to refuse?"

Qi Tongwei sneered inwardly and cursed under his breath, "Old fox."

This is an attempt to shift blame and portray themselves as a pitiful victim of "forced coercion."

He didn't respond, but just quietly watched Lee Da-hae, waiting for his "performance".

Seeing that he remained unmoved, Li Duohai continued to "preach from the heart": "Actually, there is still room for maneuver in this matter. As long as... as long as you can get the Liang family to be lenient and stop putting pressure on me, I will naturally be happy to have some peace and quiet. Why should I offend you? If we can all live in peace and get through these six months safely, it will be the best outcome for both of us."

Should we ask him to take the initiative to negotiate with the Liang family? Wouldn't that be tantamount to bowing down and admitting defeat to Liang Jin?

If that were the case, wouldn't all of Qi Tongwei's efforts in his rebirth and careful planning to get to where he is today have been in vain? He would never take that step.

Seeing Qi Tongwei remain silent, Li Duohai's eyes darted around, and he changed his approach: "Or... if you can help me withstand the pressure from the Liang family and make things easier for me, I can choose to remain neutral and not take sides. The gods above you are fighting amongst yourselves; I, a mere local, can't afford to be tormented."

"How can I help you cover for me?" Qi Tongwei asked in a calm tone.

Li Duohai leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and a hint of eagerness flashed in his eyes: "It's very simple. As long as I can... go further, and have a stronger backer, or a more stable position, the Liang family will naturally have to think twice."

"The vice mayor?" Qi Tongwei raised an eyebrow.

"Could it be a human party or a political party?" Lee Da-hae retorted, his tone filled with a sense of entitlement.

Qi Tongwei nodded and uttered two words: "Okay."

Li Duohai showed no joy on his face and continued, "Then when will you arrange for me to meet Director Han Shen?"

Qi Tongwei chuckled.

Lee Da-hae's expression turned somewhat ugly: "You still want to play delaying tactics with me?"

Qi Tongwei's lips curled into a slightly mocking smile: "Secretary Li, you want me to act as a go-between for you and get a meeting with Director Han. Well, have you contacted the Liang family and met with Deputy Secretary Liang in person?"

Li Duohai was speechless. Of course, he had never met Liang Qunfeng directly; Liang Jin was always the one who contacted him.

Someone of Liang Qunfeng's rank, how could he possibly meet him whenever he wanted?

"You can't even get a meeting with Deputy Secretary Liang, yet you want me to arrange for you to meet my Director Han?" Qi Tongwei shook his head. "Secretary Li, isn't that inappropriate?"

Lee Da-hae's face darkened, and his tone hardened.

"How can this be the same? First, you have a history of delaying things, so I don't trust you; second, if Director Han could be transferred to Handong... even if it's just a rumor, I'm willing to wait!"

There's some truth to what he said.

The Liang family's "political promises" were "current authority" to him. Although he might not be able to directly fulfill his promise as deputy mayor, his influence in the Handong area was real.

Han Shenyuan is in Beijing, and the promised "vice mayor" position is more like a distant "empty check" that may not be fulfilled.

His demand for "payment" first stemmed from a lack of security—he feared that Qi Tongwei would leave in six months, leaving him to bear the Liang family's wrath alone, without even knowing where the gates of the capital were.

However, Qi Tongwei knew that it would be extremely difficult to facilitate the appointment of a county party secretary to the substantive position of vice mayor across different systems.

Some people believe that a county party secretary being appointed as a vice mayor who is not on the standing committee is a demotion in disguise, but that is completely wrong.

To give a simple example, the title of "National Outstanding County Party Secretary" is quite prestigious, right? Nearly one-third of these people will become vice mayors in their next position.

For cadres at this level who have received numerous honors, it's fine to promote one or two, but we can't have a large number of them being promoted in name only and demoted in reality, can we?

Most county party secretaries are unable to be promoted to deputy mayor, and some even have no chance of becoming deputy heads of higher-level government positions.

The same goes for Lee Da-hae.

He raised this difficult question at this moment simply to shift the pressure and responsibility back to Qi Tongwei, while further demonstrating his "forced" stance: Look, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's that you can't help me, so I can only continue to listen to the Liang family.

If you're looking for trouble, don't come after me, Li Duohai. Go after the Liang family for revenge!

Dream on! Qi Tongwei felt an even greater chill in his heart.

Since you, Lee Da-hae, chose to take this path, affecting my future and possibly even receiving benefits from the Liang family, do you now want to use the phrase "forced" to sever all ties and shift all the hatred between me and the Liang family?

The instigator is certainly hateful, but are the executors innocent?

He must demonstrate his attitude so that Lee Da-hae will be wary and hesitant to act rashly in the future.

If you act softly, Lee Da-hae, a "political creature" who has been navigating the political arena for many years and has long since become cold-blooded by weighing the pros and cons, will only pretend to shed tears while taking action faster, more ruthlessly, and without any scruples.

Qi Tongwei raised his head, his gaze sharpening again, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable resolve: "Secretary Li, I don't have many merits, except for a good memory, especially a grudge. If someone stabs me with a knife, I not only want to break their hand holding the knife, but I also want to break the knife itself."

Li Duohai's pupils contracted slightly, and his face turned completely gloomy. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "It seems there's no point in talking. You won't help me, and the Liang family won't let me off the hook. I have to choose a side."

“There’s really nothing to discuss.” Qi Tongwei nodded, said no more, stood up, ignored Li Duohai’s unpredictable expression, turned and left the county party secretary’s office without even the most basic farewell etiquette.

The door slammed shut.

Qi Tongwei knew that the superficial harmony had been broken, and what followed was a real confrontation.

Chapter 74 The Dagger Appears

Within the rules, the power of a county party secretary is mainly reflected in his control over personnel, affairs, and finances: he can adjust the division of labor among cadres, decide or influence the direction of important affairs, and approve or block the budget of projects.

However, these three things have very limited effect on Qi Tongwei.

First, his official position and personnel records are with the State Economic Commission, so Li Duohai has no way to change his status.

The second and third points, restricting power and withholding resources, are essentially about "not letting you do anything," but Qi Tongwei's current core strategy is precisely "not taking initiative in doing anything."

If you restrict someone who doesn't want to move, the effect will naturally be greatly reduced.

As for methods outside the rules, Li Duohai dared not use them.

It's not that he's completely afraid of a complete breakdown in relations, but rather that once he resorts to such methods, things will completely spiral out of his control, with unpredictable consequences and extremely high risks.

Therefore, Qi Tongwei is now somewhat curious about what tricks Li Duohai can come up with within the rules to deal with him when these "conventional weapons" are almost ineffective.

Lee Da-hae's "counterattack" came swiftly.

On the fourth day, County Head Yi Xuexi led a team to the countryside to investigate the labor export situation, and Li Duohai convened a small-scale county party committee work meeting.

The meeting was originally scheduled to discuss several routine tasks, but as it drew to a close, Li Duohai seemed to suddenly remember something and casually mentioned, "By the way, didn't Assistant Qi Tongwei spend some time researching the feasibility of tea planting in Dianqian Township? I heard he did a lot of preliminary work. Since colleagues from relevant departments are here today, Assistant Qi, why don't you briefly introduce your initial ideas? Everyone can hear them and get a general understanding beforehand."

Everything seemed natural, as if it were just a spur-of-the-moment decision by the leader to check on the progress of the seconded cadres.

Qi Tongwei's research trip to the tea plantations was no secret in the county; many people knew about it.

This seems to be an attempt to force the issue into the discussion, and may even push it forward.

But Qi Tongwei would not let this matter pass by ambiguously at this moment.

He immediately stood up and, drawing on the information he had gathered and his firsthand observations, combined with the successful experience and potential risks of the Qijia Village tea plantation, began to speak eloquently.

From the starkly different soil composition, climate, and water conditions between Daokou County and Qijia Village, to the adaptability risks of introduced varieties, the uncertainty of initial investment and return cycles, and the potential impact on the local agricultural structure and the lack of market access... the discussion is rich in references, detailed in data, and logically rigorous.

Finally, he concluded clearly: "Based on the above analysis, I believe that under the current conditions, it is not the right time to promote tea planting on a large scale in Daokou County, especially as a key project of the collective economy. The risks outweigh the opportunities, and I do not recommend rushing into it."

Whether it's actually suitable or not doesn't matter; he just needs to indicate that he thinks it's not suitable.

After listening, Li Duohai's face remained expressionless. He neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply nodded and said, "Assistant Qi's research was very thorough, and the issues he raised deserve attention," before ending the meeting, as if it had just been a casual question.

This tentative "promotion" seemed to have been easily thwarted by Qi Tongwei.

A few days later, Xiao Luo came to Qi Tongwei's office looking uneasy and told him in a low voice, "County Chief Qi, recently there have been some unpleasant rumors in the county. Everyone is saying that you... offended a big shot in the province, and that someone in higher up wants to... 'get you'. They're making it sound very convincing."

Qi Tongwei listened, but just smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Soon, this "rumor" turned into real obstacles.

When he went to relevant bureaus and commissions to check documents and request data, or wanted to visit a certain township, he began to frequently encounter "soft rebuffs".

"County Chief Qi, I'm really sorry, the economic data for that year you requested is currently being reorganized and filed by the archives, and we can't retrieve it at the moment. Could you please come back later?"

"Assistant Qi, regarding the situation you asked about, the person in charge went to the countryside today and may not be back until tomorrow. Why don't you call again tomorrow to inquire?"

“County Chief Qi, it’s not that we’re not cooperating, but there have been a lot of inspections lately, and all the staff in the bureau are busy preparing for them. We really can’t spare anyone to accompany you on your inspection trip. Could you perhaps go and take a look around by yourself first? However, it’s been raining a lot lately, and the roads might be a bit difficult to travel on…”

In short, all sorts of "objective reasons" came one after another, but the core of them all boiled down to one thing: delay, shirking responsibility, and non-cooperation.

Some might wonder, Qi Tongwei has been conducting research for over a month now, hasn't he finished the first draft of his temporary assignment report yet?

In reality, producing a truly outstanding, substantial research report that reflects an individual's skill and value is not something that can be done overnight.

It requires constant refinement of the framework, repeated filling, verification, and updating of data, and even tracing back to the development trajectory and key decision-making background of ten or twenty years ago.

It is impossible to master all of this massive amount of information and historical data in a short period of time.

Moreover, many deep-seated issues and actual situations can only be understood by obtaining firsthand information through in-depth communication with people at different levels and in different positions.

The purpose of this situation, where we are constantly hitting roadblocks, is very clear: to prevent Qi Tongwei from obtaining sufficient, detailed, and in-depth materials, so that he can only deliver a superficial, empty, and mediocre "perfunctory" report.

For Qi Tongwei, who boasts accolades such as "PhD in Economics from Peking University," "unique insights into the economy of Handong," and "being given special attention by ministry leaders," this report was undoubtedly a failure.

This directly shattered his carefully cultivated image of being "highly educated and pragmatic," and undermined his core objective for this temporary post—to accumulate substantial grassroots achievements.

It can be said that Li Duohai's move hit Qi Tongwei's "Achilles' heel".

However, upon learning of Li Duohai's "killer move," Qi Tongwei felt not anxious at all, but rather secretly relieved and even somewhat disappointed.

That's it?

He thought this "old hand" who had been in the position of county party secretary for many years might have some more sophisticated and harder-to-prevent methods.

It seems that if Li Duohai were truly a man of exceptional skill and shrewd calculation, how could he have been stuck in the position of county party secretary for so many years without making any progress?

Within the rules, he had limited control over Qi Tongwei; outside the rules, he dared not act rashly.

All that's left is to use home advantage and personnel influence to carry out this level of "soft resistance".

This was entirely within Qi Tongwei's expectations.

The conventional way to break the deadlock is naturally to go to his direct superior, County Head Yi Xuexi.

Although Yi Xuexi was marginalized and suppressed by Li Duohai, and focused his main energy on labor export, becoming almost a "lone minister," he was still the top leader of the county government and the deputy secretary of the county party committee.

Within the county, no one dared to openly prevent the county head from accessing the county's economic data and materials, not even Li Duohai.

As long as Yi Xuexi is willing to step forward and claim he wants the information, Qi Tongwei can obtain almost all the data he desires.

But Qi Tongwei knew that getting Yi Xuexi, this "Buddha," to help would come at a price that would not be small.

Given his current status as a part-time assistant and the resources he controls, it would be difficult for him to offer a price that would tempt Yi Xuexi; he would have to alert Han Shen.

This is something Qi Tongwei is temporarily unwilling to do.

Therefore, Qi Tongwei did not choose this seemingly direct but actually difficult path.

He chose to... wait.