Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

In terms of rank, Secretary Li was many ranks below Vice Mayor Wang, but the problem was that Vice Mayor Wang had no authority over him; he was only responsible to his own superior.

For Laisheng Lei, it didn't matter who helped her find Yan Shuangying. She smiled and said Yan Shuangying's name and nickname, then said to Secretary Li, "Then thank you Secretary Li and your superior. If I have any news about my benefactor, I will definitely pay a visit."

Secretary Li felt smug and gave Vice Mayor Wang a provocative look.

His superior is at the vice-ministerial level, which is far superior to Vice Mayor Wang, who is at the deputy department level. He also has a wider network of connections, so finding someone is a piece of cake for him.

"Mayor Wang, I will have my secretary send you a general plan regarding the investment details. You can discuss the specifics yourselves; I won't interfere further. Once the plan is finalized, the first payment will be received. I can guarantee that."

"Lai Sheng Lei said to Vice Mayor Wang."

Vice Mayor Wang was overjoyed.

He had previously received some foreign businessmen, most of whom boasted and demanded preferential treatment and special offers, but when it came to paying money, they were all stingy. They were nothing like Laisheng Lei, who was so generous!

After Lai Sheng Rui spoke up, Kagura Chizuru, not wanting to fall behind, immediately followed up, "My investment is the same. I will have someone send over the investment plan tomorrow. If Mayor Wang thinks there are no problems, the funds will be in place immediately."

"That's wonderful, wonderful!"

Vice Mayor Wang wished tomorrow would come immediately so he could secure these two astronomical investments right away.

Now that everything was settled, Lai Sheng Lei said to Li Xin, "A Xin, let's go. We can buy some New Year's goods while we're out here."

Li Xin nodded; this was precisely the purpose for which he and Laishenglei had come out.

"Ah-Xin, if you don't mind, how about you show me around Jinghai?"

Kagura Chizuru then said, "Although I've been in Kyoto for a few days, I haven't really looked around the city properly. How about you, a local, show me around? After all, I'm planning to invest in this city."

Vice Mayor Wang quickly gave Li Xin a meaningful look, but even if Vice Mayor Wang hadn't given him that look, Li Xin couldn't have refused Kagura Chizuru's request. He smiled and said, "If you're not afraid that I'll lead you astray, then come with me."

Chizuru Kagura smiled: "If it's you, how about I go to the ditch with you?"

Although she was speaking to Li Xin, Kagura Chizuru's gaze remained fixed on Kisei Rui.

Laisheng Rui simply smiled, seemingly oblivious to the ambiguity in Kagura Chizuru's words.

"Let's go then, Maggie, please drive."

Lai Sheng Lei said to Mai Zhuo, who was hiding to the side pretending to be invisible.

"Yes Yes……"

Mai Zhuo said with a bitter face.

After Li Xin and the others left, Vice Mayor Wang and Secretary Li exchanged a glance and then immediately took action.

Vice Mayor Wang inquired about Yan Shuangying's whereabouts from his old friend who had served in the military, while Secretary Li borrowed the municipal government's phone to inform Secretary Zhao of the news.

"Yan Shuangying..."

Upon hearing the name, Secretary Zhao frowned. It wasn't that he hadn't heard of the name before, but rather that he hadn't expected a foreigner to want to find this person.

Secretary Li sensed the hesitation in Secretary Zhao's eyes and quickly said to him, "Secretary Zhao, this person is the benefactor of the father of the CEO of the Heinz Group. If we can find him, the CEO of the Heinz Group will definitely invest heavily in our Jingzhou City!"

"I know, I'll handle it."

After thinking for a moment, Secretary Zhao said to Secretary Li, "You stay in Jinghai for now, I will come over in person tomorrow."

Yan Shuangying is a very special figure in the new government. Regarding his affairs, Secretary Zhao must confirm that Miss Heinz is not Yan Shuangying's enemy before he can tell Miss Heinz Yan Shuangying's whereabouts.

Besides confirming Tia Heinz's attitude towards Yan Shuangying, Secretary Zhao also wanted to visit Shibalicun Village to see his old colleague.

The dehydrated vegetable factory is a minor matter, but if Secretary Wang really does have some special relationship with the CEO of that Heinz consortium, then...

"Could it be that even a salted fish can turn its life around one day?"

Secretary Zhao murmured.

Chapter 647 Yan Shuangying

"Ah-Xin, you're back!"

When the village chief saw Li Xin and Lai Shenglei return, he happily went out to greet them, only to find a new face outside the house.

"And this is...?"

The village chief stared blankly at Kagura Chizuru, who was dressed in an air of nobility.

“My name is Kagura Chizuru. I am a friend of Ashin in Japan. I have received a lot of help from Ashin. I met Ashin while I was in Central China on business, so I came here to visit him.”

Kagura Chizuru addressed the village chief respectfully.

Although the village chief looks like just an honest (?) old farmer, he is the one who raised Li Xin, and Kagura Chizuru dares not neglect him in the slightest.

"Ah-Xin, this..."

The village chief looked at Li Xin with... eyes.

“Village chief, this really isn’t it.”

Li Xin explained helplessly to the village chief, who rolled his eyes at him, probably cursing him in his heart as "a good-for-nothing," but he was still very enthusiastic towards Kagura Chizuru.

"Hello, Miss Kagura. Now that you're in our Shibali Village, please make yourself at home. Don't be shy, have fun!"

The village chief smiled and said to Kagura Chizuru.

Kagura Chizuru bowed and said, "Then I apologize for disturbing you."

When Kagura Chizuru arrived at Shibalipu Village, Secretary Li followed her there like a shadow, heading straight for the village brigade.

Logically speaking, his rank and position were far higher than that of Secretary Wang, a village party secretary. However, when facing Secretary Wang, Secretary Li acted extremely warmly, showing him great concern and attentiveness.

Secretary Wang frowned slightly when he saw Secretary Li's demeanor. He didn't think Secretary Li was being so respectful to him because of his colleague relationship with Secretary Zhao. He hadn't worked with Secretary Zhao for long, but he knew very well that Secretary Zhao was definitely not someone who valued old friendships. He was calling because he was betting that Secretary Zhao would help him in order to show off his superiority in front of him.

That's right, Secretary Wang's original plan was to let Secretary Zhao humiliate him in exchange for the approval of the dehydrated vegetable factory.

He was prepared for Secretary Zhao to send someone to humiliate him afterwards, but he never expected Secretary Li to be so... obsequious to him.

Yes, Secretary Li's attitude wasn't just simple enthusiasm, it was obsequiousness.

Secretary Wang was confused about what had happened and just silently watched Secretary Li's behavior. Secretary Li felt that this little village party secretary was not simple at all.

"Secretary Wang, I have already spoken with Vice Mayor Wang of Jinghai City about the dehydrated vegetable factory. I believe you will not encounter any administrative problems afterward."

Secretary Li unhesitatingly took all the credit for Vice Mayor Wang's work.

"Oh, I see. Thank you then."

Secretary Wang's attitude seemed lukewarm, leaving Secretary Li momentarily at a loss for words.

Just as Secretary Li was thinking about how to get closer to Secretary Wang, Michael arrived at the village brigade. He was taken aback when he saw that Secretary Wang had guests, and smiled and said, "Oh, Mr. Wang has guests. It seems I've come at the wrong time."

Secretary Wang shook his head and said, "No, the matter has already been discussed. Mr. Michael, is there anything I can help you with?"

"It's nothing. After having a long talk with Secretary Wang yesterday, I was inspired to create a lot of art. I drew a draft and wanted to get your feedback."

Michael said with a smile.

Looking at Michael's foreign appearance, Secretary Li couldn't help but ask, "Secretary Wang, may I ask who this gentleman is...?"

"This is Mr. Michael Heinz, a painter who is staying in our village temporarily."

Secretary Wang gave a brief introduction.

Heinz? Could it be that this foreign old man is Miss Heinz's grandfather?

Secretary Li, seeing that Michael was quite old and Tia Heinz was very young, assumed that Michael was Tia Heinz's grandfather.

Immediately, Secretary Li, as if discovering a new continent, warmly greeted him, saying, "Mr. Michael, I..."

But Secretary Wang didn't give Secretary Li a chance to curry favor, and directly pulled Michael and said, "Come on, Mr. Michael, let's go see the paintings."

"And this guest..."

"He's finished with his business and should leave. Don't worry about him."

Secretary Wang said calmly.

He roughly guessed that Secretary Li's enthusiasm must be due to something Li Xin and Lai Shenglei did when they went to Jinghai City that morning, which would cause Secretary Li to show such an attitude. Since that was the case, he didn't need to indulge Secretary Li anymore.

....................................

"The Heinz family was originally a prestigious family in Prussia, and produced a well-known left-wing painter. However, the painter was expelled from the family in his early years due to some issues, and the Heinz family was then run by the painter's twin brother."

"Under the new head of the family, the Heinz family has developed in a low-key manner. Although it has little international reputation, it has secretly accumulated a lot of wealth. Many internationally renowned companies and brands are controlled by the Heinz family, and the number of companies in which it holds shares is countless."

"A few months ago, the head of the Heinz family passed away, leaving all his inheritance to his brother's daughter—Tia Heinz, the daughter of the painter who was expelled from the family. After inheriting the Heinz family's estate, Tia Heinz changed the Heinz family's previous low profile and integrated the Heinz family's assets, both overt and covert, into the Heinz Group, which quickly became one of the top conglomerates in Europe."

"As Tia Heinz became the head of the Heinz family, her father, Michael Heinz, who had been missing for many years and was suspected of being killed, suddenly reappeared. Tia Heinz said she wanted to come to the Central Plains to repay a debt of gratitude because decades ago, her father, Michael Heinz, had received help from 'that department'."

“I checked the records. Forty years ago, when ‘that department’ sent people to retrieve a batch of cultural relics, they did indeed rescue Michael Heinz. Moreover, the person in charge of this matter at the time was the one codenamed ‘Falcon’.”

"According to the entry investigation, in addition to a large number of people from the Heinz Foundation, Ms. Tia Heinz's father, Michael Heinz, also accompanied her to the Central Plains. Moreover, before coming to the Central Plains, she donated a batch of Chinese cultural relics to the National Museum of my country and donated tens of millions of yuan to the National Museum of China for the maintenance of those cultural relics. The country also attaches great importance to this international friend."

A staff member reported to Secretary Zhao in detail the information he had collected.

After a moment of contemplation, Secretary Zhao asked, "I've never heard of that Tia Heinz before. Did she just suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

"Yes."

The staff member replied, "Her first public appearance was a few months ago when she returned the priceless Aphrodite statue to the Greek government. It was also during that time that her uncle, the former head of the Heinz family, suddenly passed away. The intelligence department suspected that the young lady was closely related to her uncle's death."

While saying this, the staff member had already imagined countless dramas of family feuds and revenge. It was a pity that the intelligence department only collected information from abroad and rarely dug deeper. If there were more detailed information, he might be able to find out what exactly happened to the Heinz family and learn more gossip.

"Okay, I understand. You may leave now."

Secretary Zhao nodded slightly and then dismissed the staff member.

He had no interest in knowing what role Tia Heinz played in that family power shift. He only needed to know two things: that Tia Heinz was rich and that she was genuinely there to repay a debt of gratitude. That was enough for him. Other details were none of his concern. If he had to investigate everything to the end, wouldn't he, the top official of Jingzhou City, be exhausted?

Now that he knew that Tia Heinz had no hostility towards Yan Shuangying and was not using the guise of repaying a debt of gratitude to seek revenge, he could contact that person with peace of mind.

But as soon as his hand touched the phone, Secretary Zhao hesitated.

That department wasn't part of his system. Although he was the top official in the provincial capital and a deputy provincial-level cadre, he might not have much influence in that department. Moreover, as a member of the administrative system, it was not allowed in principle for him to take the initiative to contact that department.

However, Secretary Zhao's hesitation lasted only a moment before he quickly picked up the phone.

Forget all that, the economy is king right now, and all rules and regulations must give way to the economy!

....................................

The next day, as soon as Secretary Wang stepped out, he saw Secretary Li. Seeing that this persistent pest had come back again, Secretary Wang was furious: "If you want to talk business and attract investment, go talk to someone yourself. Why are you always blocking my way?"

He already knew why Secretary Li was being so attentive – he wanted to get some investment from Lai Shenglei. It was also at that time that Secretary Wang realized how rich Lai Shenglei was!

Besides Lai Shengrui, Li Xin had another woman by his side. That woman was almost as rich as Lai Shengrui. The two of them were going to invest more than 6 billion in Jinghai. It was because of these investments that Secretary Li was so persistent in pestering Secretary Wang, hoping to use Secretary Wang's connections to change Lai Shengrui and Kagura Chizuru's minds and allocate a portion of the investment to Jingzhou.

Secretary Li said with a sheepish grin, "No, no, no, I... I just wanted to ask Secretary Wang for some advice on my work. I'll be transferred to a local position soon. I've been working under Secretary Zhao and have never been to the grassroots level. But you, Secretary Wang, have over twenty years of experience working at the grassroots level, and I'd like to learn from you."

Upon hearing Secretary Li's words, Secretary Wang's attitude changed somewhat, and he asked, "Where do you want to be transferred to?"

Jinshan County.

Secretary Li replied.

Secretary Wang immediately said, "Jinshan County... that's not a good place. Did you offend that guy surnamed Zhao?"

That was a notoriously poor county in the entire Handong Province. It was better than Shibali Village, but only slightly better. Going to such a place could mean wasting many years if things went wrong.

"No, no, no!" Secretary Li shook his head repeatedly, then said, "I took the initiative to apply to Secretary Zhao to be transferred there. It's precisely because that place is poor that I want to go there and make it prosperous!"

Secretary Li's tone was resolute, revealing an unwavering determination.

The familiar words filled Secretary Wang with mixed feelings. He sighed and said, "Alright, then I'll share some of my work experience with you."

"Yes, yes, yes, please tell me."

Secretary Li's attitude became attentive again.

He sought out Secretary Wang partly to learn from his work experience, but that didn't stop him from building a closer relationship with him. He knew very well that only by securing more investment could he have more resources when he took office in Jinshan County in the future.

The two sat down at the village committee office. Secretary Wang took a deep breath and said to Secretary Li, "Build roads! If we want Jinshan County to become rich, we must first find a way to build roads. Without roads, we cannot connect with the surrounding cities. No matter how many methods you have, you will never be able to lift Jinshan County out of poverty!"

These words truly reflect Secretary Wang's insights gained over the past twenty years.

He stayed in Shibalipu Village for more than 20 years. During that time, he thought of countless ways to increase grain production, reclaim wasteland to grow cash crops, and introduce handicrafts. He thought of and tried all of these methods, but because Shibalipu Village was inconvenient to access and could not integrate into the economy of the surrounding towns, things from Shibalipu Village could not go out, and things from outside could not come in.

Transportation is extremely important to the economy of a place. Take the dehydrated vegetable factory that Lai Shenglei is planning to build, for example. If the road in Shibali Village is not built, the transportation of building materials will be a problem, the cost of building the factory will increase exponentially, and the dehydrated vegetables produced will be difficult to transport out. The plan will not be able to be implemented.

As for other aspects of life, it goes without saying that Li Xin used to have to walk a long way through the mountains to go to school in town.

"Road construction..."

Secretary Li kept Secretary Wang's words firmly in mind. Just as he was about to ask Secretary Wang about other matters, he suddenly heard a commotion outside. When he went out to see what was happening, he saw his superior walking towards the village brigade surrounded by a large group of people.