The Beautiful County Magistrate
Chapter 259: Fooling the Chief of Xiao Fan Village into Limping!

Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Fooling the Chief of Xiao Fan Village into Limping!

Xu Qianli warmly greeted Fan Wenbin to his office, inviting him to sit on the sofa and personally brewing a pot of tea for him. His enthusiasm made Fan Wenbin wonder if they had really been as close as he recalled or if their relationship had been genuinely good.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, Fan Wenbin had never had much to do with Xu Qianli—they could even be considered enemies.

Ever since Xu Qianli had snatched the positions of Secretary to the former County Magistrate and Director of the Government Office, Fan Wenbin had regarded him as a mortal foe.

With Xu Qianli’s arrival in Qingshan Town today, not only had he stolen home twice, but he had also caused Fan Wenbin to lose face and his authority to diminish significantly, even receiving a fierce scolding from Lan Qianrong; he had completely lost all dignity.

What was Xu Qianli, that bastard, really after with such sudden warmth?

No, something was off—Xu Qianli was definitely up to some mischief!

Subconsciously glancing at the tea Xu Qianli had brewed, could it be poisoned?

"Senior brother, why aren’t you drinking the tea? Don’t tell me you suspect me of poisoning it?"

Xu Qianli suddenly spoke up, mocking himself with a laugh before taking a sip of the tea.

"Ah, what excellent tea, truly excellent tea. This is the leftover tea leaves from Li Zhu, the flavor is peerless, senior brother, won’t you try some?"

"Senior brother, after all, we were both brought up by the old County Magistrate, even if there were misunderstandings in the past, they aren’t irreconcilable, right?"

"Come, have some tea, and I will tell you what benefits I have prepared for you."

Having come this far in conversation, Fan Wenbin reluctantly picked up the teacup and tasted a sip.

Putting down the teacup, Fan Wenbin said, "All right, out with it, what do you want to say?"

Xu Qianli said, "I just wanted to talk to you about your ambitions—do you want to advance? Do you aspire to rise to the level of County Bureau, even Deputy County Magistrate or County Magistrate, or perhaps even County Party Secretary?"

"What did you say?"

"Become the County Magistrate, or the County Party Secretary?"

"Have you lost your mind, Xu Qianli? I, Fan Wenbin, have been relegated to a backwater like Qingshan Town. Even if I wish to climb higher, at the most I could become the Party Secretary of the town; how could I possibly go any higher?"

"Don’t you see? In the last few decades, has there been a single official who emerged from a poor place like Qingshan Town?"

"I just don’t get it—what on earth are you trying to say? Stop beating around the bush and get to the point!"

Fan Wenbin had no patience to argue further with Xu Qianli, clearly seeing that Xu was just trying to lure him into a trap—he wasn’t going to be fooled.

Faced with Fan Wenbin’s skepticism, Xu Qianli nodded.

"Yes, so far, no official from Qingshan Town has moved on to a more significant position."

"Even the former County Party Secretary started at the grassroots in other places before he came to Jiang City as the County Party Secretary."

"But then again, just because it hasn’t happened in the past, does it mean it can never happen?"

"If we can achieve substantial success here in Qingshan Town and garner enough achievements, couldn’t we rise higher?"

"Not to mention, just consider the tourism investment plan for Qingshan Town; if executed well, it could propel us straight to success!"

"Hold off on turning against me; yes, I pushed through this plan today in your absence during a large meeting of the officials—it’s understandable for you to be angry."

"But if you’d calm down and think about it, considering the scenic potential of Qingshan Town, doesn’t the plan have great prospects?"

After saying this, Xu Qianli continued drinking his tea, waiting for Fan Wenbin’s reaction.

Fan Wenbin abruptly waved his hand.

"Enough, stop trying to trick me. Who would come to invest in tourism development in a remote and impoverished place like Qingshan Town?"

"Moreover, I’ve already heard, both openly and covertly, from the Zhongzhou City Business Association that they won’t invest in Qingshan Town. They will actively oppose any person or company that does."

"Under these circumstances, your so-called Qingshan Town tourism investment and development plan will undoubtedly fail."

"I might be foolish, but I wouldn’t be swayed by you into joining your ventures,"

"Moreover, I’m opposed to this investment plan!"

Fan Wenbin thought to himself, Xu Qianli, you sneaky devil, trying to drag me into your nefarious plans. Do you really think I’m that gullible?

Xu Qianli said, "What if I told you that I already have over ten billion in secured investments?"

"You must be dreaming," Fan Wenbin retorted, looking at Xu Qianli as if he were an idiot.

How can he make such outlandish claims without any proof?

Ten billion in investments?

Let alone Qingshan Town, even the total investments secured by the entirety of Zhongzhou City in a year were only a few hundred billion.

Fan Wenbin certainly didn’t believe Xu Qianli’s tall tales.

Xu Qianli continued, "You might not believe me since these are just words without substance. But what if I could provide solid evidence, then what would you say?"

"Provide solid evidence?"

"Ha ha ha..."

Fan Wenbin burst into laughter, unable to contain his amusement.

This guy is hilarious, bragging is one thing, but claiming he could provide solid evidence? Impossible.

Xu Qianli said, "Brother, don’t laugh just yet. What if I could actually provide solid evidence?"

Pointing to his own nose, Fan Wenbin declared, "If you can provide solid proof that you really can secure over ten billion in investments, I, Fan Wenbin, would follow your lead in Qingshan Town, and I’d even offer my wife to you with both hands, to do with as you wish!"

"My sister-in-law?"

"There’s no need for that, we’re close enough as it is. Even if you gave her to me, I wouldn’t feel right doing anything."

"No, that really won’t do."

Xu Qianli repeatedly refused, thinking although dumplings are tasty and sisters-in-law are fun, this was somewhat improper.

Fan Wenbin was amused by Xu Qianli’s serious demeanor.

"With that look of yours, you really think you can provide solid evidence?"

"Go on then, show it to me!"

"If you can provide solid evidence, not just my wife, but if you wanted my mother, I’d offer her up with both hands too!"

Fan Wenbin scoffed, clearly disbelieving that Xu Qianli could actually produce any so-called solid evidence.

Xu Qianli quickly shook his head, "No, not auntie, let’s leave uncle with her. But as for the evidence, watch closely."

Xu Qianli leisurely took out his phone and dialed a video call to Fan Yao’s mother, Wei Fang.

Soon the video connected, showing Wei Fang’s upper body, smiling, "Little Xu, is there anything you need from auntie?"

"Nothing much, just missed you, auntie, and wanted to chat..."

Xu Qianli and Wei Fang made idle conversation while Fan Wenbin frowned and watched.

Strange, Xu Qianli was supposed to provide solid proof, yet here he was chatting endlessly with a very feminine, top-class mature woman.

This mature woman was really pretty and somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite place her.

Fan Wenbin straightforwardly took out his phone and used an image recognition app to scan the woman on Xu Qianli’s phone.

Quickly, the information about the mature woman appeared.