The Beautiful County Magistrate
Chapter 338: Jiang City, Ge Changhong Shows His Power!

Chapter 338: Chapter 338: Jiang City, Ge Changhong Shows His Power!

During the conversation, Gu Pan deliberately winked at Xu Qianli, sending flirty glances his way, wishing to bewitch him immediately.

In the face of such a person, Xu Qianli thought her to be a top-notch beauty, no matter how he looked at her. Not to mention her dancing, just looking at her was a feast for the eyes.

The smile she wore alone was soothing, truly a rarity.

It was clear that this was a kind gesture from Jinkou County, and it was an offer that Xu Qianli, not one to put on airs, could not refuse and he responded with a smile.

"Miss Gu’s good name, I had long heard of."

"Miss Gu’s dance, I had long admired, and seeing it today, it indeed lives up to its reputation, and is ten times better than the rumors. It is my honor to make the acquaintance of a beauty like Miss Gu."

"Speaking of which, what was the dance you performed just now?"

Once Xu Qianli got started, he couldn’t stop talking, and Gu Pan stayed by his side, chatting away with him.

The leaders of Jinkou County watched this with pleasure, especially Xu Li who had made the arrangements, and she was smiling throughout.

Recently, Qinglong Town experienced a major disaster, and it was Xu Qianli who stepped in to help, saving Qinglong Town, and successfully calming the floods.

Today, Xu Qianli would further help develop the economy of Jinkou County. To Jinkou County, he was definitely a great benefactor, and they needed to properly thank him.

After all, which man doesn’t love a beautiful woman?

The mainstay of the county dance troupe, Gu Pan, had always thought highly of herself, but Xu Li heard that Gu Pan seemed interested in Xu Qianli because she came from Li Jiapo, the village Xu Qianli had saved. How could she not be grateful?

And just like that, the matchmaking was successful. Gu Pan agreed to come, and Xu Qianli was obviously delighted. Whatever happened next, they would just let nature take its course.

The banquet continued, and many envied Xu Qianli’s good fortune. Having just arrived in Jinkou County, he had won over Gu Pan, the much coveted but unattainable lead dancer of the dance troupe. He truly was lucky.

But beyond the envy, they couldn’t help but remark that such a young and capable official, who was also so handsome, was no wonder Gu Pan was willing to come and keep him company. Nobody else could compare.

Meanwhile, in Jiang City, Secretary Ge Changhong of the Jiang City County Committee urgently convened an expanded committee meeting, attended not only by members of the County Committee but also by heads of various county departments.

When the meeting began, Ge Changhong criticized the work of the County Government in an exceptionally intense manner, almost directly naming Lan Qianrong and berating her.

The tourist development of Qingshan Town was an extraordinary opportunity that, if well executed, could not only revitalize Qingshan Town but also drive the economic growth of the entire Jiang City.

At this critical juncture, someone had the audacity to stymie the development of Qingshan Town by blocking the road construction plan, forcing Qingshan Town Party Secretary Xu Qianli to seek a breakthrough in Lin County’s Jinkou County, where they reached a consensus to build a road to Qingshan Town to ensure the smooth progression of the tourism development.

This matter was extremely serious, and the nature of it was extraordinarily reprehensible—the County Government must have someone take responsibility!

The heads of the County Government, including Lan Qianrong, all had unsightly expressions.

She thought by withholding the road construction approval, she could choke Xu Qianli’s progress and prevent the development of Qingshan Town, suppressing Xu Qianli’s rise and leaving him without recourse.

Who knew that Xu Qianli would be so ruthless as to find an alternative path, daring to seek a breakthrough in Jinkou County, and even reaching a consensus.

This undoubtedly was a slap in the face for her, Lan Qianrong, a harsh slap indeed.

Now Ge Changhong was furious. He demanded that the County Government give an explanation, and Lan Qianrong had no choice but to bear it and come up with an answer. She felt incredibly frustrated.

She wanted to lash out, but she couldn’t because she had made a serious mistake in this matter.

If Xu Qianli had complained to Ge Changhong about being held back by her, and Ge Changhong criticized her, she still could have managed to come up with an excuse.

If Xu Qianli had gone to the city to complain about her, with Jiang City Mayor Lu Xingtian’s personal grudge against Xu Qianli, no one in the city would speak up for him, and she would be even less worried.

But Xu Qianli unexpectedly ran off to Jinkou County next door to cause a stir, intending to build a road in Jinkou County, and had already negotiated everything.

That man was really damn vicious and cunning like a fox; his move was completely beyond her expectations.

Sub-county towns in our county trying to develop their economies were choked off from constructing roads; a town Party Secretary was forced to find a breakthrough in a neighboring county—making the road extend to the other county. With the situation having gone this far, not only the county but also the city and province would start to pay close attention.

After all, Jinkou County is in a different city and even in a different province from Jiang City. This matter was bound to blow up, and someone had to take responsibility.

Thinking it over, Lan Qianrong’s gaze fell on Ding Biao.

At this critical point, she had to sacrifice a pawn to save the chariot.

Ding Biao suddenly felt his hair stand on end and felt a chill all over.

He wasn’t a fool; he could clearly see Lan Qianrong’s intention. She obviously wanted him to come forward and take responsibility, or rather, to be the scapegoat.

Blocking the development of sub-county towns, forcing the town Party Secretary to help with development by building roads to a neighboring county, and that across provinces—this responsibility was not light. If he took it on, he could forget about advancing in the next few years, and he might even be demoted.

But at this critical point, if he didn’t take responsibility, would Lan Qianrong let him off the hook?

What was even more fatal was that, as the Deputy County Magistrate in charge of urban construction work and municipal road construction, it was indeed his responsibility.

As he hesitated, he suddenly caught a chilling look in Lan Qianrong’s eyes, which scared him so much that he quickly stood up.

"Secretary Ge, the responsibility for this matter is mine. I am willing to take responsibility and accept criticism from the organization," he said.

Ge Changhong said, "Since you are willing to take responsibility, that’s fine. Let’s put this matter aside for now. As for what punishment to give you from the County Government, we’ll wait for the provincial and municipal leaders to discuss it before deciding. However, considering how big this mess has become, you’d better be mentally prepared!"

Then Ge Changhong began to warn the cadres present, emphasizing not to do anything that would hinder Jiang City’s economic development because of personal grudges.

If anything similar happened again, he would not be as easy-going as he was today.

Ge Changhong was practically saying outright, "I don’t care what personal grudge you, Lan Qianrong, have with Xu Qianli, but if you hinder Qingshan Town’s economic development again because of this personal grudge and create obstacles, don’t blame me for not being courteous!"

After the meeting, Lan Qianrong returned to the County Government office with a livid face, back to her own office.

As the County Magistrate, she had been scolded to her face by Ge Changhong, both overtly and covertly, to an indefensible extent. She felt utterly humiliated, her face was lost, her authority greatly diminished, and she was extremely unhappy inside.

Every time she thought about the humiliation she suffered at the expanded committee meeting, Lan Qianrong became enraged and pounded the desk violently.

"Ge Changhong, you old thing, do you think just because you’re the Jiang City County Secretary, the top leader in Jiang City, you can keep riding over my head, Lan Qianrong?"

"Just you wait; I’ll make sure you regret this soon enough!"