Official Career Storm

Chapter 1649

If there is discord within the City Government, the one who stands to benefit the most is undoubtedly Zhou Zheng.

He had long heard that Zhou Zheng held the title of City Secretary, but lacked the actual authority.

On the contrary, Mayor Wu Qiangwei possessed a status that was not inferior to Zhou Zheng’s.

No leader would permit others to encroach on their power.

Therefore, when Song Guanchao uttered those words, the first person he thought of was Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng indeed has the motive.

He and Wu Qiangwei clashing essentially alleviates some of the pressure on Zhou Zheng.

If the City Government were united as one, it might not be beneficial to Zhou Zheng.

Yet, although he understood the reasoning, his subconscious still believed that Wu Qiangwei orchestrating events personally was more plausible.

He tended to believe in her self-staging mainly due to the surveillance he discovered at his home shortly after arriving in Jiangzhou.

In his view, Wu Qiangwei had "prior offenses."

With her having arranged for Song Guanchao to install surveillance at his residence, he wouldn’t be surprised if she attempted anything else subsequently.

Nonetheless, Song Guanchao’s words did indeed make his previously clear thoughts more convoluted.

Originally, he was unwaveringly convinced that it was Wu Qiangwei’s self-orchestrated ploy.

Now, he’s suspicious of Zhou Zheng as well.

He harbors doubts towards both individuals, not daring to trust either.

Perhaps Zhang Yan could offer some suggestions.

"I think Director Song is overthinking it. It’s likely just internal issues at Jiangzhou Precision, not so much intrigue."

Sun Jiajun laughed lightly, standing up: "Director Song, don’t let your imagination run wild. If you hadn’t mentioned it today, it wouldn’t have crossed my mind."

He patted Song Guanchao’s shoulder: "I’m heading back for a nap. I have to busy myself with investment negotiations in the afternoon."

"Mayor Sun, take care."

After Sun Jiajun left, Song Guanchao let out a light chuckle.

He realized that Sun Jiajun didn’t believe his words.

Too lazy to explain further, he left things saying what needed to be said, it was fine if Sun didn’t believe him.

Sun Jiajun had been in Jiangzhou for just over a month; the City Government had long been under Wu Qiangwei’s control.

Song Guanchao didn’t want to instigate more trouble, hence patiently explained to him.

If he indeed considered himself targeted by Wu Qiangwei, and opposed her in all matters, Song Guanchao was prepared to handle it accordingly.

...

Sun Jiajun returned to the hotel, took a shower, and lay on the bed while talking to Zhang Yan.

He didn’t mention to Zhang Yan his conversation with Song Guanchao, but slightly modified what Song had said to gauge her thoughts.

Listening to Sun Jiajun’s words, Zhang Yan wasn’t surprised.

Sun Jiajun might seem slow at times, but he wasn’t dull-headed; give him time, and he’d eventually reach that conclusion.

Zhang Yan wasn’t ready to give too definite an answer; otherwise, even if Sun were slower, he might sense something was amiss.

"I had prior conflicts with Wu Qiangwei, so it’s inappropriate to ask me this. My response would certainly carry personal bias."

She strategically withdrew in her remarks.

Sun Jiajun said, "You’ve worked with her for so long; you understand Wu Qiangwei better than I do. What kind of person is she?"

Zhang Yan replied, "She’d pursue grand objectives by any means necessary. I have things to do; I can’t talk anymore."

She appeared emotionally charged and hung up abruptly. Sun Jiajun leaned against the bedhead, pondering her words.

Without previously knowing about the surveillance, he was inclined to support Song Guanchao’s third possibility in his analysis.

Yet, due to the initial surveillance issue, he couldn’t fully trust Wu Qiangwei.

He actually intended to inquire about Zhou Zheng regarding Secretary Zhou.

He wanted to understand more about Zhou Zheng and what kind of person Secretary Zhou was.

He planned to talk more with Zhang Yan when he returned home.

...

p.m.

Hotel, meeting room.

Jiang Yiren, Zhou Xingjian, Shu Xue, and others were briefing Song Guanchao on that day’s work.

The three groups had met with six companies throughout the day, two companies on average per group.

One in the morning, one in the afternoon.

After all, the intention was to invite companies to relocate from Pinghai City to Jiangzhou.

Changing cities involved numerous considerations.

Even if they initially wanted to leave Pinghai, they wouldn’t immediately decide solely based on discussions.

For them, the choice was theirs, and they could select among potential cities until a city offered desirably compelling terms.

Such as favorable taxation policies.

Initially, they intended to keep Jiangzhou representatives in suspense, but when they heard Jiangzhou City assured taking back shares and cash seized through Secretary Xue’s machinations, they couldn’t remain calm.

They hoped for Jiangzhou Municipal Government to include such guarantees in the contract.

If included contractually, they’d sign investment agreements that day.

However, the response was a refusal.

Zhou Xingjian and the others openly told them that such guarantees could not be codified in writing.

Moreover, they clearly realized, if willing to relocate to Jiangzhou, they could do so, and seized funds would be returned based on their documented financial contributions.

If unwilling to come, then so be it; there were hundreds or thousands of companies exploited by Pinghai, some would surely come.

After these conversations, the company reps indicated they’d reconsider.

The trio didn’t press too hard, but couldn’t wait indefinitely either, requesting a firm response within three days.

After hearing their detailed accounts, Song Guanchao mentally calculated, aiming for one hundred companies.

Six companies a day, requiring roughly over half a month.

Though time wasn’t particularly long, Song Guanchao still felt it was somewhat slow.

Zhou Xingjian recognized his thoughts from his expression and commented, "These company leads are quite dilatory, revisiting issues multiple times, insisting on hosting meals for lunch and dinner."

Upon arriving the previous night, he felt confident tackling five or six companies daily.

In reality, once engaged, he realized the difficulty.

The two companies contacted today still needed consideration.

The three groups hadn’t finalized any investment agreements today.

Shu Xue and Jiang Yiren found it normal, whereas Zhou Xingjian believed efficiency was lacking.

He trusted that if Song Guanchao himself had been involved, today’s deal with the two companies could absolutely have been signed.

Each person is different; Zhou Xingjian understood this deeply.

"Pause tomorrow’s activities; I’ll accompany you."

While he hadn’t joined the trio today, he could surmise their interactions with company leads.

They undoubtedly began amicably, expressed sincerity, offered favorable policies, concluding with recovering heroically seized assets.

While the order wasn’t incorrect, outcomes were lacking.

This indicated they hadn’t sufficiently pressured counterparts during discussions.

He planned to guide them to exemplify proper negotiation techniques.

"Meeting adjourned, rest well everyone. Gather at the lobby by 9 a.m. tomorrow."

Song Guanchao stood up.

Leaving the meeting room, he phoned Fu Ying: "Mayor Fu, how’s progress on your end today? Any companies signed?"

"None signed yet," Fu Ying sighed, evidently not having a smooth day.

She felt exuberant last night when Song Guanchao promised her twenty companies.

Facing reality, she found that even with intentions to leave Pinghai City, they outright wouldn’t select them.

Song Guanchao asked, "Did you use seized assets in negotiations?"

"Mentioned it, yet they’re hesitated," answered Fu Ying despondently.

Song Guanchao roughly guessed the reason: "Here’s the plan, schedule meetings with today’s contacted companies. I’ll accompany you over lunch for discussions tomorrow."

Feeling somewhat guilty, Fu Ying imagined Song Guanchao lay down strategies involving assets for leverage, but no successes materialized.

Now that he offered to accompany negotiations, it felt like he spoon-fed results to her directly.

As Fu Ying hesitated from speaking, her pride visibly surfacing, Song Guanchao discerned, "Where are you?"

"In my room."

"Open the door in two minutes."

Song Guanchao ended the call, heading straight to Fu Ying’s room downstairs.