Chapter 154: The Mayor's Son

of this magazine before, but compared to many established magazines that are already deeply rooted in the market, your influence is still relatively small. Your core competitiveness may fall short."F...Chapter 154: The Mayor's Son

The unexpected incident during the journey had a significant negative impact on Su Licheng's political career. Huancheng, located in the eastern part of the province, has always been an important southwestern city, one of the second batch of national historical and cultural cities, and a vital transportation hub in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River region, predominantly focused on manufacturing industries. It is considered a key industrial city within the province. Since the implementation of the Western Development Strategy, this city has become a pilot area for comprehensive urban-rural coordinated reform experiments within the province.

Not only is Huancheng an agglomeration of processing and manufacturing industries, but due to the unreasonable layout of many old industrial zones, the air quality is extremely poor, with sunlight rarely shining over the city. Blue skies and white clouds have always been the eternal dream and goal of the citizens of Huancheng.

Due to the sacrifice of the environment and excessive resource development at the cost of long-term benefits, Huancheng's comprehensive fiscal revenue in 2002 reached 5.6 billion yuan, firmly occupying the second place within the province after Rongcheng, the provincial capital, far surpassing other cities. However, if one excludes income from government land transactions, its actual fiscal revenue is not advantageous compared to other prefecture-level cities within the province, amounting to less than a billion yuan and ranking behind several cities.

This is precisely the urgent problem that Huancheng needs to address: sacrificing resources and the environment leads to significant pollution and high costs, yet its economic infrastructure remains closed off. Currently, it can still sell land, but once all the land is sold out, what will be left This has been a hidden pain for Huancheng over the decades.

Therefore, this time, introducing Su Licheng, the former general manager of Dayang Construction Group into politics as an official is seen as a new ecological development within the province. Upon assuming office, Su Licheng was tasked with overseeing the city's economy and urban construction.

The tasks related to urban construction and economic development both require considerable courage and execution power to advance; relying on a vice mayor transferred from outside means that Su Licheng still faces significant pressure.

To ensure effective implementation, one must have authority, reduce internal bureaucratic consumption within government agencies, and enable the government to function efficiently—these are undoubtedly huge challenges.

The news of the new mayor receiving a humiliating reception from a group of "officials' sons" in the city had spread early on. Many people in Huancheng talked about this incident over banquets and dinners, referring to the new mayor as the "traffic accident mayor.

Although these rumors are likely something that even Xu Changcheng and many others who do not favor Su Licheng would prefer to suppress, it is difficult to stop such gossip from spreading through word of mouth. It naturally spreads at an astonishing speed. ..., on the outskirts of Rongfeng's highway, Su Cun and Zeng Ke's car was heading towards Huancheng along a connected road. The scenery along the way was quite good; however, as they approached Huancheng city, they could see from afar that above the neatly arranged urban skyline, there were thick, dark clouds covering everything.

On the highway elevated by an overpass, a black Audi seemed to follow the only path leading towards the horizon. With music playing inside the car by Li Pengyu, Su Cun felt as if he was flying towards a gothic scene while listening to heavy metal music.

The Audi A6 used for business purposes at Rongfeng's Dunhuang Mall was being driven by Li Pengyu, who had accompanied Su Cun back to Rongfeng. Due to the reason of Su Licheng taking up his position in Huancheng, a group of people were prepared to visit once Su Cun settled down; among them were Wang Ming from Rongfeng and Zhao Mingnong from Shushan.

Since the government-arranged apartment building for family members was still under renovation, Zeng Ke and Su Cun spent their first night in Huancheng at a government guesthouse arranged by the city government.

The government guesthouse was located across from the government compound in the downtown area. Its appearance was that of a European-style hotel building; along the way, they were met by Cheng Ruiyan, who temporarily worked as Su Licheng's secretary. Thirty-something years old and wearing glasses, Cheng Ruiyan wasn't very talkative but introduced everything necessary and answered any questions asked while helping Zeng Ke carry her luggage into their suite.

The suite was luxuriously decorated. In Su Cun's view, it was not inferior to the rooms in large hotels in cities like Rongfeng or Shanghai; complete with a flat-screen TV, a king-sized bed, and fully furnished amenities such as a wine cabinet and coffee table.

It seemed that the guesthouse wasn't just for show. Cheng Ruiyan continued his introduction: "The guesthouse underwent a major renovation last year, so many of its facilities have been updated. Do you find it comfortable"

Naturally, Cheng Ruiyan wouldn’t underestimate Su Cun and Zeng Ke; he had long known about the situation of Vice Mayor Su's family from previous documents. He knew that Zeng Ke was an individual business owner in Rongfeng, while Su Cun was a student at Nan University. Through his old classmates in Rongfeng, he also learned more about this family and discovered that although Su Cun appeared to be only a second-year university student on the surface, he was far from ordinary. Both Wang Weiwei, son of the Secretary of Rongfeng Municipal Committee, and himself considered Su Cun as one of the most notable figures among their generation in Rongfeng.

Of course, Su Licheng's patronage, Wang Bo, was also one of the highest-ranking candidates for governor and deputy governor during this session of the 16th National Congress. Therefore, despite the nickname "accident mayor" being spread around externally about Su Licheng, no one in a high position within this city dared to underestimate him.

The city's secretary of the Municipal Committee, Li Yinliang, is considered a member of Wang’s faction and an old subordinate of the Beijing official who belongs to Wang's faction and holds the rank of deputy minister. Before Su Licheng arrived in Fengcheng, he was instructed by Li Yinliang to take care of this vice mayor. Therefore, Li Yinliang fully implemented the will of those at a higher level by handing over urban construction and economic development to Su Licheng, although there were factors related to dividing power with Mayor Yang Wanli as well. With the city secretary standing behind him, Su Licheng was not without support.

“If you need anything,” he can tell either Server No. 7 or Server No. 13. Around this corner is a large supermarket, and if he truly isn’t used to it, there’s a farmers’ market on Jiuming Street that goes all the way down from here. The hotel is near the downtown area, so it's convenient for shopping as well; through the window, one can see our Fengcheng pedestrian street. Cheng Ruiyear pulled back the curtains; the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the outside of the city center of Fengcheng were laid bare.

When it came to infrastructure construction, being at the heart of Fengcheng, there was no major problem with its foundations. From Su Zhan’s corner view, skyscrapers and urban squares stood high, some buildings emblazoned with "Platinum City" logos towered above them, as well as a city broadcasting tower building. The pedestrian street on the other side thronged with people; there were local department stores, sports goods stores, and one or two second-tier brand specialty shops scattered here and there. For example, Adidas and Nike’s sport retail stores stood out among their neighbors' faded renovations in terms of both scale and decoration, which also made them very popular.

What impressed Su Zhan was that besides CK, JEANS, these international mass brands, the business was also good for international second-tier labels like DEG, demonstrating Fengcheng's consumption ability. A row of small sedans were parked outside; they mostly ranged from 100,000 to 300,000 yuan, with some BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes among them as well.

Before coming here, Su Zhan had heard some jokes about Fengcheng. It was said that those who drove the BMW or Audi luxury cars on the streets mostly worked in real estate.

The nearest Adidas store to the government guesthouse where he was staying wasn’t more than 50 meters away from the city government, so Su Zhan could even see through the transparent glass window the crowds shopping inside. There were groups of young girls dressed in student-like clothes picking out shoes; based on his assessment, there seemed to be at least one or two beauties among them as well. Some middle-aged men and women tried shoes too, and some teenagers came with their parents to shop.

Seeing these scenes made Su Zhan feel a strange nostalgia for the days he grew up in Xiahai City.

Back then it seemed to be this way as well; brands like Adidas and Nike were beyond reach to students. Cars were luxuries only enjoyed by adults. And ignorant of himself, he never knew what those English names on the signs meant. In this confused state, he spent his middle school years.

It was said that Xiahai City’s Star Sea Square had developed even better after its construction; Su Zhan wanted to go back a few times and take a look but couldn’t find the time. After being reborn, he had migrated from this city with Tang Wu, Lin Luoran, Wang Weiwei, Lin Zhouwu, Xue Yiyang, Liu Rui, etc., yet never went back to see what changes had taken place there or how those familiar faces looked now.

"There's a story I remember very clearly," Su Cen told Cheng RuiNian, who was standing beside him. "It goes that there is a person living next to Mount Heng. Every day, people from all over the world travel great distances to climb this famous mountain. This person also wants to go sightseeing, but each time they change their route at the last minute and think, 'After all, it's right outside my door.' I can see it just by looking up, so I might as well go somewhere farther away." Year after year passed like this until he had traveled many places, even abroad. One day, suddenly raising his head, he realized that he hadn't visited Mount Heng, which was right next to his home.

"Perhaps it's just like this sometimes. We always think the scenery close by can be climbed anytime; parents who are always around offer opportunities for meals and shopping together at any time, and we can hear their voices whenever we want. So often, we forget to seize the moment. One day, when you look up suddenly, you find that the scenery within reach has always been unknown to you, and those close by have vanished..."

"Is there anyone like this who you miss" Perhaps moved by Su Cen's words, Cheng RuiNian asked him with a sense of reflection.

Su Cen glanced at his mother Zeng Ke, who was packing clothes in the wardrobe for him. He shook his head and said, "Not now... nor do I hope to have such people in the future."

The conversation with Su Cen changed Cheng RuiNian's impression of him greatly. Initially, he had heard that Wang Bo was a political star within Sichuan Province; his son Wang Weiwei was also much discussed privately. Strictly speaking, he should be considered one of the top princelings in the province. In his mind, the young generation with equal fame as Wang Weiwei was nothing more than a wastrel. Although not quite like Vice Mayor Xu Changcheng's son Xu Dong or other city leaders' children, who sometimes overstepped boundaries and acted recklessly.

He thought that this person should also have some depth and unique personality traits; he might be stubborn and arrogant, even going so far as to confront Xu Dong, the son of Mayor Xu.

Cheng RuiNian had prepared himself for a confrontation with someone very different from what he imagined.

He remembered the rumor about Deputy Mayor Su's car accident with Mayor Xu's Porsche convoy.

Five parts puzzled, Cheng RuiNian looked at Su Cen and wondered if his current calm exterior reflected his true inner statem calling you; it's just to refute what you said last time and prove that Qiu He isn't part of Liu Zhensheng's group. Liu Zhensheng has a strong background and extensive experience, so be careful with...