Chen Feng investigated a little and found that the reason Mayor Liao and Mayor Zheng temporarily reneged was because of Chen Minhao.
This outcome greatly surprised Chen Feng, who had expected Chen Minhao to use force against him, perhaps ambushing him in a sack at night and beating him severely. To his surprise, Chen Minhao did no such thing. Instead, he went to Mayor Liao and Mayor Zheng and told them that the land near Mingshan Town could not be exchanged, as it would be a definite loss.
His reasoning was that Mingshan Town was the most developed town in Yongming County, with a particularly strong economy. Being close to it would bring significant benefits, and only a fool would be willing to exchange it.
When the two mayors heard this, they agreed it made sense, and thus temporarily reneged.
"Mayor Qin, I'm sorry, the matter suddenly fell through."
Chen Feng went to find Qin Yan immediately.
"Are you talking about the land exchange between the three towns?"
Qin Yan replied calmly.
"Yes, I underestimated Chen Minhao. I thought he was just a brute, but I didn't expect him to be so sharp. He single-handedly derailed the land exchange that had already been agreed upon."
Chen Feng said with guilt.
With the land exchange failing, the opportunity for Mingshan Town and Lianhua Town to merge into one larger town became very slim. Not becoming the mayor of a developed town meant starting at a low point in his political career!
"Chen Feng, don't be too upset. That's how things are in politics; there are always variables until the very last moment. Just like before, wasn't I the deputy mayor of Mingshan Town? I was doing fine, and then suddenly it was a promotion in name but a demotion in reality."
Qin Yan comforted Chen Feng.
"Mayor Qin, what should we do next? I spoke with the two mayors, and they absolutely refuse to exchange the land."
Chen Feng said dejectedly.
"Never mind, if it's not happening, it's not happening. We'll just change our strategy."
Qin Yan replied calmly.
"Change our strategy?"
"Yes, change our strategy. For any problem, there are several ways to solve it; there's never just one. Promoting the merger of Mingshan Town and Lianhua Town through land exchange was just one method, not the only one. Another way is to develop Lianhua Town's economy. If we do that, Jiangcheng will proactively allow the two towns to merge. Moreover, the method of merger will be different from before."
Qin Yan continued calmly.
"What do you mean?"
Chen Feng looked at Qin Yan with admiration.
As the saying goes, old ginger is spicier; she remained unperturbed even when Mount Tai collapsed before her.
"Before, Jiangcheng only planned to abolish towns and establish districts. If both Lianhua Town and Mingshan Town had good economies and merged into one town, it wouldn't be abolishing towns and establishing districts, but abolishing a county and establishing a district."
"Abolish a county and establish a district? That seems unlikely. A county town is quite large; abolishing it and establishing a district would put a lot of pressure on Jiangcheng."
Chen Feng said in confusion.
"On the surface, the pressure seems immense, but in reality, it's not at all. Let me put it this way: for Jiangcheng City to break through from a third-tier city to a second-tier city, it needs a significant breakthrough in population and area. Otherwise, no matter how much its economy develops, it will remain a third-tier city. Abolishing a county and establishing a district would solve all these problems. Not long ago, Hefei's annexation of Chaohu was a prime example. Hefei had always been lukewarm, but after splitting up Chaohu, it suddenly became formidable."
"Mayor Qin, you truly have foresight."
Chen Feng could not help but exclaim.
This was what was meant by thinking three steps ahead.
"That is the plan. The next step is to see if you have the ability to elevate Lianhua Town's economy."
Qin Yan said to Chen Feng with full confidence.
After his grassroots experience in Wulin Village, Chen Feng's economic management skills had significantly improved, so developing Lianhua Town's economy should not be a major problem.
"Mayor Qin, to be honest, I am confident that I can develop Lianhua Town's economy. However, if we do that, the merger of Lianhua Town and Mingshan Town will not be as smooth, and it will be delayed considerably..."
"A considerable delay isn't a huge problem. If you're in politics, you must have patience. Even if the merger of Lianhua Town and Mingshan Town takes a year or two longer, it's not a big deal. Some political matters take ten or twenty years to resolve, and you still have to persevere with patience. Don't worry, I have that patience. Tell me, how do you plan to develop Lianhua Town's economy?"
Qin Yan asked directly.
"Proceed according to local conditions."
"Proceed according to local conditions? Yes, that's right, proceed according to local conditions. Mingshan Town is primarily based on the garment industry, which has made its economy increasingly prosperous. After a period of development, it has gradually become one of the top ten garment industries in the provincial capital, with immense economic potential. Lianhua Town is different. Lianhua Town has some advantages in the hardware industry, but these advantages are not very pronounced. What we need to do is to leverage the advantages of Lianhua Town's hardware industry."
Chen Feng explained earnestly.
"Chen Feng, what you're saying makes a lot of sense. But the problem is, the hardware industry, isn't that sector too small? It's just components, and how can it develop into a major industry?"
Qin Yan asked tentatively.
"Mayor Qin, please don't underestimate the hardware industry. If done well, it can become a world capital of hardware. Just like Yiwu, it started as a small town, focusing on trading specialty small commodities, and developed into a world market for small commodities. In fact, hardware is not just about components; it can involve entire machine production and sales. As China's modernization progresses smoothly, the demand for machinery will increase, and consequently, the demand for components and complete machines will experience explosive growth. If we seize this opportunity, Lianhua Town's economy will definitely soar, and surpassing Mingshan Town will not be difficult."
"Chen Feng, why do you know so much?"
Qin Yan couldn't help but ask in amazement.
"Mayor Qin, to tell you the truth, it has something to do with you."
Chen Feng replied with a smile.
"It has something to do with me?"
"Yes, it has a lot to do with you. Honestly, when I graduated from university, I really disliked reading and improving myself. But later, when I became your driver and was in constant contact with you, I saw how busy you were every day, yet you still insisted on reading. I was deeply impressed and started to enjoy reading every day. The more I read, the broader my horizons naturally became."
"I see. It seems I've underestimated you again. It's really good that you can persist in reading and learning every day. Keep it up. Now, regarding the development of Lianhua Town's hardware industry, you will be fully in charge of this matter. Next, I will focus on building good relationships with Yongming County and Jiangcheng. Once the relationships are established, once Lianhua Town's hardware industry takes off, abolishing the county and establishing a district will be a matter of minutes."
After speaking, Qin Yan urged Chen Feng to quickly implement the development of Lianhua Town's hardware industry.
However, Chen Feng did not rush to implement it; he had his own ideas.
Before developing Lianhua Town's hardware industry, there was still a very important matter that needed to be resolved.
In other words, the hidden dangers in Lianhua Town's economic development had to be cleared away completely.
These hidden dangers were Mayor Liao and Mayor Zheng.
These two mayors were treacherous and would resort to any underhanded means. It was highly likely that when Chen Feng vigorously developed Lianhua Town's hardware industry, they would stab him in the back.
After much deliberation, Chen Feng decided to use the matter of these two mayors playing Geisha in Japan to his advantage...