Two days passed.
With May Day just around the corner, trouble struck the investment conference—and it came one blow
after another!
In the Investment Bureau's Conference Room, Jia Yan, Sun Shuli, Luo Haiting, and the other officials called an emergency
meeting. Everyone looked grim, especially Jia Yan, whose face was thunderous.
"Have we tallied the number of investors?"
"Our preliminary estimate is seventeen."
"Seventeen? Old Sun! How have you been handling the invitations? Why so few? Tell
me!" Jia Yan was practically beside himself with rage.
Sun Shuli's eyes darkened. "I told you before, Yantai County isn't like other counties!"
Jia Yan slapped the table. "You're shirking responsibility!"
Nobody could stomach that remark.
*Shirking responsibility? You're the one in charge of the investment conference! We've been doing everything according to your
instructions! Whatever cooperation you wanted, we gave it! And now that something's gone wrong, you're passing the blame
down to us? Why didn't you say that when you first came over to snatch the credit? You get jealous whenever there's credit
to claim, then blame your subordinates whenever things go wrong? Do you have any sense of responsibility
at all?*
"Director Jia, that's uncalled for, isn't it?" Sun Shuli lost his temper too. "Back when
you wanted to invite a hundred investors, I told you it wasn't realistic. I also suggested contacting the county
and having the County Leaders approach investment groups. This isn't a question of my ability, nor am I shirking
responsibility. Our county's situation really is that difficult. Have you looked into how many investors attended
our previous investment conferences? Twenty on average! It was the same every year! That's why our county hasn't held
an investment conference for two years!
That's the reason!"
Luo Haiting glanced at Jia Yan. "A hundred was impossible. When Director