"Now, let's invite Comrade Lu Chengfeng to the stage to share Jigao County's experience in alleviating poverty and lifting people out of it. Please give him a warm round of applause."
Zhou Yi stood up and smiled as he beckoned to County Party Secretary Lu Chengfeng below the rostrum.
Lu Chengfeng was genuinely caught off guard. Everything that had happened today, including being asked to speak onstage, had been utterly unexpected.
But as a county party secretary, especially one with genuine ability, delivering an impromptu speech like this presented no difficulty whatsoever.
He walked confidently onto the stage, bowed to the leaders and his colleagues in the audience, then said in a voice filled with gratitude, "First, I would like to express my deepest thanks to the mayor for recognizing my work and giving me this opportunity to speak."
"Having listened to Secretary Sima and Mayor Zhou's speeches, I believe everyone here shares the same profound impression I do: both leaders have shown remarkable foresight, not only pointing us in the right direction, but also clearly outlining the methods and approaches we should adopt in our future work..."
Several party secretaries and magistrates from neighboring counties who had dealt with Lu Chengfeng exchanged looks.
Who the hell had said Lu Chengfeng was too blunt and straightforward to handle social niceties? His ass-kissing was better than all of theirs put together!
The mayor had singled him out for praise, then invited him up to share his experience. Old Lu was clearly about to rocket up the ranks!
At noon, after the officials' meeting ended, everyone went their separate ways.
Hong Dawei, director of the municipal Poverty Alleviation Office, chanted "Amitabha Buddha" all the way back, grateful to have escaped disaster. He resolved to sever all ties with his former self