The next day, Gu Qiu went to work wearing a hat.
Chen Yan asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you?"
It was so strange. On such a hot day, what was he trying to be cool about by wearing a hat?
Gu Qiu said that he accidentally bumped his head last night and got a scrape.
Chen Yan was a bit suspicious. For no reason at all, how could he have bumped his head? Chen Yan thought of many possibilities because of this. Since Gu Qiu didn't want to say, she didn't feel it was appropriate to press him further. However, since that night, she had paid more attention to this young man.
Regarding what happened last night, although Hei Bo didn't say anything, Gu Qiu knew very well in his heart that he had never offended anyone else in Anping County. If there was anyone, it must be Xie Bisheng and his son.
Xie Bisheng was a leader after all. He probably wouldn't use such despicable means. The only remaining possibility was his son, Xie Buyuan.
Only a hot-blooded young man like him would come up with such a lousy idea.
From this analysis, there must be a crisis in the relationship between Xie Buyuan and Cong Tong.
Xie Buyuan thus took his anger out on Gu Qiu.
It wouldn't be difficult for Gu Qiu to find evidence of this, but he wasn't in a hurry to verify it. For a small fry like Xie Buyuan, there was no need to spend too much effort on him.
Xie Bisheng was also having a headache. Last night, he took his son to visit the Cong family and mentioned the marriage. Unexpectedly, Cong Tong reacted strongly and firmly refused to marry Xie Buyuan.
Xie Buyuan was so angry that he ran out and didn't come back all night.
This morning, the tax office called and said that he hadn't gone to work, making Xie Bisheng as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. What on earth did this rascal want to do?
Last night, Xie Buyuan insisted that Cong Tong's change of heart had something to do with Gu Qiu and that he was going to take revenge on him.
Xie Bisheng thought it was a bit far-fetched. Gu Qiu had only stayed in Daqiu Township for two days and one night. How could he have lured Cong Tong away? Anyway, it was after Gu Qiu went there that this happened. So, it wasn't entirely unjustified for Xie Buyuan to put the blame on Gu Qiu.
Early in the morning, Xie Bisheng, with a dark face, called the office and asked Gu Qiu to come over.
He definitely wanted to give this kid a good warning today. Xie Bisheng's hatred for Gu Qiu mainly stemmed from the fact that Gu Qiu had spoiled his good deeds twice. Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the phone on his desk rang.
"Is it Comrade Xie Bisheng? Ask Gu Qiu from your investment promotion office to come over. Yes, to the county mayor's office."
The call from the county mayor's secretary took Xie Bisheng by surprise.
How could the county mayor, an important figure in the county, summon a nobody like Gu Qiu who was new to the officialdom? It was really strange.
In the system, the hierarchy was very strict. Even the staff in the government building or the heads of units like Xie Bisheng himself had to queue up if they wanted to meet the county mayor. Why was Gu Qiu summoned by the county mayor?
Just when he was racking his brains and couldn't figure it out, Gu Qiu arrived.
Xie Bisheng, who had originally planned to warn Gu Qiu, had to put that thought aside for the time being. Although he had Secretary Tang's support, in case Gu Qiu complained to the county mayor, it wouldn't be a good thing. He said to Gu Qiu, "Come with me to the county mayor's office right away. Let's go!"
Gu Qiu was also confused about this matter.
Xie Bisheng was going to take him to see the county mayor?
What was going on here?
The Anping County Government.
It stood in the center of the busy city. The entire government compound, including the work area and the living area, had dozens of buildings.
The five-story office building wasn't as imposing as one might imagine.
It was said that it had just undergone interior and exterior renovations last year and looked like this today.
There was no elevator in the office building, only marble steps.
The county mayor's office was on the fifth floor. Although it was on a high floor, it was quite lively.
It was Gu Qiu's first time stepping into this place. The county mayor's secretary, Wu Guodong, looked at his watch and said, "Why are you so late!"
His gaze passed over Xie Bisheng and directly landed on Gu Qiu. Discovering that he was a young man in his twenties, he couldn't help frowning. Xie Bisheng offered him a cigarette and said with a smile, "We came right after receiving the call."
Wu Guodong said, "Director Xie, you can go back now. Just leave him here."
The smile on Xie Bisheng's face froze there. It took him a while to react. "Okay, okay!" Then he said to Gu Qiu, "Xiao Gu, when you meet the county mayor, you must pay attention to your manners and the way you speak. Don't say anything inappropriate."
Gu Qiu cursed in his heart, Damn it! When have I ever been impolite or spoken inappropriately?
He knew that Xie Bisheng was just putting on an act, just to show off in front of Secretary Wu. Gu Qiu replied very humbly, "I understand, Director Xie."
County Mayor He was really busy. There were quite a lot of people coming in and out.
Gu Qiu waited outside for over an hour before finally meeting the top leader of the county government compound.
County Mayor He was a middle-aged man around forty years old. He wasn't fat and had a rather long face.
When Gu Qiu went in, County Mayor He was also a bit surprised and even asked specifically, "Are you Gu Qiu?"
Gu Qiu didn't know what he was going to ask, so he could only answer truthfully.
However, he was wearing a hat today, looking a bit out of place. County Mayor He was quite experienced and didn't show much expression on his face. He said in a business-like manner, "We'll talk for five minutes."
Five minutes was already quite generous.
There were countless people in Anping County who wanted to see the county mayor but were blocked outside.
Gu Qiu stood there respectfully, waiting for the county mayor's instructions.
County Mayor He was very straightforward. He casually threw out a file bag and asked, "I've read your file. Were you the one who made the three-year planning proposal for the investment promotion office?"
Gu Qiu said yes.
"Why were there so many changes made to it?"
Gu Qiu replied, "To strive for perfection and convey more accurate data."
County Mayor He frowned slightly, apparently not satisfied with this answer.
However, he didn't pursue it further and just said, "Then tell me, how should we focus on the investment promotion work? Where should we start?"
Gu Qiu said, "People should be the focus. We should start with people's working methods and attitudes." Since the county mayor had said only five minutes, Gu Qiu had to seize the opportunity and make good use of the time.
"The investment promotion office is actually like an advertising company. We should apply the promotional means and operating techniques of an advertising company to the investment promotion work. Package our advantageous resources well and promote them to attract foreign investors. Meanwhile, we should also use different platforms to showcase our resources, cooperate with local policies, broaden our thinking, and learn from the work experience of coastal areas. I don't think the investment promotion work is as difficult as climbing to the sky."
A barely noticeable expression flashed across the county mayor's face. Five minutes passed in a flash.
Secretary Wu came in and said, "County Mayor, there's a meeting."
The county mayor stood up and said, "You can go back now!" With just this one sentence, he immediately packed up his things and walked towards the conference room.
As he walked, he said, "Secretary Wu, keep an eye on this young man named Gu Qiu."
Gu Qiu had already gone downstairs and didn't hear this sentence at all.