Right path to power

As it was nearing the end of the workday, Lin Xiao still called Wei Anshun.

Not for any other reason than that he was the mayor's secretary.

A leader's secretary is not someone to be trifled with; this is an unwritten rule in officialdom.

"Director Wei, I didn't expect things to turn out this way either. Hengtong Road Construction was originally ranked among the top in terms of overall strength, and we should have had a great chance of winning the bid normally. But things have turned out like this, and we are in a very passive position."

"Fuchuan County is truly a den of dragons and tigers," Wei Anshun said coldly.

Lin Xiao replied calmly, "It's not exactly a den of dragons and tigers, but it can be considered fair, just, and open."

"Snap—"

Wei Anshun hung up the phone immediately. He already didn't have a good impression of Lin Xiao, and now he felt even more resentful.

After a while, taking the opportunity to deliver documents to Ma Guanghua, he casually mentioned the bidding process in Fuchuan County, exaggerating and saying that Wan Yingyong's detention as an investor was unprecedented in the city.

Ma Guanghua seemed to be deep in thought, and after a moment he slowly said, "Fuchuan is undergoing a major transformation, and unexpected situations may arise at any time. We might as well be more patient. Of course, attracting investment is a key task, and the enthusiasm of investors must be protected. However, we cannot be too harsh; appropriate punishment will suffice."

"Okay, Mayor, I'll coordinate with the county again."

Wei Anshun understood immediately. Having followed Ma Guanghua for many years, he had long since figured out the leader's habits. The leader appeared calm, but in reality, his heart was churning.

Even if they can't vent their anger right away, they've definitely kept it in their hearts.

Debts must eventually be repaid.

Wang Yuanze has been in Quanzhou for three years, and he will be transferred in two more years at most.

When Lin Xiao loses his backer, it won't be too late to settle scores later.

Moreover, it might not even take that long.

Subsequently, Wei Anshun called Zhu Lishu directly and told her about Wan Yingyong's matter, pointing out that it was related to the city's image in attracting investment. The mayor had personally intervened and requested that appropriate punishment be given, and that the enthusiasm of investors not be undermined.

"Okay, Director Wei, I'll coordinate a solution right away."

"Secretary Zhu, you are the top leader, so you need to grasp the overall direction. Some things can't be left too loosely managed. If management is lax, problems can easily arise, and some people will become complacent. If that happens, you will have let down the leader's hard work."

"Thank you for reminding me, Director Wei. I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Juliet sighed helplessly.

She knew, of course, that Wei Anshun was implying something, but how could she blame Lin Xiao for this?

However, can Wan Yingyong's matter be resolved with just one phone call?

If that's the case, then what about Party discipline and national laws?

Therefore, it is actually a very dangerous thing for officials to have too much confidence in the power they hold.

A while later, Zhu Lishu came to Lin Xiao's office in person and told him about Wei Anshun's phone call.

Since it was Ma Guanghua's idea, Lin Xiao also agreed to treat Wan Yingyong's involvement in prostitution leniently. However, he also pointed out to Zhu Lishu that Wan Yingyong was the core suspect in the road maintenance project bidding case and it was almost impossible for him to stay out of it: he would either be taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation or be criminally detained by the public security organs for colluding in bidding.

After a moment's thought, Juliet said, "Since the evidence is conclusive, let's proceed according to procedure. I'll handle the pressure from above."

"Secretary Zhu, we're working together, so we'll face any difficulties together."

Julie smiled slightly.

On one side is power and reliance, on the other is justice and facts—which is more important depends on one's conscience and bottom line.

Meanwhile, Wan Yingyong, who had been detained in the detention center for a whole day, finally walked out of the detention center after paying a fine of five thousand yuan.

At that moment, his face was filled with smugness and disdain as he turned back and glared angrily at the detention center.

The next second, a cold voice came: "Wan Yingyong, we are from the County Discipline Inspection Commission. We need your cooperation in some investigations. Please come with us."

Before he could react, two staff members grabbed him from either side.

Wan Yingyong was pale and did not offer any resistance whatsoever.

Perhaps, his psychological defenses have completely collapsed at this moment.

After a long while, he hurriedly asked, "Where are you taking me?"

You'll know when you get there.

Upon entering the county discipline inspection commission's interview room, Wan Yingyong's spirits immediately deflated, and he quickly confessed to the details of the bribery and bid-rigging.

Not long after, he was criminally detained by the county public security bureau on suspicion of colluding in bidding.

In fact, with Hengtong Construction's strength, even if they couldn't win all the contracts, winning one wouldn't be a big problem. It's just a pity that they focused on crooked ways.

As a result, he not only ended up in jail, but also caused a number of officials to be investigated and punished.

As the saying goes: "A man's greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; in the end, a mantis tries to catch a cicada."

Shortly afterward, the county government re-tendered the bids.

At the same time, the county party committee established a temporary joint supervision group, led by the county development and reform bureau to conduct full-process administrative supervision, with the county discipline inspection commission sending personnel to attend and supervise on-site.

Thus, the bidding process was successfully completed.

The newly awarded company quickly began construction. In the grand scheme of Fuchuan's development, this may be considered a minor episode, but it once again showed the outside world the changes in Fuchuan—the promises made in attracting investment are being implemented step by step.

Suddenly, an investment frenzy was sparked.

Lin Xiao led the county government and county-level departments to "cool down" some situations in order to prevent some "overheated behaviors" from undermining the overall development trend.

With the progress of various projects, Dayuan Real Estate's first land transfer fee has been successfully received.

This is a timely help for the long-term financially strained Bucheon province.

Of course, you can't just squander your money.

Lin Xiao had already made plans for this issue. In addition to solving some urgent problems, the funds would be mainly used to promote the construction of small towns throughout the county and to create several model towns that could serve as role models.

However, where there is money, there will be conflict.

Some people tried to get some money back from Lin Xiao through various means and connections, but more than ninety percent of them were turned away, and only a few people gained his support.

As a result, rumors began to circulate: that Lin Xiao was autocratic and ran a one-man show, and that he had even sidelined Zhu Lishu.

"Did you know? Only Lin Xiao can move those hundreds of millions of yuan in the county's accounts."

"Those projects were all decided by Lin Xiao; no one else could get involved."

"Hehe, these days in Fuchuan, everyone only knows County Chief Lin, not Secretary Zhu."

"Sigh, Secretary Zhu trusted him so much, but I never expected that he would raise such an ungrateful wretch."

"You wouldn't believe it, there's something even worse. I heard that you can get promoted just by giving him money or sleeping with him."

"No way, is he really that audacious?"

"Otherwise, how do you think the new directors of the Finance Bureau and the Development and Reform Bureau could have gone directly from deputy township-level positions?"

The rumors were so vivid and detailed that they could easily convince some uninformed people that they were true.

Soon, some rumors reached Lin Xiao's ears.

Sometimes, the best way to deal with rumors is to ignore them.

As time goes by, you'll naturally forget about it.

In short, as long as the city trusts him and recognizes his work, that's enough.

"County Head, I have something to report to you. The agricultural subsidy funds that were supposed to be allocated this month have been delayed by the Municipal Finance Bureau. I've made several trips, but to no avail. Their intention is to consider the overall situation and optimize resource allocation based on the circumstances of each district and county."

To put it bluntly, they think that now that we have more money, we can cash out this money first. But these are clearly two different concepts—agricultural subsidies are a policy to support agriculture and farmers, a special fund coordinated at the municipal level, allocated by the municipal finance bureau to the county finance bureau. We can't stop providing it just because our finances are a bit better. According to this logic, even when the county didn't have money before, the city didn't give us extra either.

Wei Wenjuan sat in her office chair, looking aggrieved.

She went to the Municipal Finance Bureau every few days to try and get the more than two million yuan in subsidies, but she got nothing and even suffered some grievances.

Lin Xiao thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you give me the information, and I'll figure something out."

The next second, Wei Wenjuan placed a thick stack of documents in front of him.

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "It seems Director Wei was prepared."

There's nothing I can do about it.

"County head, I'm just a nobody, and in the end, they wouldn't even want to see me anymore. I had to get the higher-ups to intervene."

"Fine, if I don't support you, who will?"

"Thank you, boss."

After Wei Wenjuan left, Lin Xiao began to carefully read the documents and realized that if the money was to be given legitimately, and the Municipal Finance Bureau was holding back the money, then there was something wrong with it.

Although this money was a special fund allocated by the city government and not a direct central government fund, the city did have control over the allocation schedule and project review authority.

However, from a legal perspective, the municipal finance bureau cannot directly withhold or delay the established municipal-level agricultural special subsidy funds on the grounds that the county has obtained land transfer revenue—this is easily investigated by the audit and the discipline inspection commission.

Therefore, to solve a problem, you must first figure out where the problem lies.

The key point is that two million is not a small amount, and every penny is important to Bucheon.

After thinking for a moment, he made a phone call.