In name only, I, Gao Yuliang, will sink Handong at worst.

For the next two weeks, things were very stable in Handong.

Only two things happened.

Because there are many people involved in the Dafeng Factory case, and Cai Chenggong has not yet been arrested, the case will not be closed anytime soon.

However, the forced demolition resulted in Du Bozhong being sentenced to three months in prison, mainly because no one was killed, and Shanshui Manor was willing to pay money to gain the other party's forgiveness.

A CEO shouldn't be able to stay in the background and direct operations; instead, he should personally lead the demolition efforts. What CEO does everything himself?

However, the other demolition workers under his command were not so good. Some members of the demolition teams confessed that someone had died during a previous demolition and were directly sentenced to prison.

As for the illegal operation of Shanshui Manor, it was fined 20 million yuan.

However, the two most bustling places in the entire Handong area were Chen Yanshi's small courtyard and Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu's residence. Every time they passed through a place, the local municipal party secretary, mayor, and other officials would come to visit and report on their work.

The reason for this was that many people came to give Chen Yanshi flowers and birds. These flowers and birds were not cheap. The cheapest ones were red jade beads worth a few hundred yuan, green cloud orchids worth a few thousand yuan, and some were plain lotus crowns worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan.

In addition, birds are not cheap either, ranging from common budgies costing a few hundred dollars, canaries costing thousands, and monk parakeets costing tens of thousands.

Chen Yanshi and Wang Fuzhen finally managed to send these people away.

"On the first day, only four people came, but on the second day, ten people came, and now dozens of people come every day. We've run out of disposable plastic cups," Wang Fuzhen said.

She's really tired these days! People come to visit every day, so she has to go and prepare tea for them, and she also has to help take care of the flowers and birds.

Previously, Chen Yanshi took care of the flowers and birds in their home, but now there are hundreds more flower pots and birdcages, and Chen Yanshi simply cannot take care of them all.

Now, just cleaning bird droppings and changing the birds' food and water takes her two hours. Luckily, the person who came brought bird food; otherwise, they might have eaten her out of house and home.

"What's going on here? So many people have come to visit us. They didn't come before, only Gao Yuliang would come over occasionally. In my opinion, these people are all corrupt officials. Otherwise, where would they get so much money to buy these flowers and birds?" Chen Yanshi said.

He couldn't very well refuse.

"I've already registered the positions and names of all these visitors. Should we hand them over to Xiao Jinzi or...?" Wang Fuzhen knew exactly what these visitors' intentions were; they wanted to pledge allegiance to Sha Ruijin.

But who are these people who come seeking refuge? How many of them are good people who bring flowers and birds with them?

Chen Yanshi loved these flowers and birds very much, even to the point of being extremely fond of them. He had the means to buy so many flowers and birds before, but he didn't dare to buy them. On the one hand, it would cost too much money, and on the other hand, it would be too ostentatious.

Now that others have given them to him, he really wants to accept these things, but he can't accept them directly, both for Sha Ruijin's sake and for his own reputation.

If I give this list to Sha Ruijin, there's a high chance he'll allow me to leave these things here.

Moreover, he could secretly sell some flowers and birds under the guise of donations, which would bring in a lot more money. And for the sake of his reputation, he also had to give these lists to Sha Ruijin.

If he accepts everything but doesn't offer any explanation or gesture, that won't do.

Chen Yanshi was making plans in his mind.

"We need to hand this over to Xiao Jinzi, but we shouldn't hand over this list. These people all came to seek refuge with Xiao Jinzi. If we report it, we can deal with them, but that would hurt those who want to seek refuge with Xiao Jinzi. If we don't deal with them, Xiao Jinzi will be in a difficult position."

If it were the old Chen Yanshi, he might have handed in the notebook out of his sense of justice and good reputation.

However, after the incident at Dafeng Factory, his reputation was damaged. Once he gained a reputation for being senile, his reputation was no longer necessary.

Wang Fuzhen nodded, indicating that she understood. "Then this notebook."

"Let's keep it for now!"

The latter refers to everyone reporting their work to Sha Ruijin, which has become the norm.

Most of these reports are just normal reports and don't necessarily indicate a desire to defect. Since you've just arrived, they won't just side with you for no reason. It will take at least half a month to get a clear picture of the situation, and sometimes as little as a month or as long as three months before they will take the initiative to defect.

However, there was one person who actively sought to align himself with Sha Ruijin's side; this person was Wang Zheng, the executive vice governor.

Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu arrived in Qingcheng City.

Wang Zheng called the two of them.

"Secretary Sha, you've arrived in Qingcheng City, haven't you? I used to work there. I was wondering when you'd be free? I was thinking of having the Qingcheng Municipal Party Secretary give you a briefing. What do you think?"

Sha Ruijin did not expect that he would be the first to receive a call of allegiance from the provincial government. He thought that the first person to come to him would be either the Minister of the Organization Department or the Minister of the Propaganda Department, because these two areas were the work of the Provincial Party Committee.

The provincial party committee's two main powers are personnel appointment and removal and the disciplinary committee's supervisory power. Tian Guofu had already accepted them, but unexpectedly, it was Wang Zheng who sent someone to report on the work.

There may be multiple vice governors, but only two can hold the position of executive governor and also be promoted to the provincial party committee.

"No problem. I'd be delighted if a comrade were willing to come and report on their work."

"I'll have him arrange a time with you. Also, please let me know when Secretary Sha returns to Jingzhou. I'm planning to give him a proper report on my work!"

"No problem. I'll be heading back to Jingzhou in the next couple of days. My investigation in Handong is almost finished. We should have a good exchange then."

"I look forward to the day we meet."

The two chatted for a while longer before hanging up the phone.

Wang Zheng and Ma Guangming were Liu Changsheng's right-hand men. He controlled the National Audit Office, while Ma Guangming controlled the Ministry of Finance. They were two formidable weapons.

However, Liu Changsheng recently expressed his intention to take back the National Audit Office. Since there hasn't been a Sha-Li pairing, it can't be a Sha-Wang pairing. Moreover, for those who want to be promoted to the position of provincial governor, the chances of being executive vice governors are much greater than those of municipal party secretaries.

That very evening, Song Wandi, the Party Secretary of Qingcheng District, came to report the situation to Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu.

"Secretary Sha, Secretary Guo Fu, I am Song Wandi, Secretary of the Qingcheng District Committee. I have come to report to you both." Song Wandi made a visit.

Song Wandi first reported on the current work situation in Qingcheng City. Sha Ruijin understood what Wang Zheng meant. Wang Zheng had worked here for nearly 20 years before moving to work in the provincial government and being promoted to executive vice governor.

Song Wandi was practically Wang Zheng's confidant, representing that this faction's surrender to him.

Have you encountered any difficulties in the development of Qingcheng City?

Song Wandi hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself. "I don't know if I should say it?"

"If you're having trouble, just tell us! How can we help you solve your problems if you don't tell us?"

"There is a shantytown in Qingcheng District, which is considered a dangerous building. Eight years ago, in order to solve the problem of this land, Governor Wang approved a batch of funds from the province and Qingcheng City to carry out renovation."

"However, the director of the Qingcheng Housing and Construction Bureau and others ran away with the money and disappeared. Later, Qingcheng applied for renovation again but was not approved, and the funds could not be obtained."