Nominal: Energy sector enters Handong, breaking the deadlock

The driver pretended not to hear and focused on driving.

I wouldn't dare look into the rearview mirror even if I had two hundred lives.

The back seat plus the front passenger seat.

These guys just stomp their feet casually.

The whole province will be shaken.

Li Dakang slapped his thigh and said, "Secretary Gao, this is a typical case of a scholar discussing politics."

Easier said than done.

"If you were really put on that stone pier, with thousands of people sitting below you, you'd be talking to them about art."

Gao Yuliang slowly unscrewed the lid of the thermos, completely unaffected by Li Dakang's emotions.

"Comrade Dakang, you still have the same old temper, you get angry at the slightest provocation."

I didn't say Comrade Wang Julong was bad; I was talking about his methods.

He has now driven himself into a corner, and also cornered the municipal party committee and government.

"You can't get things done without pushing them. You can't get things done without going through a lot. You have to have the courage to burn your bridges." Li Dakang leaned forward.

He tapped his finger twice forcefully in mid-air.

"What time is it now? It's a crisis. You're trying to use those predictable, safe approaches. Do you think the workers will listen to you? Stabilizing the situation is the most important thing."

Gao Yuliang took a sip of tea, holding the cup, and said, "Secretary Dakang, it's right to stabilize the situation."

But it's easy for him to make this pledge, but what will he use to fulfill it tomorrow?

Are you going to keep your word?

"If the mayor really resigns, this will get really interesting."

Zhou Tiejun chuckled as he listened to the two arguing.

He kept nudging Song Yunhui next to him with his elbow.

These two old buddies colliding is like Mars colliding with Earth.

They've been like this since they were in the leadership team in Lüzhou. They can smash the table during a standing committee meeting.

Even after they've all joined the provincial party committee's standing committee, they're still locked in this power struggle.

Song Yunhui felt that this was enough of the gossip.

If we don't stop him, Li Dakang might actually start dancing the samba in the car.

"Alright, Dakang, Yuliang." Song Yunhui cleared his throat.

After the second train driver finished speaking, the carriage fell silent.

Li Dakang turned to look at Song Yunhui, his lips moving slightly.

He swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his throat.

After all, Song Yunhui is the provincial governor, so we have to give him face.

"Secretary Dakang, Secretary Yuliang has his reasons. Burning our bridges is a good idea. But we're not facing a war now. We're facing the livelihood problem of thousands of people."

When Song Yunhui spoke, he set a tone that was neither biased nor indifferent.

Li Dakang leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. "Governor Song, I know the situation in Lincheng best."

That's the old foundation of our province.

They contributed a tremendous amount of tax revenue to the entire province back then; they were truly meritorious contributors.

Now that problems have arisen, we can't condemn everything outright.

Gao Yuliang quickly chimed in, "Secretary Dakang, nobody wants to condemn someone outright."

Dakang, don't try to twist the facts.

The truth is that the cotton mill has now become a burden.

If Wang Julong can't come up with the resettlement payment by tomorrow...

Those thousands of people will still have to block the gate, maybe even block the way all the way to the provincial party committee compound. Will you, Secretary Li, personally go and hand out the money to them then?

Of course it was a joke, teasing Li Dakang.

Hearing this, Gao Yuliang felt a little pleased.

"You..." Li Dakang's anger, which he had just suppressed, flared up again.

Zhou Tiejun coughed twice at the right moment and chuckled, "I say to you two, let's not argue about this in front of Governor Song."

Wang Julong dared to make this boast on live television; he must have already planned it all out.

"Commander Zhou, you think too highly of him. What a load of crap he's scheming. If he can resolve the Lincheng Cotton Mill issue by tomorrow, I'll take his surname." Li Dakang even swore.

He didn't care about his image at all, and confidently rolled up his sleeves.

"How could I not know how much money is sitting in Lincheng's fiscal account? The problem of resettling so many laid-off workers is an insurmountable hole. Even if you sold Wang Julong by weight, you wouldn't be able to raise a fraction of it."

Zhou Tiejun touched his nose and remained silent.

He's just a peacemaker.

When it comes to money, the military has no say.

The atmosphere in the carriage changed.

The smell of gunpowder has dissipated.

A gloomy and desolate atmosphere drifted in.

money.

This is the real killer.

A penny stumps the hero.

Not to mention this is a large-scale operation with tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan involved.

Gao Yuliang turned to look out the window, no longer finding fault.

Honestly, even if Gao Yuliang were to handle this matter, it would be really difficult, involving so many people and so much money.

Li Dakang crossed his arms and stared blankly at the back of the seat in front of him.

Song Yunhui took in the reactions of the two men and tapped his fingers rhythmically on his knees.

These two may be arguing, but they both know exactly what's going on in their minds.

The Lincheng Cotton Mill is a ticking time bomb; whoever touches it will explode.

Now that Wang Julong has Lei in his arms, it's as if he's also putting the province on his shoulders.

"Since Comrade Dakang knows it's a huge problem," Song Yunhui finally brought up the real issue, "we can't just sit here and watch Lincheng fumble around. You used to be the Lincheng Party Secretary, so you're a long-time resident of Lincheng. Tell me, what do you think we should do?"

The ball was kicked back, but it was still a metal ball.

Li Dakang glanced at Gao Yuliang.

Gao Yuliang looked out the window and pretended not to hear.

He only handled political and legal affairs and ideological work; money was not his concern.

At this point, saying more would only lead to more mistakes, and ultimately it's because we haven't figured out how to resolve the issue.

Li Dakang gritted his teeth; he couldn't avoid this.

He promoted all the cadres in Lincheng.

He doesn't care. What if something happens to Lincheng?

"Governor Song, we still need the province's support," Li Dakang said, forcing himself to speak. "Lincheng has come to this point for the sake of the overall situation of the province. Could the provincial treasury allocate a special fund to pay the workers' resettlement fees and put out the fire? We can deal with the rest later."

Gao Yuliang immediately turned his head. "Comrade Dakang, you've gone a bit too far. Where does the provincial treasury get so much money? Today you allocated funds to Lincheng, tomorrow other cities in Handong will follow suit. Hundreds of messes will come to Governor Song for help. The provincial treasury can't handle it. How can we live like this?"

"Can Lincheng be the same as other places?" Li Dakang's eyes widened.

Gao Yuliang thought Li Dakang's eyes looked a bit like frog eyes, bulging out.

It makes me want to laugh just looking at it.

"How are they different? They're all going through the growing pains of state-owned enterprise reform. Why should Lincheng be treated differently?" Gao Yuliang retorted.

If he were to receive a preferential treatment, Gao Yuliang would prefer to give it to Lüzhou, where he had once governed a region.

I have a deep affection for Luzhou.

Li Dakang also felt a headache coming on. "Secretary Yuliang, you're not showing any empathy."

Those workers dedicated half their lives to the cotton mill.

Now that I'm old and can't work anymore, they won't even give me a bite to eat.

As the former Party Secretary of Lincheng City, I couldn't bear it.

Gao Yuliang pushed up his glasses. "Can you pay someone if you're just talking about feelings?"

Comrade Dakang, you can't always act on emotion; you must follow the rules.

The two clashed again.

This time, we won't argue with Wang Julong.

They've started arguing about money.

Song Yunhui felt a headache coming on.

"Stop, stop!" Song Yunhui raised his hand.

The argument between the two was immediately stopped.

"Secretary Yuliang is right about the provincial finances; the foundation is weak."

They couldn't withstand such a commotion, and Lincheng broke this precedent.

The entire province's finances were thrown into chaos. The province couldn't afford to pay that amount.