Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

A single sentence, seemingly gentle yet firm, like a soft ball of cotton, effectively blocked all of Li Dakang's prepared official rhetoric and grand pronouncements.

Li Dakang, who used to sit in the municipal party committee building and make decisions on everything, now felt a sense of unease he had never experienced before.

He suddenly realized that this quiet and secluded children's palace room was even more unsettling than the provincial party committee's meeting room or the municipal party secretary's office.

Sun Liancheng sat upright opposite him, slowly blowing away the fine tea leaves in his cup, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

In his eyes, his boss across the street was no different from any other tourist inquiring about stargazing tickets.

"Secretary Li, just say what you have to say."

Sun Liancheng said casually, "There's another group of elementary school students coming to see the lunar craters at 4:30. The laws of the universe never wait for anyone. My work here is much more punctual than the city's surprise demolitions."

The secretary next to him was so embarrassed that she dug her toes into the ground, caught in a dilemma.

The top official of Jingzhou City, a prefecture-level city with a population of ten million, now has to make way for a group of elementary school students looking at models when he talks about work.

Looking at the entire officialdom of Handong, only Sun Liancheng has this confidence and this carefree attitude.

Li Dakang suppressed his inner unease and said calmly:

"The provincial party committee, in conjunction with the central supervision team, is about to launch a special intra-party review of the Dafeng Factory 116 incident at the highest level. As a key participant, you must attend the meeting."

Sun Liancheng didn't even lift his eyelids, showing no surprise, and said calmly, "I already knew."

"What do you know?"

"I knew that after going around in circles, you would eventually come to me, the scapegoat, the grassroots 'neighborhood committee auntie'."

Sun Liancheng put down his thermos, a clear yet mocking smile playing on his lips. Every word he spoke was a culmination of years of pent-up grievances and clarity.

"Back then, regarding the land transfer of Dafeng Factory and the development of the Guangmingfeng area, I clearly stated in the district-level report that the asset valuation was distorted, the process had loopholes, and there was a risk of loss of state-owned assets. The district-level authorities firmly disagreed with the low-price transfer and the hasty demolition."

"But what was the result? The city had more power than the district, and the higher-ups suppressed the lower-ups. My risk warnings went unheard, and Ding Yizhen gave me the green light all the way."

Finally, the matter escalated, public opinion exploded, and a huge blunder occurred. I became a negative example of someone who hindered development, lacked responsibility, and was devoid of enthusiasm for reform. I was promptly relegated to the Children's Palace to stargaze and sweep the yard.

Li Dakang's face stiffened slightly, his official air instinctively rising, and his tone carried a hint of superior stubbornness: "Comrade Liancheng, your work performance in the later stages was indeed passive and negligent, which the organization has verifiable evidence of!"

"I never deny it."

Sun Liancheng answered crisply and decisively, even with a touch of candid self-deprecation, completely breaking away from the usual bureaucratic shirking of responsibility: "Later on, I became afraid of trouble, afraid of taking the blame, afraid of paying for the mistakes of my superiors' decisions, and afraid of falling into the deep pit of power struggles."

I admit my inaction, but Secretary Dakang, my laissez-faire attitude cannot offset your overreach and violations. My later passivity does not prove that the city's radical decision to ignore grassroots risks and forcefully push forward the project was correct!

One sentence hit the nail on the head, a logical loop that left Li Dakang speechless and his chest feeling heavy.

Sun Liancheng leaned forward slightly, his eyes shining with an astonishing light, each sentence tearing open the unspoken rules of the officialdom in Handong:

"I couldn't understand it at the time. How could Ding Yizhen, a vice mayor, overstep his authority and bypass the legal procedures of the district party committee and government?"

The development of Guangming Peak, the demolition of Dafeng Factory, and the supporting projects for the port area—all the red lines were crossed, making the process smoother than piloting a spaceship through a game of chance!

"Later, after looking at the stars a lot, I finally figured it out. It wasn't that Ding Yizhen was bold; it was that someone in higher positions wanted political achievements, speed, and a window of opportunity, so they took the initiative to back him up and pave the way for him!"

He was just the gunner at the front; the one who actually made the decisions never stepped forward to admit fault!

"Sun Liancheng! Watch your political tact when you speak!" Li Dakang interrupted sharply, trying to suppress this blunt criticism.

"I'm just a leisurely person enjoying stargazing now, why should I need any sense of propriety?"

Sun Liancheng chuckled, leaned back firmly in his chair, and said confidently, "In the past, when I talked about risks, rules, and procedures, I was slowing down development, failing to grasp the big picture, and hindering reform."

Now that the supervisory team is investigating past issues and reviewing historical problems, my honest statement of the facts is simply cooperating with the organization, restoring the truth, and upholding principles. The times have changed; my words are no longer just complaints.

These words struck Li Dakang like a blunt object, leaving him breathless for a long time.

Only now did he truly see Sun Liancheng for who he was: this man was never a pushover, but he had seen through the chaos of officialdom and was too lazy to fight for credit or argue his way out of trouble. Now, no longer needing to fear the authority of his superiors or compromise for his career, his tongue was sharper than anyone else's, every word piercing the very arteries of the power struggles in officialdom.

Li Dakang suppressed his anger, completely lowered his stance, and softened his tone: "I'm not here today to argue with you about right and wrong. I admit that the municipal party committee's handling of you back then was flawed."

"Deviation?" Sun Liancheng stared intently, refusing to accept vague, official explanations.

Li Dakang gritted his teeth, finally setting aside his dignity as the municipal party secretary, and uttered two weighty words: "Mistake."

"That's more like a realistic statement from a materialist perspective."

Sun Liancheng nodded in satisfaction, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke in a calm tone.

In the past, anyone in the Han Dong officialdom who dared to defy and manipulate Li Dakang like this would have had their future ruined long ago. But now that the tide has turned, Li Dakang has no choice but to accept it all.

Sun Liancheng put down his teacup and cut to the heart of the matter, his words clear and pragmatic: "Let's get straight to the point, what else did you want to see me about?"

"You only need to truthfully recount all the facts of that year at the debriefing meeting and cooperate with the provincial party committee and the supervisory team to restore the truth. Your subsequent personal work arrangements will be comprehensively considered and properly arranged by the provincial party committee," Li Dakang said solemnly.

"Considerations?"

Sun Liancheng sneered, his tone laced with dark humor, "Are you going to make me continue teaching elementary school students about the Big Dipper, or are you going to promote me to head of the Milky Way galaxy?"

Li Dakang frowned slightly: "You really don't want to return to a position of real power?"

Sun Liancheng shook his head rapidly, his face full of resistance, as if he were avoiding a flood or a ferocious beast: "No, absolutely not."

Li Dakang was stunned for a moment, filled with surprise.

Who isn't desperately trying to gain real power and advance their career?

However, Sun Liancheng, who had the opportunity to clear his name, was determined to avoid power.

Sun Liancheng sighed softly, revealing his profound understanding of officialdom after half a lifetime: "Secretary Dakang, I no longer want to fight for power or turn my life around. I have no other desires in this life but to completely clear my name of the black mark I have carried for so many years and let the organization restore my innocence."

"This proves that it wasn't my dereliction of duty or inaction back then, but rather that I strictly adhered to procedures and anticipated risks, yet I was swept up by the tide of political achievements and suppressed by layers of power."

After that, they arranged a stable, low-paying second-tier job for me, away from the high-risk messes of land, demolition, and investment promotion that could explode at any moment.

I'm getting old, and all I want is to live a peaceful life, watching the stars, working until retirement, without taking the blame or becoming cannon fodder.

Li Dakang looked quietly at Sun Liancheng in front of him, his heart churning with unprecedentedly complex emotions.

During his half-life in power, he despised cadres like Sun Liancheng who "seeked no merit but no demerit," believing they lacked drive, responsibility, and slowed down development.

But after enduring rounds of intense scrutiny from the supervisory team and witnessing repeated collapses and reshuffling of the officialdom in Handong, he finally came to his senses.

Sun Liancheng's so-called "fear of trouble, self-preservation, and lying flat" was never an indication of incompetence, but rather the most accurate and sober prediction of political risks.

In the officialdom of Handong, everyone was vying for political achievements, promotions, and advancement; everyone wanted to be a hero of reform. Only Sun Liancheng saw through the true nature of things.

Behind the rapid and rapid advancements in political achievements lie hidden dangers that could explode at any moment; those who charge forward are mostly cannon fodder in the power struggle.

The ability to see through the risks, proactively avoid them, withdraw unscathed, and avoid getting involved in messy affairs in the chaotic officialdom of Handong is the greatest wisdom in officialdom that is hard for ordinary people to learn.

After a long silence, Li Dakang solemnly said, "At the debriefing meeting, you can speak truthfully, without reservation, and no one will shut you up or suppress your words."

Sun Liancheng's gaze was penetrating, and he succinctly cut through the unspoken rules of officialdom: "Secretary Li, do you want me to tell the truth, or to be moderately truthful, but stop short of revealing everything?"