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

People in the provincial party committee's reception office are naturally most afraid of bringing up old grievances.

It's not that everyone is involved in massive corruption, but rather that the reception system itself is the biggest gray area in officialdom.

Twenty years ago, banquets, accompanying lists, and temporary attendees were all referred to as "serving the overall situation and normal reception."

But twenty years later, the winds of change were completely reversed. Looking back, every vague detail, every anonymous statement, and every ambiguous word was a potential bombshell.

The joint supervision office slammed a sealing order on the table, and the director of the provincial party committee's reception office turned pale on the spot, with beads of sweat rolling down his bald spot.

He braced himself and tried to brush it off with the most classic bureaucratic maneuver: "Team Leader Zhou, well... more than twenty years ago, everything was filed by hand on paper, and the conditions for moisture and insect protection were limited. Many overdue documents should have been destroyed long ago according to the procedures, so I'm afraid we can't find them all."

Zhou Zhengming's eyes were cold; he wasn't buying into the stalling tactic at all, and launched a flawless counterattack:

"When doing things within the system, there's a strong emphasis on record management. If you're destroying something according to regulations, bring the destruction approval form. If you don't have the approval form, bring the original."

"Since you have neither the original documents nor the approval form, you're coming with me to the Discipline Inspection Commission right now. We'll have a serious discussion about the suspected deliberate destruction of important national archives. Let's start with the evidence, not the objective reasons."

Upon hearing that he was to be summoned for questioning by the disciplinary committee, the director's legs went weak, cold sweat poured down his back, and he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, it wasn't destroyed! It's definitely there! I'll take people to investigate right away!"

The archives room was immediately cleared out, and the supervisory team took full control.

Two retired staff members were urgently recalled to verify clues from early financial research.

When the white-haired, elderly Mr. Ma heard about the "Central Financial Research Group and the Lingang Project," he slapped his thigh on the spot, almost jumping up.

"I remember this group of people! Back then, Lingang was the province's top priority project, and several research teams from Beijing came to investigate. The list clearly showed four people, but at a private dinner that night, one extra person was found."

Zhou Zhengming stared intently: "Who's the extra person?"

Old Ma recalled for a long time, smacking his lips: "The introduction was very vague, only saying that he was 'Advisor Wang' from Beijing. He was young, spoke very little, and did not drink or socialize at all."

But what I remember most clearly is that the Zhao family treated him with excessive politeness! That was Young Master Zhao, the kind of guy who usually swaggered around Handong, but in front of that Advisor Wang, he was practically a lackey carrying bags, acting entirely like someone who was superior.

Kobayashi pressed further, "Was there a hotel registration?"

"No." Old Ma shook his head firmly. "These special entourage members don't stay in the provincial party committee's internal guesthouses. He stayed at the Lingang Foreign Affairs Hotel. The reception office only reported the official vehicle and meal expenses; his identity information was completely blank."

"Check the vehicle dispatch order," Zhou Zhengming ordered in a deep voice.

The entire reception team searched through the cabinets, and half an hour later, they carefully pulled out an old, yellowed, and brittle vehicle dispatch slip.

Purpose of vehicle use: Financial research team's inspection of the Lingang project.

Accompanying personnel: Zhao, Liang, Consultant Wang, and two attendants.

Driver's signature: Zhou Jianguo.

Zhou Zhengming stared at the words "Advisor Wang" and asked calmly, "Where's the driver on duty?"

The director whispered, "He's already retired and lives in Jingzhou."

"Please come back and cooperate with the discussion."

...

In the evening, retired driver Lao Zhou was invited to the meeting place.

The old man nervously wrung his hands as soon as he entered, quickly trying to disclaim any responsibility: "Boss, I'm just the one driving. They were chatting about national affairs in the car, but all I could think about was where to buy two pounds of pork ribs after get off work. I really don't know anything about what's going on at the higher-ups' level!"

Zhou Zhengming pushed the dispatch order over, his tone softening: "I won't ask about national affairs, I'll just tell you what you saw with your own eyes."

Old Zhou put on his reading glasses, stared for a while, and then slapped his thigh:

"That's right, I was driving! That day, Zhao Ruilong, Liang Qunfeng's secretary, and that young man surnamed Wang were in the car."

"More than twenty years have passed, and you still remember it so clearly?"

"I can't forget it!"

Old Zhou described it vividly: "That young man was on the phone the whole way, talking about 'trust, segregation, beneficiary, offshore structure' over and over again. Although I couldn't understand what he was saying, I knew he was definitely not an ordinary entourage member."

When we got off at Lingang, guess what? Zhao Ruilong jumped out of the car himself and opened the door for him. I was thinking to myself, "Just how powerful must this guy in Beijing be to get Young Master Zhao to open the door for him?"

Zhou Zhengming astutely grasped the key point: "That evening, during the closed-door dinner, while you were waiting outside, did you see Chen Yanshi?"

"I saw him!" Old Zhou said with certainty. "Old Chen arrived late, didn't drink, and left after sitting for a few minutes. When he left, Zhao Ruilong personally saw him off, and that Consultant Wang also went out. The two of them chatted quietly for a few words at the door."

"What did you say?"

"It was too far away to hear clearly," Old Zhou said truthfully, then changed the subject, "but before Old Chen got into the car, he turned around and said something that I heard very clearly: 'Don't make things public.'"

As soon as the words were spoken, the head of the reception office standing next to him felt his legs go weak and almost collapsed to the ground. This was a potentially fatal testimony!

Old Zhou quickly added, "Boss, it's been twenty years. I can't guarantee the wording, even the punctuation, is correct, but the meaning is absolutely right!"

Zhou Zhengming: "Can you sign to confirm your eyewitness account? The organization only accepts the facts and will not force you to classify the case."

Old Zhou gritted his teeth: "Yes! We working class don't lie."

This old dispatch slip led to a stunning and decisive victory.

Wang Zonghui, Zhao Ruilong, the Liang family, the Chen family, and the Lingang black money were locked together for the first time in the same time and space, at the same dinner party for interests.

The complete set of materials was submitted to Qin Yuanzhou overnight.

Qin Yuanzhou stared at the clues on the paper for a full ten minutes before slowly exhaling:

"This is irrefutable evidence. Chen Yang's confession, Ji Changming's testimony, Gao Yuliang's clues, physical evidence from the reception office, and the driver's eyewitness account—these five lines interlock and form a closed loop, leaving no room for even a fly to escape."

Zhou Zhengming asked, "Can we take action against Wang Zonghui now?"

Qin Yuanzhou shook his head:

"Wang Zonghui is part of the Kyoto system and is not under the control of Handong. If the local authorities act first, it's like stirring up trouble in advance, forcing the higher-ups to reshuffle the deck, and the power struggle at the top will spiral out of control. Our mission is to thoroughly investigate Handong, not to provoke trouble in Kyoto."

"Immediately prepare a special report and send it directly to Kyoto. Someone will handle the Kyoto line. As for Handong, we must proceed cautiously and steadily."

"How do we proceed?"

Qin Yuanzhou tapped his finger heavily on the list: "First, secure the outer perimeter and solidify the chain of evidence. Summon Du Qishan, Luo Jianping, and Zhang Jianmin simultaneously. Focus on breaking through Zhang Jianmin; he's connected to the Lu family's drafts on one end and the Lingang judicial system's cover-up on the other. He's the easiest target right now; crush him!"

Zhou Zhengming asked, "Does Chen Yanshi want to lay all his cards on the table?"

"Split it in half."

Qin Yuanzhou's eyes were deep. "Tell him that we found out that Consultant Wang was present, that he was there in person, and that there was a gag order at the scene. Don't reveal all your cards; keep half of the evidence under psychological pressure, forcing him to confess all the facts about his corruption and cover-ups."

"clear."

That night, Zhang Jianmin was summoned a second time.

This time, he completely lost the stubbornness and confidence he had shown as the "old judge" last time.

Zhou Zhengming slammed the copy of the vehicle dispatch order onto the table with a "bang":

"Zhang Jianmin, you've seen more than just Lu Yike's confidential documents. Back then, in the Lingang cross-border funding dispute and the sham mediation of the urban investment guarantee, you were the only person to have your documents stamped with the judicial seal. Stop beating around the bush and tell me."

Zhang Jianmin looked ashen, but still stubbornly maintained his professional rhetoric: "I'm just following procedure; judges cannot interfere with the parties' willingness to settle."

"According to procedure?"

Zhou Zhengming sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. "A Hong Kong-funded shell company, a large-scale joint guarantee from a local government financing vehicle, a cross-border debt dispute—such a complex and difficult case, and you mediated and resolved it in three days? Even a rocket couldn't have done that! What kind of procedure is that?"

"It was voluntary on both sides..."

"Was it consensual, or was someone above you pressuring you to keep quiet for a deadline?!"

Zhou Zhengming suddenly raised his voice, hitting the nail on the head, "You know Wang Zonghui."

Zhang Jianmin looked up abruptly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "I don't know him!"

He overreacted and immediately exposed his mistake.