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

Zhou Zhengming didn't rush to ask further questions. Instead, he pushed the thermos cup next to him forward and said, "Have some water, and tell me slowly. We have enough time tonight."

Zhao Ruilong looked at the steaming water and forced a bitter smile: "Team Leader Zhou, your 'there's enough time' sounds more chilling than a court verdict."

Xiao Lin turned to a new page of the transcript without looking up: "Mr. Zhao, don't scare yourself. The judgment isn't that long. It'll take at most half an hour to read."

Zhao Ruilong rolled his eyes, speechless. "You better not fall into my hands in the future."

"Try to get out first," Kobayashi said casually, pausing with his pen.

Back in Handong, who would dare to speak to Young Master Zhao like that?

Even a bureau chief of that caliber would have to bow and scrape before him.

Now that he's in this room, and has run into a recorder who follows the rules but has a sharp tongue, Zhao Ruilong can't get angry at all.

Zhou Zhengming tapped the table with his knuckles, steer the conversation back on track: "How exactly does the Lingang financial pilot program operate?"

"They put on a very nice show, talking about the renovation of the old port city, the introduction of foreign equipment, port warehousing, and energy pipeline facilities—all big names."

Zhao Ruilong rubbed his face. "In reality? Most of the procurement contracts are just empty promises. The equipment is quoted at an exorbitant price, and the consulting fees, service fees, and guarantee fees are sliced ​​off like a cake. A few shell companies are set up overseas to take over, and the money goes around in the ocean, cleaned up, and ends up in the pools of trusts and funds."

"Is this how Chen Yang's trust came about?"

"Her share isn't much, but it's definitely the most sensitive."

Zhao Ruilong curled his lip. "Chen Yanshi is always pretending to be Hai Rui outside, shouting that he's standing up for the workers of Dafeng Factory. Who would have thought that his Chen family has already been reaping huge profits?"

Zhou Zhengming stared at him: "How much did Chen Yanshi himself know?"

"He may not have known the details of the accounts at first, but he definitely knew there were huge benefits to be had."

Zhao Ruilong scoffed, "Old Chen is the toughest talker, but the most shrewd. He avoids cash, considering it dirty; he only touches 'arrangements.' Chen Yang wants to go abroad, get into top-tier projects, obtain overseas residency, and have absolute security for the rest of his life. And his son, Chen Hai, has a smooth-sailing career. Who gave him all that? Did it fall from the sky?!"

As Xiaolin wrote this, his stomach started to churn with acid.

When I heard that Chen Yanshi sold his house to donate money and protect the factory, I really thought he was an old revolutionary who was untainted by worldly affairs.

Now, after peeling back the layers, we've discovered that these people weren't actually unwilling to take money; they simply thought taking cash directly was too low-class.

The money is dirty, but the "arrangement" is not.

Cash looks bad, but offshore trusts look good.

If you use a fancy plate to serve the leftovers, you'll look more presentable while eating.

"What role does the Liang family play in this?" Zhou Zhengming continued to ask.

"Liang Qunfeng is in charge of personnel matters, and is responsible for organizing personnel and protecting those in the political and legal system."

Zhao Ruilong spoke fluently, "You all keep focusing on Qi Tongwei being exiled to Guyingling, but that was just a small matter of the Liang family showing off their power. Back then, during the Lingang project, a few young cadres in the province were clueless and refused to sign the irregular documents no matter what."

The results of it?

They were either promoted in name only and transferred to insignificant government departments, or they were stuck in their positions for ten years without any progress. The Liang family's dominance in Handong wasn't based on how much real money they embezzled, but on their ability to decide who had a future and who was destined to rot in the mud for life.

"What's your relationship with the Liang family like?"

"We can't stand each other, yet we can't live without each other."

Zhao Ruilong spread his hands. "Liang Wentao and Liang Wenjie were involved in money laundering with those worthless artworks. They needed project packaging, and I provided the money and effort. In return, they helped me deal with the troublemakers in personnel and law enforcement. Liang Qunfeng would just give the go-ahead, and everything would be settled. Everyone has their own problems, so no one should complain about who's smellier."

"What about the Mountain and Water Manor?"

"Shanshui Manor?"

Zhao Ruilong's tone betrayed a hint of irritation, "Your supervisory team shouldn't always treat Shanshui Manor as the root of all evil. That place is at most a poisonous fruit that has grown there, not the root at all!"

Zhou Zhengming seized the opportunity to press further: "You've already confessed to Liu Xinjian misappropriating funds from Handong Oil and Gas Group to fund Huilong Investment. But you haven't explained why Liu Xinjian was willing to take such a huge risk?"

"risk?"

Zhao Ruilong chuckled. "Team Leader Zhou, in Liu Xinjian's eyes, that's not a risk at all, that's political alignment!"

"Explain it more clearly."

"When my father was in charge of Handong, the top executives of state-owned enterprises like Handong Oil and Gas were not most afraid of illegal lending, but most afraid of no one above them wanting their money!"

Zhao Ruilong revealed a vicious cycle in officialdom: "Money is given to Huilong and Shanshui, packaged on the books as industrial collaboration, project cooperation, and temporary loans. What's there to be afraid of if something goes wrong?"

There were instructions from provincial leaders, bank follow-up loan renewals, court mediation, and police intervention to pressure people.

In their view, this was a grand scheme orchestrated by the province. As long as this scheme continued, everyone would get promoted and make a fortune, and the law wouldn't punish everyone.

"So how did this grand scheme of things end?" Zhou Zhengming asked.