In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong!

One after another, members of the Guangming District leadership team reported the situation to the city through their own channels.

The result was that it disappeared without a trace.

Essentially, Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi's plan was just a bit risky, but it didn't involve any violations of rules or laws.

Everyone in the city knows that Yi Xuexi was a cadre promoted by Sha Ruijin on a whim. Didn't you see that Yi Xuexi even dared to confront Secretary Li Dakang? And when something happened, the provincial party secretary would take the blame.

Li Dakang's attitude was even simpler: he simply remained silent and pretended not to know anything.

Guangming District acted swiftly; in just three days, Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai, representing the Guangming District Committee and Government, signed a loan contract with the Construction Bank, and the initial payment of 3 billion yuan was deposited into the Guangming District Finance Bureau's account on the same day.

Two days later, staff from Guangming District began to take photos and make measurements on-site. As a result, only five days later, the two old residential areas had already added a floor in the slower-growing area and were about to be completed with two floors in the faster-growing area.

Even a fool would know there was something wrong with the gleaming red brick wall and the cement mortar that wasn't completely dry.

The staff responsible for taking photos and calculating the area were dumbfounded. The two staff members were surrounded by a large family and calculated the area floor by floor until they arrived at the entrance of the newly built unfinished staircase. The staff members' legs felt like they weighed a ton.

Take a deep breath and speak directly.

"We only calculate the original house area; any added floors are not included."

"It doesn't count?! Why doesn't it count?!"

If you encounter an easy-going household, that's fine, but otherwise you'll just give an awkward smile and shake your head in disappointment, considering the money spent on adding the roof a waste.

But when they encountered a shrewish household, the staff were verbally abused and refused to confirm or sign anything!

This situation was quickly reported, eventually reaching Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai.

This project was their primary responsibility, and Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi came down to understand the situation immediately.

The most assertive stance came from the Nie family.

They are a large family. When the community was built, the patriarch of the family used all his savings to buy the entire building. Now, more than 20 years later, most of the Nie family members have left this old and dilapidated place, but more than 20 Nie family members still live here. The building was originally six stories high, but now it has been forcibly expanded to nine stories.

The Nie family had already decided that the extra three floors would be divided equally among the households as long as they received the demolition compensation. Wouldn't that be better than going out to work for several years?

Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi arrived in the same car.

Besides the two of them, staff from the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau accompanied them.

As soon as the car stopped downstairs, the entire Nie family from the building came down and surrounded it.

"What right do you officials have to bully ordinary people! Why can't our sixth to ninth floors be included? If you can't give us a reason, we won't let you demolish them!"

Before they even got out of the car, the Nie family started chattering incessantly. Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai exchanged a glance and then opened the car doors, facing the people on either side.

"Everyone, please be quiet!"

As soon as Yi Xuexi raised his voice, everyone in the room fell silent.

"I am Yi Xuexi, Vice Mayor of Jingzhou City and Secretary of the Guangming District Committee. You can talk to me if you have any questions."

"Of course, this gentleman next to me is Chen Hai, the district head of Guangming District. The two of us are here to solve your problems. Can we sit down and talk this over calmly?"

"The deputy mayor?!"

Although ordinary people may be arrogant in general, they still have a sense of fear towards high-ranking officials like Yi Xuexi.

For a moment, the entire room fell silent.

Then a middle-aged man wearing glasses stepped out from the Nie family; he was probably the representative they had chosen.

"Mayor Yi, District Chief Chen, you two must stand up for us! The demolition office staff said that our family's newly built three-story house does not meet the demolition standards and is an illegal structure."

But honestly! Our houses weren't built after the government issued the notice, but before it was issued, so why can't they be counted?

Did the demolition office staff tell us in advance that construction was not allowed?

No! We will never accept this excuse to fob us off!

"Yes, we won't agree!"

The commotion continued, and Yi Xuexi's face turned extremely ugly. He had never expected these people to be so greedy.

He's clearly doing everything for the good of the people, moving them out of their dilapidated houses without them having to pay a single penny, but...

"Comrade, I understand what you mean. Ten days ago, this building was a six-story building."

As a result, it has now been expanded to nine stories.

Honestly, isn't this just swindling demolition compensation?

The government cares about you, worried that you might have problems living in unsafe housing, but you've taken advantage of this and are being disheartening!

These words made the Nie family members a little embarrassed.

It's just that I'm embarrassed. Compared to money, it's nothing. Is being poor more scary or being ashamed?

Seeing this, Yi Xuexi even thought that he had persuaded them.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, realizing that he was still as sharp as ever.

But he was proven wrong the very next second.

"Mayor Yi, we don't understand what you're saying. All we know is that the building was constructed before the official announcement, and the government won't remove a single brick without paying us!"

Yi Xuexi was completely stunned.

Upon seeing this, Chen Hai immediately reprimanded him.

"You're trying to raise prices unjustly! You're attempting to embezzle state assets!"

After all, he came from the anti-corruption bureau, and he immediately started to accuse the Nie family of serious crimes.

"District Chief Chen, what you're saying is really unpleasant. We ordinary people just want to get the compensation that's rightfully ours..."

This is outrageous! The officials are driving people to their deaths!

If reasoning doesn't work, then resort to cheating.

Several women from the Nie family, aged forty or fifty, collapsed to the ground, groaning and rolling around. Some even rolled to Chen Hai's legs and grabbed his thighs, snot and tears smearing onto his trousers.

It was quite lively for a while!

The neighbors opened their doors and windows to watch the scene, and some even took out their phones to film it.

Such a scene is beyond chaotic.

There's no way to reason with them; keeping them is pointless. Neither Yi Xuexi nor Chen Hai will back down. If the houses the Nie family added are worth money, what about the other buildings?

Once the cracks are opened, they can't be stopped.

Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai, who quickly got back into the car, could only leave in a disheveled state.

But the problem is not that simple.

That evening, cracks appeared in the walls of the building where the Nie family lived. The reason was that the three additional floors were too heavy, and the construction was too fast due to the tight schedule. The three additional floors were not installed in the correct positions, and the center of gravity of the whole building shifted.

When the Nie family members woke up in the morning, they were all panicked when they saw the cracked walls. What was originally just a relatively dangerous old community was now in danger of collapsing at any moment.

The news was reported up the chain of command, and the pressure was not only on the Nie family, but also on the Guangming District Committee and District Government.

If the collapse kills someone, Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi will have to quit their jobs and be dismissed!