Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

At 9:00 a.m., two black Hongqi sedans drove into the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee compound.

In front of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee building, no red carpet was laid out, and no banners were hung. He Xia, dressed in a dark business suit, led the seven members of the Luzhou leadership team standing at the bottom of the steps.

The door of the first car opened. Sha Ruijin got out.

He Xia stepped forward. "Secretary Sha, welcome to the Provincial Party Committee for your inspection in Lüzhou."

Sha Ruijin reached out and grasped He Xia's hand. His palm was large, and he didn't immediately let go, lingering for a couple more seconds. His gaze swept over He Xia's clean-cut face, past his glasses.

"Comrade He Xia, the burden in Lüzhou is heavy." Sha Ruijin's voice was deep and resonant.

"The task assigned by the Provincial Party Committee will be undertaken with full force by the Luzhou leadership." He Xia said calmly, withdrawing her hand.

Tian Guofu got out of the second car, carrying a black leather briefcase, and stood half a step behind Sha Ruijin. He nodded to He Xia without saying a word.

Ten minutes later, in the first conference room on the third floor of the municipal party committee building.

The projector was on. Sha Ruijin sat at the head of the long conference table. In front of him was the economic report for the third quarter recently submitted by Lüzhou City.

The only sound in the meeting room was the rustling of papers.

"Bang." Sha Ruijin threw the report onto the table. Not too loudly, not too softly, just loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"GDP growth is 4.1%. This is below the provincial average for two consecutive quarters." Sha Ruijin leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Luzhou is a major economic center in Handong, not a retirement home. The provincial party committee is very dissatisfied with this data."

He Xia opened the notebook in front of her. "Secretary Sha, the three high-energy-consuming and illegal projects left by Qian Shouyi were forcibly shut down this quarter, directly affecting the current output value. This is a painful process."

Tian Guofu chimed in at the opportune moment. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a document. "Secretary He mentioned Qian Shouyi, and the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection happens to have some information on the matter. After Qian Shouyi's downfall, the promotion of some cadres in Lüzhou was suspected of being 'appointed while already having problems.' In addition, there are still no plans to revitalize the three unfinished projects left by Qian Shouyi. This is a matter of conduct, but also a matter of competence."

These words directly targeted He Xia's personnel management and execution capabilities.

He Xia pushed a bound data booklet to the center of the table. "Secretary Tian, ​​although Luzhou has cut out outdated production capacity this quarter, its investment in livelihood projects has increased by 30%. Projects such as the old city's pipeline renovation, shantytown resettlement, and medical subsidies have already shown results."

"People's livelihood cannot replace the economy," Sha Ruijin interrupted her.

The tone left no room for argument.

"The Provincial Party Committee is focused on the big picture. People's livelihood without economic support is just a castle in the air. Comrade He Xia, I don't need reports; I need to see things on the ground. Let's go to the Luzhou Economic Development Zone."

Sha Ruijin stood up. The other members of the Luzhou Standing Committee in the conference room followed suit.

Half an hour later. Luzhou Economic Development Zone.

The wind was strong. Large swathes of wild grass swayed in the open space.

Sha Ruijin stood on the isolation fence, looking at the rows of vacant factory buildings and undeveloped plots of land overgrown with weeds.

"Write it down." Sha Ruijin said without turning his head.

The accompanying secretary immediately raised his camera and snapped photos of the abandoned factory and idle land. The clicking sounds were particularly jarring in the open space.

Tian Guofu pointed to an office building in the distance that was only half-built. "Secretary He, the vacancy rate in the development zone is over 60%. What's the current progress of the municipal party committee in attracting investment?"

He Xia stood upright in the wind. The wind ruffled her hair, which she brushed behind her ears. "Currently, we are in talks about three potential projects related to new materials and high-end manufacturing. Preliminary discussions have been completed."

"The intention hasn't materialized." Sha Ruijin turned around and stared at He Xia. "If the economic shortcomings of Luzhou aren't addressed, this isn't just temporary pain, it's a terminal illness. If the Luzhou leadership can't come up with an effective investment attraction plan, the provincial party committee has a responsibility to consider a cadre reshuffle."

A blatant threat. There is no room for negotiation.

The accompanying officials from Luzhou didn't dare to breathe loudly.

He Xia remained expressionless as she met Sha Ruijin's gaze. "Please grant Luzhou three months."

Sha Ruijin neither nodded nor shook his head. He turned and walked towards the car. "Go check the financial accounts and land transfer fee details of Luzhou. Go now."

It was 2 PM. The director of the Finance Bureau of Lüzhou City stood in the conference room, sweating profusely.

Tian Guofu slammed a bill on the table. "An 80 million yuan special fund embezzled during Qian Shouyi's tenure has gone missing. Secretary He, you've been in charge of Luzhou for over a month; have you investigated this account? Has it been recovered?"

He Xia looked at the bill. "This money involves a bridge loan from the Shanshui Group, and the public security system is currently conducting a joint investigation."

"The Provincial Party Committee won't listen to objective reasons." Sha Ruijin closed the lid of his teacup. "Fifteen days. I need to see a written report on the whereabouts of those 80 million and the economic restructuring of Luzhou. Submit it to the Provincial Party Committee Office."

At 4 p.m., Sha Ruijin's convoy drove away from the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee compound.

He Xia stood on the steps, watching the convoy disappear outside the gate. Her hands were in the pockets of her business suit, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

Back in the office, the door was locked from the inside.

He Xia walked to the desk, opened the bottom drawer, and took out a black, specially made mobile phone.

Dial. Connect.

"Speak." The deep, steady voice on the other end of the phone spoke with absolute calm.

He Xia took a deep breath. Her gentle tone carried a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

"He gave me three months. My finances aren't doing well, so he's going to take action against me."

……

Major General's Office, Handong Provincial Military Region.

Shen Zhong, holding the encrypted phone, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

"Send all of Sha Ruijin's conditions to my encrypted email address, one by one."

"Okay." He Xia hung up the phone.

Three minutes later, the computer screen lit up. Shen Zhong opened the email and glanced at the stringent performance indicators. He pulled out a chair, sat down, and began typing on the keyboard, bringing up the national intranet system.

An ultra-high-definition satellite map of the Luzhou Economic Development Zone appeared on the screen.

Shen Zhong stared intently at the screen. The cursor quickly dragged across the vacant plots, traffic nodes, and the port channel, marking them with three red dots.

Then, he picked up the red secure telephone line on the table.

Dial the first number.

The phone was answered after only one ring.

"I am Shen Zhong."

"Greetings, Commander! Chen Dingguo, Chairman of Huarui Heavy Industry, reporting for duty!" The voice on the other end of the phone was loud and clear, carrying the unique strength of a soldier. A retired major general, he now heads Beijing's largest military-civilian integration enterprise.

"Dingguo, has the site selection for the new military-civilian integration industrial base in East China been finalized?"

"Reporting to the commander, we are currently investigating, and we are in contact with both Jiangdong Province and Southeast Province."

"No need for further contact. Come to Luzhou City, Handong Province. I've already chosen a location for you: the eastern section of the Luzhou Economic Development Zone, 3,000 mu of land, near the port, with a dedicated railway line. I need you to bring an inspection team over within three days to finalize the details."

Chen Dingguo didn't hesitate at all. "Yes! I will obey orders without question! The initial investment of 1.2 billion yuan will be transferred to the escrow account within three days! However, sir, what about the supporting policies in Luzhou…?"