125: Chapter 125 They Laundered Money

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. "Things are not peaceful on my end either. Zhang Mingyuan took advantage of my absence to push through a series of irregular resolutions. You should properly handle the teachers' demands on your end first. The former Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection secretary, Tian Fusheng, has long since transferred away; it's Secretary Zhou Zhengyang now. He is too busy, so I will have the Municipal Audit Bureau send people to support you in investigating that foundation."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Bei discovered that Su Yun was standing at the door at some point, holding a steaming cup of tea in her hands.

"Are you done?" she asked softly, placing the teacup on the table. "I borrowed the County Government cafeteria to make something simple. Team Leader Zhang Yining is already eating."

Xiao Bei only then realized that it was already two in the afternoon, and he had actually forgotten to eat lunch. A few verdant bamboo leaves floated in the teacup, emitting a refreshing fragrance.

"Bamboo leaf tea?" He was somewhat surprised.

"Seeing that you have so many thorny issues as soon as you returned," Su Yun smiled, "it clears heat and reduces internal fire."

Xiao Bei felt a warmth in his heart and was about to thank her when Team Leader Zhang Yining hurriedly pushed the door open and entered. "County Magistrate Xiao, Secretary Ma wants to see you. Emergency meeting!"

Xiao Bei hurried off to the meeting.

In the conference room, Secretary Ma Wendong's expression was grave. "The teachers' rights defense has already alarmed the city. Deputy Mayor Zhang personally called to 'express concern,' implying that we are not doing our jobs effectively."

"Zhang Mingyuan?" Xiao Bei keenly caught this familiar name. "Why is he so concerned about the affairs of Jinhe County?"

Secretary Ma Wendong gave him a meaningful look. "Because the legal representative of that Education Development Foundation, Li Maoyin, is his father-in-law."

"They really are all birds of a feather."

"What?"

"Nothing, Secretary Ma. I suggest we take a two-pronged approach."

Xiao Bei quickly organized his thoughts. "On one hand, we should immediately establish a working group to calculate the funds deducted from the teachers. On the other hand, we should secretly investigate the flow of the foundation's funds, especially its connection to Zhang Mingyuan."

Secretary Ma Wendong nodded. "Mayor Qin called just now; she has already sent people to support us. However..."

He paused. "Zhang Mingyuan is, after all, a member of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee; the investigation must be conducted carefully."

After the meeting ended, Xiao Bei returned to his office and found that Su Yun had already placed a simple meal of two dishes and one soup on the coffee table, and Team Leader Zhang Yining was sipping the soup.

"Team Leader Zhang Yining, go to the Education Bureau in a while and retrieve all the materials on the foundation." Xiao Bei sat down and said, "Be careful, only take copies. Do not alert the enemy."

Team Leader Zhang Yining nodded, eating the meal Su Yun made in large mouthfuls like a child who had been hungry for several days, praising it endlessly while she ate.

"And what about me?" Su Yun handed the rice bowl to Xiao Bei, her eyes shining with anticipation.

Xiao Bei hesitated for a moment. "You... just staying with me is fine... or you could help me organize the evidence provided by the teachers? Categorize it by time and amount."

"No problem!" Su Yun readily agreed.

...

The matter was quickly cleared up; it was just that if one didn't investigate, it would have been easy to overlook. Fortunately, the teachers had collectively resisted.

Xiao Bei stood in the Education Bureau's archive room, his fingers tracing rows of yellowed account books. Outside the window, the setting sun stretched his shadow long, casting it onto the dusty floor. Team Leader Zhang Yining was quickly flipping through the foundation's annual reports on the side, occasionally recording something in her notebook.

"County Magistrate Xiao, look at this." Team Leader Zhang Yining suddenly lowered her voice, pointing to a line of numbers. "In the third quarter of 2018, the foundation's expenditures were 200,000 more than its income."

Xiao Bei leaned over, his brows furrowed. "The reason for the expenditure is 'Teacher Training Special Fund,' but the Education Bureau did not organize any training during that period."

Su Yun walked in from the door, holding two cups of hot tea. "Take a break, you've been looking at this all afternoon."

She placed the teacups on the table, her gaze sweeping over the account books. "Any discoveries?"

"Too many." Xiao Bei rubbed his temples. "This foundation is simply a bottomless pit. Nominally, it is fundraising for educational development, but in reality..."

He opened another account book. "Look, this expenditure of 500,000 is said to be for the new school building for Chengdong Primary School, but construction at Chengdong Primary School stopped last year due to insufficient funds. It's truly miraculous... The outside world thinks Jinhe County is very wealthy, and looking at the account books, it seems there is plenty of money, but looking at the people and things on the surface, one feels the county is very poor..."

Team Leader Zhang Yining's phone suddenly vibrated.

On the other end of the line, Secretary Zhou Zhengyang's voice sounded weary but could not hide his excitement. "Secretary Zhang, we checked the foundation's bank transactions and discovered that a large amount of funds were transferred to a company account called 'Mingyuan Trading,' and the legal representative is Zhang Mingyuan's brother-in-law."

Team Leader Zhang Yining turned on the speakerphone, and Xiao Bei and Su Yun heard it clearly.

"There is even more explosive news," Secretary Zhou Zhengyang continued. "We interrogated County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu. She confessed that Zhang Mingyuan would send people to collect cash every month, saying it was 'needed to grease the wheels for the higher-ups.' She was just an executor; even the account books were prepared by people sent by Zhang Mingyuan. She didn't speak up earlier because... because Zhang Mingyuan hadn't slept with her but instead brought her financial resources..."

Xiao Bei and Team Leader Zhang Yining exchanged a look. "Secretary Zhou, can you send me a copy of the interrogation record? Also, about the old man, Li Maoyin..."

"Our comrades have investigated; he is completely unaware!" Secretary Zhou Zhengyang interrupted him. "The old man was so angry his blood pressure went up. He said his retirement certificate and ID card copies were stolen and used. The technical department verified that the signatures were all forged."

Of course, the reason Xiao Bei and his team were able to contact such a high-ranking official as the secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection was all because of Qin Ruoxi. Since taking office, Secretary Zhou Zhengyang seemed to listen to Qin Ruoxi very much.

Hanging up the phone, the archive room fell into a brief silence. Su Yun suddenly pointed to a group photo in the materials. "This is...?"

The photo was a group picture of the education system. County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu was standing in the front row, and the man beside her was leaning over, whispering something in her ear, his hand seemingly casually resting on her waist. Although the man only showed his profile, Xiao Bei recognized Zhang Mingyuan at a glance.

"The time shown is May 2019," Team Leader Zhang Yining leaned in to look. "That was shortly after the foundation was established."

Xiao Bei took a photo with his phone. "Team Leader Zhang Yining, tell the comrades at the Audit Bureau to focus on auditing the accounts from 2019 to 2020. Su Yun, can you help me organize the deduction records provided by the teachers? Arrange them in chronological order."

Su Yun nodded, a determined light flashing in her eyes. "Leave it to me."

The night was deep. Most offices in the County Government building had turned off their lights; only Xiao Bei's office was still lit. Su Yun brought over a late-night snack and found Xiao Bei frowning at the computer screen.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Xiao Bei turned the screen. "The preliminary results just sent by the Audit Bureau. In the three years since the foundation was established, it has received a total of 8.7 million in teacher 'donations' and fiscal appropriations, but less than 2 million has actually been used for educational projects."

Su Yun gasped. "What about the rest?"

"Over 3 million flowed into Mingyuan Trading, and nearly 4 million was withdrawn in the form of cash."

Xiao Bei pointed to the list of transfer records. "The most suspicious part is that these large cash withdrawals are all concentrated around the time Zhang Qimin came to Canglan City for an inspection."

Su Yun's eyes widened. "Are they money laundering?"