45: Chapter 45 Li Jincai's heart felt like it was overgrown with weeds.

The funds approved by Secretary Wang Shengli for Mishui Township had already arrived in the Finance Bureau's account a few days ago.

There were actually some minor hitches in the process; initially, the Finance Bureau was holding onto the funds, constantly stalling and making excuses.

It wasn't until Sun Ning personally visited the head of the Finance Bureau that the funds were successfully approved.

In truth, the Finance Bureau wasn't intentionally withholding the money; they just wanted to save face.

You see, the head of the Finance Bureau is usually a member of the County Government Party Group, holding a sub-division-level rank.

For Sun Ning not to report to the leadership regarding the first allocation of funds upon taking office was, frankly, a lack of awareness.

If you don't give face to the God of Wealth, what are you being so arrogant about, coming from a township?

Therefore, Sun Ning had to go to the Finance Bureau in person and sit there for half an hour before the bureau head would see him and release the funds for Mishui Township.

Even then, it was only out of respect for Secretary Wang Shengli.

Once the money reached Mishui Township, Sun Ning didn't even let it warm up. Like a generous benefactor, he arranged for Deputy Township Head Dong Zhensheng to recruit talent far and wide to develop Mishui Township.

This matter made Li Jincai secretly resentful.

Mishui Township had finally managed to acquire some liquid assets.

To think that he, a dignified leader ranking third in Mishui Township, couldn't get a hand in it at all.

Moreover, Secretary Xue Hongtao and Sun Ning guarded against him as if he were a thief.

Li Jincai was now nothing more than a figurehead in Mishui Township; when he went out to handle affairs, he couldn't even command the people from the Party and Government Office.

When Li Jincai set his sights on those eight million yuan.

Pi Xiangyang and Cui Mingyuan, however, looked bewildered.

Cui Mingyuan looked at Li Jincai, bewildered, and asked suspiciously, "Mishui Township still has money for construction? Did they misappropriate special funds?"

It was evident that when Cui Mingyuan asked, his tone was slightly excited.

Misappropriating special funds without authorization would certainly lead to accountability; in serious cases, a disciplinary warning would be inevitable.

Like a fly smelling filth, Cui Mingyuan instantly found an opportunity to exploit.

He was truly petty; just because Sun Ning had caused him to lose face, he began to hold a grudge against him.

"Sun Ning watches those special funds very closely. Any expenditure unrelated to education, no matter how small, gets severely criticized by him."

"He certainly acts high and mighty."

Pi Xiangyang snorted coldly, his tone brimming with disdain.

Li Jincai accompanied him with a sycophantic smile while continuing, "The county approved eight million for Mishui Township. It seems that kid Sun Ning wants to build a small industrial park."

"Hmph, he's truly naive. Doesn't he know that Deep Blue intends to build its company in the county? He wants to secure political achievements? He wasn't even invited to tomorrow's signing ceremony. The old man's view is that there's no need to give face to someone with so little foresight. After the signing tomorrow, I'd like to see how he handles the aftermath!"

The more Young Master Pi spoke, the more resentful and unbridled he became.

Cui Mingyuan chimed in, saying with a sinister tone, "He won't be able to handle it. When the time comes, we can get rid of him and help Old Li take his place."

A Township Head is far more valuable than a Deputy Party Secretary.

If they could squeeze Sun Ning out, then Li Jincai's chances of promotion would be very high.

With two consecutive Township Heads leaving, the organization would, reasonably and emotionally, consider the existing staff of Mishui Township.

With Vice-County Mayor Pi Yingshi pulling strings in the background, Li Jincai would likely take the position.

The speaker spoke without intention, but the listener took it to heart.

Cui Mingyuan might have said this with a tone seven parts mocking.

But in Li Jincai's heart, it was as if wild weeds had sprouted, growing frantically and uncontrollably.

During this time, countless underhanded methods to get rid of Sun Ning appeared in Li Jincai's mind.

But he rejected them all one by one.

Suddenly, his thoughts cleared; he seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes lit up.

The sycophantic smile on his face instantly turned sinister: "Young Master Pi, that poor kid Sun Ning from the countryside actually bought a car and drove it openly to the township. Don't you think he took bribes?"

"Don't be foolish. Don't go around spouting things without evidence."

In truth, it wasn't Pi Xiangyang trying to act sophisticated; he didn't have that level of depth.

This was what his father had scolded him with a few days ago.

Similar scene, similar words; in his irritation, he had just blurted it out.

It's just that Li Jincai was rather foolish and could only hear his master scolding him.

He didn't hear the subtext of the sentence.

And Pi Xiangyang hadn't realized the true intent behind his father's words either.

However, there was a true veteran of the bureaucratic world present; could he not understand the meaning of that sentence?

But as the head of the Personnel Bureau, he couldn't speak too bluntly.

Therefore, he calmly said, "Young Master Pi means that one shouldn't speak recklessly without evidence. The Discipline Inspection Commission needs evidence to handle cases. Our Party's principle is not to wrong a good person, nor to let a bad person go."

"Right. I don't believe he isn't interested in money. Only after Old Li takes the position can we have an easier time in Mishui Township."

It had to be Pi Xiangyang; since he wasn't within the system, he spoke a bit more bluntly.

For a moment, the four people in the room all exchanged knowing smiles.

Everyone's smile was filled with cunning and smugness, while Li Jincai's laughter contained an extra hint of anticipation.

The next day, Sun Ning was in his office reviewing the reports Wang Ling had sent over.

These were the renovation plans that Wang Ling and her team had compiled after their inspections and reported to Sun Ning for different schools.

Sun Ning's excellent memory was fully displayed at this moment.

For every report, he could correlate it with the situation of each specific school.

It was the second-to-last step when it reached him; after he reviewed them, he would report them to Secretary Xue Hongtao for another look.

In fact, this was all government work; there was no need to specifically report it to Secretary Xue Hongtao for approval.

Sun Ning did this mainly to show his appreciation.

Secretary Xue Hongtao respected him so much; in return, he also gave Secretary Xue Hongtao sufficient respect.

Just as he finished reviewing the reports and was about to call Liaison Xiao Yuan to deliver them to the Party Secretary's office.

The corridor suddenly became chaotic, accompanied by Liaison Xiao Yuan's attempts to stop someone and an even more arrogant voice threatening him.

A moment later, Sun Ning's office door was violently pushed open.

A man in his thirties, looking like a hooligan, strode in with a cigarette in his mouth.

Behind him followed the terrified Liaison Xiao Yuan.

"Township Head, I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him."

Liaison Xiao Yuan's voice was laced with tears as he said this.

Sun Ning stood up, patted his shoulder, and comforted him: "It's fine, you go out first!"

As he spoke, he personally escorted Liaison Xiao Yuan out of the room.

After Liaison Xiao Yuan left, Sun Ning looked at the person who had suddenly broken in with a half-smile.

"Young Master Pi, how impressive. This isn't the County Government's Standing Committee office. If you want to throw your weight around, get out."

Sun Ning was a man who had risen from the township; what kind of hooligans hadn't he seen in his previous life?

Don't think that the ruffians in the townships have low combat power; they lack education, and when they turn vicious, they are even more ruthless than those in the city.

In this life, he had just temporarily restrained some of his temper.

Facing a bastard who had broken directly into his office, he wouldn't be polite.

"You know me? And you dare to speak to me in that tone?"

Pi Xiangyang's tone was as exaggerated as could be; he couldn't remember how many years it had been since anyone had spoken loudly to him.

Sun Ning really wanted to say, "I know you all too well."

He knew the entire life of this young master quite well.

He had also witnessed the entire process of this playboy falling from his high position to the bottom of the abyss.

In his previous life, he had seen the destitute state of Pi Xiangyang after he was released from prison, and it was at that moment that he felt those people were not worth it.