Chapter 140 - 120: Differences

This notice was entirely an empty promise made by Xu Chunliang. It was like Jiang Taigong fishing, waiting for the willing to fall into the trap. Anyway, these tenants owed money first, so a little trickery to collect the owed rent doesn’t hurt.These shop owners originally thought no one would voluntarily pay the rent, but no one expected someone to catch up on the rent that very afternoon. What was even more unexpected was that the first to pay was the Red Light Store, run by a couple, the man being Zhang Haitao’s brother-in-law.

The defense line is most vulnerable to being breached from within. Weishan Island isn’t large, and everyone knows everyone’s relationships. Red Light Store’s payment of back rent set a precedent, and by noon the next day, more than half of the tenants had caught up on their rent.

The accountant could hardly believe the more than 300,000 yuan that suddenly appeared in the account.

The most anxious person now had to be Zhang Haibin. He made a special call to Zhang Haitao about this issue, but the guy never picked up, making Zhang Haibin even suspect that something might have happened to him. When he called from someone else’s phone, the guy picked up immediately.

Unable to contain his anger any longer, Zhang Haibin shouted into the phone: "Er Dan! Get to my office immediately!" Er Dan was Zhang Haitao’s nickname.

Zhang Haitao walked into Zhang Haibin’s office a bit nervously, closing the door behind him, and forced a stiff smile: "Brother, you were looking for me?"

Zhang Haibin pointed at his nose and cursed: "What the hell are you doing? I tell you to drive, and you don’t; I call you, and you don’t pick up. What’s going on with your brother-in-law? Huh! Leading the charge to undermine me, right?"

Zhang Haitao replied: "Brother, the car broke down, and I haven’t fixed it yet. My phone was on silent. I honestly didn’t notice. How dare I not answer your call? And about my brother-in-law, I really don’t know. He’s timid and got scared when he saw the notice from the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office. He paid the back rent without even informing me."

Zhang Haibin said: "What’s there to be afraid of? Isn’t it just a corrective notice? There’re plenty of illegal structures in town. I don’t believe the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office can actually demolish all these buildings! If they really do that, half the town would have to be torn down."

At this point, there was a knock at the door, and Zhang Haibin impatiently asked, "Who is it?"

Xu Chunliang pushed the door open and entered, holding a thick stack of rent contract copies. Zhang Haitao moved quickly aside upon seeing him as if he had seen a plague.

Xu Chunliang went up to Zhang Haibin and slapped the rent contracts down on his desk: "Comrade Haibin, please confirm if these are the rental contracts signed when you were in office."

Zhang Haibin looked at him angrily: "What do you mean by this?"

"Nothing much, just letting you know that over half of the overdue rent has already been paid by the shops."

"Well, congratulations, then."

Xu Chunliang said: "There’s one more piece of bad news to tell you. Someone reported that these contracts have significant problems, with rental prices far below the market rate at the time, suggesting a sacrifice of collective interest. The hospital leadership is paying close attention to this matter, so you best prepare yourself mentally."

"Why would I need to prepare? I have a clear conscience. What’s your deal, Xu Chunliang?" Zhang Haibin was panicking inside, but feigned calm on the surface.

Xu Chunliang smiled, seeing no need to further explain to him, and said to Zhang Haitao: "Xiaozhang, give me a lift to the town government."

Zhang Haibin thought, "You’re only making trouble for yourself; Zhang Haitao won’t listen to you." Yet, to his surprise, Zhang Haitao agreed without hesitation.

Zhang Haibin stood by his office window, watching his exclusive Santana 2000 pull up downstairs. Before Xu Chunliang could even reach the car, Zhang Haitao hurriedly opened the car door for him with a bent posture and a smiling face. If Zhang Haibin hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he could hardly believe it. Had Zhang Haitao been bewitched or something?

Looking back at the rent contract copies on the table, Zhang Haibin grew increasingly uneasy. Although he hadn’t taken any cash directly, he hadn’t hesitated to take favors from surrounding businesses over the years. Could someone have exposed this now?

Why was Red Light Store the first to pay the rent? Thinking about Zhang Haitao’s attitude, there surely was a connection. Had he sold him out?

Zhang Haibin was fuming with anger. Er Dan, you ungrateful bastard, after all I’ve done for you, and you’re the first to betray me.

A sudden ringtone startled him. Zhang Haibin checked the caller ID; it was Xu Daping, which made him frown. This woman was probably just bothering him over some trivial matter about the rent, he thought. After considering it for a while, he picked up the phone. It’s not the bad people one should be afraid of, but the foolish ones, and Xu Daping clearly belonged to the latter.

Xu Daping told him that everyone was panicking, and most of them had already paid their overdue rent, with only a few still holding out. She asked what she should do.

Xu Daping sought out him because Zhang Haibin had promised her that as long as he was at the hospital, she wouldn’t be pressured to pay the rent.

Zhang Haibin told her to observe for now, as it was likely just a bluff this time. He assured her that even if she didn’t pay up, no one would tear down her shop.

After the call, Zhang Haibin leaned back in his chair, feeling a bit weary, and let out a sigh. He originally thought Yan Huaiyi was the one to watch out for, but he didn’t expect the truly formidable one to be Xu Chunliang. This guy was so cunning, coming up with the idea of using a notice from the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office to compel the tenants.

Racking his brain for countermeasures, Zhang Haibin thought: Even if the high-ups in Changxing want to investigate him, they probably can’t find anything incriminating. But when someone really wants to deal with you, they don’t even need a reason.

Kong Xiangsheng was in a good mood. During today’s meeting with the town leadership team, he briefly talked about the outcomes of visiting the county leadership. The county expressed satisfaction with Hu Shan Town’s current work and valued the Da Heng Group very much. Secretary Chen of the county committee stated on the spot that they would give Da Heng Group the green light to invest in Weishan Island, providing every possible convenience.

Still immersed in the excitement of the meeting, Kong Xiangsheng informed everyone that Da Heng Group was also very satisfied with the visit. They initially planned to acquire 1,500 acres on Weishan Island—500 of which were intended for theme park development—striving to create the most influential theme park in Dongzhou and even the whole Jiangbei region.

Kong Xiangsheng talked on for over half an hour, clearly wanting more, but when he checked the time, he realized he couldn’t drag it on for too long. He asked Town Mayor Mei Ru Xue if there was anything to add.

Mei Ru Xue raised a question: Da Heng Group plans to acquire 1,500 acres, 500 of which are for developing a theme park, but what about the other 1,000 acres?

Kong Xiangsheng actually wasn’t quite sure, but Da Heng’s side explained it was for supporting facilities.

Mei Ru Xue stated, "I studied several cultural and tourism projects by Da Heng Group. Their usual practice is to develop real estate around the theme park, and I don’t think this will be an exception."

Kong Xiangsheng smiled, saying, "Development is fine, as long as they can boost Weishan Island’s economy. We welcome it with open arms; we don’t fear them building houses, we fear them not building. Isn’t the urbanization of Weishan Island our leadership team’s goal?"

Mei Ru Xue said, "Da Heng Group’s targeted land happens to include Weishan Island Hospital."

"I was just about to mention this. Ever since Changxing took over Weishan Island Hospital, instead of helping it grow, it’s been losing money year after year, even delaying employee wages for months, causing public outrage and extremely adverse social impacts. I have reported this situation truthfully to the higher authorities, and Secretary Chen instructed that any单位 working under the guise of supporting the island and occupying land must be dealt with strictly, and such troublemakers need to be cleared out of Weishan Island."

Mei Ru Xue said, "During the two days you were at the county, Changxing provided many documents, proving that back when Shiliang Town Government promised to transfer property ownership to Changxing after operating Weishan Island Hospital for three years. In other words, our Hu Shan Town Government should assist in completing this task."

Kong Xiangsheng laughed: "The county established Hu Shan Town Government to better manage Weishan Island. Our goal is to protect the interests of the residents. Anything that harms those interests, we are bound to oppose."

With that remark, he announced the end of the meeting, as some things were inconvenient to say there. He realized there was a burgeoning disagreement between himself and Mei Ru Xue.

When only the two of them were left in the meeting room, Kong Xiangsheng said, "Comrade Ru Xue, you’ve handled the Weishan Island medical staff’s rights protection issue very well."

Mei Ru Xue replied, "That’s just a temporary fix. To truly solve the problem, all the historical issues must be thoroughly addressed."

Kong Xiangsheng nodded: "I’ve heard that the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office has issued a notice for the illegal buildings at the hospital to be demolished within a deadline?"

"I instructed them to issue it."

Kong Xiangsheng sighed: "Comrade Ru Xue, township work is different from urban management. You know why we don’t have a city management department here?"

Mei Ru Xue detected a hint of dissatisfaction in his approach to handling the matter and calmly replied, "If there’s a report, we must take action."

Kong Xiangsheng smiled: "That’s true, but many things just need to be addressed with a gesture. There’s no need to escalate if they refuse to move. Would we really send staff for forced demolition? You don’t understand the local people’s temperament; if pushed too hard, they’re capable of anything. If conflicts escalate, it’ll be troublesome. Our primary task now is attracting investment; we must ensure a good business environment."

Places like Weishan Lake were where East Asian Ghosts were beaten to wailing in the past; the people have an innate spirit of resilience. If these shop owners rally at the town government daily, what impression would that leave on visiting investors?

"Secretary Kong, personally, I do not think the Da Heng Group’s project suits the development of Weishan Island."