195: Chapter 195 Financial Refund

The night was deep. Inside the office of Zhu Wenhao, the steam from the teacup had long since dissipated.

Zhu Wenhao placed his phone face down on the desk.

Director Xu Jie stood before the desk, her gaze fixed on the face of Zhu Wenhao.

Although the ten-minute phone call just now hadn't been on speakerphone, the information it conveyed was anything but ordinary.

"What kind of reinforcements?" Director Xu Jie asked.

Zhu Wenhao leaned back into his leather chair. "The top leader of the Qingjiang County Party Committee, Secretary Lu Guoliang."

A flicker of surprise crossed the eyes of Director Xu Jie.

"Secretary Lu Guoliang has always prioritized stability, usually keeping a hands-off approach to local matters. Secretary Qiu Dehai is merely a township cadre; what weight does he have to move him to get involved personally?"

"To govern the world, one must first govern oneself; to command officials, the priority is checks and balances."

"Secretary Lu Guoliang has operated in Qingjiang County for many years. Creating balance and sowing discord is his habitual tactic to remain firmly in control."

"He does not allow any factors outside his control to exist. Recently, our Secretary Pang and County Mayor Gu Mingchuan have been getting too close, acting too frequently, and have joined forces to tear open the old order of Qingjiang County. This has already touched a nerve with Secretary Lu Guoliang."

"He stepped out to support Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan and Secretary Qiu Dehai, not to protect Secretary Qiu Dehai, but to suppress the momentum of the County Mayor and the Secretary of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection."

After listening, Director Xu Jie understood the danger.

"Then will our progress here be hindered?"

"Rest assured, all of this is within expectations."

Zhu Wenhao stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the desolate street outside the compound.

"Water that is too clear has no fish, but if the water becomes a sewer, one must use strong medicine to treat it. Distant battles and power plays—these are games that can be played. However, regarding major matters of right and wrong, there must be absolute principles."

He turned around, his eyes burning like torches.

"One cannot let the selfishness of certain people become a stumbling block to anti-corruption. Even more so, one cannot sacrifice the rice bowls and justice of the common people to obtain their balance."

"The way of governance does not lie in playing politics, but in ensuring the people have meat in their bowls and money in their hands. Letting the majority live a good life is the bottom line."

Director Xu Jie stood where she was, quietly listening to these words.

The dim yellow light shone on this twenty-four-year-old young man.

At this moment, Director Xu Jie did not see a scheming township bureaucrat; instead, she saw in him a demeanor that looked down upon the nation's affairs. It stirred a sense of indescribable awe in her, having been accustomed to the deceit and treachery of the compounds in The Capital.

"Back to the main topic." Zhu Wenhao withdrew his gaze and walked back to the large desk.

"The offensive by Director Li Qiang at the Town Guesthouse must be accelerated. We cannot give those people time to collude or overturn the case."

Zhu Wenhao reached out and tapped the roster.

"Your next primary task is to continue to calculate the compensation gap for Heishui Village, every single cent. We must create an ironclad account of exactly how much money is missing."

"Regarding this matter, I do not trust that group in the Town Finance Office; I only trust the list in your hands, Director Xu Jie."

Trust is the weightiest chip given to a subordinate. Director Xu Jie nodded heavily.

"Additionally." Zhu Wenhao opened the drawer, took out a roster of the Party and Government Office personnel, and pushed it toward her.

"Director Xu Jie, you have been in Heishi Town for some time now. In the mess that is the Party and Government Office, who is working, who is slacking off, and who is an eye planted by someone else—I believe you have already had an account of this in your heart."

Zhu Wenhao issued the order to delegate power.

"Starting tomorrow, I am transferring the Town Commission for Discipline Inspection under Secretary Chen Jianjun to you, under your unified command. For a period of three days. After three days, I want to see an efficient, clean, and brand-new Party and Government Office. Do you understand?"

Borrowing the knife of the Discipline Inspection Commission to establish authority for the Director of the Party and Government Office.

"Understood." Director Xu Jie accepted the roster, turned, and exited the office.

The next day, at the Heishi Town Government office building.

The Party and Government Office, which had always been laid-back and spent its days drinking tea and reading newspapers, welcomed a storm.

At 8:30 in the morning.

Director Wu Ming of the Town Commission for Discipline Inspection, along with four discipline inspection personnel, took over the attendance machine and staff sign-in sheet of the Party and Government Office with cold, stern expressions.

In the past, those old cadres in the Party and Government Office who relied on their seniority and deep backgrounds would often use excuses like "migraine" or "family matters" to take leave without even writing a slip, simply calling to ask for time off, and would be gone for ten days or half a month.

When Director Zhou was there, she turned a blind eye to this.

Today, the rules had all changed.

Director Xu Jie got tough and directly put the disciplinary regulations out in the open.

"All personnel who have not reported to work due to sick leave must submit the original diagnosis certificate from a municipal Grade A tertiary hospital, the attending physician's prescription, and the outpatient payment receipt by the end of the day. All three must be present; if one is missing, it will be treated as absenteeism."

"All personal leave must have a written application. Without my, Director Xu Jie's, personal written approval, it will be treated as unauthorized absence."

Director Wu Ming and the discipline inspection officers checked each workstation one by one.

The senior cadre, Old Qian, was currently sitting in a teahouse at the north end of the town playing mahjong.

After receiving a tip-off from a familiar colleague, he was unconcerned: "The new little girl is taking a chicken feather for an arrow. When I was hanging around the Town Government, she was still in school!"

Old Qian slowly finished three rounds of cards, walked back to the office building with a cigarette in his mouth, preparing to show off his seniority to Director Xu Jie.

Just as he stepped into the door of the Party and Government Office, he ran straight into Director Wu Ming.

"Cadre Qian." Director Wu Ming shoved a document directly into the chest of Old Qian.

"This is a notice for reporting to work within a deadline and a disciplinary interview form. You have accumulated six days of unauthorized absence this month. The Town Commission for Discipline Inspection is now officially interviewing and holding you accountable. Go to the Discipline Inspection Commission office and sign it."

The cigarette in the mouth of Old Qian fell to the ground with a thud.

He wanted to throw a tantrum, but after looking at the fully equipped discipline inspection officers around him, the rough words that had reached his lips were swallowed back down.

Immediate results.

In less than half a morning, those old deadbeats who were faking illness or milking their sick leave rushed back to the Town Government with leave slips to cancel their leave.

The document circulation speed of the Party and Government Office was three times faster than before.

The efficient operation of the administrative hub cleared away worries for the subsequent tough battles.

Meanwhile, at the Qingjiang County Government office building.

Regarding the huge amount of illicit money seized from Village Secretary Zhang Dahai, the "Application Materials for the Characterization of Illicit Funds and Financial Refund" submitted by the Town Commission for Discipline Inspection set a historical record for speed of circulation within the County Party Committee organs.

Just yesterday, Secretary Pang Jianguo of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection pushed forcefully at the Standing Committee meeting of the Discipline Inspection Commission, withstanding the pressure from Deputy Secretary Tian Wenguang and others, and with an extremely tough stance, unanimously passed the characterization of the funds.

That same afternoon, the supporting materials issued by the Linjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau were delivered directly.

With the two heavyweight documents combined, as soon as work started this morning, they were submitted to the desk of the County Government.

Deputy Director Wang Ping of the Government Office, holding the approval materials, knocked on the office door of Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei.

Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei was a direct subordinate promoted by Secretary Lu Guoliang. In the Qingjiang County Government, relying on the power of the County Party Secretary, he had never really taken County Mayor Gu Mingchuan seriously.

"Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei, this is the fund refund approval submitted by Heishi Town; please review and sign." Deputy Director Wang Ping placed the materials on the desk.

Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei picked up his teacup and glanced at the materials nonchalantly.

Seeing that the funds were to be allocated back to the Heishi Town special account, he frowned slightly.

If this money remained in the county treasury, it could be very useful at the end of the year.

Sending it back to a township to be distributed to the locals? Secretary Lu Guoliang would certainly not be happy about that.

"Leave this here for now." Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei pushed the materials to the corner of the desk. "The amount of this money is too large. In the past, when the county handled case-related property, there was never a precedent for directly refunding it to a township special account. This matter requires caution."

"You go and hand it over to Xiao Jia first. When I have time, I still need to ask for Secretary Lu Guoliang's opinion."

Bypassing the direct supervisor, County Mayor Gu Mingchuan, to say he would ask for the County Party Secretary's opinion.

In the past, Deputy Director Wang Ping would have agreed repeatedly and retreated.

But today was different.

Deputy Director Wang Ping did not move.

He stood where he was, extended his index finger, and tapped heavily on the date in the upper right corner of the materials.

"Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei, please, look closely at the date on this."

"This application material was submitted to the County Commission for Discipline Inspection yesterday. On the same day, Secretary Pang Jianguo convened the Standing Committee of the Discipline Inspection Commission and directly finalized the issue of the attributes of this money."

Deputy Director Wang Ping flipped the materials to the second page.

"Look again at the attached proof issued by the Linjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau; the date is also yesterday."

The expression of Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei finally changed.

Spanning two levels—county and city—and involving two powerful departments, the Public Security Bureau and the Discipline Inspection Commission, they had completed all the processes for a document in just twelve hours.

As long as one wasn't a fool, one could smell what kind of heaven-reaching figures stood behind these few thin sheets of paper.

"This..." Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei sat up straight.

Deputy Director Wang Ping did not give him any room to breathe.

"County Mayor Gu Mingchuan specifically instructed." Deputy Director Wang Ping said, each word clear, "He must see your approval opinion on this material before the end of the day. Whether you agree or disagree, there must be a statement in black and white."

"County Mayor Gu Mingchuan also said. If he doesn't see the approval today, tomorrow morning, he will invite you to the County Mayor's office to talk to you about this matter privately."

County Mayor Gu Mingchuan had changed his past forbearance and bared his fangs.

Deputy Director Wang Ping had said all he needed to say; he didn't look at the uncertain face of Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei again, turned, strode out of the office, and closed the door.

Inside the office, it was dead silent.

Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei stared at the materials for a full ten minutes.

Finally, Executive Deputy County Mayor Zhao Guopei gritted his back teeth.

He rolled up the materials, stuffed them into his briefcase, and stood up.

He couldn't handle this matter.

He had to go to the County Party Committee and find Secretary Lu Guoliang to make the final decision personally.