251: Chapter 251 Public Disclosure

The cold wind swept through the withered leaves on the provincial highway, and Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's car sped through the night.

The Deputy Secretary of the Qingjiang County Party Committee sat in the back seat, holding an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping's words, "benevolence does not command troops," dug deep into his spine.

The tone set by Mayor Su Changming in the office was already clear.

Production safety, environmental inspection, fiscal regulation, and investment compliance.

"Four-pronged strangulation."

The "mining accident" that Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping had asked him to arrange in private was his initiation rite.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan rolled down the window halfway, and the bone-chilling wind rushed in, blowing away the last trace of hesitation in his mind.

Advance and live, retreat and die.

He took out his phone and dialed the number of Ma Yunlong, the boss of Heishi Mining.

"Secretary Qin." On the other end of the line, Ma Yunlong's voice was filled with trepidation.

"Old Ma, the city is sending a joint inspection team in the next two days," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan said in an extremely calm tone. "They're going to Heishi Mining."

Upon hearing this, Ma Yunlong gasped. "Secretary Qin, an inspection from the city at this critical moment? Isn't that going to be the death of me? You have to help me out, brother."

"The inspection is just a formality. The key is how it's conducted," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan said, watching the streetlights flash by outside the window. "The mine has been shut down for so long, and the workers below have no food to eat; they're bound to have grievances. Once people have grievances, it's inevitable that mistakes will occur when operating equipment."

There was a dead silence on the other end of the line for a full five seconds.

Ma Yunlong was a man of the streets; he understood as soon as he heard the words.

"Mistakes can happen," Ma Yunlong said, his voice hoarse. "But this pot..."

"The city is investigating the safety supervision responsibilities of Heishi Town," Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan revealed his cards. "As long as this fire starts, the people who need to go will go. Weigh the commotion yourself; don't cause a huge mess. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

The call ended.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan threw his phone onto the leather seat and closed his eyes.

The next morning.

The courtyard of the Heishi Town Government.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang sat in the office that had originally belonged to Secretary Qiu Dehai.

He didn't touch the furnishings on the desk; he simply brought over a chair and sat down next to the sofa in the reception area.

Ever since the County Party Committee issued the transfer order for him to preside over the overall work of Heishi Town, his step had been three parts lighter than before.

Having toiled in the second-in-command position for so many years, the ability to remove that "acting" title didn't depend on seniority, but on the favor of Secretary Lu Guoliang of the County Party Committee.

The landline on the desk rang abruptly.

The caller ID showed the County Party Committee Office.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang strode over and picked up the receiver. "This is Luo Xingbang."

"Old Luo, busy?" The voice of the County Party Committee Office director carried a hint of official familiarity. "Secretary Lu has given instructions. With the end of the year approaching, the situation in Heishi Town must be stabilized; there cannot be any more big news. Especially regarding the flow of funds in the town—no matter how lively the livelihood projects are, the rules cannot be broken. The County Party Committee is keeping an eye on your financial ledgers."

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang agreed repeatedly.

After hanging up, he returned to the sofa and rubbed his cheeks with both hands.

This call was about finance, but it referred to Zhu Wenhao.

Secretary Lu Guoliang's meaning could not be clearer.

Zhu Wenhao had won over the hearts of the people in Heishi Town through the South Street emergency repairs and the Heishui Village compensation funds.

If this reputation continued to grow, the County Party Committee would be put on the defensive.

As the acting secretary, he had to firmly grasp administrative control, especially financial power, in his own hands.

At 2:00 PM, the first meeting of the South Street emergency repair task force was held in the small conference room on the second floor.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang sat in the central seat.

Zhu Wenhao sat in the first seat on the left without saying a word.

Director Xu Jie sat in the back with a notebook, and Police Chief Zhao Gang, the head of the Town Police Station, was in attendance.

The first half of the meeting was uneventful.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang spoke some platitudes about grasping progress and ensuring quality.

Changing the subject, he pressed the document in his hand onto the table.

"Comrades, the South Street project is of great importance, and the amount of funds returned by the county treasury is not small," Town Mayor Luo Xingbang said, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Deputy Secretary Zhu Wenhao previously proposed establishing a tripartite supervision account and introducing mass representatives and county audits, which is very good. But as a grassroots government, we must hold the first line of defense ourselves."

He unscrewed his thermos and slowly blew away the steam.

"I propose that in order to ensure the safety of funds, all capital flows related to the emergency repair project must be submitted to the Town Mayor's office meeting for a preliminary review before being reported to the tripartite supervision account."

The conference room fell into sudden silence.

The heads of several departments probed back and forth between Town Mayor Luo Xingbang and Zhu Wenhao with their eyes.

Everyone could hear that this high-sounding "preliminary review" was meant to take away the financial approval power in Zhu Wenhao's hands.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang's words were watertight, hiding behind the banner of procedural compliance.

Liu Zhiqiang, the head of the Finance Office, kept his head down, staring fixedly at the notebook in front of him, not even daring to breathe.

He was afraid that these two officials would tear each other apart on the spot; when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer.

Leaning back in his chair, Zhu Wenhao listened to these words; not only did he show no anger, but he calmly placed his pen on the table.

"Town Mayor Luo," Zhu Wenhao said. "Is adding a review layer for risk prevention, or for stalling progress?"

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang remained calm. "Comrade Zhu Wenhao, that's a heavy accusation. I am responsible for the town's finances; one more procedure means one more layer of safety. This money must be spent clearly."

Zhu Wenhao looked at him.

"Town Mayor Luo, do you want to manage the money, or do you want the money to be transparent?"

One sentence, straight to the point.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang was rendered speechless by this counter-question, and the tai chi maneuvers he had prepared in his mind were temporarily useless.

The atmosphere in the entire conference room was as taut as a string.

Director Xu Jie held her pen over her notebook and wrote the words "Struggle for Financial Approval Power."

Just when everyone thought Zhu Wenhao was going to slam the table, he leaned forward.

"Since Town Mayor Luo wants to be responsible for the finances, I agree with this proposal."

Zhu Wenhao turned his head.

"Director Xu, record it in the meeting minutes. All capital flows must first go through the Town Mayor's office meeting."

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang's heart, which had been in his throat, dropped halfway, but he became even more wary of Zhu Wenhao's follow-up move.

He just conceded?

This was definitely not Zhu Wenhao's style of doing things.

After the meeting, everyone filed out.

Director Xu Jie followed behind Zhu Wenhao with her notebook and entered the Deputy Secretary's office.

As soon as the door was closed, she could not hide her confusion.

"Secretary Zhu, once the financial power is handed over to the Town Mayor's office meeting, the progress of the South Street emergency repairs will be tightly stalled by Town Mayor Luo Xingbang. He is using the influence of the County Party Committee to pressure you."

Zhu Wenhao stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the Town Government courtyard.

"To take, one must first give."

Zhu Wenhao turned around.

"He wants to see my hole cards, so I'll show him the ledgers."

The next morning.

The enlarged meeting of the Heishi Town Party Committee was held as scheduled.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang had originally thought that since he had secured the approval power, this meeting would be able to completely establish his authority as the leader.

However, as soon as Zhu Wenhao sat down, he took the initiative.

"Town Mayor Luo proposed yesterday that financial safety should be prioritized. I thought about it all night and deeply agree," Zhu Wenhao said, first giving Town Mayor Luo Xingbang plenty of face and lifting him up high.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang nodded slightly, feeling a little relieved, but became even more wary of what Zhu Wenhao would say next.

"Since we must be responsible for the funds, relying solely on the Town Mayor's office meeting to review them behind closed doors will inevitably lead to gossip."

"I propose setting a new rule."

"Every transaction of funds within the tripartite supervision account does not need to wait until the end of the month for reconciliation. Whatever is generated that day must be posted on the town affairs public notice board outside the gate of the Town Government the next morning!"

"Detailed down to how many tons of cement were bought, how many laborers were hired, and what the wages were. Mass representatives and South Street merchants can take the public notice sheet and go to the construction site for on-site verification at any time."

"If the accounts don't match, not a single cent will be allocated!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar.

Liu Zhiqiang, the head of the Finance Office, turned green. "Secretary Zhu, this... the workload is too huge! Posting it every day? The people in the office won't be able to finish it even if they don't eat or sleep!"

"If you can't finish it, you can be replaced," Zhu Wenhao said, leaving no room for negotiation. "Director Xu, can the Party and Government Office dispatch personnel to assist the Finance Office in completing the daily public notice?"

Director Xu Jie stood up on the spot. "The Party and Government Office has already arranged two full-time clerks to ensure that the transaction ledgers are posted on the wall on time every morning before eight o'clock."

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang sat in the main seat, feeling a chill down his spine.

Only then did he realize that Zhu Wenhao never wanted to fight him for that financial approval seal.

Zhu Wenhao was playing a ruthless game, directly changing the rules of the entire fund operation.

Once the ledgers were laid out in the sun and handed over to hundreds of ordinary people to watch, even if Town Mayor Luo Xingbang held the approval power, whose progress would he dare to stall? Which sum of money would he dare to embezzle?

This seal not only failed to become a symbol of power, but instead became a hot potato.

Whoever signs bears the responsibility; no one can fake it.

"Whose hands the seal is in is not important."

Zhu Wenhao looked at Town Mayor Luo Xingbang, enunciating each word clearly.

"The ledgers being in the sunlight is what matters."

The conference room was silent for three seconds.

Then, several South Street merchant representatives in attendance, not knowing who started it, burst into a round of enthusiastic applause.

Amidst this wave of applause, Town Mayor Luo Xingbang could only nod stiffly.

Looking at the young man with a calm expression in the side seat, he felt for the first time what it meant to subdue the enemy without fighting.

He had conceded power, but he had welded the cage of power shut.

At noon.

The first transaction ledger, detailed to two decimal places, was firmly pasted onto the town affairs public notice board with paste.

Several passing farmers gathered around, pointing and looking, their eyes full of curiosity.