260: Chapter 260 Reconciliation

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang took the draft of the "Heishi Mining Restructuring Framework Agreement" and walked back to the Town Mayor's office.

The door closed.

He pulled out his chair and sat down, his fingertips gently brushing over the signatory column on the last page of the draft.

The desk phone rang, its ringtone harsh.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang picked up the receiver.

"Comrade Luo Xingbang." County Mayor Gu Mingchuan's voice came through.

"County Mayor."

"How did the talk with General Manager Zhou Shutong of Jingjiang go?"

"General Manager Zhou Shutong agreed to pay 25 million for the first installment. We will sign the agreement this afternoon."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.

"These terms are ridiculously harsh. For the investor to back down, Secretary Zhu certainly has his ways." County Mayor Gu Mingchuan's voice sounded somewhat complex. "Are you signing on behalf of the town?"

"Secretary Zhu suggested I sign," Town Mayor Luo Xingbang said. "County Mayor, the municipal inspection team just left. If we turn around and finalize an agreement with the investor, what if the higher-ups find fault..."

"Positions aren't protected by playing it safe." County Mayor Gu Mingchuan interrupted him. "Getting things done is more important than protecting your position."

"If the higher-ups really want to find fault, the County Government will take the heat."

The call was cut off.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang placed the receiver back on the cradle and leaned back in his chair.

County Mayor Gu Mingchuan was making him take responsibility.

If it succeeded, he could answer to Secretary Lu; if it failed, he, as the acting secretary, would be the first to bear the brunt.

He shoved the draft into a folder, stood up, and left.

At 2:30 PM, in the Town Government's large conference room.

On the left side of the long conference table, General Manager Zhou Shutong's team was already seated.

The right side was empty.

In the back, several rows of folding chairs were set up, where a dozen old miners and representatives of South Street merchants sat. No one spoke; the room was so quiet one could hear their own heartbeat.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang entered the room carrying a water cup.

Zhu Wenhao followed behind him.

Director Xu Jie placed two printed copies of the formal agreement in the center of the table.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang walked to the main seat, while Zhu Wenhao sat in a side seat.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang sat down, unscrewed his cup, and took a sip of the scalding hot water.

"General Manager Zhou Shutong, the terms of the agreement have been reviewed by the Town Party Committee. The first installment of 25 million must be deposited into the tripartite supervision account before the end of the workday today. Subsequent development must comply with the town's overall planning." Town Mayor Luo Xingbang read from the script.

General Manager Zhou Shutong flipped through the documents to confirm everything was correct.

In the back, an old miner missing three fingers stood up.

"Town Mayor Luo." The old miner's voice was hoarse. "Now that the investor has put up the money, when will we get our hard-earned wages?"

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang's gaze subconsciously drifted toward Zhu Wenhao.

Zhu Wenhao was looking down at his materials, as if he hadn't heard.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang had to shoulder it himself.

"Once the funds arrive, the Town Government, the public representatives, and the investor will jointly audit the accounts."

"Registration begins tomorrow morning. As long as the accounts are correct, we will pay out the money on the spot."

"I, Town Mayor Luo Xingbang, give you all my word here!"

The old miner sat down without saying another word.

General Manager Zhou Shutong pulled out a fountain pen, signed her name on the last page of the agreement, and stamped it with the company seal.

The agreement was pushed in front of Town Mayor Luo Xingbang.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang pulled out his fountain pen, the nib hovering over the paper for half a second before finally descending.

He signed his name.

Director Xu Jie took out the Town Government's official seal and stamped it heavily in red.

The agreement was now in effect.

In the back, someone started clapping.

Immediately after, applause erupted.

The old miners were clapping, and the South Street merchants were clapping too.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang listened to the applause.

The applause wasn't like the sparse, scattered clapping when leaders led the applause in a conference room.

This was the sound of hands stained with mud and machine oil, clapping one by one, solid and real.

He turned his head to look at Zhu Wenhao.

Zhu Wenhao was also clapping.

"Town Mayor Luo has led this well; the first step for Heishi Town has been taken."

Linjiang Municipal Government building, Mayor's office.

Mayor Su Changming was reviewing documents, and Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping stood in front of the desk.

"Mayor, the Heishi Town mining restructuring has been signed. General Manager Zhou Shutong came forward, and the first installment is 25 million."

"Zhu Wenhao used the pretext of us inspecting safety hazards to shut down the old mining area, forcing the investor to the negotiating table."

Mayor Su Changming didn't stop his pen, drawing a large red 'X' on the document.

"25 million." Mayor Su Changming asked, "Where is this money being deposited?"

"Into the Heishi Town tripartite supervision account. It is jointly supervised by the town, public representatives, and the County Finance Bureau," Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping replied. "It's a new rule established by Zhu Wenhao; daily income and expenditures are posted on the town affairs bulletin board."

Mayor Su Changming threw his pen into the pen holder.

"Which bank is the account set up in?"

"The County Finance Bureau, Heishi Branch."

"Call Director Wang of the Municipal Finance Bureau over." Mayor Su Changming picked up his teacup.

Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping dialed the internal line.

Ten minutes later, Director Wang of the Municipal Finance Bureau entered.

Mayor Su Changming pointed to the empty seat in front of him: "Old Wang, Heishi Town has set up a tripartite supervision account with a significant amount of money."

Director Wang didn't respond, waiting for what followed.

"A grassroots Town Government privately setting up a large special account and letting public representatives participate in supervision—does this comply with financial management regulations? Who exactly is the supervisory body?" Mayor Su Changming asked.

Director Wang immediately replied: "Township funds should be incorporated into the national treasury centralized payment system. Introducing non-administrative personnel as a supervisory body poses compliance issues and risks of fund commingling."

"Since there are risks, the Municipal Finance Bureau should perform its duties," Mayor Su Changming said. "Send a letter to the County Finance Bureau, requiring a special compliance review of the Heishi Town tripartite supervision account."

"During the review, suspend the disbursement of funds to ensure the safety of state-owned assets."

"I will handle it as soon as I return." Director Wang noted it down.

County Finance Bureau.

An official letter titled "Compliance Risk Warning for Heishi Town Special Fund Account" was delivered directly to the Director's desk via the Municipal Bureau's confidential channel.

The Municipal Public Security Bureau explicitly ordered the suspension of disbursements.

The Director read it, picked up the phone, and called County Mayor Gu Mingchuan.

"County Mayor Gu, the Municipal Finance Bureau has sent a letter. It says that the account in Heishi Town has compliance risks and suggests suspending the disbursement of funds, instructing us to execute this immediately."

County Mayor Gu Mingchuan's hand, flipping through documents, stopped.

"Suspend disbursement?"

"The Municipal Public Security Bureau named it specifically, and the wording is severe. If we drag our feet, the higher-ups will hold us accountable, and we can't afford that."

"I understand. Don't take any action yet." County Mayor Gu Mingchuan hung up the phone.

He immediately dialed Zhu Wenhao.

Heishi Town, Deputy Secretary's office.

Zhu Wenhao answered the phone.

"The Municipal Finance Bureau has made a move, demanding to freeze the tripartite supervision account and investigate compliance." County Mayor Gu Mingchuan's voice was heavy.

Zhu Wenhao glanced out the window.

The construction team on South Street was pouring concrete into the trenches.

"The city is investigating the money, but what they are blocking is the construction schedule for the road. If it stops for a day, the merchants' businesses are affected for a day."

"County Mayor, once this money is frozen, the people will only think that the Town Government has embezzled their life-saving money. By then, public resentment will boil over, and no one will be able to suppress it."

"I am aware," County Mayor Gu Mingchuan said. "But the Municipal Finance Bureau's letter is an explicit order. If I don't execute it, the city has sufficient grounds to discipline me."

"Tell the County Finance Bureau not to pay attention to it," Zhu Wenhao said.

"The County Director wouldn't dare defy this order."

Zhu Wenhao put down his water cup.

"Since they want to investigate compliance, then let's make all the accounts public."

"Tomorrow morning, post the Municipal Finance Bureau's letter directly on the town affairs bulletin board."

"Let the people of the whole town see it for themselves."

"The potholes under the people's feet cannot wait for the processes on their office desks."

The next morning.

At the gate of the Heishi Town Government compound, the crowd was bustling.

The foreman of the construction team held a newspaper, standing at the very front, his voice loud.

"Why has work stopped today? The money to buy materials hasn't been transferred!"

The merchants gathered around, discussing it in hushed tones.

"Didn't they say they would disclose the accounts every day? Where did the money go?"

Rumors grew wings.

The narrative that the Town Government had misappropriated the money fermented rapidly among the crowd.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang walked out of the office building and immediately saw the dense crowd outside the iron gate.

Several of Secretary Qiu Dehai's former subordinates stood on the second-floor corridor, arms crossed, watching the show.

"Town Mayor Luo has come out; let's see how he gets himself out of this predicament."

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang walked to the iron gate, separated by the cold iron bars.

The foreman held up the list in his hand: "Town Mayor Luo, the material suppliers want to see cash before they are willing to ship. Why hasn't the money in the account been released?"

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang's throat felt dry.

The letter from the city had arrived at the town last night, and the funding channel had been tightly blocked.

Just then, Zhu Wenhao walked over from behind.

Director Xu Jie pushed a huge whiteboard and placed it at the main gate.

Zhu Wenhao had the guard open the gate.

The crowd surged toward the steps.

Zhu Wenhao pointed to the whiteboard.

On it was a photocopy of the Municipal Finance Bureau's letter, the red seal striking.

"Work has stopped today, not because the Town Government won't give the money."

Zhu Wenhao's voice pierced through the crowd.

"The city issued a document saying that letting you all supervise our own money is against the rules."

"They want to freeze the account and wait until they finish their investigation before releasing it."

The crowd instantly exploded.

"Bullshit! We supervise our own money; how is that against the rules?"

"The road is already this rotten and they won't let us fix it—what kind of rules are they investigating!"

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang stood on the steps, looking at the people below.

He realized that the spearhead of public resentment was not directed at the Town Government.

Zhu Wenhao turned to look at Town Mayor Luo Xingbang and handed him a thick account book.

"Town Mayor Luo, you are the person in charge. Read the accounts from the past few days to everyone, and let the public see whether we have violated any rules."

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang took the account book, faced the dozens of burning eyes below, and opened the first page.

"The day before yesterday, purchased 500 cubic meters of sand and stone, unit price 80, totaling 40,000. Receipt number 1005." He read aloud.

Director Xu Jie immediately wrote the numbers on the whiteboard with a marker.

"Yesterday, advanced 5,000 for Old Sun's hospital deposit. Voucher number 201." He reported it item by item.

The foreman shouted from below: "I personally weighed the sand and stone; the numbers are correct! The money didn't go into anyone's private pocket!"

Zhu Wenhao walked to Town Mayor Luo Xingbang's side.

"The accounts are here, the money is in the account, not a single cent has been moved."

He faced the crowd.

"If the city wants to investigate compliance, let them come and investigate."

"We won't work today; we will reconcile the accounts right here!"

"The public representatives and the construction team are all here; check to see if even a single cent is missing!"