282: Chapter 282 Letter of Thanks

The twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The atmosphere of the approaching New Year was becoming apparent on the streets of Heishi Town.

Outside the bus station, returning buses lined up one after another.

Migrant workers carrying snake-skin bags and suitcases queued up in the cold wind.

The newly paved asphalt road on South Street was steaming with grayish-white heat.

Shops along the street had hung up bright red lanterns early.

The mining area, which had been shut down for many days, had resumed operations.

Several trucks clearing away the backlog of slag were driving at a steady speed on the road, adhering to the regulated tonnage.

The courtyard of the Town Government was bustling with people.

Village officials from the surrounding villages were lining up to submit their year-end reports.

The new leadership team of Heishui Village was preparing the list for the distribution of New Year supplies.

The queue in the first-floor reception hall stretched from inside the building all the way out into the courtyard.

On the second floor, in the Deputy Secretary's office.

The heater in the pipes at the corner of the wall emitted a low hum.

Director Xu Jie pushed the door open and walked in.

She held a neatly folded envelope in her hand, walked to the desk, and placed it flat on the surface.

"This was sent collectively by eighteen merchants from South Street."

Director Xu Jie pulled out the chair opposite and sat down.

Zhu Wenhao put down his pen, picked up the envelope, and pulled out a sheet of letter paper.

Black ink on white paper.

At the end of the letter, there were eighteen bright red fingerprints.

The beginning of the letter was filled with words of gratitude.

They thanked the Town Committee and the Town Government for paving South Street, for clearing out the thugs who used to collect protection money, and for making the accounts public so that everyone could have a baseline for doing business.

"Public opinion has had an effect," Director Xu Jie stated. "The mess left by Secretary Qiu Dehai has finally been sorted out."

"The merchants on South Street used to be most afraid of dealing with the government; now that they can take the initiative to write a joint letter, the grassroots work can be considered successful."

Zhu Wenhao's gaze slid across the paper.

He finished reading the first three paragraphs, his gaze resting on the last paragraph, and he didn't speak.

The office door was pushed open.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang walked in carrying a thermos, his pace very fast.

"Comrade Zhu Wenhao, have you seen that letter of gratitude from South Street?"

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang sat down in the guest chair and unscrewed the lid of the thermos.

"I just heard a report about it downstairs; this is a good thing."

He placed the lid on the coffee table. "I was thinking, we should use this letter as an excuse to have the Party and Government Office write a major press release."

"Let's call it 'Acting Secretary focuses on people's livelihood, Heishi Town delivers warmth in winter'."

"Report it to the county and city levels. Our team has worked hard for so long; it's time to show some results and get some recognition."

Zhu Wenhao pushed the letter across the desk, stopping it in front of Town Mayor Luo Xingbang.

"Town Mayor Luo, look at the last paragraph," he said, pointing at the paper.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang leaned in and looked down.

The end of the letter read: "We hope the Town Government will empathize with the people's sentiments and understand the hardships of the merchants' business startup. Before the Spring Festival, please continue to distribute hardship subsidies to reassure the public."

After reading it, Town Mayor Luo Xingbang didn't sense anything unusual.

"They're just asking for some subsidies; when the end of the year comes, the common people count on the government to distribute some benefits."

Zhu Wenhao leaned back against his chair.

"The eighteen merchants who signed the joint letter are not poor."

"They are neither low-income households nor specially impoverished households. According to regulations, they are not on the list for hardship subsidies."

Zhu Wenhao's voice was steady.

"The wording and phrasing of the letter, the format is orderly, and the structure is methodical."

"This is absolutely not a style of official document that merchants running building material shops or selling groceries could write."

Zhu Wenhao stood up and walked to the town map on the wall.

"Someone is teaching them to write like this behind the scenes."

"The big paragraph of gratitude at the beginning is just a setup; this last sentence is the real purpose."

Director Xu Jie, sitting on the side, instantly understood this logic.

Zhu Wenhao turned around and looked at Town Mayor Luo Xingbang.

"Town Mayor Luo, once your big press release is sent out, you'll have the reputation."

"But this letter will become a public promise."

"Everyone in the town will know that as long as they write a letter of gratitude, the town will distribute subsidies."

Zhu Wenhao walked back to the desk and picked up his teacup.

"By then, people from dozens of villages will come to block the door asking for money."

"If you don't give it, your image as an Acting Secretary who loves the people like his own children will immediately turn into that of a fraud."

"If you do give it, the town's financial accounts will be emptied out directly. Where will you find the money for Heishui Village's construction funds, the final payments for the Old River Levee, and the land acquisition payments for the logistics park after the New Year?"

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang's hand holding the thermos froze in place.

The steam rising from the cup blurred his glasses.

He had only been focused on political achievements and hadn't calculated the pitfalls beneath.

"This..." Town Mayor Luo Xingbang put the thermos down. "Then this letter cannot be reported."

"Public sentiment is like water; water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it," Zhu Wenhao took a sip of tea. "If we are led by the nose, this boat will capsize sooner or later."

"It's easy to distribute this money, but if the rules aren't established, it will be an endless source of trouble in the future."

Zhu Wenhao put the teacup back in its place.

"Block the financial budget tightly for me."

"Not a single cent that isn't on the compliant list is allowed to be processed before the Spring Festival."

"It won't matter if anyone tries to pull strings."

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I will personally go and talk to Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan."

He picked up the water cup and went out.

Zhu Wenhao looked at Director Xu Jie.

"Go investigate. Where the letter came from and who provided the template."

Director Xu Jie stood up and left.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Police Chief Zhao Gang pushed the door open, bringing in a gust of cold air.

He closed the door firmly behind him.

"It's been investigated," Police Chief Zhao Gang walked to the desk.

"Director Xu found the Chamber of Commerce president this morning. The president said the letter template was provided by the owner of a typing and photocopying shop in the county seat."

"The shop owner told him that as long as they put their fingerprints on it and submitted it, every family would be able to get an extra subsidy from the Town Government this New Year."

Police Chief Zhao Gang lowered his voice.

"I had a few brothers go in plainclothes to check out that printing shop."

"The shop owner has been drinking at a food stall every night for the past two days, and the person drinking with him is named Wang San."

"Wang San used to drive at the County Public Security Bureau, serving as a driver for the director at the time."

Zhu Wenhao looked up.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's rise to prominence in Qingjiang County started from being the Public Security Bureau director.

"Wang San isn't in the bureau anymore, but he takes on some small construction projects outside, and usually specializes in handling things that can't be brought out into the open for Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan," Police Chief Zhao Gang finished reporting.

Director Xu Jie, standing nearby, connected the clues.

"Secretary Lei Zhen is under suspension and investigation in the province. Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan has no backing in the county, so he went to Linjiang City to seek refuge with Mayor Su Changming."

"Mayor Su Changming has taken in Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan, letting him use Heishi Town as a sacrificial lamb to prove his loyalty."

Zhu Wenhao took a pen and drew a line on the white paper on the desk.

"Mayor Su Changming is the mayor in charge of the economy; he understands the fatal weakness of local finance."

"He's using public opinion as a weapon to force us to use public funds to fill the hole of public demand."

"If we don't distribute the money, he can find the county TV station or outside media to conduct undercover investigations, reporting that Heishi Town is intensifying conflicts between cadres and the masses, and disrupting grassroots stability before the Spring Festival."

"If we do distribute the money, financial discipline will be breached, and the rules will be broken. After the New Year, the Municipal Audit Bureau and the Finance Bureau will be able to legitimately come down and take over the books, completely scrapping our tripartite supervision account."

A chain of traps.

Both advancing and retreating are dead ends.

Police Chief Zhao Gang's face tightened.

"Then how do we reply to this letter? That group of merchants on South Street is still waiting outside. If we don't give an explanation, Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan will definitely arrange for people to incite trouble inside."

Zhu Wenhao put down the pencil in his hand.

The pencil rolled half a circle on the desk and stopped.

"Keep the letter, don't distribute the money."

Zhu Wenhao stood up and adjusted the hem of his overcoat.

"Go, take this letter of gratitude and post it exactly as it is on the public whiteboard outside the Town Government gate."

Police Chief Zhao Gang didn't react in time.

"Make it public?"

"Yes," Zhu Wenhao sat up straight. "Not just the letter."

"Also post the list of hardship households for the whole town that has been verified this year, the sources of funding, and the destination of every single cent, along with this letter."

Zhu Wenhao looked out the window.

"The brighter the books, the more the ghosts fear the light."