291: Chapter 291 Not Going Home for Spring Festival

The Maybach drove steadily on the provincial road.

General Manager Zhou Shutong sat in the back seat.

Outside the car window, there were stalls selling Spring Festival couplets on the streets of Heishi Town, and several miners who had just received their money were carrying large red plastic bags filled with freshly butchered pork.

"Return to Jingjiang City." General Manager Zhou Shutong said.

The assistant looked back: "General Manager Zhou, the finance department says the capital chain is under great pressure."

General Manager Zhou Shutong flipped through the tablet in her hand; the screen showed a photo of the whiteboard outside the entrance of Heishi Town.

"Spend money where it can be seen." Her fingers slid across the screen.

"Ma Yunlong paid bribes every year, but the mine was still shut down. Zhu Wenhao used our money today to appease the miners, and no one will cause trouble at the mine in the future."

The assistant didn't understand and turned back to look at the road ahead.

General Manager Zhou Shutong turned off the tablet.

What Zhu Wenhao wanted were rules; he was using the capital's money to buy order. This man had tough methods, binding financial power to the common people, forcing capital to make concessions. She hadn't gained any advantage in front of this township deputy secretary, but she felt a sense of commercial stability.

Jingjiang City, the top-floor conference room of Zhou Investment Bank.

On both sides of the oval conference table, seven or eight directors were seated.

The large screen displayed the financial forecast for the Heishi Mining project.

"The initial investment is too large." Director Zheng pushed the report to the center. "Environmental protection funds, road repair costs, miner resettlement—there is a gap of tens of millions. The money is being poured into a hole before the mine is even dug. This does not meet investment standards. I suggest withdrawing capital."

Another director added: "For a township mine, the local government asks for this and that. In another place, this money could secure ten mining rights."

General Manager Zhou Shutong did not refute.

She asked the assistant to switch the slides.

The image changed.

The whiteboard on the street of Heishi Town, with every expenditure listed on it.

The newly paved asphalt road on South Street.

The scene of miners lining up to receive money in the auditorium.

The conference room quieted down.

"Everyone." General Manager Zhou Shutong clasped her fingers on the table. "What you are looking at is the cost in the report, but what I am looking at is local order."

Director Zheng did not respond.

"You have all seen the old accounts of Heishi Town; the protection fees Ma Yunlong paid exceeded ten million annually." General Manager Zhou Shutong looked straight ahead. "Zhu Wenhao put the ledger under the sun; our investment in Heishi Town is transparent. There is no behind-the-scenes operation, no one is blocking transport trucks, and no one is cutting off water and electricity. Once order is straightened out, the subsequent operating costs will naturally come down."

Director Zheng raised a concern: "He is just a township deputy secretary, his official rank is too low. If someone from the county or city level wants to move this piece of the cake, he won't be able to hold them off."

General Manager Zhou Shutong took two copies of documents from the folder and pushed them out.

"The approval from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission regarding the industrial transformation of resource-based townships."

"The approval document for the special fund for the repair of the Old River Levee from the Provincial Department of Water Resources."

The directors took the documents and passed them around.

"These two documents could not have been obtained by a township-level cadre. He has provincial-level resource backing behind him. We are betting on him, which means we are betting on the future policy direction of the province." General Manager Zhou Shutong leaned back in her chair.

In the conference room, no one mentioned withdrawing capital anymore.

"Mining is just the first step." General Manager Zhou Shutong called up the last slide. "After the Old River Levee is repaired, over a thousand acres of wasteland will be vacated in the south of the town. I propose adding a budget of twenty million."

"Add more?" Director Zheng raised his eyes.

"To build a cold chain logistics park and create a brand for selling agricultural products abroad." General Manager Zhou Shutong said. "Farmers have already started planting again. We will transfer the mining surplus into agricultural projects; Heishi Town will become a comprehensive investment portfolio."

The directors whispered to each other in discussion.

"The plan is feasible." Director Zheng tapped the table. "With such a large capital investment, if we bet everything on Zhu Wenhao, the risk must be controlled."

He looked at General Manager Zhou Shutong.

"You lead the project. During this period, you go to Heishi Town yourself to keep an eye on it. Once the logistics park framework is set up and the capital flow is smoothed out, then you can return to Jingjiang City."

General Manager Zhou Shutong agreed.

The office grew dark, and General Manager Zhou Shutong picked up her coffee.

Her private phone rang, an unfamiliar number with no location.

She answered.

"General Manager Zhou." The voice on the other end was very flat. "I heard your company's portfolio in Heishi Town is getting bigger and bigger."

"Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important. The waters in Jiangnan Province are deep, and Linjiang City is even deeper. Heishi Town looks lively, but it has no foundation."

General Manager Zhou Shutong walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Doing business requires putting eggs in different baskets." The other party continued. "Betting everything on a township deputy secretary—once there is a change in the city, tens of millions will go down the drain."

General Manager Zhou Shutong thought about it; it was a Linjiang City accent. To be so clear about the movements in Heishi Town and to be able to call her private number, the rank was not low.

"Are you calling to warn me?" General Manager Zhou Shutong asked.

"A wise bird chooses its tree to perch on. After the New Year, the Linjiang City investment promotion conference will have some good plots of land available. If you are interested, General Manager Zhou, you can come and see; it is more stable than a mine in the middle of nowhere."

"I will consider it."

General Manager Zhou Shutong hung up the phone and threw it on the sofa.

People from the Linjiang Municipal Government were starting to poach.

She opened the map of Heishi Town on the table; the game was escalating.

Linjiang Municipal Government office building.

Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping hung up the phone.

The task assigned by Mayor Su Changming—investigating Heishi Town from below didn't work, so he would pull the rug out from under them from above.

Capital chases profit; giving them a little sweetness would make them change their tune.

Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping glanced at the desk calendar. After the Spring Festival, the city would release a batch of high-quality land plots; he didn't believe General Manager Zhou Shutong wouldn't be tempted.

Heishi Town, the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Deputy Secretary's office.

Zhu Wenhao was looking at the Spring Festival subsidy report submitted by Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan, who was sitting opposite him.

"There is no problem with this money." Zhu Wenhao signed his name.

Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan looked at the signed document.

When he first took office, he wanted to use this Spring Festival consolation money as a starting point to propose cutting expenses. Zhu Wenhao didn't argue with him; he told him to bring out the list and verify it household by household in front of all departments. It was during that verification that Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan discovered the old accounts of Eldest Branch's side branch taking empty pay.

The people in the Civil Affairs Office admitted that it was a connection left behind by Secretary Qiu Dehai.

Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan originally thought Zhu Wenhao would take the opportunity to clean house, but to his surprise, he handed the power of verification to the people of the whole town and held a public review.

That time, Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan, a technical bureaucrat who had spent half his life in the County Finance Bureau, felt for the first time that managing accounts in Heishi Town didn't require him to be a scapegoat for the leaders.

"Secretary Zhu, the miners' money has been paid out, the final payment for South Street has been settled, and there is a surplus of over one hundred thousand on the books." Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan withdrew his thoughts and reported.

"Keep it as a foundation for spring plowing after the holiday." Zhu Wenhao put down his pen. "Thank you for your hard work, Town Mayor Liu."

Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan pushed up his glasses: "Managing accounts on the whiteboard gives me peace of mind."

He stood up and left the office.

Working in Heishi Town during this period, he found that there were no messy instructions; everything was done according to the rules. Zhu Wenhao had a tough style, but by putting financial power in the open, it actually made a technical bureaucrat like him feel secure. He had no intention of paying attention to the instructions from Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan to find dirt. This ledger was clean; no one could pick any faults.

The internal phone on the desk rang, and Director Xu Jie answered.

"Zhu Wenhao, it's a call from Study Committee Member Cao Rui." She handed the receiver over.

Zhu Wenhao answered.

"Secretary." Study Committee Member Cao Rui's voice rang out. "It has been decided on Deputy Secretary Zhu's side; Secretary Gao Ming will be transferred to Qingjiang County after the New Year to serve as the director of the county government office."

"A good arrangement." Zhu Wenhao said.

Secretary Gao Ming was his father's chief secretary; placing him in this position was like driving a large nail into Qingjiang County.

"There is one more thing." Study Committee Member Cao Rui lowered his voice. "Deputy Director Ge Qing from the Municipal Finance Bureau has quieted down. Group Leader Su Qinghan has switched to a secret investigation and has found other capital flows from Su Xiaoxiao's studio. Mayor Su Changming got angry at the Municipal Government meeting and scolded Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping."

"A dog jumping over a wall in desperation." Zhu Wenhao switched the receiver to the other ear. "Mayor Su Changming can't do anything about Heishi Town, and he is blocked in the city. During the New Year, he will look for another opportunity. When you are handing over with Secretary Gao Ming, keep an eye on the vehicle dispatching of the Municipal Government Office."

"Understood." Study Committee Member Cao Rui hung up the phone.

Director Xu Jie placed a stack of documents on the table.

"The duty roster for the New Year period has been arranged." Director Xu Jie said. "Town Mayor Luo and I will take turns on duty."

"Put my name on it." Zhu Wenhao said.

"You are not going back to Linjiang City for the New Year?"

"I will go back for a meal on New Year's Eve and come back on the morning of the first day." Zhu Wenhao picked up a pen and added his name to the duty roster. "This is the first peaceful year in Heishi Town; there cannot be any mishaps. The more it is the New Year, the more things there are."

He stood up and walked to the map.

He wanted to embed this set of transparent rules into the grassroots, allowing the common people to stand tall and make money.

As for the obstruction from Mayor Su Changming and the secret moles of Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan, they were nothing more than gravel that needed to be cleared on this road.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan was quiet now, Mayor Su Changming was looking for opportunities, and Secretary Du Changhe was being suppressed by Police Chief Zhao Gang at the Police Station.

Everything seemed to be on track, but clashes of power often erupted when things were most relaxed.

Zhu Wenhao picked up his teacup.

The tea was cold.

Outside Heishi Town, heavy snow fell, covering the bungalows and the newly paved asphalt road.