32: Chapter 32 The Disciplinary Committee Strikes

On the third floor of the Development and Reform Commission building, in the small conference room.

Old Sun, who was leading the team, sat in the main seat, with Wu Dehai on his left and Zhu Wenhao on his right.

A brand-new blue tablecloth had been spread over the table in advance, and the three men's nameplates were placed neatly.

A burst of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

Wang Jian, the Director of the Development and Reform Commission Office, led two sharp-witted staff members as they walked in quickly.

Wang Jian was personally carrying several white porcelain cups that had just been scalded with boiling water.

The staff members carried gleaming thermos bottles, nimbly pouring in boiling hot water, and the fragrance of tea filled the air.

"Leaders, please have some hot water first to moisten your throats."

Wang Jian placed the cups in front of the three men, saying, "The conditions here at our Development and Reform Commission are simple, so we really haven't been able to provide proper hospitality."

"Political Commissar Wang Haitao specifically instructed that since the Organization Department is here for an inspection today, the office must provide full-time, comprehensive cooperation. If you need anything, please feel free to ask at any time; it's just a matter of saying the word!"

Old Sun slowly picked up his teacup, blew away the steam on the surface, and took a light sip.

He did not respond throughout the entire exchange.

Having spent half his life grinding away within the system, he had seen too many power transition dramas and had long since lost interest. He only sought to finish his shifts peacefully and retire safely to go home and hold his grandchildren.

Since Old Sun wouldn't speak, someone else needed to warm up the atmosphere.

Wu Dehai cleared his throat and cut straight to the point.

"Director Wang, has the office received and verified the pre-publicity document issued by the department this morning?"

Wang Jian nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.

"Received, received! It was distributed to the relevant personnel immediately."

"That's good. Proceed according to the established process."

Wu Dehai opened the blue folder in his hand and took out a list that had been prepared well in advance.

"Start with the leadership team members, then the middle-level cadres, and finally the heads of the subordinate units."

"Please arrange for the people on this list to be called in for talks in order, Director Wang."

This list had already been respectfully handed to Wu Dehai by Political Commissar Wang Haitao through private channels last night.

Those arranged to come for talks were all people whose "thoughts had been unified" by Political Commissar Wang Haitao in advance.

"No problem, I'll go arrange it right now!"

Wang Jian seemed to have been granted an amnesty and retreated respectfully.

The sound of footsteps in the corridor quickly became dense.

The talks proceeded step by step.

The cadres who were called in were all as clear as a mirror in their hearts.

Zheng Jianguo had just met with an incident, and the Organization Department immediately issued the pre-publicity for Political Commissar Wang Haitao; the direction of the wind could not be more obvious.

Now, whoever dared to say a single bad word about Political Commissar Wang Haitao would be going against the future Director of the Development and Reform Commission.

The content of the talks was surprisingly consistent, and the evaluations of Political Commissar Wang Haitao were all reciting good words from a template: solid work, strong sense of the big picture, and the ability to stabilize the Development and Reform Commission at critical moments.

The distribution and collection of the democratic evaluation forms were also extremely smooth.

No one would want to court disaster at this time, and all the favorable votes gathered under Political Commissar Wang Haitao's name like snowflakes.

The entire cumbersome inspection process, thanks to the full cooperation from within, advanced to its conclusion in just three hours.

The final step was to have a talk with the inspection subject himself.

The door to the conference room was pushed open.

Political Commissar Wang Haitao walked in, looking tired, but his spirits were very high.

He pulled out the chair opposite them and sat down, his hands placed neatly and properly on the table.

Old Sun glanced at his watch and stood up slowly.

"You young people chat first; I'm going to the restroom. When you get old, you can't sit still after drinking too much tea."

Old Sun was a smart man.

From the moment Wu Dehai took out that specific list in the morning, he saw that this assessment was nothing more than a formality.

But he chose to ask nothing and manage nothing.

He handed the initiative to these two young men and kept himself clean and uninvolved.

Zhu Wenhao leaned back in his chair, watching Old Sun walk out of the conference room without saying a word to stop him.

Within the system, everyone has the right to choose their own way of survival; protecting oneself is also a great form of wisdom.

The conference room door closed.

Only three people remained in the room.

Political Commissar Wang Haitao, seeing that Old Sun had left, felt his tense shoulders instantly relax.

He took several unmarked kraft paper envelopes from the inside pocket of his suit, reached across the table, and pushed them toward Wu Dehai's hand.

"Brother Wu, today's process was tight; you've worked hard."

"This is a little internal benefit from our Development and Reform Commission, a few anonymous shopping cards. Take them to buy some daily necessities; please don't look down on them."

Wu Dehai glanced out of the corner of his eye; the envelopes were thick, and they definitely did not contain small-denomination cards worth a few hundred yuan.

His hands, as if burned by a branding iron, suddenly retracted under the table, and he waved his hands repeatedly, not daring to say a word.

"Director Wang."

Zhu Wenhao did not look at the envelopes, his gaze falling straight onto Political Commissar Wang Haitao's face.

"Put these away."

The smile on Political Commissar Wang Haitao's face stiffened, and he awkwardly clutched the envelopes in his hand, caught in a dilemma.

He had originally prepared a bellyful of words for the celebration dinner at the Linjiang Hotel that night, intending to thank the two "imperial envoys," but they were forcibly stuck in his throat.

"If you want to work under Secretary Zhu, you need to clean up this set of old, corrupt habits in the future."

"Everything must be done according to the rules. If it's yours, no one can take it away."

"If it's not yours, your hand will be broken if you reach for it. Be a clean person and do things according to the rules."

Cold sweat instantly slid down from Political Commissar Wang Haitao's temple.

"Zhu Wenhao, this is just..."

"Today, I can help you up to this position."

Zhu Wenhao interrupted him, his gaze calmly scrutinizing this soon-to-be head of the Development and Reform Commission.

"In the future, if I find you engaging in any corrupt actions regarding project approvals or fund flows, I will definitely be the first to deal with you."

"Did you understand?"

There was no stern reprimand, only the coldness of stating a fact.

Political Commissar Wang Haitao nodded repeatedly, his attitude extremely proper: "Zhu Wenhao, don't worry. I understand the rules, and I will absolutely not take a single step beyond the limit. During holidays, at most, it will just be friends visiting each other, bringing some ordinary cigarettes or alcohol, but I will absolutely not touch money."

Zhu Wenhao withdrew his gaze and said nothing more.

During the ming dynasty, corrupt officials were punished by being skinned and stuffed with straw.

Although the modern officialdom is not that bloody, the rules that need to be established cannot be skipped for a single day.

Beat the grass to scare the snake; stop once the point is made.

The doorknob turned, and Old Sun walked in right on cue.

He acted as if he hadn't noticed the tense atmosphere in the room at all, sitting back in his original seat with a chuckle.

"Alright, let's hurry up and finish this last procedure."

For the next hour, the conversation returned to its normal track.

Wu Dehai asked questions according to the standard outline, Political Commissar Wang Haitao answered fluently, and Zhu Wenhao was responsible for taking notes on the side.

A standard personnel inspection template, perfectly closed-loop.

By noon, all materials were organized and filed.

Wang Jian had long since arranged for a meal in a small private room in the cafeteria.

It was a standard working meal specification, four dishes and one soup, with no alcohol, so no fault of any violation could be found.

The three of them had a simple meal and then prepared to head back.

Walking out of the cafeteria, the rain in the Development and Reform Commission compound had just stopped.

Wu Dehai went to get the official vehicle.

Zhu Wenhao and Old Sun stood on the steps waiting.

Just at this moment.

Two black sedans without any markings braked sharply in front of the main entrance of the Development and Reform Commission office building.

The car doors were pushed open.

Four or five staff members wearing dark blue jackets with work badges hanging on their chests stepped out of the cars quickly.

The leader was none other than the Deputy Director of the Second Discipline Inspection Office of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Political Commissar Wang Haitao had just walked out of the lobby to see the guests off; seeing this scene, he paused, then walked up to meet them.

"Director Liu? It's the middle of the day; why have the comrades from the Discipline Inspection Commission come?" Political Commissar Wang Haitao asked tentatively.

The leading Director Liu from the Discipline Inspection Commission was expressionless; he took out a document stamped with a bright red official seal and flashed it in front of Political Commissar Wang Haitao.

"Director Wang, we have received a notice from the Provincial Inspection Team."

"We need to immediately conduct a comprehensive search of the office of the former Development and Reform Commission Director, Zheng Jianguo, and seal all paper documents and computer hard drives."

Political Commissar Wang Haitao's eyelids twitched wildly.

Zheng Jianguo had already been burned to ashes, and the police had issued a report of an accidental fall to his death; the Provincial Inspection Team was actually still going to investigate?

And they arrived so quickly, so accurately!

Director Liu put away the document, his gaze passing over Political Commissar Wang Haitao to scan the Development and Reform Commission cadres who had stopped to watch in the lobby.

"In addition!"

"Please, the relevant heads of the Development and Reform Commission Office, Finance Section, and Key Project Approval Section, all remain at your posts."

"The Discipline Inspection Commission needs to conduct individual talks."

"No one is allowed to move around at will, and no one is allowed to make or receive external phone calls!"

The lobby fell into instant silence.

The storm, far from subsiding because of Zheng Jianguo's death, had instead swept directly through the entire Development and Reform Commission with an even more violent posture.

Zhu Wenhao stood on the steps, watching the Discipline Inspection Commission personnel filing in.

Team Leader Qiu Rui had made his move.

Su Changming's "tail-cutting for survival" tactic, which he thought was seamless, ultimately failed to fool this veteran discipline inspector.

The Inspection Team coming to seal the office at this time was definitely not investigating the cause of Zheng Jianguo's death.

Wu Dehai drove the car over, rolled down the window, and looking at the Discipline Inspection Commission's formation, he cast a lingeringly fearful glance at Zhu Wenhao beside him.

"Let's go, back to the department." Zhu Wenhao opened the car door and sat in.