485: Chapter 485 The Authority of the Top Leader: Meng Zhengguo Feels Frustrated

"What on earth is this Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo up to?"

He flipped through Jiangnan University's application amount and then looked at the amount approved by Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo; he hadn't misread it—it had indeed been cut in half.

Frowning slightly, he thought, isn't this Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo trying to screw me over?

If he hadn't looked closely and had signed it with his eyes closed, things would have been serious. Qin Chuan would be the first to vent his anger on him, and with the Qin Family behind him, it wouldn't be difficult to remove him from his position.

Fortunately, Comrade Qin Chuan had called him, and fortunately, he had personally looked into the matter and specifically scrutinized Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo's signature.

Damn it, he almost got me killed!

Feeling a surge of anger, Minister Zhao picked up the phone and summoned Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo. He tossed the Jiangnan University documents onto the desk and said with a stern face, "Comrade Meng Zhengguo, what is the meaning of this!"

At first, Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo didn't understand what was happening. He froze for a moment, and only after picking up the documents and looking through them did he realize the reason.

"Minister Zhao, my reasoning was that Jiangnan University has many issues. Last year..."

He had just started to explain when he was interrupted. Minister Zhao wouldn't listen at all; the authority of the top leader was fully on display at this moment.

"Vice Minister Meng, I don't want to hear your explanations. The amount for Jiangnan University cannot be cut; in fact, it must be appropriately increased. Increase it by about 20% on top of their application. Take these documents back and sign them again."

"Of course, if you don't want to re-sign them, I can sign them myself!"

Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo felt extremely uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do in front of the top leader. He could only try to explain again, "Minister Zhao..."

"I said I don't want to hear any of your explanations. If you can carry this out, take the documents and re-sign them now. Be quick about it."

Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo felt very aggrieved, but having no other choice, he honestly took out his fountain pen. Without even taking the documents away, he signed and approved them right there, increasing the amount by about 20% over Jiangnan University's application.

As he signed the approval, he was so angry he almost spat blood, but with Minister Zhao watching from the side, he could only sign obediently, not even daring to show any dissatisfaction on his face.

A single rank difference can crush a person. The other man was the top leader; even with a hundred times more courage, Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo wouldn't dare challenge his authority.

Once he finished signing, Minister Zhao looked at the documents with satisfaction. "Hmm, good. This is more like it. Jiangnan University is a top-tier 985 university; we must vigorously support its development and construction. We absolutely cannot create bottlenecks for them, do you understand?"

"I understand. I will be mindful of it in the future," Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo replied obediently.

After returning to his office and closing the door, Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo could no longer endure it, and his face darkened completely.

Unable to contain his anger, he grabbed the water cup on his desk and slammed it onto the floor, shattering it into pieces.

It took a long while for the fire in his heart to subside slightly, but then his phone rang. He saw it was a call from his son-in-law.

After picking up the phone, he spoke in a harsh tone, asking deeply, "What is it?"

His son-in-law wasn't in a good mood either and said loudly, "Dad, General Manager Meng Qingqiu was caught red-handed by the police messing around with a Japan in a hotel. Now the police have notified me to go pay the fine and bail her out..."

His wife had cheated and he had been cuckolded; Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo's son-in-law was filled with grief and indignation. After briefly explaining the situation, he said firmly, "I'm not going to do something as humiliating as bailing her out anyway. Besides, I want a divorce from General Manager Meng Qingqiu, and she's leaving with nothing."

After hanging up the phone, Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo felt completely unwell.

...

Jiangnan University.

Police Chief Yan Jiandong was reporting his work to Qin Chuan.

"Secretary, we have already notified General Manager Meng Qingqiu's husband to come pay the fine and bail her out, but he explicitly stated he wouldn't come and that we should handle it however we see fit."

Qin Chuan smiled.

Notifying General Manager Meng Qingqiu's husband hadn't been his idea, but Police Chief Yan Jiandong's actions were exactly what he had hoped for.

Since she was rolling in the sheets with a Japan and her husband found out, he could just sit back and watch the show.

Qin Chuan said, "Since her husband isn't coming, we'll release General Manager Meng Qingqiu once the 24-hour period is up."

His goal had been achieved, and General Manager Meng Qingqiu was already driven mad; there was no need to keep her locked up. Besides, the law didn't allow it; she wasn't involved in prostitution, just marital infidelity.

After chatting for a while and watching Police Chief Yan Jiandong leave, Qin Chuan's phone rang shortly after. It was a call from Minister Zhao himself.

"Comrade Qin Chuan, we have approved Jiangnan University's national funding application and its annual budget declaration..."

Over the phone, Minister Zhao happily explained the situation and accurately provided the specific figures for each item.

After hearing this, Qin Chuan was delighted. This was about 20% higher than what Jiangnan University had applied for, which should rank it around fifth among all 985 universities.

"Minister Zhao, thank you. Next time I return to the capital, let's have a few drinks together."

"That's a must! We definitely have to have a few drinks!"

After chatting for a few minutes and hanging up, Qin Chuan felt relieved. The matter was settled, and perfectly at that. This would be the largest national funding and the highest annual budget in Jiangnan University's history.

This meant that Jiangnan University would have ample financial resources to go all out and work aggressively.

At this time, President Wang should be in his office. I'll go tell him the good news so he can be happy too.

So, Qin Chuan went out and headed to President Wang Shuguo's office.

At this moment, President Wang Shuguo was indeed in his office. He had just returned from the laboratory and finished a phone call with President Zhang of Handong University.

President Zhang had called specifically to boast that Handong University's national funding application and annual budget application had both been approved.

The national funding was 10.87 billion yuan, up from 9.46 billion last year—an increase of over a billion—and the annual budget had also grown significantly, with 24.62 billion approved.

Last year, Handong University ranked behind Jiangnan University in both national funding and annual budget, which had made President Zhang very dissatisfied.

He felt that the strength of the two universities was similar. It was one thing for Handong University's domestic ranking to be behind Jiangnan University for several consecutive years, but having less national funding for several years was truly frustrating.

Now, he could finally hold his head high. He had heard that Vice Minister Meng Zhengguo had severely slashed Jiangnan University's national funding and annual budget this time.

When they hung up, President Zhang was still laughing happily, which made President Wang Shuguo very unhappy. Even after putting down the phone, he was still thinking about it.

That old Zhang is a typical case of someone who becomes insufferable the moment they succeed. I wonder how Comrade Qin Chuan's communication with the Ministry is going and exactly how much money Jiangnan University will be granted. Sigh...

While he was preoccupied and sighing, there was a knock at the door.