14: Chapter 14 Fierce Confrontation

At 2:30 PM, a Standing Committee meeting was held in the conference room of the Municipal Party Committee's Standing Committee.

Aside from the Standing Committee member and Commander of the Military Sub-district who was on leave, the other ten members were present. The commander frequently took leave, and even when he was there, he basically never offered an opinion.

After the meeting deliberated on several important matters, it approved the division of labor for Zhang Huaijing. He would primarily assist the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee in party building and handling daily party affairs, oversee organization and mass organizations, and serve as the liaison for major projects of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.

Before the meeting, Secretary Man Chaojian and Zhang Huaijing had communicated about "liaising for major projects of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government." No specific project was mentioned, but Huaijing knew very well that it was likely about the construction of the cross-river bridge project.

In the past, Secretary Man Chaojian had always charged ahead alone; now that the full-time Deputy Secretary was in place, he could finally let someone else lead the charge.

Zhang Huaijing wanted to get things done and believed the new plan was more reasonable and forward-looking. As for whether there were any conflicts of interest involved, he would deal with that when the time came.

Once all the items in the meeting materials had been discussed, it was time for the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee to give his concluding remarks.

Secretary Man Chaojian leisurely took two sips of tea, set down his thermos, and pressed the button on his desk microphone: "There is one more item on the agenda for everyone to discuss."

Secretary-General Fang Yuan immediately shot a look at Lin Zhijin, the Deputy Secretary-General attending the meeting. The latter hurried to open the door, and several officials in white shirts walked in. They were the same people who had visited the cross-river bridge site that morning; aside from Xie Jiancheng, who was a bureau head, the other three were deputy heads.

Niu Panlong was clearly caught off guard, but he instantly understood Secretary Man Chaojian's intention: he wanted to launch a surprise attack, not even distributing meeting materials beforehand.

In truth, there was no need to distribute them; everyone was already aware of the situation.

The Mayor was not flustered; a slight smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth because he was confident. Even if the majority of the Standing Committee agreed to the new plan this time, there were far too many ways to prevent it from being implemented.

Seeing that the officials were seated in their attending positions, Secretary Man Chaojian continued, "Comrades, the matter of the Chaojiang Bridge has been discussed several times. We haven't brought it up recently due to other business, but today, we are bringing it out again to study it thoroughly, discuss it fully, and speak freely. However, before the discussion, I want to inform everyone of a situation."

At this point, his somewhat cloudy eyes swept toward the seating for non-voting attendees. "This morning, Huaijing, Secretary-General Fang Yuan, and I went to the site for an investigation. We invited the heads of the Transportation Bureau, Finance Bureau, Development and Reform Bureau, and Construction Bureau to attend. Secretary-General Fang Yuan personally called to contact them, but as it turned out, three of the bureau heads refused to show up. Only Director Xie from the Transportation Bureau went."

"So, I had their deputies participate in the investigation. Afterward, I had the General Office investigate, and those three bureau heads who didn't go all lied. They intentionally skipped it, treating the orders of two secretaries and one standing committee member as wind passing by their ears. What do you call this? This is a lack of discipline! This is a failure to follow rules and a lack of political awareness!"

Niu Panlong's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. Why didn't I know about this? What's wrong with those three? They're so fucking stupid! Would it kill you to just show up and go through the motions? Secretary Man Chaojian is the Party Secretary, after all, and this was Zhang Huaijing's first investigation since taking office. You idiots, you're so muddled!

"So, for this afternoon's discussion, I didn't invite those 'great deities' to attend. I can't afford to invite them, and I can't move them. If they made up another excuse not to come, I, as the Municipal Party Secretary, would lose face entirely!"

Secretary Man Chaojian's voice wasn't loud, his tone was a bit strange, and his expression was gloomy. "To get back to the point. Director Xie, you report first. Speak about both the new and old plans. Keep it brief, as everyone basically knows the situation."

Xie Jiancheng introduced both the new and old plans by comparison, remaining neutral and offering no praise or criticism.

Secretary Man Chaojian said, "Let's keep this meeting short and not waste words. Everyone, please share your opinions."

The meeting had already been going on for two hours, yet he still called it a "short meeting."

Everyone in the room had their own hidden agendas; some kept their heads down in silence, some were doodling in their notebooks, some were whispering to each other, some were staring up at the ceiling, and some were just zoning out.

No one spoke.

"Today is not a vote, and no resolution will be formed. I just want to hear everyone's thoughts on the new plan. Those in favor, those who support it, and those against it—speak up, be open, and be realistic." After Secretary Man Chaojian finished speaking, he looked around, his gaze landing on Zhang Huaijing to his right. "Huaijing, you followed me to the site this morning and learned about the situation. You speak first."

He wanted Zhang Huaijing to express support and set the tone, showing everyone that he had gained another heavyweight supporter.

Zhang Huaijing was about to speak when, unexpectedly, Mayor Niu Panlong spoke up first: "I'm the Mayor, let me go first."

He paused, and seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, he continued, "I will let the data speak.

First, among all prefecture-level and sub-provincial cities in Haixi Province, Haizhou City ranks third from the bottom in congestion index and fourth from the bottom in car ownership. Haizhou is not congested; building a four-lane bridge is fully capable of meeting current and future needs.

Second, last year, Haizhou's GDP was only 37.3 billion yuan. The local general budget revenue was 1.98 billion yuan, while expenditures were 3.028 billion yuan, meaning a fiscal gap of over 1 billion yuan. Where did this money come from? It all came from provincial transfer payments and special subsidies. Without provincial support, our Haizhou Municipal Government would have to declare bankruptcy and shut down, just like the governments of the United States or Germany.

Third, those who don't manage the household don't know how expensive the basics are. Today is September 7th, and the third quarter is almost over. The current fiscal situation is that the budget has been overdrawn in advance; the money on the books is only enough for mandatory expenses—covering basics, operations, and salaries.

Fourth, civil servants in various prefecture-level cities received raises this year. Our city didn't give raises due to financial issues, but we must next year. Otherwise, where will work motivation come from? Where will team stability come from? Where will the dignity of public officials come from? That's a huge expense; the total budget will need to increase by 200 million. That amount of money is already a headache—where are we going to find another 40 million?"

The Mayor spoke with grim data, making everyone feel a chill down their spines. In such a fiscal state, starting a major project—wasn't that overestimating their abilities and wasting manpower and resources?

Crucially, this concerned the personal interests of everyone present; no one wanted a municipal project to affect their own salary.

Seeing the room grow increasingly silent, the Mayor's lips curled slightly, hiding his triumph. Raising his voice, he said, "According to preliminary estimates, if we follow the new plan, the added cost could reach 40 million. Where will this money come from? Will the province provide it? A 1:1 investment for the plan is already the maximum support. More importantly, this will cause the common people to point fingers at us and curse us for squandering taxpayers' money!"

Pausing for a moment, he tapped the table lightly for emphasis: "In short, I oppose the new plan and suggest we proceed with the old one."

After Niu Panlong finished, the room was pin-drop silent.

Secretary Man Chaojian's expression was somewhat unsightly. His lips moved, but he didn't speak. He picked up his thermos, took a sip of tea, looked up, and scanned the room. Just as he was about to speak, Secretary She Xionghan of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission suddenly said loudly, "I support Mayor Niu's view. Given our city's current financial situation, we should tighten our belts and live within our means, rather than spending extravagantly. We certainly shouldn't be building 'vanity projects' or 'image projects'!"

She Xionghan was forceful and overbearing, directly opening fire on the Municipal Party Secretary in the meeting.

Niu Panlong couldn't help but frown slightly upon hearing this, thinking to himself, It's fine for you to fucking support me, but can't you be a bit more low-key? Secretary Man Chaojian is the top leader of the Party committee, after all; you have to follow some political etiquette.

At this moment, Xiang Zhicheng, the Standing Committee member and Vice Mayor, spoke up loudly, following up, "Indeed, with such a large increase in the budget for the new plan, who knows how many business owners will flock to it like ducks to water? Let's not have a situation where the bridge is built, but a group of officials falls."

These words made Secretary Man Chaojian's expression even more awkward.

Xiang Zhicheng was implying that his relentless effort to increase the budget by 40 million might be to pave the way for business owners and pocket some money in the process.

Secretary Man Chaojian could no longer sit still.