182: Chapter 181 Short of Money

The next day, Cao Xiao woke up a bit late. While he was practicing his boxing, he received a call from Commissioner Zhang. Surprisingly, Commissioner Zhang's tone was very gentle and he didn't blame him at all; he only asked him to come to the Municipal Government immediately, as if the events of the day before yesterday had never happened. The more it was like this, the more guilty Cao Xiao felt. He had disappeared right after causing trouble, leaving the mess for Commissioner Zhang to deal with, which was quite unfair. Feeling that this was the calm before the storm and that Commissioner Zhang must have noted it down in his little black book, and that something very unpleasant must be waiting for him at the Municipal Government, he hesitated for a while. However, since he would have to face the music sooner or later, he gritted his teeth and decided to go.

Cao Xiao changed into a Major Cao military uniform and boarded the helicopter piloted by Zhang Qiling. Now, he no longer took cars when going out, as helicopters were more convenient and faster. However, now that the bombing case was closed, this police helicopter had to be returned to the Municipal Bureau. Even if it weren't returned, this small aircraft wasn't suitable for his use. The cabin had only two seats; besides the pilot, it could only seat one more person, which was completely insufficient. It wasn't that he was being ostentatious; before he had obtained the Supervision Office files, he wouldn't have cared, but now he felt unsafe going out without a few bodyguards. Currently, aside from using the functions of the Super Industrial Mother Machine, he had no self-defense capabilities. Setting aside those mystical things, if he were to encounter a master like that scruffy old man from yesterday, he would only be able to wait for death, because others' movements were too fast. In a moment of surprise, he might not even have the reaction time to issue commands to the industrial mother machine. Therefore, purchasing helicopters and procuring weapons and equipment for the Supervision Office had to be put on the agenda. It would be best if he could buy off-the-shelf stock; otherwise, for equipment like helicopters, waiting half a year to a year from order to delivery would be considered short, not to mention he wasn't buying just one, but was making a bulk purchase—he needed to buy at least five helicopters alone.

As he was thinking, they arrived at the Municipal Government. Today, in his Major Cao military uniform, he could pass through without hindrance. After entering the office building, he didn't ask for a guide and walked straight toward Commissioner Zhang's location.

Knock, knock, knock~

Arriving at a conference room door, he ignored the several people in suits standing by the entrance and knocked directly on the door.

"Hey~ stop! Who are you! Don't you know the leaders are in a meeting and cannot be disturbed? Who told you to knock!"

Cao Xiao was waiting for a response from inside when an angry, hushed voice suddenly sounded in his ear. Turning his head, he saw one of the refined middle-aged men who had been standing by the door reaching out to pull him. Cao Xiao frowned slightly and took a step back, dodging the man's hand. Just as he was about to explain, another voice came from the side.

"Which unit are you from? You have no sense of rules! Is a conference room somewhere you can just barge into? Leave immediately! Go back and write a self-criticism to be submitted to the Provincial Committee Office!"

Cao Xiao glanced at the man, a look of disgust appearing on his face. He could tell that these people waiting outside were the leaders' secretaries. He was already feeling a bit guilty about seeing Commissioner Zhang today, so he didn't want to cause trouble and couldn't be bothered to deal with these posturing people. Thus, he took a step forward and knocked on the door even harder.

"Stop!"

"Everyone, help pull this man away! I'll explain to the leaders. I don't know where this greenhorn came from!"

The sudden shout in his ear startled Cao Xiao. Seeing several hands reaching for him, anger flared in his heart. He reached out to push the hands away and threw out two kicks, sending the two men in front of him sprawling to the ground.

"Guards! Call the guards! There's an intruder!"

Just then, the conference room door opened. With such a commotion outside, the meeting inside could no longer continue.

Seeing Commissioner Zhang appear, Cao Xiao knew things were going south. He flattened his hands into palm-strikes, quickly chopping towards the necks of the two shouting men, intending to knock them out so they wouldn't have a chance to twist the facts. However, things didn't go as planned. He had seen bodyguards do it and thought it looked easy, but his own attempt only caused the two men to let out two miserable screams without any sign of fainting. For a moment, it was quite embarrassing. Just as he was about to strike again with increased force out of shame and anger, a shout like a thunderclap erupted in his ear.

Seeing that Cao Xiao dared to blatantly injure people right in front of him, Commissioner Zhang's face turned ashen. He glared and roared through gritted teeth, "Cao~ Xiao! Stop it right now!"

"Everyone, take care of your own people. Those who dare to reach out to me won't have a good end!" Cao Xiao slowly withdrew his hands. He didn't greet Commissioner Zhang and ignored the angry glares from the people coming out of the conference room, taking the initiative to speak first.

"Cao Xiao, what are you saying! These gentlemen are all provincial commissioners; this is simply outrageous!" Before the others could speak, Commissioner Zhang could not suppress his anger, feeling that Cao Xiao was being far too arrogant and overbearing.

"Commissioner Zhang, you were the one who called me here today. Is there something wrong with knocking before entering? I don't understand what 'rules' are, and these people are not qualified to lecture me. The word 'rules' is not in my dictionary, nor do I like wasting words. As long as I believe I am right, no one can stop me. Anyone who dares to reach out to me must be prepared to get punched; I won't give anyone face! I let it slide the first time, but the second time... Heh!" Cao Xiao stared straight at Commissioner Zhang without fear, then looked at the people behind him with a cold smile.

"Jinyu, what exactly happened just now? Why didn't you stop it while you were here?" Commissioner Zhang's brow furrowed upon hearing this. He had some understanding of Cao Xiao; although Cao Xiao had a stubborn temper, he wouldn't stir up trouble without reason. Now that things had reached the point of physical violence, it suggested it wasn't just a verbal dispute—those people must have made a move too. He then asked his niece and secretary, who was hiding to the side watching the show, with displeasure.

"Leader, this Major Cao started knocking as soon as he arrived. Secretary Yu and Secretary Chen tried to pull him back. I couldn't understand what they were saying, and it wasn't my place to speak," Wang Jinyu said to Commissioner Zhang with an innocent expression.

How could Commissioner Zhang not grasp the hidden meaning in his niece's words? He cast a disgusted glance at Secretary Yu and Secretary Chen, and regardless of what his colleagues behind him thought, he spoke with indisputable authority, "Hmph! This matter ends here. Cao Xiao, follow me in."

Cao Xiao hadn't noticed earlier, but only now did he see Wang Jinyu and nodded to her in thanks. He gave Secretary Yu and Secretary Chen a disdainful look, then followed closely behind Commissioner Zhang, entering the conference room ahead of the others.

"Let me introduce you. This is Chairman Hu of the Provincial Committee, and these are Commissioner Ouyang, Commissioner Wang, and Commissioner Li. You know all the other municipal committee members, so I don't need to introduce them."

There were more than ten people sitting in the conference room, including Chen Huaiyu and other municipal committee members. Cao Xiao didn't recognize any of the four provincial commissioners, but the two earlier must have been secretaries for two of them. By beating up their secretaries today—one of whom was likely Chairman Hu's secretary—it was equivalent to not giving them face, thus forming a grudge with all four provincial commissioners. Cao Xiao didn't care about this. It was said that Chairman Hu was about to retire to the second line, and Commissioner Zhang would likely take over as the provincial chairman. Furthermore, he had a military background, and the Supervision Department had a clear, ironclad rule strictly forbidding interference in local affairs; in other words, the local government could not interfere with him either. Any matters related to his work or private life were protected by the Supervision Department, and no one could use administrative power to retaliate against him. Once verified, without Cao Xiao even lifting a finger, the other party would suffer great misfortune in the shortest time possible. Thus, he simply nodded calmly and sat at the other end of the conference table, directly facing Chairman Hu, who sat at the head.

"Ahem, now that everyone is here, let's get to the main topic!" Chairman Hu glanced indifferently at Cao Xiao before speaking. "Today, we will mainly discuss two matters. First, the handling of Comrade Cao Xiao's donation to support our province's development and construction; second, I have been entrusted by the Central Authorities to report on the Operation Sky Net launched by the Huanghe police the day before yesterday..."

"Wait!" As soon as Chairman Hu started speaking, Cao Xiao felt something was off. Although Huanghe was the provincial capital, his donation seemed to have nothing to do with the Provincial Committee! He had only been so direct because of Chen Huaiyu and Commissioner Zhang, donating nearly one billion us dollar all at once. Now, hearing Chairman Hu's words, it sounded as if the money was being donated to the province. Seeing the unnatural expressions on the faces of Commissioner Zhang and the other municipal commissioners, he understood. But he didn't care who it was; when did his own money ever fall under the control of a total stranger?

Cao Xiao stood up, his eyes burning as he stared at the provincial commissioners, and said forcefully, "Let me declare one point first: that money was specifically donated to the Municipal Committee for environmental governance and the improvement of people's livelihoods in Huanghe. That capital is still in my account, and I don't need others to worry about my money! Other matters have nothing to do with me, so I'll take my leave. You can discuss them slowly."

After speaking, Cao Xiao turned and walked out. The municipal commissioners watched his retreating back in silence, none of them speaking. Chen Huaiyu looked a bit worried but also hesitated to speak. Unsurprisingly, the faces of those few were extremely ugly; Cao Xiao's words were too direct, leaving them no face at all.

"Hold on! That money is illegal gain and should be confiscated according to regulations; it does not belong to you. As a public official participating in illegal activities, you're lucky not to have been disciplined. Now, please hand it over immediately, or you will face the full severity of the law!"

The one who spoke was not Chairman Hu, but Commissioner Li. Although they had never met, Cao Xiao had researched the current Provincial Committee members; this Commissioner Li was in charge of judicial work, which explained his tone.

Cao Xiao paused and looked back at Commissioner Li and the others with a mocking smile. "Heh! Are you, or rather all of you, sure you want to do this?"

"Commissioner Li, you've overstepped!" Commissioner Zhang said, looking at Commissioner Li with a half-smile.

Seeing the strange smile on Cao Xiao's face, Chairman Hu's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't forgotten Cao Xiao's identity in the Supervision Department. As long as you didn't provoke people from the Supervision Department, all was well; but if you truly offended them, they would show you what true solidarity and lawlessness looked like. If they did something wrong, the Supervision Department had its own disciplinary measures. Commissioner Li's extortion-like approach was just looking for trouble, and there were precedents for such things. It wasn't worth gambling one's future for a bit of political achievement. Thus, he quickly spoke up, "Commissioner Li, sit down. Let him go!"

Commissioner Li was still a bit confused, but the indisputable tone in Chairman Hu's voice forced him to give up. After sitting down sullenly, he cast a questioning gaze at Chairman Hu.

Seeing this, Cao Xiao said no more and turned to walk out. The matter here was over. Now that he had his identity in the Supervision Department, the gambling matter could no longer cause him any trouble. It wasn't that he could do whatever he wanted by relying on his status, but rather that the Supervision Department's management of its members was quite loose. As long as one didn't commit evil or atrocious acts and didn't violate the department's disciplinary rules, something like gambling wouldn't result in punishment. It was a mutual agreement between two parties that didn't harm others, so at most, it would be a verbal warning. Furthermore, local law enforcement agencies had no right to arrest, detain, or try members of the Supervision Department; if necessary, members could carry out self-defense, and they wouldn't bear any responsibility afterward. That was why he ignored Commissioner Li's threat.

Coming to the Municipal Government today had brought nothing but trouble and had even offended several provincial commissioners, but it wasn't without gain. At least he had saved a large sum of money; that money no longer needed to be donated to the Municipal Government. After what happened, if he were to donate it, it would make things difficult for Commissioner Zhang and the others.

However, over the past two days, he had created a future development plan for his company. There were far too many places that required large expenditures; even ten billion us dollar might be far from enough. Currently, he only had two billion, and even adding the payment for the gold, it would only be around ten billion us dollar, which might only be enough for start-up capital.

A conservative budget for the construction of Tianxing Garden was about three billion us dollar. Even though he could provide most of the building materials, the real cost wasn't in construction or materials, but in procuring landscape plants. This was a decision he made after looking at some classical garden designs online and asking Hao Linger to find a domestic garden design master to re-plan it, which led to this budget. Originally, he thought those flowers and trees wouldn't cost much, but after checking the unit prices of some common landscape plants online, he realized that for the ten-thousand-plus acres of Tianxing Garden, a budget of three billion us dollar wasn't much if he wanted to achieve his requirement of 'a new view every ten steps.'

He secretly held a portion of the shares in that super oil field in South Africa, but it wasn't free; it required a large investment. The supporting facilities for a super oil field required huge investments, and he would need to put in at least two billion us dollar. There was also his own large copper mine, for which one billion us dollar might not even be enough.

In his future plans, his industries would form a complete and independent industrial system, ranging from basic mineral development to high-tech product manufacturing, turning his company into a massive technological empire trust. Building new factories or enterprises from scratch was too time-consuming and labor-intensive, so acquiring established companies for industrial layout was the best choice. Of course, this could only be done step by step, starting with the mining industry—first acquiring companies with mature mineral development technology, or directly acquiring comprehensive international companies with complete industrial chains. But regardless, his current funds were far from enough; the gap was not just a little bit.