Chapter 139 - 119: Picking Them Off One by One

"Do you think you’re worthy?" Xu Chunliang raised his hand, scaring Zhang Haitao into retreating quickly, his back bumping into the car again. He was completely at a loss, like a headless fly.Xu Chunliang said, "Just the rental for those storefronts outside the hospital, how much has there been over the years? Do you really think we don’t know? It’s not that Zhang Haibin couldn’t collect it; he didn’t want to. Privately, he’s taken quite a bit of advantage."

Zhang Haitao gasped. How did he know?

"Take Xu Daping’s hardware store, for example. Haven’t they given gifts to Zhang Haibin over the years?"

Zhang Haitao shook his head vigorously like a rattle: "Don’t ask me, I don’t know anything."

The more someone says they don’t know anything, the more it proves they definitely know something.

Xu Chunliang sighed and said, "What should I say about you, being sold and yet helping others count the money. From the first time I saw you, I knew you were honest. Zhang Haibin exploited this, making you drink when you’re told to drink, and lead trouble when you’re told to lead trouble. Do you have any brains? If something goes wrong, will he take responsibility for you? Just like today, you’ve already been blacklisted, and if it happens again, you might be charged with assaulting a state institution."

Zhang Haitao was completely taken aback by Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang said, "I don’t like violence. I hit you to make you learn a lesson. At your age, don’t you know how to take sides? Even if you don’t know how, you should at least know to protect yourself. Don’t be complicit with Zhang Haibin; be careful of getting dragged down by him. Xu Daqing is your role model."

Zhang Haitao swallowed. He really suspected Zhang Haibin might have gotten into trouble.

Xu Chunliang said, "You didn’t embezzle with them, did you?"

Zhang Haitao quickly shook his head. He wanted to, but he didn’t have the chance.

Xu Chunliang said, "That’s good. Remember this, hurry up and distance yourself from him, or you’ll be arrested as an accomplice."

Zhang Haitao shuddered in fear, watching Xu Chunliang leave. He touched his face where he’d been slapped; it still hurt. His hand was really heavy. Luckily, no one else saw.

Just then, Zhang Haibin called him to drive. Zhang Haitao recalled what Xu Chunliang had just said and told him the car had an issue and was being checked.

In fact, Zhang Haibin was just going to the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office in town. The distance was so close, there was no need to drive, but he was a man who paid attention to appearances.

The Law Enforcement Office contacted Zhang Haibin because someone reported their illegal construction, and Town Mayor Mei personally got involved, asking them to handle it immediately.

Having been on Weishan Island for so many years, Zhang Haibin had many connections locally. They gave him a friendly heads-up, hinting he should prepare early.

The storefronts at the Weishan Island Hospital were built when Zhang Haibin was in charge. Back then, there were no formal procedures, and they were all considered illegal structures.

According to town policy, such buildings are subject to demolition. All this time, if the public didn’t bring it up, the officials wouldn’t pursue it. These storefronts have been in this state for four years.

Before Changxing took over, the tenants still paid rent periodically. But after Changxing’s takeover, they collectively stopped paying rent. Zhang Haibin didn’t question it, and the Changxing management couldn’t resolve it.

Now that Town Mayor Mei Ru Xue personally is looking into the matter and has ordered the Law Enforcement Office to investigate, once confirmed, a demolition notice will be issued immediately.

The head of the Law Enforcement Office had a decent relationship with Zhang Haibin, so they summoned him in advance to give him a heads-up.

It’s not that they were unsympathetic, but rather that they couldn’t disobey orders from above, suggesting he should find a solution quickly, hinting that he should contact Town Mayor Mei. As long as Town Mayor Mei turns a blind eye, the matter will go away.

Zhang Haibin wasn’t familiar with Mei Ru Xue. First, she was new to the position, and second, he tried to invite her to dinner through others, but she never gave him a chance.

After much thought, Zhang Haibin decided that Mei Ru Xue probably wouldn’t show him any favor. He could only resort to indirect tactics and contacted Secretary Kong Xiangsheng.

Xu Chunliang’s health and eldercare plan for Changxing impressed Mei Ru Xue, especially since she was designing a program to transform Weishan Island into a green and healthy island, highlighting the health concept for sustainable development, which required a clear theme.

Kong Xiangsheng’s call wasn’t to show concern about the medical staff defending their rights, but to ask about the investigation Mei Ru Xue ordered on the illegal construction at Weishan Island Hospital.

Mei Ru Xue immediately knew it was the Law Enforcement Office that let the information slip. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have reached Kong Xiangsheng so quickly. Mei Ru Xue stated that with citizen complaints, the government couldn’t turn a blind eye.

Kong Xiangsheng said their current priority was to cooperate with the city on recruitment, and other less important matters could wait, implying she shouldn’t waste her efforts on this.

Of course, Mei Ru Xue understood his meaning and assured him she knew what she was doing.

After hanging up, Mei Ru Xue was annoyed. She could guess the intricacies without investigation.

The Law Enforcement Office staff likely leaked the news to the hospital, prompting some people to immediately contact Kong Xiangsheng, attempting to use his influence to divert her attention from the case.

Initially, Mei Ru Xue considered the hospital’s illegal construction issue a minor matter. If it weren’t for Xu Chunliang’s report, she wouldn’t have paid much attention. But now it’s different. A single illegal construction case attracted Kong Xiangsheng’s personal attention, so Mei Ru Xue decided to dig deeper into the situation.

That afternoon, the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office issued shutdown and demolition notices to the storefronts next to the hospital, ordering them to cease operations immediately and complete demolition within a week.

If they exceeded the deadline, the Law Enforcement Office would arrange for professionals to legally demolish them. The notice was more symbolic; since its establishment, Hu Shan Town’s Law Enforcement Office had no record of forced demolitions.

The tenants renting these storefronts were panicked upon receiving the demolition notice. They united to find Zhang Haibin, as their lease agreements were signed during his term.

Zhang Haibin initially thought Secretary Kong’s involvement would swiftly resolve the issue, but not only was it unresolved, it escalated, with the new Town Mayor Mei seemingly disregarding Secretary Kong.

All the tenants gathered in Zhang Haibin’s office, holding the original agreements signed just before Changxing took over the hospital, with a term of ten years.

The rent was cheap, with the highest annual rent not exceeding 20,000 yuan. Even so, they unanimously chose to accumulate unpaid rent. Over three years, it added up to quite an amount.

Xu Daping’s voice was the loudest: "Dean Zhang, we signed a ten-year lease with the hospital, and it’s only been three years. How can it just be demolished? What about our losses?"

Zhang Haibin’s head ached from their shouting, impatiently saying, "The notice was issued by the Law Enforcement Office, and the hospital is currently coordinating. Can you go back for now?"

"We’ve already been notified to cease operations. What about our losses?"

Internally cursing, Zhang Haibin thought: each one of you is an ingrate. You haven’t paid a cent in rent over these three years, taking advantage of so much, and now you have the nerve to talk about losses?

But he didn’t dare to speak too harshly, after all, he had tacitly allowed them not to pay rent, and he too had benefited over the years.

Not to mention eating for free in nearby restaurants, just that hardware store of Xu Daping’s, he had gotten supplies for his parents’ house construction without spending a dime.

"When you eat someone’s food, your mouth is soft; when you take someone’s hand, it’s short." Zhang Haibin had no choice but to patiently persuade them. Seeing their agitated state, he felt inexplicably anxious. They were like this just after receiving the notice – he couldn’t imagine what they’d become if their storefronts were forcibly demolished.

In these people’s eyes, there is no sentiment, only interests. Once their interests are violated, they’ll tear off the façade and potentially turn against him.

Such a big commotion wouldn’t go unnoticed. Almost simultaneously, next to the Law Enforcement Office’s notice, there was a new one from Weishan Island Hospital. It notified all tenants to go to the dean’s office with their original lease agreements for unified registration, supposedly to facilitate uniform property management.

Zhang Haibin refused to provide the lease agreements, but Xu Chunliang had his ways to make these tenants willingly come forward.

With the original lease agreements in hand, they knew the specific amount each tenant owed in rent. After preliminary calculations by the accounting department, they found these tenants owed a total of 470,000 yuan. Though it seemed substantial, when distributed to each tenant, the most anyone owed was less than 70,000 yuan.

Even for such a small amount, these tenants refused to pay. Xu Chunliang instructed Jin Yonghao to issue a notice in the hospital’s name, stating that if all arrears were paid by the next afternoon, the hospital would coordinate with the town to ensure continued operations. Otherwise, they’d bear the consequences.