262: Chapter 262 Catastrophe

Tires rolled over the concrete surface of the provincial road, emitting a monotonous road noise.

Today is the weekend after the New Year's holiday.

During these few days of the holiday, the Party and Government Office courtyard of Heishi Town did not rest for even half a day.

The rush repair project for the collapsed section of South Street is stuck at the critical stage of foundation pouring.

In order to remove the "acting" title before his position as Acting Secretary, Town Mayor Luo Xingbang wears a hard hat and squats at the construction site all day to supervise, even having the cafeteria send his boxed lunch over.

Zhu Wenhao also did not leave the town.

He stayed behind because the entry of materials and the allocation of project funds must be supervised by someone.

The rules he set, that the capital flow of the tripartite supervision account cannot be disrupted by the holidays.

The common people watch the road being repaired, and merchants count on opening for business soon.

At this critical juncture, the chief official must not be absent.

Near the weekend, the mobile phone on the desk rang.

The caller was Li Juan.

Li Juan said over the phone that Secretary Zhu Tianhe called him to return to the Linjiang City old family home for a meal.

She specifically instructed him to bring Su Qinghan along as well, to have a reunion dinner to start the new year.

Zhu Wenhao agreed.

Early in the morning, Zhu Wenhao left the cadre dormitory building.

He walked toward the car parked in the courtyard.

Just as he pulled open the car door, Director Xu Jie called out to him from behind.

"Zhu Wenhao, can I hitch a ride to Linjiang?"

Zhu Wenhao stopped his movements.

Yesterday, he had instructed that he would be away from Heishi Town for two days and required her to stay at the Party and Government Office to coordinate daily scheduling; she had indicated she could handle it.

Suddenly proposing to go to Linjiang this morning, there must be a reason.

Zhu Wenhao didn't ask.

Everyone has their own private itinerary.

"Get in."

Director Xu Jie sat in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt.

The vehicle started and drove out the gate.

Along the way, the two didn't speak.

As for work matters, they had already discussed and concluded them in the office, so there were no urgent topics to discuss right now.

Today, Director Xu Jie tilted her head to look out the window, her usually cold eyes hiding some concerns.

Zhu Wenhao kept his hands on the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road conditions ahead.

In his mind, he was repeatedly rehearsing how to discuss the current situation in Linjiang City with his father, Secretary Zhu Tianhe.

The case of Political Commissar Wang Haitao has currently reached a deadlock.

Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao of the Second Inspection Group of the Provincial Anti-Gang Office originally wanted to use the velvet bag of gold bars found in Political Commissar Wang Haitao's home to directly pin down the crime of accepting bribes and shielding criminals.

But Police Chief Li Jianguo of the Municipal Public Security Bureau did not sit still and wait for death.

Police Chief Li Jianguo deployed technical police officers to conduct a second meticulous examination of the crime scene and physical evidence.

The inspection report showed that on the velvet bag containing the gold bars, in addition to the owner's fingerprints and Political Commissar Wang Haitao's own fingerprints, the technical section also extracted a partial, incomplete fingerprint of a third person.

The lock core of Political Commissar Wang Haitao's home door had traces of being pried by physical tools.

On the floor mat at the entrance, there were shoe prints that did not belong to the Wang family.

These pieces of evidence were taken by Secretary Li Li of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection to the Discipline Inspection Commission Standing Committee for discussion.

The meeting finally reached a conclusion: the crime scene had been sabotaged, and the possibility of a third party sneaking in to frame him could not be ruled out.

This conclusion not only formed a consensus within the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection but was also fed back to the Jiangnan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection in the form of a written report.

Secretary Guo, the Executive Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, made comments on the report, expressing support and requiring that case handling must attach importance to evidence and investigation.

With this, Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao's wishful thinking fell through.

Mayor Su Changming had originally planned to take this opportunity to propose replacing the Political Commissar of the Municipal Public Security Bureau at the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee meeting and push his own people to the position.

At the meeting table, Secretary Zhu Tianhe spoke up directly to refute it.

This Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee brought up the verification progress of the provincial and municipal Commissions for Discipline Inspection, requiring the Organization Department not to discuss the candidate for the Political Commissar of the Public Security Bureau in any form without a clear demonstration report.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe forcefully pushed back Mayor Su Changming's proposal.

Zhu Wenhao knew clearly in his heart that his father had indeed changed after the trip to Jingjiang.

This man began to frequently voice his opinions in the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee using his duties as Deputy Secretary, protecting the scope under his jurisdiction with a tough style.

As for Secretary Lin Weimin of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee, he remained in a wait-and-see mode regarding the political struggle between the second-in-command and the third-in-command.

He held the role of a referee; as long as the political situation in Linjiang City remained generally stable, he would not easily step in to favor either side.

The struggle among the high-level officials in Linjiang City evolved more directly below.

To counter Mayor Su Changming, Zhu Wenhao called Secretary Li Li on behalf of Secretary Zhu Tianhe.

The two agreed on a countermeasure: to organize a special inspection by the Discipline Inspection Commission.

The focus of the inspection would be on key departments such as the Municipal Finance Bureau, the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, and the Municipal Government Office.

These were all under the jurisdiction of Mayor Su Changming.

In this plan, Zhu Wenhao proposed that Su Qinghan participate in the inspection of the Municipal Finance Bureau.

She came out of the finance system and understood the fund approval processes and accounting avoidance methods there better than anyone else.

With her investigating, the old and bad accounts of the Municipal Finance Bureau would be exposed one by one.

This proposal had already been decided within the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and would be put to a vote at the standing committee meeting next week.

With this setup, the leaders of various bureaus and commissions in Linjiang City would not have an easy time this Spring Festival.

The car drove steadily, passed through the toll station, and entered the urban area of Linjiang.

Director Xu Jie spoke up: "Drop me off at the intersection ahead."

Zhu Wenhao slowed down and turned on the right turn signal.

The vehicle pulled over and stopped.

Before leaving, Director Xu Jie sat in her seat and said: "Zhu Wenhao, remember our agreement. My mother came to Linjiang City today, and I might need you to show up to help me resolve some matters."

Zhu Wenhao turned his head to look at her.

"Your mother coming to Jiangnan, it wouldn't be to persuade you to get engaged to Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao, would it?"

"If that's the case, I might be able to help."

Zhu Wenhao reached out to open the storage box in front of the passenger seat and took out a thick kraft paper file bag.

He flicked his wrist and dropped the bag onto Director Xu Jie's lap.

Director Xu Jie untied the string on the bag and pulled out a stack of materials.

Inside were more than a dozen high-definition printed photos.

Photos of Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao and Mayor Su Changming's younger daughter, Su Xiaoxiao, shopping at the mall.

Photos of the two eating at a Western restaurant.

Photos of them walking side by side into the entrance of a five-star hotel.

Not only were there photos, but attached below were the consumption receipts from that hotel, clearly showing Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao's room opening information.

There were also intimate photos of the two registering at the front desk, and surveillance screenshots of them entering the guest room corridor together.

Putting all these things together, Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao's secret philandering was exposed clearly.

Director Xu Jie finished reading the materials and looked up at Zhu Wenhao.

"How did you get this?"

Zhu Wenhao rested both hands on the steering wheel.

"You've handled so many things for me; of course, I pay attention to your affairs. After all, we are allies."

Zhu Wenhao stated the facts.

"Don't forget, who does the Linjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau belong to?"

For Police Chief Li Jianguo to retrieve this information from the Public Security Bureau was just a matter of a few phone calls.

To deal with Deputy Team Leader Liu Hao, collecting evidence of the other party's private morality was part of the counterattack.

"If you need any bargaining chips, just ask. I will provide them," Zhu Wenhao added.

Director Xu Jie stuffed the photos back into the file bag and tied the string.

With such ironclad evidence in hand that could directly tear through the other party's disguise, the pressure from her family to urge marriage was easily resolved.

She didn't need to thank Zhu Wenhao. A bond of interest had long been formed between the two.

Director Xu Jie gave an "En," took the file bag, pushed open the car door, and got out.

Zhu Wenhao didn't think too much about it.

He shifted into D gear and stepped on the accelerator.

The car merged into the traffic ahead and headed straight for Su Qinghan's residence.

After picking her up, he would go to the old family home to have this reunion dinner.