309: Chapter 309 The Imperial Envoy Arrives

On the 15th day of the first lunar month, in the Deputy Secretary's office at the Qingjiang County Party Committee compound.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan leaned back in his leather swivel chair, leisurely holding a cigarette. The phone on his desk had a red light on, and the voice of Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping came through the receiver.

"The materials have been filed by the Case Management Office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection," Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping said crisply. "The anonymous letter lists suspicions of financial irregularities in the mining restructuring of Heishi Town. According to discipline inspection procedures, once a preliminary investigation is launched, the account books of Heishi Town must be sealed, and all cadres involved must be suspended from their duties to cooperate with the investigation."

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan slowly exhaled smoke toward the ceiling, a smile of certain victory curling the corners of his mouth.

"Thank you for your hard work, Deputy Secretary-General Fang." Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan stubbed out his cigarette. "As soon as the people from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection arrive, that mess in Heishi Town will have to shut down. Once the logistics park construction site stops, and the people's rice bowls are smashed, that trick Zhu Wenhao uses to buy people's hearts will collapse on its own. On the county side, I will arrange for people to fan the flames and make the public grievances real."

This time, the advantage was his!

On the other end of the line, Deputy Secretary-General Fang Jianping added: "The Mayor instructed to use strength against strength. Checking the accounts from the province is the first step. You must set a high tone at the county standing committee meeting and pin the label of destroying grassroots stability on Zhu Wenhao."

The call ended.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the window, the streets of Qingjiang County were bustling with traffic. He had been lying low for over half a month, had his underground bank cut off by Zhu Wenhao, and had the roots of Heishui Village pulled out. Today, he had finally waited for the decisive blow to turn the tables!

With this net cast, Zhu Wenhao, a deputy section-level township cadre, would not be able to fly away!

Hurried footsteps came from the corridor outside. The liaison didn't even knock on the door, pushing it open and barging in, clutching a fax with a red header, breathless.

"Secretary Qin!"

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan turned around: "Have you forgotten all the rules? Don't you know how to knock? What kind of notice has you panicking like this?"

"The Capital working group!" The liaison handed over the fax. "The working group sent by The Capital to investigate the Lei Zhen case has bypassed Jingjiang City and changed its route south. The first stop... Heishi Town, Qingjiang County!"

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan snatched the document.

Black and white, stamped with the seal of the Provincial Party Committee Office.

Capital Commission for Discipline Inspection, Team Leader Chen Heming.

Capital Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Deputy Secretary Zhou Rui.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's breathing quickened. He felt his head go "buzz," as if he had been struck in the face with a heavy hammer.

This wasn't how the script was written! What happened to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection? Why were they all trump cards?!

He stared fixedly at the notice. The working group heading south should have been listening to reports in the provincial capital, but instead, they had changed their route to insert themselves into the backwater of Heishi Town. This was completely against logic!

"Where is Secretary Lu?" Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's voice changed pitch.

"Secretary Lu has gone to prepare to welcome the working group."

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan threw the document onto the table, grabbed his overcoat from the rack, and strode out. He calculated rapidly in his mind: It must be the Liu Family exerting influence from above, wanting to use the Imperial Envoy's blade to make the case against Zhu Wenhao an ironclad one! Yes, it must be that!

Thinking of this, the panic in his heart turned into a hint of sinister anticipation.

...

Heishi Town Government compound.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang was pacing anxiously in his office, picking up and putting down his thermos cup. Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan sat on the sofa, pushing up his half-rimmed glasses, leisurely flipping through the financial reports.

"Why isn't Comrade Zhu Wenhao anxious?" Town Mayor Luo Xingbang rubbed his hands. "The Imperial Envoy is coming straight for our town. If they find even the slightest flaw, all our heads will be on the chopping block."

Inside the Deputy Secretary's office.

Zhu Wenhao sat upright behind the large desk, his fountain pen signing names on the spring plowing material allocation form. The nib glided across the paper, making a rustling sound.

Director Xu Jie pushed the door open and placed a list on the table.

"The working group's motorcade has exited the expressway. Secretary Lu of the County Party Committee tried to intercept them at the expressway exit but failed. Team Leader Chen Heming's secretary sent word: no welcome or send-off, no reports from the county, the motorcade will drive directly into the Heishi Town compound." Director Xu Jie's tone was clear.

"That's good." Zhu Wenhao closed his pen. "It saves us the empty pleasantries of welcoming and sending off. If they want to see the real stuff, we'll show them the real stuff."

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang walked in from outside, his face full of worry: "Comrade Zhu Wenhao, that whiteboard with the accounts outside, should we take it down first? The Imperial Envoy is coming down, and if they see us posting the government's account books on the side of the road, it doesn't conform to financial secrecy rules. What if they think it's chaotic behavior..."

"Leave it." Zhu Wenhao stood up and picked up the overcoat draped over the back of his chair. "Not only leave it, but also write the details of today's fertilizer and seed purchases on it in red ink."

He walked to the door and looked at Town Mayor Luo Xingbang.

"Town Mayor Luo, you've been a cadre for decades, haven't you figured it out yet? The people checking the accounts aren't afraid of the account books being public; they are afraid of the account books being locked in a drawer." Zhu Wenhao put on his overcoat. "Follow me to the courtyard to wait."

Outside the gate of the Town Government.

Three Coaster minibuses with Provincial Party Committee passes, without sounding sirens, stopped steadily on the side of the road.

The doors slid open.

Team Leader Chen Heming was the first to step off the bus. He was wearing a dark gray jacket, with a thin build and graying hair, holding an old black notebook. He did not look at the county and town cadres lined up to welcome him; his gaze went straight over the crowd and landed on the huge whiteboard next to the Town Government gate.

Deputy Secretary Zhou Rui followed closely behind, his gaze sharp, sizing up the streets of Heishi Town. South Street was paved with brand-new asphalt, the storefronts were swept clean, and everything was in perfect order.

Secretary Lu Guoliang and Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan got off the car behind and walked quickly to the side of Team Leader Chen Heming.

"Group Leader Chen, Deputy Secretary Zhou." Secretary Lu Guoliang maintained a polite smile. "The Qingjiang County Party Committee has prepared the report materials. Should we go to the conference room first, or..."

Team Leader Chen Heming ignored him and walked straight toward the whiteboard.

On the whiteboard, the unit prices for road construction materials in Heishui Village, the excavator hourly rates for dredging the Old River Levee, and the distribution records for consolation money were listed clearly. On the far right, it was stamped with the seal of the Finance Office and the red fingerprints of three community representatives.

Team Leader Chen Heming stood in front of the whiteboard, watching for a full three minutes. He took out his reading glasses, put them on, and pointed to one of the expenditures.

"The rental fee for this excavator is two percentage points lower than the provincial guidance price." Team Leader Chen Heming spoke.

Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan bit the bullet and stepped forward. "Reporting, Chief. This fee was negotiated directly by the town with the construction party, with a promise that payments would not be delayed overnight and would be settled daily. The construction party saved on the financial costs of chasing wages and voluntarily gave up two points of profit."

Team Leader Chen Heming turned his head and looked at Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan: "Where did the money come from?"

"The tripartite supervision account." Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan answered crisply. "The funds are jointly supervised by the Town Commission for Discipline Inspection, the county audit, and community representatives. Every expenditure must be publicized before it can be disbursed."

Deputy Secretary Zhou Rui stepped closer from the side. "Who set the rules for this practice?" He asked, his gaze like a torch.

Behind the crowd, Zhu Wenhao stepped out. He walked steadily to the front of the working group.

"The Heishi Town Party Committee set the rules." Zhu Wenhao said, looking at these two ministerial-level officials at eye level.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan immediately seized the opportunity and stepped forward. "Group Leader Chen, Deputy Secretary Zhou! This practice in Heishi Town completely exposes grassroots finances and introduces the intervention of community representatives without administrative status into fund disbursement, which seriously violates financial coordination discipline! A few days ago, the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection even received an anonymous report letter about their conflict of interest!"

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan was trying to make trouble in public, directly characterizing this whiteboard as evidence of a crime!

Team Leader Chen Heming took off his reading glasses, turned his head to look at Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan, his eyes like ice.

"Deputy Secretary Qin," Team Leader Chen Heming's tone was without a ripple, "Are you teaching me how to check accounts?"

One sentence made the cold sweat on Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's back soak through his shirt instantly. He waved his hands repeatedly, his tongue even tied: "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! I am just reflecting the chaos existing at the grassroots level to the working group."

"Chaos?" Team Leader Chen Heming put his reading glasses into his jacket pocket and sneered, "I have been doing discipline inspection work for thirty years, and the account books I've flipped through could fill this car. I know what chaos is!"

He pointed to the whiteboard, his voice rising sharply.

"Spreading every expenditure out in the sunshine, letting the common people know where the country's money is spent! You call this chaos? If every township in the province could post their account books on the side of the road, we people in the Commission for Discipline Inspection could just go home and hold our grandchildren!"

The final word!

The blood on Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's face seemed to be drained instantly, leaving only a deathly gray. He felt his knees go weak, almost unable to stand steady.