145: Chapter 145 The money came, and so did the trouble.

All the clues pointed to one conclusion: this young Township Party Committee secretary must have astonishing political resources behind him.

"Director, would you like some hangover tea?"

Xiao Jia's gentle voice pulled Director Lu Guoqiang back to reality.

Director Lu Guoqiang looked at the woman who had accompanied him for many years and suddenly felt that he should properly reward her tonight.

"Go to my room."

Director Lu Guoqiang said softly, a meaningful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He knew that starting from tonight, his official career might usher in a new turning point.

And all of this had to start with establishing a deeper level of "friendship" with that young man named Li Dakang.

...

Under the personal supervision of Director Lu Guoqiang, in just one week, the 12 million in special funds was transferred in full to the account of the Guantian Township Finance Office.

When this sum, which far exceeded expectations, arrived in the account, the new head of the Finance Office was so excited that his hands trembled, and he kept saying that this was the largest special fund since the township was established.

However, Li Dakang's joy did not last long before an unexpected phone call shattered it.

"Is this Comrade Dakang? I am Yi Fei from the Municipal Government."

Li Dakang's fingers tightened unconsciously as he held the phone.

Yi Fei, Executive Vice Mayor of Xinying City, a powerful figure ranked among the top in the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee.

"Hello, Mayor Yi!"

Li Dakang quickly adjusted his tone, his voice carrying just the right amount of respect.

"I am Li Dakang. May I ask what instructions you have?"

The sound of paper flipping came from the other end of the line, and Yi Fei's voice carried a hint of official jargon: "I heard your township secured 12 million in road construction funds from the province?"

Without waiting for Li Dakang to answer, Yi Fei continued: "The city's transportation construction tasks are very heavy right now. How about this: you keep six million, and reallocate the remaining six million to several other impoverished areas. The city will credit you for it."

Although these words were spoken under the guise of a discussion, the undeniable tone of a command permeated between the lines.

Li Dakang could even imagine Yi Fei gently tapping his desk with a fountain pen on the other end of the line.

As soon as Yi Fei finished speaking, Li Dakang's eyes suddenly turned cold, and an uncontrollable surge of anger welled up in his chest.

He had gone to great lengths to secure these funds; every cent concerned the travel plans of the tens of thousands of people in Guantian Township, and even more so, it concerned the development plans of Guantian Township.

However, the years of experience in the officialdom from his past life allowed Li Dakang to quickly calm down; he knew this unwritten rule of "plucking feathers from a passing wild goose" all too well.

If it hadn't been for Director Lu Guoqiang's special approval to transfer it directly to the township finance, it would have been good if even one-third of this money had arrived in the account after being peeled off layer by layer by the city and county levels.

But was Li Dakang a soft persimmon to be squeezed by others?

A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth, but his tone became increasingly respectful: "Mayor Yi, you may not be aware, but these funds are special funds for the supporting roads of the electronics factory project, which Governor Cao personally approved."

He deliberately emphasized the words "Governor Cao."

"Governor Cao explicitly required that the funds be used for their intended purpose and even plans to send an audit team to track the use of the funds."

The other end of the line suddenly fell silent, and only faint breathing could be heard.

Li Dakang knew that his tactic of "borrowing the tiger's skin to make a banner" had worked.

Sure enough, a moment later, Yi Fei gave a dry laugh: "So that's how it is... Alright then, you should proceed according to Governor Cao's requirements."

The call ended abruptly, but that harsh hanging-up sound clearly revealed a hint of shame turned into anger.

As the Executive Vice Mayor of Xinying City in charge of transportation construction, Yi Fei's days had been truly difficult lately.

Whenever the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee meeting was held, his seat felt like a scorching charcoal brazier, and Party Secretary Bi Youshan's sharp eyes would always stare directly at him whenever he reported on transportation work.

"Comrades."

Party Secretary Bi Youshan tapped the table at a recent Standing Committee meeting and said: "Why are the economic indicators of our Xinying City at the bottom every year? The root cause lies in transportation!"

Although he didn't name anyone, everyone knew who these words were meant for.

Yi Fei could only lower his head to take notes, his pen leaving deep marks on his notebook.

A few days ago, an old classmate from the Provincial Department of Transportation tipped Yi Fei off with some good news: a special fund of 12 million was about to be allocated to the Xinying area.

Yi Fei treated it like a treasure and immediately convened a meeting of the Transportation Bureau leadership, demanding that this money must be kept in the city for overall planning and use.

But reality dealt Yi Fei a heavy blow; this fund had actually bypassed the municipal and county-level finance departments and was transferred directly into the account of Guantian Township.

What shocked him even more was that the office of the Provincial Department of Transportation had specifically sent an official letter, emphasizing that this was a project personally supervised by Director Lu Guoqiang, and no unit was allowed to intercept or misappropriate it, otherwise, they shouldn't expect to get a single cent from the Provincial Department of Transportation in the future.

"This is simply absurd!"

Yi Fei paced back and forth in his office.

He picked up the phone and put it down, and after repeating this several times, he finally dialed Li Dakang's number.

In Yi Fei's mind, a member of the County Party Committee Standing Committee should understand the rules of officialdom, right? When a municipal leader asks for money, how could a subordinate refuse?

But this Li Dakang refused to play along; not only did he refuse outright, but he also brought up Governor Cao's name to pressure him.