35: Fire directly

Zhang Zhenhua achieved his objective and happily left first.

Neither of them suggested going to the conference room together for the meeting, as that might arouse suspicion among some people.

After Zhang Zhenhua left, he stood up and walked to the window, looking at the courtyard outside, and started calculating again in his mind.

Heping Town has a total of nine Party Committee Members. Besides him and Yu Guodong, there are also Deputy Secretary Li Meide, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission Zhang Zhenhua, Deputy Town Mayor Cao Shuang, Organization Committee Member Chen Shuangjie, Political and Legal Committee Member Jia Chunsheng, Propaganda Committee Member Jiang Yufei, and Head of the Armed Forces Department Qian Yonggui.

Jiang Yufei is a staunch supporter of Lin Zifeng, and now there is an additional Zhang Zhenhua.

Cao Shuang would not support him unreservedly, nor would he oppose him, and might even support him to a certain extent.

Calculating this way, he wasn't fighting alone.

The other Party Committee Members might not be completely aligned with Yu Hualin, which gave Lin Zifeng a great deal of confidence.

Thinking this, Lin Zifeng shook his head and smiled, muttering to himself, "I wasn't planning on wrestling with Yu Hualin anyway. After all, he has managed Heping Town for many years and is deeply entrenched—something I, as a newcomer Town Mayor, cannot compare to."

As long as he has a shred of conscience, I won't escalate things to a point of direct confrontation.

Wasn't my original plan just to lift the lid that others dared not lift and put the problems on the table?

Let's see if he still dares to collude with others to infringe upon the interests of the state.

Therefore, winning or losing at the Party Committee Meeting no longer holds much significance for me.

Next, I just have to deal with Yu Guodong's retaliation; Yu Hualin is nothing much.

If I can't even handle him, it will be difficult to achieve anything later on.

Let's see where that great Secretary Yu's bottom line is. The worst that can happen is I get sidelined! That would also accelerate the downfall of these parasites.

In that case, I will be worthy of the responsibility entrusted to me."

Lin Zifeng's gaze became firmer, and his entire being was filled with an indomitable spirit.

Just then, Wang Zhongyu knocked and entered, smiling as he reminded him, "Town Mayor, it's almost time. You should head to the meeting."

He nodded and walked out of the office, full of fighting spirit.

When he entered the conference room, he saw that all the other Committee Members, except for Yu Hualin, had arrived.

Seeing him walk in, everyone greeted him. After responding to each one, he took the first seat on the left, sitting opposite Deputy Secretary Li Meide.

Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission Zhang Zhenhua sat below him, and the other Committee Members sat around the oval desk according to their rank.

Everyone chatted for a few minutes. Just as the clock in the conference room pointed to nine o'clock, Yu Hualin walked in right on time.

His Secretary, Qian Ke, placed the water cup in front of the main seat, then sat in the back row, holding a meeting notebook, ready to record the contents of the meeting.

Yu Hualin smiled as he surveyed the room, then sat in the main seat and began, "Since all Committee Members are present, let's start the meeting.

First, let's invite Comrade Deputy Secretary Li Meide to lead everyone in studying the spirit of the directives from the higher authorities."

Li Meide adjusted his glasses, and his low voice sounded as he began reading the spirit of the directives from the higher authorities.

It was more than ten minutes later that he finally put down the document he was holding.

Following the meeting's agenda, Yu Hualin then inquired about some of the town's work.

More than half an hour later, Yu Hualin finally got to the main topic.

He took a sip of water, put the cup down, and then spoke again: "At the beginning of the year, our Town Party Committee Meeting passed a proposal.

That is the project to renovate the Town Primary School playground. Children are the flowers of the motherland, and also the future of the motherland!

No matter how difficult things are for us, we cannot let the children suffer.

The County Party Committee and County Government are also very supportive of our town's work and approved our town's plan more than a month ago.

And just a few days ago, the County Finance Bureau transferred the two hundred thousand yuan construction fund to the account of our Town Finance Office.

I repeatedly instructed Yu Shuxin, the Director of the Finance Office, that this construction fund must be used exclusively for its designated purpose, and not a single cent can be misappropriated.

It is now the right season for construction. In a few days, Dacheng Construction Company from The County Seat will send people to work on the Town Primary School.

As the government, we must escort and give the green light to livelihood projects!

Furthermore, as you all know, Heping Town is a poverty-stricken town, with a relatively large number of impoverished households and 'Five-Guarantees' households, totaling four hundred and nine households.

These impoverished households and Five-Guarantees Households are desperately awaiting assistance!

Fortunately, the special poverty alleviation funds have also been allocated to the account of our Town Finance Office.

Just follow the annual practice: purchase various comfort items and distribute them quickly!

"Town Mayor, both of these funds are designated funds for specific purposes, and there is no dispute. You won't need to review them; just sign directly when the time comes."

Yu Hualin said a lot, but the last sentence was the key point.

So, after saying this, he looked at Lin Zifeng.

Lin Zifeng remained silent for a few seconds before calmly speaking: "Secretary, for the use of any fund, if I sign it, I must be responsible for that fund.

If you ask me to sign without reviewing, that is somewhat against the rules."

Yu Hualin was subtly rebuffed; his eyes narrowed, and he said in a somewhat low tone, "Town Mayor, both of these matters were collectively decided and approved by the Party Committee Meeting. Do you not trust me, the Party Secretary, and the other Party Committee Members?"

Yu Hualin wanted to use his identity as the Party Secretary, along with the identities of the other Committee Members, to pressure Lin Zifeng.

He felt that Lin Zifeng wouldn't be foolish enough to provoke public anger; that is a major taboo in officialdom.

He had used this method against Wang Yongfa before, and it was always effective, so he was full of confidence, certain that Lin Zifeng would compromise.

But what he hadn't expected was that Lin Zifeng simply wouldn't fall for his trick.

"Secretary, I cannot agree with your statement. As the saying goes, 'Hold the position, fulfill its duties.' As the Town Mayor of Heping Town, I must be responsible for the duties entrusted to me."

"This has nothing to do with trust or lack thereof. If we follow your suggestion, my role as Town Mayor would become redundant."

According to the information I've gathered, the Town Middle School and Town Primary School in Heping Town have had their playgrounds renovated once every year for three consecutive years.

This is already the fourth year. The Town Middle School has been renovated twice, and if the Town Primary School is renovated again this year, it will also be twice.

The construction funds every year are substantial, so why are the projects always shoddy construction?

Furthermore, as far as I know, the construction company undertaking the work every year is the same one.

Shouldn't this construction company compensate for and rebuild its shoddy construction projects? How did such projects pass inspection?

This leaves me very puzzled. I wonder if the Secretary can clarify this for me?"

Although Lin Zifeng's voice was not loud, it struck straight at the core, putting the matter out in the open.

As the saying goes, 'A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger.' Lin Zifeng was essentially firing directly at Yu Hualin.

He was also fueled by rising anger; originally, he hadn't planned on having a falling out with the other party.

But since the other party intended to strip him of his authority, sideline him completely, and turn him into a mere figurehead like Wang Yongfa, he couldn't afford to worry about appearances anymore.