314: Chapter 314 The Deputy Secretary Intervenes

Zhao Zhijie's expression was even uglier than if he were crying.

"Brother Chuan, can't you give me some face?"

Qin Chuan looked stern, "General Manager Zhao, do you know what the saddest thing in life is?"

"I don't know, tell me."

"The saddest thing is when a person dies and the money hasn't been spent. Why are you earning so much money? The wealth you currently possess couldn't be spent in several lifetimes. Take some advice from your brother: shut down the Paotaishan Copper Mine and enjoy life properly. You can never finish earning all the money in the world."

This...

Zhao Zhijie didn't know what to say. He really wanted to tear off the mask right now, but a thought kept telling him: endure, just endure for now. In ten days or half a month, he would be able to turn things around and sing a song of triumph.

After watching Qin Chuan leave, Zhao Zhijie could no longer hold it together. His expression turned terrifyingly gloomy, and his heart was filled with monstrous hatred.

He was definitely doing it on purpose!

He must know that the Paotaishan Copper Mine belongs to me, and he's deliberately investigating and shutting it down. This is to completely cut off my path to wealth!

Giving face is impossible!

Even without considering that Zhao Zhijie was the one who poisoned him, even if it were someone else, Qin Chuan wouldn't give face. Mining in the Paotaishan area severely trampled on the national red line; it must be completely shut down, and the original appearance should be restored as much as possible.

Not long after returning from the hospital, Team Leader Xue Guanglin took the initiative to come to Qin Chuan's office. The two sat on the sofa, drinking tea and chatting about work matters.

"Comrade Qin Chuan, we have been stationed in the Northwest Province for over ten days now."

Qin Chuan nodded and said, "Yes, today is the 12th day."

Team Leader Xue Guanglin said, "In these days, we have investigated and punished many corrupt officials and solved many problems, but they are all small fish and shrimp. This is not what I hoped for."

The Central Inspection Team coming down only to catch some small fish and shrimp doesn't look good on the surface; we must hit the big tigers.

So far, the highest-ranking official investigated is only a deputy department-level official; there isn't even a full department-level official. This won't do; it's not what Team Leader Xue Guanglin wants to see.

How can one be satisfied without hitting one or two big tigers?

After chatting for a while about hitting big tigers, the two discussed the Paotaishan Copper Mine matter again.

Team Leader Xue Guanglin said, "The Paotaishan Copper Mine has caused serious damage to the local environment and ecology. My opinion is to firmly shut it down, but this involves Young Master Zhao behind the scenes. Should we be a bit more cautious?"

Qin Chuan said, "So what if it involves Zhao Zhijie? It still needs to be shut down. My opinion is to immediately interview the relevant leaders of the Northwest Province, strictly order them to shut down this copper mine, and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable."

Since they dared to mine in a restricted mining area where the state has drawn a red line, then we must hold certain people accountable and punish them severely.

With these words from Qin Chuan, Team Leader Xue Guanglin was completely reassured.

Don't look at the fact that he is the team leader of the Central Inspection Team; sometimes he still has to listen to the opinions of Qin Chuan. As a member of the Qin Faction, he clearly knew the background of Qin Chuan.

"Good, then let's do as you say. This copper mine will be shut down immediately, we will try our best to restore the local ecology, and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable."

The two chatted about some details regarding this copper mine. Less than an hour after Team Leader Xue Guanglin left, presumably having heard some news, Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang of the Northwest Province came in person to intercede for Zhao Zhijie's Paotaishan Copper Mine.

"Director Qin, I am here presumptuously, sorry to disturb you."

He was the Deputy Party Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, the third-in-command of the Northwest Province, and a vice-ministerial level cadre. His rank was much higher than Qin Chuan's, but when he pushed the door and came in, he didn't have any airs of a Deputy Party Secretary.

Qin Chuan was a little surprised; he hadn't expected Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang to come to his office in person. This was very rare, as he was the Deputy Party Secretary.

"Secretary Cai, rare guest." Qin Chuan said enthusiastically, "I am a little flattered by your personal visit, leader. Please, sit."

Seeing that the other party didn't put on the airs of a Deputy Party Secretary and came in person, Qin Chuan also acted enthusiastically and personally brewed tea.

You don't hit a smiling face, after all.

With the other party acting like that, it wouldn't be good for him to put on a serious face. When working within the system, one should try not to offend people if possible.

Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang sat down on the sofa, feigned concern while asking about work matters, and then changed the subject.

This was the main purpose of his personal visit.

Everything else was just a facade. The focus was on the Paotaishan Copper Mine, acting as a lobbyist for Zhao Zhijie. Otherwise, how could he possibly come in person?

"Director Qin, I heard that the Central Inspection Team requires the Paotaishan Copper Mine to be completely shut down, and also requires our Northwest Province to implement it immediately."

Qin Chuan looked at Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang in surprise, and suddenly understood completely in his heart that everything just now was fake; his real purpose was the Paotaishan Copper Mine.

Heh.

A Deputy Party Secretary coming in person to intercede, what a big move!

Qin Chuan even guessed that there might be some benefits being transferred. Qin Chuan really wanted to check Zhao Zhijie's background through the system, but he didn't succeed, because with the current level of the system, he could only check people within the system. Zhao Zhijie did not belong to the system; he was essentially just a businessman, only using the banner of the Zhao family, which is why many officials had to give him some face.

"Secretary Cai, it looks like you came specifically for Young Master Zhao's copper mine."

Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang didn't deny it either. "Director Qin, you should know that our country is short of copper, and this copper mine can extract copper resources worth billions every year. Whether it is economically or solving the domestic copper shortage, it has made a great contribution..."

Qin Chuan listened earnestly. After hearing it, he asked, "Secretary Cai, what do you mean?"

Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang said, "My personal opinion is not to use a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. Rashly shutting down such a large copper mine... first give them a chance to rectify. For example, environmental pollution problems, these can all be rectified and solved."

Qin Chuan's expression became much more serious. He reminded, "Secretary Cai, you should know that Paotaishan is located in a national restricted mining area. Large-scale mining there will have a great impact on the ecology there."

"I certainly know this, but as long as it is controlled, the impact on the environment can be minimized. If it really doesn't work, we can temporarily shut it down, wait until the limelight passes, and then resume mining. I guarantee it won't cause much impact on the environment."

Heh.

Qin Chuan sneered; he didn't want to waste any more time with him. This guy didn't want to shut it down completely at all; he even said things like "waiting for the limelight to pass."

When words don't match, even half a sentence is too much. Qin Chuan stated his position clearly: "Secretary Cai, the red line of the national restricted mining area cannot be trampled on. This copper mine must be completely and immediately shut down, and we must try our best to restore the local ecological appearance. This is the opinion of our Central Inspection Team, and we hope the Northwest Province will implement it immediately."

Seeing that Qin Chuan's tone was very serious, Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang knew that it was impossible to reach an agreement. He put on a smiling face and said, "Director Qin, this is just my personal opinion. Since the Central Inspection Team cannot adopt it, then just treat it as me talking nonsense."

After leaving Qin Chuan's office, Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang's face turned completely black and was terrifyingly gloomy. He hadn't expected that he, a dignified Deputy Party Secretary, had lowered himself to intercede in front of a deputy department-level official, and the other party didn't give him any face at all.

Hmph, just you wait!