42: Chapter 42 When will the transfer order arrive?

Xiushan Park.

Zhao Yang sat beside the rockery, smoking a cigarette while watching the entrance of the Television Station's office building.

He wanted to see exactly when Xiong Dajiang would come out.

Usually, when Old Xiong came by, he was always smiling.

Only today was he aggressive, likely because of the draft regarding the Secretary's research trip.

If someone wants to frame you, they'll always find a pretext. If Xiong Dajiang insisted that he failed to grasp the leader's intentions, there was still room for him to make trouble.

Once he had a disciplinary mark on his record, it would be difficult to transfer.

Thinking from another perspective, Ji Hongwen was trying his best to minimize the impact of the news report, so he must be trying to cover something up.

It was difficult to find strong evidence based solely on interviews during the research trip.

If he could get dirt on Ji Hongwen in advance, his chances of winning when he eventually moved against him would be much higher.

While Zhao Yang was thinking of a strategy, he saw Xiong Dajiang walk out of the office building with his head held high.

Behind him, Yuan Gang looked somber, while Li Hongyi was all smiles and fawning, briskly opening the car door for Xiong Dajiang.

After getting into the car, Xiong Dajiang coldly threw out a sentence:

"Tomorrow morning, you two go to the department to report. If the responsible parties aren't dealt with, don't think you can just gloss over this!"

With that, Xiong Dajiang slammed the car door shut.

In fact, his coming to the Television Station to hold them accountable was entirely his own initiative.

When they started work this morning, Jiang Wenjun had only mentioned in passing for him to make sure that Tongan Television Station's 'Midday News' definitely didn't broadcast the report on the Secretary's research again.

Thus, Xiong Dajiang found an opportunity to throw his weight around.

Through this, he could not only establish his own authority but also curry favor with Secretary Ji above.

Who would have thought that Yuan Gang and Li Hongyi would not only pass the buck but also subtly bring up Director Xiong Bo.

If he didn't beat these two into submission, he really wouldn't be able to swallow his anger.

After Xiong Dajiang left, Yuan Gang and Li Hongyi looked at each other with grim faces and said helplessly at the same time:

"Let's go, upstairs."

Seeing their expressions, Zhao Yang could guess most of what had happened.

Dealing with this matter probably wouldn't be as simple as Li Hongyi had said.

Even if Li Hongyi wanted to protect him, he might not be able to.

He had to find a way himself.

Stamping out the cigarette butt under his foot, Zhao Yang stood up and left.

Unexpectedly, just as he rounded the rockery, he ran straight into Director Xiong Bo and Su Yawen.

Zhao Yang pretended not to see them and tried to walk past.

But Director Xiong Bo stepped forward to block his path: "Oh, isn't this Deputy Director Zhao? So, has your seat even gotten warm yet?"

The implication was that Zhao Yang's recently promoted deputy director position might not be secure.

Zhao Yang knew what was going on; dismissal was unlikely, at most it would be a warning.

In the future, many editors and reporters made mistakes in their drafts, and most were settled by writing a self-criticism and paying a fine.

The problem was, with the transfer imminent, he absolutely could not have a warning on his record.

He didn't want to waste words with Director Xiong Bo, so his gaze went directly over the top of Director Xiong Bo's head:

"A good dog doesn't block the way, and neither does a Blind Bear!"

Zhao Yang's "Blind Bear" comment was like a poisoned needle, accurately piercing Director Xiong Bo's self-esteem.

Since childhood, Director Xiong Bo hated it most when people called him a Blind Bear or a black bear.

"Who the hell are you calling a Blind Bear?" Director Xiong Bo's voice squeezed through his teeth as he took a step forward.

He was half a head shorter than Zhao Yang, and the way he craned his neck and glared now made him look like a vicious dog whose tail had been stepped on.

Seeing this, Su Yawen quickly pulled on Director Xiong Bo's arm:

"Director Xiong Bo, forget it. People are coming and going; if colleagues see..."

"Forget it? Like hell!" Director Xiong Bo shoved Su Yawen aside, his finger almost pointing at the tip of Zhao Yang's nose:

"You, Zhao! Don't think you're so great just because you were promoted to deputy director! I'm telling you, whether you stay in that seat is just a matter of a single word from my dad!"

Zhao Yang remained motionless, slightly lowering his eyes to look at Director Xiong Bo's trembling finger:

"According to you, your father came here today specifically to mess with me?"

"You're not too stupid. If you get on your knees and beg me now, I might consider letting you off the hook." A cold smile appeared at the corner of Director Xiong Bo's mouth.

Making Zhao Yang look pathetic in front of Su Yawen was what he wanted to see most.

It would also let Su Yawen know that choosing to be with him was the right choice.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yang also let out a cold laugh:

"You Little Cub, what else can you do besides constantly bringing up your father?"

Zhao Yang gave a shove with his arm, sending Director Xiong Bo stumbling to the side.

The guy was too weak and looked quite pathetic.

Zhao Yang brushed off non-existent dust from his sleeve and said word by word:

"I'm telling you, I haven't done anything wrong, and your father can't touch me. Even the people above can't do anything to me.

"Instead, you shameless villains better watch out!"

"You... you're at death's door and you're still acting tough!" Intimidated by Zhao Yang's aura, Director Xiong Bo felt a wave of panic.

Even at a time like this, the kid dared to say such things. Where did he get his confidence?

In fact, Zhao Yang was gambling.

He bet that Sun Hongwei was desperate to overturn his case and had already utilized his connections in the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Today was already Wednesday. If things went smoothly, the transfer order should have arrived.

He had to go to Sun Hongwei to test the waters before deciding on his next move.

Thinking this, Zhao Yang turned and left, his back straight and his pace steady.

Su Yawen watched Zhao Yang's departing figure with mixed emotions.

The current Zhao Yang had become someone she barely recognized.

He was good at building relationships with leaders, sharp-tongued, and decisive—exactly the kind of man she had hoped he would be.

Yet, the two of them were now almost strangers.

Looking at Director Xiong Bo beside her, who considered himself suave but was actually wretched, Su Yawen felt a series of sharp pains in her heart.

...

Arriving at the Tongan City Association for Science and Technology, Zhao Yang knocked on the door of the Chairman's office.

Seeing that the visitor was Zhao Yang, Sun Hongwei was first surprised, and then his eyes filled with doubt:

"Zhao Yang, what brings you here today?"

Since they met, this was the first time Zhao Yang had sought him out on his own initiative, other than for news interviews.

Zhao Yang gently closed the door and gave a bitter smile:

"Brother Hongwei, we're not strangers, so I'll be blunt."

He then recounted everything regarding the news report.

Finally, he added: "My purpose in doing this was to determine if Ji Hongwen has any problems."

Sun Hongwei smiled slightly: "From what you've described, Ji Hongwen definitely has problems. However, you lack key evidence."

Then, he explained the city's restructuring policies to Zhao Yang.

Restructuring of small and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, according to the policies of Jianghan Province and Tongan City, basically took seven forms:

Corporate system reform;

Spin-off and reconstruction, stripping away debt and assets;

Enterprise sale;

Overall transfer;

Implementation of bankruptcy;

Leasing operations;

Private management trust.

In Tongan City, enterprise sales and overall transfers accounted for almost all of them.

Sun Hongwei sighed deeply: "Transferring valuable equipment, or falsifying accounts to make the enterprise appear to have negative assets... there is a huge amount of room for manipulation here, and it's very easy for interest transfers to occur.

"Moreover, the district inspected the Die-Casting Machine Factory. They just purchased two gantry machining centers last year, worth nearly twenty million. It's impossible for them to be insolvent."

Zhao Yang was puzzled: "I didn't see any machining centers when I visited yesterday."

Sun Hongwei tapped the desk and whispered six words:

"Assets transferred in advance."

Seeing that the time had come, Zhao Yang suddenly stood up:

"How could they do this! Once I get to the Commission for Discipline Inspection, I'll make sure they spit out everything they've swallowed!

"When will my transfer order arrive?"