Chapter 41: Inviting the Guest into the Pot

Fang Zhiming emerged victorious. Although Wang Jian's speech at the two-committee meeting made him somewhat embarrassed, Guo Qiang was appointed as the director of the Party and government office, and with his help, Liu Yan surprisingly became the head of the Forestry Station, significantly increasing his power. Zheng Shiguang was completely surrounded by him and others like Yang Juncai and Guo Qiang. Of course, Zheng Shiguang was not a fool; they were merely using each other. After consolidating his power, he still needed to maintain a balance.

Liu Yan, upon learning she had been appointed as the head of the Forestry Station, was overjoyed on the phone. Fang Zhiming, smugly, asked, "How will you thank me?"

"I'll thank you however you want!" Liu Yan said excitedly.

Fang Zhiming chuckled and said, "Hehe, come to my dorm tonight!"

"What for?" Liu Yan said coyly.

"To check your health, of course! I need to make sure everything is fine," Fang Zhiming said with a lecherous grin.

Liu Yan cursed, "Go to hell, you're so bad! What time tonight?"

"Ha ha, let's say 10 o'clock, after you've had a shower!"

"Bad guy!"

The two flirted for a while, then Li Xiangshan knocked and entered his office to hand over the matters related to the dilapidated house renovation. Fang Zhiming, impatient, stood up and briefly introduced the situation.

Wang Jian sat in his office, looking gloomy. He had been completely defeated in front of Zheng Shiguang and was unable to organize a strong counterattack. He lacked the ability to fight back. How could he break through the current deadlock? Where was the breakthrough point? Among the members of the two committees, only Li Xiangshan and Tang Linzheng were not fully under Zheng Shiguang's control. Liu Fang, as a woman, had not completely sided with Zheng Shiguang, but these people had not sided with him either. With his current strength, they might not firmly stand by him. If Han Yuting came to serve as the deputy secretary, perhaps there would be a turning point.

Thinking about this, Du Xiaobei knocked and entered. Wang Jian looked at her without much enthusiasm; neither she nor Wu Lei could help him, as their positions were too low. Looking at Wang Jian, Du Xiaobei asked softly, "Deputy Mayor Wang, I heard Liu Yan was appointed as the head of the Forestry Station?"

Wang Jian glanced at Liu Yan and said, "Yes, it has been decided by the two committees."

"What qualifications does she have to be the head of the Forestry Station? It's unbelievable!" Du Xiaobei complained.

Wang Jian understood Du Xiaobei's frustration. Following Fang Zhiming could lead to a promotion, but following him had not resulted in any advancement, which naturally made her complain.

Looking at Du Xiaobei, Wang Jian said, "Don't worry, Guo Qiang is now the director of the Party and government office. Although you are still part of the Party and government office, you will continue to work with me. I plan to establish a leadership group for agricultural restructuring, and you will serve as the director of the office."

After thinking for a long time, Wang Jian decided to first lay a solid foundation for his work, achieve some results, and promote his strength through action. He needed to focus on agricultural restructuring, establish a leadership group, and serve as the group leader. The deputy leader would be the Party committee member and deputy mayor in charge of agriculture, Zhu Zhaoming, with the secretaries of each work area as members. Du Xiaobei would serve as the director of the office. Zhu Zhaoming was also a follower of Zheng Shiguang, but he was different from Fang Zhiming. Through cooperation, perhaps his attitude could be changed.

Du Xiaobei, upon hearing that she would serve as the director of the office, felt much better. Although it was a temporary institution, it was still an official position. She immediately said happily, "Deputy Mayor Wang, will the office be busy?"

Wang Jian looked at her and smiled, "Yes, very busy. I hope you will put your heart into it!"

"Then it's good. If Guo Qiang asks me to do something in the Party and government office, I can refuse!" Du Xiaobei said.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Jian said, "You can, but be tactful. Don't make things too tense with Guo Qiang right now!"

"I understand!" Du Xiaobei agreed readily.

Watching Du Xiaobei skip out, Wang Jian crossed his hands behind his head, wondering if this move would work. Regardless, he must do some practical things for the people and increase farmers' income.

Thinking about this, Wang Jian's mood improved, and he immediately picked up the phone to ask Han Yuting when the youth poverty alleviation funds would be available.

"Secretary Han, what are you busy with?" Wang Jian asked with a smile.

"Hehe, guess what I'm doing?" Han Yuting asked with a smile.

Wang Jian was taken aback. How could he guess what Han Yuting was doing? He laughed, "Sister Han, I'm not a worm in your stomach. How would I know what you're doing?"

"Haha, I'm on my way to your town!" Han Yuting laughed loudly.

"Where are you now? Why didn't you notify me first?" Wang Jian asked in surprise.

Han Yuting laughed, "To give you a surprise!"

Since the county Youth League Secretary was coming, Wang Jian needed to report to Zheng Shiguang and arrange for the reception.

Zheng Shiguang was about to go out when he saw Wang Jian and asked, "Deputy Mayor Wang, is there something?"

"The county Youth League Secretary, Han Yuting, is coming," Wang Jian said.

"Han Yuting is coming? I have some business to attend to. You can receive her at home!" Zheng Shiguang said, not taking Han Yuting too seriously.

If Zheng Shiguang had something to do, Wang Jian could receive her himself. He said, "Alright!"

"I'll go then!" Zheng Shiguang got in his car and left. Wang Jian waited at home for Han Yuting's arrival. Li Xiangshan then came to see him.

Li Xiangshan coming to see him was a good thing; he needed to find a way to keep him on his side. Wang Jian stood up and smiled, "Deputy Mayor Li, what's up?"

"Deputy Mayor Wang, Fang Zhiming said the funds for dilapidated house renovation have been distributed. I called the head of the township education committee, Ma Zhonggong, and he said they were all used for office expenses. What should we do about this?" Li Xiangshan reported.

"What? They used all the funds for office expenses?" Wang Jian was shocked. The funds should have been used for their designated purpose, but they were used for office expenses.

Li Xiangshan said, "Old Ma said the township has never given them office expenses. After consulting with Fang Zhiming, Fang Zhiming didn't say anything, which means he tacitly approved of their actions!"

Wang Jian was not well-informed about these matters. The township's financial expenditures were not reported to him by Yang Juncai, and he did not know if office expenses had been allocated to the education committee. However, the funds for dilapidated house renovation were a large sum, and it was impossible for them to be used entirely for office expenses.

"Deputy Mayor Li, please call Yang Juncai and Ma Zhonggong. We need to ask them about this!" Wang Jian decided to get to the bottom of it.

Li Xiangshan turned and called the two. When they arrived, they stood smiling in front of Wang Jian. Wang Jian had them sit down and then asked, "Director Yang, has the finance office allocated office expenses to the township education committee?"

Yang Juncai glanced at Ma Zhonggong and said, "The township's finances are tight, and the funds for some departments have not been allocated on time. I was just about to report this to you!"

Yang Juncai and Ma Zhonggong were both close to Fang Zhiming, and it was hard to determine the truth of his words. Wang Jian turned to Ma Zhonggong and asked, "Is that true?"

Ma Zhonggong said, "We haven't received office expenses for half a year. Deputy Mayor Wang, the country talks about valuing education, but without funds, how can we improve education? Please support our educational work!"

Looking at Ma Zhonggong's puffy face, Wang Jian suspected that the office expenses had been used for personal gain. He was still shamelessly talking about improving education. Wang Jian became angry and said, "The township has no money, but who gave you the authority to use the funds for dilapidated house renovation? Using those funds to improve education? Making excuses to the party and government for not doing a good job and using the lack of funds as a reason for misusing the funds for dilapidated house renovation? The township will audit the office expenses of the education committee to see where the money was spent. If any funds were misused, I will remove you from your position!"

Ma Zhonggong's face turned red and then white. Yang Juncai was also shocked. He did not expect Wang Jian to have such a strong reaction, and his words were irrefutable. Fang Zhiming no longer oversaw education, health, and culture, and Wang Jian was already targeting Fang Zhiming's people.

"Deputy Mayor Wang, if you don't believe me, audit it. I have nothing to hide!" Ma Zhonggong, unwilling to lose face, argued.

Wang Jian, surprised by Ma Zhonggong's defiance, looked at him coldly and said, "Director Yang, you will be responsible for auditing Director Ma's accounts to clear his name. Director Ma is an excellent educator, and you must not wrong him. Otherwise, no one will do the educational work in Xianhe Township!"

Wang Jian's sarcastic words made Ma Zhonggong's face even more difficult. Yang Juncai did not expect Wang Jian to ask him to audit Ma Zhonggong's accounts and was unsure of Wang Jian's intentions. He said, "Deputy Mayor Wang, it might not be appropriate for me to do the audit."

"If you think it's inappropriate, then forget it. I'll ask the county audit bureau to do it, and you can assist!" Wang Jian changed his tone.

Ma Zhonggong's face turned pale. He cursed Yang Juncai for being stupid. If Wang Jian had asked him to do the audit, he should have agreed. Refusing was a deliberate attempt to harm him. Yang Juncai did not expect Wang Jian to use this strategy, thinking that Wang Jian was trying to catch him in a mistake. However, Wang Jian's move to have the county audit bureau do the audit made Ma Zhonggong resent him.

"Deputy Mayor Wang, should we report this to Secretary Zheng?" Yang Juncai tried to speak up for Ma Zhonggong.

Wang Jian looked at Yang Juncai coldly, making him feel a chill. He realized that Wang Jian, though usually quiet, might be very tough. Offending him would not end well. Thinking about this, he regretted his words, as Ma Zhonggong could report to Zheng Shiguang later.

"I will report to Secretary Zheng. Education is the responsibility of the government, and I, as the deputy mayor, must take responsibility. If you think I am wrong, you can report to Secretary Zheng and the higher authorities. Having the county audit bureau audit the accounts is an opportunity for Director Ma to prove his innocence. Do you think Director Ma cannot withstand the audit?" Wang Jian said coldly.

"I didn't mean that. I just wanted to remind you. This is a serious matter, and it's best to let Secretary Zheng know. I am also thinking of Deputy Mayor Wang's interests," Yang Juncai explained quickly.

"Thank you for the reminder, Director Yang. I hope you will also remind me about financial matters. I know nothing about them, so please give me a detailed report today!" Wang Jian used this opportunity to have Yang Juncai report on the financial situation.

Yang Juncai suddenly felt like he was being invited into a trap. Looking at Wang Jian's young, innocent, yet inscrutable face, he dared not refuse.

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