Chapter 349: The Finance Bureau's Retaliation

Liu Jianghua ultimately did not stop Chen Yang from getting involved in Xingcheng Heavy Industry's stock.

Because Chen Yang is unlike Lu Guojie—he can actually borrow money from the stock market to resolve the Dongjiang Textile Factory's problem.

If Lu Guojie manages to double the allocation from the Provincial Finance Bureau to the Dongjiang Textile Factory, his burden will lessen.

If the Dongjiang Textile Factory's reform proceeds smoothly, his merits might actually cancel out his faults.

Wu Junhui, while dealing with Lu Guojie's issue, deliberately deceived those below and above, leaving Liu Jianghua and the Provincial State-owned Enterprise Reform Group in a difficult position. Had there not been an important task still assigned to the other side, he would have exploded long ago.

Since Chen Yang is now following his own orders to bail out Lu Guojie, as long as it doesn't fundamentally undermine Xingcheng Heavy Industry's foundation, he simply turns a blind eye.

When Wu Junhui saw Liu Jianghua deliberately tolerating Chen Yang's behavior, he dared not speak out and could only issue an official statement clarifying that Xingcheng Heavy Industry faced no operational issues, urging shareholders not to panic.

His statement, however, had no impact on Chen Yang's plan. A week later, the Dongjiang Provincial Textile Factory's public account received forty million yuan in fiscal funds.

With sufficient funds, Lu Guojie launched sweeping reforms within the textile factory.

Meanwhile, the expert Wu Junhui had hired finally succeeded in developing a sausage with better mouthfeel. If he promotes the product further, he will win his bet against Chen Yang.

But when Wu Junhui presented the application report and Liu Jianghua's approval note to seek fiscal subsidies for enterprise reform, the Provincial Finance Bureau stalled the approval process.

No matter how he pleaded or spoke nicely, they kept finding excuses to deny the funds.

Having no recourse, Wu Junhui went to Liu Jianghua to complain.

"Governor Liu, I finally managed to bring the expert from the capital, and the new product is ready. All that remains is solid marketing to revive Xingcheng Food Ltd., yet the Finance Bureau keeps withholding funds. How am I supposed to get this done?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianghua realized the Finance Bureau meant to teach Wu Junhui a lesson, deliberately blocking the disbursement of funds for Xingcheng Food Ltd.'s procedures.

Because in the Lu Guojie matter, Wu Junhui clearly saw the other party walking a tightrope yet gave no warning. Although no loss was incurred, the prospect of the Finance Bureau chief's most promising rising star was delayed.

The Finance Bureau chief, Zhong, did not personally go to the Provincial State-owned Enterprise Reform Group's office to confront Wu Junhui; that alone counts as giving Liu Jianghua face.

At this point, Liu Jianghua will not allow the conflict to escalate.

"Old Wu, since Xingcheng Food Ltd.'s sausage development succeeded, your task is done. Let their person in charge handle the fiscal subsidy negotiations with the Finance Bureau. Report to the Provincial Automobile Bureau immediately and try to secure the automobile production patent technology before the Spring Festival."

"But the Xingcheng Food Ltd. matter is only one step away; if I don't settle it, I won't feel at ease!" Wu Junhui felt reluctant. Finishing the new sausage R&D and reviving Xingcheng Food Ltd. to retake Xingcheng's market are two completely different outcomes. He very much hopes to end with the utmost perfection.

Seeing Wu Junhui's stubbornness, Liu Jianghua's face darkened and he said, "Wu Junhui, if you're unwilling to let go of Xingcheng Food Ltd., why don't I apply for you to become its chairman?"

Seeing Liu Jianghua's sudden change in expression, Wu Junhui was startled and blurted, "Governor Liu, I'm doing fine at Xingcheng Heavy Industry; there's no need for you to reassign me. I… I'll go report to the Provincial Automobile Bureau right away!"

Liu Jianghua coldly told Wu Junhui, "Because of your personal interests, the Provincial Automobile Bureau's reform work has already been delayed a week. If you can't resolve the patent technology issue before the Spring Festival, you might as well return to your Xingcheng Heavy Industry."

"Governor Liu, rest assured—if the Provincial Automobile Bureau's work isn't done well, I accept any punishment!" Wu Junhui immediately issued a pledge to Liu Jianghua. He knew that once he left a bad impression in Liu Jianghua's mind, let alone making further progress, even his position at Xingcheng Heavy Industry might not be secure.

Liu Jianghua drew a deep breath and reminded Wu Junhui again: "Old Wu, I hope everyone in the Provincial State-owned Enterprise Reform Group puts the big picture first, not constantly quibbling over trivialities. If you can't do that, I'll have to replace you. I must remind you: no one in this group is indispensable."

"Governor Liu, I know I was wrong." Even if Wu Junhui were dense, he knew Liu Jianghua was seriously dissatisfied with his conduct, and he hurriedly apologized.

Liu Jianghua couldn't be bothered to say more and directly told him to report to the Provincial Automobile Bureau.

If the Provincial Automobile Bureau's reform work is not done well, he will no longer indulge Wu Junhui.

After Wu Junhui left, Liu Jianghua had his secretary call Chen Yang into his office.

"Chen Yang, you handled Lu Guojie's problem well. However, the fundamental issue of the Dongjiang Textile Factory remains unresolved. I hope you see it through to the end, working with Lu Guojie to complete all subsequent reform work."

Chen Yang neither accepted nor declined, but solemnly told Liu Jianghua, "Governor Liu, I know nothing about the textile industry either. If I end up hindering rather than helping, please don't get angry with me."

Liu Jianghua nodded and said, "Just go serve as an advisor to Lu Guojie. In enterprise reform, your experience is ultimately richer than his. If he commits any further violations, you must stop him or promptly report to me. If you, like Wu Junhui, are aware of issues but fail to report, then you can just go back where you came from."

Earlier, seeing Wu Junhui leave the provincial government office with a dark face, Chen Yang guessed something had happened. He didn't expect it to be a reprimand from Liu Jianghua.

From this, it seems Xingcheng Food Ltd.'s side is definitely not going smoothly.

As for that, Chen Yang is quite pleased.

"Governor Liu, rest assured—I will keep both eyes wide open on Lu Guojie and never let him make another mistake."

Liu Jianghua nodded in satisfaction. After a moment's thought, he said to Chen Yang, "Xingcheng Food Ltd.'s new sausage product has been successfully developed and is about to enter trial production. Are you interested in helping them with the subsequent product promotion?"

Chen Yang directly shook his head and refused: "Governor Liu, Director Wu's involvement in this project is clearly aimed at me, intending to crush my popular sausage brand. Having me finish the follow‑up work would be tantamount to making me slap myself in the face—that's not appropriate, is it?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianghua also felt it inappropriate, so he abandoned the idea of letting Chen Yang take over Xingcheng Food Ltd.'s work.

Chen Yang looked at Liu Jianghua, hesitated for a while, and ultimately still did not tell him that Xingcheng Food Ltd. used dead pig meat as raw material.