Chapter 1955: What Happened?

Lan Mei's generosity broke the slightly awkward atmosphere, so Zhao Desan also broke into a smile and said, "Going upstairs to find Eunuch Zheng to handle some business!"

Lan Mei gave an "Oh," smiled gently at him, and said, "Then go ahead."

"Alright, Division Chief Lan, talk to you later." Zhao Desan smiled at Lan Mei and, with an indescribable feeling in his heart, walked up to the third floor. He arrived at Eunuch Zheng's office door and knocked, thinking, *I hope the old guy is in. I need to get Li Fang's business settled today; otherwise, being hounded by this woman every day like a debt collector is making me very annoyed. *

"Come in." After he knocked, Eunuch Zheng's voice came from inside.

Zhao Desan pushed the door open and went in.

Eunuch Zheng slowly lowered his phone from his ear, looked at Zhao Desan with a kind expression, and asked, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Zhao Desan forced a smile, nodded, and said, "Director Zheng, there is a small matter."

Eunuch Zheng looked at him with a strange expression and then said with a chuckle, "What matter? Tell me."

"It's like this, Director Zheng. That Li Fang person has come to collect the money. Could you please sign the IOU I brought you last time so she can collect the funds? Then we can consider this matter closed," Zhao Desan said with a forced smile.

Hearing the reason Zhao Desan had come to see him, Eunuch Zheng tapped his forehead and said with a sudden realization, "Oh, Comrade Xiao Zhao, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. It's like this: I'm afraid this matter is a bit troublesome now..." Having said this, Eunuch Zheng paused deliberately, sighed, and waited for Zhao Desan to pick up the conversation.

Seeing that things had changed, Zhao Desan frowned immediately and asked anxiously, "Director, why is it troublesome? Wasn't it already agreed upon?"

"It was agreed upon, but the situation is different from what you think. I went to ask our Finance Department. Crucially, the financial expenditures for every municipal project managed by our Construction Commission are audited separately. This construction fee belongs to the Provincial Finance Department's investment, and the Construction Commission manages it as a trustee. Now, the project funds from the Finance Department have all been allocated to our Construction Commission, and we have already paid them all to the contractor. These procedures have all been completed. There's no way to allocate this wage expense from the Construction Commission's financial accounts," Eunuch Zheng said, appearing very troubled.

After hearing Eunuch Zheng's words, Zhao Desan felt as if a large stone were blocking his heart. The smile on his face froze, and he asked Eunuch Zheng, "Director, then... what do you suggest we do? Li Fang is downstairs waiting for the money."

Eunuch Zheng scratched his head and said, "To be honest, Comrade Xiao Zhao, I've been trying to find a way for the past two days, but I don't know what to do either. This isn't a small sum—over 400,000. If it were 40,000, I could pay it out of my own pocket to compensate them. This is indeed because your subordinates didn't supervise the project properly, especially Division Chief Lan. As the person directly responsible for this project, how could she include wages in the project funds and pay them to the boss!" Eunuch Zheng was pushing the responsibility onto Lan Mei again, aiming to make Zhao Desan take the blame for her!

Hearing Eunuch Zheng put it this way, it seemed this matter really was difficult to handle, and the result was completely different from what Zhao Desan had imagined. He felt his head swelling and asked Eunuch Zheng, "Director Zheng, what should we do about this? Li Fang is here to collect the money now. How am I supposed to answer her?"

Eunuch Zheng looked up, pretended to think for a moment, and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, why don't you talk to Li Fang again and see if she can wait a little longer? We'll try to find a way to see if we can carve this expense out of one of the Construction Commission's fiscal budget items."

Zhao Desan had only bitten the bullet and come to find him because he had seen Li Fang's determined attitude. If he went back down and told her to wait, she definitely wouldn't agree. He shook his head without hesitation and said, "Director Zheng, I'm afraid she won't wait this time. You entrusted this matter to me to handle. I've already negotiated it, the IOU has been written, and she gave me face by waiting so long before coming to collect. How can I talk to her again? Wouldn't that mean we have no integrity?"

Because Zhao Desan was a bit agitated, his words were a bit sharp. Eunuch Zheng pulled a long face, looked at Zhao Desan coldly, and retorted, "Then what do you suggest, Comrade Xiao Zhao?"

"If I had a solution, I wouldn't be asking you!" Zhao Desan muttered irritably as his temper flared.

Seeing Zhao Desan's helpless expression—which was exactly what Eunuch Zheng wanted to see—the old man flashed a cold sneer, darkened his face, and said to Zhao Desan, "I've exhausted every possible method here. I'm truly at my wit's end!"

Seeing Eunuch Zheng acting like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water, Zhao Desan frowned anxiously and asked, "Director Zheng, are you saying we're going to renege on the debt?"

"It's not that we want to renege, but I truly have no way to handle it here. I asked you, Comrade Xiao Zhao, to go down and talk to Li Fang again, to wait a bit, and to think of other ways, but you won't go. Aren't you making things very difficult for me?" Eunuch Zheng said, feigning helplessness.

Just then, Eunuch Zheng's office door pushed open, and He Liping walked in. Seeing that both of them were pulling long faces and not speaking, she asked, "What's wrong? What's going on? Old Zheng, are you and Comrade Xiao Zhao having a disagreement?"

"Not at all, Liping. You don't know—Comrade Xiao Zhao came up to say that Li Fang is here to collect money and won't leave until she gets it. I know Comrade Xiao Zhao put in a lot of effort to negotiate this with her last time, but this funding truly cannot be paid out of the Construction Commission's finances. Our annual expenditures must go through a budget before the Finance Department allocates them. It's not the end of the year yet, and there might be many places where we need to spend money. This account definitely cannot be paid out of our finances. Liping, explain it to Comrade Xiao Zhao." Seeing that He Liping had arrived just in time, Eunuch Zheng wanted to team up with her to fool Zhao Desan.

Although He Liping was perfectly aware of Eunuch Zheng's intention to teach Zhao Desan a lesson, she wasn't entirely clear about what tricks the old guy had played in this matter. Moreover, once this matter involved real interests, He Liping would absolutely not set herself on fire. Although she very much wanted to protect Zhao Desan's safety, she couldn't expose this thought in front of the old guy. Seeing the old guy looking at her with a suggestive gaze, He Liping could only understand his meaning and, very much against her own will, said to Zhao Desan, "Yes, that's right, Comrade Xiao Zhao. Director Zheng is right. Our Construction Commission's own financial management and the financial management of the project funds allocated by the Provincial Finance Department are two different things. The project funds have indeed been allocated according to the audited and agreed-upon amount, and the procedures have been completed and filed. Furthermore, the amount to be paid to the migrant workers is several hundred thousand, not just a few tens of thousands. Our Construction Commission's financial expenditures are all budgeted and subject to year-end audit supervision by the Audit Office. There is no way to pay this money out of our own finances."

Hearing He Liping's explanation match Eunuch Zheng's, and seeing her serious expression—which didn't look like she was fooling him—Zhao Desan asked dejectedly, "Deputy Director He, so you're saying the Construction Commission has no way to compensate them?"

He Liping glanced at Eunuch Zheng. The old guy was looking at her with a strange expression, as if putting pressure on her, so He Liping could only nod against her will and say, "You could say that."

Zhao Desan was so angry he didn't know what to do. He gave a bitter laugh and said, "But Li Fang is here to collect the money today and is waiting in my office downstairs. I was responsible for negotiating this under Director Zheng's authorization. What do you want me to do now? How am I supposed to answer her?"

Eunuch Zheng walked over, lit a cigarette, feigned a heavy expression, and said to Zhao Desan, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, my suggestion is for you to go down and talk to Li Fang again. Both Deputy Director He and I believe you have the ability to get Li Fang to wait for a period of time while we think of other ways. How about that?"

"Enough, Director Zheng, don't put me on a pedestal. I negotiated with her according to your instructions. Now that this situation has arisen, how can I talk to her?" Zhao Desan was so agitated that he shouted at Eunuch Zheng, completely disregarding the superior-subordinate relationship.

Seeing Zhao Desan shouting at the old guy in a tone that defied his superior because of his temporary agitation—which not only wouldn't solve the problem but would make the old guy hate him even more—He Liping glared at him and roared, "What kind of attitude is that when speaking to Director Zheng!" As she said this, she winked at Zhao Desan when the old guy wasn't looking.

Seeing He Liping's serious expression and her winking at him, Zhao Desan knew she was doing it for his own good and that it was a painstaking effort. Therefore, Zhao Desan suppressed his anger, softened his tone, and said, "I didn't mean to lose my temper. I just feel that since this was already negotiated, we should resolve the problem for her as soon as possible. Dragging it out like this makes it very difficult for me to be caught in the middle."

Perhaps the old guy just wanted to see Zhao Desan in a state of desperation. He wasn't angry at all about Zhao Desan losing his temper and disregarding the superior-subordinate relationship. Instead, he put on a look of earnest advice and said to Zhao Desan solemnly, "Comrade Xiao Zhao, I understand your feelings. You handled this matter personally, and now that it has turned out this way, you must feel uncomfortable. But as a leader, I have also exhausted all methods here. Facing a sum of several hundred thousand, I really can't find a good solution. Besides, since you negotiated this matter with Li Fang, you should take responsibility. Nothing in this world is always smooth sailing. The reason the unit decided to send you to Beijing for training for such a long time was because we felt you have a bright future and wanted to cultivate you. Now, this matter is just an opportunity for you; it's time for you to show your worth." ===== CHAPTER 1956 =====

Perhaps the old guy just wanted to see Zhao Desan in a state of exasperation. He didn't get angry at all about Zhao Desan disregarding the superior-subordinate relationship and losing his temper at him. Instead, he put on a look of earnest, well-meaning advice and said to Zhao Desan solemnly: "Comrade Xiao Zhao, I understand your feelings. You handled this matter single-handedly, and now that it has turned out this way, you must be feeling uncomfortable. But as a leader, I have also exhausted all possible methods here. However, facing a sum of several hundred thousand, I really can't find any good solution. Besides, since you were the one who negotiated this matter with that Li Fang, you should now take on this responsibility. Nothing is ever smooth sailing. The reason the unit decided to send you to Beijing for such a long period of study and training is precisely because we feel you have a promising future and want to cultivate you as a priority. Now, this matter is actually a good opportunity for you; it is time for you to prove yourself."