Chapter 437

At seven in the morning, Xiao Bin slept a night in the car; opening his eyes, he was already in Yingjiang—time to work!

Before taking action, Xiao Bin called Wang Hongtao to ask whether to report Xu Yongjiang.

Wang Hongtao thought and said: 'First detain the person, then report; Secretary Xu Yongjiang has been very active lately!'

Xiao Bin replied: 'Okay, I know what to do!'

After hanging up, Xiao Bin glanced at familiar Yingjiang, breathed in the scent of his hometown, and said: 'Du Long, first go to the 100-meter Avenue to eat seaweed buns, then go to the Municipal Party Committee to work!'

Du Long laughed and said: 'Secretary, for such a petty mayor, do you need to personally intervene? Let's not use a cannon to shoot a mosquito—too much honor for him; I'll take care of it.'

Xiao Bin shook his head and said: 'Hong Tao gave me that call; I must go myself, you damn dog, what heinous thing have you done? No, I'll call Daiqiang.'

Si Daiqiang had just arrived at the office, was brewing tea, when he saw Secretary Xiao Bin's number and hurriedly answered.

'Daiqiang, let me ask something: what outrageous thing have you guys' mayor Zhao Tao been up to these past two days?'

Si Daiqiang dared not conceal it, and replied truthfully: 'Last night she harassed Secretary Li Ruifang's secretary Yao Qian!'

'Holy shit, what big gall! Is Yao Qian okay?'

'It's fine; Zhao Tao was as soft as a loach then, drunk!'

'Alright, alright, let this lecher breathe a bit of free air! Daiqiang, you go check later if Zhao Tao has gone to work; I'll first go to the 100-meter Avenue to eat a few buns.'

'Ah? Secretary, you've arrived in Yingjiang?'

'Yeah, I rushed over overnight, just to help that bastard Zhao Tao!'

'Just wait, I'll come over right away to find you!'

'No need, I'll eat a few buns then go to the Municipal Party Committee; you keep Zhao Tao under close watch! Also, inform Comrade Li Ruifang.'

When Li Ruifang learned that Secretary Xiao Bin had already arrived in Yingjiang, she hurriedly took Yao Qian to the Municipal Party Committee, summoned Lu Fan to the office, and stood ready; in her heart she had already passed a death sentence on Zhao Tao. At the same time she lamented, arresting such a petty Zhao Tao actually required Secretary Xiao Bin to come in person—truly using a cannon to shoot a mosquito!

Lu Fan came to Li Ruifang's office and asked: 'Secretary, any instructions?'

Li Ruifang said: 'You are the first witness to last night's incident; Secretary Xiao Bin has already arrived in Yingjiang—see what he wants to ask later.'

Lu Fan was equally startled in his heart, not expecting the action to be so swift—actually Secretary Xiao Bin himself has arrived!

Li Ruifang asked again: 'Has Zhao Tao arrived at the unit?'

Lu Fan replied: 'Just now, when I came over, I saw him—he looked listless.'

Li Ruifang said angrily: 'Heaven's wrongdoing can be avoided; self-inflicted wrongdoing cannot be survived.'

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Bin and Du Long came to Li Ruifang's office, and solemnly said: 'Comrade Li Ruifang, we have received many complaint letters; the masses have strong reactions to Yingjiang City Mayor Zhao Tao, involving many corruption issues; today we will take measures against him!'

Li Ruifang expressed her stance: 'Please rest assured, Secretary Zhang, the Yingjiang Municipal Party Committee will firmly follow the Discipline Inspection Committee's decision, fully cooperate with this action, and practice zero tolerance toward corrupt elements!'

Xiao Bin turned to Lu Fan and said: 'Long time no see, you've done well, becoming more steady! Lu Fan, there's no outsider here—briefly tell me what happened last night.'

'Okay, Secretary Zhang, the situation is like this…' Lu Fan spent four or five minutes detailing the events.

Xiao Bin asked: 'Has Yao Qian come? I'll go check.'

Li Ruifang stood up and said: 'Secretary Zhang, I'll have her come over.' Then she gave Lu Fan a look.

Soon after, Yao Qian entered the secretary's office; Li Ruifang and Lu Fan went to Si Daiqiang's office.

Upon seeing Zhang Xiaobin, Yao Qian's eye sockets instantly welled up; tears uncontrollably slid down her cheeks as she spoke with a sobbing tone: 'Secretary Zhang, you must uphold justice for me!' Her voice revealed endless grievance and anger.

Xiao Bin said: 'What outrageous gall! Yao Qian, rest assured, I've come to deal with him!'

'He's just a beast! Fortunately Lu Fan noticed in time and rushed over; otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable!'

Xiao Bin also asked: 'Why did Lu Fan notice?'

Yao Qian wiped her tears and said: 'Zhao Tao had harassed me before; I told Lu Fan about it. Last night, I guess I was out too long, which aroused Lu Fan's vigilance; he called me but I didn't answer, so he brought Si Daiqiang and burst in.'

Xiao Bin continued: 'What do you think of Lu Fan? Does he have any corruption problems?'

Yao Qian shook her head and firmly said: 'Definitely not; Lu Fan oversees key projects, and no one in Yingjiang City says he takes bribes. Lu Fan is excellent; Secretary Li and Mayor Zhao both rely on him—whatever work is handed to him feels easy, and I feel the city leaders consider his ability strong.'

……

Li Ruifang sat on the sofa and said: 'Secretary Zhang Xiaobin has arrived; Zhao Tao will surely be taken down completely. Daiqiang, I will recommend to the Provincial Committee that you succeed as mayor.'

Si Daiqiang replied: 'Thank you, Secretary, for your patronage!' Other words need not be said; whether one can rise mainly depends on the opinion of the senior leaders.

Li Ruifang continued: 'Xiaojun went to the Development and Reform Commission, Dahua went to the Ministry of Finance; the Ningyang County Committee Secretary and the Ganshui County Chief positions are vacant—these are important leadership posts that need to be filled promptly!'

Si Daiqiang nodded thoughtfully, without speaking.

Lu Fan, meanwhile, kept himself out of it, feeling that these two each have their own motives; later they might find it hard to get along, possibly even engaging in a 'dragon-tiger struggle'.

After all, everyone has their own political pursuits; no one wants to become another's puppet or vassal.

As Municipal Party Secretary, Li Ruifang longs to firmly grasp the initiative of the situation, thereby demonstrating her ability.

Si Daiqiang has a bright future ahead; he surely wants to achieve something in his position, naturally unwilling to passively yield and be manipulated.

Amidst the entanglement and conflict of interests, even so-called 'insiders' are bound to oppose each other; however, maintaining a superficial harmony is still necessary, otherwise they'll all end up suffering the fallout, and the struggle must be kept within certain bounds.

At nine in the morning, Xiao Bin, accompanied by Du Long and the staff, headed to the City Government, with Lu Fan accompanying.

Arriving at the mayor's office door, Xiao Bin pushed the door open directly, then scrutinized Zhao Tao.

As an outstanding figure who emerged from Qinchuan, how could Zhao Tao not know of Secretary Xiao Bin's formidable reputation?

Seeing Secretary Xiao Bin suddenly appear in his office, Zhao Tao's heart leapt to his throat; he rose and said: 'Welcome, Secretary Zhang, for your inspection and guidance—please sit, I'll make you tea!'

Xiao Bin coldly said: 'Zhao Tao, some matters require your cooperation in the investigation—come with me!'

"Ah?" Zhao Tao's legs trembled violently, and with a shaking voice he asked, "Secretary Zhang, I..."

Xiao Bin didn't waste words with him, directly issuing an order to Du Long: "Take him away!"

Du Long, accompanied by two cadres, immediately stepped forward, seized Zhao Tao without a word, and took him out of the office.

After coming out, the hallway was already filled with people; many cadres knew Secretary Xiao Bin, and everyone was stunned into silence.

Lu Fan shouted loudly: "Everyone, get back to work!"

In an instant, everyone had returned to the office.

As they went downstairs, Xiao Bin said to Lu Fan, "When I return to Jingcheng another day, give me a call and we'll get together."

Lu Fan hurriedly replied, "As long as I don't disturb your work, that's fine."

Xiao Bin sighed, "Lu Fan, do you still remember our first meeting?"

Lu Fan nodded, the first time being taken away by the Discipline Inspection Committee, that fear and unforgettable!

Xiao Bin continued, "I know you've done well these past few years, achieving many accomplishments and honors. You must remember, we came from the countryside, we must cherish everything we have now. In the future, you will rise to higher leadership positions; I hope you establish correct outlooks on life and values, be self-respecting, self-disciplined, self-aware, eliminate improper thoughts, constantly keep a self-disciplined heart, and forever maintain the political integrity of Integrity and Cleanliness."

Zhao Tao is a living example, unable to resist the temptations of money, power, and beauty, he embarked on the road of violations, discipline breaches, illegal acts, and crimes, ultimately ruining his future, destroying his reputation, even landing in prison, and stepping onto the path of no return.

Lu Fan solemnly replied, "A gentleman examines himself three times a day. Rest assured, I will always stay clear-minded, build a solid ideological defense against corruption and change, make good use of the power in my hands, consciously accept public supervision, keep myself clean and dedicated to public service, be pure in person and fair in deeds."

"Mm, I believe you can definitely do it, and I look forward to you achieving even more and better results! Past events have vanished like smoke, there will be no problems! Lu Fan, keep it up, I'm optimistic about you!"

Watching Secretary Xiao Bin's receding figure, Lu Fan's thoughts drifted back to age eighteen.

He will never forget how helpless and lost he felt upon leaving the detention center; Secretary Xiao Bin specially stopped the car to send him back, and in your time of hardship, that care and encouragement were unforgettable.

Taking Zhao Tao with him, Xiao Bin returned to Jingcheng.

After driving on the expressway for an hour, Xiao Bin called Secretary Xu Yongjiang.

"Secretary Yongjiang, I am Zhang Xiao Bin!"

"Secretary Zhang, what are your instructions?"

"Yongjiang Secretary said jokingly, how could I give you instructions? I have something to communicate with you. We have received many reports about Zhao Tao, the mayor of Yingjiang City. Following the principle of 'have a case, must file; file a case, must investigate; investigate a case, must be strict', I personally went to Yingjiang and took measures against Zhao Tao. Since the matter was urgent, I didn't have time to report to the Qinchuan Provincial Party Committee; please forgive me."

"They've already been arrested; if they're not forgiven, what else can be done? Xu Yongjiang replied: 'The Qinchuan Provincial Party Committee insists on no forbidden zones, full coverage, and zero tolerance in punishing corruption. Secretary Xiao Bin, Zhao Tao is a department-level official; according to management approval authority, shouldn't he be handed over to the Qinchuan Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee for investigation?'"

"Xiao Bin simply replied: 'No need, the leadership has given special instructions; I will conduct an elevated interrogation, and the relevant documents will be issued as soon as possible.'"

"After hanging up, Xu Yongjiang fell into deep thought; the situation has now become clear."

"After careful consideration, Xu Yongjiang called Wang Hongtao……"