Chapter 558

At 10:40, under the 'accompaniment' of Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Fang Yang and two discipline inspection cadres, Deputy Minister Lin Dian walked out of the office, calm and composed, heading for the elevator, and immediately left the Organization Department.

Many cadres loitered at the office doorway; although they saw Minister Lin and Secretary Fang chatting and laughing, everyone knew deep down whether Minister Lin could return was still uncertain!

At 10:50, the Nanyuan City Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau took the lead, together with the Emergency Management Bureau, Market Supervision Bureau, Natural Resources Bureau, court, Public Security Bureau and other departments, arriving at the Lihua Jiayuan project department to begin a comprehensive seizure operation.

Boss Huang Qi rushed over upon hearing the news, seeing dozens of law enforcement officers 'tampering with his foundation'!

Huang Qi hurried over to Bureau Chief Lu Jing's side, offering cigarettes and apologies, and said in a low voice, 'Chief Lu, what is this about?'

Lu Jing pushed the cigarette back, giving Huang Qi a scrutinizing look, and sighed, 'Manager Huang, I am of little weight; you can treat my words as a fart. But do you know? Secretary Lu's words have never gone unfulfilled in Nanyuan. The tasks Secretary Lu assigned, Nanyuan's leading cadres have never dared to delay—you can ask around. I demand you produce a rectification plan within three days, yet I haven't seen even a single word from you. Do you really think the Municipal Party Committee and City Government are just going through the motions with you, joking?'

Huang Qi quickly said, 'Chief Lu, it's a misunderstanding! I'm thinking of a solution, I'm getting the plan ready—several billion yuan in funds, surely you can give me some time?'

"Do you still remember Secretary Lu's personal words to you? 'The bigger the bowl, the more you eat; if assets don't cover debts and you lose operational capacity, you should go bankrupt if you must. The people have paid their money, so they must get their homes.' I'm really sorry, but duty calls—I have to offend you today. The government will fully intervene in Lihua Jiayuan, lawfully reclaim the project, and replace the contractor! If you think there's anything wrong with our procedure, you can file an administrative lawsuit or directly sue in court."

Hearing these words, Huang Qi anxiously said, 'Chief Lu, there's no need to be like this—we see each other anyway. Don't just look at the monk's face and ignore the Buddha's; this isn't just my project!'

Lu Jing shouted, 'Don't waste my time with useless talk! We've said and done everything we should, but you never take the government's words seriously. Manager Huang, we act according to law and regulations, handling affairs impartially—please don't interfere with our duties!' Having said that, he stopped paying attention to Huang Qi.

That day, the Nanyuan City Government fully launched the procedure and forcibly reclaimed the Lihua Jiayuan project.

"Secretary Lu is awesome—just a few days and there's already movement!" "We have hope now!" Outside, homeowners cheered and applauded in unison, and many also loudly cursed the developer.

Seeing the government get serious, Huang Qi was anxious, hid to the side and dialed Deputy Provincial Governor Peng Dezhi's phone; upon connection, he urgently said, 'Governor, Nanyuan is going to forcibly reclaim Lihua Jiayuan—today dozens of people have arrived and started the procedure—what should we do?'

After a few seconds, Peng Dezhi slowly said, 'Human greed is never enough—how much money is ever enough? Won't you be satisfied with what you have? Why must you push things to this point? Nanyuan City has made such a great determination to deal with "ghost buildings"; can't you see the situation?'

Huang Qi said anxiously, 'Governor, I really have no choice—if I don't "hold" the inventory, I have no profit at all, as you know, the money's already been spent! It's pointless to work hard for nothing; I can't end up losing money—what kind of business is that?'

Peng Dezhi snapped, 'Huang Qi, what do you mean? Finding you a project ended up harming you?'

Huang Qi hurriedly said, 'Governor, you've misunderstood—I really don't mean that. Now that it's come to this, we must solve the problem; could you coordinate with Secretary Lu? Let the city give some preferential policies, subsidies, etc.? I've inquired: the Nanyuan City Government has set aside 500 million yuan in special funds for handling "ghost buildings", specifically for project subsidies—surely you can't just block my project outright without offering any policy?'

Peng Dezhi thought for a moment, then said, 'Speak frankly—can you save this project? I warn you, Nanyuan is different from other places; don't be greedy, or you'll end up losing both the chicken and the rice.'

"Governor, at the end of the day it's still a money problem—well, I can only say I'll do my best!"

"Just wait for news!"

……

Peng Dezhi oversees civil affairs, water resources, market supervision, and civil defense work; on his desk lie the special fund application reports for key projects such as Nanyuan City's water source area water quality protection project, the South-North Water Diversion project, and the flood impact mitigation project, etc. Only after he, as the supervising leader, signs and approves them can the finance department allocate the funds, totaling forty to fifty billion yuan.

Work, you know—if put nicely, it's just you support me, I support you; if put bluntly, everyone calls it 'interest exchange'. Nanyuan needs development—how can it do without provincial government support?

After thinking for a long time, Peng Dezhi set aside Nanyuan's fund application report, planning to find a 'suitable' moment to communicate with Lu Fan.

The Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee's Discipline Inspection and Supervision Propaganda Base is the 'frontline position' of disciplinary inspection work; it has dedicated interrogation rooms and living quarters for those under investigation. The interrogation rooms are equipped with toilets and surveillance systems to ensure the safety and confidentiality of the interrogation process. The living quarters provide necessary facilities such as single beds, air-conditioned blankets, and pillows, and there is also a medical room to safeguard the physical health rights of those being investigated.

Now, Deputy Minister of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department Lin Dian has received the 'soft detention' treatment here, and it is Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Fang Yang who is personally talking to him.

Upon arrival, no one could remain calm; Lin Dian questioned, 'Secretary Fang, I'm cooperating with the discipline inspection investigation—there's no need to bring me here, is there?'

Fang Yang said lightly, 'No need to worry about these trivialities; it doesn't matter where we talk. The point is to get to the bottom of your corruption issues.'

"Ah?" Lin Dian exclaimed in surprise, 'Secretary Fang, I merely met a female cadre; that night, faced with her unreasonable demands, I firmly refused—how could this involve corruption?'

Fang Yang snorted coldly and said, 'Deputy Minister Lin, a man must own up to his actions—the woman has already admitted it; you helped her "get on shore", she became your lover, each getting what they wanted, a pleasant cooperation. According to the clues we've gathered, you two went to hotels and resorts 35 times; I've brought the video surveillance. Deputy Minister Lin, you're in great shape—still going strong at your age!'

Lin Dian hastily explained, 'Secretary Fang, this is a matter of principle—you can't smear me like this! I admit knowing her, but I absolutely did not show favoritism or pervert the law, and it's impossible that I violated discipline inspection rules to help her "get on shore"; you can't believe just her one-sided account—going to hotels could also be exchanging work experience!'

"What about the BMW? As for exchanging work experience, would you give her 300,000? Deputy Minister Lin, you're being overly generous, aren't you?"

"Secretary Fang, what 300,000? I don't get it!" At this point, Lin Dian had already let go of his fear and gradually entered the 'state'. Being able to rise to Deputy Minister of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department, he certainly wasn't lacking in fighting experience.

However, Fang Yang has seen more opponents like him! Given time, we can sit down, lay out the facts and reason slowly—we could talk for three days and three nights straight!

"Lin Dian, who did you have pull strings for during your interview? You certainly won't forget—he's right next door! Also, you once served as Vice Mayor of Bianliang City, overseeing agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, and animal husbandry, right? The discipline inspection has already sent a working team down there to investigate some reports. 'Traces remain where geese pass, echoes linger where wind blows—trying to conceal only makes things more obvious.' Let's not rush; we'll talk slowly, but I worry that if you keep resisting the organization's review, the outcome may end up unclear."

If the discipline inspection is thorough, who could withstand scrutiny? Lin Dian's heart sank, and an unprecedented fear surged like a tide, as if an invisible hand were tightly gripping his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.

On October 25, Tang Bing presided over a collective study session of the Provincial Party Committee's Theoretical Study Center Group, focusing on important speeches and instructions regarding statistical work.

At the meeting, members of the Provincial Party Committee's Theoretical Study Center Group spoke, combining work experience, freely discussing their study insights, further identifying shortcomings and clarifying directions of effort, achieving the goals of exchanging understanding, inspiring thought, and promoting work.

Tang Bing emphasized that we must guide cadres at all levels to firmly establish and practice a correct performance view, strictly implement the political responsibility to prevent and treat statistical falsification, and genuinely use high-quality statistics to serve high-quality development.

Tang Bing pointed out that we should use true and accurate statistical data and high-quality, efficient monitoring and analysis to better serve high-quality development. We must uphold the principle of 'count everything that should be counted' and 'granules into storage', comprehensively and truthfully reflect economic operations, scientifically analyze existing contradictions and problems. Timely release of authoritative data will guide the public to comprehensively and accurately assess economic conditions dialectically, strengthening confidence in development.

Finally, Tang Bing said, 'The Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department is responsible for evaluation work; statistical figures are an important basis for evaluation. Comrade Lu Fan is also a veteran in economic work, so the Organization Department should deeply participate in statistical supervision and inspection work. The Provincial Party Committee has decided that this special supervision and inspection will be led by Comrade Chongzhou and Comrade Lu Fan, to make statistical work solid and meticulous.'

After the meeting, Deputy Provincial Governor Peng Dezhi deliberately walked out of the conference room together with Lu Fan, smiling and said, 'Minister, are you busy these days? I heard you have good tea.'

Lu Fan replied with a smile, 'There's no fine tea, but I have plenty of rations tea; I prefer pu'er—if you don't mind, come to my place for a tasting.'

"What an honor!"

The special funds had been held up for a week—a rare occurrence in Nanyuan in recent years. Su Xiang Hai had already reported to Lu Fan that several billion yuan in funds were stuck with Peng Dezhi, and even several bureau chiefs were powerless.

Therefore, Lu Fan had thought of many ways, but he really didn't want to strain relations with Peng Dezhi; these past two days he had been planning to see him.

Upon arriving at the office, Lu Fan warmly received him, personally brewed tea, and extended full courtesy.

The two began to chat about everything and nothing, delaying getting to the main point.