Chapter 677: with translation of chapter title

After listening to the report, Lu Fan's face sank like water, he nodded slightly, then fell into silence, saying nothing.

The atmosphere in the meeting room became unusually solemn; the municipal and county leaders were like sitting on pins and needles, they nervously stared at Lu Fan on the podium, awaiting the leader's "verdict".

Time seemed to freeze, each second felt extraordinarily long.

Ten minutes later, Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Guo Yongqing hurried in and reported in a low voice: "Secretary, the situation of the five 'empty-salary' personnel in the Agriculture Bureau has basically been grasped; Liu Yueqi is the wife of the Finance Bureau director, has been drawing empty salary for about ten years, usually accompanying studies in Qingcheng City; Ma Mei and Wang Shuyun's husbands have been promoted to posts outside the county, and they have long resided in the city, not having gone to work for seven or eight years..."

With a "bang", Lu Fan's face flushed with anger, he slammed the table hard, the neatly placed documents on the table were instantly scattered, then he said angrily: "Just two units have nine people who have been drawing empty salary for years; it's outrageous that someone hasn't come to work for over ten years, truly shocking! Are the heads of these units and the County Party Committee and County Government blind? Or are you simply numb and indifferent, even accustomed to it, covering up and tolerating? This is serious dereliction of duty, malfeasance! Moreover, the Municipal Party Committee and City Government, this is the important good cadre you promoted!"

Hearing Municipal Party Secretary Lu's furious questioning and angry gaze, Wei Dongsheng, Zu Benji, the County Party Secretary and the County Chief felt as if they were in deep water, panicked, they lowered their heads in shame, unable to utter a word of defense.

After catching his breath, Lu Fan said in a deep voice: "Have you all turned into ostriches? You must give the Provincial Party Committee an explanation for today's matter! Fortunately, the Municipal Party Secretary, Mayor, Deputy Secretary, and Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary are all here; find a place, work on the spot, hold a secretary's office meeting to study the handling outcome. My opinion is that illegal income must be recovered, the relevant personnel involved must be dealt with at the highest level, with no room for negotiation! I'll just sit here and wait."

Wei Dongsheng stepped forward two steps, with a guilty expression, he said: "Please Secretary, calm your anger; I will immediately convene a meeting, quickly form handling opinions, show no leniency toward the responsible personnel, and certainly give you and the Provincial Party Committee a satisfactory explanation!"

At this moment, the entire county compound was shrouded in a tense atmosphere; the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee flew into a rage on the spot, rumors spread miraculously, various versions and details kept emerging, leaving people stunned; such a thing had never happened in the history of Wuxian County.

Those cadres who drew empty salary, upon hearing the news, realized disaster was imminent, each like a startled bird, they rushed back in panic.

In the small meeting room of the County Party Committee, Municipal Party Secretary Wei Dongsheng sat upright in the chief seat, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, at this moment coldly gazing at the Wuxian County Party Secretary and County Chief; the chill in his gaze made people feel a shiver despite not being cold.

He was furious and full of disappointment, he roared: "You've really given me face! If you can't do it, then pack up and get lost, go home and hug your kids! Don't just sit here occupying the toilet without defecating!"

Seeing the County Party Secretary trembling and uneasy, Mayor Zu Benji advised: "Secretary, scolding them now is useless; the urgent thing is to produce handling opinions and give Secretary Lu an explanation, so he doesn't have to wait. As for Wuxian's problems, we'll investigate later."

Wei Dongsheng suppressed his anger and said: "The nine cadres drawing empty salary are all relatives of leading cadres; Secretary Lu has just set the tone, we must enforce it strictly. My opinion is: first, set a time limit, spit out all that has been taken, not a day less—this is the bare minimum attitude! Second, those who cover up empty-salary units, the heads of the County Commerce Bureau and Agriculture Bureau shall be removed from office on the spot, and their other issues investigated; third, leading cadres who tolerate their relatives drawing empty salary shall all be suspended, with the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee responsible, to dig deep into the corrupt roots behind. Secretary Lu's opinion is very clear: scrape the bone to cure the poison, relentless pursuit, elevate administrative accountability to the legal level. Fourth, Wuxian shall immediately launch the harshest crackdown on empty-salary illegal acts, treating it as the top political task at present, with the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee overseeing the whole process, dealing with each case discovered promptly and severely, investigating responsible personnel swiftly and strictly, showing no indulgence to wrongdoing!"

Mayor Zu Benji pondered, then said: "I agree with Secretary's opinion; in urgent times we must adopt a tough stance, wield an iron fist to rectify empty-salary illegal acts, otherwise we won't get past this hurdle!"

Deputy Secretary Li Chengjing and Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Guo Yongqing both expressed their support.

Wei Dongsheng said: "Issues concerning county-level cadres shall be handled by the County Party Committee and County Government; issues concerning municipally-managed cadres, we will work on the spot, handle locally, notify the Municipal Organization Department to rush to Wuxian immediately. You two go find a place to meet, take the handling opinions as quickly as possible; if anyone dares to engage in graft and favoritism or cover up and tolerate empty-salary practices, I will remove you from office today!"

Upon hearing this, the County Party Secretary and County Chief immediately rose, withdrew from the meeting room with bowed heads and hesitant steps.

Just after stepping out, the County Party Secretary emanated an aura and full-body anger, he sternly told the Office Director: "Immediately convene a standing committee meeting!"

Wei Dongsheng, with a solemn expression and stern tone, said: "Any matter concerning county-level cadres shall be uniformly handed over to the County Party Committee and County Government for handling; once it involves municipally-managed cadres, we will work on the spot and resolve it immediately. Furthermore, promptly notify the Municipal Organization Department to rush to Wuxian at once. You two first go find a suitable place to hold a meeting, you must obtain specific handling opinions as quickly as possible. If anyone dares to harbor graft and favoritism or cover up and tolerate this heinous empty-salary practice, I will indeed remove you from office on the spot!"

Upon hearing these words, the County Party Secretary and County Chief hurriedly rose, responding with trepidation: "We will strictly follow Secretary's instructions in handling this, striving to make amends!" Then they retreated from the meeting room like startled birds, cautious and careful.

Just as he stepped out of the meeting room doors, the County Party Secretary instantly transformed; his former humble and obedient demeanor vanished, replaced by a powerful aura.

He was seen with a furious face, cold light flashing in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and ordered the Office Director: "Immediately gather the standing committee members and relevant departments, convene an emergency expanded standing committee meeting!" His brief words left no room for doubt; one could foresee that Wuxian was about to experience an "earthquake"!

As noon approached, Wei Dongsheng came to the Agriculture Bureau meeting room, reported the preliminary handling opinions of the Municipal Party Committee and County Party Committee, and declared that Wuxian had already launched the special rectification work on empty-salary; the Municipal Party Committee would surely use the strictest standards, tightest supervision, harshest penalties, and most serious accountability to oversee the city-wide empty-salary rectification work.

Seeing the results—two removed from office, nine suspended, four dismissed from public service, and the recovered 4.41 million yuan of illegal income—Lu Fan nodded and said: "The nine suspended must be thoroughly investigated; if there are other corruption issues, they will be severely punished without mercy; I will keep a close watch. As for Wuxian's empty-salary rectification, you must personally oversee it, allowing no loopholes; I will send the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee down for covert inspections."

Wei Dongsheng quickly replied: "Please Secretary, rest assured, Yike City will certainly treat the empty-salary rectification as the current top political task to accomplish, we will elevate administrative accountability to the legal level, punish the relevant responsible persons with charges of dereliction of duty and fraud, and uniformly 'remove the hats' of the behind-the-scenes figures and protective umbrellas, achieving the goal of 'eating the bone and spitting out the meat'!"

Lu Fan continued: "The Wuxian County Party Committee and County Government's inadequate supervision must bear responsibility; they should be given appropriate disciplinary sanctions as a warning to others!"

Wei Dongsheng respectfully replied: "Okay, the Municipal Party Committee will strictly implement the Provincial Party Committee's instructions! Secretary, it's mealtime; you've worked hard all morning, your health is important—shall we first go back to the city for a meal?"

Today's objective having been met, Lu Fan then returned to the city.

That afternoon, Yike City's Municipal Party Committee and City Government convened a citywide mobilization and deployment meeting on the special rectification of empty-salary issues; Municipal Party Secretary Wei Dongsheng personally presided over the meeting, all municipal leaders present in the city attended, as did the secretaries and chiefs of all counties and districts, and the heads of all municipal departments.

The meeting reported Wuxian's empty-salary problem and its handling results, promulgated the Implementation Plan, read out the relevant disciplinary regulations, and required that through special rectification, empty-salary units and individuals violating discipline and rules be severely punished, with accountability, exposure, cleanup, handling, and standardization carried out in batches, firmly, thoroughly, and cleanly eliminating the empty-salary issue from Yike City.

Dong Sheng pointed out that carrying out a special rectification of 'drawing pay without working' is the current top political task; the entire city must unify thinking and attach great importance. We must strike hard at the 'stubborn ailment' and administer strong medicine to the 'deep-seated disease', thoroughly removing the 'stumbling block' to Yike City's development. We must put discipline strictly in place, personnel cleanup in place, and violation handling in place, firmly uphold discipline first, strictly enforce organizational discipline, personnel discipline, and financial discipline, adopt a 'zero tolerance' stance toward the 'drawing pay without working' issue, and strictly implement 'dual accountability'.

After the meeting ended, a historically massive 'drawing pay without working' rectification campaign was launched in Yike City with great vigor; in just three days, over 1,000 people were dealt with, and 180 million yuan in funds were recovered, all of which were confiscated by the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee's integrity account.

Having learned from Yike City's lesson, all cities and departments across the province attached great importance to the special rectification of 'drawing pay without working', earnestly carried out self-inspection and self-correction, strictly implemented disciplinary requirements, and firmly guarded the bottom line and red line, fearing to become another Yike City.

On January 28, Yike City's assessment ended, and Lu Fan led the team back to the Provincial Committee.

The leaders of Yike City suddenly breathed a sigh of relief; these past few days they had been trembling with fear, worried that Secretary Lu would fly into a rage if he were displeased.

Unbeknownst to them, Lu Fan had already established lofty prestige throughout the province.