Chapter 705: with translation of chapter title

Pang Xi Lai plans to build the first super-large commercial complex in Qingcheng City—Qingcheng "Freedom City", with a scale of 420,000 square meters and an estimated investment of about 5 billion yuan.

When Yu Xi Lai was communicating with Lu Fan, he indicated that Pang Xi Lai would not take bank loans, the investment situation was relaxed, and the goal of "Freedom City" was to become a model, summarize experience, and then promote it nationwide.

However, after the project was signed, Qingcheng City has never resolved the construction land issue, while other cities' Pang Xi Lai supermarkets have already begun construction; this is a problem of Qingcheng City's subjective initiative.

This is a project personally introduced by Lu Fan, yet Qingcheng City dares to perfunctorily handle it, which fully shows Yun Shuo's attitude problem.

August 20, Lu Fan personally accompanied Yu Xi Lai to inspect the site selection for "Freedom City"; Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member and Qingcheng Municipal Party Secretary Yun Shuo, Mayor Wu Ji'an, Deputy Secretary Ban Ce, and heads of relevant departments accompanied them.

Arriving at Xinhua Square, Yu Xi Lai reported: "Secretary Lu, the investment scale of 'Freedom City' is large, with high requirements for site selection; we need complete surrounding commercial facilities, large passenger flow, able to attract more consumers; convenient transportation, easy for customers to reach, covering a broader customer base. We have preliminarily selected three options: Xinhua Square, the High-Speed Rail East Station, and the airport vicinity."

Lu Fan asked: "How far has the site selection progressed?"

Yu Xi Lai stammered: "The plan has already been submitted to the City Government..."

Lu Fan looked at Mayor Wu Ji'an with a hostile gaze and asked in a deep voice: "How long have you received the application? How far has the site selection progressed?"

Seeing the secretary's fierce gaze, Wu Ji'an's heart jolted, instantly feeling flustered, and he subconsciously turned his eyes toward the Municipal Party Secretary Yun Shuo beside him.

But Yun Shuo turned a blind eye to Wu Ji'an's pleading look, appearing completely unfazed, as if everything happening before him had nothing to do with him.

Normally, Wu Ji'an maintained a certain respect for Yun Shuo, because Yun Shuo was deeply entrenched throughout the grasslands. But tonight is different from usual; anyone can see that the situation has taken a sudden turn for the worse this year, and this group of people is highly disfavored by Secretary Lu, becoming fleeting clouds and yesterday's flowers—perhaps one day they will completely exit the historical stage.

As the mayor of the provincial capital, Wu Ji'an is not a pushover; he thought, since you are not benevolent, don't blame me for being unrighteous—old man, I'm picking a side!

So, Wu Ji'an threw caution to the wind, looked at Lu Fan, and said with a guilty expression: "Secretary, the City Government received the site selection application from Pang Xi Lai two weeks ago; we attached great importance to it, immediately convened a standing meeting of the City Government, the first plan was Xinhua Square, and we planned the land scope and demolition plan. Less than a week later we reported it to the Municipal Party Committee, but Secretary Yun seems to have had a different opinion, and the plan has not yet been submitted to the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee for review."

After hearing Wu Ji'an's explanation, Lu Fan coldly stared at Yun Shuo and sternly questioned: "Comrade Yun Shuo, the Pang Xi Lai project is an investment promotion project personally introduced by the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government; it is a 'top leader' project of the province. You sat on the presidium at the investment promotion conference and the key project advancement meeting—have you not grasped the province's spirit? How much time has passed, and yet the project shows no progress—is this how you implement the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government's instructions? What is your awareness? Where is your political stance?"

Having lived this long and been in politics for over thirty years, when has Yun Shuo ever been treated like this? He really wanted to rush over and beat and curse him, but he can't—an official of higher rank can crush you! Lu Fan has given him the cold shoulder more than once or twice; if he were to turn against him, he would have done so long ago!

Suppressing his anger, Yun Shuo still had to put on a smile and explain: "Secretary, Qingcheng City is the provincial capital; its situation differs from other cities. Here every inch of land is precious, making demolition difficult. If mishandled, it could trigger mass petitions; the Municipal Party Committee must therefore consider carefully and handle prudently. I think haste makes waste—we can gradually work with the surrounding businesses, tackling them one by one, and once the time is ripe, the Municipal Party Committee and City Government can issue the demolition notice, which would be steadier."

Lu Fan's eyes widened, and he scolded: "Demolition has policies, basis, and compensation standards—is this your excuse for not implementing the Provincial Committee's instructions? Or is Pang Xi Lai unwilling to pay this demolition fee? I won't listen to any explanations; the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government demand implementation!"

The citizens of Qingcheng City eagerly await Pang Xi Lai; do you know the importance of this project landing in Qingcheng? Those who do not consider the overall situation cannot manage a single domain—alas, you are still a Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member, and you are seriously lacking in overall vision and awareness. Put bluntly, you are just occupying a position without doing work, rolling up your sleeves to 'watch on the side' and 'detour when facing difficulties'—this is serious dereliction and malfeasance!

I now order you: the Qingcheng Municipal Party Committee and City Government must, within three days, produce a detailed plan for the site selection of 'Freedom City', including the demolition part.

Yun Shuo, I warn you: if you continue to lie low and do nothing, the Provincial Party Committee will seriously pursue responsibility!

After venting his anger, Lu Fan flicked his sleeves and left, leaving a resolute back view.

The leaders and cadres of Qingcheng City stared at each other, looking at a loss, not knowing how to conduct themselves.

All that could be seen was Yun Shuo's face so dark it seemed water could drip from it; he coldly said, "Go back to hold a meeting," then immediately "ducked" into the car and drove away.

Deputy Municipal Party Secretary Ban Ce walked up to Mayor Wu Ji'an's side and said with deep meaning: "Old Wu, the wind fills the tower before the mountain rain comes, dark clouds press the city and it seems about to collapse—this hurdle is both a challenge and an opportunity. Having killed Zhang the butcher, do you still refuse to eat the mixed-hair pig? The world turns without anyone; your municipal government has independence!"

Wu Ji'an had long heard that Deputy Secretary Ban had been frequently reporting work to the Provincial Party Committee, and he immediately responded: "Old Ban, even if the municipal government has ideas, they cannot be separated from comrades' support; this is something you cannot just stand by and watch. Now the entire province is vigorously promoting investment attraction and fiercely pushing key project construction; frankly, our Qingcheng has been lagging behind—we need to catch up head-on!"

Ban Ce smiled slightly and replied: "Even if Qingcheng City is the provincial capital, it must carry out work under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee; a 'top leader' is not a 'tyrant', the era of one-man decision-making, one-word personnel appointments, one-pen expenditures, and one-hand project control is over! As an official, one must know reverence, maintain caution, and uphold the bottom line."

After returning to the Municipal Party Committee, Yun Shuo immediately convened a meeting of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee to specially study the site selection matters related to the Pang Xi Lai project.

He still had some sense; he did not ignore it, established a working team, and assigned the work to the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Urban Management Bureau, Municipal Natural Resources Bureau, and other relevant departments.

Three days later, Yun Shuo brought a plan to the Provincial Party Committee to report to Lu Fan.

But just five minutes later, Lu Fan's temper flared, because Yun Shuo's plan was "nonsense", lacking any operability or timeliness. According to his plan, even if Qingcheng City were given another month, the demolition work could not be started.

Regarding Yun Shuo's perfunctoriness and inaction, Lu Fan completely lost his patience, grew a "killing intent", and directly drove him out.

One hour later, Qingcheng City Mayor Wu Ji'an brought a plan to Lu Fan's office to report on the site selection work for the Pang Xi Lai project.

After hearing the report and reviewing the plan, Lu Fan showed a relieved smile and said: "Comrade Ji'an, your plan is quite good, with the City Government uniformly responsible for demolition work; it can be seen that you have flexibly applied policy."

The 'Freedom City' project is of extraordinary significance; once completed, it will not only be a shopping center but also become our province's cultural window, a new commercial landmark, and lead new consumption trends.

At the same time, it will sound the charge for grassroots food safety rectification; the Provincial Party Committee will take this as an opportunity to launch a province-wide food safety overhaul, with Pang Xi Lai serving as the benchmark!

I will fully entrust this work to you; you must have the tenacity to cling to the green mountains without letting go, the courage to open roads when encountering mountains and build bridges when meeting water, and the vigor to climb slopes, cross pits, and roll stones up mountains, so that the 'Freedom City' project can be launched and start construction as soon as possible.

Wu Ji'an looked at Lu Fan with determined eyes and firmly replied: "Please rest assured, Secretary, the Qingcheng City Government will certainly implement your and the Provincial Committee's instructions, launching the 'Freedom City' project in the shortest time with the highest efficiency, and with the most favorable policies let Pang Xi Lai take root and sprout in Qingcheng, becoming a model enterprise that benefits more people."

In the afternoon, Lu Fan summoned the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Du Wenlong to his office and got straight to the point: "Nian Jiang has been 'taken down' for so long—how is the investigation into Yun Shuo's issues going?"

Du Wenlong replied: "We have grasped some evidence, and there is still some evidence under investigation and verification."

Lu Fan again asked: "Based on the evidence currently in hand, can it reach the threshold for filing a case?"

Du Wenlong considered and said: "This needs to be defined by the superior Discipline Inspection Committee; I can only conduct a secret investigation here, but I think the issue is not serious."

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Fan said in a deep voice: "Wenlong, we need to cut through the tangled mess with a swift blow—Qingcheng City can't wait, and the grasslands province can't either! Here's what I'll do: I'll personally communicate with Secretary Xiao Bin."

After saying that, Lu Fan dialed Zhang Xiao Bin's landline; after ringing for several seconds, the call was connected.

"Comrade Lu Fan, what do you need me for?" came the familiar voice of Secretary Xiao Bin over the phone.

Lu Fan respectfully said: "Hello, Secretary Zhang, I will report to you on the issue of Qingcheng Municipal Party Secretary Yun Shuo."

Secretary Xiao Bin laughed and said: "We are old acquaintances, no need to be so polite; besides, you are also a top leader, you should have the proper demeanor—I am merely a deputy."

Lu Fan laughed and replied: "That's not the same; with you, I will always be your little junior!"

"First, let's talk business—how serious is Yun Shuo's problem?"

"The currently grasped corrupt funds amount to around 100 million yuan; he used his position to provide personal assistance in business operations and job promotions, etc., directly or through his close relatives illegally accepting money and valuables from others, the amount being especially huge. Moreover, he lives extravagantly, his conduct is corrupt, he engages in rampant power-for-sex and money-for-sex trades, becoming the biggest 'tumor' and source polluting the grasslands' and Qingcheng City's political ecosystem."

"Is the evidence chain sufficient or not?"

"Secretary Zhang, why not let Wenlong make a trip to report to you in person?"

"Fine, have him come today!"