Chapter 431: then title translation, then ===GLOSSARY=== with list of named entities

The next morning, at the Haishan Shi Government Conference Center.

The medium-sized conference room that can hold over a hundred people was full to capacity. A prominent banner reading 'Fishery Port New City Project Promotion Coordination Meeting' hung above the podium.

Municipal Party Committee Yu Huacheng sat squarely in the center, his expression solemn.

Mayor Guo Lichun sat to Yu Huacheng's left, wearing his usual inscrutable smile, his fingers lightly tapping the table intermittently.

Other relevant municipal leaders and heads of functional departments also attended the meeting.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn and somewhat dull.

After the leader of the Urban Construction Bureau finished his report, it was Zhengtong Capital's Chairman Fan Donglin's turn to go on stage and give a progress report on the project.

Today Lin Dongfan wore a white shirt, no tie.

Haishan Shi in October was still quite hot.

Although the conference center had air conditioning, the feeling of a tie constricting the neck was still uncomfortable; Lin Dongfan liked to undo a button to breathe freely.

He strode to the podium with steady steps and took the microphone handed by the staff.

His gaze swept over the entire hall.

When his gaze landed on Guo Lichun, Lin Dongfan lingered for two seconds. The feeling of their eyes meeting was subtle. Everyone was good at acting, wearing smiles while sharpening knives in their hearts.

"Respected leaders, colleagues,"

Lin Dongfan's voice, through the microphone, clearly filled the hall, steady and powerful! Speaking like this, he was very experienced, not at all nervous.

They were just clichés; he could deliver them perfectly even without looking at the script.

After all, in his previous life he had worked for over a decade in the Political and Legal Affairs Commission office of Nanzhou Shi, formerly just an overtime drudge writing documents, his mind stocked with N kinds of official templates.

He assumed the aura befitting a conglomerate tycoon.

He spoke calmly:

"Next, I, representing Zhengtong Capital, will briefly report on the current progress of the Fishery Port New City Project and the plans for the next stage."

"Since the project officially commenced,"

"Under the strong leadership of the Municipal Party Committee and municipal government, and the strong support of all functional departments, the project's overall progress is smooth, and the targets at all key nodes are proceeding orderly according to plan."

"As of now, the preliminary infrastructure works have completed 35% of the total volume."

"The progress of the resettlement housing construction also meets expectations; the first batch of housing units, under assured quality and quantity, is expected to be ready for delivery two months ahead of schedule."

"Regarding work safety."

"We have always upheld the principle of "life first, safety first," establishing a comprehensive work‑safety management system, investing special funds in safety‑facility upgrades and personnel training……"

Lin Dongfan's report was detailed and logical, demonstrating a strong grasp of the project.

Yu Huacheng nodded slightly, showing satisfaction. Many in the audience also nodded, acknowledging Zhengtong Capital's work efficiency.

However…

Just as Lin Dongfan reached the critical point of his safety‑production achievements,

the side door of the conference room was pushed open a crack.

Guo Lichun's secretary, Zhang Nan, his face grim to the extreme, quickly walked over to Guo Lichun, who was seated on the podium.

He bent down.

He leaned in to whisper to Guo Lichun's ear: 'An accident occurred at the fishery village construction site; while the crane operator was lifting a prefabricated slab, the cable snapped, and a construction worker was tragically struck and killed on the spot!'

Upon hearing this, Guo Lichun was not surprised; instead, he revealed a faint smile that others could hardly notice.

"Chairman Fan!"

Guo Lichun's voice suddenly rose, cutting off Lin Dongfan's speech.

This sudden incident instantly drew everyone's attention in the hall, and Lin Dongfan's gaze shifted to Guo Lichun.

The air seemed to freeze.

Yu Huacheng frowned, his eyes fixed on Guo Lichun, wondering what trick he would pull today.

Guo Lichun didn't even look at Yu Huacheng's face.

He coldly glared at Lin Dongfan, then adopted an excited and angry posture, loudly announcing to everyone:

"We have just received an urgent report from the construction site!"

"While we were holding this meeting, a serious safety accident occurred at the Fishery Port New City project site; a worker was unfortunately struck by a prefabricated slab and died on the spot!"

As his words fell, the hall fell into dead silence.

Yu Huacheng also broke out in a cold sweat, hardly believing his ears—how could such a major safety accident happen?

Despite a thousand precautions, we still cannot guard against the malicious intent of certain people!

Yu Huacheng, unable to contain his anger, demanded of Guo Lichun: 'Is this an accident or was it done intentionally? Murderous negligence!'

"Secretary Yu, you should ask Chairman Fan about this."

Guo Lichun's face darkened with anger, and he turned his gaze back to Lin Dongfan.

He adopted a solemn and righteous demeanor.

He questioned Lin Dongfan: 'Chairman Fan, you just kept saying "life first, safety first"! Is this what you call safety first? I seriously doubt the construction qualifications of the contractor! As Secretary Yu said, you are committing murderous negligence! This is a serious deception of the Municipal Party Committee and government and of the entire city's populace!'

Lin Dongfan: '……!!!'

Yu Huacheng: '……!!!'

This wave of terrifying counterattack can be said to be unprecedented.

Lin Dongfan's mind was filled with thoughts of which link had gone wrong; he had sent Chen Shaokang and a team of bodyguards to the site to maintain order, yet someone still died.

Meanwhile, Yu Huacheng gritted his teeth in anger, silently cursing Guo Lichun as a treacherous petty person!

Murderous negligence!

These four characters were his gift to Guo Lichun.

I didn't expect this old dog Guo to actually turn his own words around and attack Fan Donglin! Trying to tamper with, bind his position, and together isolate Fan Dongfan!

Just as Yu Huacheng was thinking about how to remedy the situation.

Lin Dongfan suddenly spoke in a cold voice: "Mayor Guo, I strongly suspect this is a premeditated murder case; someone deliberately created trouble to frame me!"

"You say it's murder, what evidence do you have?" Guo Lichun's eyes were like knives, trying to unleash an inviolable official aura, completely suppressing Lin Dongfan in aura.

But he underestimated Lin Dongfan's standing.

Back when he was in Jianglan Province, even provincial-ministerial-level bigwigs couldn't suppress Lin Dongfan, let alone Guo Lichun, who is only a bureau-level official.

Lin Dongfan replied calmly: "I may not have evidence right now, but I have the right to question! I request that you, Mayor Guo, personally order the detention of the excavator driver who caused the accident and ensure his personal safety! If the excavator driver dies or goes missing accidentally, the responsibility falls on you, Mayor Guo."

"Chief Fan, have you forgotten what position you hold?" Guo Lichun chuckled: "Are you ordering me around?"

Seeing that Lin Dongfan was unable to answer that question.

Yu Huacheng immediately stood up to set the tone: "I think Chief Fan's request is not excessive at all! Since lives were lost, we should first detain the responsible personnel and clarify the facts. Mayor Guo, you should personally take charge of this matter, which exactly demonstrates the government's emphasis on public life and property safety."

"...!!!"

This time it was Guo Lichun's turn to swallow his anger and remain speechless.

He silently cursed: "Damn your mother! You two sing in perfect harmony, coordinating flawlessly! This pit is one I prepared for you two, and you actually want to push me, Guo Lichun, into it to bury me alive! Do you really think I'm made of paper?"