Chapter 421: Is There a Problem with the Woman Next Door?

Wan Ming soon arrived at Tang Ye's residence.

On the coffee table in front of Tang Ye, there was indeed a plate of fruit.

"This is—the poisonous fruit?"

Tang Ye couldn't help but laugh, "The fruit isn't necessarily poisonous, but the perfume likely is."

The perfume is poisonous?

Wan Ming realized what he meant.

"Was the fruit sent over by that woman next door? I felt something was off yesterday; that little hussy's gaze toward you wasn't right, she kept staring at you."

Tang Ye crossed his arms and analyzed, "Forgot my keys at home yesterday, came over to deliver fruit as thanks today—the plot is certainly arranged quite reasonably."

Wan Ming stared at him, his tone carrying a hint of hesitation, "Could it be that you're overthinking it?"

Tang Ye shook his head, "I trust my sixth sense; that woman next door definitely has a problem. Help me look into her properly and figure out exactly what she wants by getting close to me!"

Wan Ming had always trusted his judgment and immediately replied, "Don't worry, I'll arrange for people to investigate right away. If her background is clean, then normal neighborly interactions in the future are fine, and you can boldly and safely get close to her."

Tang Ye gave Wan Ming a sharp look, "Do I seem like someone so lacking in discretion?"

Wan Ming laughed heartily, "You are indeed very discreet in this regard; you are someone who can accomplish great things."

Tang Ye patted Wan Ming on the shoulder, and the topic shifted abruptly: "By the way, is there any progress in the investigation of the tower crane injury case at the Industrial Park environmental renovation site?"

Wan Ming's expression instantly sank, his voice lowering: "Found a key clue. After the accident occurred, two workers immediately resigned and turned around to buy long-distance bus tickets straight to Yun Province."

Tang Ye understood immediately, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes: "Yun Province? You mean, it's related to Xu Zongchao again?"

"Nine times out of ten, it's him." Wan Ming's expression was grave, "Of course, one cannot rule out that someone is using Xu Zongchao being abroad to deliberately use him as a cover."

Mentioning Xu Zongchao, Tang Ye immediately felt a headache!

This existence, like a malignant tumor, was always lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to act.

If not pulled out by the roots, it would eventually become a serious threat.

……

The next day, just past nine o'clock, Tang Ye's cell phone rang with a call from Gao Ping.

The voice on the other end of the line was relaxed: "County Magistrate Tang, I'm bringing you good news—the first batch of sixty million in 'Village-to-Village Connection' funding has just arrived in the Suiyuan account!"

Tang Ye could not hide his joy: "Brother Gao, thank you so much! Thank you for the city's full support for Suiyuan. When shall we grab a meal?"

"No rush to eat," Gao Ping's tone suddenly became grave, "The top priority is to use this money where it's needed most. As far as I know, the fiscal situation in Suiyuan County is not optimistic; the city has received reports that wages haven't been paid for three months."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Gao."

Tang Ye naturally understood the deeper meaning in those words.

Although the city-level fiscal appropriation had reached the county finance account, it might not necessarily be used for its intended purpose.

Grassroots finance often plays the trick of "robbing Peter to pay Paul."

Especially since Suiyuan County suffered severe damage from a debt crisis a few years ago; although there has been some improvement now, its vitality is far from recovered.

This sum of funds could easily be used to fill previous holes.

One part is poverty alleviation funding, the other is infrastructure funding; both easily become targets for misappropriation.

Just after hanging up Gao Ping's call, the Liaison Officer for County Magistrate Gao Hong called: "Standing Committee Member Tang, the County Magistrate invites you to his office to discuss matters."

When Tang Ye walked into Gao Hong's office clutching his notebook, Executive Deputy County Magistrate Nie Kai was already sitting on the sofa, his gaze sweeping over him faintly, carrying a bit of scrutiny.

"Sit down." After Tang Ye sat down, Gao Hong tapped his fingertips on the desk, "Just got news from the County Finance Bureau that the city's sixty million in fiscal funding has arrived. According to the original plan, it's for the 'Village-to-Village Connection' project, but you also know what the situation is with Suiyuan's finances right now; the wages of all the city's civil servants have been in arrears for three months. Comrade Nie Kai, we are preparing to use a portion of it to pay wages. Do you have any opinions?"

Currently, the County Government has three Standing Committee Members, so for many important matters, the three of them communicate and reach a consensus, after which there is generally no dispute at the Standing Committee meeting.

Although the County Government only has three votes, when it comes to government affairs, the County Party Secretary generally will not easily negate the government's opinion. Otherwise, the County Party Secretary easily falls into the criticism and quagmire of over-interfering in government work.

Han Guangyao handled this quite well, mainly because he knew that although the Suiyuan Gang had shown signs of collapse after Wang Xingjian left, he was, after all, an outsider cadre and did not know the grassroots cadres well; if he interfered too much in government affairs, it would easily lead to chaos.

Originally, Gao Hong and Nie Kai actually did not get along; they were the right-hand men cultivated by Wang Xingjian, but they were also in a relationship of mutual restraint.

However, with the arrival of Han Guangyao, the outsider monk, the situation changed.

At times, the two of them would unite to fight for resources for the Suiyuan faction.

This made it impossible for Han Guangyao to have absolute control over government work.

They were now strongly demanding that wages be paid to civil servants; it seemed like they were fighting for the interests of the people below, but in reality, they were also disguisedly showing off their solid foundation.

Even if Han Guangyao had the support of the Mayor in the city, many people at the grassroots level were direct subordinates of Gao Hong and Nie Kai.

They had to fight for the interests of this group of subordinates.

"County Magistrate Gao, this money is specifically for road construction!" Tang Ye said in a deep voice, "Without this money, the road cannot be built. We won't be able to answer to the city."

Nie Kai leaned back on the sofa, his tone carrying a hint of mockery: "Little Tang, you are still not familiar enough with grassroots work. When using fiscal funds at the grassroots level, one must adjust according to the actual situation. Suiyuan has been doing 'Village-to-Village Connection' for so many years; what's left are all hard nuts to crack. If sixty million is thrown in, I'm afraid you won't even hear a sound."

Gao Hong remained silent and lit a cigarette.

The swirling smoke blurred his expression.

In the past, after he and Nie Kai discussed this type of fund allocation, they only needed to inform the County Party Secretary to finalize it.

But this money was a special fund that Tang Ye had actively fought for from the city.

If they didn't communicate beforehand, once Tang Ye poked the matter to the city, even if they could explain it as a "special situation," it would be hard to avoid complications.

This was clearly a difficult problem posed to Tang Ye—

On one side was a livelihood project registered with the city that had to be pushed forward;

On the other side was the salary of the entire county's civil servant team, waiting to be fed.

If he opposed the misappropriation of funds now, he would likely immediately become the "opposite" of all the county's public servants.

But if he agreed to use it this way, it meant failing Mayor Jiang's expectations.

Moreover, in the long run, he would become an accomplice in their shifting of fiscal funds.

Go with the flow, or become a stubborn stone resisting the rules?

Tang Ye said softly, "I cannot agree with this matter; I suggest putting it to the Standing Committee so that everyone can discuss it properly."

A look of surprise appeared in Gao Hong's eyes, then he smiled faintly, "Fine, I know your opinion. I will report this matter to Secretary Han."

After Tang Ye left, a mocking expression appeared at the corner of Nie Kai's mouth.

"County Magistrate Gao, you praised him earlier for having a sense of the big picture, but it's clear now, isn't it? This kid is smooth on the surface, but he's actually a troublemaker."

Gao Hong pondered slightly, "This funding was secured by Tang Ye, so we still need to respect his opinion."

Nie Kai said in a deep voice, "Salaries haven't been paid for several months; are we really going to let everyone continue to go without food?"

Gao Hong looked at Nie Kai calmly, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Nie Kai said, "You are the County Magistrate and possess the authority to allocate funds. As long as you act more forcefully, Secretary Han will not tangle with you too much on this issue. Given his personality, he won't make things difficult for so many civil servants in the whole county."

Gao Hong knew what Nie Kai was plotting and smiled with seasoned shrewdness, "This matter still requires long-term deliberation!"