Chapter 424: Calling in the God of Wealth Directly!

Nie Kai returned to his office and dialed the phone number of Yang Guoliang, the Director of the County Finance Bureau.

"Guoliang, I just discussed it with County Magistrate Gao. You should temporarily use that funding the Municipal Finance Bureau just issued to pay everyone's salaries!"

Yang Guoliang was all smiles, "County Magistrate Nie, I was waiting for your word. The payroll is already prepared; I will arrange it in a moment. Barring any accidents, everyone will receive their salaries tonight."

Nie Kai gave a hum, "Everyone has been tightening their belts during this period. Thank you for your hard work."

Yang Guoliang smiled, "Hey, everyone knows the government is having problems. The difficulties are only temporary; aren't things getting better now?"

Nie Kai communicated with Yang Guoliang and silently made a plan in his mind for other areas that needed money, "This 60 million must be prioritized for key projects. First, pay off the arrears owed to Beijing Company; do not pay the other construction companies for now."

Yang Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that Huang Bingwen of Beijing Company still had influence; once this funding arrived, the problem was solved immediately.

However, the other companies were not so lucky.

The shortage of funds would weaken the competitiveness of these companies, and the gap between them and Beijing Company would widen when competing for projects in the future.

After Nie Kai hung up on Yang Guoliang, the desk phone rang, and Huang Bingwen's voice came through.

"County Magistrate Nie, I just heard that the funding for the Village-to-Village Project has been allocated. Our company has been waiting for this money. I ask that you please put in a good word, County Magistrate Nie!"

Nie Kai gave a faint smile, knowing that Huang Bingwen had a close relationship with County Magistrate Gao Hong. Gao Hong might not have told Huang Bingwen the news immediately, but Zhao Bin, who was always by Gao Hong's side, spent every day with Huang Bingwen; the two were practically inseparable.

Of course, Huang Bingwen was still very sensible; he would visit Nie Kai's home during holidays and festivals, and if there were any problems that needed solving, he would help out diligently.

"Boss Huang, rest assured. I have already notified the County Finance Bureau to prioritize the transfer to your company."

"Alright, when you have time, let's go sing together. I heard the entertainment city in the south of the city is quite good now; besides singing, they've added a few fun activities."

"Thank you for your kindness. Let's make plans when I'm done with this busy period!"

Nie Kai politely declined with a smile. He knew Huang Bingwen's background; he could maintain a cooperative relationship with him, but the distance could not be too close.

After hanging up the phone, Nie Kai checked a text message on his mobile phone; it was a notification that his salary had arrived. He thought to himself that while Yang Guoliang was usually sluggish in his work, he was quite fast at paying salaries this time.

The desk phone rang. Nie Kai glanced at the number; it was from the County Party Committee Office.

"County Magistrate Nie, per Secretary Han's request, a special meeting on finance will be held in half an hour. We ask for your attendance."

"Understood!" Nie Kai frowned and asked, "Who is attending this meeting?"

Most meetings were notified one or two days in advance.

A meeting notified only half an hour ahead of time was generally an emergency meeting.

The person on the other end of the phone did not say who was attending.

Nie Kai felt uneasy, wondering what Han Guangyao was planning.

Half an hour later, Nie Kai walked into the conference room with a notebook tucked under his arm and a thermos in his hand.

The specifications of the conference room were very high, exceeding the standard for a normal county finance meeting. Besides the Director of the County Finance Bureau, Yang Guoliang, two Deputy Directors had also arrived at the meeting site.

In addition, County Magistrate Gao Hong and Deputy County Party Secretary Cheng Lin were also present.

Not long after Nie Kai sat down, the sound of scattered footsteps came from the hallway.

Nie Kai looked toward the sound and saw Han Guangyao and Tang Ye flanking a middle-aged official as they walked into the conference room.

When Gao Hong saw the middle-aged official, his expression was extremely surprised, but he reacted quickly and hurried over to shake hands with him.

"Director Gao, why have you come without giving us any notice?"

The person who had arrived was none other than Gao Ping, the Municipal Finance Bureau Chief.

After shaking hands with Gao Hong, Gao Ping shook hands with Cheng Lin, glanced at Nie Kai, and smiled faintly, "I just came to see some old friends in Suiyuan; I didn't mean to disturb everyone. Everyone sit down and chat casually; don't be so formal!"

Nie Kai glanced at Tang Ye, thinking to himself that he hadn't expected this guy to flip the table and play his trump card—calling in reinforcements!

He truly hadn't expected Tang Ye's relationship with Gao Ping to be this good!

He couldn't help but feel uneasy: if Gao Ping knew that the 60 million in Village-to-Village funding that had just been allocated was being used entirely to fill previous financial loopholes, what would his reaction be?

One could only say that this move by Tang Ye was too ruthless.

He was determined to go against all the civil servants in the county!

Everyone took their seats, and Han Guangyao picked up the microphone to preside over the meeting.

"It was not easy to invite our God of Wealth here today. Didn't everyone keep saying that there wasn't enough money? Now that the God of Wealth is here, whether you can get the money depends on your own capabilities. Please feel free to speak your minds; if you have any difficulties, state them. I believe Director Gao will help us solve them."

Gao Ping nodded slightly, "If you have any financial difficulties, you can bring them up. Of course, I cannot make the final decision, but I will consolidate your needs and report them to the higher-level leadership. Suiyuan's development momentum over the past six months has been very good, and many funding policies will be coming down soon, so everyone should look at the future with optimism."

County Magistrate Gao Hong pressed the button on the microphone in front of him, "Director Gao, our finances in Suiyuan have been very difficult these past few years, and we had quite a few problems with our finances a while ago. Your arrival has increased our confidence in solving these problems.

We have a large backlog of projects on hand, many of which are very urgent. Because there was no money in the budget, the projects were signed but could not be started. Our policy for the next stage is that, in principle, no new projects will be approved until the backlogged projects are fully underway, and we will do our utmost to clear all the backlogged projects."

Gao Ping nodded slightly and raised an eyebrow, "Not starting new projects is the correct way to tighten finances. However, the Municipal Finance Bureau just allocated 60 million for the construction of the Village-to-Village Project. According to the intentions of the City Leaders, all remaining roads in Suiyuan County must be completed within two years. This project is a mandatory requirement of the Municipal Government and cannot be neglected."

Gao Hong frowned, realizing that Gao Ping had indeed come for the purpose of this 60 million.

He and Nie Kai had joined forces to use their official positions to suppress him, and Tang Ye had directly brought out the God of Wealth.

This counterattack was too fast!

A bitter smile appeared on Gao Hong's face, "Director Gao, I must explain the difficulties of Suiyuan County to you here. Finances are tight; even Secretary Han and I haven't been paid for several months. Therefore, Comrade Nie Kai and I discussed using this money to pay everyone's salaries first.

As for the remaining money, we intended to clear the old debts. We owe about 35 million to infrastructure companies like Beijing. So, adding these two amounts together, there will be very little left of the 60 million."

Gao Ping's expression became grave.

No wonder Tang Ye had asked him to make this trip to Suiyuan.

60 million in financial funding—let alone completing the remaining roads, it wouldn't even fill the previous hole!

If Jiang Jing learned of this matter, and the funds allocated by the Municipal Finance Bureau were not implemented, he would also have to bear joint responsibility.

As for Tang Ye.

This debt might not be counted against him, but it would be much harder to secure funding in the future!