Chapter 605: Shen Mingcheng is Afraid of Breaking the Vase to Catch the Rat!

Shen Mingcheng was clearly unwilling to let Sun Hai off easily.

"Could it be that Sun Hai's subordinates, in order to absolve him of guilt, deliberately found someone to take the fall? If so, that would be an additional crime!"

Guo Zhengting only felt that Shen Mingcheng was being somewhat unreasonable.

"I also had this concern, but Haichen Company claims that Sun Hai was unaware of this project. Furthermore, they pointed out that the Project Manager may have been extorted."

Shen Mingcheng was stunned for a moment: "Extorted?"

In economic cases, once extortion is involved, the nature of the matter changes completely.

If there is evidence indicating that the bribery was forced and that no loss of interest was caused by the act of bribery, then it would not be judged as bribery.

From this detail, it is not hard to see that Haichen Company had already made preparations.

Guo Zhengting explained patiently: "When Haichen Transportation Engineering Company was undertaking the construction waste disposal business for a demolition project, they were stopped for inspection multiple times in the middle of the night. At the time, the Project Manager received instructions that they must pay a 'coordination fee' to ensure the project could operate normally. So, the Project Manager invited the middleman at the time to a meal; during the meal, the middleman revealed his identity, claiming his backer was Wei Hua of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau."

The Director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau was none other than Wei Hua.

He was promoted single-handedly by Shen Mingcheng.

Guo Zhengting had not supported promoting Wei Hua in the first place, but Shen Mingcheng held the power over personnel and would not yield an inch on this matter. Now that Wei Hua was suspected of economic issues, it clearly caught Shen Mingcheng off guard.

"I believe the authenticity of these materials is open to question. I know Wei Hua quite well; he is diligent in his work, often works overtime, and now the construction work for the entire county is coordinated by him alone; his conduct is also very clean. These days, people who work earnestly are often easily subjected to obstruction and slander. We should give these comrades sufficient trust and not believe every rumor we hear."

Shen Mingcheng adopted an attitude of being determined to protect Wei Hua.

Seeing that Shen Mingcheng was still making excuses for Wei Hua in the face of ironclad evidence, Guo Zhengting was speechless—this was too much of a double standard!

"Secretary Shen, I can understand your support for Wei Hua, but every issue should be viewed objectively and fairly. Sun Hai is a well-known entrepreneur in our county, and with the New Year approaching, improper handling could easily trigger social instability."

Shen Mingcheng looked at Guo Zhengting with a complex expression: "Comrade Guo, I can understand that you are considering the big picture. But when facing someone involved in organized crime, if the government does not take action and instead lets things be, that is what would be irresponsible to the common people."

Facing Shen Mingcheng's stubbornness, Guo Zhengting was left speechless and could only smile helplessly: "I will report this matter to the higher-ups."

Shen Mingcheng immediately put on a cold face: "I have always respected you, and I ask that you respect me as well."

Guo Zhengting waved his hand at Shen Mingcheng: "Respect depends on the situation."

Shen Mingcheng took a deep breath: "Let's do this, let's calm down first and think of a more proper solution."

Guo Zhengting cupped his hands at Shen Mingcheng: "I have other matters to attend to, so I won't continue to disturb you."

Having said that, Guo Zhengting took the materials and left in a huff.

Guo Zhengting's strong stance forced Shen Mingcheng to be cautious!

Shen Mingcheng immediately dialed Wei Hua's phone and launched into a fierce scolding: "Wei Hua, be honest with me, have you ever accepted money from Haichen Company?"

Wei Hua realized what was happening and hurriedly explained: "Haichen Company wanted to get the project, and according to the rules, they had to pay a coordination fee; this has always been a tacit convention. I didn't dare to use this money recklessly; it's all in the department's slush fund."

Shen Mingcheng was furious: "I'm going to be angered to death by you! Prepare yourself mentally; the matter has already been exposed."

Wei Hua looked puzzled: "If Haichen dares to report it, they are breaking the rules. Let alone Tianling, no other place will ever give them projects to do again. They shouldn't be that stupid!"

Shen Mingcheng sighed: "Hurry up and find a way to smooth this over. Whatever money you took, return it all, and come up with a reasonable excuse."

Wei Hua said unwillingly: "Secretary Shen, this money has already been spent!"

Shen Mingcheng slammed the table: "Wei Hua, if you don't want to go to jail, do as I say!"

Wei Hua sighed helplessly: "Understood."

Back then, in order to successfully sit in the position of Director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Wei Hua had racked his brains and paid a huge price, almost emptying his family's savings. Therefore, after taking office, he began to calculate how to "recoup his losses."

Haichen Transportation Engineering Company was quite sensible; after he gave them a few warnings, they would deposit a sum of money into his account every month.

He did not expect that now, this money would bring him such huge trouble.

However, Wei Hua did not feel that it was the end of the world at this moment.

Shen Mingcheng had defied public opinion to promote him to Director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau; he certainly would not stand by and watch him get into trouble.

Shen Mingcheng was also full of helplessness, not expecting the matter to evolve so complexly.

"By the way, does Haichen have any plans to come to the County Government to cause trouble?" Shen Mingcheng asked softly.

Wei Hua immediately understood Shen Mingcheng's meaning—if Haichen dared to come and cause trouble, they could confirm their crime of being involved in organized crime. Since the economic issues could not be investigated deeply, they would start from the angle of organized crime. One must know that Hanzhou was extremely strict in cracking down on organized crime.

"I inquired about it; they originally planned to come and cause trouble, but later they changed their plans."

"Why did they change their plans?" A flash of surprise crossed Shen Mingcheng's eyes.

"Tang Ye went to Haichen to do some persuasion work. Originally, those former convicts planned to come to the government to block the gates and hold up banners, but they were suppressed by Tang Ye."

Wei Hua had been closely monitoring every move of Haichen Company.

Tang Ye again?

Could this kid be the roundworm in his own stomach?

Impossible!

How could he have guessed that he wanted to use the other party's disturbance to label them as involved in organized crime!

He had never mentioned this to anyone; the only explanation was that this kid understood him too well, or even specifically studied him.

Is it possible that Tang Ye has been lurking in the shadows, learning from him and studying him, because he has always regarded him as a target to chase?

If Tang Ye knew that Shen Mingcheng had so many narcissistic thoughts, he would probably slap him on the spot and call him a "toxic man"!

Shen Mingcheng's plan had fallen through, and he could not help but feel a bit down: "Understood. Hurry up and clean up the economic issues; don't leave any tails."

Shen Mingcheng knew Tang Ye very well; he had always been extremely sensitive to economic issues.

Once he caught a flaw, he himself would often fall into a passive position.

Wei Hua nodded hurriedly: "I will calculate the accounts immediately, donate this money to the Integrity Account, and then submit an explanatory statement to the County Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Shen Mingcheng's expression finally looked a bit better.

Hanging up the phone, Shen Mingcheng rubbed his throbbing temples.

In fact, Shen Mingcheng had initially only grasped a small handle on Haichen Company for giving gifts to a small Clerk at the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau.

One must know that during the New Year, it was not uncommon for companies to give gifts to relevant departments.

He had originally wanted to use this matter to make Sun Hai suffer a big loss, but he never expected it to implicate Wei Hua.

In the eyes of Shen Mingcheng, Sun Hai was nothing more than a merchant reeking of copper, not worth him sacrificing an important cadre like the director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau just to fix him.

Shen Mingcheng picked up the phone and dialed Ma Xiangtian's number.

"Secretary Shen, do you have any instructions?"

"Release Sun Hai."

"……Are you sure?" Ma Xiangtian was extremely astonished.

"Release him, I am sure!"

Shen Mingcheng's tightly clenched fist helplessly loosened at this moment.