Chapter 673: A Fish Has Taken the Bait!

In the afternoon, Guo Wenhai, Director of the County Finance Bureau, knocked on Tang Ye's office door with a thick stack of materials.

Although he had never met Tang Ye, he had long heard of this new leader's "fame"—less than a month after taking office in Suiyuan, Tang Ye had used precise investigations and decisive measures to topple the local Finance Bureau Director with ruthless efficiency.

Now that Tang Ye had just arrived and was already auditing the poverty alleviation special fund accounts, Guo Wenhai felt uneasy: although the Finance Bureau's accounts had been meticulously "packaged" to appear flawless on the surface with complete documentation, only he knew the tricks hidden inside, and he couldn't help but feel guilty.

Seeing Guo Wenhai enter, Tang Ye wore a gentle smile, stood up, and greeted him: "Comrade Wenhai, please, have a seat!"

After he sat down, Tang Ye handed him a cup of tea: "This is a Hanzhou specialty, 'Hanzhou Spring.' Try it."

Guo Wenhai took a sip and quickly praised: "Good tea! It's fragrant and has a sweet aftertaste; it's truly exceptional."

After the pleasantries, Tang Ye picked up the accounts to look through them, his smile gradually fading, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

Half an hour later, he put down the materials and sighed: "Guo, you deal with these accounts every day, so you know the situation best. Speak plainly; don't hold anything back."

Guo Wenhai gripped the corner of his clothes and remained silent for a long time before finally making up his mind: "County Magistrate Tang, on the surface, the money in the accounts has traceable sources and destinations, and the procedures are complete, but in reality... most of the funds were not used for poverty alleviation; they were either embezzled or siphoned off through falsified projects and inflated expenses."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ye nodded slightly, thinking to himself: just for the fact that Guo Wenhai dared to say this honest truth instead of giving him official jargon or lies, he would not consider moving him from his position as Finance Bureau Director for the time being.

At the very least, for now, he still needed him to cooperate in uncovering where the funds had gone.

……

After Guo Wenhai left, Tang Ye had formed a sufficient judgment of Dayu County's financial situation, and he then dialed the landline to Jiang Anbang's office.

Jiang Anbang answered the phone quickly.

"Comrade Tang Ye, is there something you need?"

"County Magistrate, are you free right now? I would like to have a face-to-face chat with you."

"I'll wait for you in my office."

Tang Ye then carried the tea leaves and Suiyuan rice wine and knocked on the County Magistrate's office door.

Seeing that Tang Ye had brought gifts, Jiang Anbang's brow relaxed, and he said with a smile: "County Magistrate Tang, you are too polite."

Tang Ye smiled and explained: "These are specialties I brought from Hanzhou; they aren't worth much."

Jiang Anbang waved his hand and said: "Logically speaking, it should be me fulfilling the duties of a host."

Tang Ye's smile deepened, and he said in a sincere tone: "In terms of age and seniority, you are my senior; in terms of rank, you are my leader. Regardless of the circumstances, I should be the one to take the initiative to report my work to you. This tea and wine are indeed not worth much, but the taste is quite good. Please, County Magistrate Jiang, do not have any psychological burden."

"Let's have a smoke!" Jiang Anbang felt that Tang Ye spoke appropriately and politely, so he took the initiative to hand him a cigarette.

In this world, if someone respects me by a foot, I shall respect them by ten.

Tang Ye took the cigarette, pulled out a lighter to light Jiang Anbang's first, and then lit his own.

Jiang Anbang tapped the ash off his cigarette lightly and said in a slower tone: "Since you have come to Dayu County for an exchange position, if you have any difficulties in your daily life, feel free to tell the Government Office. Although Dayu County is not considered wealthy, we can still guarantee basic living needs."

Tang Ye responded gratefully: "Comrade Qiao Lin has been very thoughtful, and all the arrangements are very proper."

"That's good!" Jiang Anbang nodded with a smile and added, "Before you came over, Secretary Ou specifically held a meeting to emphasize that you are a comrade from out of town and that we must take good care of you during this exchange period."

Tang Ye took the opportunity to continue the conversation, smiling as he said: "On the way here, Minister Fang of the Municipal Organization Department also introduced me to the situation of several cadres in the county and specifically instructed me to learn more from you all."

Jiang Anbang and Tang Ye exchanged words, and the distance between the two quickly narrowed.

However, both knew in their hearts that there was always a "Chu-Han boundary" between them.

The nature of the positions of County Magistrate and Executive Deputy County Magistrate determined that the two could never truly be open and honest with each other.

Jiang Anbang's words held even deeper meaning; while he appeared polite throughout, he was constantly emphasizing Tang Ye's status as an "out-of-town exchange cadre."

If he wanted to complete his exchange term peacefully and obediently cooperate with the work, it would naturally allow him to live comfortably;

But if Tang Ye wanted to "look for trouble" or stir things up, then what awaited him would certainly not be calm seas, but an unpredictable "mountain of blades and sea of flames."

Tang Ye chatted with Jiang Anbang for a while longer, and just as Jiang Anbang's Secretary came in to report on work, he took the opportunity to rise and take his leave.

He knew in his heart that he was not yet familiar with Jiang Anbang, and rashly mentioning reform at this time would likely cause the other party's resentment and rejection.

After Tang Ye left, the smile on Jiang Anbang's face vanished instantly, and his brows furrowed tightly.

Although there had been no substantial, in-depth exchange with Tang Ye just now, he still sensed an irrepressible sharpness in Tang Ye's conversation.

But Jiang Anbang knew in his heart that with Dayu County's current situation, achieving results was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

There was no decent industry, no service sector to drive the economy, and even basic agriculture had not developed; the salaries of the County Government staff had to rely on the state's poverty alleviation special funds every year just to barely survive.

He himself had once wanted to accomplish something, but after struggling for a few years, he had no choice but to bow to reality.

When Jiang Anbang first heard the news that Dayu County had been included in the Provincial Organization Department's list of regions for cross-provincial cadre exchange, he was quite surprised.

He really couldn't understand why the province would choose Dayu County.

This wasn't letting cadres come to train; it was clearly throwing people into "hell mode," a pure waste of time!

After parting ways with Jiang Anbang, Tang Ye returned to his office, and not long after he sat down, a call from Cheng Lin came through.

By this time, Cheng Lin had already officially taken office in Tianling County, but she did not quite understand the work approach of County Party Secretary Guo Zhengting.

Guo Zhengting believed that the current priority for Tianling County should be to focus on digesting existing projects and first implementing the construction of the Pinghu Resort Project and the agricultural reclamation area;

But Cheng Lin felt that the county should take the initiative to attract investment from outside and drive development by introducing more new projects.

After listening to Tang Ye's description of the situation in Dayu County, Cheng Lin said with a smile: "According to what you've said, the predicament you are facing is much harder than mine. Dayu County is a notoriously poor county; it is almost impossible to solve the problems relying solely on the county's own strength. You have to find ways from the outside."

Tang Ye responded with a bitter smile: "I also know I need to find ways from the outside, but to ask the province for projects and funds, one needs connections! I just arrived here and have absolutely no network to use."

Cheng Lin comforted him softly: "You just arrived in Dayu County and are an out-of-town exchange cadre; the most important thing now is not to rush into doing things. You should settle down, ensure unity within the leadership team, and steadily do some practical things within your power. It won't be too late to consider pushing other work once you are familiar with the situation and the timing is ripe."

Tang Ye naturally understood Cheng Lin's good intentions, and he said with a smile: "Sister, don't worry, I understand the principle that 'haste makes waste.' I won't be too impatient."

Judging from today's contact with Jiang Anbang, Jiang Anbang was clearly not a person with the determination to do great things;

As for County Party Secretary Ou Xiye, Tang Ye would have to take the initiative to make contact.

If nothing unexpected happened, Ou Xiye should be "watching the changes" for now.

He would see how much ability Tang Ye had before deciding how to use him later.

After hanging up Tang Ye's call, the smile on Cheng Lin's face gradually faded, and a trace of worry appeared in her eyes.

She knew better than anyone that Tang Ye's current situation was much more difficult than her own.

The province said they had arranged a "good place for training" for Tang Ye, but in reality, they had clearly thrown him into a place where it was hard to achieve anything, no different from letting him "fend for himself."

After ending the call with Cheng Lin, Tang Ye was just preparing to take a shower when his phone rang again; it was a call from Qiao Lin, the Director of the County Government Office.

"Director Qiao, it's so late, is there some urgent matter?" Tang Ye asked after picking up the phone.

"It's not an urgent matter, I just wanted to report to you: Liang Yuan, the Director of the Coal Bureau, would like to come over tomorrow morning to report on the bureau's work to you."

"Fine, have him come over at ten o'clock tomorrow morning."

Hanging up the phone with Qiao Lin, Tang Ye leaned back in his chair, subconsciously rubbed his chin, and a subtle arc curled at the corners of his mouth.

A "fish" had started to take the bait on its own!