Chapter 476: Cousins

"Alright Ruilong, I'll say it again: I am responsible for political work, and Mayor Li Dakang is responsible for economic development. Without his nod on your planning, it won't matter who comes."

With Qi Tongwei between the two, there was currently no conflict between Gao Yuliang and Li Dakang; the two had a clear division of labor and did not interfere with each other.

"Alright, Secretary Gao, I understand."

Zhao Ruilong had hoped to gain something from Gao Yuliang, but unfortunately, he hit a wall again.

Li Dakang was not idle on his side either; he knew Yueya Lake was the aquatic production site for the Oriental Group. If it were truly polluted by the Gourmet City, then not only would he be implicated, but the Huilong Group would likely be targeted as well.

If that then affected his old leader, his greatest reliance in the officialdom would be gone.

Fearing that Zhao Ruilong would continue to be unreasonable, Li Dakang simply called Zhao Lichun directly to explain the details.

"Old leader..."

"That bastard! You did the right thing, Dakang. Don't worry about this matter anymore; I will handle it."

"Very well, leader."

Zhao Lichun had been busy with work handovers recently and was unaware of everything Zhao Ruilong had done. Who would have thought that after just a few days of not paying attention, he would cause such a huge mess.

Zhao Lichun waved his hand to have his Secretary investigate what had happened with the Huilong Group during this period. The result made his face turn green. Fortunately, he was already in Linhu Province; otherwise, he really would have been ruined by this son.

Before Zhao Ruilong had even walked out of the Shizhengfu compound, the phone in his bag rang. As soon as Zhao Ruilong answered, Zhao Lichun's "affectionate" greetings came through.

"Can you use your brain when you do things? You keep mortgaging the same piece of land. What is the total value of the Huilong Group's assets? Who taught you to mortgage it repeatedly?"

"Are you trying to get your old man sent in for tea? Huh? The Huilong Group will be ruined by you sooner or later, you..."

"You damn..."

Afterward, Zhao Lichun kept "sending telegrams" (swearing). He hadn't used profanity in decades, but today he let it all out at once.

Zhao Lichun felt better after venting, but Zhao Ruilong didn't take it to heart. He hadn't broken the law; at most, it was considered a violation of bank operating procedures. Once the residential complex was built, he would just pay it back.

"Dad, I know. Can't I just not build the Gourmet City? Besides, I've already acquired those plots of land; I can't just return them, right? That would affect the government's credibility."

"And I'm also contributing to the development of Handong. In two years at most, all the residential complexes will be built, and I'll pay it back as soon as the funds are recovered."

"Hmph, suit yourself. Yueya Lake is the property of your Uncle Zhang. Find a way to sell that land to the Oriental Group." Zhao Lichun hung up the phone in a rage after saying this.

"This Li Dakang is really making a mountain out of a molehill."

Zhao Ruilong muttered, but he didn't dare to defy his father's wishes; it was just a pity to lose such a piece of prime land.

Zhang Ping'an was a bit dazed when he received the call from the person in charge in Luzhou. For the past few years, he had been busy developing the Pudong area in Modu; now, one-fifth of that place could be said to be residential complexes and surrounding areas developed by the Oriental Group.

As for other cities, apart from provincial capitals, the Oriental Group rarely participated in development anymore.

"Then take it. Develop it into Linhu villas; it must match the surrounding environment."

"Very well, General Manager Zhang."

After thinking about it, Zhang Ping'an called Zhao Lichun to understand the cause and effect. He couldn't help but laugh and cry; how obsessed was this Zhao Ruilong with the Gourmet City?

However, his act of "borrowing the tiger's might" was indeed underhanded. It would have been fine if no one mentioned it, but once someone reported it, Zhao Lichun would certainly be affected to some degree.

Half a month later, Zhao Xiaohui returned to the country. Upon learning the information about the group, she was almost driven mad. Her father was only fifty-seven; he had been expected to move up a step, but perhaps because of this, it would end here.

Having no other choice, Zhao Xiaohui prepared to borrow 700 million from the Oriental Group to fill the hole first; she would save whatever opportunities she could.

Zhao Xiaohui flipped through her contacts and found Zhang Ping'an's number. She had always had it, but she had never called it.

"Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling."

Zhang Ping'an looked at the unfamiliar number from Luzhou and decided to answer it after a moment's thought; after all, not many people had his private mobile number.

"Uncle... Uncle Zhang, this is Zhao Xiaohui."

"Oh? It's Xiaohui. Is there something you need?"

The two had only met once, over ten years ago in Zhao Lichun's office.

"Uncle Zhang, it's like this..." Zhao Xiaohui quickly explained the situation.

"Hmm... the money can be lent to you, but even if you fill the gap, it won't be of much use. After all, the incident has already occurred."

This Zhao Xiaohui was truly capable; it was a pity she was a woman, otherwise Zhao Lichun wouldn't have doted on Zhao Ruilong so much.

"Uncle Zhang, I just want to salvage what I can."

"Very well. I will arrange for someone to coordinate with you and have it transferred to you as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Uncle."

"Hmm."

After this incident, Zhao Xiaohui didn't dare to entrust the group's affairs entirely to Zhao Ruilong anymore. Instead, she appointed two deputy general managers to keep him in check; heaven knows what kind of mess he would cause next.

In the office of the Provincial Party Secretary of Linhu Province, Zhao Lichun was looking through stacks of Cadre files. He paused slightly when he flipped to the file for Zhao Lidong, the Mayor of Jinghai City.

Looking at the photos alone, one had a long face and the other a large square face; they didn't look alike at all. But Zhao Lichun always felt a vague sense of familiarity, though nothing could be seen from their resumes.

Shengzhengfawuchangwufushuji He Liming also fell into deep thought while looking at the names of Zhao Lichun and Zhao Lidong.

"Mayor Zhao, do you know this new Provincial Party Secretary?"

"I don't. Our names are just similar."

"Oh."

Many people who knew Zhao Lidong had similar thoughts, but seeing the vast difference in their appearances and the fact that their backgrounds were from completely different parts of the country, it was impossible for them to be related.

The next day, Zhao Lichun convened a provincial economic work conference, which all mayors of the cities in Linhu Province were required to attend.

Zhao Lichun saw Zhao Lidong in person, and instantly, the image of his second uncle from his childhood surfaced in his mind. Could this Zhao Lidong be his second uncle's child?

After thinking it over, Zhao Lichun still had no clue, so he could only suppress his thoughts and continue the meeting.

After the meeting concluded a few days later, Zhao Lichun had his Secretary summon Zhao Lidong.

"Secretary Zhao."

"Hmm. To be honest, you look familiar to me, but I don't recognize your home address or your parents and relatives, so I specifically called you over to ask."

Zhao Lidong was a bit dazed. He swore he had never seen Zhao Lichun before; today was their first meeting. Although his parents were both surnamed Zhao, he didn't look like Zhao Lichun either.

"Secretary Zhao, I really don't know. I can be certain that I have never met you before."

Although Zhao Lidong very much wanted to acknowledge this relative, if he ended up losing more than he gained, he could forget about surviving in officialdom.

"Very well, perhaps I am overthinking it; you may go back."

"Understood, Secretary Zhao."

Zhao Lidong went back, but he also kept this matter in his heart; he knew his parents were still alive, and if he could really establish some connection with Zhao Lichun, he would surely take off in Linhu Province.

What was the Shengzhengfawuchangwufushuji He Liming? That would just be a thing of his past.

Zhao Lidong did not return to Jinghai, but went directly back to his hometown of Jiangzhoushi, taking a photograph of Zhao Lichun to ask his parents.

"This, how, how is this possible?"

"Mother, do you recognize him?" Zhao Lidong felt a surge of joy in his heart and hurriedly asked.