Chapter 2324

Who was Yuan Yilu? He was his own younger brother, his brother from the same mother! Now, Yin Xuewei was actually going to take action against his brother?

Of course, he knew that this matter was likely instigated by Su Xinghui behind the scenes. He had seen that Yin Xuewei and Su Xinghui were very close now. If it weren't for Su Xinghui, Yin Xuewei wouldn't have had the guts to do this.

However, Yuan Yifu also deeply resented Yuan Yilu. He had told him not to act recklessly during this period and to guard against Su Xinghui taking action. Yuan Yifu knew that if Su Xinghui did take action, he really would have no power to resist, yet Yuan Yilu still could not help but do such a thing.

It was only over ten thousand yuan; were you really that short of money? If you were really short of money, couldn't you have told me? Would I not have given it to you?

Yuan Yifu knew his brother's personality too well. This brother of his had not read many books, lacked foresight, and had been terrified of poverty since childhood, so he was extremely greedy for money. Moreover, he was lecherous. Having both greed for money and lust, it was perfectly normal for him to commit the act of embezzling disaster relief funds.

But if you were going to embezzle, you should have done it more discreetly; why was it so easily discovered by others? And you should have told me! Now, Yuan Yifu was completely unprepared mentally, leaving him caught off guard at the Standing Committee meeting, not knowing what to say.

Now that the audit report was out and had been distributed directly to every Standing Committee member, wasn't this forcing a resignation? This left Yuan Yifu with no room to maneuver; he was truly too passive.

But, was he just going to leave Yuan Yilu to his fate? Yuan Yifu could not do such a thing either.

Yuan Yilu was his brother, after all, and his relationship with Yuan Yifu was very close.

Yuan Yifu remembered his youth, when he had only been working for a few years. At that time, his wife was pregnant, and there wasn't enough food at home. Yuan Yilu was only in his teens then, and he would often sneak into the wild to steal sweet potatoes and corn from others' fields, catching frogs, snakes, and field mice to supplement nutrition for Yuan Yifu's wife.

Once, he stole someone's corn and was discovered, with people chasing him desperately from behind. Because it was night, he ran in a panic and fell into a small river, almost drowning. Yet he still hadn't thrown away the corn he had stolen. After drifting downstream with the river water, he crawled onto the bank, rolling and crawling, and carried the corn, frogs, and field mice he had caught to Yuan Yifu's home overnight.

When Yuan Yifu opened the door and saw Yuan Yilu covered in mud and water, he felt he would never forget Yuan Yilu's appearance for the rest of his life. Yuan Yifu's wife was so moved that she cried; she treated Yuan Yilu as her own brother and swore to repay him well.

Later, Yuan Yilu became the way he was, which had to be said to be the result of Yuan Yifu's indulgence. Every time he made a mistake, Yuan Yifu would help him clean up the mess. If he refused to help Yuan Yilu, Yuan Yilu would go to his sister-in-law, and she would tell Yuan Yifu to help his brother. Yuan Yifu's heart would soften, and he would have to help him.

This time, he had no choice; he had to help.

But how to help was still a problem.

Thinking of this, Yuan Yifu tried his best to make his expression appear calm. He looked up and said, "Secretary Yin, was this report issued by the Audit Bureau?"

Yin Xuewei said, "Yes, it was handed over to our Discipline Inspection Commission after the Audit Bureau audited the results. This matter is no small thing, so I brought it to the Standing Committee meeting to ask everyone to discuss it."

Yuan Yifu asked, "Then what are everyone's opinions?"

Yuan Yifu glanced at Wu Zhengjing, but Wu Zhengjing hesitated in a rare display of indecision. Yuan Yifu's momentum was a bit off now; he was going to retire to the second line next year, and the matter of him promising Wu Zhengjing to let him be a Standing Committee member and Deputy County Magistrate had also gone nowhere. Wu Zhengjing's position as Director of the County Party Committee Office was barely being held onto. How could Wu Zhengjing still walk down this path to the end and hang himself on Yuan Yifu's tree?

Wu Zhengjing's mind was wavering, and he was unwilling to speak up on this matter. This was clearly Su Xinghui's move. If he were to jump out again to be Yuan Yifu's vanguard, who knew if Su Xinghui would deal with him along the way?

Even Meng Lingguo, the dignified Executive Deputy County Magistrate, was pushed aside just like that; what did he, Wu Zhengjing, count for?

But if he didn't speak up, he would offend Yuan Yifu now. As for the position of Director of the County Party Committee Office, the County Party Secretary had the greatest say. If Yuan Yifu didn't want him, Wu Zhengjing, to be this office director anymore, he would really have to step down.

Just as Wu Zhengjing was hesitating, He Jianpeng spoke up: "I think this matter is simply appalling. During the massive flood last year, it was only by the unity of the whole county that we safely survived the disaster. Yet many people were affected, and now they dare to embezzle even the state's disaster relief funds. What else would they not dare to do? I think we should immediately launch an investigation, and once verified, deal with it strictly!"

He Jianpeng was as intolerant of evil as could be, and he truly could not stand such things. Embezzling even disaster relief funds—were they still human? He didn't care if it was Yuan Yifu's brother; he felt that if he should speak, he would speak. Otherwise, what was the point of holding this Standing Committee meeting?

Du Changfeng nodded: "I also think we should immediately launch an investigation and take mandatory measures against those involved in the audit report. Once verified, deal with it strictly! Otherwise, it will seriously affect the image of our Chongjin County Party Committee and County Government in the hearts of the masses!"

Du Changfeng's words also drew agreement from Nie Xin and Feng Lan, and Yan Xiangyu also agreed with their point of view.

After hearing their views and looking at the evasive eyes of the other Standing Committee members, Yuan Yifu sighed deeply in his heart and said: "Everyone's views are very good. This matter should indeed be investigated immediately. We cannot let a bad person go, but we also cannot wrong a good person. Secretary Yin, then your Discipline Inspection Commission should launch an investigation as soon as possible."

After the Standing Committee meeting ended, Yuan Yifu left the venue with a stern face. During this period, his relationship with Su Xinghui had been quite good, and every time the meeting ended, he would smile and say a few words to Su Xinghui. But today, he acted as if he hadn't seen Su Xinghui and went straight back to his office.

Just as Yuan Yifu returned to his office, Wu Zhengjing followed him in. Yuan Yifu ignored him, sat back in his seat, and looked at a document with a very focused expression.

Wu Zhengjing stood in front of Yuan Yifu's desk, his hands hanging down, and said: "Secretary, I want to make a self-criticism to you!"

Yuan Yifu raised his eyelids and said: "What does our Director Wu have to criticize himself for to an old man like me? Anyway, this old man won't be able to jump around for many more days."

Wu Zhengjing said: "Secretary, please don't say that. You are my leader forever, and you are also my second parent. If it weren't for you, how would I have today?"

Yuan Yifu sneered: "So you still remember these things? I thought that since I'm old and useless now, you had already rushed to hug someone else's thigh."

Wu Zhengjing said: "How could that be? Secretary, this matter today was really unavoidable. They were clearly prepared in advance. Yin Xuewei, Yan Xiangyu, and the others must have joined forces with County Magistrate Su. Once they join forces, they have at least seven votes. It's useless for me to speak."

A sense of sorrow welled up in Yuan Yifu's heart. Yes, Su Xinghui now controlled at least seven votes. Out of twelve Standing Committee members, even if Yuan Yifu held all the remaining votes in his hand, it would only be five. Not to mention there was also Feitao, the Minister of the Armed Forces, who always cast an abstention vote?

Even if Yuan Yifu could hold the votes of the remaining Standing Committee members, could he be sure? Yuan Yifu was deeply skeptical about this now. The fact that none of them stood up to speak for him today explained everything.

A sense of powerlessness surged in Yuan Yifu. Forget it, he was indeed old. The future belonged to the young. He had better exit this stage sooner.

Looking at Wu Zhengjing, Yuan Yifu knew very well why he had come to find him, but he was too lazy to haggle with Wu Zhengjing about anything. They were all petty people who followed the wind.

As Yuan Yifu thought this, he clearly forgot what kind of person he was himself. However, people like him only saw the problems of others and not their own.

Yuan Yifu said to Wu Zhengjing with a sense of listlessness: "Alright, you can go out. I won't do anything to you about today's matter, but I hope you will have such luck in the future."