Chapter 478

On the third day after Su Xinghui returned to Pengjiawan Town, two cadres from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection suddenly arrived at the town government. After they arrived, they first went to Qi Jian's office to speak for a while, then found a small conference room and had Qi Jian notify him, saying that the Discipline Inspection cadres wanted to have a talk with him.

As Su Xinghui walked toward the small conference room, his brain was spinning rapidly. The Discipline Inspection Commission came to talk to him? What kind of problem could he possibly have that would be investigated by them? Since they came to investigate him, someone must have written a report letter. So, who wrote this report letter? The most likely candidate was the person who wrote the letter to Lu Xiaoya.

This person was truly vicious. By writing to both Lu Xiaoya and the Discipline Inspection Commission, they were trying to trap him from both inside and out, aiming to drive him to his death.

However, Su Xinghui immediately felt at ease. What problems could he possibly have to be investigated for? Everything he did was upright and aboveboard; he had never taken a single cent of benefits from anyone.

Of course, he had borrowed 160,000 from Xu Haimin, but after he got 3,000 from his mother, he had repaid Xu Haimin in full, and the IOU had been retrieved and burned. No one else would know about this matter, and he believed Xu Haimin would not tell anyone either.

Although Su Xinghui felt at ease, the people in the town government were all secretly watching him. When the Discipline Inspection cadres arrived, although they didn't make a big scene, how could such a thing be hidden? Within a few minutes, almost everyone knew that someone from the Discipline Inspection Commission had come to talk to Su Xinghui.

When superiors send people to talk to cadres, sometimes it's a good thing—for example, when the Organization Department comes to talk, it usually means a promotion. But other times, it is definitely a bad thing. When the Discipline Inspection Commission comes to talk to a cadre, it is certainly not a good thing.

These cadres were no strangers to the scene of the Discipline Inspection Commission coming to talk to someone. Most cadres who were interviewed by the Commission would soon either be disciplined or lose their positions; very few were able to walk away unscathed.

Among the gazes watching Su Xinghui, some were filled with worry, while others were gloating. Under the scrutiny of these eyes, Su Xinghui remained calm and walked into the conference room with long strides.

The two Discipline Inspection cadres were middle-aged men in their thirties or forties. They were sitting by the conference table, facing the door. Their attitude was not as stern as typical Discipline Inspection cadres; one of them smiled and said, "You must be Comrade Su Xinghui, please close the door."

Su Xinghui turned and closed the door, then sat down calmly opposite the two men.

The two men from the Discipline Inspection Commission exchanged a glance and introduced themselves: "I am Li Quanhuan, Deputy Director of the Petition Office of the County Discipline Inspection Commission, and this is Shi Yuanliang, Deputy Director of the First Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the County Discipline Inspection Commission."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Director Li, Director Shi, hello!"

Li Quanhuan said, "It's like this, Comrade Su Xinghui. We have received a report letter concerning you and have come to verify some issues. We hope you can answer truthfully."

Su Xinghui thought to himself, it really was a report letter. He nodded and said, "I will definitely answer truthfully."

Li Quanhuan said, "Comrade Su Xinghui, you and Xu Xiaoguang are classmates, right?"

Xu Xiaoguang? Huge waves churned in Su Xinghui's mind. It seemed that the vegetable wholesale market project was what had drawn attention. Who told him to be classmates with Xu Xiaoguang? This matter was already suspicious; to ensure the project had no flaws, Su Xinghui had not allowed the other deputy town mayors to intervene during the bidding process.

Of course, the bidding process for this project was very open and fair. Because Haimin Construction Company had made early preparations and their own strength was also very strong, they won the bid very smoothly. Thinking of this, he felt settled in his heart.

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, Xu Xiaoguang and I are classmates."

Li Quanhuan said, "Then, during the process of the Xu family's Haimin Construction Company participating in the bidding for the Pengjiawan Town vegetable wholesale market project, were there any violations of regulations?"

Su Xinghui said, "Regarding the bidding for the vegetable wholesale market project, the process was fair, open, and just. There are records in the memorandum, and the bids of the several construction companies that participated in the bidding are also well-preserved. The final determination of the winning unit was not my decision alone; it was decided by the town government leadership team, and there are meeting minutes. You are welcome to investigate."

Shi Yuanliang, who had been recording, spoke up at this moment: "Comrade Su Xinghui, according to our investigation, your family bought several storefronts last year on the commercial street developed by the Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, in which Haimin Construction Company holds shares. Is this true?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes."

Shi Yuanliang said, "But according to our investigation, the total price of these storefronts is nearly 100,000 yuan. Given your family's income, it is impossible for you to have this amount of money. So, I want to ask you, where did the money you used to buy the storefronts come from?"

Su Xinghui said, "My money came from selling paintings."

Shi Yuanliang exchanged a glance with Li Quanhuan and asked again, "Selling paintings? Selling what kind of paintings?"

Su Xinghui then told them about how he met Joao and the process of Joao buying his paintings several times, saying, "I sold paintings three times in total, for a total of 380,000 yuan. Buying these few storefronts doesn't amount to much, does it?"

Shi Yuanliang and Li Quanhuan looked at each other in dismay. They were shocked—380,000! If Su Xinghui really had that much money, then what did buying a few storefronts matter? And why would he need to take benefits from others on this project? As long as he had this 380,000, everything was easy to explain.

However, they were still a bit skeptical. What kind of paintings could sell for so much money? Was there something fishy about this painting sale?

It wasn't their fault for being inexperienced; the figure of 380,000 was simply too large in this era—it was practically an astronomical number! Their lifetime wages wouldn't even add up to that much.

Shi Yuanliang said, "Do you have any proof of selling the paintings? Why would that Frenchman spend so much money to buy your paintings?"

Su Xinghui said, "For my first two sales, many people in the Menguhuling Township government knew, especially Comrade Dong Jianshu, the Secretary of the Township Party Committee, who is very clear about it. The third time I sold paintings was in Pengjiawan Town, and Comrade Qi Jian, the Secretary of the Town Party Committee, can testify for me. Moreover, I paid taxes on the income from these three sales according to regulations. I have tax payment certificates, and the contracts with Mr. Joao are kept by my mother. As for why Mr. Joao spent so much money to buy my paintings..."

Su Xinghui paused for a moment and said, "Mr. Joao was introduced to me by Deputy Manager Li of the Jiangnan District Handicraft Store. He runs a gallery in Paris, France, and specializes in art trading; buying paintings is his main business. As for why he spent so much money to buy my paintings? It must be because he thinks I paint well."

Shi Yuanliang said, "Are your paintings good? Do you have any proof?"

Su Xinghui said, "Last May, my paintings participated in the provincial-wide Reform and Opening-up Economic Construction Achievement Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition, which was reported in the 'Hudong Daily' at the time. Later, my paintings participated in provincial art exhibitions twice, and several of my paintings were collected by the Provincial Art Academy. I still have my membership card for the Provincial Artists Association. Can these serve as proof?"

Li and Shi looked at each other again. Li Quanhuan said, "Okay, Comrade Su Xinghui, we have recorded the situation you described. Please take a look, and if you have no questions about our records, please sign to confirm."

Su Xinghui looked at the record, nodded, and signed it.

Li Quanhuan said, "Comrade Su Xinghui, please prepare the evidence you just mentioned. We will continue to verify with relevant comrades. During this period, please do not leave Pengjiawan Town. We may come to verify some situations with you at any time."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "I understand."

Li Quanhuan signaled that Su Xinghui could leave. Su Xinghui left the conference room, returned to his office, closed the door, leaned back in his chair, and began to think about the Discipline Inspection Commission coming to verify the situation.

This time, the Discipline Inspection Commission came to "verify the situation," not to "investigate the situation." There is a difference; verification is not as serious as an investigation. If it were an investigation, it would mean the Commission had already grasped substantial evidence. If it is just verification, it is only because they received a report letter and need to ask about the issues reported in it.

However, generally, such anonymous report letters would not be taken seriously by the Discipline Inspection Commission. Furthermore, the county secretary and county magistrate were both people who supported Su Xinghui. Such anonymous report letters would usually be thrown aside. Otherwise, if they investigated every anonymous report letter, would the Discipline Inspection Commission even have time?

The fact that the Discipline Inspection Commission came to verify the situation this time was strange.

Su Xinghui thought again, who exactly wrote this report letter? And that letter to Lu Xiaoya—it must have been written by the same person.

Once this thought occurred, Su Xinghui shook his head and pushed it out of his mind. There were too many people who could have written this report letter; what was the point of thinking too much? It would only disturb his thoughts in vain.

The Discipline Inspection cadres left that afternoon. After they left, Qi Jian came to Su Xinghui's office. He smiled and said to Su Xinghui, "Comrade Xinghui, the comrades from the Discipline Inspection Commission also verified the situation with me. Don't worry, I told them truthfully about your painting sales, and as for the construction of the vegetable wholesale market, I also said that it was a joint decision by our town Party committee and town government."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Thank you, Secretary."

Qi Jian said, "Comrade Xinghui, don't have any psychological pressure. I told the comrades from the Discipline Inspection Commission that you work excellently in Pengjiawan Town, and your style is upright, honest, and clean—this is obvious to all. You should continue to work as usual; don't let this matter delay your work. I believe the organization will definitely be able to investigate this matter clearly."

Su Xinghui said, "Don't worry, Secretary, I won't let this matter delay my work."

Qi Jian stood up, patted Su Xinghui on the shoulder, and walked out with a smile.