Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 780 It's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality!

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words and seeing Jia Dongming's nonchalant expression, Guo Jianping immediately realized that Jia Dongming must have received prior notice and was prepared to be investigated. He said to Jia Dongming with a serious expression, "Director Jia! We need to go to your finance department to check your security department's accounts over the years."

Upon hearing Guo Jianping's words, Jia Dongming was not worried about their audit. He immediately instructed Wang Haibo, "Comrade Haibo! Quickly take the investigation team to the logistics department and have Section Chief Zhang and the others fully investigate the team's work."

Wang Haibo had heard Zhang Guoping mention the upcoming investigation team long ago, and he also knew that Zhang Guoping had made preparations to deal with the investigation. Although Wang Haibo was very unhappy about the arrival of the investigation team, he still cooperated and said to Guo Jianping, "Director Guo! Please wait here for a moment outside. I will take the comrades from the Discipline Inspection Commission to the Finance Office of the Logistics Department."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's arrangement, Guo Jianguo immediately instructed his subordinates who had come with him: "Old Zhang! I'll be waiting for you in Director Jia's office. You take Xiao Liu and the others and go with Director Wang to the finance office to check the contents mentioned in the whistleblower letter one by one."

Just now in the jeep, Guo Jianguo had already set the tone for their investigation, so Lao Zhang knew very well how to proceed. In response to Guo Jianguo's instructions, Lao Zhang replied respectfully, "Director! Please rest assured, we guarantee to complete the task."

After Jia Dongming and the others left with Wang Haibo, they immediately picked up the teacup on the coffee table, made a cup of tea for Guo Jianguo, and greeted him with a smile, "Director Guo! Please have some tea."

When Guo Jianping saw the teacup that Jia Dongming had placed in front of him and smelled the aroma of tea, he couldn't help but complain to Jia Dongming, "Director Jia! I'm not trying to criticize you, but over the years, we've received one complaint after another about your security department's illegal distribution of benefits. Why don't you take these complaints seriously?"

Upon hearing Guo Jianping's complaint, and recalling how the Security Department distributed welfare benefits in the following years, Jia Dongming calmly replied, "Director Guo! I admit that in the earliest years, we did indeed distribute welfare benefits in violation of regulations and exceeding the standards, but after 67, apart from providing affordable grain to our comrades' families, we have never distributed grain in violation of regulations again."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's answer and recalling the results of their secret investigation, Guo Jianping said to Jia Dongming with a serious expression, "Director Jia! Do you know why that whistleblower keeps reporting you? It's because your Security Department has access to subsidized grain every month. After all, many families can't buy rationed grain because they don't have a Beijing household registration, while your comrades in the Security Department, even if their wives and children don't have household registration, can eat subsidized grain. How can that not make people envious?"

When Jia Dongming heard Guo Jianping mention the issue of grain, he was very puzzled, not understanding what the other party was up to. He pretended to be depressed and said to Guo Jianping, "Director Guo! In our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill Security Department, there are more than 600 comrades, of whom more than 500 have wives and children who are all registered as rural residents."

"I am the head of the security department. In my eyes, our security department is a big family. All comrades are members of this family, comrades who eat from the same pot. As the head of this big family, I must find a way to ensure that my comrades and their wives and children can have enough to eat."

Hearing Jia Dongming's words, Guo Jianping thought of his younger brother's family. His brother's wife didn't have a Beijing residency permit, which meant his brother's five children didn't receive rations. Over the years, if Guo Jianping hadn't occasionally helped his brother's family, it was uncertain whether his brother could have raised all five children. Faced with Jia Dongming's complaints, Guo Jianping recalled the words Deputy Director Zheng had spoken to him before their departure. His expression grave, he reminded Jia Dongming, "Director Jia! I know your intentions are good, but you should be very clear about the principle of 'not worrying about scarcity but worrying about inequality.' Other families can't buy rationed grain at a fair price, while your colleagues in the security department can buy it at a low price. Anyone who knows this will inevitably feel resentful."

“At the meeting, Deputy Director Zheng brought up the whistleblower letter again, but he didn’t bring up your illegal distribution of welfare. Instead, he asked where you got so much cheap grain. Especially this morning before we left, Deputy Director Zheng called me to his office. His strict requirement for me was to find out where you purchased the supplies, so you should be prepared.”

After hearing Guo Jianping's explanation, Jia Dongming finally understood the true purpose of the investigation team's visit to the steel rolling mill. He also realized that someone was eyeing his channels for purchasing low-priced materials.

Having figured out the reason, a barely perceptible glint of coldness flashed in Jia Dongming's eyes. He smiled and said to Guo Jianping, "Director Guo! Comrade Zhang Guoping is now in charge of our procurement channels. If you want to know, you can ask Comrade Zhang Guoping directly."

Guo Jianping had originally thought that he would have to spend a lot of time persuading Jia Dongming to tell them about the procurement channels, but to his surprise, Jia Dongming answered so readily. Thinking of the task assigned by Deputy Director Zheng, Guo Jianping immediately stood up from the sofa and said to Jia Dongming with a smile, "Director Jia! I'll go to your logistics department now to find Comrade Zhang Guoping and ask him about the specific situation."

Upon hearing Guo Jianping's words, Jia Dongming smiled and nodded, replying, "Director Guo! Please go ahead."

"Dingling! Dingling! Dingling!"

Not long after Guo Jianping left Jia Dongming's office, the phone in Jia Dongming's office suddenly rang. Hearing the phone ring, Jia Dongming quickly walked to his desk, picked up the receiver, and politely greeted, "Hello! This is Jia Dongming. May I ask who this is?"

"Director Jia! This is Li Huaide. I heard that your city bureau's investigation team went to the security department to investigate your illegal distribution of benefits. Is that true?" Li Huaide's curious question came through the phone as soon as Jia Dongming finished asking.

Jia Dongming never expected the news to spread so quickly. He then replied with a smile, "Director Li! Someone has their eye on our procurement channels and is using the pretext of an investigation to demand that I hand over the channels."

(End of this chapter)