Nominal: Who isn't a son-in-law?

"Li Zongwu, I fully understand and absolutely agree with what you said about the overall situation being stable and the team being in good condition."

"I know better than anyone how far this case has spread and how deeply rooted it is. Unrestricted expansion of the line can indeed easily cause local unrest."

"I accept your suggestion to focus on the main crime and control the boundaries. The task force will focus on the core of the case, identify the main culprit, the main crime, and the main protector, prioritize the handling of major cases and consolidate the results, and will not blindly spread or pursue accountability in a disorderly manner, but will proactively maintain the overall stability of the local area."

On the other end of the phone, Li Zongwu nodded in satisfaction.

But the next second, Chu Shijun changed his tone and revealed his bottom line on discipline, striking a perfect balance: "But I must make one thing clear."

"I am in charge of Xinjiang and lead all local work related to this case. Therefore, I can control the situation and tighten the reins, but I will never tolerate or condone it. My main goal is to maintain the overall stability, but I will never let the crimes go unpunished."

"For those who are vaguely involved on the periphery and passively follow along, in order to maintain overall stability, I can ensure that I do not actively expand the investigation, do not trace back layer by layer, and do not exaggerate the case indefinitely."

"Anyone who has only a hidden connection, has not actively committed wrongdoing, and has not participated in the distribution of spoils or cover-ups, can be given a chance to reform themselves if they conduct self-examination and self-correction, actively sever ties, and withdraw from the circle of interests, in accordance with regulations and discipline, and with distinction."

"However, as long as any public official actively shields, protects, participates in profit sharing, or provides long-term protection for the black market, regardless of their rank, the extent of their involvement, or whether anyone actively disclaims responsibility, my attitude here is: leave no blind spots, investigate to the end, and hold them accountable according to regulations."

"After all, maintaining stability is not about covering up mistakes and protecting shortcomings. I think you, Li Zongwu, understand this better than I do."

In just a few sentences, he completely drew a line and made his stance clear.

Li Zongwu remained silent for a few breaths, his tone losing the relaxed ease of his previous persuasion, becoming more solemn, cautious, and subtly admonishing: "Comrade Shijun, I have seen your attitude."

"In enforcing discipline and handling cases, we adhere to the principles of neither letting the guilty go unpunished nor punishing the innocent, and of balancing power and responsibility. These are the rules and principles that the organization has always recognized."

"But we must also consider other aspects. Some veteran comrades said that most of the people involved inside and outside the company are people who have been neglecting their duties for many years and have followed the trend. They are passive problems caused by the prevailing atmosphere. They are not considered to have committed crimes actively, nor are they involved in serious crimes such as gang-related or murderous activities. It is reasonable to hold them strictly accountable, but it is important to allow for mistakes and make corrections in the overall situation."

"What the organization wants is long-term stability, not a thorough investigation that leaves everyone feeling insecure and hesitant to work. I think you understand this after more than twenty years of experience in this field, so I don't need to repeat it to you, do I?"

"Therefore, my idea is: serious crimes should be severely punished, minor crimes should be tolerated, and unintentional mistakes should be rectified instead of held accountable. Case handling should be carried out with swift and decisive measures, but also with a holistic perspective. We cannot disrupt the governance foundation of many places that has been built up over many years just to handle a case well."

This was a very eloquent statement, acknowledging Chu Shijun's bottom line in upholding discipline while subtly restricting the extent to which he handled cases.

After listening quietly, Chu Shijun glanced at the still-lit phone again, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned it upside down.

"You're right, governance requires tolerance for mistakes, and case handling requires discretion."

"I never intended to investigate thoroughly or hold everyone accountable, nor would I deliberately create unrest or exaggerate the case. Those who were passively coerced, unintentionally negligent, or failed to stop the damage in time, as you mentioned, can be given a chance, leniency, and room for rectification."

"But there is no room for error for those who actively use power to exchange for money, actively pave the way for organized crime, and actively disregard human life to protect organized crime for profit. These kinds of crimes are not a matter of negligence in conduct, but a vicious problem of the collapse of bottom line and intolerance by law."

"Overall stability must never be built on letting corrupt officials go free or condoning wrongdoing. Decisive measures are the bottom line, while a balance between leniency and severity is the means. These two are never in conflict."

There was silence again on the other end of the phone.

Li Zongwu did not expect Chu Shijun to be so tough.

He couldn't find a more suitable point of rebuttal for the time being.

After a moment, considering Tian Shu and Kai Yang's attitudes, he stopped insisting. He had said all he needed to say. If Chu Shijun still refused, then let the others figure it out themselves.

"Okay, a balance between leniency and severity, without breaking the bottom line."

"Comrade Shijun, you are in charge of this case at the local level, and you are in charge of setting the standards. The organization will not interfere with the specific investigation. We only ask you to do one thing: be precise in implementation, maintain the overall situation, avoid any trouble, leave no lingering problems, and handle the case thoroughly, cleanly, and prudently."

……

The call ended, and the office returned to silence.

Chu Shijun put the phone back on the landline, glanced at the setting sun outside the window, then looked at the files of the three inspection teams on his desk. After a moment of silence, he finalized the criteria in his mind.

He accepted half of Li Zongwu's opinion.

Whether your partner accepts you or not depends on the attitudes of those people.

He won't work if he only thinks about getting small fry to walk into his trap.

Even if he knew he couldn't finish dealing with it all or get it clean, if he didn't even dare to take action, then he had wasted half his life.

How will I face him after the rest of my life is over?

……

That evening, the inspection teams from the three locations held another online meeting.

Chu Shijun made an explanation, clarifying his own attitude.

The inspection teams from the three locations adjusted their case-handling strategies overnight.

All previously established investigation records have been archived and sealed. Grassroots investigators have suspended interviews and inquiries with peripheral officials with minor connections to the case, so as to avoid artificially creating panic and amplifying unrest.

At the same time, three special investigation teams were established simultaneously, avoiding a broad-based approach and focusing precisely on individuals whose confessions, including those of Gu Wangbei and Nie Mingyu, contained clear details of timelines, specific events, actual transfer of benefits, and active protection.

The balance between loosening and tightening is clearly visible to outsiders.

What they didn't know was that the names of some peripherally connected individuals had already been added to a list and registered in Zhong Zhenguo's work system.

If they knew, they'd probably be so happy they couldn't sleep. After all, getting a chance to meet Chung Cheng-kuo is a 'good opportunity' they might never have in their entire lives.

And in a short time, after that phone call and the subtle procedural shift of the inspection team...

This has triggered a chain reaction in many places.

Some people who had previously had business dealings with Nie Mingyu and Gu Wangbei began to quickly and privately clean up their tracks, destroying records of private interactions, terminating business partnerships, returning ill-gotten gains, and voluntarily submitting self-examination materials to their unit's discipline inspection team overnight.

Everyone is scrambling to "clear their name" and rushing to completely sever ties with the organization.

They believe that those who voluntarily distance themselves from the issue will be classified as having misconduct or dereliction of duty, while those who refuse to restrain themselves and harbor侥幸心理 (a sense of侥幸, or a belief that they can get away with it) will be classified as deliberately protecting others or being accomplices in crimes.

Those core protectors who are genuinely deeply involved in providing protection, have received huge benefits over the years, and have repeatedly taken the initiative to resolve potential threats to the black market have no way out.

No one answered my cries for help; every phone call I made went unanswered, and eventually I was blocked.