After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

Zhang Chao took the two papers and went out.

After the door closed, Chen Ping rolled down the car window, and the wind outside blew in, carrying dust from the construction site.

He ran through the information in his mind: Liu Yuanzheng was Ma Guoliang's brother-in-law, who ran a demolition company called Shunxin, and had hired four thugs who were carrying machine-made bricks and antique-style pottery in woven bags.

This was a premeditated sabotage of a key national project.

Chen Ping dialed the phone number of Wang Lifeng, the liaison officer of the Provincial Public Security Department, and spoke directly.

"Director Wang, I have a batch of materials here. The case involves sabotaging a key national project and is also suspected of fraud and extortion. It needs to be transferred to the provincial department."

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

How serious is it?

"We have surveillance footage and account transaction records, the employment chain has been traced, the evidence chain is complete, and the suspects have been identified."

"Okay, send the materials to my email before you leave work today, and I'll give you priority processing."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ping told Zhang Chao to turn around and drive towards the municipal party committee building.

---

Secretary Li Jianguo's office, 4:30 pm.

Chen Ping didn't beat around the bush; he placed the two surveillance screenshots on the coffee table and pushed them forward.

"Secretary, we have found the mastermind behind the fake historical site that was set up at the Xinhuo Phase II construction site last night."

Li Jianguo glanced down at it and put down his teacup.

Who's manipulating the market?

"Shunxin Demolition Service Co., Ltd. is actually controlled by Liu Yuanzheng, the brother-in-law of Ma Guoliang, the district head of Changning District."

Li Jianguo rested his hand on the edge of the screenshot, without looking up, for several seconds.

"Ma Guoliang..."

The name wasn't finished.

Chen Ping took the call.

"The second phase of the Chipfire project is a key national project. Some people have used criminal means to interfere with the construction schedule, which has directly affected the business environment in Nanzhou."

He slowed down his last sentence.

"I would like to suggest that a citywide special operation be launched to specifically target any actions that obstruct key national projects. This operation should last for three months and must be carried out swiftly and decisively."

Li Jianguo looked up and glanced at Chen Pingfang.

"You're taking advantage of the situation."

"Yes," Chen Pingfang did not deny it, "but this is to solve the actual problems that exist."

Li Jianguo picked up the screenshot, looked at it again, and put it back.

"I'll arrange it; the article will be published within three days."

---

The document arrived faster than three days ago; it was delivered the following afternoon.

The "Safeguarding the Core" special campaign to rectify public security has been launched across the city, with the public security bureau, the discipline inspection commission, and the procuratorate working together. The special task force was formed on the same day.

Liu Yuanzheng was taken away on the morning of the third day.

The interrogation lasted less than six hours, and the names mentioned in the confessions came one after another.

Changning District Urban Investment Company illegally approved projects, falsely listed project funds, and diverted funds to a wide range of areas. Ma Guoliang illegally interfered in bidding processes, accepted bribes, and during his five-year term, the figures on the books were shocking.

The news spread through the cadre system even faster than the official announcement.

Chen Pingfang deduced it from Jiang Fan's expression. That afternoon, Jiang Fan pushed open the office door, his face showing barely suppressed anger, holding an internal notice in his hand. He placed the paper on the table without saying much.

"Ma Guoliang is under investigation."

Chen Ping glanced at it and pushed the report aside.

This was exactly what he had expected.

---

The city-wide cadre meeting is scheduled for one week from now.

Two provincial leaders attended, along with all members of the municipal party committee standing committee, as well as district heads and bureau chiefs from various districts, filling the entire conference hall.

Chen Ping was given an eight-minute speaking slot. He didn't bring a prepared speech. He walked onto the stage, adjusted the microphone, looked around, and began to speak.

"Corefire is more than just a factory."

The audience was very quiet.

"It is related to the technological foundation of Nanzhou for the next 20 years, determines whether the city can retain young people, and also determines Nanzhou's position in the national industrial landscape."

He paused for a moment.

"Someone buried fake antiques on the project site in an attempt to halt construction. Some people treated the supply chain like an ATM, trying to make money off it. Others posed as headhunting firms, trying to poach our core engineers."

"I'll only say one thing."

Chen Ping placed his hand on the edge of the table, spoke calmly without raising his voice.

"Whoever digs a pit on the road to Corefire, I'll make them fall in."

Applause surged from below the stage, starting sparsely and then growing into a continuous roar.

After saying that, the leader from the province lowered his head and wrote two words in his notebook without looking up.

Chen Ping walked back to his seat, moved the chair forward half an inch, and sat down again.

---

After the meeting, Zhang Chao handed over an investigation report, his voice very low.

"Director, we've traced Ma Guoliang's line back to a name."

Chen Ping flipped through the pages from beginning to end, stopping at the last page.

Yan Qinghua, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor.

After Wang Weidong's downfall, the power structure of Nanzhou Municipality was disrupted. Yan Qinghua took over, pocketing all the lucrative projects that originally belonged to Wang Weidong's faction. Ma Guoliang's ability to act with impunity in Changning District over the past few years was due to Yan Qinghua's backing.

Chen Ping flipped the report back to the first page, pressed his finger on the name, but didn't move.

Yan Qinghua.

The executive vice mayor, the standing committee members, and their intricate network of relationships mean that a single report is far from sufficient.

But this thing should be kept.

Chen Ping folded the report twice, pressed it into the innermost drawer, locked it, and called Zhang Chao in.

"Leave this matter here for now. Continue collecting materials, but don't take any further action."

Zhang Chao nodded and went out.

Chen Ping picked up the schedule on the table again and turned to the page for next Thursday.

The foundation stone was laid for Phase II of the Corefire Project.

---

The day of the groundbreaking ceremony was sunny and bright.

As the excavator shoveled its first scoop, the construction team leader sounded the horn, and hundreds of people on site applauded.

Chen Ping stood at the edge of the stage, not trying to steal the spotlight, but pushing the leaders to the front row.

He looked down at the land that had once been planted with saplings and dotted with fake bricks, which was being turned over by excavators, shovel by shovel, and transformed into the starting point for construction.

I wasn't thinking about anything, I just stood there quietly.

As the ceremony ended and the crowd dispersed, the roar of the pile driver could be heard from deep within the construction site.

Jiang Fan emerged from the crowd, jogged over to Chen Ping, and raised his voice slightly.

"Director! That photoresist team has agreed to come and talk!"

Chen Ping turned around and looked at him.

After the billions of yuan were secured, Jiang Fan kept his sights set on a world-class photoresist R&D team scattered across Germany and Japan. The team consisted of eleven core members and held more than twenty core patents, representing a highly challenging link in the chip manufacturing chain to achieve domestic production.

"What are the conditions?"

Jiang Fan paused for a moment, his expression changed slightly, and he lowered his voice even further.

"They demanded that after the team returned to China, the entire R&D system must be independent of the Chipfire administrative management structure and have veto power, including the power to veto the use of funds."

The sound of pile drivers pounding into the air from the construction site.

"Furthermore," Jiang Fan swallowed, "I require you to personally fly to Berlin for a face-to-face meeting, and for you to provide a written commitment."