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

Chen Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief after Zhou Wenyuan left.

He watched Zhou Wenyuan's retreating figure with a deep look in his eyes.

Zhou Wenyuan's meaning was clear: this was a trap, but Chen Pingfang had no choice but to accept it.

The sign for the Jinshuiwan Project Construction Command was hung at the entrance of a detached building in the municipal government compound the very next day.

Chen Ping's office is on the second floor, three times larger than his previous office in the General Affairs Department. It has a new desk and sofa, as well as a dedicated rest room.

The title of Executive Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Director of the Office sounds impressive, but looking at his empty office, Chen Pingfang knew very well that he had the position but no real power.

The first thing to do when starting a project is demolition.

There are three natural villages and several hundred households in the Jinshuiwan planning area. The demolition compensation is a large sum of money and also a process that is prone to problems.

As per Xiao Yuhan's previous arrangements, the money had already been applied for and was kept in the municipal finance account. Now that the command center has been established, Chen Pingfang's job is to allocate the money and distribute it to the villagers.

The first thing he had to do after taking office was to do it quickly and well.

A funding application bearing the official seal of the command headquarters and jointly signed by Commander-in-Chief Zhou Wenyuan and Executive Deputy Commander-in-Chief Xiao Yuhan was delivered to the desk of Liu Dezhi, Director of the Municipal Finance Bureau.

Liu Dezhi was the one Zhou Wenyuan specifically named at the Standing Committee meeting and placed in the command headquarters as deputy commander-in-chief.

Chen Ping didn't go in person; instead, he sent a deputy director who had just been transferred from the command office.

That's the rule; he's the project manager now, so there's no reason for him to personally go and solicit funding.

But an hour later, the deputy director returned with a grim expression.

"Director Chen, Director Liu said the paperwork is incomplete."

Chen Pingfang was looking at a geological map of Jinshui Bay. Hearing this, he didn't even look up: "Where is it incomplete?"

"Director Liu said that now that Secretary Zhou is here, he's particularly strict about financial discipline. Because of Sun Chuanhong's case, every large expenditure must have detailed supporting documentation." The deputy director wiped the sweat from his brow and said in a low voice, "He requires us to reorganize all the household registration books and ID card copies of hundreds of villagers, as well as the original records of each household's house area, and verify them against the data he has archived before we can process the payments."

Chen Ping stopped holding the pencil.

With hundreds of households and each household having a pile of materials, it would take at least ten days to half a month to sort and verify them.

This is clearly a deliberate attempt to cause trouble.

"Did he really say that?" Chen Pingfang raised his head, his tone calm.

"That's exactly what he said." The deputy director looked troubled. "I said that these materials had already been submitted for the purpose of applying for funds, but Director Liu said that things are different now. With Secretary Zhou in charge, everything has to be strictly controlled."

What a fine example of strictness in everything!

Chen Ping knew perfectly well that Zhou Wenyuan had begun to take action.

Liu Dezhi is using the rules as an excuse, making it seem like no one can say he's wrong, but in reality, he's just trying to drag things out.

"I understand." Chen Ping waved his hand. "You can go ahead and get back to work."

He didn't get angry, nor did he send anyone else to argue. He knew that no matter how many times he went, Liu Dezhi would always have a hundred legitimate reasons waiting for him.

For the next two days, the command office was brightly lit, and everyone was working overtime to sort out the mountain of materials.

Meanwhile, news that the demolition compensation was delayed quickly spread through several villages.

"Have you heard? The government has changed its mind and isn't giving us the money anymore!"

"The new Party Secretary wants to halt the project!"

"Are all our houses going to be demolished for nothing?"

The rumors became increasingly outrageous, and the villagers began to cause trouble.

On the morning of the third day, hundreds of villagers spontaneously gathered at the entrance of the Jinshuiwan project site, blocking the road completely and demanding an explanation from the command center.

The message was relayed back to the command center immediately.

Inside the office, several staff members were walking around.

"Director Chen, the villagers have blocked the road; the construction vehicles can't get in!"

"I just called the village party secretary, and he said he couldn't control the situation either, and that we need to think of a solution quickly!"

Chen Ping sat behind his desk, his expression calm.

He picked up the red landline on the table and dialed the office of the director of the Municipal Finance Bureau.

The phone rang for a long time before a woman answered it.

"Hello, this is the Finance Bureau office."

"I'm looking for Director Liu Dezhi," Chen Ping said in a deep voice.

"I'm sorry, Director Liu is in a meeting in the provincial capital and will be out all day."

A meeting?

Chen Pingfang narrowed his eyes. At this critical juncture, what could be more important to him, a finance bureau chief, than the Jinshuiwan provincial pilot project?

Give me his phone number.

"Sorry, I can't disclose the leader's private number." The other party's reply was very formulaic.

Chen Ping didn't waste any more words, hung up the phone, and then dialed Liu Dezhi's cell phone.

The phone emitted a notification tone saying, "Hello, the number you dialed is currently switched off..."

Chen Ping hung up the phone, and he finally understood.

First, they delayed by reviewing the materials, then waited for the villagers' emotions to be stirred up, and finally they turned off their phones and disappeared.

Step by step, the plan was meticulously calculated.

Liu Dezhi deliberately wanted to create a mass incident and escalate the situation.

At that time, Zhou Wenyuan can rightfully step forward and, on the grounds of ineffective stability maintenance, remove him, the executive deputy commander-in-chief, on the spot.

This way, he can be removed from the Jinshuiwan project.

That's really ruthless.

"Director Chen, what should we do now? Should we report to Mayor Xiao?" The deputy director was so anxious that he had blisters on his lips.

"No need," Chen Ping stood up, his tone devoid of any panic. "It's just a small matter, no need to alarm the city leaders."

He walked to the window, looking at the figures rushing around downstairs with a cold gaze.

Trying to reason with or explain rules to this kind of person is completely useless.

Chen Ping knew that blocking the door or filing a complaint would only put him in a more passive position.

He turned and walked back to his desk, ignoring everyone else in the office.

He took out his personal cell phone, walked to the empty rest room, closed the door, and dialed a number.

The call connected quickly, and a cool female voice came from the other end.

"Feed?"

It's Huang Qianshu.

"Mr. Huang, it's me, Chen Pingfang." Chen Pingfang's voice was very low. "There's something I might need your help with."

"Speak," Huang Qianshu said crisply.

"The funding for the Jinshuiwan project has been blocked by the Municipal Finance Bureau," Chen Ping said briefly. "The bureau chief is Liu Dezhi, who was parachuted in from the Provincial Finance Department. I need to know who he was close to when he was in the provincial department, which projects he was in charge of, and whether he left any evidence against him."

There was a few seconds of silence on Huang Qianshu's end.

She was very clever and immediately understood what Chen Pingfang meant.

He's digging up dirt on his rivals.

"Wait for my news." Huang Qianshu didn't ask any more questions, only replied with four words, and then hung up the phone.

Chen Ping put away his phone and walked out of the rest room.

Inside the office, the deputy director was still pacing back and forth. Seeing Chen Ping emerge, he quickly went to greet him: "Director Chen, the crowd is growing larger and larger. If we don't do something soon, something terrible will happen!"

Chen Ping's face regained its composure, and he picked up the car keys on the table.

"What's the panic?"