The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Zhao Xiongcai knew that if things escalated, his term as secretary would be over.

With a troubled expression, he said, "County Chief Chen, the Chengnan Subdistrict Office has no land left to sell. Where can we raise 500 million yuan? Can the county government help us with 800 million yuan? The Chengnan Subdistrict Office will figure out the remaining 200 million yuan."

"Five hundred million is the limit. If it exceeds five hundred million, the county government can't solve it. The remaining problem can only be solved by the Chengnan Subdistrict Office."

Chen Shi glanced at his watch: "Secretary Zhao, I have something to attend to at the county government. This matter needs to be addressed as soon as possible, at least with concrete actions to stabilize the original residents and prevent them from petitioning in Kyoto again."

They've heard too much empty talk; without concrete action, they can't believe the government is making an effort to help them solve their housing problems.

Chen Shi got into the car, left the site of the dilapidated housing renovation project, and returned to the county government to ponder how to resolve the 500 million yuan issue.

The next day at work, Chen Shi asked Xie Shanquan to notify the director of the Finance Bureau, Guan Hui, to come to his office.

Upon receiving the notification, Guan Hui rushed to the office. Xie Shanquan, knowing that Chen Shi had something important to discuss with Guan Hui, poured him some water, then quickly left the office and closed the door behind him.

Chen Shi didn't waste any words and asked directly, "Director Guan, how much money is left in the Finance Bureau's account?"

Guan Hui didn't know what Chen Shi meant, so he told the truth: "County Chief Chen, the Finance Bureau only has 3.7 million in its account."

Chen Shi looked at Guan Hui: "You are familiar with the dilapidated housing renovation project in Chengnan Subdistrict. The county government allocated 500 million yuan to Chengnan Subdistrict, and Chengnan Subdistrict raised 500 million yuan by selling land. The dilapidated housing renovation project had a budget of 1 billion yuan, which Chengnan Subdistrict paid to Yikun Group in one lump sum."

Yikun Group went bankrupt, and its assets were frozen and auctioned off by the bank at the request of the court to repay debts. The Chengnan Subdistrict Office did not receive a single penny.

The dilapidated housing renovation project was initiated in 09, and it's been five years now. If the problem isn't resolved soon, the original residents might resort to extreme measures, and no one can afford the consequences.

Guan Hui continued, "Chen County, the county government's allocation of 500 million yuan was a special fund for the renovation of dilapidated houses in Chengnan Subdistrict. Chengnan Subdistrict sub ...

Chen Shi said in a deep voice, "Director Guan, you are right. This serious consequence was caused by the Chengnan Subdistrict Office itself. They should resolve the issue of the 1 billion yuan in funding for the dilapidated housing renovation project."

However, Director Guan, have you considered that relying on the Chengnan Subdistrict Office is simply not enough to solve this problem? If it were, it wouldn't have dragged on until now.

Yesterday I visited the project site and was shocked by what I saw. Some elderly people had been living there for three or four years without water or electricity.

Guan Hui knew the financial situation of Chengnan Subdistrict Office; it was simply impossible for them to come up with 1 billion yuan to build houses.

Chen Shi continued, "Yesterday, the original residents went to Kyoto to petition, and the Li County government arranged for the petition office to intercept them. If this matter is not resolved, they will do something extreme, and the relevant leaders will all be punished."

We can't wait until things happen to solve them. I called Secretary Zhao Xiongcai over on the spot and promised him that the county government would help them with 500 million yuan, and they could find a way to raise the remaining 500 million yuan themselves. The dilapidated housing renovation project must start immediately.

Guan Hui's job as the director of the Finance Bureau is not easy. He has to spend money everywhere, but there are very few sources of income. He can only sit and wait for government funding.

"In Chen County, the Finance Bureau has 370 million yuan in its account. 100 million yuan is to be allocated to the Education Bureau to pay teachers' salaries. The teachers' salaries have not been paid for three months. If they are not paid soon, the teachers will go on strike."

The 200 million yuan allocated for rural water conservancy construction in the county is a special fund allocated by the Water Resources Department. The Water Resources Department will send people down to supervise and follow up at any time, and no one dares to misappropriate it. If rural water conservancy facilities are not built properly, the people will still cause trouble.

There are still many places where we need money. The Party Secretary of Shangying Town went to the Finance Bureau and blocked my door. The county government promised to give them 20 million yuan for road repairs, but the funds have not been allocated yet.

I had no choice; even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice.

"In Chen County, I can only scrape together a maximum of 50 million yuan to allocate to the Chengnan Subdistrict Office as a special fund for the renovation of dilapidated houses. I can't solve the problem of any more than that."

Chen Shi asked, "Director Guan, don't you have any ideas at all?"

Guan Hui shook his head: "This year's fiscal allocation has been used up, and the county's fiscal revenue is pitifully small. Five hundred million yuan is simply not enough to solve the problem."

Chen Shi didn't make things difficult for Guan Hui: "Director Guan, I understand. You can go ahead and get back to work."

Guan Hui has been the director of the Finance Bureau for almost ten years. He previously followed Liu Youguang and now follows Zhang Xiangdong. He is in the same camp as Chen Shi. He really has no way to conjure up money.

After Guan Hui left, Chen Shi thought for a moment. With no money in the treasury, the only option was to sell land. Chunyang County had no industry and its tax revenue was pitifully low. To raise money, the only option was to sell land.

Chen Shi walked out of his office and went to Zhang Kaizhi's office.

Zhang County

When Zhang Kaizhi saw Chen Shi, he greeted him with a smile and stood up.

"Chen County Magistrate, please have a seat."

Chen Shi sat down, and Hu Yang poured him a cup of tea. Hu Yang didn't leave but stood to the side, the office door open.

Hu Yang knew that Chen Shi had a conflict with Zhang Kaizhi, and that coming to see Zhang Kaizhi was definitely not a good thing. With the door wide open and him standing aside, Chen Shi had to be careful about the impact of his words.

When Chen Shi saw that Zhang Kaizhi hadn't asked Hu Yang to leave, he understood what Zhang Kaizhi meant. He came to find him himself to discuss work matters openly and honestly, without fear of anyone knowing.

"Zhang County, you put me in charge of the dilapidated housing renovation project in Chengnan Subdistrict. I went to the site yesterday to investigate. The project was approved in 09, and it's been five years. The people's houses have been demolished, but the area is still a wasteland with no trace of houses."

Some elderly people have lived in places without water and electricity for three or four years, which is really too hard.

County Chief Li called me, saying that the original residents went to Kyoto to petition, but were intercepted by the petition office. The people's patience has its limits, and they might do something extreme.

The funding issue for the dilapidated housing renovation project must be resolved as soon as possible so that houses can be built and people can have a home to return to.

If we continue to let the people protest, the consequences will be unbearable for us.

Zhang Kaizhi calmly said, "The county government's 500 million yuan has already been allocated to the Chengnan Subdistrict Office. County Chief Chen, you need to supervise them and make sure the houses are built as soon as possible. If anything goes wrong, none of the relevant leaders of the Chengnan Subdistrict Office will be able to escape responsibility."

Chen Shi knew that Zhang Kaizhi had dug a pit for himself. If something went wrong, he, as the person in charge, would be relieved of his post; he might even face imprisonment.

Chen Shi looked at Zhang Kaizhi: "County Chief Zhang, the Chengnan Subdistrict Office paid all of this money to Yikun Group. Now that Yikun Group has gone bankrupt, the Chengnan Subdistrict Office simply cannot come up with the money to rebuild the houses."

"That's their business, it has nothing to do with the county government," Zhang Kaizhi said casually.