Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

Accompanied by Li Dakang's desperate tears, the special car drove over the speed bump and into the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee compound.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Li Dakang could see a large crowd gathered in front of the office building through the tinted glass.

The petition office director, Lao Chen, the head of the traffic management bureau, and several other district officials were present.

The group of people were all sweating profusely, looking like ants on a hot pan, pacing back and forth at the bottom of the steps.

As soon as the familiar Hongqi limousine drove up, the crowd surged forward.

"Secretary Dakang! You're finally back!"

Li Dakang wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, took a deep breath, and forcibly adopted the airs of the top leader of the municipal party committee.

He pushed open the car door, his face so gloomy it could wring water out of it.

"What's all this noise about! This is the municipal party committee compound, and you're making such a racket like a marketplace! What kind of behavior is this?!"

Old Chen was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet, waving a stack of crumpled documents in his hand.

"Secretary, we can't hold this in any longer! The doors of the petition office are practically falling apart from being pushed open by the crowds!"

Li Dakang's eyelids twitched incessantly, and his brows furrowed into a tight knot.

"Get to the point. The sky isn't falling."

Old Chen swallowed hard, his face contorted with anxiety.

"Several hundred of the original residents from Guangmingfeng who were relocated have come to stage a sit-in. They insist that the science park built by Master Yan is a golden goose, and that the previous compensation standards were too low, demanding that the municipal party committee make up the difference!"

Upon hearing this, Li Dakang was furious.

"Ridiculous! Didn't Yan Qingfeng already pay out all the owed land expropriation compensation, principal and interest?"

"The money has been distributed. But the people say it was because Lord Yan was being incredibly charitable, and the debts owed by the municipal party committee still need to be settled separately!"

Old Chen had a bitter face, and he was almost in tears.

The head of the traffic management bureau also came over, his forehead covered in glistening beads of sweat.

"Secretary Dakang, the traffic is also paralyzed. Hundreds of heavy dump trucks from Lingxiao Heavy Industry are entering the city, ignoring traffic lights and driving recklessly."

"The main roads are now blocked for more than ten kilometers. The complaints from the public have kept our command center's switchboard spinning."

Li Dakang felt dizzy and his vision blurred; a blood vessel in his brain throbbed wildly.

"This is outrageous! What are the traffic police doing?"

Li Dakang slammed his fist on the car door and roared angrily.

"Go! Take some men to the Guangmingfeng construction site! Make them stop work and rectify the situation, and impound all the dump trucks!"

The traffic management bureau chief shrank back, his voice growing softer and softer.

"They...they went. They couldn't even get through the construction site gate before being stopped by dozens of bodyguards in black."

"The team leader was about to show his credentials when the legal representative threw the city's special permit in his face."

Li Dakang's chest heaved violently, and he almost choked on his breath.

Yi Xuexi quickly stepped forward and supported his trembling arm.

"Secretary Dakang, let's go upstairs first. We need to discuss this behind closed doors."

Half an hour later, in the small conference room of the municipal party committee.

The ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, and the room was filled with smoke.

Li Dakang leaned back in his chair, his face ashen, staring intently at the reports on the table.

The Lingxiao Consortium is undertaking large-scale construction projects at Guangming Peak, enjoying immense prestige.

All the good reputation and the praise from the people were completely taken advantage of by Yan Qingfeng.

However, there are still petitioners left over from demolitions, social problems caused by construction vehicles, and various tedious tasks related to maintaining stability.

It all turned into stinking piles of dog excrement, which were accurately slapped onto the face of the municipal party committee.

"Call Gu Ming of the Lingxiao Consortium."

Li Dakang gritted his teeth, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Tell him that the project belongs to Lingxiao, and they must step in to resolve these social conflicts!"

Yi Xuexi sighed, took a copy out of his briefcase, and pushed it in front of Li Dakang.

"I already called. Gu Ming didn't say anything, he just sent this."

Li Dakang grabbed the document and glanced at it.

That was the "guaranteed restructuring agreement" he signed a few days earlier while in his hospital bed.

Easy Learning's finger hovered over a few small print on the last page of the agreement.

"Supplementary Clause 7"

Yi Xuexi's voice was dry, making it extremely difficult for him to read.

"Given that the Lingxiao Consortium has assumed all the bad debts, in exchange, the Jingzhou Municipal Government must unconditionally take responsibility for clearing away any external obstacles."

"Including but not limited to: appeasing petitioners with long-standing grievances, ensuring unimpeded access for construction vehicles 24 hours a day, and simplifying all administrative approval procedures..."

Upon seeing this, Li Dakang's eyes widened suddenly.

His knuckles, which were gripping the paper, turned deathly pale.

"Legal and compliant, all in black and white. This is Yan Qingfeng's open strategy."

Yi Xuexi slumped back in his chair, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

"All the profits and bonuses go to Lingxiao. And we are just free cleaners who have signed indentured contracts."

A loud "buzz" went off in Li Dakang's mind, as if something had completely collapsed.

He is a member of the Standing Committee of the Handong Provincial Party Committee and the top official of Jingzhou City!

He held the power of life and death in his hands and was once a powerful figure in Handong.

Now, they've been reduced to being mere tools for cleaning up the messes of that capitalist tycoon, Yan Qingfeng.

This isn't just a slap in the face; it's throwing his dignity to the ground and crushing it with a leather shoe!

"Bang!"

Li Dakang slammed his hand on the solid wood conference table, making the teacups shake.

"This is outrageous! Does Yan Qingfeng really think that Handong is his personal property?"

Yi Xuexi looked at his furious old friend, his mouth full of bitterness.

"Secretary Dakang, in Handong these days, what they say really counts."

As night fell, the lights in the municipal party committee office building were turned off one by one.

Only the top-floor office of the top leader was still lit with a glaring incandescent light.

Li Dakang sat alone behind the large desk.

On the desktop, there was a mountain of urgent documents reported from below.

"Application for road closure to facilitate pipeline renovation in Phase I of Lingxiao Science and Technology Park".

"Coordination Letter Regarding the Allocation of Police Force to Maintain Security Around Guangming Peak".

They all demanded that the municipal party committee provide manpower, resources, and manpower to serve that capitalist behemoth.

He picked up the pen, but his hand hovered in mid-air, unable to bring it down.

Not approved?

That would be a breach of contract, resulting in exorbitant penalties and the immediate bankruptcy of Jingzhou's finances.

Approval?

That's like cutting off your own flesh to feed that hungry wolf, Yan Qingfeng.

The colorful neon lights outside the window illuminated the city's night scene, making it look prosperous and beautiful.

But in this bustling city, there was no trace of Li Dakang.

suffocated.

An indescribable, extreme sense of frustration gripped him like a venomous snake tightly coiled around his neck.

It was so tight he couldn't breathe.

Li Dakang suddenly stood up and grabbed his favorite purple clay teacup from the table.

This was personally given to him by Sha Ruijin on the day he became the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee.

"To hell with the agreement!"

Li Dakang let out a low growl like a trapped beast, his arm veins bulging, and slammed the teacup to the ground.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

The valuable purple clay teacup shattered into pieces on the hard floor tiles, spilling tea all over the floor.

The shattered porcelain shards were just like his now fragmented political ambitions.

Just then, the office door was gently pushed open.

Yi Xuexi walked in carrying a briefcase and glanced down at the mess on the floor.

He didn't say anything to stop them, but silently walked around the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground.

Walking to the table, Yi Xuexi took out a high-end, dark gold hard card from his bag and gently placed it on the corner of the table.

"Secretary Dakang, no matter how angry we are, we have to hold our own tomorrow."

Yi Xuexi looked at Li Dakang's deathly pale face, his tone revealing a deep sense of powerlessness.

"The invitation was just sent by Yan Qingfeng. The science park will officially break ground tomorrow."

"He specifically requested that you personally go and cut the ribbon for him."