Nominal: The Handong Game, the Energy System's Counterattack

Li Dakang naturally knew about Sun Liancheng's previous application to the municipal party committee to renovate the petition office. He glanced at his secretary, Xiao Jin, clearly showing impatience.

"Funds?" Li Dakang frowned.

"Even if Guangming District's finances are tight, how much money could it possibly cost to renovate a few service windows? I think Sun Liancheng is just trying to evade my concerns."

Li Dakang didn't care what excuses the Guangming District had for delaying the resolution; if it wasn't resolved, it wasn't resolved.

Sun Liancheng, just you wait.

I, Li Dakang, dare to disobey your orders, dare to outwardly comply with your wishes while secretly defying you—this is an act against Heaven.

Li Dakang was planning how to give Sun Liancheng a warning later.

As the car turned onto the street in front of the Guangming District Petition Bureau, Li Dakang had already mentally pictured the scene in front of the office.

The spacious hall, the low windows, the people queuing up, their backs bent and leaning against the windows, like a group of ants whose backs have been bent by the weight of life.

He had prepared his words, prepared a thunderous critique.

In his eyes, Sun Liancheng's laziness and inaction in government had been going on for a long time, and this time, being held accountable in front of so many people was a good opportunity to teach him a lesson.

If things escalate and become a big deal, he can use that as an excuse to take down the other party.

Li Dakang's car came to a smooth stop in front of the Guangming District Petition Bureau. Li Dakang got out of the car and looked up at the three-story building.

The building was built when Ding Yizhen was alive. It looks quite grand, but the window inside...

Li Dakang's lips twitched—that window was a disgrace to Jingzhou City and to him, Li Dakang.

However, when Secretary Xiao Jin pushed open the door of the petition office, Li Dakang suddenly stopped in his tracks.

What he saw before him was completely different from what he had imagined.

The lobby was divided in two by a blue construction fence with a notice posted on it that read, "Construction and renovation, please understand."

Outside the fence, the once empty hall now has five or six tables and about ten chairs.

He could tell that these tables and chairs were the same ones that the staff of the petition office used to have inside the window.

There were also some ordinary chairs that I don't know where they came from.

There were several thermos flasks and disposable paper cups on the table.

There were also fruit platters piled high with melon seeds, peanuts, fruit candies, milk candies, and those old-fashioned orange-flavored hard candies.

The staff of the petition office sat on one side of the table, wearing uniforms, holding pens in their hands and notebooks in front of them, talking to the people sitting opposite them.

Many petitioners sat in chairs, holding teacups and eating sunflower seeds, talking face-to-face with the staff of the petition office.

Some of the people in the crowd looked quite old, with gray hair, holding a cup of tea, and making gestures as they spoke.

The staff listened attentively, nodding as they occasionally jotted down notes in their notebooks, displaying a gentle and patient demeanor.

There was even a table where several children sat and did their homework.

The staff at the Guangming District Petition Bureau had changed their usual lax, perfunctory, indifferent, and evasive work style, which left Li Dakang somewhat bewildered.

What, does Li Dakang have an undercover agent by his side?

Did Sun Liancheng and his group find out in advance that he was going to the Guangming District Petition Bureau?

But thinking about it, that doesn't make sense. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Even his secretary, Xiao Jin, only found out he was coming here after he got in the car.

What surprised Li Dakang even more was that there were several long sofas against the wall in the lobby, which seemed to be the sofas where the staff of the petition office used to rest.

On those long sofas, several elderly people sat side by side, some knitting sweaters, others reading newspapers.

The air conditioning in the petition office was blasting the heat—these people were clearly just taking advantage of the office's warmth.

A passageway was left next to the fence. Li Dakang walked a few steps inside and looked at the area inside the fence.

Inside the construction site, three of the infamous "Ding Yizhen-style windows" have now been completely demolished.

The exposed concrete and steel bars were visible, and debris was scattered all over the ground.

Construction tools were laid out nearby: electric drill, hammer, safety helmet...

Li Dakang frowned even more deeply, a complex and inexplicable emotion churning within him.

Ding Yizhen had already emptied the Guangming District's finances long ago. Hasn't Guangming District been constantly complaining about being poor?

Why has the renovation of the petition window, which has been delayed for so long, suddenly started?

Moreover, the situation regarding the renovation was much better than he had imagined.

Where did this money come from?

Is it...

Li Dakang's gaze fell on the two remaining windows that had not yet been demolished.

The two windows are still low and cramped, but a warning sign that reads "soon to be demolished" has been placed next to them.

He snorted coldly and walked inside.

"Call Sun Liancheng over here." Li Dakang walked directly to a window and had Xiao Jin find a chair to sit down.

No matter what tricks Sun Liancheng plays, now that Li Dakang has come, he can't possibly leave empty-handed.

The petition office is undergoing rectification, and he wants to know what's going on.

What about the benefits and compensation for these 300-plus people? What about my cousin Tian Xingzhi's allowance?

What about the incident where the district head and party secretary ordered the police to intimidate petitioners during their reception day? Any one of these incidents would be enough to give Sun Liancheng a hard time.

When Xiao Jin brought over a chair and placed it in the spot Li Dakang pointed out, he instantly understood.

Secretary Li wanted to sit behind that low window himself, and when Sun Liancheng arrived, he would make him squat there too, to experience what it was like for those petitioners.

When Sun Liancheng received the call from Li Dakang's secretary, he was in his office receiving several investors from the Guangmingfeng project.

"District Chief Sun, Secretary Li is waiting for you at the petition office. Please come over immediately."

When Sun Liancheng received the call from Li Dakang's secretary, Xiao Jin, his hand paused for a moment, and he secretly felt lucky.

More than ten minutes later, Sun Liancheng's car stopped in front of the petition office.

He got out of the car, glanced around the lobby, and didn't see Li Dakang.

Li Dakang's secretary, Xiao Jin, came out from the inner room, winked at him, and gestured with her lips towards the direction inside the fence.

Once inside, behind a solitary wall, I saw Li Dakang holding a thermos, sitting behind the remaining two windows.

In the original script, Sun Liancheng was supposed to walk to that low window, squat down, and feel the humiliation that those petitioners had felt before.

But today is different. Sun Liancheng now faces Li Dakang with absolutely no awareness of having done anything wrong.

Sun Liancheng didn't even stop; he went straight through the broken window opening next to him.

Li Dakang sat on the chair that had been temporarily moved in inside, and as he watched Sun Liancheng walk over, his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

He originally wanted Sun Liancheng to also squat in prison so he could personally experience the suffering of ordinary people.

Unexpectedly, the other party didn't take the bait at all and swaggered in through the gap.

This completely ignored the punishment that Li Dakang had originally designed, which made him very unhappy.

Sun Liancheng stopped, a half-smile on his face, his tone somewhat polite.

"Secretary Li, what brings you here?"

"Look at the mess this place has made! It's such a mess here, while the main hall is spacious and clean, with tea and sugar laid out. Why is it all here?"

"You said you were going to come down for an inspection, why didn't you call ahead so I could make the arrangements?"