Please, mature women, have some self-respect. I just want a raise and a promotion.

When Zhou Dezhu came over to take a look, his blood pressure spiked to its peak, and he was so angry that he almost fainted.

Lin Zheng did sign, but he didn't sign his name; instead, he wrote "I agree."

Do I agree?

Who does Lin Zheng think he is, to agree to this?

Thinking about all the effort they had put in to get Lin Zheng to sign last night, only to receive these three words in return, Zhang Hong and his companion felt like vomiting blood.

"Is this your report to me that you've already obtained Lin Zheng's signature?" Tan Huafeng said coldly, his tone extremely angry.

Originally, he thought he had Lin Zheng under his control, but in the end, he was the one who was tricked by Lin Zheng.

What angered him even more was that Zhang Hong and the other man hadn't noticed anything at all.

He really wanted to describe this kind of subordinate as a pig.

"Secretary Tan, please give us another chance. We will definitely make sure Lin Zheng is dead."

Zhang Hong gritted his teeth and said with a gloomy face.

Tan Huafeng lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said coldly, "Fine, you're the ones who said that."

"If you can't get Lin Zheng to take on this funding, you'll all have to sell your asses to pay for it."

The multi-million dollar grant almost ended up in his pocket. Since no one had come down to develop the project before, he was able to use his power to cover it up.

But now that Tianhe Town needs to develop, the roads must be widened and enlarged.

Whether the main road from Tianhe Town to Yangxi Village Committee is in dire condition or not, Lin Zheng will definitely report it to his superiors.

When the time comes, the higher authorities will definitely come down to investigate where the money allocated for road repairs and greening over the years has been used.

If he can't come up with a reasonable explanation or find someone to take the blame, then he can forget about keeping his job.

"Don't worry, Secretary Tan, we will definitely handle Lin Zheng."

"Without our approval, he can forget about starting any work in Yangxi Village Committee."

The two nodded and quickly left Tan Huafeng's office.

Once outside the town government building, Zhang Hong began to curse loudly.

Zhou Dezhu frowned, his face full of worry: "Lin Zheng has made a fool of us. What should we do next?"

"Someone has to cover this hole of several million, otherwise we'll really have to sell our bodies."

The thought of his wife being tormented by Lin Zheng for several hours without getting any benefit from it made his heart ache.

Zhang Hong took out two cigarettes, handed one to Zhou Dezhu, and then said, "What's the rush? If the soft approach doesn't work, we'll try the hard one."

"That kid came down here for development. As long as we have a hold on him, I don't believe we can't control him."

Zhou Dezhu lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, and asked, "So, do you have any thoughts on this?"

Zhang Hong took a deep drag of his cigarette and shook his head: "I don't have any ideas yet. Let's go back and call a meeting with all the cadres to get them to work with us and unite against external forces."

Zhou Dezhu nodded. This was the best option available at the moment.

The two finished their cigarettes and were about to leave, but stopped when they saw Lin Zheng walking towards them from a distance.

Zhang Hong strode up to Lin Zheng and blocked his way.

"Team Leader Lin, what do you mean?"

"We treated you kindly, and you try to trick us?"

Lin Zheng looked at Zhang Hong, then smiled and said, "Director Zhang, I don't understand what you're saying?"

"How did I try to be sneaky?"

Judging from their expressions, he knew that the two old men must have been scolded.

"Don't understand?" Zhou Dezhu angrily pulled out the documents.

"What did you sign on it?"

Lin Zheng feigned innocence: "You mean this? Didn't I sign it?"

Zhang Hong was so angry he almost vomited blood. Pointing at the signature area, he said, "Team Leader Lin, what we need is your signature, not just the words 'I agree'."

Lin Zheng said, "Really? Then you didn't make it clear back then."

"I thought signing my consent would be enough."

"Team Leader Lin, are you playing us for fools? How can the Yangxi Village Committee cooperate with your work in the future?"

Seeing that reasoning with him was ineffective, Zhang Hong resorted to threats.

Lin Zheng's smile vanished, and he looked at Zhang Hong with a cold gaze.

"Director Zhang, what do you mean by that?"

Are you threatening me?

A village committee official then threatened him, saying that if he wasn't dealt with today, he wouldn't be able to speak up for himself in front of these village committee officials in the future.

"Team Leader Lin, how could I dare to threaten you? I'm just reminding you that a person cannot break their word."

"You tricked us first, so don't blame us for not cooperating," Zhang Hong said.

"You dare!"

"When the project starts, try not cooperating, and I'll make you the first one to get back at you."

"Also, don't think I don't know what it means to make me sign this document. If you want me to take the blame, you and Director Zhou aren't smart enough."

"Furthermore, I'm warning you all, you'd better return all the funds that have been allocated to you by the higher-ups over the years, or I'll report you to the higher-ups and you'll be in big trouble."

Lin Zheng stopped beating around the bush, and his cold tone made Zhang Hong and the other man turn pale.

They only now realize that Lin Zheng knew everything all along.

He played along with their act just so he could sleep with their wives.

Thinking of this, the two of them felt a tightness in their chests again.

Lin Zheng didn't want to waste time on the two of them, so he turned around and walked into the government office building.

Lin Zheng knocked on the door of the mayor's office and went in after receiving permission.

"Mayor, as you instructed, I have brought you the list."

"In addition, I have some important leads to report."

Lin Zheng handed over the list and marked the suitable positions for them on it.

Lin Lanxin glanced at it a few times and basically agreed with Lin Zheng's arrangement.

She put down the list, looked up, and asked, "So, is it about the project?"

Lin Zheng nodded: "According to my investigation, all the accounts at Yangxi Village Committee don't match up. One of the appropriations, eight million, has been signed off by all departments, but no one has claimed it."

An eight million dollar grant, no one claims it?

Lin Lanxin gasped, somewhat confused, and asked, "Didn't all the departments sign off? Why hasn't anyone claimed the money?"

"Who signed off on the last department's document?"

"Mayor, this is exactly what I wanted to say."

Lin Zheng paused and continued, "The documents I received show that the money has been deposited into Yangxi Village Committee, and the village committee has stamped the document to confirm that the money has been received. However, no one has signed it. It only states that the money is used for road repairs and for the village committee's sewage and greening projects."

"But when I went around Yangxi Village Committee, the roads were not repaired, the sewage treatment project was abandoned, and as for greening, there was no trees planted at all."

Upon hearing this report, Lin Lanxin's eyes widened.

"Did the Yangxi Village Committee embezzle such a large sum of money?"

"Eight million? The village committee officials are that audacious?"

Lin Zheng shook his head and explained, "It couldn't have been swallowed up by the village committee."

"They don't have the guts to cover up such a large sum of money, nor can they cover up such a big deal."

"The only problem still comes from the town."

Lin Lanxin immediately surrounded them, her eyes fixed on Lin Zheng.

"You mean, the person who embezzled this money was Tan Huafeng?"