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

After everyone had finished speaking, Liu Shanhai turned his gaze back to Lin Zheng.

"Manager Lin, this is the current situation of the village committee."

"The Tenghua Group sent you down here, they must have some solution in mind."

Lin Zheng put down his teacup and said, "There is a method, but your village committee needs to cooperate."

"First, through whom did Tenghua Group transfer the money it pledged to the village committee?"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent.

All eyes turned to Liu Shanhai.

Liu Shanhai seemed to have anticipated Lin Zhenghui's question.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then slowly said, "The money was transferred through my hands, but the person who gave the order was Xu Linwang, the director of the town's Development and Reform Commission."

"Xu Linwang has been taken away by the investigation team, and the bank has also denied everything. The village committee is now helpless."

"Do you know who the money will ultimately end up in?" Lin Zheng asked knowingly.

Liu Shanhai said, "Li Ting's Tianlong Engineering Company."

"At that time, the finance department of Tianlong Engineering Company told the bank that the project had been completed, and then the money was transferred out."

Then they just transfer the money away?

Hearing this, Lin Zheng wanted to curse.

The people at the bank aren't stupid.

They didn't send anyone to inspect the goods, and just let Tianlong Engineering Company transfer the money away so casually?

The village committee didn't report anything, yet they let the bank handle it?

Before Lin Zheng could continue asking questions, Chen Binhua, a member of the two committees, took over the conversation.

"Manager Lin, the most crucial thing right now is to resolve the compensation for the relocated households and the funds for the land expropriation."

"Once we overcome these two major challenges, everything else will be easy."

"Your Tenghua is a state-owned enterprise, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to come up with more than ten million yuan again."

"Manager Lin, do you think we could go back and discuss with the higher-ups to get the money to solve the immediate problem first, and then plan the future development in detail?"

Lin Zheng resolutely refused: "No, doing so is against the rules."

"The government's mistakes are not something that Tenghua Group should pay for."

"More than ten million is no small sum. How could the top management of Tenghua Group agree to take out such a large amount of money to fill the hole?"

"Furthermore, I am just a development manager at a subsidiary of Tenghua Group, and my authority is limited."

"Since the money has fallen into Tianlong Engineering Company's pocket, let's find a way to make them cough it up."

In fact, the head office did allocate ten million yuan, but Ma Cuihua intercepted it all.

Lin Zheng also wanted to get the money, but unfortunately, he didn't have the means.

He is now in a precarious situation, and if he provokes Ma Cuihua again, he will be cutting off his own escape route.

He resolutely refused to do such a foolish thing.

Upon hearing Lin Zheng's reply, everyone frowned.

Only Liu Shanhai, sitting in the main seat, revealed a barely perceptible sneer after hearing Lin Zheng's words.

After a few minutes of silence, Lin Zheng's voice came through again.

"Actually, there is another way, which is to hire a lawyer to sue Tianlong Engineering Company."

When this method was proposed, the group of cadres looked at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Shanhai asked, "Manager Lin, are you familiar with Tianlong Engineering Company?"

"It's not that we don't want to try this method, but it's simply not realistic."

He has ties to Tianlong Engineering Company. Lin Zheng asked the village committee to sue Tianlong Engineering Company. Isn't that just shooting himself in the foot?

Lin Zheng's gaze returned to Liu Shanhai.

"Secretary Liu, could you please explain this?"

"Why is suing Tianlong Engineering Company unrealistic?"

Liu Shanhai lit a cigarette and said self-deprecatingly, "Manager Lin, you're new here and may not know the background of Tianlong Engineering Company yet."

"Putting aside the fact that Tianlong Engineering Company is one of the top ten enterprises in the town, the fact that its legal representative, Li Ting, is a representative of the district people's congress is enough to put us under immense pressure."

"What is our village committee? What gives us the right to sue them?"

"A single word from someone can lead to the town abolishing the entire village committee."

Another cadre, Li Zhijie, said, "Secretary Liu is right. Suing Tianlong Engineering Company is simply not a viable option."

Lin Zheng remained outwardly calm, but secretly noted down the names of several people in his mind.

The key point of this meeting was not to solve the project's problems, but to separate the factions led by Liu Shanhai.

Deputy Secretary Chen Mingsheng remained neutral.

Of the seven committee members, three were Liu Shanhai's men, and the attitudes of the other four were unclear.

After discussing for most of the day without reaching a conclusion, it was lunchtime.

Liu Shanhai suggested that we eat first.

After the meal, Deng Hong led Lin Zheng and his group to the accommodations arranged for them by the village committee.

"Take a look at this." Inside the room, Lin Zheng handed his phone to Deng Hong.

That was during the meeting just now, when he analyzed the group led by Liu Shanhai.

"They seem to not want me to take the route of suing Tianlong Engineering Company."

Deng Hong took the phone, glanced at it, nodded, and said, "Of course I don't want you to go down this path."

"Liu Shanhai's sister is the wife of Li Ting's cousin. I would never believe it if you told me that he didn't get any benefit from those ten million yuan."

"You're telling him to sue Tianlong Engineering Company in the name of the village committee; you're making him shoot himself in the foot."

Lin Zheng said, "I understand that, but his analysis isn't without merit."

"Given Li Ting's status, our chances of winning a lawsuit against him are slim."

"The town leaders will definitely intervene then. Can you withstand the pressure?"

"The lawsuit against Tianlong Engineering Company is just a smokescreen; my real purpose is to make a big fuss about this."

"If I can rise to power, I can definitely do it."

"Also, take a look at this."

After Deng Hong finished speaking, she took out a document and handed it to Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng took the document, opened it, and was completely stunned.

Before the project could even be restarted, Deng Hong, the person in charge of investment promotion, received a report.

His opponent's reaction speed and methods truly surprised him.

"When did this happen?"

"This morning, as soon as I entered the office hall, Liu Shanhai was handed over to me."

"He also specifically hinted that this issue should be resolved as soon as possible, or I would be removed from my position."

After reading the report, Lin Zheng said, "These are minor matters; the responsibility doesn't lie with you."

"But the villagers filed a joint report, and the higher-ups can't turn a blind eye. They will definitely push someone out to take the blame."

That's exactly what I'm worried about.

"No one reported the land acquisition for the project being left idle for so long, but the villagers suddenly filed a joint complaint just as it was restarting. The timing is too coincidental."

"Someone took this opportunity to remove me from the village committee."

Lin Zheng frowned and said, "Your analysis is correct. Your rise to power will affect the interests of too many people."

"It's understandable that they tried so hard to obstruct it."

"These villagers' joint report must have been guided by a powerful figure."

"I thought the workplace was complicated enough, but I didn't expect your officialdom to be even more complicated."

"I'm starting to regret taking on this project."

Deng Hong pressed herself against him: "My little husband, are you scared?"

"Don't leave me behind and run away now."

Lin Zheng grabbed Deng Hong and put his hand inside her collar.

"Now that I'm here, I won't give up easily."

"I'll figure out a way to get the position of village committee secretary."