Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the blinds, casting stripes on the floor. He counted the stripes, but his mind kept replaying the words his old leader had just spoken.

"If you do the right thing, the higher-ups will support you; if you do the wrong thing, they will take notice."

"Some people reacted quite strongly."

"Should we pull back a bit?"

This is not just an ordinary reminder; it's a signal—someone above is paying attention to the situation in Handong, and some have already begun to question his actions.

This leader is relatively neutral. He's not calling to criticize him, but to save him—to pull him back before he goes completely astray.

But can he back out?

During his eight months in Handong, he accomplished a great deal—freezing personnel appointments, adjusting cadres, investigating cases, and promoting rectification.

But the core objective—the issue of Zhao Lichun—has not yet seen any substantial breakthrough. If he backs down now, all previous efforts will have been in vain. How will those in power view him? A provincial party secretary who, after a year in office, accomplishes nothing and ends up slinking away in disgrace?

If we don't investigate, the task won't be completed; if we continue investigating, we might get ourselves into trouble.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Should we take a step back? Or continue moving forward?

He wavered.

-

The renovation of shantytowns is a key livelihood project in Jingzhou City this year, involving more than a dozen areas and nearly 10,000 households.

Li Dakang is very focused on this project, especially recently. He has a premonition about his future and wants to do something for the citizens of Jingzhou as soon as possible, so he personally coordinates the work every month.

Thanks to his efforts, the numbers in the report looked very good—the signing rate, vacating rate, and demolition rate all exceeded the expected targets.

However, problems soon arose; a major safety accident occurred in the shantytown.

The location is in a shantytown redevelopment area in the north of the city—a place called "Willow Bay". This is the largest shantytown in Jingzhou, housing more than 2,000 households, mostly old houses built in the 1950s and 60s, densely packed together, with alleys so narrow that even fire trucks cannot get in.

At the beginning of this year, Jingzhou City included Liushuwang in its renovation plan. The demolition work started in March, and more than half of it has been demolished so far. The remaining more than 1,000 households are still being relocated.

The accident occurred at 10:40 a.m.

At the time, the gas company's construction team was laying a new gas pipeline in an alley on the south side of Willow Bay. According to the construction plan, they needed to first cut off the existing gas pipeline before connecting the new one.

However, during the operation, faced with increasingly tight deadlines from superiors, the construction workers did not strictly follow the specifications for gas detection and replacement, and directly began the cutting operation.

The sparks from the cutting ignited the remaining natural gas inside the pipeline.

A loud bang.

The shockwave from the explosion caused half of the walls of several old houses on both sides of the alley to collapse. Bricks, tiles, and shards of glass flew out like raindrops, hitting the walls and windows of the houses opposite and the tricycles parked by the roadside. A fireball shot up from the ground, billowing with black smoke and dust, and soared into the sky.

Less than five minutes after the explosion, fire trucks and ambulances arrived at the scene. However, the alley was too narrow for the fire trucks to enter, so firefighters had to carry hoses and run in to extinguish the fire. The fire spread rapidly, burning from the south side to the north side, catching fire in seven or eight buildings. Thick smoke billowed out, visible from hundreds of meters away.

By noon, the fire was mostly extinguished. Rescuers found five bodies in the rubble, and more than a dozen people were injured, three of whom were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital for treatment.

When the news reached the municipal party committee compound, Li Dakang was holding an economic work symposium.

Xiao Jin pushed open the door and whispered a few words in Li Dakang's ear. Li Dakang's expression changed abruptly. Without saying a word, he got up and walked out, leaving everyone in the conference room looking at each other in bewilderment.

When he arrived at Willow Bay, the police tape had already been put up. The scene was a mess, with broken bricks, charred wood, and twisted sheet metal scattered all over the ground.

The air was filled with a strange, pungent smell, a mixture of burnt and natural gas, which made one's throat feel tight.

Li Dakang stood in front of the ruins, watching rescuers carry a stretcher out of the rubble.

One after another.

Moving and still.

His hands were trembling, but his face was expressionless.

Mayor Zheng Hong had already arrived and was in the on-site command center, discussing the situation with personnel from the fire department, safety supervision bureau, and gas company. Seeing Li Dakang enter, he went to greet him and whispered, "Secretary Li, the preliminary assessment is that this was caused by rushing the construction schedule and violating regulations. The gas company personnel have been taken into custody."

Li Dakang didn't reply. He walked to the ruins, squatted down, looked at the pile of broken bricks and tiles, reached out and picked up a piece of charred cloth—it was a child's clothes, burned down to the size of a palm, the edges charred black, the original color unrecognizable.

His hand gripped the piece of cloth tightly, his knuckles turning white.

“Five people.” His voice was low, so low that only those around him could hear it. “Five lives.”

Zheng Hong stood behind him without saying a word.

Li Dakang stood up, turned around, and looked at the cadres present. His gaze swept across each person's face, as if trying to see right through them. His voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"The accident investigation team will be established today. Mayor Zheng, you will lead it. The Safety Supervision Bureau, Public Security Bureau, Fire Department, and Trade Union will all participate."

Zheng Hong nodded: "Okay."

"The gas company personnel responsible for the accident must be immediately apprehended. No matter who is involved, none of them should be allowed to escape."

"It's already being processed."

Li Dakang glanced at the ruins again, then turned and walked towards the car. After a few steps, he stopped without looking back.

"For those who have died, we must first comfort their families. As for compensation, we will proceed with the highest standards. What the city should pay, the city will pay; what the district should pay, the district will pay. We cannot allow ordinary people to suffer secondary harm."

He got into the car and the door closed.

As the car drove out of Willow Bay, he leaned back in his seat, his eyes closed. His mind was a jumble of images—explosions, flames shooting into the sky, a stretcher covered with a white sheet, and the charred child's clothes. He forced himself to calm down and consider the consequences.

Five lives lost. A major safety accident.

For the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government, this is a serious accountability incident. According to the work safety responsibility system, as the Municipal Party Secretary, he bears leadership responsibility. The consequences range from a public reprimand to organizational disciplinary action. At this critical juncture, such an incident is undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

But at that moment, he wasn't thinking about accountability.

He was thinking about those five people—whose parents, whose children, whose husbands, whose wives. Did they ever think they would never come back when they left home this morning?

He opened his eyes and looked out the window. The street scene of Jingzhou rushed past the car window; pedestrians, shops, bicycles, traffic lights—everything seemed so normal, as if nothing had happened.

But the ruins remained in his mind.

He returned to the municipal party committee building, where the members of the municipal party committee standing committee gathered together to inquire about the specific situation of Li Dakang and the follow-up handling. With such a big incident, no one could sit still.

The newly appointed secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, Yi Xuexi, was naturally among them.

Li Dakang didn't speak. When he saw Yi Xuexi's old face, he was momentarily dazed. His thoughts suddenly returned to more than 20 years ago, and he remembered the rural woman who committed suicide by drinking pesticide because of a 5 yuan levy when he was building roads in Jinshan County.

It's all because of him, all stemming from good intentions, and all due to flawed work methods.

He felt sad, not because he was sad that there was no one like Yi Xuexi to take the blame for him this time, but because after all these years, it seemed that he was still the same person he was back then.

Mingming was determined at the time to prevent what happened in Jinshan County from happening again.

He believed the problem was economic, so he vigorously promoted economic development, prioritizing GDP above all else.

Is that really true?

He wavered.

Chapter 201 Suspension

The nature of the explosion at Willow Bay changed on the very night it occurred.

At 6 PM, news came from the hospital: one of the three seriously injured patients had succumbed to their injuries and died despite all efforts to save them. The death toll rose from five to six. By 9 PM, another seriously injured patient had succumbed to their injuries on the operating table. Seven people remained in the hospital's intensive care unit, with more than a dozen people still lying there, five of whom were in critical condition and their numbers could rise at any moment.

According to the classification system, accidents involving fewer than three people are considered general accidents, those involving three to ten people are considered major accidents, and those involving more than ten people are considered serious accidents. The death toll in Willow Bay has risen to seven and is still increasing. Coupled with the large number of seriously injured and the severe social impact, the provincial government considers it a serious accident.

The provincial government needs to intervene.

Upon receiving news of the escalation of the incident, Qi Tongwei returned to his office to review documents.

Liao Qingyuan knocked and entered, holding a folder in his hand, his face grim. He walked to Qi Tongwei's desk, put down the folder, and said in a low voice, "Boss, the latest situation regarding Willow Bay. Another person has died at the hospital, making it seven. The Provincial Safety Supervision Bureau has recommended treating it as a major accident, and the plan has already been submitted."

Qi Tongwei put down his pen, took the folder, and opened it. Inside was a three-page draft report from the Provincial Safety Supervision Bureau titled "Preliminary Report on the Gas Explosion Accident in the Liushuwang Shanty Town Renovation Area of ​​Jingzhou City," clearly outlining the numbers, time, location, and preliminary cause. He read through it page by page, closed the folder, and leaned back in his chair.

“Seven people.” He repeated the number, his tone flat and devoid of emotion.

Liao Qingyuan stood in front of the table, waiting for him to speak.

Qi Tongwei didn't speak immediately. He leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the light on the ceiling, his mind racing. In his previous life, he hadn't experienced this—the safety incident in the shantytown happened after he had committed suicide.

He was already gone by then, so naturally he knew nothing about it.

But he is still there. He is still the acting governor of Handong Province.

Having been reborn for so long, he's become accustomed to the butterfly effect. Some things have changed, some haven't. He didn't know about Willow Bay in his previous life, but it happened in this one, and he can only face it. There's no time for regret, no energy for lamentation; what he needs to do is handle the situation at hand.

"Has the cause of the accident been determined?" he asked.

"They're out," Liao Qingyuan answered quickly, clearly having done his homework. "The gas company's construction team violated regulations while laying the new pipeline, and a spark from cutting ignited the residual natural gas inside the pipe. After the explosion, the fire spread rapidly, burning seven or eight houses. The fire department received the alarm at 10:47 AM, and the first batch of personnel arrived at 10:58 AM, but because the alley was too narrow, the fire trucks couldn't get in and had to go in on foot to extinguish the fire. The open flames were extinguished at 12:05 PM."

Qi Tongwei listened, his brows furrowing slightly, but he did not interrupt.

Liao Qingyuan continued, "Currently, there are seven dead, eleven seriously injured, five of whom are still in the ICU and their conditions are unstable. There are also more than twenty slightly injured. The Jingzhou Municipal Government has established an on-site command center, with Mayor Zheng Hong overseeing the operation. Secretary Li Dakang also went to the scene this afternoon."

Where are the gas company employees?

"The person in charge of the on-site construction has been taken into custody by the public security authorities. The general manager of the gas company is cooperating with the investigation, and no coercive measures have been taken against him yet."

Qi Tongwei nodded, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke, his tone unhurried, but each point seemed to have been rehearsed in his mind several times.

"First, in the name of the provincial government, the Jingzhou municipal government is instructed to do its utmost to treat the injured and handle the aftermath. For the treatment of the injured, the Provincial Health Commission should send an expert team to Jingzhou. All critically injured patients who can be transferred to other hospitals should be transferred; for those who cannot be transferred, experts should be sent down to the city. Don't worry about the cost; save lives first."

Liao Qingyuan quickly took notes in his notebook.

"Second, the Provincial Administration of Work Safety is instructed to lead a provincial-level accident investigation team, in conjunction with the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Provincial Public Security Department, and the Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, to be stationed in Jingzhou first thing tomorrow morning. Director Liu of the Administration of Work Safety will serve as the head of the investigation team, and the investigation results will be reported directly to the provincial government without going through any intermediate links. During the investigation, no unit or individual may interfere with or obstruct the investigation work."

"Third, the Jingzhou Municipal Government must conduct a comprehensive inspection of all ongoing shantytown renovation projects within one week, focusing on key aspects such as gas, electricity, and fire protection. The inspection results must be reported to the provincial government for record. At the same time, all gas construction in and around the Liushuwang area will be suspended until the investigation results are available before deciding whether to resume work."

"Fourth, publicity work must keep up. You should arrange someone from the publicity department to coordinate and ensure a unified message. The cause of the accident is under investigation, and the aftermath work is being carried out in an orderly manner. Do not release unverified information. Pay attention to online public opinion, but do not engage in a one-size-fits-all approach of deleting posts. Respond where necessary."

Liao Qingyuan finished taking notes and looked up: "Boss, there's one more thing—the Provincial Party Committee Office has issued a notice regarding Secretary Sha, requiring the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee to quickly investigate the cause and handle the aftermath."

Qi Tongwei's eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything. He picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and put it down.

"Understood. Compile the points I just mentioned into a written document and issue it in the name of the Provincial Government Office. Issue it tonight, don't wait until tomorrow."

"Okay." Liao Qingyuan closed his notebook and turned to leave.

"Qingyuan," Qi Tongwei called out to him.

Liao Qingyuan stopped and turned around.

Qi Tongwei looked at him, his tone a bit more somber than before: "When you're dealing with the Jingzhou municipal government, be careful with your words. Now is not the time to assign blame; focus on resolving this matter first. We can discuss accountability later."

Liao Qingyuan nodded: "I understand."