In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong

Yi Xuexi was clearly moved by Chen Hai's words, and the impulse in his heart was hard to suppress.

“Chen Hai, I understand what you mean, but the risks of doing this are huge. Success would certainly be a political achievement, but if something goes wrong, neither of us would need to be held accountable by our superiors. Even being executed wouldn't make up for the country's losses.”

"Secretary Yi, what are you afraid of? I believe that as long as we serve the people wholeheartedly and as long as we implement every step of the process effectively, we will definitely succeed!"

"Let's do it!"

Yi Xuexi made a decision as soon as he slammed his fist on the table.

The two quickly did the math. Currently, the housing prices in Jingzhou are around 13,000 to 14,000 yuan per square meter. Based on this calculation, demolishing two old residential areas with an average of five or six floors would require nearly 2 billion yuan in demolition compensation. In addition, building a new residential area would require at least 1.5 billion yuan, and at the very least, they would need to borrow 4 billion yuan from banks.

This isn't like resolving the Dafeng Factory incident with a simple loan of 100 million. 100 million can be scraped together in Guangming District by squeezing and cutting corners, but 4 billion...

As the saying goes, the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish.

For two consecutive days, Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi sought bank loans, since it was impossible for a local bank like Jingzhou City Bank to provide 4 billion yuan to Guangming District.

It's not that the bank doesn't have money, but that the local bank manager knows exactly what kind of people Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi are.

It's hard to refuse a loan of 100 million.

If something goes wrong with the 4 billion yuan, everyone from the bank president to the rank-and-file employees will be dismissed.

In the end, the deep-pocketed China Construction Bank was willing to lend 5 billion yuan to support the construction of Guangming District.

With funding secured, the plan can now be discussed at the district committee meeting.

At the enlarged meeting of the district committee, Yi Xuexi was in high spirits, and Chen Hai was even more confident. But what about the comrades below?

Some were fiddling with their hands, others were playing with their pens; they had already given up and become indifferent.

"Comrades, there is only one topic for today's meeting, and that is the renovation of old residential areas."

Currently, two old residential communities in our district are in very dangerous condition, and continuing to live there poses certain safety hazards. Therefore, after careful consideration, District Chief Chen and I have decided to demolish the old communities and build new ones. What do you all think of this proposal?

As soon as Yi Xuexi finished speaking, the other members of the team sat up straight, thinking to themselves, "You two have finally done something worthwhile since you took office."

“Secretary Yi, District Chief Chen, this is a good suggestion. In fact, our district wanted to demolish and rebuild these two old residential areas last year, but it was delayed until now because Vice Mayor Ding Yizhen decided to invest the district’s financial funds into the Guangmingfeng project.”

Of course, it's not too late to resolve this now. Each household in the old residential area can contribute some funds, and the government will oversee the use of these funds. Reconstruction can be completed in just six months, with the main structure finished.

The director of the Land and Resources Bureau had barely finished speaking when Yi Xuexi interrupted him before he could continue to state his other opinions.

"No way! How can we let ordinary people pay for it?"

"But...Secretary Yi, our district's finances are tight!"

"No money? Who said that? I just talked with the Construction Bank yesterday with District Chief Chen. The Construction Bank is willing to provide Guangming District with a low-interest loan of 5 billion yuan."

boom!

As soon as he finished speaking, all the cadres widened their eyes in surprise.

Are Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai crazy to take out a loan of 5 billion? The risk is too great!

“Secretary Yi! District Chief Chen, I think this is inappropriate. A loan of 5 billion is too outrageous. This is a major project. If any problems arise, the members of both leadership teams in Guangming District will probably have to take responsibility.”

As soon as the Finance Bureau Director finished speaking, other members of the district committee joined in to express their dissatisfaction.

The entire meeting was chaotic, and the smiles on Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai's faces gradually disappeared, replaced by coldness.

"You all disagree with this project going ahead? You need to understand, once the project succeeds..."

"We disagree!"

"Yes, absolutely against it!"

The opposition from several members of the leadership team gradually ignited Yi Xuexi's anger.

"I am the district party secretary, I am the top leader. I and District Chief Chen can make the decision on the spot!"

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

"Secretary Yi, District Chief Chen, if you insist on going your own way, we will have no choice but to report the situation to the Municipal Party Committee!"

They are not adventurers like Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi. Why would they take risks when they can live a peaceful life?

If things go well, the credit goes mainly to Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai; if things go wrong, they get punished too. Who would want that?

"Hmph! Then go ahead and report it!"

The harmony was completely shattered, and the meeting ended on a sour note, with some taking advantage of the situation.

The news that two old residential areas were about to be renovated was spread without anyone noticing. The residents of the two old residential areas were overjoyed when they heard the news, and then they hired steel and cement construction workers overnight to speed up the construction of the new buildings.

Add two floors to a five-story building, and two floors to a six-story building. The cost of tens of thousands of yuan could be factored in when it's demolished, which would amount to millions of yuan in revenue. It's a win-win situation!

But how can an already old residential area withstand the weight of such an additional addition?

Chapter 152 A dispute occurs, and the wall cracks.

One after another, members of the Guangming District leadership team reported the situation to the city through their own channels.

The result was that it disappeared without a trace.

Essentially, Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi's plan was just a bit risky, but it didn't involve any violations of rules or laws.

Everyone in the city knows that Yi Xuexi was a cadre promoted by Sha Ruijin on a whim. Didn't you see that Yi Xuexi even dared to confront Secretary Li Dakang? And when something happened, the provincial party secretary would take the blame.

Li Dakang's attitude was even simpler: he simply remained silent and pretended not to know anything.

Guangming District acted swiftly; in just three days, Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai, representing the Guangming District Committee and Government, signed a loan contract with the Construction Bank, and the initial payment of 3 billion yuan was deposited into the Guangming District Finance Bureau's account on the same day.

Two days later, staff from Guangming District began to take photos and make measurements on-site. As a result, only five days later, the two old residential areas had already added a floor in the slower-growing area and were about to be completed with two floors in the faster-growing area.

Even a fool would know there was something wrong with the gleaming red brick wall and the cement mortar that wasn't completely dry.

The staff responsible for taking photos and calculating the area were dumbfounded. The two staff members were surrounded by a large family and calculated the area floor by floor until they arrived at the entrance of the newly built unfinished staircase. The staff members' legs felt like they weighed a ton.

Take a deep breath and speak directly.

“We only calculate the original house area, excluding any added floors.”

"It doesn't count?! Why doesn't it count?!"

If you encounter an easy-going household, that's fine, but otherwise you'll just give an awkward smile and shake your head in disappointment, considering the money spent on adding the roof a waste.

But when they encountered a shrewish household, the staff were verbally abused and refused to confirm or sign anything!

This situation was quickly reported, eventually reaching Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai.

This project was their primary responsibility, and Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi came down to understand the situation immediately.

The most assertive stance came from the Nie family.

They are a large family. When the community was built, the patriarch of the family used all his savings to buy the entire building. Now, more than 20 years later, most of the Nie family members have left this old and dilapidated place, but more than 20 Nie family members still live here. The building was originally six stories high, but now it has been forcibly expanded to nine stories.

The Nie family had already decided that the extra three floors would be divided equally among the households as long as they received the demolition compensation. Wouldn't that be better than going out to work for several years?

Chen Hai and Yi Xuexi arrived in the same car.

Besides the two of them, staff from the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau accompanied them.

As soon as the car stopped downstairs, the entire Nie family from the building came down and surrounded it.

"Why do you officials have the right to bully ordinary people! Why can't our sixth to ninth floors be included? If you can't give us a reason, we won't let you demolish them!"

Before they even got out of the car, the Nie family started chattering incessantly. Yi Xuexi and Chen Hai exchanged a glance and then opened the car doors, facing the people on either side.

"Everyone, please be quiet!"

As soon as Yi Xuexi raised his voice, everyone in the room fell silent.

"I am Yi Xuexi, Vice Mayor of Jingzhou City and Secretary of the Guangming District Committee. You can talk to me if you have any questions."

"Of course, this gentleman next to me is Chen Hai, the district head of Guangming District. The two of us are here to solve your problems. Can we sit down and talk this over calmly?"

"The deputy mayor?!"

Although ordinary people may be arrogant in general, they still have a sense of fear towards high-ranking officials like Yi Xuexi.

For a moment, the entire room fell silent.

Then a middle-aged man wearing glasses stepped out from the Nie family; he was probably the representative they had chosen.

"Mayor Yi, District Chief Chen, you two must stand up for us! The demolition office staff said that our family's newly built three-story house does not meet the demolition standards and is an illegal structure."

But honestly! Our houses weren't built after the government issued the notice, but before it was issued. Why can't they be counted?

Did the demolition office staff tell us in advance that construction was not allowed?

No! We will never accept this excuse to fob us off!

"Yes, we won't agree!"

The jeers continued, and Yi Xuexi's face turned extremely ugly. He had never expected these people to be so greedy.

He's clearly doing everything for the good of the people, moving them out of their dilapidated houses without them having to pay a single penny, but...

"Comrade, I understand what you mean. Ten days ago, this building was a six-story building."

As a result, it has now been expanded to nine stories.

Honestly, isn't this just swindling demolition compensation?

The government cares about you, worried that you might have problems living in unsafe housing, but you've taken advantage of this and are being unreasonable. It's disheartening!

These words made the Nie family members a little embarrassed.

It's just embarrassment, nothing compared to money. Is being poor more scary than losing face?

Seeing this, Yi Xuexi even thought that he had persuaded them.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, realizing that he was still as sharp as ever.

But he was proven wrong the very next second.

"Mayor Yi, we don't understand what you're saying. All we know is that the house was built before the announcement. If the government doesn't give us money, they won't be able to remove a single brick!"

Yi Xuexi was completely stunned.

Upon seeing this, Chen Hai immediately reprimanded him.

"You're trying to raise prices unjustly! You're trying to seize state assets!"

After all, he came from the anti-corruption bureau, and he immediately started to accuse the Nie family of serious crimes.