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

"Boss, I want to apologize! It's because I haven't done my job properly lately!"

Bowing deeply in apology, Zhou Jianjun's eyes still held a hint of disappointment. At that moment, Li Shangli sensed an opportunity—a chance to replace Tian Jingye as the governor's most trusted confidant!

"Ahem, Governor, I also made a mistake in my work regarding this matter, but it is indeed wrong of Comrade Jingye not to recognize the identity of the other party's chief prosecutor."

After all, he is a department-level cadre, which is a senior cadre in Handong. Comrade Jingye, you are not the district head yet, just like me, and have not taken office. You must keep the principle of avoiding arrogance and impetuosity in mind!

We all got our current leadership positions because of Governor Zhou's promotion. They say we should never forget those who dug the well when we drink the water; even if we can't share the governor's burden, we shouldn't cause trouble, right?

Upon hearing this, Tian Jingye wished he could pluck the last tuft of hair from Li Shangli's head. Even though Governor Jianjun had already fallen silent and stopped pursuing the matter, Li Shangli was still holding on to it!

Looking up, Tian Jingye gave Li Shangli a standard smile, but the anger hidden in his eyes was undeniable. The two silently stared at each other.

"Secretary Li, you're right!"

I once again offer a profound self-criticism! I will definitely take my work seriously from now on and avoid causing trouble for my superiors!

Li Shangli squinted, reached out his thick hand and patted Tian Jingye's shoulder, saying with a provocative look, "That's right, Comrade Jingye, your current understanding is not bad. It's great to admit your mistakes and correct them. You're still a good comrade!"

Sparks flew between their eyes, yet their words were polite and amicable.

If Zhou Jianjun, who was resting with his eyes closed, knew that he hadn't noticed the discord between the two while merely pretending to be profound, he would probably be furious. But luck is just that interesting.

Hearing that Li Shangli and Tian Jingye could still understand each other, Zhou Jianjun nodded in satisfaction, then opened his eyes and finally smiled.

"Comrade Shangli, you and Jingye get along very well, that puts my mind at ease. Now I'm going to talk to you about some work-related matters. Please sit down and take notes. A bad pen is worse than a good memory; these things are very important!"

Sitting on the sofa opposite Zhou Jianjun, one on each side, Li Shangli and Tian Jingye both had their eyes focused and looked extremely serious.

"Comrade Shangli, being the Vice Mayor of Jingzhou City and Secretary of the Party Committee of Guangming District is not too difficult for you, after all, you have a lot of work experience. However, you are not very familiar with the situation in Guangming District. Let me briefly tell you about the current situation so that you can have a general idea."

"Thank you, Governor!"

"Currently, the main problem in Guangming District is the renovation of the old city. Due to the corruption of the previous Guangming District Party Secretary Ding Yizhen, the district's financial resources are very tight. The previous Party Secretary Yi Xuexi borrowed a full 5 billion yuan from the Construction Bank in order to renovate the old city!"

These funds were used for renovation projects in the old city, including the renovation of old residential areas and the upgrading of infrastructure.

I haven't checked the specific expenses, but the situation isn't very optimistic. Of course, the mess was left by your exes, so even if the higher-ups investigate, it won't be your fault.

However, if you can cut your losses in time and get the development of Guangming District back on track, I don't think it will be too difficult for you to continue to progress in the future!

These words filled Li Shangli with passion; the opportunity to climb even higher was what he was after!

"Governor, rest assured, I, Li Shangli, will do my utmost to build Guangming District well!"

After finishing talking about Li Shangli's work, Zhou Jianjun looked at Tian Jingye and said, "Jingye, I criticized you just now in the hope that you can learn from this lesson. The position of the district head of Guangming District is not something that can be easily secured."

You are familiar with the government's functions, which mainly involve implementation. You and Comrade Shangli must cooperate well. Comrade Shangli should make the decisions on the general direction, while you should pay attention to the specific work.

First, get a clear understanding of the situation in Guangming District, including its finances, personnel, and so on. Once you have these things under control, your work will be a breeze.

"Don't worry, sir, I've got it all remembered!"

Seeing Li Shangli and Tian Jingye so confident and certain, Zhou Jianjun felt a sense of relief.

"Okay, I believe you!"

................................................

Also in the provincial government building, Zhao Dagong's office had guests, but they were acquaintances.

"Comrade Quansheng, is what you just said true?"

Zhao Dagong raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhat incredulous.

Qi Quansheng smiled, picked up his water glass, took a sip of tea, and then said quietly, "How could this be fake? Comrade Yun Haifeng just reported to me personally. This Li Shangli that Governor Jianjun summoned is a complete incompetent fool!"

However, she's quite adept at putting on airs.

Zhao Dagong nodded, but immediately noticed a blind spot.

"You said Comrade Yun Haifeng reported to you? I didn't realize that. Comrade Quansheng, when did you become so familiar with Comrade Haifeng?"

"Hahaha, in principle we shouldn't reveal this, but given our current relationship, it's fine to talk about it. Have you forgotten that Jingzhou used to be a resource-based city?"

Chapter 285 Joy and Sorrow Are Different

The phrase "resource-based city" left Zhao Dagong speechless for a long time before he finally exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "We are all intertwined, it's a tangled mess that's impossible to untangle."

"Let's not talk about that, Comrade Dagong. It seems that Li Shangli is quite easy to trap. He ran into Comrade Zhong Xiaoai from the Municipal Procuratorate on his very first day in Handong. It seems that luck is on our side!"

Zhao Dagong took a deep breath and then stood up.

"No rush, no rush. The situation in Guangming District is very complicated. It's not easy for Li Shangli to be the district party secretary. It would be too early to make a move now. Let's keep calm!"

Hearing this, Qi Quansheng rolled his eyes. "Keep calm my ass! It's just that we don't have a chance, why are you making it sound so profound?"

"Alright, it's fine to wait. Some things don't weigh themselves until they're on the scale. But once they are, taking down a provincial governor isn't a problem, provided that the fish that bites the hook isn't a small whitebait but a big fish."

After finishing speaking, Qi Quansheng stood up, and Zhao Dagong did not try to stop him. The two of them were in tacit understanding, knowing that it was not a good thing for two standing committee members to spend too much time together.

The storms in Handong will not subside; they will only come one after another.

After returning to her apartment and finishing her work, Zhong Xiaoai finally had the time to call Hou Liangping to inquire about the situation.

The call was answered almost instantly.

"Hey, Director Hou, I asked you to come and help, and what did you do? You thought I didn't see you? You ran off from a mile away. Do you think I'm some kind of monster?"

Hou Liangping responded with complete confidence.

"Hey, Chief Prosecutor Zhong, do you want to hear what you're saying? You didn't tell me those two officials were the soon-to-be-appointed Party Secretary and District Head of Guangming District, did you?"

How can I help them? They are provincial-level cadres. Have you forgotten that Chen Hai was demoted by the provincial party committee for arbitrarily monitoring Ding Yizhen?

"Now that my arms and legs are so thin, I have to be careful!"

Zhong Xiaoai wasn't really going to confront them, so she wasn't too bothered by it.

"Okay, that's settled then."

After hanging up the phone, Zhong Xiaoai realized that her mother was looking at her with a strange gaze.

"What are you looking at, Mom? Is there writing on my face?"

Mother Zhong looked serious.

“Your face isn’t showing any signs of distress, but are you mentally unstable? How can you still keep in touch with Hou Liangping? I felt something was off when you made that phone call at the airport. Now tell me properly, Xiao Ai, are you really alright?”

Zhong Xiaoai knew exactly what her mother was worried about. Who would be so harmonious with someone who was scheming against their wife?

Even if you fight until you're bruised and battered without meeting in person, that's considered restraint.

Zhong Xiaoai smiled with great relief.

"Mom, I really hated Hou Liangping back then. I thought, we've been husband and wife for over ten years! How could he just give me to Zhao Ruilong?"

But after experiencing so much, what is there to hate in this world? It's all about self-interest.

"What can I do to Hou Liangping now? Dismiss or suspend him? He hasn't violated any rules or laws. Transfer him to a sinecure? Even if I did, Hou Liangping would still get his salary, not to mention the hassle."

Zhong's mother frowned as she listened; she still couldn't understand.

"Xiao Ai, if you want, our family still has the ability to make him disappear..."

Zhong Xiaoai believed him, but she shook her head.

"No need, Mom. After all, he is Haoran's father. Besides, our family's most important thing right now is to protect ourselves. There's no need to do something that would give others leverage against us."

Besides, I'm quite free now since the divorce, really. After the baby is born, I'm even planning to date two college students.

Mrs. Zhong couldn't bring herself to laugh; she could only reach out and smooth Zhong Xiaoai's hair, her eyes reddening.

...................................................

Also a pregnant woman, Mao Ya, lying in her hospital bed at the First People's Hospital of Jingzhou, had a sinister look in her eyes.

Although she was suspected of accepting a particularly large amount of bribes, her status as a pregnant woman allowed Mao Ya to be temporarily released on bail pending trial. Although her activities were restricted to Jingzhou, Mao Ya was not willing to accept more than ten years of imprisonment after giving birth.

Therefore, she wanted to fight for hope, and now the only person who had a chance of helping her was Darren Wang.

"Mao Ya, I told you, if the child in your belly is really my, Wang Dalu's, then you don't need to worry about the child's education and growth. You just serve your sentence in prison, and I will be there to watch the child grow up."

Wang Dalu had said this countless times, but Mao Ya's demands were clearly not that simple.

"Wang Dalu, I don't want to go to jail. I know you have a way to get me safely out of Jingzhou and abroad!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dalu's gaze turned icy.

Does he have any connections?

some!

However, the risk is too great. Once it is found that it was Wang Dalu who did it, no one can protect him. It is not worth taking such a risk for Mao Ya, and he will not do it!

But who can't lie?

"Mao Ya, you're thinking too simply. You're not a free person now. Besides, the child in your belly might not be mine. It's not impossible for me to help you. Get a paternity test done. If it really is mine, why shouldn't I help you?"

Wang Dalu's thinking was simple: if it really was his own child, then he couldn't help her even more, so he kept delaying, telling Mao Ya to give birth to the child and then not care whether she lived or died.

And what about Maoya?

She was terrified. She knew it was unlikely she could get anything out of him without his knowledge, unless the child really was Wang Dalu's.

But what are the odds of that happening?

If the value is close to zero, it's highly likely to be Chen Hai's.

In this situation, she is even less likely to accept the psychiatric evaluation.

"No, paternity tests now require blood samples, which is bad for pregnant women. I won't accept it. I'm an older mother, and I can't take any risks!"

This reason was barely plausible, and Wang Dalu could only helplessly shrug his shoulders upon hearing it.

"What else is there to say? I don't even know if it's my child or not, yet I'm risking my life to send it away to you."

Let's wait until the identification is available before making any decisions.

After saying that, Wang Dalu got up to leave. Mao Ya wanted to try to persuade him, but in the end she didn't say anything. She knew that the nature of a businessman was to pursue profit.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket, Maoya. The period before the baby is born and during breastfeeding is your last chance. Whether you can escape or not depends entirely on yourself!"

Wang Dalu has left. He's actually quite busy with work. Yi Xuexi's entry doesn't mean the Guangming District renovation project has stopped. The contract is with the government, and every day of work stoppage results in losses for Dalu Group and the Guangming District finances.

Even the landlords didn't have any surplus grain!