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

Chapter 497 The Perfect Teamwork Between Former Couples

"Okay, Secretary Li! Then I won't bother you any longer!"

Chen Luo hung up the phone, shook his head, and continued to record what he saw, heard, thought, and felt in Handong.

Throughout the entire meeting, he did not discuss the progress of the museum's insider theft with Secretary Li, after all, this was just a pretext for coming to Handong.

Meanwhile, that evening, several guests arrived at the doorstep of Xu Haiping, the former curator of the Jingzhou Museum.

Standing at the entrance of the villa, Hou Liangping couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

"I never expected that a retired museum curator's home would be a detached villa."

The houses here aren't cheap. This villa alone is worth at least ten million; I couldn't afford it with a lifetime's salary.

Zhong Xiaoai, who was standing to the side, smiled when she heard this.

"What? Are you tempted?"

"Sigh, who wouldn't want to live in a big villa?"

"Isn't that easy? You just accept some gifts, pull some strings, and they'll turn a blind eye. It's just a villa; you can get it easily, right?"

"Garlic, huh? Villas are certainly tempting, but compared to freedom, I'd still choose the latter. Besides, at our level, we don't actually spend much money, and we don't even have the opportunity to spend it. What's the use of it?"

"Alright, enough rambling, let's knock on the door."

Hou Liangping nodded, then reached out and knocked on the door.

dong dong dong...

The door opened quickly.

The person who opened the door was a young woman, who looked to be around twenty years old. She had a nice figure, but what was unusual was that she was wearing servant's clothes.

Who are you?

The woman frowned and asked, but Hou Liangping didn't waste any words and directly took out his identification.

"Is this Xu Haiping's home? My name is Hou Liangping, head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's disciplinary inspection team stationed at the Central Propaganda Department. These are the search warrant and interrogation warrant. Is Xu Haiping at home?"

It's straightforward, without any frills.

But this directness startled the woman, and she was stunned for a while before she came to her senses.

"At...home..."

Upon hearing this, Hou Liangping and Zhong Xiaoai nodded and led their men into the courtyard, where the door remained open.

Upon entering the villa, one sees a massage chair in the living room, where a man in his seventies or eighties is lying on it, with only a thin blanket covering his back.

On the table to the side, several bottles of essential oils emitted a faint fragrance.

"She really knows how to enjoy herself..."

Zhong Xiaoai complained, but Xu Haiping didn't hear her clearly and thought it was his Xiao Jing who had come into the room.

"Xiaojing, why aren't you coming over here? Stop dawdling! I'm paying you 50,000 a month!"

She called out, but no one came forward. The woman called Xiaojing was the one who had just opened the door, and she stood at the door, not daring to breathe.

"Xu Haiping, right?"

Hou Liangping spoke, and the sudden male voice startled Xu Haiping. As if he had seen a ghost, he rolled to the side and fell to the ground with a whoosh.

The blanket covering her back fell off, revealing her completely.

Zhong Xiaoai rolled her eyes and then turned around.

It wasn't that she was shy; what hadn't she seen before?

The main problem is that this old man looks a bit jarring.

Startled, Xu Haiping stood up and then looked at Hou Liangping and the others. The moment he saw Hou Liangping, Xu Haiping's pupils dilated and he was stunned.

"You...you are Hou Liangping!"

Hou Liangping also became interested. "Oh? You know me?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Haiping realized he had misspoke and quickly shook his head in denial, "I don't know him, I don't know him..."

"Alright, I don't want to waste my breath on you. Since you know me, you should know my personality and why we came to your door. Are you going to confess yourself or are we going to interrogate you?"

"If I confess now, it's considered turning myself in, and I might get lenient treatment. But if I resist stubbornly... you can imagine the outcome!"

"Director Hou...I..."

"Stop. It's been a long time since I've heard anyone call me Director Hou. It's not like a few years ago. Now my position is the head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's disciplinary inspection team stationed at the Central Propaganda Department, a deputy provincial-level cadre!"

We've come to see you in person; you should know why. Pretending to be stupid won't work. I'm giving you one last chance to confess honestly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Haiping fell silent.

Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. He knew all too well what was wrong with him, but... if he really confessed, what good would the outcome be?

With a determined look in his eyes, Xu Haiping pretended to be bewildered.

"Team Leader Hou, I don't know what you're talking about. Also, I've been retired for eleven years, and I've almost forgotten all my past work experience."

Hou Liangping shook his head; this guy was still unwilling to give up.

"Don't know? That's no excuse. We arrived in Handong last night, and to be honest, we had already investigated your situation during the day."

Putting everything else aside, you're an old man with a pension of around ten thousand, yet you have assets of about eighty million.

Your wife divorced you years ago, and your children just have ordinary jobs. Come on, Comrade Xu Haiping, please tell me, where did you get this 80 million yuan under your name?"

"This……"

"Can't explain it, can you?"

Whether you confess or not, this 80 million alone is enough to convict you of possessing a huge amount of unexplained wealth. A full 80 million is enough for you to spend the rest of your life in prison.

At this point, Hou Liangping continued his pursuit.

"Of course, it's not that simple. Tomorrow we'll go to the Jingzhou City Museum to retrieve the information. This 80 million couldn't have appeared out of thin air. Those lost cultural relics will also be attributed to you. Someone has to take the blame."

We can't even be bothered to investigate further. As long as we can give the public an explanation, it makes no difference to us who takes the blame!

At this point, Hou Liangping gave Xu Haiping a thumbs-up and praised him, "You're very loyal! I admire you!"

These words felt like needles pricking Xu Haiping's heart. When did he ever say he would shoulder everything for everyone? Could he really bear it?

"Team Leader Hou, I'm innocent! You can't pin all the blame on me!"

"Are you wronged? I don't think so. After all, not everyone can have 80 million under their name..."

Besides, what am I? A deputy provincial-level official. I have no interest in your petty affairs. You can take those secrets to prison and talk about them there!

After saying that, Hou Liangping waved his hand, and several staff members were about to step forward to take Xu Haiping away.

Just then, Zhong Xiaoai spoke up.

"Team Leader Hou, isn't this a bit inappropriate? It's not like Xu Haiping did it all by himself."

"Director Zhong, but a slow interrogation is too exhausting."

Hearing the conversation between the two, Xu Haiping didn't care whether he had clothes to cover himself and crawled towards Zhong Xiaoai.

He grabbed Zhong Xiaoai's leg and cried out loudly, "Leader, I'm willing to explain everything clearly!"

Don't let Team Leader Hou pin all the blame on me!

Seeing this, Hou Liangping and Zhong Xiaoai exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly at each other.

Chapter 498 Admonitory Talk, People Are in Panic

That evening, Xu Haiping confessed to all the embezzlement he had committed during his tenure as director of the Jingzhou Museum. As for the subsequent handling of the matter, that was quite simple.

Meanwhile, the Huo family patriarch finally realized that something was wrong. The news had been circulating all day, but apart from treating it as a joke, no one had reacted at all.

Shouldn't everyone pounce on Chen Luo and tear him to shreds?

Chen Luo then spent another three days in Handong. During these three days, he visited Luzhou and Lincheng, conducted a comprehensive investigation of the entire Handong region, and summarized the existing problems in Handong.

Just when Chen Luo felt it was time to report back to Whale, a notification disrupted the balance.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection issued a notice authorizing Chen Luo in writing to conduct formal admonitory talks with the main leading cadres of Handong Province!

Anyone who receives a warning talk will have it recorded in their official integrity file, and the impact period is six months.

In Chen Luo's room at the Shanshui Grand Hotel.

At that moment, Chen Luo was on the phone.

"Secretary Li, this is the arrangement you and the other leaders have made..."

"You have a problem with that?"

Secretary Li was also very direct.

Chen Luo rolled his eyes; how could he dare to have any objections?

“Secretary Li, it’s not that I have a problem with this, but this kind of thing doesn’t quite comply with the regulations. It’s usually Director Xiao or Secretary Li who personally conducts admonitory talks with ministerial-level cadres. Yes, the letter of authorization is also in accordance with the regulations in terms of procedure.”

But... I'm worried that the comrades in Handong might get upset. After all, this is the first time something like this has happened, and if they really resist, the effectiveness of the admonitory talk will probably be greatly reduced.

"Comrade Chen Luo, since you have no objection to our arrangements, then we will carry them out. This kind of letter of authorization is not uncommon; it will also be issued when the inspection team enters a local area."

“Secretary Li… but the inspection team usually only has admonitory talks with deputy provincial-level officials, not ministerial-level officials…”

"Hey, you're still not happy? Tell me why we're giving you so much autonomy. Isn't it because you know the situation in Handong best and can get to the heart of the matter? We have expectations for this admonitory talk with you!"

Chen Luo was stunned upon hearing this.

"Secretary Li, what are your requirements?"

"If this admonitory talk fails to wake up Comrades Huo Chunhua and Lu Yun, and they continue to fight, then you will be the one to clean up this mess in Handong."

You don't need to stay in the ministry anymore. Just go to Handong and be the Party Secretary for a term or two. That way, you'll solidify your title as the King of Handong.

Hmm... Let me think about it. The final result will simply be that you're transferred back to a sinecure, following in Zhao Lichun's footsteps.

Chen Luo was speechless.

Is this even involving coercion?