Power and Wealth

C.1164: Spit it out!

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Afternoon.

Before the end of the work day.

The County Party Secretary’s secretary Zhang Feng called Dong Xuebing’s office number. “Hello, Mayor Dong. Secretary Meng wants to see you.”

“I know.”

Dong Xuebing suppressed his anger and left his office after hanging up.

Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang were around when he reached.

Dong Xuebing said emotionlessly when he entered the office. “Secretary Meng, Mayor Jiang. Are you all looking for me?”

Meng Rui waved his hand. “Sit.” He paused for a second and spoke. “You should know what happened.”

“Is it about the City taking our funds?” Dong Xuebing asked. “I heard about it. It’s my fault. I should ask the Finance Ministry to wire the money directly to our County’s account.”

Jiang Fangfang said calmly. “It is against the protocol even if you want to do it.”

Meng Rui nodded. “This is not your fault. Getting 50 million RMB from the Central Government is a great achievement. I did not expect the City to deduct most of the funds too. I called you here to discuss this matter. Mayor Jiang and I had called to ask, and the City Leaders claimed to be unaware. I could tell they were lying, and many department heads were not answering our calls.” Meng Rui was implying that the City had purposely stopped the funds from reaching them. That’s why the city leaders feigned ignorance and refused to answer their calls. None of them wants to take responsibility for this matter.

The city government leaders do not know about this?!

All of them are unaware?

This is impossible.

“Let me try calling again.” Jiang Fangfang took out her mobile phone.

Dong Xuebing said. “Let me do it. They know your numbers and our County office numbers.”

Jiang Fangfang nodded. “All right.”

Meng Rui thought for a while and said. “Call the City Finance Department’s Wei Lin.”

They could not do anything if they called the City’s top leaders, and the leaders denied everything. Wei Lin is a Bureau Director in the City’s Finance Department. He is the person to speak to.

Dong Xuebing got Wei Lin’s number and called him.

Ring… ring… ring…. The line got through. Dong Xuebing is new, and the City Government does not know his number.

“Hello, who is this?” A middle-aged man answered.

Dong Xuebing said. “Hello, Chief Wei. I am Zhen Shui County’s Executive Deputy Mayor Dong Xuebing.”

“Ah….” Wei Lin sounded surprised and kept quiet. “Oh….”

Dong Xuebing asked. “I want to ask you something. The Central Government had issued 50 million RMB to our Zhen Shui County. Why did it become 5 million?”

“I am not sure about this.”

“Chief Wei, the money has gone through your Finance Department, and everything is recorded. How can you not know about it when the 5 million RMB is transferred from the Finance Department to us?”

“I am busy today and just returned to my office.”

“We have urgent use for this fund. Can you check for us?”

“Ok. I will find out what happened. I am busy now. That’s it.”

Dong Xuebing narrowed his eyes. “Many of our County staff had not gotten their salaries for two months. Everyone is unhappy. If they know the City Government had deducted the funds for our County…. We are unsure if we can appease them. A school’s teachers went on strike last week. Who knows what they would do if they found out? Chief Wei, can you ask the City Finance Department to release the remaining funds to us?”

Wei Lin was furious when he heard this. This Executive Deputy Mayor from a poor County is threatening him. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑤𝘦𝑏𝑛𝑜𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝘰𝑚

Dong Xuebing is bad-tempered and doesn’t care who the other party is. Who gave you the guts to take away our fund?!

Wei Lin hung up the phone.

Dong Xuebing lost his temper and expressed Zhen Shui County’s attitude towards this matter.

You all want to deduct our funds without telling us?!

Impossible!

A few moments later, Meng Rui’s phone rang. It should be a City's top leader who called. He said. “Xiao Meng ah…. I heard about it. We are not keeping the 50 million RMB from the Central Government. This is a huge amount, and the City discussed and decided to hold on to it for you all. I understand your County requires funds urgently, and 5 million RMB should be enough. We will release the remaining fund in batches in the future.”

Dong Xuebing has good hearing and overheard the conversation. His face changed.

Hold on to the funds for us, and will give the rest to us in the future?!

F**k! We requested the fund, and you all want to hold on to it for us?! Do you think we are stupid? Do we need you to hold on to the funds for us?

Meng Rui was mad and spoke loudly.

The leader gave an excuse and hung up.

It’s obvious. The City has no intention of giving them the fund, and this is an excuse. They will continue to issue the yearly budget and claim to have returned the fund to Zhen Shui County in the future. Zhen Shui County will not get a single cent back. The leader had expressed their attitude in this matter. They will not return the fund now, forcing Zhen Shui County to give up a portion of the fund to the City Government. This way, the City will not be blamed for taking away the fund for Zhen Shui County.

Meng Rui’s face turned green, and he banged the table.

Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and asked. “What should we do now?”

Meng Rui replied. “Mayor Jiang and I had discussed this before you came. We must get back the fund. But it is impossible to get back all the funds with the City Government’s attitude.”

Jiang Fangfang said calmly. “Half.”

Meng Rui was mad, but there was nothing he could do. Zhen Shui County is under Mei He City, and they can only give in. “We can only give in to them. Half….”

Jiang Fangfang sighed and did not say anything.

Half of the funds are 25 million RMB. That means the City Government had taken 20 million RMB from their fund!

Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang understood the situation better than Dong Xuebing. They had expected this to happen when they heard they had received 5 million RMB. That’s why they discussed it. Twenty-five million RMB is the limit. This is better than not getting anything.

Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang had put aside their rivalry, which concerns the County's interest. Dong Xuebing also noticed Secretary Meng’s change in attitude towards him today.

They must get the fund back as the fund is for Zhen Shui County!

Both the Meng and Jiang faction had to unite against outsiders, and they were facing tremendous pressure.

Meng Rui said. “Who is going to get the money? This task is not easy, and this person will face huge pressure. He must be smart and good at communicating.”

Jiang Fangfang replied. “How about Finance Department’s Old Yan?”

Meng Rui frowned. “Old Yan’s rank is not high enough, and no one will listen to him.”

Suddenly, Dong Xuebing said. “I will go.”

Meng Rui was surprised.

Jiang Fangfang turned and looked at Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing replied. “I had gotten the fund from the Finance Ministry and am in charge of the County Finance Department. I must take responsibility for what happened. I will go.”

Meng Rui looked toward Jiang Fangfang.

Jiang Fangfang did not say anything.

Meng Rui thought for a while and looked at Dong Xuebing. “All right.”

Meng Rui dislikes Dong Xuebing after he joins Jiang Fangfang. After all, both factions are rivals. But now, Dong Xuebing had stepped forward to take on this difficult task. Meng Rui was impressed by his willingness to face difficulties head-on. Dong Xuebing would lose the respect of the County staff if he failed and would also offend the City leaders. He did not expect Dong Xuebing to volunteer.

This guy has a strong sense of responsibility.

It’s a pity he did not join Meng Rui’s faction.

Meng Rui was slightly disappointed.

“I will go and prepare, Secretary Meng and Mayor Jiang.”

“It’s late. You can go to the City tomorrow. Who are you bringing with you? Just let us know.”

“I will bring Xiao Yao and Finance Department Chief Chen. It’s useless to bring a lot of people.”

Dong Xuebing overheard many staffs discussing on his way back.

“The City had taken our funds!”

“How can they do that? Can’t we do anything?”

“I heard they only gave us 5 million RMB!”

“The fund is for our County! How can the City take it from us?”

“Be quiet. It happened before.”