LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 637 - 593: Direct to Heaven's Hearing_1
Chapter 637: Chapter 593: Direct to Heaven’s Hearing_1
Nie Zhenbang’s actions were beneficial in some aspects. At the very least, it did preserve some face for the Ministry of Civil Affairs, preventing them from losing credibility in front of the public. For the leaders of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, this was the best reward they could receive.
Mu Dingjian acted swiftly. After hanging up, he immediately called Shen Xiuchao, the secretary of the group. As a core member under the group, Mu Dingjian, currently serving as the governor of the Central Province, was qualified to speak directly with Shen, the party chair.
After hearing Mu Dingjian’s report, Shen Xiuchao also laughed heartily. His demeanor conveyed satisfaction. Nie Zhenbang’s attitude pleased Shen. He, as well as Nie’s father-in-law Yang Shengli, chairman of the political consultative meeting, could handle this matter. Despite Yang being the fourth in command within the core of the Jiuding, there was no problem with this.
However, Nie Zhenbang was the one who reached out to him through Mu Dingjian. This indicated that Nie also acknowledged his identity within the group.
Subsequently, Shen Xiuchao laughingly said, “This Nie Zhenbang has matured much politically than before. Finally, he is not as straightforward as he used to be. This is very good.”
After speaking, Shen Xiuchao replied, “Alright, I’m aware of this. I’ll take care of it.”
After Shen Xiuchao hung up, the next morning, as soon as he started work, he immediately asked his secretary to contact Du Jindong, the Minister of Civil Affairs.
Du Jindong had just started work at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, his seat barely warm, when he received a call from Shen’s personal secretary, Huang Yunshan. Du was somewhat apprehensive. What could prompt the General Secretary to directly contact him? Without the slightest hint of negligence, Du immediately stood up and instructed his secretary, “Get the car ready. We’re going to the Forbidden City.”
When Du’s car arrived at the entrance, Huang Yunshan was already waiting. With Huang’s assistance, the car smoothly drove into the compound. Once Huang got into the car, Du inquired with a smile, “Director Huang, why is the General Secretary in such a hurry to see me? Has something happened?”
Despite just taking on the role of General Secretary, whilst President Yuan still maintained some power, retaining the position of Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the seat of the General Secretary was vacated.
The saying goes, “new emperor, new officials”. What worried Du the most at present was that, if something went wrong in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he would be the first one to be targeted by the new General Secretary.
Huang Yunshan was very understanding of Du Jindong’s concerns. Since Shen became the General Secretary, many high-ranking officials in Jingcheng have been inviting him to banquets, all with the aim of preserving their positions.
Huang Yunshan also said with a laugh at this moment, “Minister Du, don’t worry. The General Secretary doesn’t have anything particular to discuss with you. You can rest assured.”
When the car stopped at the entrance to the General Secretary’s residence, Huang Yunshan went in first. At that moment, Shen Xiuchao was in the courtyard, sitting under a grape arbor at a stone table. Huang Yunshan walked up to him and whispered, “General Secretary, Comrade Du Jindong is here.”
Shen Xiuchao also nodded at that moment, “Hmm, let him in.”
With some trepidation, Du Jindong entered the courtyard and stood beside Shen like a child in front of a parent and said softly, “General Secretary.”
Shen Xiuchao, at this moment, also smiled and said, “Comrade Jindong, this time, I’ve asked you to come because someone has filed a complaint with me.”
Upon hearing his words, Du Jindong’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that it wasn’t going to be anything good. As the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the distance between the General Secretary and him was insurmountable. There was no reason the General Secretary would call on him for no reason.
After pondering a moment, Du Jindong also smiled and said, “General Secretary…”
Shen Xiuchao at this moment, laughed and said, “Comrade Jindong, don’t speculate. This time, Minnan Province was hit by a typhoon. But as far as I know, there are many questionable aspects about the distribution of disaster relief supplies and funds. For example, Wanghai City, which was the core area where the super typhoon landed, suffered the most damage in terms of area and economic loss. However, they only received 5 million in relief funds. Even Quanhai City, next to Wanghai, received 15 million in funds. There has been some resentment on the ground, and some have already reported to me.”
For someone like Shen Xiuchao, words are simply superfluous. Simply mentioning his name commands enough weight. Too much discussion could end up being detrimental.
It was already late September, and the weather should have been considerably cool, especially in the mornings. In Director Shen’s courtyard beneath the canopy of green trees, the lake winds blew gently, creating a comfortable environment. Yet at this moment, Du Jindong’s forehead showed traces of perspiration. Wanghai City was a formidable force, their influence reaching up to the heavens. He harbored great resentment in his heart for Yao Yude.
Immediately, he nodded respectfully, and said, “Director Shen, rest assured, I will thoroughly investigate this matter. We will ensure a fair outcome for Wanghai City.”
From the way the situation was developing, Du Jindong saw that certain people from Wanghai City had saved face for him, giving him a way out. Having such a deep reach, if this matter were to first blow up in the media, and then be brought up to him afterwards, things would have been much more difficult to handle. Therefore, Du Jindong felt grateful at heart. Moreover, the director’s attitude was not too severe; the fact that he brought it up privately indicated that there was room for resolving the issue.
…
Over here, the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ working group had already gathered at Minzhou City, having toured all of Minan Province within a short span of ten days.
At this moment, in the conference room of the Provincial Committee of Minan Province. Qiao Yiren, the Secretary of Minnan Province Committee, and the province’s governor, were holding a farewell meeting for the disaster relief working group from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Just at this moment, Yao Yude’s phone suddenly rang. The piercing ringtone caused the meeting room to fall silent. Qiao Yiren’s gaze held a hint of dissatisfaction. As a minister, it was basic etiquette to keep one’s phone silent during a meeting. Yao Yude’s actions were rather audacious as if he were flaunting his status as an official from Jingcheng.
The dissatisfaction in Qiao Yiren’s gaze did not escape Yao Yude’s attention. There was a brief flash of embarrassment in his eyes, followed by a smile, “Secretary Qiao, I apologize for the interruption. It’s Minister Du on the line. I need to excuse myself and take the call.”
As soon as he stepped out of the office and answered Du Jindong’s call, he didn’t even get a chance to speak before Du Jindong’s voice erupted in anger, “Yao Yude, what the hell are your intentions? On what basis are you assigning relief funds? How are you calculating your disaster assessments? You are making a mockery of things. The places hit the hardest by the disaster have received the least relief materials and funds. Now, people have gone to Director Shen with their grievances. What am I supposed to do?”
You could imagine the intensity of Du Jindong’s anger. If Wanghai City, or Director Shen, decided to make an example of him, then he was finished because of this Wanghai incident. Moreover, he would be framed in a completely unjust manner, utterly frustated. He was nearly toppled by Yao Yude’s foolishness. How could Du Jindong not be furious?
Resolutely, Yao Yude stayed silent and then whispered, “Minister Du, as for this…”
Du Jindong, however, interrupted him, saying gravely, “Enough with your excuses and justifications. They might fool the public. Wanghai City was the critical area hit by the typhoon, even causing a breach in the sea dike. No need to spell out the explicit situation that even a three-year-old child could understand.”
After a pause, Du Jindong spoke in a severe tone, “Yao Yude, this situation was created by you. Therefore, you will be the one cleaning up the mess. Bear in mind, this time they have chosen to be lenient with you, but if you do not handle this properly, even if I fail to maintain my position as a minister, I will be sure to kick you aside first.”
If Du Jindong was openly expressing his anger in such a way, one can imagine how irate he was. To have a minister disregarding his status and speaking in such terms, it was evident Du Jindong had reached his limit.
At this moment, Yao Yude seemed to be in a daze. After hanging up, he remained standing in place, in complete disbelief. He hadn’t expected Nie Zhenbang to directly escalate the issue. But then, he also understood that as Du Jindong said, if Nie Zhenbang had blown this issue wide open, outcomes would have been drastically different, potentially ending his career completely.
Having contemplated about this, Yao Yude returned to the meeting. After the concluding meeting was over, Yao Yude stopped Qiao Yiren and, smiling, said, “Secretary Qiao, there’s one more matter I need your help with. WangHai City was hit hardest by the disaster this time. Initially, due to the trust we had in Wanghai City’s economy and team, I thought the disaster relief materials and funds allocated were sufficient. However, after some reconsideration and consultation with Minister Du, we have decided to provide an additional twenty million in relief funds to Wanghai City.”
Upon hearing Yao Yude’s words, Qiao Yiren chuckled, understanding fully how impossible it was for Nie Zhenbang to take advantage of this situation. However, Qiao Yiren did not expose Yao Yude’s intentions and responded, “Deputy Minister Yao, I really appreciate your help.”
PS: My apologies for the delay due to unavoidable circumstances yesterday. I’ll make up with three updates today! (To be continued. If you like this work, please recommend it and cast your vote on qidian.com. Your support is the biggest motivator for me.)