Chapter 436: The Wind Fills the Tower (Part 1)

Zhou Changquan sat in the small conference room with a gloomy expression. Huang Zidi, Ji Daolin, and Hong Ang shared the same serious demeanor.

Hou Weidong walked back to his office from the small conference room, his face equally dark. In the corridor, he ran into Yang Liu. She stepped forward, glanced around to ensure no one was listening, and asked in a low voice, "Director Hou, has something happened to Mayor Liu?"

Upon receiving a nod of confirmation, Yang Liu sighed. "I really didn't expect it." She paused, then added, "A while ago, I followed Secretary Gao around Lingxi, running errands here and there. I heard some things. Now it seems the rumors circulating in the provincial capital weren't entirely baseless. I even heard of more bizarre incidents."

The Secretary Gao she referred to was a cadre dispatched from the province, with extensive connections there. Recently, Gao had been trying to secure a transfer back to the provincial capital, so he frequently traveled there. Over meals and drinks, Yang Liu had picked up plenty of gossip from the provincial circles.

Just then, Xiao Deng passed by in the hallway. Yang Liu stopped speaking. She waited until Xiao Deng returned to the secretariat office before continuing, her words concise and direct: "The leadership transition is coming up next year. Many people in the province are paying close attention to this. You need to start making plans early."

"I haven't been in the city long enough for that to be a concern," Hou Weidong replied. It was the truth; he had only been working under Zhou Changquan for a little over a year. By convention, it was not yet time for a rotation.

Yang Liu looked at him with concern. "You should still consider it in advance. Shazhou is on the brink of a storm. I won't say more."

As she walked toward her own office, she glanced back at Hou Weidong and smiled. "You've gained weight."

Once inside his office, Hou Weidong patted his stomach. Since Chen Qingrong had moved in, he had been eating rich, flavorful meals every day. Unconsciously, a slight belly had begun to form. It wasn't significant yet, but it had caught his attention. He thought to himself, I should make a fitness plan. I can't afford to grow a 'corrupt belly' that draws unwanted attention.

He had just opened his office door when the phone rang. It was Gao Jian. He got straight to the point: "I heard Mayor Liu has been placed under shuanggui."

"You have very fast information channels," Hou Weidong remarked.

Gao Jian sounded deeply regretful. "Mayor Liu had two major projects in negotiation. They were originally planned to be settled in the Southern New District. Now that he's under shuanggui, those projects will likely fall through. It's a real pity."

"Mayor Liu was such a steady and solid person. How could he end up under shuanggui? If he's implicated, who else might be dragged in? If too many Shazhou cadres are placed under shuanggui, Secretary Zhou's face will be quite bruised."

Hou Weidong did not wish to discuss the matter deeply over the phone. "Let's drop it. I don't want to talk about this."

Gao Jian then steered the conversation to the main topic. "Has Secretary Zhou made up his mind about the location for the four major leadership bodies?"

"Secretary Zhou hasn't made a final decision yet," Hou Weidong said. "The new site is good, but its flaws are obvious. It's too remote, and the investment required is higher than for the other options."

Gao Jian sounded anxious. "Brother, that new site is the best location in the Southern New District. You should say a few good words for it in front of Secretary Zhou. Find an opportunity to take him there again. Ideally, go after a heavy rain when the small river rises. The scenery will be even more beautiful then."

Hou Weidong kept his cards close to his chest. "I'll try to find an opportunity."

After thinking for a moment about the new site in the Southern New District, Hou Weidong's thoughts drifted back to Liu Chuanda. Liu, the vice mayor known in Shazhou as the "old ox" for his hard work, had actually been involved in a shocking case.

This stark contrast shattered the glasses of many in Shazhou.

Among the municipal leaders in Shazhou, Liu Chuanda was a senior vice mayor. He was usually low-key, with a solid and in-depth work style. He oversaw the state-owned enterprises sector, spending almost all his time in the factories. His reputation among the staff, both high and low, was excellent.

Hou Weidong still remembered his first meeting with Liu Chuanda. At the time, Hou was still Zhuyan's secretary. Liu and Zhuyan had drunk quite a bit. After the alcohol took effect, Liu, who was in charge of industry, had agreed on the spot to build the beer factory branch in the Yiyang New Management Committee.

During the year Hou Weidong served as Zhou Changquan's secretary, Liu Chuanda had visited Zhou's office only twice. Because the visits were so rare, Hou remembered them clearly.

Yet, this pragmatic, senior vice mayor had become the second piece of rotting flesh in Shazhou.

Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary Gao Xianglin was like a hungry eagle soaring over the skies of Lingxi. He had previously picked the Maoyun regional leadership team clean to the bone. Now, he had flown over the skies of Shazhou. Finance Bureau Director Kong Zhengyi was the first piece of rotting flesh; Liu Chuanda was the second.

After Liu Chuanda was placed under shuanggui, faced with Kong Zhengyi's confessions and other solid evidence, he offered only slight resistance before readily admitting his crimes: embezzlement of state-owned assets.

Starting in 1993, Liu Chuanda, the vice mayor in charge of Shazhou's industry, and Kong Zhengyi, the finance bureau director who held the purse strings, had successively borrowed fiscal funds. They purchased the original cotton weaving factory, which was valued at nearly 100 million yuan, for just over 30 million yuan. This achieved the "retreat of the state and advance of the private sector" for the state-owned enterprise.

The method was classic and simple, but it required the right people to execute it.

Before entering the government, Liu Chuanda had served as the director of the Shazhou Cotton Weaving Factory. He was intimately familiar with the inner workings of the factory. Although he had entered the government apparatus in the late 1980s, he continued to manage enterprises and remained well-informed about the factory's situation.

An even more advantageous condition was that the current factory director was his apprentice and also the cousin of Finance Bureau Director Kong Zhengyi. Liu had promoted his apprentice from an ordinary worker to the position of factory director. The apprentice had always obeyed Liu's every word. Moreover, it was the factory director who had first proposed the idea of purchasing the Shazhou Cotton Weaving Factory.

In the early 1990s, as cotton and silk factories in the counties under Shazhou's jurisdiction went bankrupt one after another, the Shazhou Cotton Weaving Factory, with Liu Chuanda's strong support, struggled desperately to survive into the 1990s. However, in the face of fully liberalized and fierce competition, the large ship of the Shazhou Cotton Weaving Factory, like a severely damaged vessel, was destined to capsize in the sea.

Liu Chuanda clearly understood this. When his apprentice proposed the idea during a drunken episode, Liu was tempted. He first had someone register a private company, did extensive groundwork, and dragged Finance Bureau Director Kong Zhengyi into the scheme. They borrowed funds from the finance bureau, and the three of them bought the operating rights to the main production workshop's equipment, valued at 20 million yuan. They then used public equipment to produce goods for the private company.

By 1996, losses in the cotton spinning assets had intensified further. Taking advantage of Lingxi's broader policy of "grasping the large, letting go of the small" and "retreat of the state, advance of the private," he smoothly arranged for the factory to go bankrupt.

During the asset evaluation conducted by Shazhou City, he employed methods such as under-evaluation and omission, causing the value of the factory's state-owned assets to shrink significantly.

Liu Chuanda successfully completed the takeover of the original cotton weaving factory. He had affection for the factory and tried to ensure that the original technical staff joined the new factory. The new factory was essentially identical to the old one in terms of personnel and equipment, but without the previous heavy burdens. It quickly became profitable. The technical staff and workers from the original factory saw a general increase in their wages at the new factory.

By the end of 1998, Liu Chuanda had repaid the 30 million yuan borrowed from the finance bureau, including interest.

This operation was conducted so secretly that no one knew. If not for the finance bureau having eyes constantly watching Kong Zhengyi, the cotton weaving factory would eventually have faded completely from the view of the people of Shazhou. The new factory might have continued to write the glorious chapter of Shazhou's cotton weaving industry.

With Liu Chuanda and Kong Zhengyi approved for arrest, the director of the Shazhou Cotton Weaving Factory, three section chiefs from the finance bureau, and one deputy director from the Planning Commission were placed under shuanggui. Although the Shazhou political arena did not experience an earthquake as severe as the one in Maoyun City, it was still turbulent and stormy.

Hou Weidong was sitting in his office, his mind wandering, when Zhou Changquan returned from the small conference room. With a cold expression, Zhou said, "Prepare the car. We're going to the Provincial Party Committee."

By late July, the sun in Lingxi was truly scorching. The air conditioning in the Audi was excellent, keeping the interior as cool as the northern grasslands. However, watching the glaring sunlight reflect off the line of cars made one feel even hotter.

Driver Ma Bo noticed Hou Weidong looking somewhat tired from waiting. He said with concern, "Director Hou, there's a teahouse about twenty or thirty meters ahead. Why don't you go in and have a cup of tea? I'll call you when Secretary Zhou comes out."

Ma Bo had revealed his desire to change careers several times. He had also enrolled in correspondence courses and was soon to receive his college diploma. He hoped to transfer to a better department while Zhou Changquan was still in power. Over the past year, he had watched the relationship between Hou Weidong and Zhou Changquan grow increasingly close. Consequently, he treated Hou Weidong with extreme courtesy. On one hand, Hou could speak well of him to Zhou Changquan. On the other hand, based on his observations, Hou Weidong had a high probability of becoming a high-ranking official in the future. This was a promising potential investment.

Zhou Changquan was going to meet Gao Xianglin, the "White Bao Gong" (a reference to the upright judge Bao Zheng), so his mood was likely poor. During such critical times, Hou Weidong naturally would not leave the car lightly. He reclined the back of the passenger seat, allowing him to lie back comfortably. "I'll wait a bit longer. I don't think it will take much time."

He waited for two hours before Zhou Changquan's figure finally appeared. Hou Weidong quickly opened the car door and got out to wait for Zhou.

Zhou Changquan got into the car without expression and ordered, "Return to Shazhou." He then remained silent. Upon returning to the Municipal Party Committee compound, he threw out a sentence: "Tell Huang Zidi to come to my office." Then he strode up the stairs.

Since Huang Zidi became the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Zhou Changquan rarely called him by his full name, usually addressing him as "Secretary Huang." Today, however, he used his full name. Hou Weidong thought to himself, Could Huang Zidi also be in trouble? He was close to Kong Zhengyi, so it would be normal for him to have issues. Then he reconsidered, Huang Zidi hasn't been placed under shuanggui, which means the matter isn't serious.