The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

“I think County Chief Zixin makes a lot of sense, and I also support suspending this project.”

Chen Xujian was the second to speak.

“I have some understanding of this project. I was against launching it before, but now that I have the opportunity to express my opinion, I definitely support suspending it.”

Zhu Xinglei was the third to speak.

“I previously approached County Head Yuntao and asked him to allocate more funds to our Public Security Bureau. Many of our police officers wear clothes and shoes that have been patched and repaired many times. Of course, we can manage that, but many grassroots police stations don't even have money to refuel their police cars. And County Head Yuntao has withheld our operating funds in order to support project construction. This shows how tight our finances are, and it is very inappropriate for us to launch the Cultural Square project. I strongly agree with suspending the project.”

Du Zhengqiang was the fourth to speak.

"I also support suspending the project."

Hua Wentao made his position clear.

The current situation is very clear, and he naturally knows what choice to make.

As for whether Zhang Yuntao will make things difficult for us in the future, that's a matter for later. We need to get through this hurdle first before we can have a future.

Seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, Executive Deputy County Head Wang Xianming quickly stood up and objected, saying, "I'll say it again: if you stop this project, how will you explain it to Chairman Zhang?"

boom!

Jiang Yiming slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "Wang Xianming, are you a party member and cadre in Xinping County, or a retainer of Chairman Zhang?"

"Why should we explain to Chairman Zhang? Even if his son were doing this project, or even if he himself were doing it, there's nothing that prevents it from stopping."

"We are considering the interests of the people of Xinping County, not the interests of any particular powerful or wealthy person!"

"Jiang Yiming, how dare you speak like that? Who is Chairman Zhang's retainer?"

Wang Xianming glared at him and said, "I'm just reminding you that this matter has far-reaching implications. It's fine if you get yourself into trouble, but don't drag the entire Xinping County down with you!"

"Don't give me that high-sounding talk or use official jargon. I'm just asking, what will you do when Chairman Zhang investigates?"

"Hehe, stop trying to pull this stunt. I don't think Chairman Zhang is the kind of leader who doesn't understand things."

Jiang Yiming naturally wouldn't criticize Zhang Changchun, as that would make him an enemy, so he directed all his attacks at Wang Xianming: "You're exaggerating and deliberately trying to ruin Chairman Zhang's reputation."

"Furthermore, we are handling this according to proper procedures and the law, and no one can find fault with it, unless someone is being unreasonable. If someone is being unreasonable, neither I nor the 800,000 people of Xinping County will agree to it. We will fight them to the death!"

"Okay, next one."

Everyone else remained silent. The situation had become extremely tense, and no one dared to express their opinions for fear of getting themselves into trouble.

Even Zhang Yuntao fell silent, a rare occurrence for him.

"Since no one has anything to say, let's vote by raising our hands."

Jiang Yiming spoke up.

Subsequently, six members of the Standing Committee, including Jiang Yiming, supported suspending the project, three members abstained, and only two members expressed their opposition.

"The proposal to suspend the People's Cultural Square project has been passed. Let's move on to the next item."

Jiang Yiming said, "Minister Wentao, please introduce the candidates to be promoted."

"Okay, Secretary Yiming."

Hua Wentao said, "Qiao Xiaomai, the Party Secretary of Kaiyuan Subdistrict Office, is proposed to be promoted to Director of the Education Bureau. Qiao Xiaomai was born in 1972..."

After Hua Wentao finished his introduction, Jiang Yiming asked everyone to give their opinions.

Although Zhang Yuntao, Wang Xianming, and others expressed differing opinions, the appointment was ultimately approved.

After announcing the meeting adjourned, Jiang Yiming went straight back to his office.

Du Zhengqiang brought Wan Wenbing over to report on their work.

"Wenbing, close the door."

Du Zhengqiang gave a brief explanation and then began his report: "Secretary Yiming, Wenbing has told me everything. Based on the evidence we have so far, it can be clearly determined that the calligraphy, paintings, and gold bars stolen by the thief belong to Wang Xianming."

"I suggest that we report to the city leaders as soon as possible and take timely measures to prevent the information from being leaked and alerting the enemy."

"It's finally been confirmed. Thank you for your hard work."

Jiang Yiming did not immediately express his intention to report to his superiors. Instead, he paced back and forth, seemingly deep in thought.

"Secretary Yiming, do you still have any concerns?"

Du Zhengqiang couldn't help but ask.

"I have no concerns."

Jiang Yiming laughed and said, "Just now at the meeting, I didn't even care about Chairman Zhang's feelings, so how could I care about Wang Xianming?"

"I was just thinking about how to take them all down at once, instead of arresting them one by one, which would be too time-consuming."

“My time and energy are limited. Although my goal is to completely eradicate the criminal gangs in Xinping County before I leave, Secretary Wei has higher expectations for me. He wants me to do a good job in optimizing the business environment. I also need to set aside some time for this task, so naturally I don’t want to spend too much time on fighting criminal gangs.”

"I've thought about it. Let's not report to our superiors for now. We can use a trick to lure the snake out of its hole."

"You spread the word that you've caught the thief who broke into the county government compound. They're verifying that he stole over a million yuan worth of goods and are currently checking which property he stole from."

"I think some people will be so anxious that they can't sleep, and they will inevitably resort to extreme measures to solve this problem."

"You can find experienced police officers to pose as thieves, detain them in a detention center, and wait for relevant people to take the bait. Maybe you can catch most of the moles in the public security system."

"Secretary Yiming's plan is better."

Du Zhengqiang laughed and said, "Then I will follow Secretary Yiming's plan and do my best to clean up the garbage that goes along with the corrupt from the ranks of party members and cadres."

As the group was talking, the door was suddenly kicked open with a bang.

A young man walked in with a sullen face.

Liu Weimin and Wang Xianming followed behind.

"What are you doing? This is the Party Secretary's office. Get out of here!"

Liu Weimin tried to pull the young man away, but the young man slapped Liu Weimin across the face.

"Get out of my way! Can't you see I need to speak with your master?"

The young man said with a gloomy face.

"Liu Weimin, this is none of your business. You can leave now."

Liu Weimin naturally wouldn't listen to Wang Xianming and even tried to pull the young man away, but Jiang Yiming stopped him.

"Weimin, you don't need to stop them. Let me see what they're up to."

Jiang Yiming said with a stern face.

"What do I want to do?"

The young man slammed his fist on the table and said, "Jiang Yiming, who do you think you are? You're just a deputy section chief. How dare you stop my project? Do you believe that my dad can dismiss you with a single word!"

"I'm giving you one chance to rescind the decision to suspend the Cultural Plaza project. If you do, we'll all be happy. But if you insist on going your own way, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Really? You're so awesome, does your mom know?"

Jiang Yiming said, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

"It seems you're not going to give my dad any face. Well then, just you wait, I'll make you regret this."

The young man tried to leave after he finished speaking.

"Don't leave in a hurry."

Jiang Yiming waved his hand and said, "Captain Wan, take him down!"

"Let's see who dares to... ah..."

The young man was about to slam his fist on the table again when Wan Wenbing stepped forward and threw him to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.