Chapter 1261: Chapter 1216: Ling Li Cooperation Chapter 1261: Chapter 1216: Ling Li Cooperation Wang Haolin was in the middle of an emergency meeting convened by the municipal party committee when he received the call from Xia Gang, the senior secretary. In the jurisdiction of Qinchuan City, many enterprises and institutions had taken days off in violation of regulations. Even state-owned units were included. To make matters worse, the media journalists had conducted undercover visits and caught them in the act, which greatly infuriated Wang Haolin.

In the conference room of the Qinchuan City Party Committee Office Building, there was a solemn and quiet atmosphere. All members of the Standing Committee leadership looked at Wang Haolin with serious expressions.

In Qinchuan City, Wang Haolin had a nickname, “the Big Boss.” All the leading members of the city’s four major teams, as well as those of the various bureaus, commissions, districts, and counties, invariably called Wang Haolin “the Big Boss.”

“What has the Big Boss done this time?”

“The Big Boss is angry today.”

“The Big Boss went to the province for a meeting.”

And so on; in private, they all referred to Wang Haolin as the Big Boss. In fact, this nickname had its own connotations and significance. It was not simply the meaning of “boss” as used by ordinary citizens.

In this day and age, out of a billion people, nine hundred million were merchants. A vendor selling youtiao and soy milk is a boss, as is someone selling fruit. This was completely different from the eighties when you had to reach the standard of a ten-thousand-yuan household to be entitled to call yourself a boss.

Within the system, the word “boss” had been given a new meaning. There were a few ways to address someone in the system: one was by official title, another was the general designation “leader,” and the last one was “boss.”

Subordinates also thought long and hard about how to address their leaders in private. They racked their brains, you see, calling them by their official title in a private setting seemed too formal and risked creating a sense of distance with the leader. Calling them leader didn’t quite fit either. Hence, the term “boss” came into use.

That Wang Haolin had the nickname “Big Boss” was enough to prove his comprehensive grasp over Qinchuan City. It could be said that in Qinchuan City, whatever Wang Haolin stated was authoritative.

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Haolin looked around at everyone and slapped the table, saying, “What are the people in Datong District, Yongzheng County, and Qinan County up to?”

As he spoke, Wang Haolin looked at the documents on the table and continued, “I have here a document. This is firsthand information obtained by Minister An of the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department from his media colleagues. This was discovered when undercover investigators visited the Datong District Procuratorate.”

“The entire Datong District Procuratorate has eighty-two official staff on its roster. On the first day back to work after the New Year, with the exception of one contracted gatekeeper, only two people from the entire office came to work, and they were the on-duty staff. All other staff took leave until after the Lantern Festival. When undercover journalists interviewed them, asking why they didn’t follow national regulations and come to work, their response shocked me. They said that their leaders’ decision was the national decision.”

“Bang!”

Another slap on the table, and Wang Haolin spoke with a heavy voice, “What is this nonsense? Complete anarchy, utterly brazen. Such units should be criticized publicly across the city. We should not fear embarrassment and must fully expose them. I really want to ask, do they still have any shame? Those responsible for the decision to take leave must be dealt with seriously. Dismiss those who should be dismissed, fire those who should be terminated. We cannot be lenient out of sentimental reasons.”

Having said this, Wang Haolin’s gaze fell on the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee sitting next to him. Wang Haolin had also heard that the Prosecutor-General of the Datong District Procuratorate was the brother-in-law of the Standing Committee Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. Although it was not confirmed, Wang Haolin did not overlook this connection. By speaking out, he was effectively pre-empting any potential excuses and silencing objections.

As his words ended, Luo Yifeng, the city mayor seated next to him, also nodded and said, “I agree with Secretary Wang’s views. For such behavior, the Municipal Party Committee must deal with it strictly and show no mercy. I suggest that the Municipal Party Committee immediately issue a document and suspend the relevant personnel for investigation.”

At that moment, a knock on the door came from outside. Wang Haolin’s secretary pushed open the door to the office and nodded at Wang Haolin as a gesture.

This made Wang Haolin pause, wondering why his secretary would need him to step out at this moment. Was Xiao Xie becoming more and more tactless, not realizing that a meeting was in progress? Immediately, Wang Haolin said sternly, “Xiao Xie, what is it? Speak!”

Seeing Wang Haolin getting angry, Secretary Xiao Xie nevertheless braved up and said, “Secretary, there’s a call from Secretary Xia from the Provincial Party Committee.”

In fact, after Xia Gang made the call, I already sensed his tone. The provincial committee is all aware of this issue, and Secretary Nie has issued his directives. He is not afraid of the incident being exposed. Take it as a warning, and use this opportunity to strictly punish those responsible. However, such words cannot be spoken in this setting. This one sentence is enough.

This statement stunned everyone present. The title, “Secretary Xia of the Provincial Committee,” was clear to all. Within the office of the provincial committee, there was only one Secretary Xia, who was the working Secretary to Secretary Nie of the provincial committee, also known as the top secretary in Longxi Province.

The fact that Xia Gang had called meant that this matter was almost certainly known to Secretary Nie of the provincial committee. At this moment, Wang Haolin could no longer prevaricate. He stood up and said to all present, “Everyone, please excuse me for a moment. Take a break.”

Stepping out of the meeting room, the secretary whispered, “Boss, Director Xia said Secretary Nie wants you to visit the province today.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Haolin paused, realizing that it seemed Secretary Nie was preparing to chastise him. Taking the phone from Xia Gang, Wang Haolin headed to his office while speaking, “Little brother, it’s rare to hear from you. Is the boss throwing a fit over there?”

After Xia Gang became Secretary Nie’s secretary, the leaders from various cities within the province had also strengthened their contact with Xia Gang. Inviting him out for meals and treating him as a brother were common occurrences. The purpose, of course, was to gain insights into the leaders’ intentions from Secretary Xia.

After a moment of contemplation, Xia Gang spoke in a low voice, “Secretary Haolin, I assume you’re aware. Just now, Minister Hong Ying personally reported the matter to Secretary Nie, and his attitude was very irate. The standing committee of the provincial committee just decided to carry out a province-wide campaign to rectify work attitudes. This campaign was originally intended for re-focusing after the New Year holiday. Yet now, Qinchuan City has created this problem right in the midst of it…”

Listening to Xia Gang’s words, Wang Haolin let out a bitter laugh. This was a classic case of even drinking cold water leading to a chipped tooth. Hadn’t he walked right into the line of fire?

After pondering for a moment, Wang Haolin nodded and said, “Director Xia, thank you. I will head to the province this afternoon and treat you to dinner later.”

After hanging up the phone and returning to the meeting room, Wang Haolin said solemnly, “Comrades, just now, Director Xia Gang from the provincial committee called. This time, our Qinchuan City has made a name for itself, a big name at that. Secretary Nie of the provincial committee has issued important directives. Moreover, he has asked me to rush to the provincial committee to explain the situation. As time is pressing, let’s conclude the meeting here.”

Having said that, Wang Haolin turned to Mayor Luo Yifeng at his side, “Old Luo, for the next steps regarding the unauthorized holidays in Datong District, Yongzheng County, and Qinan County, I’ll leave it to you. Hold all relevant individuals in the involved units accountable. Suspend them from their positions temporarily, pending further investigation. Later, I’ll await your phone report.”

The incident of unauthorized holidays in Qinchuan City was quickly broadcast on television, starting from national channels, followed by detailed follow-up reports on the urban channel of Longxi Province Station. For the units involved, Qinchuan City took action and held a press conference. At the conference, Wang Haolin, representing the city committee, announced that they were pursuing accountability for the leaders of the aforementioned units. Main responsible persons would be issued a Party warning and removed from their administrative duties, and ordered to rectify the situation.

At the press conference, Wang Haolin had a stern expression, emotionless. Only Wang Haolin himself knew that he had been severely reprimanded by Secretary Nie at the province. Although the issue had nothing to do with Wang Haolin originally, in Secretary Nie’s eyes, this was Wang Haolin’s dereliction of duty.

…
Meanwhile, the provincial committee officially issued a document, assigning Deputy Secretary Wang Benchang responsibility and entrusting the Party School of the provincial committee with organizing an ideological study campaign for leading cadres across the province.

All work returned to its normal course. On the tenth day of the first month, Nie Zhenbang received a phone call from Liu Kun, who reported that the National Group and the Yuzhou Municipal Government held a joint press conference in Jingcheng that very day, signing multiple investment agreements involving municipal engineering construction, expressways, port construction, and industrial investments, among other areas.

The total investment reached a staggering two hundred and ninety billion yuan, with one hundred billion yuan to be in place within a year.

“Big brother, looking at Li Guohua’s stance, he’s clearly positioning his pieces for a battle, joining forces with Ling Baodong. They’re determined to win this,” Liu Kun started, adding, “Big brother, should we also stir things up in Longxi Province?”

Nie Zhenbang understood what Liu Kun meant; economic cooperation and the aspirations of Li Guohua and Ling Baodong were undoubtedly a show of strength, aimed at letting the whole country know about Ling Baodong’s brilliant achievements. Money was the least of Nie Zhenbang’s concerns. There was no need to mention the Tenglong Consortium. With Yang Anbang’s Wal-Mart, Liu Kun’s Min Nong, plus Zhao Xinglong and Li Hua’s Longhua Mining, these three companies were giants in their respective fields. If Nie Zhenbang were willing, it wasn’t just a hundred billion in investments at stake–he could easily double or triple that amount.

However, at this time, Nie Zhenbang shook his head, saying, “Kun, don’t join in on this frenzy. The cooperation between Ling and Li, heh, it appears mighty only on the surface. Let’s not rush into this matter; let them have their moment of glory first and then see how the trend develops.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words immediately made Liu Kun anxious, “Big brother, don’t be like this. It’s a matter of great urgency and you’re still waiting? Isn’t it just about money? Can’t we, brothers, outspend Li Guohua? I will arrange for the executives from my group to inspect Longxi shortly. I’m ready to commit a hundred billion right away. Besides, I’ll call Li Hua and Zhao Xinglong.” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on . Your support is my greatest motivation.)