Secretary Sun was feeling complicated.
He was sowhat excited, yet also sowhat apprehensive.
Secretary Lu was really going to make a big move.
That was a project Mayor Zheng had applied for, and he said he would take it just like that.
But at the sa ti, Secretary Sun couldn’t help but feel spirited.
He suddenly realized that following Secretary Lu wasn’t too bad.
If Secretary Lu really could regain his power, then his status as the top secretary in the City Committee would truly be deserved.
By then, in Lingjiang, he would be second to none!
"Yes, I understand!" Secretary Sun was full of motivation, and he wanted to complete the preliminary work for the high-speed rail project as soon as possible and get it started.
"Oh, right."
Secretary Lu said, "These next few days, gather so information on Song Guanchao."
"Okay!" Secretary Sun didn’t ask Secretary Lu what he was going to do.
He couldn’t outthink Secretary Lu; he just needed to follow his lead.
Whatever he was told to do, he would do.
...
Work was over.
Tomorrow was the weekend, but Song Guanchao had no ti to rest.
Wu Qiangwei was going to do research at several enterprises in the city over the weekend and also attend an internal seminar for entrepreneurs.
He had to accompany her.
Dinner was with Zeng Li.
Zeng Li had waited many days just for this opportunity.
"You should eat more at." Zeng Li kept adding food to his plate.
Looking at the bowl piled up like a mountain with braised turtle and stir-fried kidney, Song Guanchao said, "That’s too much at."
"You’ve lost weight, you need to eat more at."
"Have I really lost weight?"
"Yes, you have."
Zeng Li poked his cheek, "You don’t have any fat on your face."
"When we get married in the future, I’ll cook you lots of at and fish every day and fatten you up nice and plump."
"..." Song Guanchao didn’t respond, letting her imrse herself in her fantasies.
Having eaten his fill.
As they got into the car, she pulled out a beautifully wrapped box from her bag.
"What’s this?"
"Goji berries, ginseng slices, deer antler slices."
"???" Song Guanchao was puzzled, "Why are you giving these?"
"To nourish your body."
Zeng Li said, "Your girlfriend looks very energetic; she must drain you every day. You used to use the restroom without holding your back, now you’ve started holding it."
Song Guanchao was shocked, "You spied on using the restroom?"
"Who spied? I saw it by accident."
"..."
Zeng Li was too righteous, and Song Guanchao montarily felt it was his own problem.
She put the items down, thought for a bit, then shoved them back into her bag, "You probably won’t drink it at ho anyways. Forget it, I’ll brew it for you later."
"You’ve got to take good care of yourself, don’t overindulge. A healthy body will an healthier kids in the future."
"..." Song Guanchao slightly regretted having dinner with her.
Suddenly, his phone rang, pulling his muddled thoughts back.
Seeing the caller, Song Guanchao was surprised; it was Ning Lin calling.
"Assistant Ning..."
"Secretary Song, do you have ti now?"
Hearing her voice, Song Guanchao knew sothing had happened.
"Yes, what’s up?"
"There’s been an issue at the company, Chairman Liu would like you to co over."
"Okay, I’ll co now."
"Secretary Song, you don’t need to co to the office; we’re on the way and will discuss things further once we arrive in Dujiang County."
Dujiang County’s affairs?
What could possibly happen in Dujiang County?
He didn’t ask further over the phone and after agreeing, he hung up.
Zeng Li asked, "What happened?"
"I need to make a trip to Dujiang County."
"Oh, then you should go; I’ll take a taxi back myself."
"I’ll take you back."
Whatever the issue in Dujiang County was, it wouldn’t hurt to delay a little.
After dropping Zeng Li off at the hotel entrance, Song Guanchao turned the car around and headed towards Dujiang County.
There was a slight traffic jam along the way, and during the jam, he called Liang Jiajia.
It wasn’t clear what was happening on Chairman Liu’s end; he might not be able to return tonight.
He then called Wu Qiangwei as he was supposed to accompany her on a business survey tomorrow, and he needed to notify her about the sudden change of plans.
By 8:30 PM, he arrived in Dujiang County and dialed Ning Lin’s number.
"Assistant Ning, where are you?"
"The guest house."
A few minutes later, he arrived at the guest house, erged from the elevator, and found the room where Chairman Liu was staying.
"Knock, knock."
"Secretary Song," Ning Lin opened the door and welcod him inside.
After the prior incident, Ning Lin always felt sowhat awkward whenever she saw Song Guanchao.
Inside the room, Song Guanchao saw Chairman Liu.
She was dressed casually in khaki polyester shorts and a black silk blouse, her long hair fluttering, exuding a regal aura.
She was on the phone, nodded slightly to Song Guanchao, and continued her call.
A few minutes later, she hung up.
"Chairman Liu, what’s the situation?"
"Xiao Ning, you know more about the details; you tell him."
"Okay." Ning Lin began to explain the situation in detail.
After Chairman Liu had acquired the land parcel, she started preparing for developnt.
She first registered a subsidiary in Dujiang County and then transferred several departnt staff over, as well as hired locally.
anwhile, the company negotiated with local banks about loans.
Although there had been past incidents of malicious blockades in Dujiang County, the banks’ attitudes remained unrestrained.
It was hinted in discussions that they could loan a hundred million but would only disburse eighty million.
Furthermore, they insisted on mortgaging the land to the bank.
Afterwards, the company contacted other banks, but all banks in Dujiang County acted similarly.
Such kickback scenarios were common in loans, but none as severe or blatant as this.
Chairman Liu, not wanting to escalate confrontations, didn’t discuss this with Fu Ying but contacted the city’s banks directly.
She planned to take out the loan directly from the city.
At this point, Song Guanchao thought Chairman Liu had called him for discussions related to the bank.
However, Ning Lin suddenly changed the topic, "After securing the bank loan and beginning construction, nurous issues erged."
"Local small companies in Dujiang County demanded that we must purchase construction materials from them; if not, they would organize people to create disturbances at the construction site daily, preventing normal operations."
"Moreover, these small companies had connections within the county; after creating disturbances, the next day the environntal departnt would arrive to inspect and pick faults, demanding rectifications that, if unt, would halt construction."
Song Guanchao asked, "Did you speak to County Magistrate Fu?"
Ning Lin said, "We did; County Magistrate Fu resolved it quickly. But similar situations still occurred intermittently every few days, although County Magistrate Fu always resolved them promptly—still, it was annoying."
"This matter isn’t too troubleso," Song Guanchao glanced at the ti, "I’ll go see County Magistrate Fu shortly."
Ning Lin shook her head, "Although annoying, this isn’t a significant issue. The main reason we asked Secretary Song here today is because our procurent departnt head in Dujiang County has disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Song Guanchao frowned, "Disappeared or lost contact?"
"Disappeared!" Ning Lin said, "We haven’t been able to contact him since this morning."
"That ans it hasn’t been 24 hours yet..."
Before 24 hours, even the police can’t do much.
At this mont, Liu Lanzi spoke, "It’s not just a disappearance; he was abducted."
Song Guanchao, who had already speculated this, showed no surprise upon hearing her words.
If she didn’t have concrete evidence, she wouldn’t have called him all the way here.
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