Rebirth of the Rising Sun

Could it be that Ding Deren's phone call that day was not actually about his son's appointment to Guangxi Province, but was just trying to bring up Feng Sizhe's matter, and that he had indeed fallen into his trap and asked such questions, which led to the matter of Feng Sizhe. If this was really the case, then it could only be said that Secretary-General Ding Deren's routine was too deep, and the detour was too big, and he didn't even know he had fallen into it.

Shaking his head and laughing, Qi Qinghua had to take Feng Sizhe's planning application seriously. Since Ding Deren had said that much that day, it meant that the chief must have known about it. He didn't believe that Ding Deren dared to joke with the chief. Besides, even if he was joking, the point was made. If he couldn't handle this matter well, he only needed to mention it to the chief casually, and his work as the governor would be passive.

Thinking that he had unknowingly fallen into the Feng Sizhe incident, what else could Qi Qinghua do except smile bitterly? Even if he knew that Zhou Dajiang and Feng Sizhe were not on good terms, so what? All he had to do now was to get this planning application to the relevant departments of the State Council as soon as possible. This was what he should do most.

He thought that if he handed the matter over to the Governor's Office for discussion according to normal procedures, there might be other problems. If he expressed support in the face of Zhou Dajiang's strong opposition, he would inevitably offend some people who should not be offended. Whether it was to pretend to be confused and not offend others, or to improve the GDP value of the provincial economy (because from his observation, Feng Sizhe's proposal for the development zone was feasible, it might turn the situation of the development zone around, and it could bring economic benefits to Haibei City and Guangxi Province), he had to submit this application. The most direct and effective way to submit it was to submit it directly to the higher level, without going through the Governor's Office and causing other disputes. As the governor, he could make a decision on such a matter. So he made a quick decision and immediately had someone upload the document to the State Council and the ministries and commissions. At the same time, he also called Ding Deren and asked him to pay attention to receiving it.

The application written by Feng Sizhe himself was finally sent to the ministries of the State Council after staying in the provincial government for several days. The next thing was for Ding Deren to help run the affairs. Fortunately, he had worked in the State Council for some time and was familiar with every department. In addition, his old boss Bao Jingguo's rising trend was optimistic, so no one would deny him face. He would be able to complete all the relevant procedures before the New Year.

Poor Zhou Dajiang didn't know what happened yet, and was still waiting for Qi Qinghua to convene a provincial governor's office meeting to discuss the matter. During this period, he also contacted several deputy governors and told them about the matter. After hearing what the Wen family meant, everyone expressed their support for Zhou Dajiang. After all, one was a member of the Wen family who could not be provoked, and the other was a deputy mayor under their command. The difference between the two was too great.

While they were waiting, the Spring Festival of 1998 was finally approaching. It was also at this time that the State Council's approval document came down, agreeing that Haibei Haitian Economic Development Zone would become the first high-tech development zone in the coastal area and the whole country. It was not until this time that Zhou Dajiang knew that the matter was over. He was very angry about this and hurriedly reported the matter to Wen Chaoying again.

Of course Wen Chaoying would scold Zhou Dajiang, but thinking that the matter had already been settled, it would be useless for him to get angry, so he had to ask Zhou Dajiang to keep an eye on Feng Sizhe and find some trouble for this man when he had the chance.

Feng Sizhe did not expect that the relevant approval from the State Council would come so quickly. In this case, he was more determined to make Haitian Development Zone a development zone of a certain scale and one that could be ranked among the top in the country within a year. So he convened a development zone conference as soon as possible to tell everyone about the country's support for the development zone.

All the cadres and workers in the development zone were also very happy. They first received two months' salary, and then heard the news that the development zone was once again being paid attention to by the state. Everyone felt that the new development zone director Feng Sizhe was very capable, and it seemed promising to work with him.

Haibei Mayor Liu Wenhua and Executive Vice Mayor Song Dexiang, who also heard the news, were indeed unhappy. They did not expect Feng Sizhe to have really done it and actually obtained the relevant approval documents from the State Council. They also heard that the relevant agencies of the State Council strongly support this matter and will immediately transfer a sum of money to the development zone's account for the purpose of early construction of the development zone.

That's a lot of money. After hearing the amount, Liu Wenhua and Song Dexiang's eyes turned green. After the two looked at each other, Song Dexiang said in a tentative tone, "Mayor, how about I call Lao Liu and ask him to deduct part of the money? Since the central government implemented the tax-sharing system, our Haibei Municipal Government has been very poor."

The "Old Liu" mentioned by Song Dexiang was, needless to say, Liu Changsong, the director of the Haibei Municipal Finance Bureau. No matter where the money came from, it would first go to the municipal finance, and then from the municipal finance to the development zone. This was a common practice. Song Dexiang knew there was such an opportunity, so he asked Liu Wenhua tentatively.

"Is this okay?" Liu Wenhua was of course also thinking about the money, but he didn't know whether it was appropriate to take it. When the Municipal Party Committee convened the Standing Committee, it was said that Feng Sizhe had absolute decision-making power regarding the future of the development zone and no one would interfere. In this case, if he did use the money approved by the state for the development zone, would that be okay?

"What's good or bad about it? Isn't it a common practice to withhold part of the money for the city's finances? Everyone does this? No one has ever said anything about it? I don't think there will be any problem." Song Dexiang, who had already had his eyes on the money, tried his best to persuade Liu Wenhua with words.

"Oh." Liu Wenhua nodded. "Well, then you can discuss it with Lao Liu and deduct a part of it. Of course, it is still a loan in the sense and will be returned to the development zone later." Liu Wenhua thought about it. Indeed, no matter what the money is used for, as long as it reaches the Finance Bureau, a part of it will be retained. This seems to have become a routine, and nothing has really happened.

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Seeing that Liu Wenhua agreed, Song Dexiang happily went out to make a phone call.

Looking at Song Dexiang's back as he walked out, Liu Wenhua nodded and said, "Yes, just deduct part of it from him. He is just a deputy mayor, and I am the mayor. What else can he do to me?"

Inside the Haitian Economic Development Zone Management Committee building, Feng Sizhe looked at the financial list brought by Liu Zhiguo, the deputy director of logistics of the Management Committee. Seeing that the money approved by the State Council’s Ministry of Finance for the development zone was a quarter less, he looked up and asked, "What is going on? I tell you, Director Liu, how much money should be, the State Council has told me, don't play any tricks on me."

"Oh, Mayor Feng, how dare I play tricks on you? You said before that this money should be used for a specific purpose, and I really didn't dare to touch a penny. This is all I got from the Municipal Finance Bureau." Liu Zhiguo said innocently. "But Mayor Feng, in my opinion, this amount of money is already quite a lot. Although a little bit was deducted, that's normal. Besides, it's only a quarter, which is not too much, right?"

According to Liu Zhiguo's experience, only one-quarter of the money allocated from above was deducted, which was not much. He had no idea how many grants he had handled before, and it could be said that there were many more severe ones than this. This time, only one-quarter was deducted, which was really not much.

"What? One quarter is not too much? Then let me ask you, how much do you think is appropriate?" Seeing that Liu Zhiguo did not think this matter was important, Feng Sizhe looked up and asked him.

Feng Sizhe also knew that some of the money from above would be withheld by relevant departments. After all, every department needs money now, and suddenly facing the request for relief from above, everyone would be jealous, and it is normal to withhold some money. But the State Council specifically said that the funds for the development zone should be used for specific purposes. Even this time, the relevant departments of the province did not use a penny, but distributed the full amount to Haibei City. What was unexpected was that the province did not withhold the money, but the city did withhold it. This really made Feng Sizhe at a loss for words.

“This…” Liu Zhiguo was speechless. How could he talk about such things? How much money to withhold was decided by the leaders above. He was just a small cadre at the section level. How could he be in charge of so many things?

"Okay, you can go down first, but you have to remember that you can't spend a penny of this money without my signature, understand?" Seeing Liu Zhiguo's embarrassed look, Feng Sizhe didn't want to make things difficult for him, so he waved his hand and let him go. Thinking that for things like this, it seems that he still needs to report to the Municipal Party Committee, why bother with his subordinates.

Since the money was deducted by the Municipal Finance Bureau, and the Finance Bureau is under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Government, then Mayor Liu Wenhua should be aware of this matter. Maybe he allowed it. If this is the case, it is obviously not feasible to ask him for an explanation. Feng Sizhe thought that he still needed to go directly to the Municipal Party Committee Secretary and report this matter. Didn’t the previous Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee pass the decision that the development zone would be under his jurisdiction? If this is the case, then why was the money deducted? He needed a reasonable explanation.

Feng Sizhe put on his coat and prepared to ask Chen Guangming to arrange a car. Before he could open his mouth, Chen Guangming knocked on the door and walked in, "Boss, Commander Xi is here."

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Thanks to tramlzj for voting for the genius, thanks to the prodigal son!!!