Chapter 471: Chapter 437: No respect_1
 

“Mayor Nie! Please wait a moment.”

As Nie Zhenbang was about to order for the compulsory demolition, suddenly a voice called out from outside. Li Guohua, accompanied by his secretary and several leaders from Guicheng District, walked in.

Upon seeing Nie Zhenbang, a look of embarrassment appeared on Li Guohua’s face. That Zhou Chen, he was utterly disgraceful for doing such low-down things, and for such small gains. It was a complete insult to the term ‘aristocratic youth’.

However, at this moment, Li Guohua had no choice but to defend Zhou Chen. After all, Zhou Chen was Li Guohua’s most trusted person among his peers. If he didn’t save Zhou Chen, who among the noble youths of Jingcheng would support him? This was impossible, so for this reason, Li Guohua had to put on a brave face.

“Oh? Is it Deputy Mayor Guohua? Do you need something? I was in the mood for an inspection and came here, but I didn’t expect to find that the Zhou Clan Group is suspected of skimping on materials. Whatever it is, let me handle this first.” Nie Zhenbang turned his head, smiled faintly, and spoke.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was deliberately playing dumb. He knew what Li Guohua was after, but by playing dumb, it was clear that he was not giving Li Guohua any chance to plead.

As his words finished, Li Guohua’s face changed. He hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and said quietly, “Mayor Nie, regarding the Zhou Clan’s project, should we reconsider? The Zhou Clan Group is a well-known company domestically and this project is one of the key projects in our old city renovation this time. Shouldn’t we think in the long term?”

Long-term considerations? Nie Zhenbang sneered. Li Guohua was making a good calculation, long-term considerations would only mean trivializing everything. More importantly, at that time, Li Guohua would have saved face and would not be too much affected.

This opportunity is not always available. Immediately, Nie Zhenbang sternly said: “Deputy Mayor Li, don’t you know the nature of this situation? How should I think long-term about this? These buildings have used substandard steel, there could be problems. If people move in and the building collapses, who will be responsible? Can you bear this responsibility? There is no room for negotiation. The Zhou Clan Group must pay the price. All the houses that have used substandard steel should be demolished. And there will be a fine of ten million yuan.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words were somewhat exaggerating. Although the quality of these buildings wasn’t high, they were not high-rises that would collapse. At most, the lifespan of these buildings would be greatly reduced. However, the initiative was now in Nie Zhenbang’s hands.

In the face of the public, Nie Zhenbang spoke out righteously, and Li Guohua couldn’t favor anyone too much. On the one hand, he needed to uphold the authority of the senior leaders. On the other hand, if he said too much, he would inevitably portrait himself as a conspirator.

After a moment of silence, Li Guohua’s face turned dark as he looked at Nie Zhenbang and said, “Mayor Nie, while it’s true that there are suspicions of skimping on materials in the Royal Scenery Lanh Lake project, the specific harm still needs to be tested by a professional technical team. Moreover, as a key project in our Liangxi City and our city’s largest investment introduced this year, you should also consider our city’s reputation in society. As for stopping work, demolitions and penalties, I suggest we discuss it at the Standing Committee meeting, would that be appropriate?”

Li Guohua’s words made Nie Zhenbang frown, using the Standing Committee to press me? But at this moment, Nie Zhenbang began to ponder. Now, if he insisted on tearing down these buildings, it is possible, after all, he had righteousness on his side.

However, if he really did that, it would inevitably give the impression to Fan Changsheng and others in the municipal standing committee that he was becoming increasingly domineering. This would be extremely detrimental to his future work.

Upon considering this, Nie Zhenbang also nodded and said: “Alright, let’s take this matter to the Standing Committee for discussion. Xuyang, keep a close eye on it, cooperate with Xiong District leader and the professional technical staff, inspect and assess these illegal villas, and give me the report tomorrow morning.”

After saying that, Nie Zhenbang turned around and walked away, heading straight outside. With this incident happening, the intended inspection was naturally impossible to continue.

This was obviously a distrust of Li Guohua and others. Zhou Chen stood on the side with a gloomy face. When Nie Zhenbang’s men had finished their inspection and left, Li Guohua said in a deep voice: “Let’s go. Is there any point in staying here?”

“Brother Hua, Nie Zhenbang is truly too arrogant. Earlier at the construction site, even after we presented such posture, this kid still acted with such a high-and-mighty attitude. It is clear that he is picking a fight with us.” As soon as he walked into the Zhou Clan Group’s office in Liangxi, Zhou Chen plonked down onto the sofa, venting his dissatisfaction.

No wonder, the Zhou Clan Group, at first glance, seems to be doing well, but it’s just a shell company created by Zhou Chen, regularly indulging in empty-handed tricks. This is why Zhou Chen, as a member of the upper class, couldn’t let go of those tens of millions.

But now, not only did he fail to save those tens of millions, on the contrary, these buildings would have to be demolished. Along with fines, Zhou Chen’s losses would be even greater. At this moment, Zhou Chen also felt an immense pain and could only resort to this method to stir up Li Guohua’s animosity. After that, even if a rectification was carried out, it would mean less loss than demolition.

Hearing Zhou Chen’s words, Li Guohua at the moment was also enraged and said in a deep voice, “You, take responsibility for your actions. Blaming others, won’t help you. I already told you not to worry about this small amount of money. The substandard steel you purchased, how much did you really save? On the entire project, it sums up to a few millions. But now, Nie Zhenbang found this loophole and has put me on the defensive as well.”

…

“Mayor, the report is out. According to the city’s construction engineering company, and the building design institute’s professional assessment, these buildings have a lifespan of less than twenty years. Moreover, they pose significant safety risks and are unlikely to withstand an earthquake greater than a magnitude six.” The next morning, Huang Xuyang with bags under his eyes walked into Nie Zhenbang’s office, placing a thick assessment report on the table.

Looking at Huang Xuyang’s condition, Nie Zhenbang felt reassured. Judging from his current performances, Huang Xuyang truly deserved encouragement. Immediately, Nie said, “I’ll take the report. I’ll call a standing committee meeting later on. You must have been up all night yesterday, go take some rest. If I need anything, I’ll call you.”

He walked into the small meeting room in the municipal committee, stepping on the cue. At this moment, the members of the standing committee were already seated.

At exactly eight-thirty, Fan Changsheng walked in, managing his time perfectly. He glanced at Nie Zhenbang and said, “Let’s start.”

The moment the words fell, Li Guohua took the initiative to speak, “Secretary Fan, comrades, let me say a few words. Recently, the headquarters carried out an investigation on all the construction projects in the city and found quite a few problems. Several construction sites seemed to be cutting corners to save costs and increase profits. Especially the Zhou Clan Group’s Royal Scenery Lanh Lake project, where they used substandard steel. I suggest stopping the Zhou Clan Group’s project immediately, ordering a rectification, and imposing a fine of one million, setting an example for others.”

Hearing these words, Nie Zhenbang furrowed his eyebrows. Li Guohua’s calculations were truly spot on, opting for a preemptive strategy to shift the standing committee’s mindset, leading them to think that Vice Mayor Li is impartial and does not favor his personal connections. Now, if Nie opposed the punishment, they would inevitably find him too harsh.

In this era, there were only a few cadres like him with a sense of justice, they were considered the minority. Even if they spoke a few fair words, they were considered good cadres. Those who dedicate their lives to the people were rare. None of the standing committee members will live in these houses, naturally they won’t understand.

As he finished speaking, Nie Zhenbang cleared his throat and said, “Secretary Fan, comrades, regarding Vice Mayor Li’s proposal, I have a few things to add.”

He brought forth the assessment report in his hand, passing it around to the standing committee members and then said, “According to the city’s Building Design Institute’s survey and tests, not only will the lifespan of the buildings be greatly reduced, they are also unable to withstand an earthquake of magnitude six or higher. I believe this is not just a violation- such buildings must be forcefully demolished and such companies must be sternly dealt with.”

At that moment, Fan Changsheng was in deep thought- Nie Zhenbang was really not giving him any face. Normally, for the sake of face, the members of the standing committee would somewhat relax the punishment when someone raised opinions. But Nie Zhenbang’s current action was definitely to follow the proper procedures of duty. Doing so was a heavy slap on Li Guohua’s face.

Just as Fan was about to speak in defense of Li Guohua to maintain the mutual checks and balances strategy, which ensured his dominant position, Nie Zhenbang slowly said, “Secretary Fan, I am not nitpicking. The renovation of the old city is related to the Eastern Development Forum two months from now. At that time, Vice Chairman Shen of the Central Committee will be there in person.” (To be Continued. If you like this story, please visit Qidian.com to vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)