Official Career Storm

Saturday, the next day.

An emergency meeting was held at the Provincial Committee Building.

Attendees included several members of the Provincial Standing Committee.

The members were curious; an internal meeting called suddenly on a weekend clearly indicated something had happened.

But they hadn't received any notice beforehand.

Once everyone arrived, Secretary Gao briefly explained the situation.

The leaders were all startled.

Among them, Deputy Secretary Tian Kai Ming looked especially concerned.

Something significant had happened in Lingjiang.

Yet Jiang Yuan had not reported it to him.

During the meeting, disciplinary actions against Zheng Bihui and Jiang Yuan were decided.

Regarding how to resolve the issue, Secretary Gao only said, "Let Lingjiang handle it themselves."

After the meeting, Secretary Tian returned to his office and called Jiang Yuan.

"Hello, Secretary Tian."

Jiang Yuan thought Secretary Tian was calling to urge him about matters he needed to handle. He was about to find an excuse to delay when Secretary Tian asked, "Is there a problem in Lingjiang?"

Jiang Yuan was taken aback and immediately realized the issue had reached the provincial level.

"Secretary Tian already knows?"

"Did you think you could hide something like this?" Secretary Tian's tone was displeased.

Jiang Yuan felt frustrated, wanting to know who had leaked the news to the provincial level.

A meeting had been held, stating the issue would be temporarily handled by the city and not reported to the provincial level.

But it was only the second day, and the province already knew.

Secretary Tian said, "The province has already made a disciplinary decision for you and Zheng Bihui."

Jiang Yuan nervously asked, "What discipline is it?"

"A serious warning within the party."

Jiang Yuan let out a light sigh of relief. Thankfully, it was only a warning, not dismissal or demotion.

Given how serious the matter was, a minimum of dismissal or even demotion should have been expected.

But he only received a warning.

However, before he could relax, Secretary Tian said, "Don't be too happy yet; this is only the current disciplinary decision."

"If the money doesn't come back, expect dismissal."

Jiang Yuan's heart tightened, suddenly thinking of Song Guanchao.

Although he analyzed that there was a high chance Song Guanchao could recover the money, things were not settled, and he was still apprehensive.

Secretary Tian asked, "Who is handling this matter now?"

"Secretary Qu."

"How long has the money been transferred?"

"It was moved last Monday."

"Then it seems hopeless."

With it being Saturday already, and the money having been moved for almost a week, it's nearly impossible to recover it.

Although Jiang Yuan would be affected, Qu Xiangru would also be impacted.

Despite the main responsibility lying with Zheng Bihui and Jiang Yuan, Qu Xiangru is the top leader of Lingjiang.

With such a serious incident happening, she is now the main person in charge.

If this money isn't recovered, Qu Xiangru will undoubtedly be held accountable.

Governor Hou is nearing retirement, and Qu Xiangru is a popular candidate for promotion.

This incident might even be advantageous for him.

Jiang Yuan wasn't sure what he was thinking. Seeing him silent, he assumed Secretary Tian was worried about him and quickly said, "The task of retrieving the funds has been given to Secretary Song."

"Which Secretary Song?"

"Secretary Wu's secretary."

"Oh, him." Secretary Tian had some impression: "So, you're planning to pin your hopes on a minor secretary?"

Jiang Yuan said, "You may not know, Secretary Tian, but this Secretary Song is quite capable. Last year, he retrieved the 7 billion that Hou Wen from Dujiang City embezzled and took abroad."

He certainly knew about that case.

Secretary Tian frowned and asked, "How confident is he?"

"It should be considerable."

Jiang Yuan explained his analysis: "If he wasn't confident, Secretary Qu wouldn't have directly taken charge of four core departments of the City Government."

Secretary Tian frowned even more.

Logically, with the money having been transferred for so many days, it surely couldn't be recovered.

But as Jiang Yuan said, if Qu Xiangru wasn't confident, the right move wouldn't be sending Song Guanchao to chase the funds. It would be turning it over to the Provincial Department directly.

"Keep me updated on any progress."

"Alright."

After hanging up, Secretary Tian called in his secretary: "There is a secretary named Song Guanchao at the Lingjiang Municipal Committee. Go get his dossier."

"Yes, Secretary Tian."

After the secretary left, Secretary Tian sat in thought with a blank expression.

This was a perfect opportunity to suppress Qu Xiangru.

So, this money absolutely must not be retrieved by Song Guanchao.

The greater the loss if the money isn't recovered, the more impact on Qu Xiangru.

Soon, the secretary brought back Song Guanchao's dossier.

He quickly browsed through it, gaining a clearer understanding of Song Guanchao.

Three-level promotion in one year!

Very young and very capable.

And not just ordinarily capable.

The issues he's resolved were all major ones.

Initially, he had doubts about what Jiang Yuan said.

But after reviewing his dossier, Secretary Tian began to believe he might truly have the ability to recover the funds.

He put down the dossier and stepped out of the office: "Prepare the car; we're going to Lingjiang."

Secretary Tong Wen quickly followed, contacting the driver.

As they went downstairs, the driver had already started the vehicle and was waiting in the parking lot.

They arrived in Lingjiang by two in the afternoon.

Secretary Tian was here to see Song Guanchao.

However, upon arrival, he learned that Song Guanchao wasn't in Lingjiang.

He had made the trip for nothing.

"Get in touch and find out where he is."

"Yes."

Initially, Secretary Tian didn't want to contact Song Guanchao in advance.

He was worried that Song Guanchao would share the news of their meeting with Wu Qiangwei and Qu Xiangru.

But since he wasn't in Lingjiang, he had to make the call.

Soon, Tong Wen managed to obtain Song Guanchao's number.

"Hello, Secretary Song, I am Secretary Tian's secretary from the Provincial Committee, my name is Tong Wen."

They exchanged a few words over the phone, and Tong Wen hung up: "Secretary Tian, Secretary Song is in Jinling."

"Jinling?"

Was he there to find those fraudsters?

Had he already pinpointed their location?

The efficiency was somewhat impressive.

Secretary Tian pondered for a few seconds, checked the time, and said: "To Jinling."

The distance from Lingjiang to Jinling is under four hundred kilometers, and if they drove a little faster, they could reach by evening.

He was determined to meet Song Guanchao today.

Tong Wen was puzzled, curious why Secretary Tian was so eager to meet Song Guanchao.

...

Jinling.

Song Guanchao was shopping with Liang Jiajia.

Since joining the Municipal Committee, he scarcely had much downtime.

Though he occasionally had weekends off, he never had a stretch of multiple days off, let alone any chance for travel.

Liang Jiajia felt it even more profoundly. During her time as a beat cop, she had occasional breaks, but after moving to the Criminal Investigation Unit, overtime became the norm, frequent business trips occurred, and she had to replace her sneakers twice a month.

Their times together could be counted on one hand; apart from the late-night mingling, there was virtually nothing else.

At one point, Liang Jiajia even felt as though she and Song Guanchao were more like casual companions rather than a couple.

This time, with some rare time off, Song Guanchao planned to enjoy a nice outing with her.

However, due to the incident with the two buildings, Liang Jiajia's mood was consistently low.

While they were eating vegetarian noodles at Jiming Temple, they suddenly received a call from Secretary Tian's secretary. Song Guanchao found it strange.

Why would Secretary Tian's secretary reach out to him?

"Who's calling?" Liang Jiajia asked curiously.

"Secretary Tian's secretary."

"Which Secretary Tian?" There didn't seem to be a Secretary Tian in the city.

"Provincial Committee's Secretary Tian Kai Ming."

"Huh? What does he want with you?"

"I don't know."

Although Tong Wen didn't disclose much during the call, this timing made him feel a bit uneasy.

"Let's go. We can take a stroll at Xuanwu Lake. I hear the scenery there is quite nice."

Song Guanchao decided not to dwell on it and pocketed his phone.

"I'm not going. I'm tired and want to go back to the hotel." Liang Jiajia wasn't in the best of spirits.

Song Guanchao knew her mood was affected by the situation with the two buildings.

He sighed softly and said, "I wasn't planning on mentioning this, mainly because things haven't been finalized yet… never mind, I should tell you in advance so you don't stay upset."

Liang Jiajia didn't understand what he was referring to.

Song Guanchao said, "Those two buildings being demolished is actually a good thing."

"A good thing?" Liang Jiajia asked, "Why?"

Song Guanchao pointed to his face and said, "Kiss me, and I'll tell you."