Qin Sijin's face was full of shame. He shook his head and said, "Secretary, I don't know. Although I've been to every poor town in the county since I took office, I've never heard of this meat duck breeding base in Wu Ge. I've never heard of it from the village leaders. As the County Mayor, I have failed in my duty. I … "
Song Chaoyang raised his hand and interrupted him. He looked at the other county leaders and asked, "Who else knows about this duck breeding project?"
None of the Hanshui County leaders knew what he meant by this. Why would a Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee want to talk about a poverty alleviation project? Why did he ask if they knew about it? So what if they knew? So what if they didn't know? Was he trying to judge if they were serious about poverty alleviation?
The County Deputy Secretary raised his hand and said, "Song Shuji, I know about this project."
Song Chaoyang asked, "What is your impression of this project?"
The Deputy Secretary replied, "It is not bad. It would be better if the scale was bigger."
Song Chaoyang smiled and asked, "Who else knows about it?"
The County Mayor wanted to grab this opportunity to show his face in front of the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. He didn't care about the order and raised his hand and said, "Song Shuji, I know about it too. I went with Secretary Wang. I heard Secretary Wang was full of praise for this project. I also think it is very good …"
Some of the other county leaders didn't know about it, but they were honest and kept silent. However, there were also some who didn't know about it and wanted to show their faces in front of the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. So, a few more people stood out. There were two county leaders and one county leader.
Song Chaoyang waited for them to finish speaking. He nodded slowly and said, "Okay. Now, everyone, go to the duck breeding base!" After he finished speaking, he stood up first.
When Zhao Guang and Liu He heard this, they were so scared that they almost peed in their pants. They were stunned in their seats. At first, when they saw Song Chaoyang laughing and asking questions, they thought that this matter was over. With the County Mayor covering it up personally, they felt that there wouldn't be any problems. They just wanted to send Song Chaoyang away after the meeting. But who knew that Song Chaoyang wouldn't let this matter go. In the end, he came back and attacked the weakest part of this lie. If they really went to the duck breeding base, they would see those empty and tattered sheds. Wouldn't all their lies be exposed? Wouldn't they have to step down immediately?
The County Mayor was also a little scared. He was Zhao Guang and Liu He's backer in the county. The two of them bought their titles from him. After the two of them embezzled the funds, they naturally took out some of it to bribe the boss. They asked him to take care of them so that they wouldn't be unable to clean up the mess in the future. The County Mayor didn't take the money for nothing. He also told the two of them that they could use the funds, but they had to do it beautifully. Don't let others find fault with them. They were not afraid of a fake project, but they had to make it look like a real project. At least it had to be a shell to fool others.
Zhao Guang and Liu He did exactly what he said. They pretended to build five sheds, but in fact, they only finished one. They also borrowed ducks from their fellow villagers to make up the number. They put up a duck breeding base that was under construction to pass the project inspection. After the inspection, they invited the County Mayor to take a look at it. After the County Mayor took a look, he felt that the structure was not bad. At least it was set up. In the future, if the provincial audit department or the anti-poverty department came to inspect it, it could be quickly set up to look like a base. Therefore, he left with peace of mind and didn't ask again.
It was also because he had visited it before that he could answer Song Chaoyang's questions about the base. Of course, he also wanted to take this opportunity to brag about the county's anti-poverty achievements. However, he felt that Song Chaoyang would definitely not go to the base, so he bragged a lot. Who knew that Song Chaoyang would make such a move in the end. Without any warning, he directly proposed to send all the funds to the base. Who knew what the base looked like now? If it looked like an empty shell like when he visited it that day, not only would Zhao Guang and Liu He be unlucky, but he, as the County Mayor, would also be in trouble.
Thinking of this, he broke out in a cold sweat. His tailbone felt numb as if it had been electrocuted. He smiled and said, "Song Shuji, you see, it's already noon. You must be tired from the long-distance investigation. Why don't we have lunch first? After lunch, we can rest for a while."
His plan was quite good. First, he would treat Song Chaoyang to lunch. During the meal, he would use good wine and delicious food to make him happy. After lunch, he would feel lazy and naturally not want to go to the base. After that, wouldn't he be at Song Chaoyang's mercy?
However, Song Chaoyang didn't want to let him have his way. He said coldly, "Why are you in a hurry to eat? It's not too late to come back and eat after we finish visiting the base."
The sarcasm in his words was quite obvious. The clever County Mayor immediately understood it. Did the Municipal Party Committee Secretary find something wrong? However, the County Mayor didn't dare to ask further. He also didn't dare to agree. For a moment, the situation was awkward.
Zhao Guang thought that he was being smart and said, "Erm … Secretary Song, I'll get someone to prepare and clean up the base first. That way, your clothes and shoes won't be dirtied by duck feathers and duck dung and affect your mood." After that, he didn't wait for Song Chaoyang's agreement and said to Liu He, "Mr. Liu, go and clean the base quickly. We'll go with Song Shuji later."
Liu He naturally understood what his old partner was thinking. He wanted him to quickly send someone to "decorate" the five sheds and borrow some ducks from the villagers to make up the numbers. It didn't matter if there weren't many ducks. Just say that a batch of ducks had just been bought by the buyers and there were no ducklings yet. Song Chaoyang couldn't tell if the ducks were real or fake. The key was to put up a few sheds and make them look like breeding sheds. This wasn't difficult. The walls of the sheds had already been built, and the concrete pillars to support the bamboo poles had also been erected. The bamboo poles and plastic sheets were all ready-made and could be put up with a cart. If a dozen people were to work together, it would take half an hour. Without hesitation, he left his seat and walked to the door of the meeting room. Although he was walking, he was faster than a rabbit.
Song Chaoyang smiled coldly. Now that you know how to fix the situation, why didn't you come earlier? Since I'm here today, how can I let you fill in the gaps? He said, "Chief Liu, there's no need to trouble yourself. I'm not that particular. Let's go together." After he finished speaking, he had already walked to the door.
The county party secretary was shocked and quickly went forward to stop him. He tried to persuade him, "Song Shuji, let them clean up first. Since they said so, the environment of the base shouldn't be too good. Let's sit for a while and have some tea before we go, okay?"
Song Chaoyang ignored him and walked to the door.
The county party secretary was embarrassed and his face turned green and white. After a while, when he saw that Song Chaoyang and the other two had already left, he grabbed Zhao Guang's clothes and roared like an injured beast, "What's the state of the base now?"
When Zhao Guang heard that something was wrong with his voice, he was so frightened that he shuddered. When he looked at his eyes again, well, in such a short period of time, his eyeballs had already turned red and his face was incomparably ferocious, as if he wanted to eat Zhao Guang alive. Zhao Guang could only tremble in fear, as if he was treading on thin ice. He said, "Now … now … now … how does it look like … it's … it's completely … completely … completely … completely … completely in the wilderness!"
It would have been better if the Secretary did not listen to him. But after hearing him, he felt dizzy and could no longer hold back his anger. He raised his hand and slapped Zhao Guang's face. "Zhao Guang, you … you f * cking got me into trouble today!"
Seeing how the county party secretary slapped Zhao Guang in front of everyone, all the county leaders and village team members were shocked. They looked at the two of them blankly, not knowing what to do.
The county magistrate, Qin Sijin, sneered and chased after Song Chaoyang with a few of his trusted aides.
When the county party secretary saw Qin Sijin leave the meeting room, he remembered that Song Chaoyang was still there. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and rolled his eyes. He pulled Zhao Guang over and whispered, "If you're smart, you'll take it on yourself. As long as I'm still the party secretary, you'll have a chance to make a comeback. But if I step down, you know what will happen to you. Hmph." After saying that, he pushed Zhao Guang away and ran out.
"Song Shuji, Song Shuji …"
The county party secretary caught up with Song Chaoyang downstairs and blocked him. He said with a bitter face, "I'm sorry, Song Shuji. I want to sincerely admit my mistake. When I answered your question just now, I didn't tell the truth and didn't keep up with the times. Instead, I mistakenly reported what I saw in the past to you. In fact, Wu Gezhuang's party secretary, Zhao Guang, just secretly told me that the meat duck breeding base was abandoned for some reason. Only then did I realize that I made a mistake in my report. But I didn't mean to deceive you, Song Shuji. I also just found out about it. When I first visited the base, it was really well done … "
Song Chaoyang looked at him expressionlessly, as if he was looking at air.
The county party secretary continued, "Regardless of the reason why the meat duck breeding base was abandoned, the township party secretary, Zhao Guang, and the village head, Liu He, are both responsible for it. Furthermore, they were trying to deceive you, Secretary Song, which is too far from the party's basic principles. Therefore, I have already made a decision to dismiss the two of them on the spot. We will deal with them after the matter is investigated."
After saying that, he shouted at the door, "Zhao Guang, Liu He, come here!"
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