Official Career Storm
Chapter 444

Chapter 444: Chapter 444

They felt the strength drain out of their bodies all at once, swaying and then collapsing onto their seats with a thud.

But after all, they were the top two officials, they quickly regained their composure.

Secretary Lu asked, "When was the transfer?"

"Monday."

Monday... that was two days ago from today.

The money had been transferred out for two days!

Mayor Zheng asked, "Where was it transferred to? Did you guys check the qualifications of these companies?"

Wang Shujing’s face wore a mournful expression, "Secretary Hou skipped all those steps. He kept urging, and I... I didn’t dare not to transfer."

"Idiot!"

Mayor Zheng cursed outright, "You’re the fucking Director of the Finance Department! You’re the one who manages the money! If Hou Wen tells you to transfer, you just transfer, and if he tells you to die, why don’t you go die?"

"The high-speed rail project just fucking started a few days ago, has it reached the bidding stage?"

Wang Shujing struggled, "Secretary Hou said it had..."

"Secretary Hou, Secretary Hou, is Secretary Hou your father?"

"Do you not have a fucking mind of your own?"

"Even if the high-speed rail project is moving fast, can it fucking go to bid that quickly? How the fuck did you become Director?"

Mayor Zheng’s fury couldn’t be concealed, his saliva flying as his finger jabbed up and down in the air.

In the meeting room, everyone fell silent, hardly daring to breathe too heavily, for fear of being dragged into the mess and cursed out by Mayor Zheng.

Some of the older bureau and committee members thought to themselves that it had been many years since they had seen a leader this agitated in a standing committee.

Wang Shujing dared not talk back.

Secretary Lu had been silent, face dark, until Mayor Zheng’s tirade had somewhat subsided. Then Secretary Lu suddenly thought of something important.

"How much money was transferred by the Finance Department?"

Mayor Zheng was taken aback; he too had overlooked this—the most important matter.

"Speak, how much was transferred?"

But Wang Shujing kept his mouth shut, silent.

He didn’t dare to speak.

Just for letting them know about this matter, he was already cursed out like this.

If they found out the specific amount, Wang Shujing suspected Mayor Zheng might lay hands on him.

Seeing him silent, Mayor Zheng felt his heart turning cold.

The amount was definitely not small.

"Bang!"

Secretary Lu suddenly slammed his hand down on the table, startling everyone, including Song Guanchao.

"Speak!"

Wang Shujing, frightened, said in a quivering, quiet voice, "Transferred... 7 billion."

His voice wasn’t loud, but when that figure of 7 billion came out of his mouth, everyone in the room felt an invisible pressure spreading.

Secretary Lu and Mayor Zheng slumped against their chairs, their faces ashen.

Minister Zhou too showed a rare look of shock.

Jiang Yuan’s eyebrows were tightly knitted, his eyes revealing a touch of anger.

Lingjiang City had been so peaceful for many years, and then suddenly such a big issue arose; as the Deputy Mayor, he would be affected.

Secretary Wang’s expression wasn’t looking any better.

As the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee, with such a big issue arising in Dujiang City, how could he escape blame?

If the most angry and fearful were Secretary Lu and Mayor Zheng,

then besides these two, the person whose mental state was most impacted at the moment was Director Qin.

He had no idea how Hou Wen had managed to move the money without drawing any attention.

Clearly, Hou Sen had arranged for He Kang to have someone monitor Hou Wen around the clock.

But why, then, was he able to cause such a big incident?

Was He Kang raised on fucking shit?

What the hell was he monitoring?

Such a big issue had erupted right under their noses.

The meeting room fell into an eerie silence, and after about ten seconds, Secretary Lu mustered a bit of strength.

Click.

He lit a cigarette and took a drag.

Everyone looked toward him cautiously; Secretary Lu’s face was as still as dead water, but everyone knew this was the lull before the storm.

The current Secretary Lu was a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest touch, a touch of death for anyone who dared.

Mayor Zheng slumped in his chair, eyes hollow and lifeless.

He was done for.

He was in charge of the economy and had been doing a commendable job.

Now, this incident in Dujiang City had occurred.

billion!

Damn, that was 70 billion!

Someone definitely had to take responsibility for this.

Jiang Yuan was a Vice Mayor and he was from the local faction, with a solid foundation and backing from higher-ups, so he wouldn’t be too affected.

He also had connections, but he had to bear direct responsibility for this matter.

He could probably retain his position as Mayor, but his dream of further advancement was likely shattered now.

Half a cigarette later, Secretary Lu had mostly calmed down, and his brain began to function again.

"Where is Hou Wen?"

He didn’t know where the money had been transferred to specifically.

But as long as it hadn’t left the country, there was still a way to retrieve it.

As long as they could get the money back, the situation wouldn’t be too dire.

For now, the priority was to ascertain Hou Wen’s whereabouts.

They had to get control of him.

Wang Shujing said, "Secretary Hou went to Fucheng; he was invited by Fucheng University to give a lecture on political ideology."

"Fucheng..." Secretary Lu unlocked his phone, scrolled to a number.

He had dined with the Mayor of Fucheng a few times while attending the Party School.

"Hello, Mayor Peng, I need a favor. Do you have the contact information for the President of Fucheng University? Great, great, thank you, Mayor Peng."

Mayor Peng helped him with the inquiry.

While waiting, Secretary Lu told Director Qin, "Contact the Fucheng Public Security Bureau immediately."

"Okay." Director Qin had also recovered his thoughts by now.

The most crucial thing at the moment was to apprehend Hou Wen.

He Kang hadn’t called him, which indicated that Hou Wen was still in the country, still in Fucheng, and still under their surveillance.

He started making calls and quickly got in touch with the head of the Fucheng Public Security Bureau.

He didn’t specify the issue, simply made a call to say there might be a case requiring assistance from Fucheng’s side.

The other party didn’t agree outright, as cross-city case handling was complicated.

After a brief conversation, they hung up.

Meanwhile, Secretary Lu received a text message from Mayor Peng with the phone number of Mr. Li, President of Fucheng University.

He made the call.

"Hello, Mr. Li, I’m Lu Zhizhong, the City Secretary of Lingjiang City."

"Hello, what can I do for you, Secretary Lu?"

"I was wondering if Secretary Hou Wen is still at your university?"

"He just left for the airport."

"Okay, thank you for your time, Mr. Li."

Secretary Lu put down his phone and said, "Director Qin, contact the airport immediately to check Hou Wen’s flight information!"

"Alright." Director Qin started the process.

Secretary Lu then looked at Wang Shujing, "Director Wang, have someone send over the information on those companies, send it now."

"Oh, right." Wang Shujing began making calls.

Secretary Lu needed to figure out exactly where the money was.

He prayed in his heart, hoping Hou Wen hadn’t had the chance to transfer the money abroad.

He felt it should still be in the country.

Because Hou Wen was still in the country.

If the money had been transferred away, Hou Wen should have already fled the country by now.

Director Qin quickly found out, "Hou Wen is on the flight that left this morning at 11:13 AM from Fucheng Airport to Lingjiang International Airport."

Secretary Lu commanded, "Send someone to Lingjiang Airport immediately, notify them, and control Hou Wen as soon as he disembarks from the plane!"

Director Qin acknowledged and started arranging it over the phone.

The conference room was in a state of anxiety.

Secretary Lu didn’t mention anything about dismissing the meeting, so they didn’t dare to leave on their own.

Song Guanchao stood by, watching the commotion.

Now was not his time to intervene.

Secretary Sun and Li Jun were practically cursing inside.

They were responsible for the high-speed train project, and now Dujiang City had directly transferred away the project’s budgeted funds.

Undoubtedly, the primary person responsible for this matter was Secretary Sun.

Everyone else might have the chance to deflect blame, but he had no such luck.

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦