Official Career Storm
Chapter 448

Chapter 448: Chapter 448

Secretary Lu returned to his office and said, "Close the door."

Secretary Sun closed the door trembling, knowing he was in for a reprimand.

"Sit."

He didn’t dare to sit, standing beside the desk, "Secretary Lu..."

"Do you realize how serious this matter is?"

"I do, Secretary Lu, it’s my fault, I overlooked it."

Secretary Sun felt helpless inside.

This kind of thing, no normal person could have anticipated.

Not to mention himself, even if Secretary Lu personally took charge of the project team’s overall direction, the outcome would have been no different.

After all, the project team was still in the land acquisition phase.

Who could have imagined that Hou Wen would be so bold?

Moreover, Dujiang City was his territory.

He had kept the matter so tightly under wraps that not a soul in the city knew.

If it hadn’t been for Wang Shujing realizing something was wrong, they would still be in the dark.

Of course, Secretary Lu was aware, but understanding was one thing and the occurrence of the event was another.

Secretary Sun whispered, "Secretary Lu, now that Song Guanchao has taken it upon himself to shoulder this issue, even if it can’t be resolved in the end, that would be on Song Guanchao..."

"Idiot!" Secretary Lu cursed, "Do you really think Song Guanchao is a fool?"

"If this works out, he will be the biggest beneficiary! If it doesn’t, do you really think the city will dismiss him?"

"The organization prioritizes stability, and the leaders value who can stabilize the situation!"

"Under those circumstances, what would have happened if Song Guanchao hadn’t stepped forward? How chaotic would it have gotten?"

"Even if in the end the situation cannot be contained, the provincial authorities won’t punish him; instead, they will favor him even more!"

"Because Song Guanchao dared to step up and take the blame at the most critical moment!"

Earlier, Secretary Lu’s thoughts were not clear enough; he hadn’t considered all of this.

After the event, having calmed down, he understood why Song Guanchao had stepped forward.

The young man was not ignorant of bureaucratic politics; he knew it all too well.

He was currying favor with the leaders at the provincial level!

If the 7 billion were transferred out, it wouldn’t matter who intervened.

Even if Song Guanchao were highly capable, he couldn’t bring back money that had left the country.

But by standing up at this moment and taking all the responsibility on himself, he was essentially saving the face of many others.

In the short term, he might have to take the fall and be considered incapable yet stubbornly assuming responsibility.

But to the higher-ups, a subordinate willing to take the fall at a critical moment is deemed reliable.

Such a person is to be vigorously cultivated in the future.

Secretary Lu sighed internally, heroes emerge in troubled times.

Under that tense atmosphere, Song Guanchao was able to untangle the knots and comprehend all this instantaneously.

Most importantly, he dared to put it into action.

Many, even if they can see the situation clearly and know this is the best solution, lack the courage to do it.

Song Guanchao was not only lucid in thinking but also first-class in execution.

As for how high a person like that could climb in the future, nobody could say.

"You should keep a low profile for a while."

"I understand," Secretary Sun replied. "Secretary, I should head out then..."

"Go downstairs and listen to Song Guanchao’s plan."

"Eh?" Secretary Sun was momentarily stunned, then nodded promptly, "Okay."

Secretary Lu glanced at his watch and stood up, leaving the office.

...

Jiang Yuan and Minister Zhou shared a car.

In the car, Jiang Yuan said with a chuckle, "This time, I seem to owe Secretary Song a favor."

By now, they too had come to their senses and understood why Song Guanchao had done what he did.

He took all the responsibility onto himself, effectively exonerating Jiang Yuan and the others from any blame.

Regardless of whether they wanted to accept it, there was no escaping it.

Jiang Yuan looked at Minister Zhou, "But I don’t quite understand why this kid implicated Secretary Zhang."

Minister Zhou shook his head, "Not just you, I don’t understand it either."

He agreed with Jiang Yuan’s analysis that Song Guanchao had jumped out to curry favor with the leaders.

But why bring up Zhang Meilin?

That was highly abnormal.

Was he trying to bring Zhang Meilin along to gain favor as well?

...

The large conference room.

"Mayor Liang, please contact Minister Su and ask him not to leave in a hurry. Have him come here, I have something to discuss with him later."

"Minister Su?" Liang Hao asked, "Which Minister Su?"

"...Minister Su Zhengwei of the Propaganda Department," Song Guanchao said somewhat exasperated, considering that Minister Su was a member of the Standing Committee yet seemed to have such a low profile.

"Oh, okay."

"I’ll go upstairs for a moment and be right back. You wait for me here."

Song Guanchao went up to the office, ignoring Zeng Li who wanted to talk to him, knocked on the office door, and pushed it open to enter.

Wu Qiangwei was leaning back in her chair, drinking tea. On seeing him arrive, her expression was much more composed than the icy anger she had shown earlier.

"Secretary," Song Guanchao greeted with a smile as he sat down, "What did you think of my performance just now?"

"Quite believable."

Wu Qiangwei smiled faintly, their performance had been very seamless, and no one suspected they were acting.

Wu Qiangwei asked, "Are you planning to appoint your own person after dismissing the Director of the Finance Bureau?"

"We’ll see," replied Song Guanchao, "It’s a bit too much to expect the Director, Bao, to take the fall alone for Dujiang City’s mess. At most, he’ll receive a disciplinary action, but dismissal isn’t very realistic."

"But no matter what, he now owes me a favor."

Wu Qiangwei nodded and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I asked Minister Su to come over."

"Su Zhengwei?" Wu Qiangwei inquired, "Why call him?"

"I plan to blow the whistle on this matter."

Wu Qiangwei’s eyelid twitched, not responding immediately but considering the potential consequences of whistleblowing.

After about a dozen seconds, Wu Qiangwei shook her head, "If you blow the whistle, it would be too obvious."

Song Guanchao appeared indifferent, "If it’s obvious, let it be. If they suspect something, let them investigate. If they can find anything, more power to them."

Wu Qiangwei still shook her head, "Don’t do it. This kind of publicity might sound good, but it won’t significantly advance your career."

In the officialdom, one must always consider the gains and losses of any action.

Song Guanchao wanted to make the affair widely known, ultimately saving the day through his own efforts.

If he were an internet streamer, that would be fine.

Internet streamers live off their fame—the greater their fame, the hotter they get.

But he was an inside-system cadre, a Secretary of the Municipal Committee.

Such fame is useful, but not hugely so.

Song Guanchao shook his head, "Do you think Secretary Lu and the others, wanting to keep this matter within the city, will mention my contribution to the province after I’ve resolved it?"

"Will they acknowledge my merits? No, they will at most make a note of it, but the major credit will still be claimed by themselves."

"After all, this is about the retrieval of 7 billion leaving the jurisdiction. To retrieve such an amount that was almost lost, looking back over the past decades, is unprecedented."

"I’m just a minor secretary; even with your support, will they really care?"

"No, they will minimize my involvement, then take all the credit for themselves."

"I don’t care for the credit, but I won’t allow them to take it away."

"If I blow the whistle, they will be the ones in panic. The return of the money will only make them look more incompetent!"

As he spoke, Song Guanchao paused for a few seconds.

He looked calmly into her eyes and said, "Secretary, I’m not doing this for myself. I’m doing this for you."

Wu Qiangwei’s body trembled slightly, meeting Song Guanchao’s gaze, her own eyes suddenly began to evade.

Her heartbeat inexplicably accelerated.

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