Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

Chapter 168 Sha Ruijin's Deployment

It took Sha Ruijin five minutes to process the news.

Such a big thing happened during his suspension, yet Governor Liu did not report it to him.

This filled Sha Ruijin with immense shame and indignation, as well as a growing sense of unease.

I've only been suspended from my post; I haven't left yet.

Is this all the bastards are capable of?

Just as Sha Ruijin was about to lash out, Tian Guofu reported on Governor Liu's phone call with Zhao Lichun and Hou Liangping's unauthorized actions.

Sha Ruijin fell silent.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke:

"Well handled, correctly handled."

Sha Ruijin sighed again and said:

"No matter how you look at it, it's still pulling my tooth."

Tian Guofu certainly understood the implication, and that's why he specifically called Sha Ruijin to report it.

Even if Sha Ruijin didn't really think highly of Hou Liangping, but only saw him as a useful tool.

Throwing the knife at another unit now would still be the same as making trouble for Sha Ruijin.

Unfortunately, Hou Liangping's behavior went too far, and Sha Ruijin's suspension was also in a sensitive situation, leaving Sha unable to intervene and forcing him to swallow his anger.

Sha Ruijin then asked him about his biggest concern:

"How's the project investigation in Luzhou City going?"

After thinking for a moment, Tian Guofu replied:

"We now have a direction: investigate those who knowingly concealed problems in the approval process regarding resort projects."

Sha Ruijin was taken aback.

Yes, although this resort project was riddled with problems, it can be said that he was 99% negligent in his oversight.

But the remaining one percent can be attributed to subordinates who knew but did not report it.

The responsibility will only grow exponentially!

Sha Ruijin really wanted to give Tian Guofu a big compliment; it was truly ingenious that he could come up with such a direction for the investigation.

In this way, the problem was investigated and the person responsible was identified.

I landed safely and can now return to work.

As for whether the project can be postponed, we'll have to wait until we return to work to discuss that.

Thinking of this, Sha Ruijin said in a deep voice:

"Very good! You've done a great job! Remember, you must thoroughly investigate those who knowingly conceal information, especially those who have accepted bribes and deliberately hide it!"

Tian Guofu readily agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Sha Ruijin let out a long sigh of relief.

This makes things much easier for the project team.

Returning to the provincial party secretary's office is just around the corner.

Sha Ruijin felt a little better when the phone rang again.

It's my father-in-law, Mr. Ni.

Sha Ruijin carefully answered the phone:

"Hello, Dad."

On the other end, Old Master Ni's tone was unreadable:

"Ruijin, you've been in Handong all this time, where exactly have you been putting your energy?"

Sha Ruijin was greatly puzzled.

Grandpa Ni then recounted in detail how public opinion in Handong had spiraled out of control, leading to a barrage of criticism against Sha Ruijin.

As Sha Ruijin listened, his face flushed red and then turned pale.

Finally, Mr. Ni sighed and concluded with a final sentence.

"Your control over Handong is too weak."

Sha Ruijin dared not utter a word; what Old Master Ni said was indeed true, and he had no way to refute it.

He even bought a copy of Mirror Weekly, and all he could do was smile wryly and feel helpless.

Grandpa Ni asked again, "You, Sha Ruijin, have been in charge of Handong for so long, don't you even have a confidant?"

After careful consideration, Sha Ruijin answered no.

Old Master Ni fell silent, then asked again, "Is there anyone who can do things for Sha Ruijin?"

Sha Ruijin mentioned that the Han University gang, which was originally prepared to surrender completely, was disrupted by Xia Qingyi and became his rival.

He also mentioned Yi Xuexi, who was promoted exceptionally and then had disagreements with others, and Hou Liangping, who was recently kicked out of the public security, procuratorate and judicial system.

After listening, Mr. Ni remained silent for an even longer time.

Having exhausted all other options, Sha Ruijin finally asked:

"Tian Guofu... is quite obedient to me."

As if he had been stimulated by something, Old Master Ni immediately denied it on the phone:

"Don't even think about it! You think Tian Guofu is one of your men? He's... Anyway, he's much smarter than you think, so don't have any expectations of him."

Sha Ruijin was at his wit's end and felt a pang of sorrow.

After all that fuss, they don't even have one of their own?

He couldn't help but mutter:

"If only we had frozen the cadre positions back then..."

When Old Master Ni heard Sha Ruijin bring this up again, he became furious and said angrily:

"You still dare to mention freezing cadre positions? Do you know how many people in Beijing your stunt has alarmed? Xia Qing went to Handong primarily to unfreeze cadre positions! Now look what happened, you failed to establish your authority, and Xia Qing has instead reaped a huge amount of resources! The people of Handong believe that the one truly controlling their promotions is Organization Minister Xia Qing! As for you, those cadres whose positions were frozen due to their promotion deadlines are lucky they're not going to fight you to the death, do you really think you can control Handong with this trick?!"

Sha Ruijin fell completely silent; he knew that anything he said at this moment would be wrong.

After a long while, Old Master Ni's anger subsided a little, and he said in a rather irritable tone:

"Secretary Bai, aren't you one of your own?"

Sha Ruijin hurriedly said:

"Xiao Bai is very loyal, but... he's just a section-level cadre in the provincial party committee office, there's not much he can do at this time..."

"Foolish! This is exactly the kind of person you need. He's low-ranking; by promoting him, you can keep him firmly under your control." Old Master Ni said.

"I'll send you another list later. They're all my people in Handong; you'll need them! Remember, tell them to cooperate fully with Secretary Bai. That's the only way to prevent you from being completely sidelined during your suspension!"

Upon hearing that someone was available, Sha Ruijin was overjoyed and quickly expressed his gratitude.

After giving a few more instructions, Mr. Ni hung up the phone.

Sha Ruijin received the list quickly, and after reading it rapidly, his eyes lit up!

There are twelve division chiefs and five deputy directors.

Besides key provincial departments, it's the members of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee leadership team.

Without exception, they can all play an important role in project investigation.

This is exactly what Sha Ruijin, who has been suspended from his post, urgently needs.

Next, Sha Ruijin contacted Secretary Bai.

He was tasked with closely monitoring the project investigation in Lüzhou City.

Finally, Sha Ruijin contacted each person on the list.

After arranging everything, he felt relieved.

As long as these people can unite and cooperate, and align the direction of the investigation with Tian Guofu's vision.

The issues with the resort project will be addressed soon.

I will be returning to work soon.

……

At the same time, Xia Qing was in the conference room of Building No. 1 in the provincial party committee compound.

Attended the 2015 Organization Department Directors' Performance Review and Discussion Meeting, specially prepared by Vice Minister Lei Yu.

Lei Yu knew that Xia Qing had only been at the Organization Department of the Hantong Provincial Party Committee for a short time, and had not yet gotten to know everyone, nor was she fully familiar with each department.

Therefore, Lei Yu specially organized this performance review meeting, firstly to let the department heads show their faces in front of Xia Qing and summarize and report on their work throughout 2015.

Secondly, this opportunity allows Xia Qing to gain a better understanding of the department's operations.

With the annual assessment of the leadership teams across Handong province already completed, this is the perfect time to hold such a summary and outlook conference.

Xia Qing was naturally happy to participate and greatly appreciated Lei Yu's thoughtfulness.

As the meeting began, Xia Qing sat in the center, smiling as she watched the first person to come forward to give a report, the head of the Organization Department…

(Third update on New Year's Day! One more update to come!)