Just as Zhang Xingguo was questioning Ma Tao, Hou Peng had already arrived at the door of Qi Weihua's office.

"Wei Hua." Hou Peng knocked gently on the door.

"Mayor Hou?" Qi Weihua looked at Hou Peng without any surprise in his eyes. He knew Hou Peng would definitely come looking for him.

Hearing Qi Weihua's polite yet distant address, Hou Peng felt a surge of dissatisfaction. "You betrayed me, and now you're acting like nothing happened," he thought, but he dared not vent his anger on Qi Weihua.

Zhang Xingguo could get angry with Ma Tao, but he was different. He understood Qi Weihua's personality. This time, Qi Weihua had never agreed with his support for the empty shell of Zhengda Company. The two had a disagreement on this matter.

Qi Weihua has already done the job. If I get angry now, I will only push Qi Weihua further away. On the contrary, if I am more amicable, there is still room to salvage the situation.

"Wei Hua, are you still angry with me?" Hou Peng tossed a cigarette to Qi Wei Hua, then sat down across from Qi Wei Hua's desk.

“Wei Hua, sometimes you have to understand me. I had no choice. Deputy Director Chang personally intervened, so even if I didn’t want to, I had to give him face. Fortunately, Guangda Construction Company won the bid.”

As Hou Peng spoke, Qi Weihua acted as if he were meeting Hou Peng for the first time. He never imagined that Hou Peng could say such shameless things. "Fortunately, the winning bid was still from Guangda Construction." These words were as if they were something that had been achieved through hard work and effort.

If Li Xiuyuan hadn't contacted Lu Zhenhai and brought in Ma Tao, the winning bid would have gone to that shell company, Zhengda, and the second phase of the Meilin Village project would have been ruined.

When Hou Peng got involved in the matter, he simply said, "Fortunately, it's still happening in Guangda," as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

Meanwhile, in Zhang Xingguo's office, Ma Tao was explaining himself in response to Zhang Xingguo's questioning.

“Secretary Zhang, I support Li Xiuyuan and Guangda Construction Company because Guangda Construction Company is very powerful, unlike Zhengda Company, which is just a shell company. If the Meilin Village project is handed over to them, we're doomed,” Ma Tao explained righteously.

Zhang Xingguo slammed his hand on the table and looked at Ma Tao: "Strong resources? Is this the first time you've heard of Guangda Construction, or did you not know anything about Zhengda Company before? We agreed to support Zhengda, and now I'm asking you, why did you go back on your word at the last minute?"

“Secretary Zhang, please don’t be angry. I’m just telling the truth. I didn’t know anything about Zhengda Company before, but I later found out that it was a shell company. Such an important project as Meilin Village absolutely cannot be handed over to them.” Ma Tao insisted that there was no other reason than that Zhengda Company was not strong enough and was a shell company.

Zhang Xingguo felt increasingly disheartened. If Ma Tao could reveal the real reason, there might still be a chance to salvage the situation. After all, Ma Tao was a member of the town's Party committee, and a reprimand would suffice.

Now Ma Tao won't even tell the truth. What's with all this talk about shell companies and whether they have the capability? Is this something you, Ma Tao, are even considering? Are you such an upright person, Ma Tao?

If Qi Weihua said this, Zhang Xingguo would believe it; if Lu Zhenhai said it, he would believe it; even if Li Xiuyuan said it, Zhang Xingguo would believe it; but only Ma Tao.

Although Zhang Xingguo disliked Li Xiuyuan and had conflicts with him, he still admitted that Li Xiuyuan had generally maintained fairness and impartiality in the process of carrying out the Meilin Village project. If Zhengda Company had the strength, Li Xiuyuan might have used it.

But Ma Tao, you don't even look in the mirror and see who you are, yet you still have the nerve to bring this up.