Chapter 197 Corruption (Part 2)
When he opened the door, his wife was looking at him worriedly in the living room. "What's wrong with you? Didn't you say you went on a research trip with that female county magistrate today? Did she scold you?"
He Zhi shook his head and sat on the chair, "Where's the money?"
"What money?" The wife didn't understand.
"Bank card, that one million."
The wife was stunned for a moment, then returned to the bedroom and took out five bank cards from the clothes and quilt in the wardrobe. Each bank card had 200,000 yuan in it. These bank cards were all opened in different people's names.
He Zhi held the five bank cards and looked up at his wife. "Do you remember when I said if you became director for five years, I'd let you buy a villa in the city?"
The wife smiled and said, "I remember. What's wrong?"
"I guess it's hopeless."
He Zhi sighed, "I don't know what happened today. I told the new County Magistrate Jiang about accepting 1 million yuan. County Magistrate Jiang asked her and me to meet with Municipal Party Committee Secretary Gao tomorrow."
"What? Why are you telling everything to others?" The wife immediately became anxious. She stood up suddenly and paced around the living room.
He Zhi sighed, "What's the point of talking about this now?"
"What about giving her a gift?" The wife refused to give up. She was reluctant to part with the 1 million yuan, nor was she willing to give up her husband's position as director.
She was an elementary school teacher. Ever since her husband became the director, her colleagues had begun to fawn over her. She had grown accustomed to this kind of life, and if her husband were arrested, it would be worse than killing her.
"How is that possible?"
He Zhi shook his head, "She's not someone who can accept gifts."
"What should we do then?"
His wife was furious. "Are you the only corrupt official in the entire Zhaoyang County and Shannan? Why is she holding you captive? If you have the guts, go find the County Party Secretary, Wang Haishan!"
"What are you shouting about!"
He Zhi growled, “Do you want everyone in the building to know?!”
The wife sat dejectedly on the chair and said, "Is it okay if I don't go?"
"Okay!"
He Zhi smiled bitterly, "I've just thought about this. If I don't go, I'll just have to fight to the end. But I won't be investigated! If I find any more problems, will Secretary Wang really be able to protect me?"
The wife was silent for a long time, then sighed deeply, "This is fate!"
"Yes." He Zhi nodded.
"So, are you going?"
“…” He Zhi shook his head. If he had made a decision, he would not communicate with his wife.
After almost no sleep, He Zhi drove directly to the gate of the county government the next morning. When he saw Jiang Ningyue appear, He Zhi immediately ran over.
"County Magistrate Jiang, I'm here."
Jiang Ningyue looked at He Zhi. After just one day's absence, she felt that He Zhi had aged a few years and even had a few more strands of white hair.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have done it.
"Have you decided?"
"Yes." He Zhi smiled bitterly.
"Then let's go, take my car."
Jiang Ningyue nodded and took He Zhi to Taozhou City.
On the way, He Zhi seemed to have freed himself from some kind of restraint, and his bent back straightened up. "County Magistrate Jiang, what do you think my sentence will be? Does this count as surrendering myself?"
"Turn yourself in definitely counts."
Jiang Ningyue said calmly, "If your report is meritorious, perhaps there will be no punishment."
"No punishment?"
He Zhi's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed again, "How is that possible?"
Jiang Ningyue smiled faintly and didn't say anything else.
He Zhi also fell silent. He leaned back in his chair, and after a few seconds, he began to snore.
He didn't sleep the whole night last night, and now he's nearly fifty years old, he finally couldn't take it anymore.
The car drove all the way into the Taozhou Municipal Party Committee compound. After parking the car, Jiang Ningyue patted him and said, "Don't sleep anymore. We're here."
"Hmm? Are we there yet?"
He Zhi rubbed his eyes, opened the car door in a daze, and walked out. The cold wind outside suddenly woke him up.
Following Jiang Ningyue obediently, the two of them came to the office of Gao Yi, the municipal party secretary.
There was a long line at the door of Gao Yi's office. Jiang Ningyue had greeted them in advance, so the two of them walked in without waiting.
Gao Yi smiled when he saw Jiang Ningyue. "Xiaoyue! I didn't explain it clearly over the phone. Is there something important that requires you to report it in person?"
Jiang Ningyue smiled and pointed at He Zhi standing beside her. "This is He Zhi, the director of the Zhaoyang County Culture, Tourism, Radio, and Television Bureau."
When He Zhi saw Gao Yi, he felt terrible, and his worship of power reached its peak. "Secretary Gao, you can just call me Xiao He."
Gao Yi nodded at He Zhi in confusion.
Jiang Ningyue continued, "Director He, please report to Secretary Gao about the corruption issue you mentioned yesterday."
"Corruption?" Gao Yi frowned and looked at He Zhi.
He Zhi swallowed and nodded, "Yes, Secretary Gao, it's like this. Our county started a cultural tourism project a few years ago, which involves three tourist areas, costing a total of 780 million yuan. There's a serious corruption problem here, and I... I was also allocated 1 million yuan."
Gao Yi reached out to interrupt He Zhi, picked up the landline on the table and made a call, calling Qin Jinwen, secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.
He Zhi continued, "Although this 780 million yuan project is for our county, it actually has nothing to do with me, the Director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau. It's all Wang Haishan's doing."
Jiang Ningyue added, "You mentioned Vice Governor He Minxu yesterday."
"yes."
He Zhi smiled awkwardly, "And Governor He, wasn't he the director of the Department of Culture and Tourism before? This matter is also related to him."
Gao Yi had a blank expression on his face and seemed serious, but he didn't seem surprised at all.
Qin Jinwen was a little surprised. He glanced at Gao Yi and saw that Gao Yi had no expression on his face. Then he said, "He Zhi, are you sure there's a serious corruption problem here?"
He Zhi smiled bitterly and said, "Boss, even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare come here to tease you! The mountaintop scenic area, the visitor center's huge display screen cost 2.7 million, the visitor center's hardware cost 15 million, the smart software system cost 23 million, and the scenic area gate cost 2.39 million. The small bridge in the Ten-Mile Peach Forest scenic area cost 2.7 million, and the peach forest cost 66 million..."
After hearing He Zhi recite the amounts of each project, even the three people who didn't know the business felt it was outrageous. Especially Gao Yi, he slammed the table angrily.
"The government gave you poverty alleviation funds, but you used them to satisfy your own selfish desires and enrich yourself. Are you worthy of the Party and the people?"
Qin Jinwen also opened fire and scolded He Zhi, "Cadres like you who lack party spirit and principles should all be locked up!"
The two of them scolded He Zhi harshly.
Jiang Ningyue rarely spoke well of He Zhi. "This matter is related to He Zhi, but not in a big way. The most crucial people behind this are Wang Haishan and He Minxu. Secretary Gao, how should this matter be handled?"
Gao Yi fell into deep thought for a rare moment. "Wang Haishan is easy to deal with, but Governor He is not. He Zhi, do you have any evidence?"
"I don't."
He Zhi smiled bitterly and shook his head. He took out five bank cards from his pocket and said, "Secretary Gao, these are the bank cards that Wang Haishan sent me. They are all here. One million, and I didn't dare spend a penny."
As he spoke, He Zhi also took out another bank card. "This contains 270,000 yuan in gifts from my subordinates during the past two years as director, as well as gifts from friends in the company during the holidays. It's all here."
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