Half an hour later, Mo Jin arrived at Ma Zhendong's home. Because he had called in advance to discuss matters, Ma Zhendong had already been waiting in the study. After Mo Jin walked in, Ma Zhendong put down the book in his hand and whispered, "Have a cup of tea first to moisten your throat."
This is Ma Zhendong's style. No matter what problems he encounters, he always has a calm and magnanimous attitude.
Mo Jin took a sip of tea and said, "Old District Chief, I believe you have heard the whole story clearly. Now we don't know what to do, so we hope you can help us solve the problem."
Ma Zhendong waved his hand and said, "I have already retreated to the second line. How can I still be able to take care of your difficulties?"
Mo Jin smiled bitterly and said, "If you hadn't helped us, Xiaguang District would have been controlled by an outsider. You were the person in charge of the urban village reconstruction at the time, so you must have known the situation there very well. In order to promote the project, we did use some unacceptable means during the demolition and resettlement process. If it were exposed, I'm afraid a group of people would be affected."
Ma Zhendong raised his eyebrows. He was a little displeased with Mo Jin's tone. Mo Jin's words had two meanings. First, he was the one who promoted the urban village renovation project, so he could not escape responsibility. Second, if he did not come forward to coordinate and resolve the issue, a large number of his former subordinates would be implicated. Even if he had retreated to the second line now, he would probably not be able to escape responsibility.
Of course, Mo Jin spoke in a more tactful way. Ma Zhendong was his old leader, so he still needed to show proper respect in person.
Ma Zhendong said in a deep voice: "Does Deng Shaoqun know about this?"
Mo Jin shook his head and said, "Secretary Deng has rarely intervened in government affairs in recent times. I think his attitude is likely to be to sit on the sidelines and watch the fight between tigers."
Ma Zhendong tapped his fingers rhythmically on the armrest of the mahogany chair and said, "Xiao Mo, you made two mistakes in this matter. First, you should not have placed the reporter under house arrest. Second, you should have taken the initiative to communicate with Comrade Shao Qun."
Mo Jin thought about it, especially the second question. He was indeed a little careless. Deng Shaoqun was the top leader of Xiaguang District, and he should not be left out of this matter. Now it became a struggle between him and Fang Zhicheng.
Mo Jin sighed and said, "How about I talk to Secretary Deng now?"
Ma Zhendong waved his hand and said, "Now that things have come to this, if Deng Shaoqun gets involved, it will only make the problem more complicated and confusing. If he stands on Fang Zhicheng's side, what should we do?"
Mo Jin smiled bitterly and said, "Secretary Deng won't do that, right? After all, this is a major event that affects the image of Xiaguang District."
Ma Zhendong sneered, "He hopes more than anyone else that there will be a major earthquake in Xiaguang District, so that all departments at all levels will be reshuffled from top to bottom."
During the time when Deng Shaoqun and Ma Zhendong worked together, although they were at peace and got along very well, Ma Zhendong knew that Deng Shaoqun had already made a major adjustment to the Xiaguang officialdom. Fang Zhicheng's arrival was an opportunity for Deng Shaoqun. He did not need to show up himself, but let the new district chief do a big purge, and then use the convenience of party affairs to plant his own pawns in important positions.
What Ma Zhendong was really afraid of was Deng Shaoqun. After all, Fang Zhicheng was just a new official. Even if he had a strong position in the provincial party committee, this was Hanzhou after all, a place he was very familiar with.
As for reporters coming to report inside information, Ma Zhendong has encountered this before. He has a thorough crisis response public relations strategy that can be nipped in the bud as soon as it is activated.
What Ma Zhendong is worried about now is that Deng Shaoqun has a backup plan. Once he launches his response strategy, will Deng Shaoqun use his connections to catch him off guard
Ma Zhendong has already retreated to the second line and does not want to interfere in the struggles in Xiaguang's officialdom, but he is helpless in this situation. After all, if the matter gets out of hand, even if he can get away with it, a group of his old subordinates such as Mo Jin will probably suffer.
Once you enter the underworld, you have no choice but to do what you want. How could it be so easy for Ma Zhendong to retire
Mo Jin was relieved to see that Ma Zhendong was willing to come forward. With Ma Zhendong's qualifications, it was no problem for him to deal with such a difficult problem. He then talked about the issue of the industrial park at the meeting today. After hearing the whole story, Ma Zhendong showed a trace of worry on his face and whispered, "This Fang Zhicheng is not simple. He was able to hide his behavior before without leaving any traces. His scheming is so deep that it is worrying. If a person is silent for a long time, the power of his explosion is very terrifying. You should also pay attention to the issue of the industrial park. I suspect he has a backup plan."
Mo Jin showed helplessness on his face and said, "In fact, we have been paying attention to him for a long time, but we haven't found any clues."
Ma Zhendong waved his hand and said, "You can monitor a person's whereabouts, but you can't track their brain."
Mo Jin nodded and said, "The key point is that we don't know what Fang Zhicheng's next move will be?"
Ma Zhendong pondered for a moment and said, "That reporter is an important clue. If we know what agreement he reached with Fang Zhicheng, we will know what Fang Zhicheng should do."
Mo Jin said awkwardly: "But that reporter is very tight-lipped, so there is no way to find out anything?"
Ma Zhendong's eyes showed a deep look, and he said: "Everyone has weaknesses in their hearts. As long as we find his weaknesses, we can break through his defenses."
Mo Jin nodded and said, "I understand. I will arrange for someone to continue questioning the reporter to see what he really wants to do."
Ma Zhendong reminded: "The staff who handle the affairs must be reliable and safe, and must learn to protect themselves."
The solemn expression on Mo Jin's face eased a little, and he said, "Don't worry, old district chief. They are all trustworthy people."
After Mo Jin left, Ma Zhendong stood at the window and watched for a long time. He had been in the officialdom for nearly 40 years, and every step he took was extremely bumpy. After retiring to the second line, he had the urge to let go of everything and return to an ordinary life, but things went against his wishes. The game in the officialdom still found him.
"Old Ma, our daughter and son-in-law are coming back for dinner tomorrow. You should go buy some vegetables tonight so we can prepare them early. We may not be too busy tomorrow." His wife Huang Meiying reminded him that women tend to become talkative when they get older. She had been muttering to herself for the past few days.
Ma Zhendong waved his hand and said impatiently: "Before I retired, I never saw you assign me this task."
Huang Meiying said: "People should accept their age. When they are old, they should not act like officials at home."
Ma Zhendong smiled bitterly, "You're rubbing salt into my wounds again. Okay, I'll go buy some groceries now and come back to help you later."
Huang Meiying smiled with satisfaction and said, "That's more appropriate. Xiao Mo, Xiao Jiao and others often come to see you. I have no objection, but I think you still need to adjust your mentality. Since you have retired, you should not get involved in their affairs..."
"I know. You're such a nag!" Ma Zhendong waved his hands and said with a helpless smile.
In the past, his wife would never talk to him like this. When he was at work, others treated him as their leader, and when he returned home, Huang Meiying was also very respectful to him. Now, his wife would argue with him every day, but this feeling did not make Ma Zhendong feel uncomfortable, but rather a sense of tranquility and comfort.
Before leaving, Ma Zhendong called Xia Lanshan, the municipal party secretary, and cleverly and tactfully expressed his concerns. As he had guessed, Xia Lanshan would never allow an earthquake to occur in the place where he was in charge. He personally called the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department. As the competent department of the Huainan Daily, once the order was issued, Zuo Leng's report would naturally be shelved and would not see the light of day.
Chapter 0474: The Tragedy of Urban Village Reconstruction
Fang Zhicheng saw Zuo Leng. Half of his face was swollen, obviously he had been beaten, but there was stubbornness in his eyes, and Fang Zhicheng could clearly read the anger in his eyes.
"It's really too cruel. In order to cover up the truth, they even committed heinous crimes." Zuo Leng drank a cup of tea handed to him by Fang Zhicheng. "I originally thought that Hanzhou was a relatively open and transparent government. I didn't expect that some of the actions here are more heinous than those remote areas."
Fang Zhicheng sighed and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect their methods to be so cruel. If I had known this, I wouldn't have let you get involved in this mess." Mo Jin and their reactions scared Fang Zhicheng. It was surprising that the house arrest of journalists actually happened in a society ruled by law.
However, this also proves that the urban village renovation has indeed touched the sore spot of some people, which has made them desperate and do such illegal things.