Liang Jianfeng's words made Song Guanchao even more certain that there were large problems with the old town redevelopment project.

The issue was most likely an economic one!

To them, Liang Jianfeng was an obstacle.

Moving him away would align with their interests.

Evening.

A group of leaders came to the restaurant to see Liang Jianfeng off.

Wu Qiangwei also went.

At the dinner, everyone set aside the usual unpleasantness and didn't talk about work-related issues.

This harmonious scene was quite rare.

Liang Jianfeng would take office next Monday, so Liang Jiajia put all her work on hold over the weekend to go with her mom and buy him a few sets of clothes at the mall.

Song Guanchao also didn't stay idle. Early Saturday morning after breakfast, he went to Fengmen Building.

He changed into casual clothes and wore a baseball cap on his head, wandering around the area.

Fengmen Building is located in Lingbei District, which is an old urban area.

Though there are no high-rise buildings or high-tech companies here, life is very convenient, full of daily life hustle and bustle.

The scope of the old town redevelopment is very large, covering multiple streets and residential areas.

The city has replanned the entire Fengmen Building area, preparing to turn this area into a new government affairs center block of Lingjiang.

Some old residential areas need not only renovations but also a complete overhaul of water and electricity systems.

The bumpy roads also need to be repaved.

The overall workload is huge, and so is the investment.

The total project duration is currently estimated to be two years.

Song Guanchao went straight to the former Ministry of Railways apartment area and saw many residents gathered at the crossroads.

He pretended to smoke on the phone, moving closer to listen to their conversation.

"Those officials aren't any good, thinking they can relocate us with seven thousand yuan, they're dreaming!"

"Seven thousand? You're thinking too much. I heard they've already pushed the price down to five thousand."

"Five thousand? Are those idiots crazy?"

"Five thousand yuan, sign if you want. I'm not signing anyway!"

Song Guanchao was startled when he heard that the price had gone down to five thousand?

My God, has Secretary Lu lost his mind?

Seven thousand yuan was low, but with some endurance, they would eventually compromise.

But five thousand yuan, that's excessive.

This is practically treating these residents like pigs to be pinched.

His first reaction was anger.

But anger solves nothing.

He suspected it was due to financial reasons.

The finances were already tight,

and high-speed rail financing forced the city treasury to cut two or three billion from its original budget annually to service loans, making it even tighter.

Reducing the price from seven thousand to five thousand was clearly a reluctant decision by Secretary Lu.

But Song Guanchao didn't care if it was a last resort.

He only knew that at such compensation, the residents would definitely refuse to move.

But then Song Guanchao thought of another issue.

How should this be handled?

At this stage, there's no way to report it, since he hadn't even seen the contracts.

He was just going by what the residents were saying.

He couldn't randomly report based on hearsay.

And even if he did report, it would have to be chosen at an appropriate time.

Most importantly, if Secretary Lu dared to do this, didn't he anticipate being found out?

Didn't he consider the possibility of someone reporting him?

He's not like Director Qin who acts without thinking.

If he's daring to do this, he must have thought of ways to handle it.

Song Guanchao crouched by the wall, smoking and thinking.

What would Secretary Lu do to suppress these negative impacts?

Forced demolition?

Is this why he transferred Liang Jianfeng away?

But Lingjiang is not a monolith. Is he not afraid that Wu Qiangwei would leak the news if he dares to force demolish?

Song Guanchao tossed the cigarette butt away and called Wu Qiangwei in a secluded spot, reporting the news he just obtained and sharing his suspicions.

Wu Qiangwei said, "Don't overthink it, he will definitely go for forced demolition."

Song Guanchao said, "The impact of forced demolition is so large that if it gets out, he's not going to have an easy time."

"Impact? What impact?"

Wu Qiangwei said, "Do you know the day he'll initiate the forced demolition? By the time you wake up, it could already be completed."

"After the forced demolition? These residents will surely petition and make a fuss, right?"

"Fuss?" Wu Qiangwei said, "You're overthinking it."

"With Director Qin around, they won't be able to make a fuss."

"Even if they did, it wouldn't have too big an impact."

"Over the years of reform and opening up, forced demolitions have been staged everywhere, but have you heard of any leaders getting punished because of it?"

"Not only did they not get punished, but they even climbed up the ladder."

"As long as nothing major happens, as long as the impact is controllable, he won't be in trouble. You can consider this implicit approval from the top."

"After all, leaders only look at the results, not the process."

For a moment, Song Guanchao didn't know what to say.

After a long time, he said, "Isn't reporting it early an option?"

"Report it to whom?" Wu Qiangwei said, "If the ultimate compensation is really five thousand, the pricing process must have been legal and compliant. If you report it to the higher authorities, they will refer it back to the city and let the city handle it themselves."

"Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless things really get out of hand."

Wu Qiangwei said, "To the extent that the city can't manage and the province has to step in."

She sighed again, "But Secretary Lu won't allow such accidents to happen."

"When he's ready to demolish, he will certainly hide all the information in advance, so you won't know."

"Even if you monitor 24/7, it won't help."

"When the time comes, they will cut water, electricity, and block the network, and no one will know what's happening here."

She sensed Song Guanchao's silence and understood his feelings at that moment, but she still said, "Let him demolish."

Song Guanchao asked, "Won't the secretary intervene?"

Wu Qiangwei said, "Right now, it's impossible to intervene, and there's no way to intervene. Fiscal tightness is an objective fact, even if I disagree, where would the money come from out of nowhere?"

"Raising an issue is easy, but you can't just raise issues without thinking of solutions."

Song Guanchao was silent for a few seconds and asked, "If it were the secretary in charge, would it be done the same way?"

"This project is not under my charge, don't make such meaningless hypotheticals."

This sentence inexplicably frustrated her feelings: "I still have things to do."

She hung up the phone.

Song Guanchao kept a stern face and sighed heavily.

Wu Qiangwei's response was not what he wanted.

He crouched on the ground, took out a cigarette, and soon cigarette butts littered around his feet.

When he searched for more, the cigarette pack was empty.

He stood up and went to a nearby small shop.

The shop owner was an elderly man, his hair white, and although his frame was thin, he had an unexpectedly good spirit, standing straight.

Song Guanchao took the cigarette and suddenly asked, "Sir, are there any houses for rent nearby?"

The old man looked him over and asked, "What kind of room are you looking for?"

"A place with a bed to sleep in will do."

"Then come in and have a look."

"Do you have any vacant rooms here?"

"Of course, we do."

The small shop had a back door leading to a yard with a persimmon tree.

The old man led him through the yard into the main house and pointed to a room, saying, "This room is empty, if you want to stay, it's six hundred a month."

The room was about fifteen or sixteen square meters, neither big nor small, with a bed, a wardrobe, and a small desk.

On the wall were portraits of great men, and even on the calendar, pictures of the great men were featured.

"Alright, I'll take it."

"Wait, let me clear it out for you."

The old man opened the wardrobe and took out a patched-up old army uniform and an iron box.

"Sir, were you in the military?"

"Half my life."

The old man chuckled and turned to walk out.

Looking at the old man's back, thinking about Secretary Lu's upcoming forced demolition, Song Guanchao couldn't help but clench his fist.

A veteran who spent his life defending the country, whose only small shop would soon become rubble under a bulldozer.

Thinking of this, Song Guanchao felt an inexplicable suffocation.

Damn it!

Demolish, demolish my ass!

As long as I'm here, Lu Zhizhong, you can forget about forcibly demolishing this place!

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