Chapter Summaries

Residents of the Jingzhou Zhongfu Shantytown Redevelopment Zone gathered outside the municipal government and demanded to see Lin Yanzhou, prompting him to intensify his investigation into the stalled project and missing records. As Zhang Shuli secretly investigated a suspicious company, Zhao Ruilong plotted to steer Lin toward a politically fraught project, unaware that Lin aimed to expose Jingzhou’s wider financial dealings.

• More than a hundred residents of the Jingzhou Zhongfu Shantytown Redevelopment Zone protested outside the municipal government and insisted that they would speak only with Lin Yanzhou.
• Chen Mo gave Lin Yanzhou the compiled project files and reported resistance to the audit and delays in arranging a visit to Jingzhou Urban Investment.
• The secretary-general reported that some original project records were missing, so Lin Yanzhou ordered a list of the missing files, an explanation, and a timetable for corrective action.
• Lin Yanzhou told the audit bureau to trace fund flows against construction progress and added audit and state-owned-assets officials to his planned visit to the state-owned enterprise.
• Zhang Shuli ordered a trusted investigator to secretly examine Jingzhou Haixiang Trading Co., Ltd. while publicly processing the complaint against Ding Yizhen through official procedures.
• Zhao Ruilong and Ding Yizhen planned to direct Lin Yanzhou toward the Dafeng Factory project, hoping Li Dakang would stop his investigation, but Lin intended to examine Jingzhou’s finances more broadly.

Lin Yanzhou confronted Jingzhou residents protesting the shantytown redevelopment, won their cooperation, and launched a sweeping investigation. As investigators uncovered links between Haixiang Trading, Shanshui Group, and Ding Yizhen’s relatives, Zhao Ruilong and an overseas ally began trying to protect themselves and prepare leverage against Lin.

• Lin Yanzhou went out to meet the protesters, apologized for the government’s failures, promised a public investigation, and invited representatives to explain their grievances.
• After listening to the representatives, Lin formed a special team to investigate the Zhongfu shantytown redevelopment, freeze related accounts, and prevent involved people from leaving Jingzhou.
• Zhao Ruilong berated Ding Yizhen, ordered him to sever the project’s connections to Shanshui Group and Haixiang Company, and warned an overseas contact that the investigation was closing in.
• The overseas contact arranged to obtain leverage against a target without harming anyone, while Zhang Shuli’s secret inquiry uncovered concealed financial ties among Wu Sheng, Shanshui Group, and Ding Yizhen’s relatives.
• Lin marked the redevelopment area, the Qingshui River pollution belt, and Jingzhou Urban Investment Holding Group as key targets for his next moves.

Lin Yanzhou launched a coordinated investigation into Jingzhou's shantytown redevelopment funds as evidence pointed to Ding Yizhen and possible connections to Li Dakang's wife, Ouyang Jing. After suspicious operatives targeting Lin were apprehended, he recognized that his investigation had already alarmed powerful opponents.

• Lin Yanzhou ordered audit, discipline, finance, and public security teams to trace the missing five hundred million yuan and investigate the redevelopment project's contracts and officials.
• Investigators found that Jingzhou Dingsheng Construction Engineering's financial data had been destroyed and suspected funds had been transferred overseas, but Lin ordered them to pursue every domestic link.
• Zhang Shuli uncovered evidence connecting Wu Sheng, Haixiang Trading, Shanshui Group, and companies tied to Ding Yizhen's relatives, including a fifty-million-yuan transfer overseas and questionable bank loans.
• Zhang Shuli reported the findings to Li Dakang, who ordered him to secretly secure evidence against Ding Yizhen while withholding the Jingzhou City Bank lead and the report from others.
• Lin Yanzhou's uncle warned him that suspicious people had been scouting him and had been apprehended, while Chen Mo reported further suspicious vehicles and individuals near Lin's routes.
• Lin Yanzhou agreed to increase caution and concluded that his investigation had frightened powerful opponents before he had secured decisive evidence.

Lin Yanzhou arranged for Chen Mo to take up his post as Guangming District’s executive deputy district head and selected Li Ze as a temporary secretary. He asked Chen Mo to watch district head Sun Liancheng closely as the investigation continued.

• Zhou Minze told Lin Yanzhou that Chen Mo’s appointment had been approved, and Lin decided to escort him to Guangming District the next morning.
• Lin asked Zhou Minze to provide Sun Liancheng’s résumé and recent performance records, and Zhou described criticism of Sun’s work and his lack of involvement in key projects.
• The secretary-general presented three candidates to replace Chen Mo temporarily, and Lin chose Li Ze from the municipal Policy Research Office for a trial secondment.
• Lin called Chen Mo and told him to observe Sun Liancheng closely to determine whether his apparent inaction was genuine or feigned.

Li Ze was chosen as the mayor’s secretary, and Qian Yongnian warned him to stay discreet and focus on serving the mayor. Before he even began the job, officials, colleagues, and relatives treated him with sudden deference, leaving him keenly aware of the influence he was approaching.

• Qian Yongnian advised Li Ze to resist gifts, avoid asking or repeating sensitive matters, and prioritize efficient service to the mayor.
• Li Ze received a flood of congratulatory calls from officials who hoped he would help their districts and departments.
• The Municipal Policy Research Office’s director urged Li Ze to remember his former office and recommend it to the mayor.
• Li Ze’s in-laws welcomed him with gifts and lavish hospitality, while his younger brother-in-law asked him to look out for the family.
• Li Ze’s father-in-law and brother-in-law pressed him into the seat of honor and urged him to drink with them.

At a family dinner, Li Ze realized his relatives’ sudden warmth was driven by their desire to exploit his new position as Mayor Lin Yanzhou’s secretary. He refused their requests and warned his wife not to use the mayor’s name for favors, while his father-in-law and wife still planned to seek benefits from his status later.

• Li Ze’s wife told him that school and district officials were offering her new opportunities and wanted to meet him.
• Li Ze’s father-in-law asked him to arrange a meal with Director Liu, and his younger brother-in-law asked him to help get a construction project through a fire safety inspection.
• Li Ze recognized his relatives’ requests as attempts to trade on his connection to Mayor Lin Yanzhou and recalled Qian Yongnian’s warning to resist temptation.
• Li Ze stopped the conversation, said he had not yet taken up his post, and left the dinner to prepare for work the next morning.
• Li Ze’s wife urged him to use his position to help her family, but he warned her that the mayor opposed such conduct and told her not to discuss it outside.
• Li Ze’s father-in-law decided to wait until Li Ze was established, believing that his own status as the mayor’s secretary’s father-in-law would bring opportunities.

On his first morning as Lin Yanzhou’s secretary, Li Ze arrived at the municipal government building and received detailed instructions from Chen Mo about the mayor’s routines and office procedures. Lin Yanzhou began reviewing materials about Sun Liancheng and privately called Chen Mo, leaving Li Ze to learn the filing system.

• Li Ze left home early in a pressed suit, declined his father-in-law’s offer of a ride, and accepted a pickup arranged by the municipal government’s General Office.
• At the mayor’s office, Chen Mo trained Li Ze on preparing tea, arranging documents, maintaining the room, and coordinating with the driver.
• Lin Yanzhou arrived and immediately read materials about Sun Liancheng while Li Ze prepared and served his tea.
• Lin Yanzhou called Chen Mo into the inner office, and Li Ze began familiarizing himself with the filing cabinets.

Pan Minze visited Lin Yanzhou’s office, then joined Lin in escorting Chen Mo to his new post in Guangming District. On the drive, Chen Mo took responsibility for an overfilled schedule and instructed Li Ze to screen the mayor’s appointments more carefully.

• Zhou Minze waited while Lin Yanzhou met with Chen Mo and slipped two packs of cigarettes into Li Ze’s desk as a token of goodwill.
• Chen Mo apologized for keeping Zhou Minze waiting, then instructed Li Ze to announce senior officials immediately when they arrived.
• After speaking with Lin Yanzhou, Zhou Minze and Lin escorted Chen Mo to take up his new post, while Li Ze prepared the mayor’s belongings and tea for the trip.
• In the car, Li Ze read out the mayor’s afternoon schedule, and Lin Yanzhou showed displeasure at the number of events.
• Chen Mo accepted blame for failing to review the schedule and told Li Ze to screen out unnecessary engagements; Lin Yanzhou’s expression eased.

Lin Yanzhou learned about Sun Liancheng’s past and current conduct before bringing Chen Mo to Guangming District to take up his post. Chen Mo went first to meet Sun and offered cooperation, but Sun gave only cautious, procedural assurances, leaving their alliance uncertain.

• Li Ze told Lin Yanzhou that Sun Liancheng had once been a capable, hands-on official in Wuhua District but had grown passive in Guangming District, and Lin questioned how Sun had been promoted.
• Lin Yanzhou and Zhou Minze arrived in Guangming District, where Ding Yizhen and Sun Liancheng welcomed them before the cadre appointment meeting.
• At the meeting, Ding Yizhen enthusiastically backed Chen Mo’s appointment and the Guangming Peak Project, while Sun Liancheng gave a restrained speech and Lin urged the new team to take responsibility for shantytown redevelopment.
• After Lin Yanzhou and Zhou Minze returned to the city, Chen Mo went directly to Sun Liancheng’s office rather than first visiting Ding Yizhen.
• Chen Mo signaled that he wanted the district government to unite behind Sun and carry out Lin Yanzhou’s instructions, but Sun responded with vague promises and insisted that proposals follow procedure.
• Chen Mo left after making his overture, while Sun watched him go and continued weighing his intentions.

Sun Liancheng weighed Chen Mo’s offer against Ding Yizhen’s attempt to control the government’s division of responsibilities, then chose to align himself with Lin Yanzhou. He summoned Chen Mo again to warn him about Ding Yizhen’s plans before the afternoon meeting.

• Sun Liancheng reflected on Chen Mo’s visit and feared the risks of siding with either Chen Mo or Ding Yizhen.
• Ding Yizhen called Sun Liancheng and ordered him to attend a three o’clock meeting to discuss the government leadership’s division of responsibilities.
• Sun Liancheng reported the situation to his former superior, who told him that Mayor Lin Yanzhou had requested his records but could offer no guidance on which side to choose.
• Sun Liancheng decided to support Lin Yanzhou, judging that Lin’s handling of the Qingshui River project showed his willingness to tackle difficult problems.
• Sun Liancheng summoned Chen Mo again so he could warn him about the implications of Ding Yizhen’s meeting and signal his decision to cooperate.

Sun Liancheng warned Chen Mo that Ding Yizhen planned to restrict his authority, then challenged Ding’s draft division of responsibilities at a secretaries’ meeting. Chen Mo secured responsibility for shantytown redevelopment and direct oversight of the housing and urban-rural development bureau, while Sun’s opposition put him openly at odds with Ding and his backers.

• Sun Liancheng told Chen Mo that Ding Yizhen intended to set the deputy district mayors’ responsibilities before the afternoon meeting and urged him to report the maneuver to Lin Yanzhou.
• Ding Yizhen presented a draft giving himself control of key economic departments while assigning Chen Mo less influential portfolios and the audit bureau.
• Sun Liancheng objected that the draft violated proper Party-government divisions and proposed putting Chen Mo in charge of shantytown redevelopment and several core departments.
• Other officials resisted giving Chen Mo such a broad portfolio, so Sun settled for making him responsible for redevelopment and directly overseeing the housing and urban-rural development bureau.
• Ding Yizhen retained direct liaison with the development and reform commission, finance bureau, and major projects office, then called Li Dakang to report the situation.
• Sun Liancheng concluded that he had opened a foothold for Chen Mo and had formally joined the opposition to Ding Yizhen and his allies.

Chen Mo learned that Sun Liancheng had secured him oversight of several portfolios, including shantytown redevelopment and housing, and Lin Yanzhou urged him to establish himself through careful, practical work. After reviewing Sun Liancheng’s record, Li Dakang reconsidered his judgment of him, then received a provincial summons to report on Guangming Peak and the redevelopment-area petition incident.

• Sun Liancheng told Chen Mo that he would oversee shantytown redevelopment, housing and urban-rural development, and several other portfolios.
• Chen Mo reported Sun Liancheng’s stance to Lin Yanzhou, who advised him to accept his duties calmly, research the redevelopment situation, and pursue practical results.
• Ding Yizhen complained to Li Dakang about Sun Liancheng, but Li Dakang defended the coordination meeting’s outcome and told Ding to focus on the Guangming Peak Project.
• Li Dakang ordered Sun Liancheng’s personnel records and, after reading his achievements in Wuhua District, recognized his skill in public security, education, and resolving workers’ petitions.
• A provincial government official summoned Li Dakang to report on development-zone upgrades, Guangming Peak’s industrial layout, and the shantytown petition incident; Li Dakang planned to handle the project report himself and have Lin Yanzhou report on the petition.

Lin Yanzhou presented proposals for Jingzhou’s shantytown redevelopment and the province’s development zones, winning Governor Liu’s strong approval and changing Li Dakang’s attitude toward him. Back in Jingzhou, Ding Yizhen learned of the praise and feared he was becoming a discarded pawn.

• Li Dakang reported on the Guangming Peak Project, while Lin Yanzhou detailed Jingzhou’s shantytown disputes and proposed compensation funding, resident oversight, and sustainable redevelopment.
• Governor Liu praised Lin Yanzhou’s redevelopment proposals and asked for his ideas on development zones and industrial upgrading.
• Lin Yanzhou advocated phasing out backward industries and building clusters in fields including new energy, smart grids, and semiconductor manufacturing.
• Governor Liu ended the reporting session on a hopeful note, and Li Dakang spoke to Lin Yanzhou with new respect on the drive back.
• Ding Yizhen learned of Lin Yanzhou’s praise and Li Dakang’s changed attitude, then panicked that he was losing his value as a pawn.

Li Dakang saw Lin Yanzhou as a potential political partner and summoned him, while Lin Yanzhou reviewed the Guangming Peak Project and Jingzhou’s strained finances. Liu Yongning revealed that most available funds were already earmarked, leaving Lin Yanzhou with little room to finance the project.

• Li Dakang decided that cooperating with Lin Yanzhou could help him advance toward the governorship and asked his secretary to invite Lin to his office.
• Lin Yanzhou agreed to meet Li Dakang at three and requested the latest Guangming Peak and Jingzhou Zhongfu redevelopment materials, along with fiscal data from Liu Yongning.
• Lin Yanzhou reviewed the 48-billion-yuan Guangming Peak Project and found serious problems with its land conversion, planning, investment strategy, and reliance on real estate development.
• Liu Yongning reported Jingzhou’s budget figures and explained that public welfare, infrastructure, and redevelopment accounted for major expenditures.
• Liu Yongning disclosed that the city had 700 million yuan in available funds but only 70 million freely uncommitted, while prior instructions and approvals had earmarked most of the rest.

Lin Yanzhou met Li Dakang privately to discuss the Guangming Peak Project and warned that its vague industrial focus, land issues, and heavy reliance on financing posed serious risks to Jingzhou. He proposed scaling the project into stages and focusing on a viable core, leaving Li Dakang to consider his advice.

• Lin Yanzhou told Liu Yongning to keep allocating funds according to the established plan and required his signature for other departments to use the remaining funds.
• Lin Yanzhou asked Li Ze to coordinate Mayor Wen, Sun Liancheng, and Chen Mo on the Guangming Peak Project and prepare a report for his return.
• Lin Yanzhou met Li Dakang, who asked for his candid assessment of the Guangming Peak Project.
• Lin Yanzhou warned that the project lacked a precise industrial focus and faced land, demolition, transport, and financing risks, including a 28-billion-yuan investment burden the city's finances could not sustain through the second phase.
• Lin Yanzhou urged Li Dakang to continue the project in stages, prioritize its core area and suitable leading enterprises, regulate land and financing, and use market-based operations with policy guidance for redevelopment and infrastructure.

Li Dakang put Lin Yanzhou in charge of coordinating and redesigning the Guangming Peak Project, while demanding results and ordering investigations into Ding Yizhen. Lin Yanzhou then headed to the Qingshui River pollution remediation site and asked his team to deepen its project analysis.

• Li Dakang agreed that Lin Yanzhou should oversee the Guangming Peak Project’s coordination and top-level design, with Ding Yizhen handling implementation.
• Lin Yanzhou accepted and said he would assemble a team to study the project and prepare a more feasible plan for the municipal Party committee.
• Lin Yanzhou urged Li Dakang to have discipline inspection and anti-corruption authorities investigate Ding Yizhen, and Li Dakang agreed to provincial- and municipal-level investigations.
• Lin Yanzhou gave Li Dakang two packs of special-supply cigarettes, leading Li Dakang to suspect that Lin Yanzhou had powerful family connections.
• Lin Yanzhou told driver Wu Jun to take him to the Qingshui River remediation site and asked Luo Yong and Cheng Du to meet him there.
• Lin Yanzhou called Li Ze and instructed the team to continue studying the Guangming Peak Project before he returned.

Lin Yanzhou demanded that polluting companies pay for the Qingshui River cleanup within five working days, while officials discussed a more sustainable plan for the Guangming Peak Project. The chapter ended with Li Dakang ordering Ding Yizhen to carry out Lin Yanzhou's instructions.

• Wen Zhiyuan, Sun Liancheng, Wu Qinghua, Zhang Hua, and Li Zhouming discussed ways to redevelop Guangming Peak through phased renewal, industrial integration, and sustainable investment.
• At the Qingshui River, Luo Yong told Lin Yanzhou that pollution readings had improved, but cleanup funds from the responsible companies had not been fully secured.
• Lin Yanzhou ordered the polluting companies to pay their full cleanup costs and reimburse the municipal treasury within five working days, threatening enforcement and criminal investigations for noncompliance.
• Lin Yanzhou tasked Luo Yong with accelerating cleanup work and Cheng Du with supervising the companies and pursuing legal measures if they failed to pay.
• Li Ze and his colleagues presented Lin Yanzhou with preliminary ideas for the Guangming Peak Project, and he invited them to explain their proposal.
• After hearing how Lin Yanzhou had confronted Ding Yizhen, Li Dakang instructed Ding Yizhen to carry out Lin Yanzhou's orders.

Lin Yanzhou led a meeting to set a long-term, sustainable approach for the Guangming Peak Project, emphasizing a core demonstration zone and new financing methods. After securing Governor Liu’s support, he prepared to lock in key arrangements before the new provincial Party secretary arrived.

• Wen Zhiyuan presented the Guangming Peak Project’s concepts and preliminary plan, while department heads raised concerns about investment, returns, and municipal finances.
• Lin Yanzhou rejected relying on quick land transfers and directed the Development and Reform Commission and Finance Bureau to develop a financing plan using government guidance and private capital.
• Lin Yanzhou tasked Wen Zhiyuan with forming a cross-department project team and producing detailed planning recommendations and an implementation roadmap within a week.
• Lin Yanzhou told Liu Yongning to reimburse the Finance Bureau’s Qingshui River cleanup advance once corporate funds arrived and to explore funding options for Guangming Peak.
• Lin Yanzhou told Wen Zhiyuan to collect documents on land transfers and business admission, then reported his approach to Governor Liu, who endorsed it and offered provincial support.

Ding Yizhen was forced by Li Dakang’s order to demand cleanup funds from Zhao Guifa, while an investigation found no conclusive evidence against him. Lin Yanzhou secured autonomy over the municipal government’s work and the Guangming Peak Project, leaving Ding facing Lin’s upcoming inspection.

• Wu Caixia told Ding Yizhen that Li Dakang required the Qingshui River cleanup funds to be transferred in full within five working days.
• Ding Yizhen ordered Zhao Guifa to produce the money, and Zhao threatened to expose their past dealings before agreeing to try to raise it.
• Li Dakang told Lin Yanzhou that investigators had found no conclusive evidence of Ding Yizhen’s personal corruption, though a company owned by Ding’s distant cousin had supplied materials to the project.
• Lin Yanzhou accepted the investigation’s conclusion but secured Li Dakang’s agreement to let him control the municipal government’s specific operations and the project’s implementation.
• Ding Yizhen learned that the investigation had declared him safe, then received notice that Lin Yanzhou would inspect the Guangming Peak Project the following Monday.

Lin Yanzhou confronted Ding Yizhen over his failure to understand or oversee the Guangming Peak Project. After learning Ding had visited headquarters only twice that year, Lin announced a municipal meeting to discuss changes in leadership responsibilities, leaving Ding fearing he would lose control of the project.

• Lin Yanzhou questioned Ding Yizhen about demolition, the ecological corridor, infrastructure, and industrial schedules, and Ding could not answer the details.
• Lin Yanzhou challenged Ding Yizhen's lack of on-site involvement and asked how often he had visited project headquarters that year.
• The headquarters office director reported that Ding Yizhen had visited only twice, excluding that day.
• Lin Yanzhou announced an executive meeting to discuss adjustments to leadership responsibilities for the Guangming Peak Project and left the conference room.
• Ding Yizhen slumped in his chair, realizing Lin Yanzhou intended to remove his control over the project.