Chapter 26: Confrontation at the Standing Committee Meeting

Sha Junhai had occupied the position of County Magistrate for six years. He had once believed that after his victory in the struggle against his predecessor, County Party Secretary Jin Yuxiang, he would securely sit in the seat of the next County Party Secretary. He never anticipated that Wu Yunqiu, eight or nine years his junior, would be parachuted into Ninghai, shattering his dreams. Because of this, Sha Junhai had harbored deep-seated resentment and dissatisfaction toward Wu Yunqiu from the very beginning—though, more often than not, his feelings were those of disdain and contempt.

Sha Junhai continued, "Right now, Comrade Qian Dazhi is waiting downstairs. His purpose is very clear: he needs the Standing Committee to give him an explanation as to why he was dismissed without cause." He added, "If this matter is handled poorly and word gets out, will people not think that our Ninghai County administration is run by a dictator, engaging in personalism?" Although Sha Junhai did not name names, his target was clear: Wu Yunqiu. The other Standing Committee members were stunned, not expecting the top two leaders of Ninghai County to be at such daggers drawn from the start.

"Do any other comrades have different views? Please, feel free to speak," Wu Yunqiu said with an air of unruffled calm, ignoring Sha Junhai’s challenge. In Ninghai, everyone knew that Executive Deputy County Magistrate Feng Zhikuan, County Office Director Ou Huasheng, and Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary Luo Fasen were Sha Junhai’s people. Sha Junhai felt bold enough to stir up trouble in the Standing Committee because he had his own faction and leverage. As expected, following Sha Junhai’s lead, Feng Zhikuan, Ou Huasheng, and Luo Fasen all expressed their opposition. However, compared to Sha Junhai’s bluntness, the three were much more moderate in their phrasing.

After everyone had their say, Wu Yunqiu asked, "Do any other comrades have opinions? Anything to add?" This time, no one spoke. Seeing that no one else would comment, Wu Yunqiu continued, "My position remains the same: dismiss Qian Dazhi."

Sha Junhai immediately retorted, "Secretary Wu, you are the County Party Secretary and hold the power over personnel; it is understandable that you want to replace someone. But surely there should be a sufficient and convincing reason?"

"To remove a veteran cadre who has worked for the Party and the country for over twenty years in such an inexplicable manner—who will accept that?"

Wu Yunqiu said in a deep voice, "There are two reasons. First, during the land transfer process in Nanping Town, Qian Dazhi operated in violation of regulations, misappropriated compensation funds, and harmed the interests of the villagers, leading to mass petition incidents. Second, he used threats, intimidation, and coercion against villagers, causing extremely negative consequences, damaging the relationship between the cadres and the masses, and departing from the government’s original intent."

Sha Junhai, who had already thoroughly investigated the situation, replied, "I have heard of the matter Secretary Wu mentioned. In the specifics, Comrade Qian Dazhi’s methods may have been incorrect, perhaps overly eager for success, and he may have made some minor mistakes, but a disciplinary warning should be sufficient." He continued, "As members of the Ninghai County Standing Committee, the core of the county, we should possess tolerance and allow for a margin of error. Should we strike a comrade down completely just because he made a mistake? This is prone to overcorrection, which is detrimental to the unity of our cadres and even more so to the progress of our work."

He Shinian thought to himself: Sha Junhai truly is an old hand at this; he speaks so persuasively, turning black into white. If one were not aware of the facts, they might truly be fooled by him.

Hearing this, Wu Yunqiu said in a low voice, "The margin of error, tolerance, and overcorrection that County Magistrate Sha mentioned are well-stated points. But before we continue, I suggest that County Magistrate Sha thoroughly and deeply investigate the entire incident. After all, without investigation, one has no right to speak."

Without waiting for Sha Junhai to retort, Wu Yunqiu looked at He Shinian and said, "Shinian, some of the committee members here may not be clear on exactly what happened. Please show them."

Upon hearing the word "show," Sha Junhai’s brows tightened slightly, and he subconsciously glanced at Feng Zhikuan. This matter was under Feng Zhikuan’s jurisdiction, and he was the one leading it. Most of the information Sha Junhai had regarding this affair came from Feng Zhikuan and Qian Dazhi.

He Shinian stood up, took out a flash drive, inserted it into the computer, and turned on the projector. Following the order of the collected materials, he opened the folders and displayed them one by one. After glancing at Wu Yunqiu and receiving a look of encouragement, He Shinian said, "The first video is the raw footage of an interview I conducted with a sweet potato seller at Goubeiwan, the project site in Nanping Town. He is a local villager."

After watching for a few minutes, the expressions of the committee members changed dramatically. He Shinian glanced at the group and continued to the second video. "The second video is the raw footage of my interviews with the villagers involved in the land transfer." In the video, the villagers cursed Qian Dazhi, describing him as worse than a pig or dog, a man who could hide the sky with one hand, and a colluder with the corrupt. Some even expressed wishes for his early death.

"By the way, there was a small incident before I interviewed the villagers..." He Shinian clicked on a video showing thugs besieging the villagers, who were eventually taken away by the police station.

Looking at this video, Ou Huasheng’s face darkened, as the reason the thugs were besieging the villagers was that they were investigating who had written the petition materials and who had submitted them to the county.

"As for the third part, there is no video, only audio. It was recorded by Secretary Wu and me during an undercover visit to the Nanping Town government. The voice belongs to Qian Dazhi."

"…That Wu Yunqiu just arrived in Ninghai County; she doesn’t know the depths of the water here. She thinks that just because she’s the County Party Secretary, she can boss people around. The waters of Ninghai aren't something a woman can easily stir up..."

"…President Wang, don’t worry! If any villager dares to make trouble, I’ll take care of them. Cutting off water and power? No, this time, if they dare to stir up trouble, it’ll be their hands and feet that get cut off."

Upon hearing Qian Dazhi’s voice, the corners of everyone’s mouths twitched violently. Especially during the final recording, Sha Junhai’s face turned completely grim, and he cursed Qian Dazhi a hundred times in his heart. Yet, curses aside, if Sha Junhai did not save Qian Dazhi today, Qian Dazhi would be finished, and Sha Junhai’s own face and dignity would be left in tatters.

"Secretary Wu, I still stand by my words. In the handling of this matter, Qian Dazhi’s methods might have been wrong, but I believe a disciplinary warning and an order to correct his mistakes would suffice. There is no need to dismiss him."

The battles between Sha Junhai and Wu Yunqiu had always been behind the scenes; this was the first time they had clashed so directly in the open. The other committee members chose to remain silent, especially Feng Zhikuan. As the Executive Deputy County Magistrate in charge, he knew more about these matters than anyone else present. If Wu Yunqiu pressed further, he would be unable to shirk his own responsibility.

Wu Yunqiu said forcefully, "A man like Qian Dazhi is a tumor in our system, a parasite in the eyes of the people. He colludes with businessmen and can even cheat the common people out of their money; what else is he incapable of doing?"

"County Magistrate Sha just mentioned tolerance. Comrades, think about it: if we do not dismiss Qian Dazhi and hold him accountable, are we being tolerant, or are we shielding him? How will the people view us then?"

Wu Yunqiu’s words used the opponent’s own logic against him, leaving Sha Junhai unable to retort, his face slowly turning dark.