Chapter 37: The Gap in Treatment

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  After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Lin Houwen looked at Yang Jie who kept toasting him and smiled wryly to Lei Shuping and Tang Ruhui: "Director Tang, Old Lei, I know I was wrong, can you please stop Little Yang from toasting? One cup for me is three cups for him, he's fine but I'm getting a bit drunk."

  Everyone present burst out laughing after hearing Lin Houwen's pleading words, looking at Lin Houwen's bright red face with a drunken tone and then glancing at Yang Jie's calm face without any sign of intoxication, the crowd couldn't help but admire Yang Jie's good drinking capacity.

  To know Yang Jie's drinking, generally he drinks three cups and the crowd only drinks one cup. In this way, Yang Jie toasted everyone present once, and even scared Lin Houwen with his capacity for liquor, which they had never seen before.

  Tang Ruhui saw Yang Jie drink so much wine and knew it was definitely because of what Lei Shuping said earlier. Yang Jie didn't dare not listen, worried that this young man who had a good impression on her would get into trouble from drinking, so she smiled and said: "Since Director Lin has apologized, let's spare you today, Little Yang, eat something first to pad your stomach!"

  Lei Shuping saw Tang Ruhui say this, smiled and nodded to Yang Jie, and Yang Jie put down the wine glass in his hand with a smile, no longer toasting Lin Houwen.

  "Lao Lei, you don't often come to Chengdu. Is this trip for a project or is it for funding?" Tang Ruhui was very pleased that Leishu Ping let Yang Jie speak up for her, and only asked after everyone had finished drinking.

  "This time, the main purpose is to run special funds. Xiao Yang helped the county attract foreign investment and is preparing to develop the marble material in Yuhe County. Currently, the road from the county town to the quarry area is only a gravel road, but the foreign investors require it to be upgraded to a third-class asphalt road. The matching funds from the county and the special funds from the city are all in place, and now we just need the special funds from the province."

  "If the approval from the provincial government is passed, then the matching funds from the local government will be fully in place, and it will not be a problem to get the special matching funds from the central government's finances." Lei Shuping saw Tang Ruhui ask, and did not hide, directly saying his purpose.

  Everyone present is a cadre working in provincial units or cities, and naturally knows how popular special transfer payments are. The national allocation of special transfer payments to the province is limited, so who gets it and who doesn't, and how much they get, all depend on personal connections and lobbying.

  It was for this reason that Lei Shuping invited these old classmates over to see if there were any connections.

  Tang Ruhui listened to Lei Shuping's work in the provincial city and frowned, thinking for a moment. "None of our jobs are related to the Transportation Department, even if we know some officials from the Transportation Department, it may not play a big role in special transfer payments."

  Lin Houwen nodded and said, "Nowadays, there are countless people coming to the province to run for special transfer payments. Every city and county has them. This money is from the country, and whoever gets it is fine. To get it in hand, you need to rely on relationships. Ordinary relationships won't work; you also need to be able to talk to the person in charge. Otherwise, even if the special funds are approved, it's hard to say how much of the funds will actually materialize."

  "Yes! Old Lei, a middle school classmate of mine, works at the Zhutang City Transportation Bureau. Last time I heard him say that some counties in Zhutang City spent a lot of money to run for special transfer payments, almost accounting for about 30% of the special funds they ran for. If you want to get the special funds, you have to spend money." Lin Jianjun, deputy director of the Basic Education Department of the Provincial Education Department, nodded and sighed.

  In this era, running projects and funds is not free of charge. With many monks but little porridge, everyone wants a share. Some impoverished counties rely on special funds to revitalize their finances, and there are even counties that survive on special transfer payments.

  Since the tax reform, there are more leaders running for funds, from county to city, from city to province, and even to Beijing. In order to get funding, some leaders even stay in the provincial capital or Beijing all year round. To stand out from the crowd of people running for funds and get the money, it's all about connections and spending money.

  "This is related to the economic development strategy of Huanghe County next year. The funds will definitely come, as long as they can be raised, spending some money is not a big deal!" Lei Shuping said resolutely and decisively, and everyone saw him say this and also came up with suggestions one after another.

  Tang Ruhui and Lin Houxin even bluntly said that they could ask their friends who work in the Transportation Department to come out and gather together. Lei Shuping listened and repeatedly thanked them, saying that a private room had been booked at Blue Dream KTV on Yanjiang Avenue that evening, and they could invite their friends to meet there.

  Lan Meng KTV is just a luxurious large-scale KTV for ordinary people, but for the many provincial officials present, they know that Lan Meng is currently a highly renowned leisure venue in Chengdu's high society, and those officials and dignitaries from Chengdu consider it an honor to go to Lan Meng for leisure.

  Tang Ruhui and Lin Houxin had both been to the member area above the fourth floor of Lan Meng, so they knew that Lan Meng was divided into ordinary areas and member areas. Neither of them had a membership card for Lan Meng, let alone Lei Shuping, who was just a deputy department-level cadre from Yudu County and had only recently arrived in Rongcheng. Therefore, neither of them thought much about it.

  "Lan Meng KTV is hardly unknown in Chengdu, I'll just call my friends to inform them. By the way, which floor and room number did you book the private room? I'll let them know." Tang Ruhui said as she took out a mobile phone from her handbag.

  Yang Jie had never told Lei Shuping which floor the private room was on, and now Tang Ruhui asked about it. Lei Shuping turned his gaze to Yang Jie, who smiled slightly and said: "Director Tang, our private room is on the fourth floor. You can tell your friends to meet at the entrance of Lanmeng and they'll be let in; otherwise, they won't be able to get in later."

  Tang Ruhui and Lin Houxin, as provincial city's hidden dragons and crouching tigers, have become leading cadres at the deputy department level. Naturally, they are quite sophisticated in their minds. Although their faces don't change color when they hear this, they are shocked in their hearts. The fourth floor of Lanmeng is a member-only area, and without a membership card, it's impossible to get in.

  To get a Blue Dream membership card, you must be at least a deputy department-level leader with real power, or have a deep background and rich assets, in order to qualify for the card.

  In other words, neither Tang Ruhui nor Lin Houwen are qualified to apply for the Blue Dream membership card. If they want to consume in the member area, they still have to follow others to be able to go up.

  Lei Shuping was more clever than others, and after Yang Jie said that, Tang Ruhui and Lin Houwen were both stunned. They knew that the private room booked by Yang Jie must have some story behind it, but now was not the time to ask Yang Jie about it. So Lei Shuping just smiled faintly on his face and remained silent.

  "Lao Lin, this Blue Dream is so particular? Isn't it just a song hall? Why can't we go in?" Fang Qun had heard of Blue Dream and knew it was a place where the wealthy and powerful of Chengdu liked to spend money, but he didn't know that Blue Dream was divided into member and non-member areas, with a huge difference between the two.

  "I really didn't expect that, Old Lei, you're still hiding so deeply. You can go to the fourth floor, and we'll have to bask in your glory. I'll notify my friend to wait at Blue Dream." Lin Houwen didn't explain much, turned his head to look at Lei Shuping, with a hint of suspicion in his eyes. Not far away, Tang Ruhui also had some suspicions about Lei Shuping's relationship.

  Looking at the two people on the phone, Lei Shuping shifted his gaze to Yang Jie. From Tang and Lin's expressions and words, Lan Meng was not simple at all, and their reactions had a direct relationship with the floor where Yang Jie booked the private room. Although he was puzzled, he didn't have the chance to ask in detail, so he could only suppress his curiosity in his heart.

  It was almost time to finish dinner, after Tang Ruhui and Lin Houxin finished their phone calls and made an appointment with friends half an hour later, they met in front of the Blue Dream KTV entrance, then went to the bathroom one by one, drinking tea to sober up.

  Deng Zixiang invited friends and classmates to dinner at the restaurant in Yuerong Hotel, but Mei Ye Ge was occupied by Lei Shuping, so he could only invite guests to a slightly smaller private room next door. The people in the two private rooms finished their meal around the same time and were ready to find a place to have fun.

  Lin Houwen, who came out of Mei Ye Ge, saw several cadres coming out of the adjacent box and happened to know them. He stood in the corridor of the restaurant's box area, chatting with them for a few words, and heard that it was Deng Zixiang, the executive vice mayor of Rongjiang County, who invited guests. Later, they would go to Lan Meng again. Lin Houwen's heart suddenly moved.

  It's enough for a county to send one leader to the province for project funding, but Yunhe County has arranged two county committee members, and they are having dinner with different provincial officials in the same restaurant, and later they will also go to Blue Dream KTV for entertainment, which makes things a bit suspicious.

  The depth of the provincial capital is not comparable to that of a county, and Lin Houwen was able to become the deputy director of the Chengdu Construction Bureau. How could he be an incompetent person? It quickly became clear that Lei Shuping and Deng Zixiang were representing two factions in Yudu County, both of which came to the province to raise funds, likely related to the development of Yudu County's political landscape.

  Lin Houwen had a good relationship with Lei Shuping, and after understanding this, he quietly asked which floor Deng Zixiang's private room was on. After hearing that the cadres said it was on the third floor, he couldn't help but sneer in his heart. From this seemingly minor difference alone, it can be seen that Lei Shuping and Deng Zixiang already had a great distance between them from the starting line.

  Looking at Lei Shuping coming out of the bathroom, Lin Houwen smiled and walked up to him, saying in a low voice: "Old Lei, I just met some acquaintances next door, they were invited by Deng Zixiang, the executive vice mayor of your county. I heard they also came for the special funding project. You're not fighting for it, are you?

  "I just heard that they will also go to Blue Dream for leisure later, is this what you want to make County Mayor Deng embarrassed or is he making things difficult for you?"

  Lei Shuping heard the words and smiled bitterly, looking at Lin Houwen said: "Old Lin, indeed nothing can be hidden from you. It's true that our county secretary and county magistrate have recently had a rather strained relationship, and when it comes to running for special funds in the province, other interests are also involved, so I and he both came to the province to run for special funds."

  He found out that I invited you all to Lan Meng today and now he also wants to bring his friends and classmates, it's really annoying.

  ;