Chapter 323: Damn It! We Walked into Zhou Ming’s Trap

"Welcome!"

With the cheerful welcome from the hotel staff, Zhou Ming entered with the officials from the Central Engineering Bureau. Leading the group were the directors of Engineering Bureaus One and Two. Although all central engineering bureaus are technically at the same level, in reality, the first and second bureaus often receive preferential treatment in terms of personnel and policy.

This isn't to say that the central government ignores other bureaus or that they lack capability. It's just that bureaucracies are notoriously slow to change, and it's difficult to transform entrenched ways of operating overnight. For the lower-ranked bureaus to catch up with the top ones, it would likely take at least a decade.

Zhou Ming and the two directors took their seats at the main table. After they were seated, Ding Kai, the director of Engineering Bureau One, expressed his sentiments to Zhou Ming, "It's been over a month since we last met in Baiyun City. Last time, I invited you to dinner to thank you for giving our bureau the opportunity to be the first to build a private expressway. And now, I'm inviting you again, still to thank you."

Ding Kai laughed ruefully, "They say fortunes rise and fall, but for me, it feels like a stagnant pool. I don't even know what to say."

Zhou Ming smiled and responded, "Director Ding, you're being too polite. If I were a stingy capitalist, I might have skipped these two meals and invested the money elsewhere to exploit the laboring masses."

"Boss Zhou is indeed a competent capitalist," Ding Kai said, "but unlike the old bad capitalists, you are an idealistic and ambitious capitalist who fights against evil forces."

Ding Kai's words were echoed by others. "Yes! We know about Luo Wei's situation. Not just the part under his responsibility but also other areas have faced threats from local criminal forces, especially between Jin Ning and Song Guan. My engineering teams have reported this issue many times, and we've raised it with the provincial authorities, but to no avail."

The other engineering officials nodded in agreement. "That's right. The provincial government promised to help, but the extortion by these criminal groups continues daily. If this goes on, we'll be operating at a loss!"

"It's fortunate that Boss Zhou took decisive action against the biggest criminal group in Jin Ning. That's what freed us," another person said.

The officials were expressing their gratitude to Zhou Ming because of his actions against the criminal forces, something Zhou Ming hadn't anticipated.

Zhou Ming was aware that Luo Wei's team had been threatened and extorted by criminal forces in Jin Ning. In fact, it wasn't just Luo Wei's team; almost every engineering team working between Jin Ning and Song Guan had faced extortion. However, unlike Luo Wei's team, other teams had not resisted strongly and had merely paid off the criminals.

Without receiving their project funds, these teams were forced to advance material costs and deal with extortion, causing widespread complaints.

The engineering bureaus had reported this to Jin Ning and the provincial authorities numerous times, but the responses were always superficial.

This situation was partly due to the area between Jin Ning and Song Guan being a border region between three provinces, resulting in many places being poorly managed. For example, the two counties where Luo Wei encountered trouble were such areas, with high population mobility and mixed elements. Another reason was that the head of Jin Ning's largest criminal organization was the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee and the political and legal committee secretary, making criminal activities rampant.

As a central engineering bureau, being bullied by local criminals felt like being a tiger that had fallen into a low valley, humiliated and oppressed.

Ding Kai, as a bureau chief, was aware of Luo Wei's situation but had been unable to resolve it through communication with the provincial authorities.

Everything changed dramatically when Zhou Ming's team captured the Gao Ming and Gao Feng brothers and detained the deputy secretary of Jin Ning, Gao Jianhui, branding them as counter-revolutionaries.

This news shocked all the criminal groups from Jin Ning to Song Guan.

These people, although fierce on the surface, were mostly cowardly and couldn't withstand the military. Especially with the label of counter-revolutionaries and the threat of execution, they regretted their actions profoundly.

As a result, these criminal forces quickly moved to apologize to the extorted engineering teams and returned much of the extorted money, which delighted the teams.

The Luo Wei incident was an unexpected event. The engineering officials knew that they hadn't approached Zhou Ming for help; Zhou Ming acted out of his own disdain for the criminal activities in Jin Ning, not specifically to help them.

However, the local criminals were unaware of this nuance. Besides Gao Ming and Gao Feng, most of the local thugs were simply local bullies. They couldn't grasp the political intricacies and only saw that a major local criminal had been taken down, along with a deputy secretary. They feared for their own safety and avoided further provocations.

For the engineering bureaus, being free from criminal harassment was a significant relief, especially in such a dramatic fashion, so they invited Zhou Ming for dinner to express their gratitude.

As Zhou Ming and the engineering officials chatted and laughed, the hotel staff continuously served them food and drinks. Zhou Ming eventually stood up with his glass and said, "I am very grateful to everyone for inviting me to dinner today, especially the directors who came in person. This shows your great respect for me, which makes me feel quite honored. So, I'd like to start by toasting everyone."

Zhou Ming's words left everyone stunned, including Ding Kai and the other directors, who looked at him in confusion. The dinner was originally intended for them to invite Zhou Ming, so logically, they should have been toasting him. But now, the situation had reversed. The food and drinks had just arrived, and the engineering officials hadn't even started, yet Zhou Ming had already begun the toast.

Despite the confusion, Zhou Ming didn't care about their reactions. He drank from his glass, and the engineering officials, though reluctant, had no choice but to follow suit.

After finishing his drink, Zhou Ming poured himself another glass and continued, "Everyone, you're here as central engineering personnel, making a contribution to our province by constructing this Chu Ling Expressway. The incident with Engineer Luo is truly distressing. I feel a deep sense of shame, not only for the despicable criminal forces but also for my own oversight."

"However, rest assured, I promise this will be a one-time occurrence. If anything like this happens again, please let me know, and I will certainly help resolve it. Thank you!"

Zhou Ming was about to drink again when Director Zhang from Bureau Two immediately stopped him. "Consultant Zhou, you shouldn't be doing this. We should be toasting you, not the other way around. It seems we're being ungrateful!"

The other officials agreed, "Yes, our engineering bureau is quite capable. If we need to rely on you for everything, it's like showing that we're incapable!"

Hearing these remarks, Zhou Ming could only sigh and said, "It seems I've overestimated things. Alright then, if everyone feels that way, I'll respect your wishes."

Finally, Zhou Ming raised his glass, "Here's to everyone's stance! I toast to you all!"

"We also toast to Boss Zhou!" the engineering officials responded in unison.

As everyone drank, Ding Kai and the other directors suddenly realized: Damn it! We've walked right into Zhou Ming's trap!