Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 657: Chapter 613: Interrupted Clue_1

Just as Hu Jiawang left, Nie Zhenbang’s call reached Xiao Shanming’s mobile phone. At that moment, Xiao Shanming was packing up in his office, ready to knock off from work. Seeing the caller ID, Xiao Shanming quickly sat down and answered, “Mayor.”

“Shanming, are you still in the office?” Nie Zhenbang chuckled. He had a slight understanding of Xiao Shanming’s character. Given the huge incident involving Hu Jiawang’s son today, Nie knew Xiao would personally oversee it.

As expected, Xiao Shanming replied with a laugh, “You know me well, Mayor. Since the case involves Mayor Hu, I need to be vigilant.”

After a moment of contemplation, Nie Zhenbang said slowly, “Shanming, Hu Fei’s case is not as straightforward as it seems based on the information we have right now. This afternoon, Comrade Jiujin from the tax bureau reported to me – while investigating the accounts of Feitian Company, the tax officials found some suspicious entries. There seems to be possible money laundering.”

Nie Zhenbang paused for a second to explain, “Shanming, a shell company with such dubious financial data is quite suspicious. Moreover, considering Hu Fei’s networking background and social circle, there might be potential bribery involved in these transactions. So I called to remind you not to let Hu Jiawang and his son meet before we draw a clear conclusion.”

No sooner had Nie Zhenbang finished his sentence than Xiao Shanming froze. He then lowered his voice, “Mayor, it might be too late. Mayor Hu has just been here. One of our colleagues, not considering the significance of the case, has already allowed Mayor Hu to communicate with Hu Fei.”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang’s eyebrows furrowed. Hu Jiawang’s swift reaction exceeded his expectations. However, on second thought, this might not be a bad thing. If Hu Jiawang remained overly calm, it might imply no involvement on his part. Now, it seemed likely that Hu Jiawang was involved.

After some thought, Nie Zhenbang nodded, “Since it’s this way, let’s end it here. Pretend it never happened. In the future, take special care not to let any information related to Hu Jiawang get through. Understand?”

The situation had developed to this point, there was no point in blaming anyone. The most important thing was not to alert Hu Jiawang. Even though Hu Jiawang seemed cautious, people could always have a lapse of judgement.

…

The situation with Hu Jiawang could only be left as is for now. At this level, any action needed solid evidence and principles. Acting on mere speculation, like Hu Jiawang previously did, resulted not only in embarrassment for Yi Mingyang and Tian Xujian but also landed him a demerit. Ultimately, Hu Jiawang was too trustful of his son.

He lost his discernment on such a matter and eventually harmed himself. As it stands, taking down Hu Jiawang seems simple, but it isn’t. Superior officials like Yi Mingyang and Tian Xujian will undoubtedly intervene. Without concrete evidence against Hu Jiawang, mere conjecture would seem like Nie Zhenbang was settling personal scores.

Now, Nie Zhenbang didn’t have many options left. He could only hope for the tax bureau to investigate Feitian Company’s account books piece by piece and find out about the suspicious transactions. However, it must be said, matters like these are far from straightforward.

The next day, Nie Zhenbang got up early as usual. He did a form of Shape-Intent Fist in the yard, much to the disdain of Tian Xujian, the municipal party secretary who was stretching next to him. Nie Zhenbang, a high-ranking official, still indulging in such martial activities ruined the image of high-level party cadres.

However, Tian Xujian kept those thoughts to himself. The party committee didn’t control personal hobbies and interests. It wasn’t as if practicing Shape-Intent Fist was causing harm. On the contrary, it was a good way of keeping fit.

Around seven-thirty, Yang Anna, dressed in her pajamas, emerged from her room. Given her daughter Yah’s young age, she wasn’t in a rush to go to work, and she spent most of her time idling around Wanghai City. If not for Mama Zhang’s company, she might have become clinically bored.

After cleaning up, Nie Zhenbang jokingly greeted Yang Anna, “Living in Wanghai City probably feels suffocating, right?”

Yang Anna replied with a smile, “Humph, do you think I have nowhere else to go? Mrs Lin and Ms Zhang often come over to keep me company. It’s just that Yah is still young, and I don’t go out much.”

Nie Zhenbang was familiar with Lin Dajie, the wife of the executive deputy mayor, Wang Jianhua. She had come with Wang Jianhua when he was transferred to Wanghai City and was engaged in some idle work for the Disabled Persons’ Federation. The Disabled Persons’ Federation, the Women’s Federation, the Federation of Industry and Commerce, the General Workers’ Union, among others, have numerous leaders’ family members working. On the one hand, they have a job and earn a salary. On the other hand, they work at a leisurely pace. The leaders are busy with tons of work, and domestic chores naturally need to be taken care of by the wives. If they were swapped with jobs that leave them no time to breathe, would there be any peace left in their households?

Zhang Jie was An Guoyu’s wife. Nowadays, in officialdom, nepotism is quite important. Utilizing connections through the wives is, of course, a path to follow. Nie Zhenbang didn’t mind this. Yang Anna was born into a family that is well-versed in politics. She knew her boundaries pretty well. He didn’t worry about smaller matters and could absolutely trust her on crucial issues. This had an advantage in that it let the other party feel at ease.

Listening to Yang Anna’s words, Nie Zhenbang chuckled, “That’s not a bad idea. I reckon we could also invite the wives of Minister Zihui or Director Xiao Shanming. Then you could all gather for a game of mahjong, couldn’t you?”

At this moment, Yang Anna pouted. Nie Zhenbang was intentionally poking fun at her, knowing full well that she had no interest in playing cards. Glancing at him, she complained, “Humph! You’re such a chatterbox. You better go to work now. Be careful not to be late and tarnish your impeccable punctuality record, Mayor Nie.”

…

Just as Nie Zhenbang entered the City Hall, he heard a voice from behind, “Mayor Nie!”

At this moment, Hu Jiawang came in through the door with a smile, saying, “Mayor Nie, you’re up early.”

In response to Hu Jiawang’s composed demeanor, Nie Zhenbang sneered internally. To remain so calm at such a time, he was indeed extraordinary. @@novelbin@@

From the side, the elevator pings and arrives at the first floor. At this time, the staff of the City Hall would never compete with the leaders for the elevator. Nie Zhenbang stepped inside, smiling as he said, “Old Hu, I heard that Lord Ling’s son has been detained by the public security bureau for tax evasion in his company.”

Upon mentioning this, Hu Jiawang’s face betrayed a pained expression. He nodded and said, “Mayor Nie, I feel ashamed to talk about this. Regarding my child’s education, I’ve failed as a father. I fell grossly short of my responsibilities. My audacious son has dared to evade taxes and even tried to bribe the tax law enforcement officers. I am thoroughly disappointed with him. Letting him learn his lesson behind bars is perhaps for the best.”

With that, Hu Jiawang continued with a smile, “Mayor Nie, I’ve recently had some ideas about the agriculture and forestry work. I’d like to discuss them with you.”

Nie Zhenbang casually replied, “Ah, Mayor Hu, let’s talk about it another time. Right now, the city is preparing to welcome the annual audit from the national health inspection team. This is related to Wanghai City’s evaluation as a National Health City. We can’t be careless. We’ll have a detailed discussion later on.”

In Wanghai City, farmland is scarce. When it comes to agriculture, forestry, aquatic, and animal husbandry, there isn’t much to discuss. Hu Jiawang saying so serves two purposes. First, he wants to test Nie Zhenbang’s reaction to see if he had any idea about the intricacies behind the current case. The other intention is to show Nie Zhenbang his obedience and win favor. But is that possible? It’s difficult to restore trust once it’s lost. Nie Zhenbang would no longer trust Hu Jiawang.

Upon entering his office, Li Jupeng stood up and said quietly, “Mayor, Director Xue of the local tax bureau has come. He’s waiting in your office.”

Entering the office, Xue Jiujin was drinking tea from a teacup. As soon as Nie Zhenbang came in, he stood up, but Nie Zhenbang signaled him to sit and kindly said, “That’s enough, Comrade Jiujin. Spare me the formalities. Do you have any leads?”

At this, Xue Jiujin looked somewhat awkward. Looking at Nie Zhenbang, he said in a low voice, “Mayor, the leads have hit a dead end?”

“A dead end? What happened?” Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

Xue Jiujin explained, “Mayor, regarding Feitian Company’s transactions, according to the investigation, three transactions involving 2 million, 800 thousand, and 1.3 million, respectively, were made in cash, and there’s no way to investigate the recipient accounts. The accounts from which the funds were transferred were all anonymous accounts opened many years ago, before the implementation of the real-name deposit system. This is where the investigation has stalled.”