I Only Wanted to Be a Low-Level Government Official - Chapter 3: Work of the Provisional Discipline Inspection Commission

The building is in the style of the 1990s, with peeling paint on the walls. Two people in uniforms stand at the entrance, their backs ramrod straight.

“Follow me.” Wang Jianguo said without turning his head.

The group walked through the hall.

There was no one at the front desk, and a handwritten sign next to the elevator read “Under Repair”.

They walked up the stairs to the fifth floor. The corridor was covered with a dark red carpet, which felt dull underfoot and absorbed all the sound of their footsteps.

The conference room door was open, and dozens of people were already seated inside.

The long tables were arranged in a U-shape, filled with smoke—several heavy smokers were smoking, and the ashtrays were piled high with cigarette butts.

As they entered, many people looked up and scrutinized them with their eyes.

Qin Feng found a corner to sit down, trying to minimize his presence.

A few minutes later, a man in his fifties with gray hair walked in.

The meeting room fell silent instantly, and those who were smoking quickly put out their cigarettes.

“I am Cheng Kaiyang, Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.” The man’s voice was loud and clear, without a microphone, but every word was distinct. “Everyone is here, let’s start the meeting.”

Qin Feng sat up straighter.

Is this the legendary secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission?

He looked more peaceful than expected, but when his eyes swept across the room, Qin Feng felt as if he had been seen through.

“After deliberation by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and approval by the Provincial Party Committee, our city has been ordered to investigate a number of cadres suspected of violating discipline and laws.” Cheng Kaiyang got straight to the point. “The people present here are elite personnel drawn from the city’s discipline inspection and supervision system and other departments.”

Starting today, you will be temporarily separated from your original work units and will work here together.

Some people nodded, while others took notes.

“The task is heavy and the time is tight,” Cheng Kaiyang continued. “We will now divide into groups, with each group responsible for several individuals to be reviewed.”

The work requirements can be summarized in eight words: Be realistic and pragmatic, and act in accordance with regulations and discipline.

The group list is now being read aloud.

Qin Feng pricked up his ears, and his heart skipped a beat when he heard his own name.

“Qin Feng, the twentieth temporary working group.”

Group 20… sounds like a backup group.

After the meeting, each group leader led their group.

Wang Jianguo stood at the door, holding a list in his hand: “Group 20, this way.”

Qin Feng followed, making a total of eight people including him.

He quickly glanced at them—apart from Wang Jianguo, the other six were all unfamiliar faces, men and women, and they all looked older than him.

“I am Wang Jianguo, the team leader,” Wang Jianguo introduced himself briefly. “This is Liu Fang, the deputy team leader, from the county discipline inspection commission.”

Qin Feng’s eyelids twitched when he heard the name “Liu Fang”.

Upon closer inspection, she was a woman in her thirties with short hair and black-rimmed glasses, completely different from the innocent, naive woman she had worked with at the previous company.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Qin Feng, a newly recruited employee of the Municipal Agriculture Bureau.”

When Wang Jianguo called out his name, he glanced at him specifically.

Qin Feng nodded quickly.

“Tao Yang, Municipal Science and Technology Bureau.”

“Fang Fang, Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau.”

“Ding Jiahui, County Water Resources Bureau.”

“Jia Hu, County Party Committee Office.”

“Xu Lei, Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.”

After the introduction, Wang Jianguo led them to a room at the end of the corridor.

The doorplate reads “502,” and below it, a piece of A4 paper is taped with the words “Group 20” written in hand.

Pushing open the door, you enter a suite that has been converted into an office.

There were four tables in the outer room and four more in the inner room.

The windows were closed, and there was a faint musty smell in the air.

“The conditions are basic, but please bear with it.” Wang Jianguo placed a stack of documents on the table. “Our group has a heavy workload. We are responsible for investigating a total of nine people who have violated discipline, including two district-level leaders, four county-level leaders, and…”

He paused, his gaze falling on Qin Feng’s face: “Li Guofu, Director of the Municipal Agriculture Bureau.”

Qin Feng’s mind went blank.

Director of the Agriculture Bureau?

Li Guofu?

His future boss?

Why investigate him before he’s even reported for duty?

What’s that saying again? — The first sword strike after landing is to slay the one you love.

But when it came to him, the first thing he did after getting ashore was to kill his own leader.

How am I supposed to get by after this?

Even if Li Guofu really had problems and was investigated, and a new director was appointed, who would dare to hire this troublemaker who “participated in investigating his old leader as soon as he joined the company”?

Qin Feng felt a bitter taste in his mouth, as if he had swallowed a bitter herb.

“Qin Feng,” Wang Jianguo called to him.

“Here!” Qin Feng replied instinctively.

“You’re in charge of Li Guofu’s files,” Wang Jianguo said, pushing the thickest folder over. “Look through it carefully and find any suspicious points or clues.”

Qin Feng reluctantly accepted the folder.

Under the plastic cover, the first page was Li Guofu’s cadre appointment and removal approval form, with a two-inch photo pasted in the upper right corner—a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a square face, slightly overweight, and a fake smile.

Below the photo, the job title column reads: Party Secretary and Director of the Jiangdong Municipal Bureau of Agriculture.

Qin Feng stared at the photo, silently thinking: “Boss, it’s not that I want to investigate you, it’s the organization that ordered me to. If you’re innocent, I’ll definitely give you justice. If you have problems… well, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Have you all received the materials?” Wang Jianguo looked around. “One for each person. Let’s familiarize ourselves with the basic information first.”

Two requirements: First, read carefully; second, write down any problems you find, the more detailed the better. We’ll discuss this in a meeting tomorrow morning.

The room fell silent, save for the sound of turning pages.

Qin Feng opened the folder.

The following is basic personal information: Li Guofu, 56 years old, a member of the Communist Party of China, has served as a township cadre, deputy mayor, mayor, deputy county magistrate, chairman of the county CPPCC, etc. Five years ago, he was transferred to the position of director of the municipal agricultural bureau.

The following is a summary of the petition and complaint materials.

Qin Feng counted them; there were a total of twenty-three items, spanning seven years.

Some were anonymous, some were identified by their real names;

Some were printed, some were handwritten.

The issues are varied: unfair project approvals, misappropriation of poverty alleviation funds, relatives contracting out projects…

Qin Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

If this is all true, Li Guofu could be imprisoned for several years.

But what if it’s fake?

Qin Feng recalled what his instructor had said during training: whistleblower letters can only serve as clues, not as evidence. Some people, driven by personal grudges, will throw any kind of mud at you.

He took a deep breath and began to examine each item carefully.

First complaint: Three years ago, the Municipal Agriculture Bureau promoted the “High-Yield Corn Demonstration Project”. Li Guofu designated the project to his cousin’s company, and the winning bid was 30% higher than the market price.

Qin Feng frowned.

This requires checking the tender documents, contract, payment receipts, etc.

Article 2: Last year, the agricultural machinery station under the Agricultural Bureau purchased a batch of tractors. Li Guofu accepted bribes from the supplier and purchased substandard products.

This requires checking procurement records, quality inspection reports, user feedback, etc.

Article 3: Li Guofu’s son runs an agricultural technology company in the provincial capital and has repeatedly undertaken business from units under the Agricultural Bureau, which is suspected of involving the transfer of benefits.

Qin Feng paused for a moment.

If this is true, then the problem is serious.

He was engrossed in watching when someone nudged his arm.

It’s Tao Yang, from the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau. He looks to be in his early thirties and wears frameless glasses.

“Brother, which bureau are you from?” Tao Yang asked in a low voice.

“Agricultural Bureau”.

Tao Yang’s eyes lit up, then quickly dimmed: “So you’re… investigating your own boss?”

Qin Feng smiled wryly: “Of course. What about you?”

“I’m investigating a deputy director in our bureau.” Tao Yang pushed up his glasses. “I’ve met him a few times in meetings; he seems like a very amiable person. But now, looking at these whistleblower letters, I’m starting to doubt if it’s the same person.”

The two looked at each other, both feeling a sense of absurdity.

“Do you think we’re killing each other?” Tao Yang joked.

“I’d call it an internal cleanup,” Qin Feng said. “Didn’t the instructor say during training that discipline inspection and supervision is like the human body’s immune system? You have to clear out the bad cells for the body to be healthy?”

“You’re very conscientious.” Tao Yang gave a thumbs up and leaned closer. “Seriously, aren’t you nervous? My palms are all sweaty.”

Qin Feng spread out his hands—they were wet too.

“Likewise.”

Around 4 p.m., deputy team leader Liu Fang stood up and said, “Everyone, take a ten-minute break. You can go out for some fresh air, but don’t go too far.”

Qin Feng felt as if he had been granted a pardon, put down his pen, and walked out of the room.

There was a small balcony at the end of the corridor. He walked over and found that someone was already there—it was Fang Fang from his group, the one from the Medical Insurance Bureau. She looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and was leaning against the railing, lost in thought.

“Sorry to bother you,” Qin Feng said.

“It’s nothing.” Fang Fang turned around and smiled. “You’ve come out to find some peace and quiet too?”

“Yeah, I’m getting dizzy from reading all this information.”

“I’m investigating a deputy county head in our county,” Fang Fang said. “The whistleblower letter said that when his wife was hospitalized, he had someone manipulate the medical insurance reimbursement process, resulting in an over-reporting of more than 100,000 yuan.”

“Has it been verified?”

“They’re investigating,” Fang Fang sighed. “But I don’t think it’s very likely. I know his wife has breast cancer, and it’s cost a lot of money. It’s not worth taking that risk for a few hundred thousand yuan.”

Qin Feng didn’t reply.

At times like this, nothing you say is appropriate.

When they returned to the room, Wang Jianguo was talking to Jia Hu.

Jia Hu works in the county party committee office; he seems to be a veteran of the organization, speaking in a calm and unhurried manner.

“Team Leader Wang, I’ve reviewed the materials on the district leader I’m in charge of,” Jia Hu said. “There have been quite a few whistleblower reports, but many are just baseless accusations. One report claims that his son owns a company, but in reality, his son is studying in the UK and isn’t even in China.”

“Yes, we’ve verified it.” Wang Jianguo nodded. “We need to investigate the problem, but we can’t wrongly accuse innocent people.”

This statement seemed to be addressed to everyone.

Qin Feng sat back down and continued looking at Li Guofu’s file. When he turned to the last page, he froze—it was a photocopy of bank statements for Li Guofu’s personal account, for the past three years.

He read through it line by line.

Salary deposited, daily expenses, nothing unusual.

Until he saw a transfer from last August: 200,000 yuan was transferred from Li Guofu’s account to an unfamiliar personal account.

The remarks section reads: Loan.

Qin Feng frowned.

Two hundred thousand is not a small amount. Who was it lent to? Why was it lent to? Is there a written IOU? What was the interest rate?

He glanced at the account name, which was completely unfamiliar: Zhang Jianhua.

Qin Feng folded a corner of the page and wrote it down in his notebook: On August 15, 2019, Li Guofu transferred 200,000 yuan to Zhang Jianhua, with the note “loan”.

It is necessary to verify Zhang Jianhua’s identity, the reason for the loan, and whether it has been repaid.

After writing this, he glanced at the time: 5:40 PM.

The sky outside the window darkened.

Wang Jianguo stood up: “That’s all for today. The documents cannot be taken out of the room; they must all be locked in the safe. We’ll start promptly at eight o’clock tomorrow.”

Qin Feng closed the folder, his heart heavy.

He glanced at Li Guofu’s photo. The square-faced, slightly chubby middle-aged man was still smiling at him.

“Boss, oh boss,” Qin Feng thought to himself, “you absolutely must remain innocent. Otherwise, my job might be ruined before I even have a chance to enjoy it.”