Chapter 300: Chapter 298 Tears of the Old Soldier_1
“A few bosses, are you going on a trip to Dameng County?” As the vehicle left the airport, the driver of the nine-seat business car from FAW suddenly started talking.

This statement left everyone momentarily stunned. The quickest to respond, Gao Wei, chuckled and said, “Old driver, good eyesight. Nowadays, life is comfortable, the people are stable. We’re among the first to prosper, taking advantage of the end of the year. A few friends and brothers came out for a spin. We’re heading to Dameng County, the old revolutionary base, for a visit, to pay homage to the revolutionary martyrs, to experience the places where revolutionary ancestors fought and lived. It’s kind of a learning experience. Additionally, this is also a business opportunity inspection. Maybe we can consider making some investments in Dameng County.”

This Gao Wei, a native of Jingcheng with a smooth Beijing accent, could keep talking for half a day if needed.

At this moment, the old driver laughed and said, “Young man, within our Ludong, Dameng County has quite a reputation. Touring is fine, but investment…hehe.”

[The implication in the driver’s words caught Nie Zhenbang’s attention, and he immediately asked, “Old driver, from your tone, it doesn’t seem like Dameng County has a good reputation. It was a revolutionary base and firmly supported the Revolution, how could it be unfit for investment?”

When it came to these matters, it seemed like the old driver was unwilling to delve further. After a while, he shook his head and said, “Ah, this Dameng County. It’s infamous in Ludong. Countless bosses got stuck and couldn’t get out. You guys, be careful. You’re young, making a fortune isn’t easy.”

From the driver’s words, Nie Zhenbang and Gao Wei exchanged a glance. It seemed that Dameng County was quite complex. Nie Zhenbang didn’t believe in the term “investment black hole”, a term which implies that what seems like a fat slice of meat turns out to be poison.

It appeared that the county leadership team of Dameng County might be as corrupt as old soldier Zhang Changgeng said. The entire county of Dameng might be rotten.

For a moment, everyone fell silent. Gao Wei’s staff began to conserve their energy.

After a simple roadside meal, they finally entered Dameng County around four-thirty in the afternoon.

The sight of the entire county left Nie Zhenbang stunned. This place was extremely backward. The entire county only consisted of two or three streets. There were not many pedestrians, it seemed somewhat desolate and quiet.

They found a small inn called the Red Sun Guesthouse close to the bus station in Dameng County. Seven people, four rooms in total. Two in each room, and Nie Zhenbang got a single room.

After they had settled in, Nie Zhenbang said to Gao Wei and Zheng Gensheng, “Wei Zi, Old Zheng, gather the others for a brief meeting.”

Inside Nie Zhenbang’s standard room, there was no differentiation of ranking. Nie Zhenbang sat on a chair, with Gao Wei and Old Zheng sitting by the bed, and the others settled themselves. Looking around, Nie Zhenbang spoke solemnly, “Comrades. Now that we’ve arrived in Dameng County, this means that starting today, our work begins. Director Gao, you four comrades, including Xiao Zhao, are my seniors on the Inspectorate line, Director Zheng and I still have a lot to learn from you.”

Nie Zhenbang paused before continuing, “On this occasion, since we are investigating Dameng County, we did not inform the Ludong Province Disciplinary Committee and Dongmeng District Disciplinary Committee. Thus, our investigation is considered undercover. It should not be made public. Also, to prevent the Secretary of the Dameng County Committee from concealing and destroying evidence after being alerted, hampering the investigation, I hereby reiterate our discipline. Everyone has to remain highly alert and avoid startling the snake by hitting the grass.”

After that, Nie Zhenbang turned to Gao Wei, “Director Gao, do you have anything else you wish to add?”

Although Nie Zhenbang led the investigation, Gao Wei was aware of his role. Despite Nie Zhenbang’s abilities and connections, this was his first participation in a disciplinary inspection case. He was still in a learning phase. The real responsibility still fell on them. Immediately, Gao Wei took the opportunity to delegate tasks, ordering, “Using this opportunity, let me assign tasks for tomorrow.”

“Xiao Zhao, Xiao Song, you two are our famous Zhao-Song duo from the Sixth Division. This time, you two will be responsible for finding the veteran who reported the issue. This is the address. Both of you, secretly find the whistleblower and bring him back. Record his statement and investigate based on the circumstances he described.”

After a pause, Gao Wei turned to Xiao Zhang, “Xiao Bai, you and Xiao Zhang are responsible for verifying the veteran’s letter. Everyone, let’s take action tomorrow.”

No words were spoken that night.

Dameng County was the embodiment of the impoverished, particularly difficult mountain areas in China in the early 1990s. There were a few deserted streets. Commercial activities were scarce and the economy was weak.

There was no entertainment or amusement here. Once night fell, the streets were so empty you could practically catch a ghost.