Chapter 114: Financial Discipline

  Back in the countryside, Ye Pingyu spoke about the ban on eating at restaurants during the morning meeting the next day. He demanded that no one be allowed to eat at restaurants under the name of the village from now on. The village's finances are currently empty and they can't even afford to cook a meal. If everyone continues to eat like this, he as the village head will have no choice but to go into hiding to avoid debt.

  As he said this, the people attending the meeting below couldn't help but secretly laugh. Ye Pingyu was not old, but as a village head, he had also learned to be witty and humorous during meetings, while still making things clear, which was also a skill.

  Following Ye Pingyu's words, Zhao Yuangong also emphasized a few points, on which he reached consensus with Ye Pingyu. Ye Pingyu spoke lightly, while Zhao Yuangong spoke heavily, showing his identity as the head of the county committee. When he spoke like this, the cadres below couldn't help but take it seriously. Both the first and second in command emphasized that if they ate randomly outside, they would be the ones to bear the responsibility.

  After finishing this matter, the two arranged some routine work for the near future, and then the meeting was dismissed. After the dismissal, Zhao Yuangong informed him: "Mayor Ye, after the meeting, hold a two-committee meeting to study the recent work."

  Upon hearing this, Ye Pingyu had no opinion. After the meeting was dismissed, all members of the two committees were notified by Bai Yun to gather in a small conference room upstairs.

  After arriving at the conference room, Ye Pingyu didn't have many scruples and directly went to the conference room first. If following convention, he should probably be walking in last with Zhao Yuangong.

  After entering, Ye Pingyu saw that several party committee members had already sat down and went forward to greet them. Organization Committee member Chi Jun and People's Armed Department Director Xie Qiang were originally Cao Dafu's people, and when they saw him arrive, they also politely greeted him.

  The current party committee members in the countryside are still short of a propaganda commissioner, and since Gao Kesin's promotion, they have not been fully staffed. The other deputy secretaries and party committee members are still the same old group, and in front of Ye Pingyu, they are old-timers. Now that Ye Pingyu has become the township head, to be honest, they are somewhat disobedient.

  But Ye Pingyu is now showing great astuteness, whether in speaking or doing things, or in putting forward some propositions, they all feel that he has a clear and well-reasoned approach, and dare not underestimate him.

  Zhao Yuangong was also, originally he didn't dare to underestimate Ye Pingyu, now seeing Ye Pingyu slowly showing the demeanor of a village head, he even more didn't dare not take him seriously, as the number one person in the village, he had to grasp the overall situation at all times, otherwise if he underestimated his opponent, there would be a possibility of losing power.

  Today's meeting was initiated by him, mainly to study and discuss the current family planning work, the rural three collections and five unifications. The three collections and five unifications are taxes paid by rural masses, also known as agricultural tax later on, most of the township's finances rely on this to maintain operation, due to fewer enterprises, tax revenue is a small head.

  The meeting began with Zhao Yuangong asking Ye Pingyu to introduce the current financial situation. Ye Pingyu explained the current financial difficulties and mentioned that he had gone to the county finance bureau for money yesterday. Although the money finally arrived, it was only enough to pay the teachers' salaries, and other expenses were still not covered, so everyone had to be frugal and cut costs.

  Recently, due to financial constraints, the non-payment of wages has caused people to be on edge. Now that Ye Pingyu has finally brought the money back from the county, everyone's eyes lit up, feeling that Ye Pingyu is quite capable, having solved this major problem as soon as he arrived, and they can't help but look at him with newfound respect.

  After Ye Pingyu finished speaking, Zhao Yuangong swept the meeting room with his eyes and said: "Just now, Secretary Ye talked about the financial situation of our township. He and I are under great pressure. In the past, we spent money lavishly without any constraints, which has led to our current deficit. If we continue like this, our township will not be able to operate normally. Therefore, we must strengthen financial discipline and not allow a single cent to be wasted randomly. The issue of eating for free has been discussed before, so I won't say more about it here. What I want to emphasize now is that spending money must follow procedures and cannot violate rules. For all expenditures, we will continue to implement the 'one pen' system required by the county, where every expenditure must be approved by Secretary Ye. Otherwise, the finance department will not pay for it. Recently, someone reported to me that the finance department secretly reimbursed some accounts. Such behavior must be strictly prohibited. In addition, from now on, any single expenditure over 5,000 yuan must not only be signed by Secretary Ye but also reported to me and approved before payment can be made. During this difficult time for our township, we must strictly enforce financial discipline. I hope everyone can recognize the importance of this matter and consciously abide by this rule."

  Zhao Yuangong spoke seriously about this issue, leaving everyone feeling confused and unclear why he suddenly brought it up. The matter of eating on the company's tab had been discussed that morning, but now he was talking again about financial discipline. Had someone violated financial discipline? Or was he hinting at the finance department, implying that Liang Jun was in trouble? What did it mean to require approval for expenses over 5,000 yuan? Was he trying to undermine Ye Pingyu's authority?

  Ye Pingyu sat there listening attentively to Zhao Yuangong's speech, his expression calm and unresponsive. However, in his heart, he understood why Zhao Yuangong was saying this. Yesterday, when he gave Wang Fangyun 5,000 yuan without consulting Zhao Yuangong first, although nothing was said at the time, now a red line had been drawn - a 5,000-yuan red line that was clearly aimed at him, intended to warn him not to act arbitrarily in the future and to report to him before taking action, otherwise he would be punished.

  To be honest, he didn't mean to confront Zhao Yuankong at this time. He didn't report the matter to him yesterday, it was a momentary mistake that let Wang Fangyun get confused, so he directly agreed to pay the money. If not for this reason, he probably wouldn't have acted arbitrarily. But Zhao Yuankong reacted quickly, and by doing so, he restrained his power while also warning him to be more careful in the future, revealing a glimpse of his tactics.

  This is still a minor matter, Zhao Yuangong's criticism of the finance department has caught his attention even more. He feels that Zhao Yuangong may use this incident to adjust Liang Jun's position as head of the finance department. If it were in the past, he would really want to get rid of Liang Jun, but now the situation has changed and with Liang Jun around, a balance can be formed, so the entire Caolingzi Township won't fall under one person's control. Therefore, on this matter, he must make his stance clear.

  Zhao Yuangong finished speaking, and Liu Yanwei followed up by saying: "The finance department is now a bit of a name that doesn't match reality. They have money but can't report it. The last time Secretary Zhao signed a document for me, it still hasn't been reported out. They say there's no money, but what the situation really is, I don't dare to say. However, after hearing Secretary Zhao just now, I finally know that the finance department secretly paid the money to someone else. Where's the money to pay us? I think this matter needs to be rectified. If it can't be rectified, then we need to replace people!"

  Zhao Yuangong's words were still somewhat obscure, but Liu Yanwei was stark naked, just like the last time Zhao Yuncai changed, almost for the same reason. Originally, Zhao Yuangong had signed his name, and it must have been approved by Cao Dafu. If Cao Dafu didn't approve, Liang Jun wouldn't pay them. Liu Yanwei always followed behind Zhao Yuangong, so Cao Dafu would definitely teach him a lesson and not let him get away with it.

  Who would have thought that now the situation has changed, and it's Zhao Yuangong's turn to take charge. Liu Yanwei naturally brought up this matter, and at this time, the other two committee members became onlookers. Even Wu Zhenquan didn't speak up, although he wasn't from the same faction as Zhao Yuangong, but not being able to become the village head still made him very angry, so how could he care about others?

  Moreover, Liu Yanwei said that there was no clear statement about replacing people, and the other two committee members did not dare to say much, letting him perform there.

  After some thought, Ye Pingyu felt that on this matter, he couldn't not show his attitude. Zhao Yuangong's convening of the meeting today seemed to be targeting him, although it was true that they had a good relationship before. However, power is not something that won't produce conflicts just because of personal relationships. His self-criticism earlier was also very normal. If he were in Zhao's shoes, he would probably do the same thing too. Otherwise, problems would arise over time. No one is a fool.

  Although he dislikes Liang Jun, he now needs Liang Jun's support. Liang Jun has his strengths in certain aspects, such as having a way with people. If he were to speak up for him now, on the one hand, it would make him grateful, and on the other hand, it would make Cao Da Fu's original followers willing to stand by his side, which is a very effective political tactic.

  So weighing the pros and cons, he decided to support Liang's army for a bit and speak up for them.

  After clearing his throat, Ye Pingyu calmly sat down and said: "Just now, Secretary Zhao proposed strengthening financial discipline, I fully agree. Originally, the financial situation was indeed chaotic, spending money at will, and expenses were also at will. Any cadre could go to a restaurant to sign for meals, and if this continues, we will eventually be eaten away. Now that Secretary Zhao has proposed strengthening financial discipline, I think it is very timely and necessary. Yesterday, Wang Fangyun came to me to settle accounts, which made me blush with shame. As soon as I took office, I encountered such a problem, and anyone would feel embarrassed if they were in my shoes. This is also the reason why I demanded that white slips be prohibited for eating. Without rules, there will be no square. Now that we have established this rule, we must follow it, but for past events, we cannot blame any individual. The reason for the chaos was that we did not establish good rules in the past, and ignorance is not a crime. For those cadres who used white slips to eat and drink in the past, we will not make them accountable, but for those who continue to violate our financial discipline in the future, we must take action. This matter should be clearly explained to the finance department. As long as the finance department resolutely implements this requirement, I believe their work will be done very well. We need to distinguish between past and future problems. We are a new team with new rules. For past events, I suggest not pursuing them too much, but for the future, we must strictly pursue them!"