大雪无痕09

The three Audi cars went straight from the airport to the main yard of the Party Provincial Committee. Before the plane took off, Zzhung Huan had called back to Gu, “I want to have a talk with our comrades.” Gu asked, “Whom are you going to meet? I’ll inform them in advance.” Zzhung then asked his secretary to send to Gu over fax a list which was prepared beforehand. At this time, these comrades had already been waiting at the meeting room of the Standing Committee of the Party Provincial Committee. Gu had intended to invite Zzhung to his office for a rest and let the doctors (The experts from the Provincial People’s Hospital were now in the third Audi.) have a routine examination. It was not late if the doctors consented to his going into the meeting-room. But Zzhung only stayed in the office for a short time. He drank a little of his favorable tea and asked the secretary to send him the attendance list, checking who were present and who had asked for leave. He made a special mark beside the name of that comrade after knowing the reason for his absence. Then he got up and said, “Let’s go. Don’t make them wait too long.”

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Maybe they had heard of something beforehand. There was a rare caution and tension, which could be felt by people familiar with this level of political life, though the atmosphere in the meeting-room seemed as calm and peaceful as before.

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Zzhung didn’t talk with the comrades in charge of public security or criminal investigating, not because he was unconcerned about solving the case. He had planned to listen to such reports, but he thought the graveness of the ‘Dec. 18^th’ Case lay in the ‘possible’ involvement of some people in the Provincial and Municipal authorities into the Eastern Steel Company’s share case. As the highest leader of the Party Provincial Committee, he had to evaluate this matter and guard the pass politically.

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“All present are the main leaders of the five departments at the Municipal and Provincial levels. You have probably heard of what has happened recently. The Provincial Anti-Corruption Leading Group, after asking the Party Central Committee for instructions, has decided to inform you of the two cases. It has been made quite clear that Secretary Zhang was murdered. The motive to murder him is probably to conceal the truth about the Eastern Steel Company’s share case because only he and Xiong Fuping knew to whom the three thousand internal shares were sent. After Secretary Zhang was killed, Xiong also died of myocardial infarction yesterday. The public security and Procuratorate sent some people to have a sudden search of their homes, but nothing has been obtained. Now it can be said that all the clues related to the share case have been disrupted. Our adversary has rich experience and had done a good job. But the Central leaders have instructed us to make a thorough investigation of the shooting case as well as the share case behind it no matter how arduous the task is.” Then Zzhung paused a while. His voice was clear and slow. His wording was brief but precise. He never develops a theme randomly or shows an ambiguous attitude. If he really shows an attitude, it must have been made after a deep consideration and is sure to be put into effect. His idea is not easy to change, let alone be denied. So everyone would listen attentively to his speech which was not humorous as some other leaders’. They all took his speech seriously. “It has been widely spread that a proportion of the internal shares of the Eastern Steel Company have been sent to some people in our departments. The Central leaders hope that it is just a rumor. But they also hope that I inform you beforehand at the meeting. If any comrade has accepted the shares against the principle and Party spirit, it’ll never be too late for him to confess the truth to the Organization. The Party still encourages us to learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones. We’ll give you two days’ time. Within the two days, you can talk with anyone of the Anti-Corruption Leading Group. You can even go directly to the hospital for a visit. I have informed the hospital side not to stop those who want to have a talk with me. If not convenient, you can go directly to Beijing and talk with members of the Central Discipline Inspecting Committee. For the convenience of later work, Gu and I will show our attitudes. I assure you with Party spirit that I have never taken an internal share of the Eastern Steel Company.” Saying this, he raised his right hand symbolically.

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Gu Youcai, with whiskers, also raised his right hand and said loudly, “I will assure you that I haven’t taken the shares.”

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It remained silent for a couple of seconds.

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Just before Secretary Sun of the Provincial Discipline Inspecting Committee, who presided over the meeting was about to declare it over, Secretary Qin of the Party Municipal Committee raised his hand and said, “I haven’t taken those shares.” Then the fourth, the fifth… all raised their hands. In a short time, all the leaders present raised their hands and assured that they hadn’t taken the internal shares and had nothing to do with the murder. Then where on earth had the three hundred internal shares gone? Did the murder of Secretary Zhang have nothing to do with the shares? Is it completely unnecessary for Zzhung to fly from the far-away Hainan with a poor health and hold the meeting? Is he making a fuss or just seeking trouble for himself?

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It got silent, so silent so that there seemed to be an explosion occurring at once. Secretary Sun of the Provincial Discipline Inspecting Committee who was chairing the meeting peered at Secretary Zzhung, wanting to know what he might say or do now. Zzhung took up his thermos and said at an ordinary speed, “The meeting is over.”

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