It’s just like finding relics on a construction site. Any unit or person discovering relics should protect the site and immediately report to the local cultural relics administrative department. The discovered relics belong to the state, and no unit or person may loot, divide, or conceal them.

Underground relics, any unit or person is not allowed to excavate privately.

Replace the relics with hot springs, and the cultural relics department with the Natural Resources Administration Bureau, and it’s the same thing.

Xu Chunliang said, "They have so much power, and even if they issue a notice, it should come from the Natural Resources Administration Bureau to us. When did it become the turn of the Ecological Environment Construction Investment Co., Ltd.?"

Pu Jian said, "That company is actually privately contracted. Ding Si knows the boss there. The two groups are at odds and almost got into a fight just now. Luckily, I pulled them apart."

Xu Chunliang said, "Doesn’t the town know? You should contact the deputy town mayor in charge of natural resources, Li Guangtian."

"What does he count for! Apart from mediating, he doesn’t say a word to help us. He even says if the higher-ups tell us to stop the work, we should comply. I’m baffled. The hot springs are already protected, the courtyard walls are up, what business do they have with our construction on this side of the workshop? It’s too much to ask us to stop even the restoration work on this side of the workshop, saying they’re worried our reckless construction will harm the water quality of the hot springs. Damn it, they’re the reckless ones."

Xu Chunliang said, "Have you contacted the contractor, Miss Mo?"

Pu Jian said, "She said she’s only responsible for financing, she’s not handling this matter."

Xu Chunliang cursed, "Her grandmother!"

Pu Jian chuckled. If Mo Han knew Xu Chunliang cursed at her grandmother, would she fall out with him?

Pu Jian said, "The key is we don’t know how long they want us to stop work. That so-called ecological investment company sent someone who acts all high and mighty, saying they represent the Natural Resources Administration Bureau, and if we start work in violation, they’ll hold us criminally responsible. If we knew it would be like this, we might as well have plugged up the hot springs and not reported it."

The main purpose of contracting the distillery was the ancient fermentation pool. The hot springs were completely a surprise. Reporting the discovery of the hot springs was to follow proper procedures. Who knew it would cause such a huge problem, even delaying the work on the ancient fermentation pool.

Xu Chunliang told him not to worry, to calm Ding Si’s emotions. Ding Si doesn’t have a good temper, and encountering one thing after another recently, if he can’t control his temper, it could easily escalate the situation.

Hanging up the phone, Mei Ru Xue, who was beside Xu Chunliang, sensed something was wrong, "What’s going on?"

Xu Chunliang told her what was happening. It wasn’t a big deal, and he told her not to get involved. He knew very well that if Mei Ru Xue got involved, she might have to resort to Secretary Zhou, and it wasn’t worth it for such a small matter.

Mei Ru Xue analyzed the situation for him. According to the relevant regulations, it should indeed be handled this way, but what qualifies the Ecological Environment Construction Investment Co., Ltd. to represent the Natural Resources Administration Bureau to issue a stop-work notice? Generally speaking, there must be vested interests involved.

Xu Chunliang thought for a moment and then called Fan Lidada, the director of the National-level Tourist Resort Command Center, to ask him to help understand the situation.

Fan Lidada had been planning to meet Xu Chunliang these past couple of days. Originally, the two of them had decided over drinks to set up the command headquarters office in the Demonstration Zone of the Healthy Elderly Care Hospital. However, he also knew about the recent incident on Weishan Island, where the old lady Jiang Ailian went to the construction site to commit suicide. Fortunately, the project wasn’t completed yet. If their command center had already moved in, this trouble might have affected them.

So Fan Lidada was also having second thoughts, realizing that drinking messes things up. It seems better to go solo and avoid more involvement with local units.

When he heard that the Natural Resources Administration Bureau was giving Xu Chunliang a hard time, Fan Lidada laughed. He was quite familiar with the Natural Resources Administration Bureau, and some of their staff were involved in forming the city’s command center.

Fan Lidada told Xu Chunliang he was familiar with the head of the Natural Resources Administration Bureau, Xie Zhongxin, and could help find out what exactly was going on.

It wasn’t long before Fan Lidada came back with a reply. The discovery of hot springs on Weishan Island had been reported, and someone accused them of under-the-table dealings. The stoppage was not only to protect natural resources but also to investigate the real truth behind the matter, whether there were any illicit benefits being exchanged.

There’s no such thing as coincidence in the world. Equatorial Capital had just acquired the contract rights to the distillery at a low price, and now they’ve dug up hot springs right there.

Xu Chunliang immediately realized this might be a premeditated act of revenge. Mo Han contracted the distillery, and he was the middleman connecting things. The accuser must know the inside story and was clearly targeting Mo Han and himself.

Xu Chunliang quickly listed a few suspicious entities in his mind. The first was Da Heng Group, a competitor to Equatorial Capital. Equatorial Capital had taken several measures against Da Heng, so it’s only normal for Da Heng to retaliate. Plus, Da Heng’s Hot Spring Town was in name only. Getting the right to use the hot springs from Mo Han would be almost impossible in the future.

Using the current policies, if the power is with the Natural Resources Administration Bureau, then gaining the rights even to develop the hot springs isn’t out of the question for them.

Then there’s Qianfan Group. Chen Qianfan was the first one who wanted to take over the distillery, but his target was the ancient fermentation pools. It doesn’t rule out that he could exploit this situation to sabotage things.

In these cases, it’s best to let things sit for a while. The more eager you are, the more others suspect there is a problem. When you step back, you can see others making moves more clearly and respond to them more effectively.

After all, the nominal tenant of the distillery is Mo Han. She’s not in a rush, so if he acts too anxious, others will be even more suspicious of some underhanded dealings in the contracting process.

Besides, the hot springs weren’t originally part of his plan; the focus was on the few ancient fermentation pools in the distillery.

Fan Lidada took this opportunity to tell Xu Chunliang that the issue of the command center’s location had been reported, but it wasn’t approved. They were still required to use the original location.

Xu Chunliang understood Fan Lidada’s predicament. After all, someone had just died on the construction site, causing a certain social impact. The command center is, after all, a newly established management department in Dongzhou, and nobody wants to be entangled in trouble right from the start. Besides, they all want a good omen.

Fan Lidada also congratulated Xu Chunliang on becoming the Deputy Town Mayor of Hu Shan Town, proposing they should get together in the next couple of days to express some form of apology.

Xu Chunliang invited Fan Lidada to come to Weishan Island for drinks later. Finally having two days off, he planned to spend them with his family.

While Xu Chunliang was on the phone, Mei Ru Xue took the opportunity to tour the villa inside out.

Xu Chunliang found her on the rooftop of the third floor. Mei Ru Xue stood there, taking in the view of the neighborhood. The scenery was pretty nice, and you could catch a glimpse of Hidden Dragon Lake.

Mei Ru Xue said, "You really know how to pick a place. This is probably the top luxury residence in Dongzhou." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Xu Chunliang said, "My dad wanted to make up for the years of missing fatherly love, and at the same time express his filial piety to my grandfather."

Mei Ru Xue said, "I heard the boss of Equatorial Capital gave you a huge discount."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "You’re well-informed. Fifty percent off including renovations. I saved Luan Yuchuan’s life, and he repaid the favor this way, equivalent to covering medical expenses."

Mei Ru Xue said softly, "Maybe it was nothing in the past, but going forward, you have to be careful. Any of your actions could be taken out of context and just one misstep could ruin your future."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "You’re worried about me?"

Mei Ru Xue shook her head, "Not really, I just think your personality doesn’t quite fit the bureaucratic system."

Xu Chunliang said, "Let’s take a walk! I’ll take you somewhere."

It was also Xu Chunliang’s first visit to the Chemical Machinery Factory Hospital. Because of poor business, it had gone bankrupt, and now the whole hospital was up for rent.

The yard was temporarily being used as a parking lot, but due to poor management, vehicles were parked all over the place. Further inside was a five-story building that looked out of place in this era because of years of neglect.

Mei Ru Xue followed him inside, somewhat puzzled, "What are we doing here?"

Xu Chunliang said, "I want to open a private hospital."

"Don’t you already have Huichun Hall?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Huichun Hall is too small without much room for growth, plus my grandpa has decided to retire and completely wrap up the business of Huichun Hall."

Mei Ru Xue said, "So you’re planning to follow in his footsteps and set up another Huichun Hall here?"

Xu Chunliang shook his head, "Grandpa values the name of Huichun Hall greatly. He doesn’t have enough faith in me. It’s Uncle Zheng who wants to open a hospital, and I think it’s a good idea, so I decided to join him."

Mei Ru Xue said, "You’ve only been Deputy Town Mayor for a few days, and you’re already thinking of switching from politics to medicine?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "Fish is what I desire, and bear paw is also what I desire. There’s no real conflict between the two. I know my grandpa is reluctant to end Huichun Hall, but he feels he has no choice and must bow to reality. The clinic model of Huichun Hall no longer fits the current medical market, but I can’t use Huichun Hall as an experiment; after all, it’s the result of grandpa’s life’s work and the Xu Family’s honor."

Mei Ru Xue said, "So you’re planning to start fresh, lease this place, and start from here? Mayor Xu, it seems you’ve forgotten you don’t have a medical license yet."

Xu Chunliang said, "I’ll just quietly be the boss behind the scenes. Our Old Xu Family can casually pull out a few secret prescriptions and have money rolling in."

Mei Ru Xue completely believed this, and holding his hand, said, "Are you planning to open a Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital?"

Xu Chunliang nodded, "In the beginning, I don’t want to move too fast. I’m planning to start with a specialty hospital."

"A specialty?"

"Proctology, I’m planning to open a proctology specialty hospital."

Mei Ru Xue blushed, realizing what he meant by ’specialty’, and teased, "You’re always coming up with these things that aren’t presentable."

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